Sunday, June 19, 2005

Korean Entertainment Fair, Kinokuniya Bookstore, Kawasaki

Posted by: hcpen1111

Korean Entertainment Fair, Kinokuniya Bookstore, Kawasaki

Please click pic for more photos.

Korean Entertainment Book Fair at Kinokuniya

Posted by: hcpen1111
Korean Entertainment Book Fair at Kinokuniya

Chinese Almond Drink Ad at McDonalds

Posted by: hcpen1111
Chinese Almond Drink Ad at McDonalds
It seems that Chinese food is really popular in Japan, besides Chinese restaurants being found everywhere, and i mean literally everywhere, from your neighbourhood Chuka Ryori Ten to the upper class restaurants at sought after locations such as Ginza, Aoyama, and Odaiba.....Not only is Chinese food popular in Japan and located EVERYWHERE, Chinese desserts are very popular too...there is now a book on Chinese desserts shops and also as evidence of the popularity of Chinese food, Annin Tofu (a type of Chinese dessert) is popular in some Izakayas and McDonald's now sells Annin Drink also for a special period....I also saw a fast food chain selling Chinese GuaPao which shows how popular Chinese food is with the Japanese.....which is good since Japanese food is popular in Chinese-speaking areas such as Taiwan, HK and Singapore also.

KoreaTown, Kawasaki

Posted by: hcpen1111

KoreaTown, Kawasaki

I went to Koreatown in Kawasaki today and it was really, really quiet and deserted, a far cry from bustling Yokohama Chinatown....had lunch at Yakiniku place owned by a Zainichi Korean (Japanese-Korean).....Kawasaki has Japan's largest concentration of Japanese of Korean ethnicity after Osaka, which has the biggest Korean population in Japan..

Saturday, June 18, 2005

Dance of Love (Korean)

Posted by: hcpen1111
Dance of Love (Korean)
A hit this year in Korea about a Chinese-Korean girl from YanBian (Yongbon) in China travelling to Seoul for a dance competition to replace her sister and finding love along the way....for those who don't know, there is a large Korean minority in Northeastern China numbering about 1 million and the Chinese-Korean minority in China is in fact the second largest overseas Korean population after America. It could even be the largest if the illegal North Korean refugee population in China is included...

Hong Kong on Fire 1941 (1994)

Posted by: hcpen1111

Hong Kong on Fire 1941 (1994)

1945 August....Japan lost the war and Hong Kong is liberated...

Hong Kong on Fire 1941 (1994)

Posted by: hcpen1111

Hong Kong on Fire 1941 (1994)

Another memorable scene in the film:

Japanese soldiers are chasing after the two sisters....they run to their childhood hiding place, an underground small basement below the wooden planks of the bedroom.

'Come down, quick'

'We have grown up, there is only room for one person now..'

As Mong Dai tries to drag her sister down, her sister knowing that the japanese will not be satisfied not finding both girls removes her hand and shuts the basement door shut.....

Hong Kong on Fire 1941 (1994)

Posted by: hcpen1111
Hong Kong on Fire 1941 (1994)
Shun Dai and Shum Fong separated by the glass door....

Hong Kong on Fire 1941 (1994)

Posted by: hcpen1111

Hong Kong on Fire 1941 (1994)

Memorable scene in the film:

'Why did you want to sacrifice yourself' 'don't u know how to resist???' 'why?' 'why?' 'why?'

'I am hurtin...'

‘我聽人家說你 。 。 。 。’‘你為什么要犧牲自己﹖ 你不會反抗的嗎 ﹖ 為 什 么 ﹖ 為 什 么 ﹖ 為 什 么 ﹖ ’

‘我其實很痛的。 。 。 。 。 ’

Hong Kong On Fire 1941 (1994)

Posted by: hcpen1111

Hong Kong On Fire 1941 (1994)

Shun Dai and her father approach the Japanese military HQ....

Hong Kong On Fire 1941 (1994)

Posted by: hcpen1111
Hong Kong On Fire 1941 (1994)
As Shun Dai dries clothes, she catches the attention of a Japanese general.....

Hong Kong on Fire 1941 (1994)

Posted by: hcpen1111

Hong Kong on Fire 1941 (1994)

Sisters Mong Dai and Shun Dai watch in horror as Japanese troops open fire on a young girl who accidentally crosses their path during the victory parades after their occupation of Hong Kong.

Hong Kong On Fire 1941 (1994)

Posted by: hcpen1111
Hong Kong On Fire 1941 (1994) 香港淪陷 Please click to see more pictures
HK Film on Japanese Occupation of HK and also my favourite war film as firstly, there are surprisingly few films on the Japanese occupation period and also this film focuses on women's suffering and has my fav 2 HK stars of that time, ChingMy Yau 邱淑貞 and Veronica Yip 葉玉卿.

Hong Kong on Fire 1941 (1994)

Posted by: hcpen1111

Hong Kong on Fire 1941 (1994)

Story: The year is Dec 1941 and Mong Dai 望娣 has just returned to HK from boarding school as the school has closed down due to the rumours of imminent invasion from the Imperial Japanese Army. Her father has a pawn shop and they live above the shop. She has a sister who is traditional and uneducated and they have an evil stepmom and step sister who always bully the older sister Shun Dai 信娣 who does all the housework. Both sisters fall for Hong Kong University medical student Shum Fong 沈放 but he loves only Mong Dai. On Dec 8th 1941, the japanese troops suddenly invade Hong Kong from China and the lives of these two sisters are changed forever....

Hainan Comfort Women Case Lawyer's Explanation and Report Session June 15 2005

Posted by: hcpen1111

Hainan Comfort Women Case Lawyer's Explanation and Report Session June 15 2005

One of my biggest interest is on Japanese warcrimes during WW2 and post-war issues of official apology and compensation for the Asian victims of Japanese atrocities.

I have done research on this topic and collected much information over the years and have a large collection of documents , newspaper clippings, and books now...

I feel that a great injustice has been done that the Japanese government has not had to atone for what Japan did in WW2 unlike Germany....until now, unlike in Germany, Japan has not paid a single cent in official compensation(as China, South Korea and all other Asian countries decided to give up their legal rights to compensation after the war, being satisfied with Japanese economic aid and ODA which although the Japanese love to point out is compensation is simply not compensation since all economic aid given is not given in the name of wartime compensation and thus allows Japan to circumvent responsibility and atonement for the war) nor apologised sincerely (apologised many times BUT none were sincere except maybe 1995 apology since all apologies inevitably are followed by contradictory actions and words like visits to Yasukuni Shrine which honors Japanese Class A warcriminals such as Tojo and statements by senior Ministers such as former Justice Minister that deny Japanese troops ever committed any atrocities) and continues to deny WW2 atrocities committed by the Japanese Imperial Forces. This year being the 60th Anniversary of WW2 and with Japanese approval of right-wing textbooks for schools (all history textbooks now, not only the notorious one by a right-wing group, have deleted or drastically reduced references to the Comfort Women and other warcrimes) and with one of the largest-scale anti-Japanese demonstrations in China and Korea in years, i would like to discuss more on this issue....

Since i am in Japan now, i have taken the opportunity to do more research here whilst on exchange and have attended one court session on the comfort women and plan to attend the court final judgement for a well-known Chinese war-time slave labour case and other cases which i will put up pics later...

Hainan Comfort Women Case After-Court Lawyer's Session with HainanNet(Japanese young people lobby group)

Posted by: hcpen1111
Hainan Comfort Women Case After-Court Lawyer's Session with HainanNet(Japanese young people lobby group)
I had the opportunity to attend one of the lawyer sessions on this case and meet lawyers, activitist, plaintiffs of cases against the Japanese government for Japanese warcrimes committed during WW2.

Sad Movie(Korean)...coming in Autumn

Posted by: hcpen1111
Sad Movie(Korean)...coming in Autumn
Found this at Chosun Ilbo Chinese Edition Website...really like the actors/actresses...the film name is called 'Sad Movie'..looking forward to it...

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Stars that I Like....

Although I am not the kinda of person who goes crazy over celebrities (i don't watch every single movie or drama of my favourite stars nor check up religiously on their latest news) i thought of sharing with readers my favourite stars....

Chinese Stars 喜歡的中華明星﹕
Leo Ku古巨基 , Jeff Chang張信哲 ,Leon Lai黎明, Sunni Chan陳錦鴻, Julian Cheung張智霖, Maggie Cheung 張曼玉, Lee SinJe 李心潔, Anita Yuen 袁詠儀 , Sylvia Chang 張艾嘉﹐Sandra Ng吳君如 , Gigi Leung 梁詠琪 ,Karen Mok 莫文蔚, Jacqueline Wu 吳倩蓮, Ng Wing Mei 吳詠微, ChingsMy Yau (former actress) 邱淑貞 , Veronica Yip 葉玉卿(former actress) , Teresa Mo, Rene Liu劉若英, Lau Ching Wan劉青雲, Kelly Chan陳慧琳, Carina Lau,劉嘉玲 Jessica Hsuen宣萱, Maggie Cheung 張可頤and many more.....
Korean stars 喜歡的韓國明星﹕ Won Bin, Jang Dong Gun, Jo Hyun Jae, Ji JinHee, Lee Jun Jae, Ryu Shi Won, Jang Hyuk, Kang Dong Won, Ryu Jin, Kim Jae Won, Moon Ge Young, Kim Ha Neul, JeonDo Yeon, Lee Na Young, Lee Young Ae, Choi Ji Woo, Jeon Ji Hyun, Song Hye Gyo, Soo Ae, and many more.....

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Only You Drama starring Jo Hyun Jae now broadcasting in Korea....story is set in Italy apparently....

Posted by: hcpen1111
Only You Drama starring Jo Hyun Jae now broadcasting in Korea....story is set in Italy apparently....

Scandal Movie 2004

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Scandal Movie 2004

Filming for Sunshine Pours Down Pics

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Filming for Sunshine Pours Down Pics

Filming for Sunshine Pours Down Pics

Posted by: hcpen1111
Filming for Sunshine Pours Down Pics

Sunshine Pours Down Drama 2004

Posted by: hcpen1111
Sunshine Pours Down Drama 2004

Korean Drama with Song Hye Gyo and Jo Hyun Jae

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Korean Drama with Song Hye Gyo and Jo Hyun Jae

Sunshine Pours Down Korean Drama 2004

Posted by: hcpen1111
Sunshine Pours Down Korean Drama 2004
More Sunshine Pours Down photos....

Sunshine Pours Down Korean Drama 2004

Posted by: hcpen1111
Sunshine Pours Down Korean Drama 2004
One of my favourite Korean actors is Jo Hyun Jae!! He is just one of the most good looking and cute actors i have ever seen....fell in love with him in Love Letter Drama and then he acted in many dramas with the most recent one being broadcast in Korea now called 'Only You' but i don't like the actress and many of his other dramas i have not seen cos either he is not the main character like 'First Love' or it is action drama which i don't watch like 'Gumiho' or dislike actress like 'Star's Echo'. However, i really liked him in Sunshine Pours Down drama with the lovely Song Hye Gyo, one of my very favourite Korean actresses. The pics are from Jo Hyun Jae's dramas and movies.....

Friday, June 10, 2005

Keio-Waseda Baseball Games Spring 2005

Posted by: hcpen1111
Keio-Waseda Baseball Games Spring 2005
Keio-Waseda Baseball Games.....first Japanese baseball match i went to...interesting experience though my exchange university Keio lost.......