The release of North Korea’s new “Arirang” tablet computer is very exciting news, but as with many new gadgets, there is at least one big question. Instead of asking how it compares to competitors or how well it performs, the question is about where it was made. North Korea’s media…
Category: East Asia
HONG KONG: ‘Next Media’ Announces Goodbye to Taiwan
Following up on our “No Next Step for Next Media” article that appeared here in April, Hong Kong’s largest media company, ‘Next Media’, has recently confirmed the selling of its Taiwan-based Entertainment Services Ltd. Next Media’s largest Taiwanese publications, ‘Next Magazine’ and ‘Apple Daily’, are a huge part of the…
CHINA: Ai Weiwei’s Gangnam Style Parody
If New York Times had not published the Wen article (see Lani Luo’s “CHINA: It’s All About Whom You Know, Reports New York Times”), Ai Weiwei’s Grass Mud Horse Style (a parody on Psy’s internet meme Gangnam Style) video would probably be the most popular news in China. Ai Weiwei…
China Blotter: Basketball Grandma’s Story
China may be world’s second largest economy, but it is still nowhere close to utopia. Today, the world is dazzled by China’s booming financial freedom. However, there is not enough attention given to those who are still suffering. The government, of course, is working on pulling as many people out…
SOUTH KOREA: Telling It Like It Is
The Korea Times appears to be taking a very unbiased approach when reporting current events. In an article discussing a North Korean soldier’s desertion and a recent leak of military secrets, South Korea’s newspaper maintained a very neutral stance, focusing on stating concrete facts instead of relying on opinion-based writing…
China Blotter: Think of the Children!
China is not known for its relaxed rules, and neither are its schools. When I attended pre-school and elementary school in China, I often came home crying. There was always something to get in trouble for: I vividly remember being scolded by teachers for eating my lunch too slowly or…
JAPAN: Hot Porn Actress Asks Chinese Fans to Simmer Down
While anti-Japanese sentiments continue to brew across China due to the unseemly scrum over the Senkaku, called the Diaoyu by the Chinese, islands, some celebrities in the region have spoken out against the tension. Notable amongst them is Sora Aoi, a former Japanese pornography actress, who has helped China, or…
China: Defending His Country
There are a few islands on the northeast side of Taiwan called the Diaoyu Islands, if you’re Chinese. But if you’re Japanese, you call it the Senkaku Islands. Both China and Japan claim the sovereignty of these islands, not only for national dignity but also the rich deposits of natural…
JAPAN: It’s Upsetting the Country’s Constitution
How much tension could a chain of uninhabited islands create? Quite a bit, apparently, as many Chinese take to the streets in outrage following Japan’s decision to nationalize three of the Senkaku islands. Concurrently, some Japanese have voiced a desire to revise the current constitution. The Mainichi Daily, a leading…
CHINA: The Man Who ‘Disappeared’… Re-Appears!
For the past two weeks, Xi Jinping’s disappearance and reappearance in public view have occupied the front pages of newspapers all over the world. When the high-profile meeting between Xi and Hillary Clinton was suddenly cancelled on September 5th, major western media started to mention the unexpected disappearance as if…
SOUTH KOREA: Forgive But Never Forget
Until recently, the stage seemed set for South Korea and Japan to sign the General Security of Military Information Agreement, or GSOMIA, but South Korea suddenly decided to back down from the agreement. The GSOMIA would have been the first agreement to permit the exchange of military intelligence between South…
SOUTH KOREA: KBS’ ‘XY That Girl’ Gets ‘OUTed’!
A new talk show targeting the transgender community, which invited transgender individuals to discuss their experiences, was cut from programming after viewers strongly voiced their objections. After premiering last week on a midnight time slot on KBS Joy, a subsidiary of Korean Broadcasting System (KBS), the show titled “XY That…
CHINA: Fighting Crime One Blog at a Time
At a national courts conference in China recently, judges reported that internet blogs turn out to be a great asset when it comes to preventing juvenile crime and communicating with young deviants. Most judges in attendance agreed that although the internet is a great tool that many youngsters use to…
SOUTH KOREA: Someone Is Actually Honoring Print!
During the late Chosun period (postwar 19th century), newspapers and magazines were fundamental in providing the Korean peninsula with the necessary tools for education and modernization. The influential Seoul-based newspaper, Chosun Ilbo, reports now that six dailies and two magazines are set to be designated cultural properties, according to the Cultural…
CHINA: Following in Singapore’s Footsteps … Censorship by Another Name
Will Chinese television veiwers have anything good left to watch? The State Administration of Film, Radio and Television recently published six new guidelines that ban remakes of foreign TV series, as well as shows based on online games. The rules also require that revolution-themed TV series clearly differentiate between friend…
NORTH KOREA: Wedding Gift for the ‘First Couple’ — a Modest Proposal!
(An opinion column) — I guess I am a sucker for old-fashioned romance. When I heard about the stunning marriage of Kim Jong Un, the young new leader of North Korea, to the lovely Ri Sol Ju, apparently a professional singer, I hurriedly buried the ideological hatchet and grabbed the…