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East Asia
The meaning of “jeong”
“Coming to Korea as a tourist is vastly different from actually living here.” Some say you can only truly know a country once you’ve passed a tourist’s honeymoon phase. And for Frederic Heng who hails from Singapore, the veil of his first impression of South Korea was gradually lifted over…
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East Asia
Dreaming big
She’s bubbly and energetic; she’s twenty-five. But it’s scary opening up a new chapter in your life. Change calls for courage, especially when you’re young and things are unsure. Still, Lee Young Jae has always been sure of her love for books and writing. She used to look at her…
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Society
“Eat up, stay warm”
You first put the water to boil, then you take your monkfish, shrimp, and handful of sea squirts. Throw them all in together. Mix in thick red chili paste and some garlic; a spoon of Korean soy sauce to taste. It doesn’t take much, just fresh fish from the market…and…
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Culture
[Book review] The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts
Dragons, ghosts, and cooked racoons—they were the backbone of her existence, and the only attachment she had to the culture of her first-generation Chinese immigrant parents. By calling forth memories of her childhood growing up a small Asian girl in California, Maxine Hong Kingston opens her family’s box of secrets…
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Culture
Paper, Present
Normalization of digital media brought with it the assumption that print mediums—paper—would soon become obsolete. The popularity of Kindle tablets certainly suggested this, and offline news sources often went unread as there was always the more easily accessible online version. But for some artists, paper has become more than useful.…
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East Asia
The world through a different lens
Yuna has been in Korea, now, for a year and a half, teaching English at a hagwon (cram school) to young students. It’s the typical rigorous academy that prepares students for the TOEFL exam and they are visibly stressed. But that could have been her. Back home in America, her…
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East Asia
From Inconvenience to Innovation
From Inconvenience to Innovation When you live without disability, you don’t experience the difficulties. But if you are part of the 15% of the global population (World Health Organization) struggling with some form of disability, then sometimes, even daily life can become painful routines. They may be a minority, but…
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East Asia
2018 World Journalist Forum and a Harmonious Korean Peninsula
In light of recent advancements in international relations with North Korea, the Journalists Association of Korea (JAK) hosted its annual World Journalists Conference from March 4th to 11th, 2018, in Seoul, South Korea, with the main theme revolving around the “Role of Journalists for Nuclear Disarmament of the Korean Peninsula”.…
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West Asia
[Book Review] Words and Tea
Until We Are Free Shirin Ebadi, Random House, 2016 “I have lost more than I ever thought possible, but I nevertheless thank God that even from exile I can still work to build my country.” Shirin Ebadi was only ever interested in human rights. It was her delight to sit…
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East Asia
The Right to Be Fat or the Right to Health?
No one likes fat-shaming. Our generation has it that people—all people—have the right to be whatever size they want, be it super slim or obese. The so-called “right to be fat” was clearly stated in anti-discrimination lawyer Yofi Tirosh’s 2012 article that “the law should recognize a new realm of…
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