By Louis Chan
AsAmNews National Correspondent
V3con, the annual digital media conference put on by the Los Angeles chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association, kicked off Friday night with a star studded awards program featuring actor John Cho, director Jennifer Yuh Nelson of Kung Fu Panda fame, and Angry Asian Man, aka Phil Yu.
Cho accepted the Visibility Award, one of three awards given out by V3Con that honors those who have become a significant force in media and the broader community.
Cho will resurrect his role as Sulu in this summer’s upcoming blockbuster, Star Trek Beyond, which will be released July 22. He also starred in TV’s Selfie as Henry Higgs, and catapulted to fame as Harold in the popular movie franchise, Harold & Kumar.
In accepting the award, Cho recognized Asian American journalists in both mainstream and ethnic media.
“I started working in some film and television, but my parents were not impressed until somebody at the Korea Times wrote a little article about me,” recalls Cho. “I became legitimate in their eyes. I’ve always wanted to make sure to thank that guy.”
Prior to that, Cho’s father suggested perhaps he follow a different career path.
“He said,’Have you considered being a TV anchor?’ I think there was one bad observation and one good observation. He thought that, he misobserved that I just wanted to be in front of the camera, but the correct observation was that there are a lot of Asians at 6 o’clock and not many at 8 o’clock. and it seemed logical (to him) for me to go into journalism.
“I’ve had a lot of interaction with Asian and Asian American press and it’s always encouraged me. It’s very important for me to be held in your esteem. Thank you for this honor.”
Accepting the Vision Award was Nelson, who received an Oscar nomination for her directing of Kung Fu Panda 2.
Celebrating our heritage is a step in making one feel less like an outsider.-Jennifer Yuh Nelson vision award #V3con pic.twitter.com/OGd3sUwtuz
— Allyson Rae (@allysonwho) June 25, 2016
The inspiration for most of the Asian American blogs on the planet, Phil Yu or more commonly known as Angry Asian Man, received the Voice Award. For 15 years, Yu has given Asian Americans a voice through his blogs, podcasts and social media posts.
A photo posted by Angry Asian Man (@angryasianman) on
