Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts

Thursday, April 25, 2019

Homestay hosts needed for Chinese, Japanese, Korean visitors this year.



GlobalPittsburgh shares news of its needs for host families from May through next January for various cohorts of visitors, including Korean English teachers, Chinese students, and Japanese students from Yasuda University.

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Great DEALL (Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures) Conference celebrating undergraduate research, April 18 at Pitt.



The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures will hold its first Great DEAL Conference on April 18.
The faculty of East Asian Languages & Literatures will host a celebration of the best and brightest of our students. All of our graduating seniors will be presenting a summary of their research projects. Prizes will be awarded. Refreshments will be offered during this day-long event of presentations and poster presentations. Learn about East Asia through the experience of hard-working undergrads. You'll be amazed.
The event runs from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm in 2500 Posvar Hall (map).

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

No Korean Food Bazaar for 2019; aims for 2020 return.



The annual Korean Food Bazaar (선교바자회) in Shadyside is taking 2019 off. A tradition of the Korean Central Church of Pittsburgh for 23 years, the church confirmed on Sunday it will not organize the festival this year, but will aim for a 2020 return. The bazaar has typically run on the first Saturday of May.

Friday, April 5, 2019

"Asia Pop" one-credit mini course at Pitt, Fall 2019.



The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will offer a 1-credit mini course titled "Asia Pop" in Fall 2019.
This mini 1 credit pop-up course explores the spread of Asian popular music across the world in conjunction with the Asian Studies Center lecture series on Asian pop culture. This year's theme is East Asian pop: J-pop (Japan), K-pop (Korea), and Canto/Mando Pop (Hong Kong and China). In this course, students will track the lecture series and discuss issues that include the global legacy of East Asian pop, the role of media and technology, popular music as an instrument of soft power, participatory fandom and international business. This course may also include some experiential learning opportunities such as a dance workshop and field trip. Students will be required to write a reflection paper at the end of the term.

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

K-pop Dance Class at Yanlai Dance Academy this summer.



Lucy Chen will once again offer K-Pop Dance Classes at Yanlai Dance Academy this summer.
K-pop has been sweeping through the popular mainstream culture. Come learn the choruses to your favorite songs at this dance class! For all levels! Taught by Lucy Chen.

Feel free to request songs that you want to learn the dances to by commenting below or emailing lulujchen@gmail.com. We cannot guarantee your song will be taught but a schedule will be posted later with more details!
The classes will run Saturdays from May 11 through July 13 from 4:00 to 5:00 pm. Yanlai Dance Academy is located at 2260 Babcock Blvd. in the North Hills (map).

Monday, April 1, 2019

2005 Miyazaki film Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城) in Pittsburgh, April 7, 8, and 10.



The 2005 Miyazaki film Howl's Moving Castle (ハウルの動く城) will play in Pittsburgh on April 7, 8, and 10 as part of this year's GKIDS Ghibli Fest 2019.
Sophie, a quiet girl working in a hat shop, finds her life thrown into turmoil when she is literally swept off her feet by a handsome but mysterious wizard named Howl. The vain and vengeful Witch of the Waste, jealous of their friendship, puts a curse on Sophie and turns her into a 90-year-old woman. On a quest to break the spell, Sophie climbs aboard Howl’s magnificent moving castle and into a new life of wonder and adventure. But as the true power of Howl’s wizardry is revealed, Sophie finds herself fighting to protect them both from a dangerous war of sorcery that threatens their world.
It will play at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in Monroeville and the North Hills. The April 7 and 10 shows are dubbed in English, while the April 8 show is in Japanese with English subtitles. Tickets are available online.

Monday, March 25, 2019

Korean film Burning (버닝) free at Pitt, March 29.



The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures will present Burning (버닝) on March 29, the final installment of this year's Korean Film Festival. The official site summarizes Burning:
BURNING is the searing examination of an alienated young man, Jongsu (Ah-in Yoo), a frustrated introvert whose already difficult life is complicated by the appearance of two people into his orbit: first, Haemi (newcomer Jong-seo Jun), a spirited woman who offers romantic possibility, and then, Ben (Steven Yeun, THE WALKING DEAD, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU), a wealthy and sophisticated young man she returns from a trip with. When Jongsu learns of Ben’s mysterious hobby and Haemi suddenly disappears, his confusion and obsessions begin to mount, culminating in a stunning finale.
It will be shown in 332 Cathedral of Learning from 6:00 to 9:00 pm and is free and open to the public.

Thursday, March 21, 2019

2017 Korean film 1987: When the Day Comes at Pitt, March 22.



The University of Pittsburgh's Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures will present the 2017 film 1987: When the Day Comes on March 22 as part of its annual Korean Film Festival. The distributor summarizes 1987:
In 1987 Korea, under an oppressive military regime, a college student gets killed during a police interrogation involving torture. Government of officials are quick to cover up the death and order the body to be cremated. A prosecutor who is supposed to sign the cremation release, raises questions about a 21-year-old kid dying of a heart attack, and he begins looking into the case for truth. Despite a systematic attempt to silence everyone involved in the case, the truth gets out, causing an eruption of public outrage.
The film will be shown in 332 Cathedral of Learning from 6:00 to 9:00 pm and is free and open to the public. Next Friday the department will present Burning (버닝) as the second installment of the series,

Tuesday, March 19, 2019

IUP hiring language instructor fluent in Japanese and Korean.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania is again hiring a foreign language instructor fluent in Japanese and Korean to teach elementary-, intermediate-, and advanced-level courses in those languages. An excerpt from the job posting:
The Department of Foreign Languages at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) invites applicants for an anticipated full-time, and temporary faculty position for the 2019-2020 academic year.

Duties
  • Teach elementary, intermediate, and advanced Japanese and Korean.
  • The successful candidate may be asked to work at off-campus sites and/or provide instruction through distance education.

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Sunday, March 3, 2019

21 years of Korean Pirates.


Pitching prospect Byung-il Kim, (김병일) via 중앙일보.

Long before the Pittsburgh Pirates first started signing Asian prospects like Jung-ho Kang, Ji-hwan Bae, and Jin-de Jhang a few years ago, there have been some interesting intersections between the Pirates and Asian baseball. In 1965, the Pirates were set to tour Japan but the trip was cancelled that June, ostensibly due to the Pirates' "inferior drawing power" but in reality due to stalled contract negotiations with a Japanese baseball player. In 1975, the Pirates played, and lost to, the reigning Central League champion out of Nagoya, the Chunichi Dragons, who joined Pittsburgh in spring training that year. And, in the 1990s, the Pirates had a working agreement with one of the top pro teams in South Korea.

Saturday, March 2, 2019

Forgot about Sumi's.


Photographs via @SumisCakery

How's the Tribune-Review going to write up "5 bakeries you may not have heard of but need to try" without mentioning Squirrel Hill's Sumi's Cakery? The only conclusion is that everyone knows Sumi's by now.



Sumi's Cakery is a Korean bakery located at 2118 Murray Ave. (map).

Thursday, February 28, 2019

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Korean artist Hyesook Choi part of Material World exhibition at Pittsburgh Glass Center, March 1 through May 12.


From "The Power of Beauty."

Hyesook Choi is one of six artists participating in the Material World exhibition at Pittsburgh Glass Center from March 1 through May 12.
This multi-artist show will explore themes of consumerism, luxury, obsession, and materialism as they relate to popular culture and societal conventions.

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

North Korea and International Relations Panel, March 1 at Pitt.



The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will hold its next North Korea in Transition panel on March 1.
Join us for the first panel of the North Korea in Transition speaker series! This panel will focus on international relations, with discussion on North Korea's relationships with Japan, South Korea, China, the U.S., and East Asia as a whole. The goal of this panel is to develop a deeper understanding of the complex relations that have governed North Korea's interactions with the world not only by discussing politics, but by reaching beyond for a holistic perspective.
. . .
This panel will also attempt to build off of the Trump-Kim summit, being held just days before our event. Be sure to join us for this timely discussion!
Panelists are Weston Konishi of the US-Japan Council; Professor William Brown of Georgetown University and the Korea Economic Institute of America; and Lisa Collins, Korea Chair at the Center for Strategic & International Studies. The panel runs from 6:00 to 8:00 pm in 548 William Pitt Union (map) and is free and open to the public.

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Black and gold gloves for infielder Bae Ji-hwan.



Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop prospect Bae Ji-hwan (배지환) unveiled some new gloves on Instagram the other day. Bae is a 19-year-old prospect from Daegu, South Korea, who signed with Pittsburgh in March. He is currently in Florida preparing to attend spring training, though he is likely to peak at single-A this season.

Pachinko book discussion ahead of Min Jin Lee talk, March 28 at Pitt.


via minjinlee.com

Author Min Jin Lee's April 1 lecture is sold out, but the University of Pittsburgh's Global Studies Center is holding a discussion of Pachinko on March 28.

Monday, February 18, 2019

"North Korea in Transition" opening lecture, February 22 at Pitt.



The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Scott Snyder and his talk "North Korea in Transition" on February 22.

Saturday, February 16, 2019

A final good-bye for the old Kim's Coffee Shop?



Almost four years ago I posted some photos of a facade on Penn Ave. in Garfield made up with a pretty distinctively Korean look The eaves on 5447 Penn Ave. (map) are made to resemble a traditional Korean house, though it was actually a Vietnamese place opened in 1983 and run by Mai Hong Khuu until her cancer diagnosis and death in 2006. (Reviews from the last century commented on the windowless atmosphere, and even a 2004 City-Paper review feels especially dated, with Pittsburgh's increased familiarity with Vietnamese and Chinese over the last few years.)



A notice of condemnation was posted on February 12 where the door once was, warning of an "unsafe structure" and "imminent danger," with the solutions required by the notice either repair or demolition. The former restaurant, as well as the building above it, were purchased in 2012 by the nearby Pittsburgh Glass Center, with the intention of turning it into student and artist housing. However, by all indications the two spots have been empty since the restaurant closed nearly 13 years ago. It was sold in 2018 to an LLC run by Ghassan Bejjani, a neurosurgeon who purchased four other vacant homes on the same block in 2015 (under a different LLC) and a building across the street last year.


As seen in 2015.

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