Korea Society Talk This Wed May 28, 2008 New York City

I'll be in NYC for a day or so to talk to whoever shows up on this panel discussion. It's about stuff I like, Toys!

The Korea Society
950 Third Avenue @ 57th Street, Eighth Floor

Please join us for a lively talk on Korean toys and their fascinating origins in the interplay between Korean, Japanese and American pop cultures. This panel is presented in conjunction with our current traveling exhibition, Toy Stories: Souvenirs from Korean Childhood.

Panelists:
Joshua Bernard, editor, CollectionDX.com
Eric Nakamura, publisher, Giant Robot Magazine
Joanne Rudis, design director, Fisher Price/Mattel
Seho Kim, creative director, The Korea Society

$10 (members) and $15 (non-members)
Buy tickets online or RSVP to (212)759-7525, ext. 355 email.

About the Panelists

Joshua Bernard, editor, CollectionDX.com
As a child of the '70s, Joshua Bernard was raised on Shogun Warriors, Speed Racer, Starblazers, Voltron and George Lucas. His obsession for Japanese toys and culture was the impetus behind CollectionDX.com, his popular Web site for toy collecting. Joshua collects Korean and Japanese toys, has written for Super7 magazine and co-authored the book Tokyo Underground: Toy Design and Culture in Tokyo.

Eric Nakamura, publisher, Giant Robot
After graduating from UCLA with a degree in East Asian Studies, Eric got his start in the magazine business at Larry Flynt Publications. He is currently the publisher of Giant Robot, a magazine and Web site dedicated to Asian American pop culture. Eric has also produced the independent film Sunsets, shot photos for punk rock bands and designed t-shirts.

Joanne Rudis, design director, Fisher Price/Mattel
A 1993 graduate of FIT's toy design program, Joanne Rudis began her career in Chicago at Strombecker (Tootsietoys). From 1993 to 1995, she designed Sesame Street wood toys, die-cast metal toys and Disney bubble toys for Strombecker. In 1995, she moved to Rhode Island to work for Playskool, the preschool division of Hasbro, where she focused on their Dollhouse line. Rudis joined Fisher Price in 1997. She is currently the design director for the Disney licenses at Fisher Price.

Seho Kim, Creative Director, The Korea Society
Kim received his BFA degree from Rhode Island School of Design and his MFA from Parsons School of Design/New School University, where he was the 2003 commencement speaker. He is the winner of the 2006 Spotlight Award, the 2006 American Design Award and the 2005/2006 Magellan Award for excellence in communications in design. He was worked on projects for W Hotels and The Store, and illustrated Go for Kids, a multi-paneled children's book published in 2001.