ANNIE LUNDGREN WRITES – A Chinese production company recently launched the 3D cartoon series “Princess Fragrant,” which follows a Uyghur girl’s adventures along the Silk Road. The character, who sports a traditional Uyghur hat and long braids, was inspired by the ancient Chinese legend of “Fragrant Concubine,” the Uyghur consort…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Miracles happen every day, and the Korean Peninsula’s latest political development proves this. How else can you explain the fact that North and South Korea appear to be discussing a return to peaceful negotiations? At the Asian Games’ closing ceremony earlier this month, North Korean officials…
MICHELLE VARINATA WRITES – In the eyes of international media, Indonesia is well-known for receiving a barrage of bad rap for its flawed handling of environmental issues. Recently, however, the Indonesian authorities have taken this criticism to heart and have decided to tackle the problem of illegal manta ray trading. The…
ALEX QUEJADO WRITES — Where do we look for new media information, and what medium do we use to find it? Have traditional media outlets—newspapers, radio, and television—lost their prominence? With the rise of mobile devices, this seems to be the case in Southeast Asia, and most notably in Vietnam.…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Can you remember the last CD you bought? I’m not talking an album on iTunes. I mean an actual, physical compact disc. Can’t recall? Ask anyone in Japan this question, and you’ll most likely get an answer without much thought. After the U.S., Japan is the…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Certainly a country with the title “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” is all about freedom and equality…right? Earlier this year, the United Nations published a report on the state of human rights in North Korea. It found that the country has one of the worst human…
PEYTON CROSS WRITES – With the recent release of the iPhone 6, millions of Americans are preparing for a technological upgrade. More than 9,000 miles away, Sri Lanka is also gearing up for its own IT reboot. On September 14, the Colombo Page reported that the Sri Lankan government plans to…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Paying for college isn’t easy. Either you were lucky enough to have parents who started saving from the time you were born, or you’re forced to take out loans in ungodly amounts to help fund your outrageously expensive education. Of course, part-time jobs are an option. You…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Could sports succeed where years of diplomacy have fallen flat? On the heels of Dennis Rodman’s visits to the Hermit Kingdom, an international group of wrestlers, including athletes from Japan and the US, journeyed to North Korea recently to compete in a match before thousands of…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – If North Korea’s reaction to The Interview has not made it clear that the Hermit Kingdom takes portrayals of its Supreme Leader very seriously, the country’s opinion of a new Chinese music video featuring Kim Jong-Un will. The video consists of various clips of people dancing,…
ASIA MEDIA STAFF WRITES – Congratulations are in order for Joko Widodo, the governor of the massive metropolis of Jakarta. After an arduous nationwide campaign against a tough, determined and extremely well-financed opponent, this personally modest but overly reformist former furniture salesman won by a margin of four-to-five percentage points. In…
Editor’s Note: On 27 June, we published the following analysis of the very important nationwide elections in Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous nation – and a secular democracy with more Muslim citizens (by far) than any other country. Our analysis concluded with an endorsement for president in that contest.…
ASIA MEDIA WRITES – For the soon-arriving academic year at The New ASIA MEDIA Center, publisher of the prominent international e-magazine ASIA MEDIA at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, our fall lineup has now been set, and so we are very happy to announce the following major appointments: 1.…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – This October, The Interview will give moviegoers a glimpse of what could happen if Seth Rogen and James Franco were hired by the CIA in an attempt to turn an interview with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Kong-un into an assassination attempt. Though it’s a comedy, not everyone…
AUSTIN SZABO WRITES – Has India elected a dangerous man? The media failed to answer this question. As Narendra Modi becomes leader of the world’s biggest democracy, his role in the killing of a thousand Muslims in 2002 remains murky. The 2002 Gujarat riots, a pogrom against Muslims, happened on Modi’s watch. His…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – The past continues to haunt Japan for its treatment of Chinese “comfort women” before and during World War II. On April 25, the archives in China’s Jilin province released 89 documents that include letters written by Japanese soldiers, newspaper articles, and military files that provide solid…
