Biting North Korean grain alcohol, Hello Kitty suitcases and Chinese Communist renderings of U.S. President Barack Obama were a hit at the 2013 AAJA national convention in New York this August.
Standing out among hundreds of chapter contributions for the annual silent auction, the two bottles of North Korean liquor eventually sold for US$200 with proceeds going to funding national AAJA programs. Ko Im, Washington D.C. chapter member, said she planned to give her purchase to her Korean grandfather in Guam.
AAJA-Asia would like to thank Seoul Vice-President Hannah Bae for tapping her extensive underground network to head into the Korean demilitarized zone for the contributions from AAJA-Asia’s Seoul sub-chapter.
AAJA-Asia also thanks China Vice-President Ching-Ching Ni in Shantou for personally donating the China sub-chapter’s contribution of President Obama dressed in faux Chinese soldier attire and sporting a traditional red armband of the radical Red Guards — made famous in the 1960s and 1970s under the leadership of Mao Zedong.
Another big thank you to Tokyo sub-chapter’s Daisuke Nakai for securing US$1,050 worth of donations in Hello Kitty goods from Sanrio. The package included: rolling travel case (US$190); rolling suitcase (US$260); mini backpack (US$260); heart case (US$140); long wallet (US$120); and laptop carry case (US$80).
Hello Kitty gear up for auction at #AAJA2013 tonight! #AAJA pic.twitter.com/1PAnTwESQ6
— Cassie M. Chew (@indiefilmfan) August 23, 2013
Please join us in thanking Hannah, Ching-Ching and Daisuke for a memorable and popular showing at the AAJA National Convention in New York!