To say that I have never driven in Seoul, South Korea is a lie. To say that I have driven on the US military bases in Seoul, South Korea is the truth. However, to say that I have never driven on South Korean soil is the truth. Confused? Bottom line: I have yet to drive outside of the US military bases in Seoul or anywhere in South Korea. Why? Here’s why:

1) Public transportation is cheap and effective.
2) I live near the base so I can easily walk to and from there.
3) I think I’d rather jump off of the Seoul Tower before even attempting to drive in the dreaded traffic.
4) I usually do not go anywhere far to need a car.
5) I have a personal chauffeur by the name of Daddy, and I’ll take advantage of that as long as I can.

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Tags: han river, military, seoul, seoul tower, traffic, transportation, united states

I have always believed that there are only three living beings in this world that won’t go away easily. Cher, cockroaches and the bitchy homeless guy near my office who would utter stuff like “well, it’s good karma to give money you know” whenever I ignore him. Now there seems to be a fourth.  Even my endless prayer to the God of Ultimate Drought cannot seem to take care of this sore in my eye. He is the feminine looking, non-talented and uber annoying Korean Pop star, Rain.

After failing to capture the hearts of the American moviegoers with Speed Racer this past summer, Rain went back to the recording studio to work on his fifth album which is scheduled to be released this fall. Now the album is done and pansy here wants to reward his fans by releasing the teaser MV of one of the songs in the album. I can hear some of his female fans screaming and pulling their hair already. The song is called “Love Story” and Korean actress Ha Ji-Won has co-starred in the MV opposite Rain. According to a reliable source (more like his PR machine), the story is about the dark and sizzling love story between a bad boy and a femme fatale.  Rain will expose the sexy, yet dangerous aspect of himself. I think I threw up a little bit in my mouth when I wrote the last sentence.

For those who care about this, the teaser video will be released on Naver, Daum, Cyworld, and MNet.com this month.

Tags: Korean Pop Star, People I Detest, rain

Okay so they’ve finally casted the lead female for Hana Yori Dango, unfortunately it’s not some sexy boy toy who can pass off as a girl. It’s Gu Hye Seon.

Never seen her in anything before but she’s won a few big awards: 2007 SBS Acting Awards (New Star Award) and 2006 KBS Acting Awards (New Actress Award). Not only that but she’s sang the theme song for her drama Pure 19 and been in a few music videos. She’s got to be good right?

Honestly she’s a little too mature looking for me. While she does embody the innocent girl look, she’s not quite the perfect fit for me. I would have definitely gone for a bigger star or at least a cuter one like Kim Tae Hee. If you’ve seen the Japanese Hana Yori Dango, Kim Tae Hee and Mao Inoue might as well be twins.

Again I’m disappointed with the cast but hopefully the show will still be good. I’m still praying for them to boot Gu Hye Seon for a boy toy.

Tags: cast, drama, gu hye seon, hana yori dango, japan, kim tae hee, korea, mao inoue

Daniel Pink gave a greatly entertaining and informative lecture at Japan Society, New York, tonight about the incredible spread of manga around the world. Ningin blogger Mia Lerda and I thought we were going to hear more about Mr. Pink’s new book The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need, but Mr. Pink gave a larger socio-economic lesson on the power of the dojinshi in Japan’s manga-based economy operating under amoku no ryokai. Sounds complex? Well, it is, or near impossible, in a lawsuit-prone USA. Mia’s writing a complete report to sort it out for you.
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Tags: amoku no ryokai, daniel pink, dojinshi, Japan Society, johnny bunko, manga, new york

The Innovative Daniel H. Pink will be lecturing at The Japan Society of New York this Monday. The accomplished author will be speaking about his time in Japan when he studied the culture and society of Manga. As the writer of “The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need, he breaks a new mold as the first American author of a business related Manga! Yes… you heard that right, this New York Times best seller’s new endeavor is in Manga format.

The lead protagonist of this Japanese style comic, Johnny Bunko, is a just your average Joe. He has never strayed from normal expected behavior like listening to his parents or teachers. What is wrong with this? Like so many of us, Johnny is stuck at a dead-end job that he doesn’t like, more so, he’s is just upset with the way his career path is going. He begins to suspect that his knowledge on balancing career and happiness is just plain lacking. One bizarre night in a Japanese restaurant, Johnny meets Diana, the unlikeliest career advisor he will ever meet.  Described as part Cameron Diaz, part Barbara Eden (I Dream of Genie) , she uses her otherworldly powers and wisdom to reveals the six essential lessons for thriving in the world of work.

Dan Pink’s past work have been published in The New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, and Wired (where he is also an contributing editor). His analysis of business & technology trends have been seen on CNN, CNBC, ABC, NPR, and other various national/international networks. Even more interesting is Dan held a position in the White House, where he served as chief speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore.

The Japan society is situated on 333 east 47th st, right across from a lovely park called Dag Hammarskjold Plaza. For ticket information on this or other events hosted there you can call the Box Office at (212) 715-1258.

Tags: Business, Dan Pink, Japan Society, japanese, manga, Politics

Voting for the Cosplay Photoshoot Contest is official closed as of 12PM today. It’s been a long week and we’re happy to finally announce the winner! We’ve gone through over 500 contest entries and chosen 50 finalists which is now down to the top three.

Again, the top three will be interviewed by our Ningin Bloggers while the overall best cosplayer voted by the users will receive two super exclusive tickets to the private premiere of the Megaman Movie and to Comic Con in February 2009.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the contest. So now without further ado, the contest winners are….
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Tags: anime, cosplay, cosplay photoshoot contest, manga, new york anime festival, winner

Honorary Gary Locke (left),James Yee (center), Dale Minami (right)

http://www.digitalarchives.wa.gov/governorlocke/bios/bio.htm

http://www.mltsf.com/lawyer-attorney-1067081.html

On Friday October 3, 2008, James Yee and other notables attended an Obama Victory Fund event at the home of Laurie and Scott Oki in Bellevue, WA. The Asian American Finance Committee also headed the event.

Representative Mike Honda was scheduled to attend this event, but he was unable to attend, because he was voting on the Emergency Bill to bail out Wall Street. The first person that spoke at this event was Washington State Senator, Maria Cantwell. She talked about why Obama is good for Washington State and for America. There were several people who were there from the Microsoft community. It was not surprising, because Microsoft is headquartered in Seattle.
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Tags: Asian American Finance Committee, Bellevue, chinese, civil liberties, Dale Minami, Didi Saluja, election, Emergency bill, Fred Korematsu, Gary Locke, Indian American, james yee, japanese, Laurie Oki, Maria Cantwell, Microsoft, Mike Honda, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Obama Victory Fund, Scott Oki, Seattle, wall street, Washington

The world of Asian Media is small and you can find fans everywhere, even where you least expect it. 4 months ago I would have never thought that I would be dancing along side Ichigo Pantsu, a group of girls ready to boogy to just about anything. Lara and I had met this group at AnimeNext this year, competing against them in the masqurade. Both our routines involved dancing but, in the end IchiP! kinda kicked our butts with neater costumes and sharper moves. However this time around at NY Anime Festival, we met again as better friends with a common interest in dance. On the last day of the con, IchiP! had a dance workshop where they taught a very popular para para called “Night of Fire” by Hinoi Team. It was so much fun to learn from these energetic teachers. We later had an interview with the three girls Erica (IchiRi), Michele (IchiRu), and Venus (IchiRe). Unfortunately, the 4th member Laura (IchiRa) couldn’t attened because we all know she’s having the greatest time ever studying abroad in Japan. The girls were extremely nice and were willing to dance with us in the end!

Click here to see that dance!

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Tags: asian media, dance, erica, ichi-p, ichigo pantsu, michele, new york anime festival, nyaf, tell me, venus

All these news about the recent Korean celebrity suicides made me think about the past. My mind went down memory lane, and then I decided to Youtube videos of my favourite ahjumma style songs. Or at least the old songs from when I enjoyed as a child. One of the songs I entered was 인디안 인형처럼 (Indian Inhyung Chu-lum = Like an Indian Doll) originally done by Nami.
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Tags: ahjumma, bada, finkl, guam, karaoke, korea, kpop, music, nami and boom boom, no rae bang

I tried to depart a little from the traditional martial-arts genre. Instead of treating these characters as heroes, I wanted to see them as ordinary people – at the stage before they became heroes. – Wong Kar-wai

Wong Kar-wai’s restored, re-scored, expanded, recolored and re-edited Ashes of Time Redux premiered tonight at the New York Film Festival. Playing before a sold out crowd at the 1,131-seat Ziegfeld Theatre, Wong Kar-wai was joined on stage afterward for Q&A with the still beautiful actress Brigitte Lin and cinematographer Christopher Doyle.

The acclaimed film has has been digitally colorized from the 1994 print, at times adding beauty to the cinematography, but sometimes too digitally enhanced for some viewers of the original release depending on who you asked at the screening. It seemed everyone was in agreement the subtitles received a nice revision. Regardless, if you’ve only seen this film on DVD, you’re in for a special treat when this story of swordplay and ill fortunes gets a wider theatrical release in the USA on October 10.
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Tags: Ashes of Time, Brigitte Lin, Christopher Doyle, cinema, hong kong, kung fu, Maggie Cheung, martial arts, new york city, New York Film Festival, Sony Pictures Classics, Tony Leung, Wong Kar Wai, Yo-yo Ma