From Girlybubble: This official licensed San-X design of Nyan Nyan Nyanko features a kitten masquerading as a bubble tea drink on a chocolate brown messenger bag. More »

The wise boys of Big Bang have certainly gone through many emotional pain and experiences in their lives as young idols. They want to create an impact for their V.I.Ps. So they made a list of 17 things the fans should know and experience in their own lives. The list was created for an interview with the Korean edition of Cosmopolitan Magazine, March 2010 issue. More »

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From Rekuru:

There is a certain narrative about teachers running through modern Japan. It seems to begin with the wise and kind-hearted Kinpachi-sensei, who helps his students through the troubles of their young lives. This is turned on its head with the malevolent Kinpatsu-sensei of Battle Royale, who forces his “students” to kill each other. Then you have Great Teacher Onizuka, the thickheaded biker punk with laughable dreams of becoming like Kinpachi-sensei but who nonetheless, through his good heart, helps his students through the troubles of their young lives. Finally, we have Koji Kumeta’s Zetsubou-Sensei (”Mr. Despair”) who, when not trying to kill himself, tries to convince his students that life is pointless. More »

The mass fear of catching swine flu has made Japan a bit paranoid lately. It’s not that I have had classrooms full of students wear masks, or that I can honestly say that there are some children I’ve never seen without masks, it’s just that I think people here have gone a bit… overboard. More »

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Everyone feels fat when they visit Japan. Everyone. Japan is the world’s skinniest industrialized nation thanks to a diet high in fish and some good old genetics. Still, this isn’t stopping lawmakers from trying to legislate waist lines in order to head off future health risks and medical costs. More »

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So you’re going to school soon? Why not head to Korea to Kyunghee University? Because all of the hot Kpop stars are going there. Did you graduate already? Oh hell who cares, get another degree because Son Dam Bi will be there. Don’t mind if I sit next to her in class, really I don’t. More »

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Forget Korea exists for just a moment. In fact, don’t even consider 2PM’s Jae Bum’s ethnic background and nationality. While we’re at it, let’s forget he’s a celebrity and the age he was when he said what he said to get him into trouble. I’ve been looking at different sides of the issue, examining where the hatred is stemming from and reading different opinions like the ones in today’s Seoul Beats’ op-ed.There’s still an unaddressed issue that is frustrating. It’s the issue of the use of the word “gay” as a descriptive word to mean “stupid” or “dumb.” More »

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Of all the huge transactions out there, Disney will buy Marvel for $4 Billion dollars. That is roughly 5,000 franchises.What does that mean to die hard Marvel fans? Random appearances of Mickey Mouse in Wolverine series animations? What about the video games? So far, Square Enix has been cross licensed with Disney creating a much better-than-expected game. Does that mean we’ll see Cloud team up with Mickey and Wolverine in the next Kingdom Hearts? More »

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Are you a Chinese parent with an extra $880 USD lying around? Send your kid to the Chongqing Children’s Palace to determine what your child might become. More »

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Racism is alive and well in New Zealand. New frickin Zealand! Ryotaro Wright was nearly killed when some high schooler took bullying a bit too far. He had to get emergency brain surgery just to be alive now. According to the article, he’s been going through this for four months but no one stopped it before it came to this. Makes me sad…

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My favorite airline, Asiana Airlines, has started screening two inflight animation videos on global etiquette recently. The airline’s objective is to provide its customers a travel 101 on how to behave on the plane and at a tourist site. The inflight animation was created by the same team that created Pucca, a famous Korean animation character. More »

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If you are one of those bitches who take ages to get ready for school/work in the morning, you should check out this video. It teaches you how to get ready and be out the door in 5 minutes, provided you take your shower the night before. More »

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Keio Academy of New York will host an open house this Saturday, April 18, for their “Digital Media Creation” summer program. It’s a fantastic two-week English and Japanese bilingual summer program for American and Japanese students. An impressive lineup of guest speakers has already been confirmed, including Yuji Nunokawa, producer of “Naruto” and “Bleach“. Not to mention, students get $200 off the program when mentioning Ningin! More »

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Over this past weekend, I attended an Asian American conference called ECAASU, which stands for East Coast Asian American Student Union, in New Brunswick, NJ. It was hosted by Rutgers University. It sounded very interesting, so I caravanned up there with some friends from the colleges of Old Dominion and VCU, coordinated by Janille De Guzman, Yul Kwon’s personal assistant. We had a great time learning and networking. I spoke with Calvin Sun of ECAASU National about ECAASU’s background. More »

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Recently, I sat down to read the graphic (comic book) novel, American Born Chinese. It is about the life of a Chinese-American boy named Jin who struggles with is identity as an Asian and especially as an Asian male in America. More »

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Well Ningin, this is the last part to my craziness in China. I encountered awesome things like Chinese television, Terra Cotta Soldiers, more museums, gardens, a new haircut, and an incredible aquarium. Heck, you guys even get to see me shop and get really bored and tired on an airplane (and kicking ass at tic-tac-toe while I’m at it). We all know how much fun that is! Lastly, you get to see me and my love of ice cream except… I’ve betrayed Haagen-Dazs. HUSH! I know, it’s so sad. It’s just that the Cold Stone Creamery seduced me with its closeness and sexy green tea ice cream. I swear, these videos are so full of drama, suspense, and just plain stupidity with a side of China. Of course, you all also get to see the last few outtakes. What’s an adventure without outtakes? More »

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Hello Ningin! I’m officially back from my ten day trip to China. During those ten days, I was able to visit three great cities in China: Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai in that order. It was my first time going to Asia and doing a study abroad trip so of course, I didn’t have my mom or dad there to bother me! It was one of the most fantastic experiences of my life and I would do it all again if I could!

While I was at the airport, I was accompanied by my mom, my brother, Jessica, and her boyfriend Carlos. Carlos was my cameraman and my sidekick for the trip so Jessica had to say her goodbyes before he left with me! More »

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Within the last several months, new images and videos have been released on the net. These images showcase Korean War from 1950 to 1953. Amongst images of combat, people, rubbles, and even celebrities like Bob Hope and Marilyn Monroe, seeing these pictures seem to make the war more real than surreal.

Pictures and videos are all here.

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This article is really insulting. The article is about how half of the Native English instructors in Korea didn’t renew their annual contract. I am not one of those English instructors here, but I found this entire paragraph very unpleasant:

Lee Young-chan, an education Ministry official in charge of native teachers said it was not necessary to renew every contract. “They are neither regular teachers nor lecturers who can conduct classes independently. They are ‘assistant teachers,’ hence their teaching experience doesn’t matter much,” he said. “Rather, it’s better for students to have more new teachers so that they can meet various kinds of foreigners,” he added.

More »

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Nowadays, more than 90% of Taiwanese citizens move on to attain higher education, and with a literacy rate of more than 90%, it’s safe to say the nation loves its learnin’. This year, the Ministry of Education has extended the love to elderly citizens, most of whom could not attend college because of financial and social issues. It looks like Grandpa and Grandma don’t get to walk away with a real degree, but they get to fully immerse themselves in a college environment for five days and four nights. It’s like a getaway for the academic brainiacs that could’ve been. More »

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