Korean Heritage Room dedication ceremony at Pitt, November 15.

Via the Pitt News. For more on the room's development, browse the PennsylAsia archives.

Today's Pitt Chronicle has a lengthy write-up on the Korean Heritage Room in the Cathedral of Learning ahead of the dedication ceremony on November 15.

Speakers at the ceremony will include University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Emeritus Mark A. Nordenberg as well as Ho Young Ahn, South Korea’s ambassador to the United States, and E. Maxine Bruhns, director of Pitt’s Nationality Rooms and Intercultural Exchange Programs. In addition, the Korean Heritage Classroom Committee—a group of local Korean-American citizens who oversaw the classroom’s funding efforts—will present a ceremonial key to Nordenberg. The presentation, lead by Sang C. Park, symbolizes the committee gifting the classroom to the University. Park is cochair of the Korean Heritage Classroom committee and a respected pediatric cardiologist. David Kim, an international business leader and committee cochair, will serve as the Master of Ceremonies.

The festival will feature performances by local Korean-American talent as well as entertainers from abroad. Notable performers will include the Maryland-based Korean Performing Arts Academy of America, the Korean Pittsburgh Women’s Chorus, the Young Brothers Tae Kwon Do Academy, and the internationally acclaimed Korean Children’s Choir from Seoul, South Korea. Authentic Korean food and crafts will be available, and Pitt’s Quo Vadis Guides—Nationality Room student tour guides with extensive knowledge of each room—will lead tours of the Korean Heritage Classroom.

. . .

The Korean Heritage Classroom’s design was inspired by the “Myeongnyundang”—the Hall of Enlightenment that was the main lecture hall of South Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University. Founded in 1398, Sungkyunkwan served as Korea’s “royal academy” and was the region’s foremost institution of higher education for nearly two centuries. The university still operates today (with modernized facilities), and the lecture hall continues to be used for special ceremonial events. It is recognized throughout Asia as a prominent historical monument.

Like the Hall of Enlightenment, the Korean Heritage Classroom depicts three connected rooms. The center room is longer with a lofty ceiling. Sungkyunkwan officials used the center room for ceremonies, lectures, rituals, and other important public events. The two smaller adjoining rooms were used for faculty research and private meetings.

As the article says, the day's events begin with a dedication ceremony in Heinz Chapel at 2:30, followed by a Korean cultural festival in the Commons Room (first floor of the Cathedral of Learning) at 3:30 and accompanied by tours of the room all day on the 15th. The Cathedral of Learning is a 42-story building located at 4200 Fifth Ave. (map) in Oakland.

Combined JASP Japanese Language Exchange and Japanese-English Reading Circle group meeting, November 7 in Shadyside.

The Japan-America Society of Pennsylvania will host a combined meeting of its Japanese Language Exchange and Japanese-English Reading Circle groups on Saturday, November 7, in Shadyside.

If you want to improve your Japanese language skills AND reading skills in the same area, you are most welcome to join us. This is a great chance to meet with Japanese residents of Pittsburgh and talk/read with your peers so that everyone can learn something new. Refreshments will be provided, as well as reading materials at every level will be provided

The event runs from 4:30 to 6:30 pm. Like the other Japanese Language Exchange meetings with the JASP, it will be held in Kenmawr Apartments, located at 401 Shady Ave. (map). It runs from 4:00 to 6:00 pm in the Community Room and is free and open to the public.

Pittsburgh Sakura Project Fall Planting Day, November 7 at North Park.

Kazuko Macher's entry placed second in the Pittsburgh Sakura Project's 2013 photo contest.

The Pittsburgh Sakura Project will hold its 7th annual Fall Planting Day on Saturday, November 7, at North Park. The group plans to plant an additional 15 trees this fall near the Boathouse (map) from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm. Those interested in participating should RSVP via the event's Facebook page or by emailing PittsburghSakuraProject at gmail.com. Equipment will be provided, but work clothes and gloves are recommended.

Anthem of the Heart (心が叫びたがってるんだ。) at Hollywood Theater, November 4.

The Hollywood Theater in Dormont will show the 2015 Japanese animated movie Anthem of the Heart (心が叫びたがってるんだ。) on November 4. The synopsis, from the movie's official site:

Jun Naruse is a girl who carries the guilt of breaking up her family with the words she carelessly uttered when she was young…

Suddenly, a mysterious “Egg Fairy” appears in front of Jun and casts a curse on her so that she can never hurt anybody with her words. Jun’s ability to speak is sealed away: every time she tries, she feels a pain in her stomach. Traumatized by this experience, Jun hides her feelings deep inside of her heart, turning to e-mail messages on her mobile phone as her sole means of communication.

Jun is now a second year high school student. One day, her homeroom teacher appoints Jun and three other students as members of the Regional Friendship Exchange Executive Committee. As it turns out, the appointed group is a rather unexpected mix of students. Other than Jun, the members of the Committee are Takumi Sakagami, the burn-out who never speaks his true intentions; Daiki Tasaki, the former baseball team ace who failed his run at the Championships due to an injury; and Natsuki Nito, the cheerleader and honor student who has some concerns about her love life. They all suffer from emotional trauma just like Jun.

The movie was released in Japan on September 19. Tickets are available online for the 7:30 pm show. The theater is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station.

Nobody Knows (誰も知らない) at Maridon Museum, November 5.

The Maridon Museum will show 2004's Nobody Knows (誰も知らない) on November 5 as the fourth and final installment in this fall's Japanese film series. A brief introduction, from a 2005 Roger Ebert review:

As "Nobody Knows" opens, we watch a mother and two kids moving into a new apartment. They wrestle some heavy suitcases up the stairs. When the movers have left, they open the suitcases and release two younger children, who are a secret from the landlord. "Remember the new rules," the mother says. "No going outside. Not even on the veranda -- except for Kyoko, to do the laundry."

The movie starts at 6:00 pm, runs 141 minutes, and is presented by Dr. Yukako Ishimaru of Slippery Rock University. The movies in the series are free and open to the public, though reservations are required and can be made by calling 724-282-0123.

The Maridon, an Asian art museum, is located at 322 North McKean St. in downtown Butler (map), roughly 40 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Post-Gazette on "the state of sushi in Pittsburgh".

With Sushi Kim set to close, and with Fukuda gone for over a year now, Melissa McCart at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looks at "the state of sushi in Pittsburgh". It has nice things to say about unheralded local favorites Chaya, Kiku, and Umi, among others, and says of perennial "best sushi" winner Nakama:

too much party, not enough care

With Sushi Kim leaving, it also expands the Korean BBQ void a bit. I wrote in early 2014, upon the closing 영빈관, that Korean barbecue is not long for Pittsburgh, and that three of the four BBQ joints mentioned in a 2004 Post-Gazette review were now closed:

Unfortunately, few joints offer Korean barbecue in Pittsburgh; Sushi Kim, Jimmy's Korean Grill at Jimmy Tsang's and Ginza are the noble few.

Pittsburgh Ginkgo Fest, November 7.

Tree Pittsburgh will hold its first Pittsburgh Ginkgo Fest on Saturday, November 7, in Highland Park. The event runs from 1:00 to 4:00 at Maple Grove Shelter, next to the wooden Super Playground (map).

Join Tree Pittsburgh for our first ever Pittsburgh Ginkgo Fest to celebrate the oldest species of tree in the world and the beautiful fall colors of Highland Park! The festival will feature a performance by Pittsburgh Taiko (Japanese group taiko drumming), crafts and origami activities, children's story time, face painting, tree ID walks and photos in front of Pittsburgh's largest ginkgo tree.

Ginkgo trees are renowned for their medicinal properties, their outstanding urban tolerance, and their edible nuts. The ginkgo tree species dates back to over 200 million years.

"Asia on Screen: Everyday Media Comportment: Living Between Infrastructures" at Pitt, October 30.

On October 30, the University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present the next installment in its Asia on Screen Series, "Everyday Media Comportment: Living Between Infrastructures" with Thomas Lamarre of McGill University.

This presentation proposes to explore the relations between three distinct yet overlapping infrastructures in contemporary Tokyo: broadcast television, mobile phones or keitai, and the commuter train network. The basic aim is to how consider the lived experience of polarized medial tendencies between and across these infrastructures. While a variety of everyday comportments have arisen between broadcast television and keitai, there are sites and moments where comportment seems to reach a limit, and life across polarized
tendencies feel impossible, unworkable.

The event will be held in Conference Room A of the University Club (map) from 4:00 pm, and is free and open to the public.

Chinese movie The Witness (我是证人) in Pittsburgh, from October 29.

The 2015 Chinese movie The Witness (我是证人) will open at the AMC Loew's Waterfront theater on October 29. A remake of the 2011 Korean movie Blind (블라인드), The Witness stars former member of K-pop group EXO Lu Han and Chinese singer Yang Mi,

[the movie is] about a blind girl and young boy who accidentally become the witnesses of a rainy night kidnapping, however, their testimonies are entirely contradictory.

Tickets and showtimes are available at the AMC Loews Waterfront website. The Witness continues the recent trend of new Chinese movies coming to Western Pennsylvania via the Waterfront: Saving Mr. Wu (解救吾先生) and Lost in Hong Kong (港囧) opened on October 2, and Goodbye Mr. Loser (夏洛特烦恼) on October 16.

Japanese punk band Peelander-Z at Brillobox, November 12; in Morgantown, November 11.

Japanese punk band Peelander-Z will play at Brillobox in Lawrenceville on November 12. Wikipedia provides an overview of their shows:

They perform on stage and appear in color-coordinated costumes, which they state are not costumes, but their skin. The costumes range from sentai style suits, to kimono, to rubber Playmobil style wigs. There is also a tiger costume and a giant squid/guitar costume to coincide with the song "Mad Tiger". Another aspect of their routine is their on-stage antics such as human bowling (diving head-first into bowling pins), pretending to hit each other with chairs in imitation of pro-wrestlers, and mid-performance piggyback rides. They often allow audience members on stage to join in on the fun, and often dive into the audience or hang from a balcony as part of their act.

They most recently played in Pittsburgh in 2013 and 2014. Doors open at 9:00, the music starts at 9:30, and tickets are $10 for the 21-and-over show. Brillobox is located at 4104 Penn Ave. (map), about a block from Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

"Talking About Asia: The Late Prehistory of Northeast Asia" with Dr. Sungjoo Lee at Pitt, October 27.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center and the Department of Anthropology present Dr. Sungjoo Lee, a professor of Archaeology and Anthropology at Kyungpook National University in South Korea and his talk "Talking About Asia: The Late Prehistory of Northeast Asia" on October 27.

How have nationalist interpretations of Northeast Asian archaeology impacted academic research in Asia? Professor Sungjoo Lee explores this critical question by analyzing the current conceptualization of the Bronze Age in Korea. Current research in population dynamics and relocation of Bronze Age settlements, the construction of monumental burials, and the development of cultural environments are rapidly changing these politically-charged interpretations. His own research will illustrate how center-periphery relations of Northeast Asia were impacted by the rapid and compressive cultural changes in the late prehistory of Korea across the region.

The talk will start at 4:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (map), and is free and open to the public.

Cemetery of Splendor (รักที่ขอนแก่น), Mountains May Depart (山河故人) at 3 Rivers Film Fest in November.

The annual 3 Rivers Film Fest announced its complete 2015 lineup today, and it includes two Asian movies: Thailand's Cemetery of Splendour (รักที่ขอนแก่น) and China's Mountains May Depart (山河故人). A summary of 2015's Cemetery of Splendour, from the 3RFF site:

Soldiers with a mysterious sleeping sickness are transferred to a temporary clinic in a former school. The memory-filled space becomes a revelatory world for housewife and volunteer Jenjira, as she watches over Itt, a handsome soldier with no family visitors. Jen befriends young medium Keng who uses her psychic powers to help loved ones communicate with the comatose men. Doctors explore ways, including colored light therapy, to ease the men’s troubled dreams. Jen discovers Itt’s cryptic notebook of strange writings and blueprint sketches. There may be a connection between the soldiers’ enigmatic syndrome and the mythic ancient site that lies beneath the clinic. Magic, healing, romance, and dreams are all part of Jen’s tender path to a deeper awareness of herself and the world around her.

And of 2015's Mountains May Depart, from a review in The Guardian:

[The] movie is split into three parts, taking place in 1999, in 2014 and in 2025. We begin with a bunch of people dancing to the Pet Shop Boys’ Go West, and as the new century and millennium dawns, the movie shows China more or less obsessed with doing that: going West, embracing capitalism while at the same retaining the monolithic state structures of the past, and beginning to worship consumer goods as status symbols: stereos, cars, and perhaps most importantly mobile phones — a technology which the film shows retaining its fetishistic power for the next quarter-century.

Both films will have two screenings, starting on November 7. The festival runs from November 6 through November 15 at five theaters around Pittsburgh. Showtimes and ticket information are available at the 3RFF website.

Sushi Kim to close after 25 years.

The Pittsburgh Business Times writes on Wednesday that Sushi Kim, one of only a handful of restaurants in Pittsburgh with a Korean menu, will close after 25 years in the Strip District.

[Real estate director David Glickman] described Sushi Kim as one of the early purveyors of sushi in Pittsburgh.

“That’s a long run that they’ve had,” he said. “Not many restaurants in Pittsburgh are successful for 25 years.”

Yong Kim, the owner of the restaurant, is selling so that he can retire, said Glickman.

Sushi Kim is located at 1241 Penn Ave. on the west edge of the Strip District (map) and was voted the best sushi in Pittsburgh by readers of the Pittsburgh City Paper in 2003.

"How Pittsburgh is Growing America's Next Great Chinatown".

Sign from Pittsburgh's Chinatown bus station. The remnants of Pittsburgh's former Chinatown are downtown.

Food critic Melissa McCart of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes for Saveur that Pittsburgh's Chinese student population is leading to an improve Chinese restaurant scene. Today's article borrows from McCart's July 9 Post-Gazette piece and profiles the people behind Everyday Noodles, Sakura, and Chengdu Gourmet, three restaurants in Squirrel Hill.

Pittsburgh sits at the gateway to the Midwest and the crux of the Appalachian mountains, with more bridges than Venice, a vibrant arts community, and a growing restaurant scene. But the city has not been known for its national diversity, with a 2010 census showing that only 4 percent of residents were born abroad.

That's changing now as schools like University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon, Duquesne University, and Point Park University are attracting more international students from Asia—especially China. Five years ago, Pittsburgh universities counted under 1,000 Chinese students in their undergraduate and graduate programs combined; today more than 5,000 Chinese students, and several thousand more residents, call Pittsburgh home—a number that's expected to keep growing.

The surge in diversity has sparked changes in restaurant kitchens around the city, with Chinese-American and pan-Asian restaurants recruiting Chinese chefs with the help of overseas government agencies, cooking schools, and placement services in New York in order to get cooks with the cultural literacy and specialized skills to serve more regional Chinese cuisine.

Chinese movies Goodbye Mr. Loser (夏洛特烦恼), Coming Home (归来) in Pittsburgh through October 29.

Two Chinese movies---2015's Goodbye Mr. Loser (夏洛特烦恼) and 2014's Coming Home (归来)---will continue their runs in Pittsburgh through October 29.

Chinese filmmaker Xu Xing at Pitt, October 23 and 24.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center and Film Studies Program will host Chinese filmmaker Xu Xing on October 23 and 24 for "Asia on Screen: Lost in History or Omitted by It?", the latest installment in this term's "Asia on Screen Series".

On Friday, October 23, at 1:00 pm, the documentary Summary of Crimes (罪行摘要) will play at 121 Lawrence Hall (map):

Xu Xing's documentary searches for a group of peasants from the lowest stratum who were labeled "active counter-revolutionaries" during the Cultural Revolution era (1966-1976). They have been left with no means to recount what they suffered decades before, or to tell what has befallen them since. As the years pass, they have simply been forgotten.

A roundtable discussion with Xu follows at 3:45.

Panelists include Edward M. Gunn (Cornell University), Paola Iovene (University of Chicago), Kun Qian (University of Pittsburgh), Jinying Li (University of Pittsburgh)

On the 24th, a lecture by Xu and a screening of two films in Conference Room A of the University Club (map):

Filmmaker Xu Xing will give a lecture about his journey to documentary filmmaking. A Chronicle of My Cultural Revolution film screening will start at 10:40 am followed by a screening of 5+5 at 2:00 pm.

All events are free and open to the public.

"Bilingual Japanese Product Classification Analyst -- Onsite At Google" position in Pittsburgh.

HCL America has a position available for a Bilingual Japanese Product Classification Analyst position onsite at the Google offices in Larimer / Shadyside. The job posting, via Dice.com:

Vietnam-based The Propeller Group at Carnegie Museum of Art, October 23 through March 21, 2016; Reception and Artist Talk on October 22.

The Carnegie Museum of Art will host The Propeller Group Reception and Artist Talk on Thursday, October 22, the day before the collective's exhibition at the museum begins.

Join Matt Lucero, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, and Phunam Tuc of The Propeller Group for a theatrical screening of their entrancing video The Living Need Light, the Dead Need Music (2014; 21 min.) in the CMOA theater. Following the screening, the artists will discuss their work-and connections between the Vietnamese brass band processionals portrayed in the video and New Orleans jazz funerals-with special guest Dr. Matt Sakakeeny of Tulane University.

The museum's website summarizes The Living Need Light, The Dead Need Music, which runs from October 23 through March 21, 2016.

The Living Need Light, The Dead Need Music is a spectacular visual and musical journey through the fantastical funerary traditions of South Vietnam.

Created by artist collective The Propeller Group, the video follows brass band musicians, spiritual mediums, professional criers, and street performers through the mournful and euphoric public ceremonies of a multi-day wake: a set of colorful rituals that resonate with funeral traditions in New Orleans and other parts of the “global south.”

Part documentary and part visionary reenactment, the video is a poetic rumination on life, death, and the stages in between. Ultimately, the work speaks across languages and cultures, amplifying a sense of cultural interconnection, and appealing to universal foundations of myth, storytelling, and mourning. Shot in ultra-high definition video, and produced with the technical sophistication of a Hollywood film, it immerses viewers in a lush and captivating dreamlike atmosphere.

The Carnegie Museum of Art is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. in Oakland (map).

1964 Japanese horror anthology Kwaidan (怪談) at Maridon Museum, October 23.

The Maridon Museum wll show the 1964 horror film Kwaidan (怪談) on October 23 as the third installment in this fall's Japanese film series. A 1965 New York Times review said of it:

"Kwaidan" is a symphony of color and sound that is truly past compare. It is also well acted in a technique of Japanese gestures by a large and orderly cast, the most conspicuous and memorable of whom is Katsuo Nakamura as the blind ballad singer. It is a film that commends itself mainly to those viewers who can appreciate rare subtlety and grace.

The movie starts at 6:00 pm, runs 183 minutes, and is presented by Dr. William Covey of Slippery Rock University. The movies in the series are free and open to the public, though reservations are required and can be made by calling 724-282-0123.

The Maridon, an Asian art museum, is located at 322 North McKean St. in downtown Butler (map), roughly 40 miles north of Pittsburgh.

"Mystical Arts of Tibet" at IUP, October 19 to 26.

Video from a 2011 event at IUP.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania will host "Mystical Arts of Tibet" from October 19 through 26.

From October 19 to October 26, 10 Tibetan monks will be in residence at IUP to construct a sand mandala (representation of the universe), carve a butter sculpture, put on three short performances of Tibetan chanting and dance, and give four lectures.

Visitors may also participate in the community sand art (using the same implements as the monks do when they construct a mandala) make a peace flag, color in mandalas, and help put together mandala puzzles. Unless otherwise noted, all events and activities take place in the HUB Ohio Room. All events are free.

A full schedule is available at the IUP Department of Religious Studies page.

"Storytime: Japanese and English" at Carnegie Library in East Liberty, October 20.

The next installment of the monthly program "Storytime: Japanese and English" will take place on October 20 at the Carnegie Library in East Liberty.

Celebrate our city's diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in both English and Japanese. For children ages 2-5 and their parents or caregivers.

It runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am. The library is located at 130 S. Whitfield St. (map).