Feature Article Archives

Cell Phones Boost English Studies

Kim Tae-gyu

Job seekers and high-school students in Korea have good news--they can study the Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) and essay exams conveniently through their cell phones. KTF, Korea’s second-largest wireless operator, Monday started providing educational content regarding TOEIC and essay exams.

Family Holiday Traditions and Living Abroad

Betsy Burlingame

Spending the holidays abroad can be a recipe for homesickness, but it doesn't have to be. In a recent survey on ExpatExchange.com, expatriates shared how they learned to love the holidays while living overseas. Mixing traditions, celebrating with new friends and maybe even getting a little help from DHL were just a few of their suggestions.

Blade to the Heat: Yash Shah's Performance

Vanita Kothari

Recently, the upsurge of Asians in mainstream performing arts has been more than noticeable--no wonder talented performers like Yash Shah and Stephen Chan are being scrutinized and recruited by leading actors' agencies.

Spectacular Chinese New Year Show Coming to Philadelphia!

Sharif Roach

Chinese New Year is the most important cultural holiday celebrated by Chinese Americans. New Tang Dynasty Television, the Greater Philadelphia Asian Culture Center, and the Delaware Asian Culture Center unite to bring NTDTV's 2007 Chinese New Year Spectacular to Philadelphia. With hundreds of performers, thousands of volunteers and a potential viewing audience of over 200 million worldwide, NTDTV brings its message of love, hope and traditional values to audiences on four continents.

The First Gagaku Training Program Outside Japan

The Institute for Medieval Japanese Studies at Columbia

Gagaku is the oldest continuous orchestral music in the world today with a history in Japan of more than 1300 years. It is comprised of many musical traditions and influences that traveled the ancient Silk Road from the Middle East through Central Asia, Tibet, China, and Korea, culminating in Japan.

Event Organizers Bank on South Asian Talent and Passion

Vanita Kothari

Younger generation South Asians are bursting with energy to show off their talent in the "desi" performing arts realm. Whether it's performing to a form of South Asian classical dance, Bollywood film, Bhangra, or Raas-garba, organizers have observed a trend for the passion of dance, and are building platforms to showcase such talented individuals, especially for the collegiate crowd. In fact, it seems that there is a dance competiton (or event) every weekend - with large sums of cash prizes, prominent media attention, and winner's pride luring these dance teams (or individuals) to compete.

CEOs in Korea Press for English Education Reform

Cho Jin-Seo

So far, TOEIC, short for the Test of English for International Communication, has been most widely used as the official English test in job recruiting in South Korea since it was first introduced in 1982. As it only evaluates the reading and listening skills of the test takers, companies have complained that it does not reflect the actual English skill of the participants. An increasing number of companies began to recruit new workers through person-to-person interviews and internship programs over the past years.

Japanese Artists' Books on Display for First Time at The New York Public Library

The New York Public Library

The Japanese literary tradition, dating from as early as the 8th century, is among the richest and most enduring of any country in the world, and ehon--or "picture books"--are one of the glories of world art. The New York Public Library's new exhibition, Ehon: The Artist and the Book in Japan, calls attention to the Library's world-renowned holdings of Japanese books, prints, and manuscripts. Opened on October 20, 2006, Ehon includes approximately 280 objects, including books with printed illustrations, manuscripts, drawings, woodblock prints, and photographs.

Chinese-American Planning Council to Host an HIV/AIDS Conference

Sumon Chin

The Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) and CPC HIV/AIDS Services will be hosting a groundbreaking conference entitled “Effective HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care Strategies in Asian & Pacific Islander Communities in the US and China: Persistent Challenges and Promising Future” in collaboration with China AIDS Fund and New York University School of Medicine’s Center for AIDS Research.

China Growth Conference on Opportunities and Risks in China for US Investors

Leslie Wolf-Creutzfeldt

Adam Friedman Associates LLC, (AFA), a leading New York-based communications consultancy specializing in investor relations and financial communications, announced an exciting lineup of speakers at its second annual China Growth Conference to be held on October 17th and 18th at the Princeton Club in New York. The participants will share their insights and experiences about doing business in China today.

Social Entrepreneurs on the Cutting Edge: the National Congress of Vietnamese Americans

Maria Huynh

Hung Nguyen started his public service career in an unexpected place—a seminary. As the eldest son in a family of five children, Hung entered a Catholic seminary in Los Angeles when he was 13 years old. In serving the Roman Catholic Church, he also served the community by working with troubled youths and families in Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley. Today, he has devoted over 20 years of working in public service and continues to tirelessly advocate on behalf of Vietnamese Americans.

India: A Superpower in the Making?

Jeffrey R. Ambrose

The rise of this growing nation will change the balance of power in Asia. Read an excerpt from one expert's exploration of India's potential.

AOL Launches Chinese Language AOL.com Portal for United States Market

David Liu

Free web portal specifically geared for the Chinese American and Chinese-Speaking community in the U.S. provides e-mail, news, web search, and free full-length video programming covering news, sports and entertainment.

Did you know?

Vanita Kothari

Quick facts about Asian Americans

Kip Fulbeck: Part Asian, 100% Hapa Explores Perceptions of Identity, Questions Notions of Race

Chris Komai

Artist kip fulbeck photographed over 1,000 individuals of multiracial backgrounds, asked each subject to respond to the question most often asked of hapa (people of mixed-race background): "What Are You?"

The Sun Does Not Discriminate: The Vision of Sara Ting

AD Magazine

In 1985, Sara Ting, a poet, educator, diversity consultant, trainer, and visionary, asked a simple, profound question through a multimedia public service campaign: “Are you greater than the sun that shines on everyone; black, brown, yellow, red and white? The sun does not discriminate.”

Community Resources for Entrepreneurs

AD Report

Many experts have reasoned that one of the quickest paths to true equal opportunity is through economic empowerment. The Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO), originally established in 1966 to promote economic growth in the African-American business community, has since then expanded its vision to become a one-stop resource center for all minority business owners. Another, more recent community resource is the Asian-American Entrepeneur’s Network (AEN), founded by Ramon Gil, managing director of Fresh Concentrate.

Unity in Diversity: Aon Corporation

Profiles of Diversity Leaders

Aon, a Gaelic word for “unity”, is an especially apt name for Aon Corporation, a global Chicago-based insurance brokerage and consulting company. Recently appointed as Aon Corporation’s first chief diversity officer, Corbette Doyle, along with Jean Liu, the head of the Asian Pacific Islander Networking Group, spoke with AD Magazine about their vision, plans, and thoughts about diversity at Aon. One might summarize by defining the value of diversity as at the very heart of unity. It is the mutual appreciation of differences and individual uniqueness that unites the Aon community.

LIDS: Through the Asian Lens

Diana Lee

Blepharoplasty is the type of plastic surgery that creates the “double eyelid” absent in approximately 50% of eastern Asians. The startling popularity of this surgical procedure among Asian women has been noted, criticized, and perhaps over-simplified as a racially charged desire to look Western. In creating Lids: Through the Asian Lens, a documentary about the history and socio-cultural implications of this phenomenon, independent filmmaker Regina Park realized that the issue demanded deeper consideration.

Lawmaker Urges Stricter English Teacher Evaluation Program

Jung Sung-ki

When South Korea suffered an economic downturn in the late 1990s following the Asian financial crisis, one business in the country still flourished. What was it? The English language education business.