ALEX QUEJADO WRITES — The 10th Annual Game Show and Trade All-Round, stylized as G-Star, took place from November 20- 23 in Busan, South Korea. G-Star, a major gaming convention showcasing upcoming projects from Korean and foreign developers alike, is widely regarded as the fourth most popular game convention in…
ASIA MEDIA WRITES: On the whole, the international media has reacted to China’s climate improvement agreement with understandable cynicism. Nations tend to talk a lot and do much less. But the agreement recently reached at the 2014 APEC summit in Beijing might prove the beginning of the real deal. People…
ANNIE LUNDGREN WRITES – Forty never looked so cute. Last month, 25,000 people celebrated Hello Kitty’s birthday at the first-ever “Hello Kitty Con” held in downtown Los Angeles. The Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Little Tokyo was transformed into a wonderland of cartoon structures, giant tea-cups, and rainbows. Pink-dressed attendees…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Like millennials elsewhere, North Korea’s are unhappy with their circumstances and doing what they must to improve their quality of life. In spite of the government’s restrictions on media, North Korean millennials are still able to consume foreign media, which has played a significant role in…
On Monday November 10th, the Asian Pacific Student Services’ program S.P.E.A.C (Supporting, Promoting, Empowering, Asian Communities) will be hosting a discussion about the ongoing social justice issues in North Korea, the experiences of refugees, and the historical background of the division of the two Koreas from 7:30PM-9:30PM in Malone 112…
SHUTING LI WRITES – China’s most viewed dating show “Fei Cheng Wu Rao” (“If You Are The One”) is produced by Jiangsu Satellite Television to satisfy Chinese women’s desperate need for the perfect man. And it’s a huge hit. America’s most popular dating show, “The Bachelor” on ABC, has about 7.75…
YVONNE EPPS WRITES — Imagine standing in the pit of the House of Blues, staring up at a four-man group that begins to sing in Japanese. It’s an indie Japanese music fan’s dream, and when you wake up, you realize that the American mainstream is being invaded. A trend is…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – The Japanese can now officially dance the night away without a curfew. Since 1948, dancing at any time past midnight in Japan has been illegal. But those who want to shake their groove things can now rejoice. The Japanese government is cutting back on the crazy…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – When two Associated Press journalists visited North Korea over the summer, they saw things few, if any, foreigners have ever seen. No, they did not see concentration camps or nuclear weapons. But they did get to see what life is like for North Koreans from all…
DYLAN FIELDS WRITES – For many years, Japan has been engaged in various territorial disputes such as the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands conflict with China, or the Takeshima/Dokdo Islands feud with South Korea. One such quarrel, which many non-Japanese are unaware of, is the ongoing Kuril Islands dispute between Japan and…
KELCEY LORENZO WRITES – Since the mid 90’s, Korean pop idols have appeared and starred in many Korean TV dramas and movies. Many idol-actors have been successful despite their lack of formal training and experience in acting. Reply 1997, starring solo singer Seo In Guk and A-Pink’s Jung Eun Ji,…
SHUTING LI WRITES – China is globally known for its uber-firewall and the aggressive censorship of social media. Since 2009, following the Urumqi riots, almost all non-Chinese search engines, microblogs and social media sites that people use elsewhere in the world have been gradually blocked in China. That includes services provided…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – On October 19, Japanese media was quick to announce the resignation of Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yuko Obuchi after claims that groups supporting her had misused political funds. If anybody knows how to handle a scandal, it’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’ and his team. Since…
ALEX QUEJADO WRITES — Sports are one of the most popular media-covered events in the world. But what really qualifies an event as a sport? Would video games make the cut? If you were to mention this, say, ten years ago, you would be ridiculed. Today, however, Electronic Sports (often…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Watch out, David Copperfield, you’ve got a new competitor! Earlier this month, North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-Un finally reappeared after mysteriously disappearing in early September. Although there was speculation about the reasons for his disappearance, we can all agree on one thing: the North Korean…
BRIAN CANAVE WRITES – Media lesson learned in Taiwan this week: don’t let tainted cooking oil taint your responsibility in reporting. In light of recent reports on the sale of bad cooking oil in Taiwan, the media had a frenzy covering this controversy, including speculation causing an increase in worry for the…
