Yoonji Han

Portfolio

I cover a range of stories, from entertainment and culture to news and politics.

You can find a complete list of my stories from my time at Business Insider here.

Gothamist •

A night at ‘Poly Poly Oxen Free,’ Brooklyn’s new polyamorous dating show

On a recent Tuesday night in Williamsburg, an audience of around 80 people gathered in the Brooklyn Art Haus theater for “Poly Poly Oxen Free,” an evening of polyamorous fun.

On stage, Rose Oser, the host and founder of the event, thanked the local sex shop Shag for sponsoring the show.

“We’re bringing you the hottest, most emotionally stable poly people in Brooklyn,” Oser told the cheering crowd.
PopSugar •

These Asian Drag Queens Are Breaking Free of Cultural Gender Norms

Malai's first encounter with drag was at a queer club in Mumbai, India. A group of hijras, or members of the Indian transgender community, swept into the club, flashing 12-inch nail extensions with chains dangling between them and crowns made of spikes. They wore beautiful, embroidered sarees and danced until their chains broke and spikes fell. Malai was entranced. "I remember wondering, maybe this is the divine femininity," she recalls. "I didn't think I was transgender back then, but something
PopSugar •

Why Gen Z Is Bringing Matchmaking Back

On her first date with her now-fiancé, Lawren Saunders did something a little different. Following the advice of her matchmaker, the then-25-year-old ditched the six-inch heels, false lashes, and wig she usually wore on first dates, opting instead for comfortable sandals and a jean jacket she wore regularly.

Earlier that year, Saunders had reached out to Alexis Germany Fox, a matchmaker and dating expert, after hearing her friend rave about her relationship savvy. Like many other Gen Z singles, Saunders felt burned out by years of being on the dating apps, and was looking for what she described as a more "authentic" way of meeting people.

"I was swiping and revamping my profile, not knowing what to say on my prompts and matching with weird people," says Saunders, now 27. "On a dating app, it's difficult to figure out how you want to present yourself or how to read other people. It seems very superficial since you're going off someone's best photo or best one-liner."
Business Insider •

Texas is booming. Thank millennials and Gen Zers of color.

When Jasmine Cambridge moved from Atlanta to Austin, she was thrilled to meet more people like herself.

Cambridge said most Black people she's met since her 2023 move to Texas are, like her, originally from somewhere else.

"Austin is up-and-coming, fertile soil," said Cambridge, a 25-year-old server at a steakhouse who wants to work in marketing. "I've talked to a lot of people who have moved to Austin — especially people of color — about how there's so much financial opportunity here."

Cambridge said she believes she and other Black people are moving to Texas for better job prospects, especially in tech, and increased social mobility.
Business Insider •

My family was chased off our land in Texas by a racist mob. More than 80 years later, I own it again.

I would describe my childhood as ideal. I was born in Marshall, Texas, surrounded by friends and neighbors. We were like a great, big family. If I did something wrong, I was chastised before I got home. And when I got home, my mom already knew about it.

I didn't have the slightest idea about white folks because our community was all Black. The only white people I saw growing up were a salesman who sold housewares and clothing from his car and a family that ran a grocery store at the end of our street. So I had no animosity. I was a sheltered child. I didn't know white people until we got to Fort Worth.
Business Insider •

After racist threats forced a Southeast Asian restaurant to close down, the owner reopened a new restaurant as an homage to his immigrant parents

David Rasavong first noticed strange reviews for his Fresno restaurant on a Monday night in May. He had just put his kids to bed when he saw several Google reviews mentioning dog meat. Rasavong didn't think too much of it; just reported them to Google before going to sleep.

The next morning, Rasavong woke up to find his restaurant's Yelp, Facebook, Instagram, and email accounts flooded with dozens of scathing reviews and comments. Rasavong recalled some of them: "Disgusting." "How can you do this?" "You guys should be arrested."
Business Insider •

Former Lululemon employees call the company's response to founder Chip Wilson's comments on DEI 'a slap in the face' to people of color

Lululemon's employees of color are making their voices heard after the company's founder blasted its diversity initiatives.

In January, Lululemon founder Chip Wilson told Forbes that he doesn't agree with the company's "whole diversity and inclusion thing."

"They're trying to become like the Gap, everything to everybody," Wilson said. "I think the definition of a brand is that you're not everything to everybody."

"You've got to be clear that you don't want certain customers coming in," he added.
Business Insider •

An 11-year-old was given an allotment of 'undesirable' land. Beneath the surface was millions of dollars worth of oil.

When Sarah Rector was given 160 acres of land, she and her family assumed it had little value. The soil was barren and the land was considered undesirable. But they did not know the great source of wealth hidden underneath it.

Born in 1902, Rector grew up in a modest cabin near the all-Black town of Taft, Oklahoma, in what was then Indian Territory, according to Tonya Bolden, author of "Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America."
Business Insider •

The eldest daughters of immigrants are exhausted. They're banding together for support.

Sherri Lu was home for the holidays last year when she told her mother she was too young to act as a stand-in parent.

All her life, Lu felt like she had a great deal of pressure to be a role model and to take on responsibilities her parents didn't expect from her little sister, who is six years younger, because they saw her as a child.

"But I'm also a child, but I feel like a third parent sometimes," Lu, who's in her mid-20s, said.
Business Insider •

After being bullied as a kid, I became the first transgender woman to compete at the Miss USA pageant

I knew at a very young age that I was different. By the time I was able to speak or express my likes and preferences, I knew who I really was.

I grew up in the Philippines, which is a very Catholic country, so there was a lot of religion around how I grew up. From a young age, people started pointing out that I shouldn't play with my sister's toys or prefer her clothing over mine. I also spent more time with my girl cousins than with my guy cousins. Whatever I did, people said I shouldn't be too feminine, because it was considered wrong.
Business Insider •

The WWII Tokyo firebombing was the deadliest air raid in history, with a death toll exceeding those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

In the opening scene of Hayao Miyazaki's latest semi-autobiographical film, "The Boy and the Heron," fighter planes drop bombs on Tokyo, setting the city ablaze.

The movie begins in 1943, two years after the Pearl Harbor attack that catalyzed US involvement in World War II. The Pacific War, as the theater of the war fought in eastern Asia and its surrounding regions was called, saw Allied powers pitted against Japan and resulted in millions of casualties on both sides.
Business Insider •

In 1970, Leonard Bernstein and his wife were criticized for hosting a fundraiser soirée for the Black Panther Party

On January 14, 1970, Felicia Montealegre, the wife of composer Leonard Bernstein, hosted what would become a highly controversial fundraiser party to support the Black Panther Party.

That evening, nearly 100 people — from wealthy socialites and celebrities to premier journalists — gathered at the Bernsteins' Park Avenue duplex to support the families of the Panther 21. In April 1969, a group of 21 members of the Black Panther Party had been charged with conspiring to kill police and bomb New York City police precincts, department stores, and other public buildings.
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