Tickets now available for "Yeonmi Park: A North Korean Girl’s Journey to Freedom," March 20 at Kelly Strayhorn Theater.

North Korean defector, author, and activist Yeonmi Park will speak at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty on March 20. Tickets are now available at $25 for students and military, $40 for general admission, and $85 for VIP.

"Where Goes The Neighborhood? Japan and the Rise of Asia" March 5 downtown.

The World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh and Japan America Society of Pennsylvania will present "Where Goes The Neighborhood? Japan and the Rise of Asia" on March 5.

Join us for a lively discussion with two well-known experts on the evolving Japan-US alliance and its impact on security and trade in Asia.

The US-Japan alliance has provided one of the foundations for decades of security and freedom in Asia. But, the neighborhood is changing: Japan is experiencing significant strategic and diplomatic challenges from China, faces increasingly aggressive North Korean weapons development and testing, and has an uncertain relationship with South Korea.

While the U.S. continues to be Japan’s main partner and ally, it has withdrawn from the major Pacific free trade pact, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), after completing negotiations with Japan. As uncertainty in the region abounds, Japan considers how to work effectively with the U.S. but also how to chart its course as a leader and a balancer in Asia.

The event is free but registration is required and can be done online; breakfast is required. It runs from 8:00 to 9:30 am at the Rivers Club on Grant Street (map).

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.

Highest-grossing Chinese film of 2019 The Wandering Earth (流浪地球) in Pittsburgh through March 6.

The new Chinese movie The Wandering Earth (流浪地球), which opened in Pittsburgh on February 5 for the Lunar New Year, will stay in town through at least Wednesday, March 6. The South China Morning Post summarizes the movie, considered China's first big-budget science fiction film.

The film portrays how a group of intrepid Chinese astronauts save the world from the brink of annihilation due to the imminent destruction of the sun. Like Hollywood space movies where Americans are portrayed as the only ones capable of saving humanity, here Chinese astronauts are the sole adventurers among the global space community determined to complete the arduous task of fending off the apocalypse.

In spite of such overt patriotism, the film is spectacular for its ceaseless stream of hair-raising close-shave encounters and apocalyptic landscapes oozing desolation and despair. There is also a touching subplot involving family bonds at the centre of the mission to save the earth.

The film is the highest-grossing movie of the year in China so far, and #2 of all-time there behind 2017's Wolf Warrior 2 (战狼2).

Tickets are available online via Fandango. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

2012 Japanese film Thermae Romae (テルマエ・ロマエ) begins Maridon Museum's Spring Film Fest, March 14.

The Spring Film Series begins at the Maridon Museum in Butler on March 14 with the 2012 film Thermae Romae (テルマエ・ロマエ).

Progress on Oakland's TW Kitchen (台味廚坊).

A good amount of progress has been made on TW Kitchen (台味廚坊), a new Taiwanese restaurant coming to North Oakland. Signage first went up in December for the place offering "Taiwanese style bentos, noodles, soup, and more," and though it has not opened yet there is a new awning and signage. It will be located at 192 N. Craig St. (map), in what was most recently Millennial Cupcake and Parfait Bar.

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.

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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.

Lost in Ramen (ラーメン食いてぇ！) added to Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival.

The 2018 film Lost in Ramen (ラーメン食いてぇ！) is the latest addition to the 2019 Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival at the Row House Cinema this March and April. The Anime News Network has a synopsis:

The manga's story centers on a ramen shop owner who decides to close his shop after his wife passes away; a food critic who gets stranded in the mountainous area of Xinjiang, China while doing research; and a female high school student who contemplates suicide due to the cruelty of her classmates. A bowl of ramen links them together as they restart their lives.

The movie will be part of the theater's Ramen Fest on March 29, with noodles from Lawrenceville's Ki Ramen. Tickets for the two screenings, and for the other films, are coming soon.

Yanlai Dance Academy spring performance "Drifting Feathers," March 2.

Yanlai Dance Academy will present this spring's performance "Drifting Feathers" on March 2.

This year, our dances range from classical Chinese dance of Hang Dynasty of 2 thousands of years ago - to ethnic folk dances of Xin Jiang, Mongol, Tibet, and Dai dance, where our audience will see the world of enthusiasm and passion. We hope our audience will enjoy the colorful, beautiful costumes, and the joyful and deep music.

The performance starts at 6:00 pm at the August Wilson Center in the Cultural District (map) and tickets are available online.

Japanese Pitt alumni to speak on "Careers in International Trade and Development," "Entrepreneurship in Japan" on March 5.

The University of Pittsburgh's International Business Center will host two talks on March 5 with Japanese alumni on the topics of international trade and entrepreneurship in Japan.