Parents’ Day in Korea: A letter to my parents
Hello Ami and Baba, Living alone has its perks. Who else in his 20s does not want to leave his home and explore the world? Apart from the morons who think travel is only for the rich. Thankfully, I am not one of them and now I am here in Korea. As today is […]
[Survey] Which city captures your heart?
Tourists of the world are all heading to Asia. About 200 million tourists visit Asia annually and based on the combined statistics of the ASEAN countries, about 100 million tourists visit Southeast Asia. A huge increase of migrants from other countries can be seen as well. Many are attracted by the cultural diversity and beautiful […]
Noodles, Asia’s favorite
Men and women, young and old all over the world enjoy food made with noodles made into hundreds, if not thousands of different types. Especially in Asia, as many types of noodles rise to popularity, national cuisine of different countries becomes popular as well. For example, Vietnam has pho (rice noodles), Japan has udon (think […]
World cities’ congress on sustainability to be held in Seoul in April
Coined to be the biggest network of cities in the world, the ICLEI World Congress (ICLEI, International Council for International Environmental Initiatives) will be held in Seoul, Korea from April 8 to 12. During the congress, cities of the world including Paris, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Heidelberg, Budapest, Guangzhou, Johannesburg, Edmonton, Melbourne, and Bogota among others will […]
Battle continues for Sri Lanka’s “people’s power”
With the world desperately looking for a workable template to overthrow corrupt politicians and change these political structures, the latest “people’s power” demonstration in Sri Lanka may provide another opportunity, but its success like others before is still uncertain with huge challenges ahead. Sri Lanka’s example of overthrowing the powerful long-serving President Mahinda Rajapakse through […]
After summarizing Lee Kuan Yew’s Autobiography
“Lee Kuan Yew… whom I both love and hate.” I do not particularly like Lee Kuan Yew. I have always been inclined to agree with the New York Times’ description of Singapore as a clean yet craven state. Since its formation in 1965, Singapore has failed to produce any person of note worthy beyond Lee […]
The Rise of Asian Middle Powers
Their Formation, Development, and the Future of Asia “Much have been said and written about the ‘rise’ of Asia, very little about Asia’s contribution to global governance,” says the Indian-born scholar Amitav Acharya in his 2011 publication. Not only do major powers of China, Japan and India, but also do South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and […]
Welcoming the New Year in the Philippines
Filipino Culture and Traditions in Celebrating the New Year After all the festivities during Christmas, the New Year is widely seen as the closure of the holiday season for Filipinos. Traditionally, the celebration extends to the Feast of the Three Kings, a celebration signifying the arrival of the three kings from the Orient to Bethlehem […]
Preparations on-going for Papal Visit to the Philippines in 2015
Pope Francis will be visiting the Philippines from January 15 to 19, 2015. In an announcement last November 12, it was officially announced that the primate of the Roman Catholic church is scheduled to visit the Southeast Asian country next month. He will be coming after a visit to Sri Lanka. Manila Archbishop Luis Tagle […]
International Conference discuss Korea in Eurasian Civilization
“In the fast changing global order, research on peace initiatives and happiness is important for Eurasia,” says Northeast Asian History Foundation (NAHF) President Kim Hak-jun (Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Asia Journalist Association) at a conference entitled ‘Eurasian Civilization and the Silk Road” held at the Seoul Press Center last December 10th. […]