HK Actresses in Chinese Dress...旗袍女星們...チャイナードレス姿の女優さんたち...

As anyone who has visited my blog for awhile must know by now, i have a love affair with the Chinese dress 旗袍 .....so below are some pics of HK Actresses in Chinese Dresses.... Hsu Chi 舒淇, Taiwanese actress in Hong Kong wearing a Chinese dress at an awards ceremony.
Joey Yung 容祖兒, Hong Kong singer/actress wearing a Chinese dress somewhere...hahaha, don't know where actually...Cecilia Cheung 張柏芝﹐ Hong Kong actress, getting ready for her TV drama, 'Zhou Xuan' 周旋 about the famous 1930s,40s Shanghai star...
Doing my part to promote the beauty and elegance of the Qi Pao/Cheongsam/Chinese Dress around the world....did i ever tell my readers that i am planning to learn how to make chinese dresses in the future and become a cheongsam/chinese dress tailor?? Hahaha, not as a profession of cos, but i want to do it as part of my hobby and open my very own chinese dress boutique...

Mid-Term Break...期中假...ミッドタームブレック

The past week was a 1 week holiday (i thought it was 2 weeks, it was always 2 weeks in previous years...so I don't know why they changed it to only one week this year!!) and i didn't do much...i procrastinated big time and did not study as much as i should have....have so much work now that its so not funny.....
Also went out and i thought of providing some food photos as it seems to be my habit of doing so now....

My favourite Korean Chanpon Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup with the best panchai (side -dishes) in Melbourne.

On Tuesday went with a Penang friend to Barbarinos and Wong on St Kilda Road...you can get one main course free if you are a Melbourne Uni student and show them your Union Card..so it becomes really cheap! Basically buy one free one.....its Western ribs with Asian food....

I had the famous ribs there and my friend had the lamb....

After that we had desserts on Lygon Street at this place which i shall not name in case i get sued for defamation..haha...the dessert looked pretty but did not taste good....

My mother's friend came to melbourne and treated me dimsum with her friend at Sharkfin's House ....the pic is of a favourite of mine which i normally eat whenever i am bck in Penang. It is called 白糖糕 Bak Tong Gou..i also asked my mother's friend about the Japanese Occupation in malaya cos my mom's friend is like in her early 70s already(but she is very fit and fashionable and travels widely) and she told me about how her cousin was given the water torture (a common technique used in those days by the japanese by pumping water and then stomping on the stomache) and how he is still alive today to tell the tale...of how she and her whole family had to go hide in jelutong (an area in penang) which was then a rural area....how her female cousins hid themselves and cut their hair short and tried to make themselves as unattractive as possible as everyone in Penang had already heard about the lustful japanese soldiers raping women in China...and also how the very first bomb that was dropped in Penang actually landed a mere street away from her house.

I always enjoy talking to old ppl...which is kinda rare for young people i guess but i think the experiences of old people are so invaluable, precious and interesting.....ok...how did an intro on Bak Tong Gou end with Japanese water torture? hehehe..

Another food pic...the nice looking fruit platter at Grandma Kimchi in the City..the food however wasn't good....the kimchi was substandard and the BBQ and BiBimBap did not taste nice too. Wouldn't recommend it...but we ordered the set menu so it may be different for ala carte...anyway, have tasted much better korean food at other restaurants...

The nice wall decor at grandma kimchi...

Me+my friend then had gelati on Lygon St at my favourite gelati store next to Koko Black. I would recommend vaniglio,ciocolatto, and mango...my favourites recently....sooo yummy..although it was so sooo cold that night.....we had gelati whilst we chat at the Italian Piazza on Lygon St till like 2am! But it was a Sat night so it was still quite busy...

The conversation was pretty interesting....actually we had spent 3 hrs over dinner talking about women and men's status in society now...much longer than i thought the conversation on that topic would go for..in the end we reconciled our different views and i no longer thought he was a MCP anymore....he is VERY open given that he is a Christian who goes to Church....he also talks really frankly, like we were talking about how guys were hornier than girls and he would say 'girls can also reach organism, its just that the time takes longer and they can achieve it everytime if the guy used the correct technique'...or 'vasectomy means the sperm cannot go up the....' i was soooo embarassed...i am more used to modest terms unlike the graphic descriptions he was using....he also went against many christian teachings, and he does not believe the Bible word for word. For example, he says that divorce should be allowed under extreme circumstances and pre-marital sex is ok too...that you can do more than the missionary position...how the Bible does not really prohibit explicitly sexual positions nor masturbation...he even had the radical view that no one is born heterosexual or homosexual but that we all become heterosexual due to cultural and social conventions! This was like the most shocking thing i ever heard and something i simply DO NOT think is very Christian...anyway, in the end he changed his mind cos he was persuaded by my arguement that humans are almost all BORN with a fixed sexual orientation (this is where i am in agreement with christians) but that some people are born gay and some straight (this is where i am in opposition to christian views that everyone is born straight)..cos my friend had initially thought that no one could be born gay...after our talk he came to realise that ppl could be born gay...he was never homophobic given his own radical view that he isn't born hetero but my opinion that ppl are born with a sexual orientation changed his opinion........anyways it was an interesting night...always enjoy conversations with him...

On another note...for some strange reason, i have been asked twice in Chinatown for directions to Korean Restaurants.....i mean do i look extra friendly or something? Or do i look Korean? The first time i didn't think much about it cos it was a Korean girl from Sydney who wanted some native food but i was asked by this HK girl and her frens as well, i mean she just suddenly started talking to me when i was walking in Chinatown, and for some reason both times they wanted korean food....

also remember i wrote earlier how i met two bloggers twice by chance on the streets? Well...i bumped into one of them for the THIRD TIME yesterday night...this is either freaky or it could be yuan fen 緣份 ? i think its the later.. so unlike the last 2 times, i said Hi (anyways i also told him i would say hi if i was ever to bump into him again which i thought was highly unlikely) but sadly he was on the phone and we did not get to talk...haha, i think i scared him and his friend as i had to put out my hand and walk close to him to say hi and i'm sure they were abit taken aback by what this stranger was doing.....

anyways, university starts again tomorrow...(i am writing this on Sun AM time..)

Part-Time Work Experience...打工經驗...バイトの経験

I have always wanted to work part-time (something not in the office as i've already got experience working in a law office as a student clerk) and i attempted before to get a part-time and i actually got one as a waiter at a Malaysian restaurant....but i did not go as i changed my mind last minute thinking it would take up too much of my time.

However, this yr i changed my mind again. I thought i should try it out as it would be a good learning experience to try something different. So i applied for a few waitering jobs and most did not reply. However, one did and i was told to go in for a trial period. I was however not used and only worked 2 shifts. I learnt some stuff there like folding the paper napkins and opening wines and beers using the cork-opener and can-opener, stuff i didn't know before.

Then i applied and got a new job at this high-class expensive Japanese restaurant as a waiter. I was overjoyed initially when i got the part-time job as a waiter as i thought it would be a good opportunity for me to use my Japanese and also since it was so classy, the work should be easy. Boy was i sOOOOOO WRONG.....the pay for trainees was really extremely low $20 for the lunch shift and $30 for the dinner shift...which means however many hours u work, u still got payed the same...and it took up alot of my time with lunch shifts being from 11am to 3 30pm and dinner shifts being from 5pm to 11-12 30am (once i only left at 12 30am! it was a friday night)....and thats not the worst part, the worst part was that i and all the waiters and other trainees had to not only set up the tables and mop the floors which would have been within our jobs but we also had to wash the plates and dishes AND trainees alone had to also wash the BBQ pits which was THE WORST cos it was so greasy and the smell was really bad for the health...and trainees mean 14 shifts before u can become a formal employee getting $8 per hour...which is still low...

So i quit the place this week....i thought it wasn't worth it cos it was taking up alot of my study time and also the pay was low and also i had to wash some dishes and most unbearably the BBQ pits.....but i definitely DO NOT regret having worked there as i learnt alot in my 5 shifts there (yes i only worked for 5 shifts) Cos we had to do everything, we also learnt everything....i learnt how to arrange the table cos it was one of those classy places where u had to arrange everything nicely and also how to arrange the tables for reservation which was different again, putting menus, ordering drinks using the touch monitor,how to prepare sauces, prepare kimchi,how to wash dishes fast and also how to wash BBQ pots fast cos if you wash slow, u will never finish! I also had some fun with the other waiters most of whom were nice and helped me alot cos i was new. We would eat the left-over food untouched by customers by taking it to the basement and eating it or when a nice waitress Sou scooped ice-cream for the customers, she would always secretly eat some of the green tea ice-cream and feed me some too! haha...we would joke about getting something from the restaurant for giving us such low wages... i would also secretly eat some of the kimchi (served for the Japanese BBQ) whilst preparing it....this was all done in the basement where the freezers were....cos the restaurant was big and they had a main kitchen, a sushi bar, a drinks bar, and a basement....as well as karaoke rooms and even a japanese style bar....with japanese girls serving drinks and talking with the japanese male clientele!!! It was the first time i had seen a japanese style bar with girls and all and i even saw the mama-san in a cheongsam twice! So cliche like in the movies....the mama-san actually eats with us before opening hours but the japanese bar section is separate from the restaurant management and so we don't go there (on the top flr) at all. Throwing rubbish at the end of the night was also like the movies as the backalley had graffitti and the neon lights coming from the other restaurants, seemed like the New York Bronx area to me...

I learnt alot from this experience and don't regret it although it was TOUGH work!

Books...書...本

BOOK I HAVE READ: BOOK: Coming Out in Japan

This is an autobiography by a middle aged Japanese gay man about his experiences growing up gay in the 1960s and 70s in Tokyo right till when the book was published in 1993. He published a subsequent book in 1994 with his partner which detailed life living together as a gay couple and also included bits about his partner's experience of growing up gay. This book gave me an insight into what it was like being gay in Japan in an era vastly different from now, where it isn't as bad as it was. I was also profoundly touched by the fact that both their mothers accepted their sons being gay and their relationship despite being in their 70s and not being able to comprehend what even being gay meant....nice book and available from the State Library of Victoria.

BOOK THAT I AM READING:
BOOK: Li Xiang Lan, My Life 李香蘭﹐ 私の半生

I bought this autobiography about the most famous wartime actress Li Xiang Lan whilst in Tokyo last yr so that i could improve my Japanese skills through reading as well as my interest in WW2 and Japan.
A brief background history is needed for some of my readers i think. In 1931, north-east China was invaded and occupied by Japanese forces and a puppet state of 'Manchukuo' was set up. The last emperor of China, Pu Yi, was propped up as the leader but in reality Manchukuo was controlled by the Japanese Kwantung Army. The Japanese government encouraged Japanese migration to Manchukuo and eventually came up with a policy to populate Manchuria with at least a 1 million Japanese settlers.

Yamaguchi Yoshiko's family was one of them. She was born and brought up in Manchuria and whilst speaking japanese at home, attended chinese schools. Thus she could speak fluent Mandarin. In 1938, she was selected by the newly established Manchurian Film Corporation (ManEi) as a new film talent to star in its propaganda films. ManEi itself was set up by the Japanese forces as a propaganda tool. It was decided that she should adopt a Chinese persona, being Li Xiang Lan, as it was good propaganda to show a 'Chinese girl' showing such goodwill towards the Japanese. Thus Yamaguchi Yoshiko became Li Xiang Lan and she appeared in all the films and in public as Chinese and almost always wearing the Chinese dress. This is why even today, many Chinese and Japanese people mistakenly assume that Li Xiang Lan was a Chinese when she was actually Japanese.
The films she appeared in were all propaganda films which justified Japanese aggression in China. The storylines invariably went something like this:
Li Xiang Lan portrays a Chinese girl (can be interpreted as representing weak irrational feminine China) who hates the Japanese as they killed her parents and burnt her house. She meets a kind Japanese man (can be interpreted as representing strong rational masculine Japan) who corrects her wrong ways of hating Japan and she falls in love with him in the end. The films all sought to justify Japanese aggression in China as being righteous and Chinese hatred of the Japanese as being irrational and misguided. This included her most well-known film 'China Nights' 支那の夜 which ultimately got her tried for 'treason' 漢奸罪 after the war. However she was released when it was revealed that she was Japanese and not Chinese. She was deported from China after release.

Although Manchuria was supposed to be a paradise for the five races (Japanese, Chinese, Manchurian, Korean, Russian), in reality, to borrow a line from Jung Chang's epic autobiopic 'Wild Swans' , 'If Manchuria was supposed to be paradise, then it was clear that it was only a paradise for the Japanese.'
Excerpts from Li Xiang Lan's autobiography also indicate the discriminatory nature of Manchurian society then despite being Japanese herself:

'I was payed 250 yen whilst the most popular Chinese actress only 40 yen. The other chinese were only given 20 yen. After the new japanese director came, he decided to lift the chinese actors wages as he could not justify the huge wage gap.'

'I did not have any problems using a Chinese name, working with Chinese people and appearing in Chinese language films. I also always thought that it was only natural for all the races to live in harmony in the vast mainland of Manchuria....however the Japanese in Manchuria thought otherwise. They discriminated against the Chinese in every aspect of daily life. For example, at parties and dinners, although we all ate together and drank the same wine, the japanese got white rice and the chinese would always only get low grade coarse rice. I could never undertand the reason for such a discriminatory practice. Why was it that although we all worked together day and night, there was such differential treatment towards the Chinese?'

' I had always dreamed of going to the motherland Japan, the country of advanced technology. The first time i got to go was as the Japan-Manchuria Goodwill Ambassador with Meng Hung. We arrived in Shinomoseki and waited with the other foreigners as the customs officer dealt with the japanese first. As i was travelling with Meng Hung, i waited with the other foreigners too. When it came to our turn, Meng Hung was allowed to pass swiftly and i expected the same too...however the customs officer after seeing my travel documents said ' Aren't u Japanese? As a citizen of a first-class country, why are you speaking the language of a third-class country and wearing the clothes of a third-class country? Aren't you ashamed? If you are a Japanese citizen of Imperial Japan, please speak Japanese!' I was so ashamed and disgusted that i left swiftly holding Meng Hung's hand, the poor girl, not understanding what was going on'. After that incident, my image of my motherland Japan and the Japanese people fell significantly, i thought to myself, what a racist country Japan and the Japanese were! looking down on Chinese people like that!'
A nice autobiography and still working my way through it...

BOOK THAT I INTEND TO READ:

BOOK: Asian Mystique

Came across this book on someone's blog and i found it was interesting....so i am planning to read it next....

Some more Food Pics.....飲食照......食べ物のピクス

Delicious Taiwanese Starch Meat Ball Noodles 肉羹湯麵 at Taiwan Cafe, Chinatown...the closest u can get to authentic Taiwanese ones, though admittedly still not as good as the ones in Taipei..anyway, please be sure to tell them to replace the white noodles (which they normally use and which is NOT nice and NOT authentic) with yellow noodles which tastes ALOT nicer..
My Easter Cake
Cheap Fried Jiaozhi (dumplings) at Chinatown David and Camy's Noodle Place
One of my favourite Japanese-style Chinese Dishes:
Mabo Tofu マーボー豆腐 麻婆豆腐
Had this at Yu.u on Flinders Lane. Yum...

What A Small World...世界真小啊......小さいの世界

THE SUNDAY CHARITY RUN, THE RED BUILDING IS THE CITY BATHS
I have recently realised just how small this world can be. Whilst reading this blog which i can't even remember how i came across, i saw a familiar face in one of the photos which the blogger posted up. I read her blog very often given that she seems to have such a happening social life and given that she lives in Melbourne, it is interesting seeing the tons of pics she puts up of the familiar places and restaurants she goes to....

Anyways, in one of the numerous photos she puts up, i came across a face, a familiar face. And guess who it was? It was my ex-housemate!!!! I mean how small can this world get???
I have been visiting the sister of my ex-housemate's blog for 2 or 3 months without even realising it until that photo! I found out that she is the sister cos i so happened to bump into my ex-housemate's bestfriend one day recently early in the morning. As fate would have it, that morning, i was planning to go to the Thai Festival and i got up late and rushed out only to find Swanston St closed off cos of a Sunday Charity Run....so i buzzed my friend and asked her to come to City Baths to meet as we had to walk down to Fed Sq. As fate would have it, my ex-housemate's friend was waiting for her friend at City Baths too and i took the opportunity to ask her about how my ex-housemate was (she has graduated and gone bck to KL already) and also about her sis. The friend told me indeed the sister was in the faculty i mentioned (the sister put up what faculty she was studying in her blog) and further told me where she was living now (don't know why she told me that!!)....anyways, later when i checked my ex-housemate's sister's blog again, guess what?
She so happened to blog and post up pics of my ex-housemates' bestfriend as they had happened to go out for dinner recently...i mean how coincidental..the sister even mentioned my ex-housemates' name in her blog...which all but confirmed that she is indeed my ex-housemates' sister!

Anyways, thats not the only coincidence, rem the bloggers i said i bumped into in one of my earlier posts? Well, i bumped into two of them again...the good looking one on campus once again and the other one whom i said didn't look the same as his pics just yesterday.....how small can Melbourne be?? bumping into two bloggers who don't know me 2 TIMES within one month....What a small world we live in don't we??

Beautiful Girls in Melbourne 漂亮女孩 きれい女の子

Given that i have blogged too much on good-looking guys, i think its time for me to put up a post on pretty girls (this will benefit my male readers i am sure)...anyways,the past weeks i have noticed so many really really pretty girls (using guy language, i think they would call them 'hot') in Melbourne. They are really really sweet+ pretty and even i was enamoured by their beauty and attractiveness, which maybe an indication of just how pretty they were, such that even i was dumbfounded and could understand why some guys would go all ga-ga over them.....

One time a few weeks ago, i was on the City Circle Tram, and i saw this really really pretty girl, i mean she was really pretty, like one of those who could be appearing in TV commercials, i just couldn't help not staring....i was trying to figure out where she was from, but i couldn't cos she looked Korean, yet also Chinese but she could also pass as Japanese...just really pretty nevertheless... and on this city circle tram, i saw another pretty indonesian chinese girl... and also actually this cute guy.....he had the nice fair skin which i like, and once again i could not figure out where he was from, probably Chinese or Japanese...and then i also this nice looking Indonesian Chinese girl and this Japanese girl also recently both of whom were with their boyfriends, and both very stunning...you know, those whom will turn heads and get guy's attention....my isn't it my luck to be seeing all these pretty girls......

I know i am digressing abit here but i need to post about some cute guys i saw recently too...hehe...how could i not mention the nice boys....i was on the tram a few weeks bck (i have been lazy so thats why i am mentioning it now) and i was deep in thought when i realized this guy standing in front of me. As i was sitting, what caught my attention was the shoes and so i looked up and OMG, standing right in front of me was this SUPER CUTE Korean guy...he was just sooo cute, it was like in the Korean dramas where the the girl is deep in thought and then suddenly the guy appears before her...but of cos UNLIKE in the dramas, we never got to know each other, sigh.....I am sure u are all wondering how i knew he was Korean...well, i seem to have this Koreadar which picks up koreans...he dressed like a korean guy also and he looked korean.......

And then in the law library, i met TWO times this 2 really cute Chinese guys...one of them happened to sit in one of the tables where i could sneak glances at him, and yes i spent a good few mins looking at him study(gasp! I am becoming a perv) Nothing as sexy as seeing a cute guy all intense when he is studying....haha...the guy wasn't a law student though, cos when he left to go somewhere, i had a peek at his notes and he seems to be doing Eng or something....he had such nice skin....i am really becoming like an adolescent with raging hormones...sigh...

So however did this post turn into a post on guys when it was supposed to be on girls? Hehehe...never mind....

The World of Suzie Wong 蘇西黃的世界 スージイーウオンの世界

Nancy Kwan on the cover of 'Life' Magazine, 1960
This 1960 Hollywood classic box office hit introduced the Chinese dress, cheongsam, to the Western world and inspired a short 'China Dress craze' in the West where the Chinese dress 旗袍 became known as the 'Suzie Wong dress' for awhile. It was the equivalent of what u can say 'In the Mood for Love' in HK and 'Memoirs of a Geisha' in present-day Hollywood did in terms of creating a fashion buzz for traditional costumes.

The story is set in 1960s colonial Hong Kong, where an English artist goes to HK to do some paintings for an english resident there. He rents a room at a seedy hotel/bar in Wanchai and it so happens that the bar downstairs is a popular watering hole for sailors who dock at HK and plenty of Chinese prostitutes engage in their business there. He meets Suzie Wong, a fiesty Chinese prostitute who, on the first occasion, pretends to be a high-class girl from a rich family. He finds out her real identity at the bar and thus starts their romance against all obstacles including class status and racism which was extremely prevalent back then.

The film deals with alot of issues and was very progressive for its time, including delving into the psychological aspect of Suzie Wong and how she pretended to be a rich girl as a means to escape from the harsh reality that she was a prostitute, the poverty in HK at the time which forced many girls into prostitution,the treatment of chinese prostitutes by caucasian sailors, and, not least, racism. The film of course is credited for introducing the sexy Chinese dress to the Western audience and, indeed, the array of Chinese dresses worn by Suzie Wong in the film is numerous and all of them display the dress in its finest form.

The Chinese dresses in the film are an accurate portrayal of how Chinese dresses were like back in the 1960s, to the extent of showing those worn by prostitutes as it was indeed the 'uniform of their profession' up until the late 1980s. It is interesting to note that the HK stewardesses on the former BOAC airlines also wore cheongsams which drew the complain of other air stewardesses for 'unfair competition' and drawing attention away from the other girls due to the sexy nature of the dress, no doubt in part to the high revealing side slits...

The official website of Nancy Kwan, the actress who portrayed 'Suzie Wong' in the film is at: http://www.nancy-kwan.com/index so do go check it out for more information about the actress as well as plenty of pics from the movie...

Cafe Times 咖啡廳時光 カフエ タイムズ

At the Cafe today + ate my favourite flourless orange cake + nice ice-blended Chocolate + did law readings = Heaven....ok maybe i am exaggerating alittle..ok mayb more than a little, haha..

On the topic of food, i might as well introduce some foodies i like...such as the Ikan Belado at Es Teller Indonesian on Swanston St, priced at $9 and simply delicious....

Found this at the Asian Grocery on Russell St....its the Imei 義美 Honey Cake which i ALWAYS ate whenever i went back to Taipei for holidays....priced at just over $9...

Taiwanese Entertainment Shows 台灣綜藝節目 台湾のバラエテイ番組

an episode from the Taiwanese entertainment show called 男人搞什麼 where really sexy built men were brought in to talk about what its like to be muscular men and also strip dance for the obviously overwhelmed host here called 羅 碧 雲 。
I want to introduce to readers the world of Taiwanese entertainment. As half-Taiwanese, i am obviously proud of things Taiwanese and so will introduce some things on Taiwan including Taiwanese entertainment...for those who aren't aware, in the Chinese-speaking world, Taiwanese entertainment shows are THE most popular and Taiwanese music is also the most widespread amongst the Chinese speaking population. Some who are unfamiliar with the Chinese scene may be surprised to know that it is Taiwan and NOT China which produces the most popular and high quality TV dramas, variety shows and pop music. In China, Taiwanese music and entertainment shows as well as celebrities enjoy a much higher profile and regard as compared to the local Chinese ones. In fact, the Chinese authorities had to issue a directive banning 'taiwanese-style mandarin and accent' on their local productions in 2005 as it was getting very popular for mainland Chinese hosts and tv programs to emulate and copy their more welcome Taiwanese counterparts....

Many shows are not shown in China due to the open and progressive (sometimes too much!!!) nature of the shows as compared to the relatively dull and bland nature of mainland Chinese ones.......it is well known that many, i would say millions of mainland Chinese download Taiwanese variety shows such as the immensely popular, though banned, Kang Xi Lai Le (康 熙 來 了 ) as well as a variety of other programs....

The reason for the prominence of HK and Taiwan music and films in China is due to historical reasons like China opening up and creating its own pop culture in the 1980s and thus much later than the others. However, Chinese celebrities and pop culture is catching up fast too...for the moment though, HK films and Taiwan music and entertainment shows still rule in both China and overseas Chinese communities such as Malaysia, Singapore, Australia,USA,Canada,etc thru Chinatown rental shops or cable TV...

Taiwan's entertainment shows are immensely popular due to: (1) the fact that they are in Mandarin which is the official language of Chinese ppl as compared to HK's cantonese (2) they are very creative and come up with new ideas all the time unlike China and HK's more conservative approach (3) they are very liberal and discuss ANYTHING including sex, molesters, affairs, pretty girls going on shows in sexy attire,models and anything and everything as long as it sells....

In fact, they are so inventive that cos pretty girls have been going on shows for so long now, there was even a recent wave of getting male models to go on shows for a change cos it was thought to be boring if every episode was on girls...n it was shocking to see how they made the models dance sexily (see pic) and every show would get cameras into changing rooms as the male models were changing...i even saw guys in speedos dancing in towels in one episode and muscular guys shaking their hips provocatively in another...then there was one which was TRULY shocking, a male model search contest whereby one middle aged man even kissed one of the half-naked models on the nipples in front of the cameras in the middle of Ximenting (Taipei's busiest and hippest section)this was even more daring than anything i ever saw in American shows....very obviously directed at the female and gay male audience if i may say so myself!...for those in Melbourne, the rental shop in Chinatown's mid-city arcade rents the latest Taiwanese shows on DVD (they used to only have them in VHS so i was overjoyed when i found out that they have DVD versions this yr!!)....go see them!

Its times like this when I am grateful that i understand Chinese, i mean those who don't know Chinese really miss out on all these fantastic shows and have to be satisfied with only the american shows which, frankly, aren't much fun!

My First Orchestra 第一個交響樂 初オキストラ

MELBOURNE UNI ORCHESTRA AT HAWTORN TOWN HALL
I went to my first orchestra on Monday with a friend. We had pasta at Universal Pizza and Pasta on Lygon St and then went to Hawtorn Town Hall for the orchestra. (melb uni students get 10% discount there using our union card includ. many other places so go use it mel university students!) It was a nice performance including Tschaivosky. My friend was playing the violin in it and so we took pictures during the interval. Had Gelati at my favourite gelati store on Lygon St next to Koko Black....a nice way to end a nice night....

On another note I came across three bloggers whose blogs i read but whom don't know me this month....the first one was on the road when i was crossing and then i noticed him....he looked different than on his blog which just goes to show pictures aren't always accurate even if unintended....
the next one i met this week whilst having lunch with a friend he passed by and at first i noticed him cos i thought he was kinda good looking and then i realised it was the blogger of a blog i recently am coming to read...he looked better than his pics....
the third one i met today whilst walking past heading for 7-11 and he was having lunch outside and i immediately recognised him cos i have been following his blog for quite awhile now and he always puts up alot of pics....he looked just like how he looked in his blog.....
so wow, for some reason, i've just been bumping into bloggers of blogs i read but they don't know me...is that 緣份 (fate) or something??

CW Games + Festival Melbourne 墨爾本嘉年華 メルボルンフエスチバル

Dinner at Kunming Restaurant in Chinatown w/h Peking duck..yummmm...

The performers on stilts performance
The nice gown at the NGV
Contemporary Commonwealth at ACMI
Girls shaking along with Bollywood music!
Bollywood dancing workshop at Federation SQ part of Festival Melbourne
In conjunction with the CW Games, there was the Festival Melbourne free events which i went as i said in my previous post (previous post on Docklands with Taiwanese friend). I went to see the free art exhibition 'Contemporary Commonwealth' at the NGV and ACMI at Federation Square and it was better than i expected! The program at the ACMI was really good and i would recommend the art installation called 'Instant Asia!' by Singapore's Brian Gothong Tan...the installation on a parody of 'Memoirs of a Geisha' is extremely hilarious and even better than the parody circulating around the internet! Geisha is re-made Malaysian style!!! Some people may find it vulgar but i liked it....i won't give away the details but one funny thing is that sayuri is bought in 'ringgit' and there are alot of other comedic stuff too like a spin on singapore's tourism line 'Singapore, Truly Asia' which is turned into...'that is why they call me 'Mameha, Truly Geisha'....fso or those in Melbourne, be sure to go to the ACMI if just for this hilarious installation!! (until May 21)
The NGV had artistic pieces which were a tad too deep but i liked the gowns on display in one section which were truly exquisite....

On Fed SQ i managed to catch the last 10 mins of Bollywood dancing which was fantastic!!
I also saw the fish display at 9pm with their fountain spouting and light display....

On Sat 25 March, i went to see some more Festival Melbourne events and was planning to go see the Bollywood on the Bowl at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl...we went to see the arts performance whereby performers walk on stilts and it was interesting...then just walked around and took photos....had dinner at Kunming Restaurant in Chinatown which was delicious and had Peking Duck which was sumptious and awhile now for me.....then we made our way to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on the CRAMMED tram (which reminded me of Tokyo rush hour!) but by the time we got there, it was already closed off with a large crowd standing outside....so sadly, we found ourselves a spot outside on the lawn like many others and sat down chatting whilst listening to the music... and the topic came to WW2 and Japan. There were a few of my japanese friends (the other was this Chinese girl who was M's friend and JJ)including the swimmer body japanese guy in my previous post. I of cos got into a heated discussion with him as he brought out all the excuses made by the right-wing on why Japan should not pay Asian victims and also things like 'not all comfort women were forced, some did it cos they were very poor and had no other choice' or 'john rabe's diary on the rape of nanking could have been falsified with the Chinese govt paying someone to write it' or the most used excuse ' it was war'..one wonders why the Japanese government takes the viewpoint it does with ppl like my friend working in it (remember he works in the Cabinet office)...in the end neither of us changed our views and he continued to insist that the Japanese government must put the interest of the japanese ppl first which means not paying or apologising to the Asian victims of WW2 as doing so would entail compensating its own citizens as well for forced labour and the draft. After the chat, we turned to less serious stuff and went to the riverside to watch the Fish Display again.... a fun day!

Hanabishi Lunch 花菱午餐 花菱ランチ

MY CROQUETTE SET LUNCH
I had lunch at this famous Melbourne institution touted as serving the best Japanese cuisine in town with some Japanese friends recently. The price was EXCEEDINGLY expensive so be prepared to burn a hole in your pocket when going. The average price for a lunch set is around $25-35 so its very expensive....now, cos we went in a large group, i managed to take a picture of the various sets ordered by my friends. I ordered the croquette set which brought bck some nostalgia for me as i used to love croquette whilst i was in Tokyo and i would go to the デパ地下 (foodcourt of shopping malls) to buy them...other ppl ordered sushi, sashimi, katsudon,tendon,etc...the food was ok, i personally didn't think it was worth the high price we paid but at least it was an experience and next time i can proudly say when ppl ask whether i've tried Hanabishi YES!
oh...and the conversation we had was interesting....the topic turned to Japanese porn@@! I, being the feminist that i am, said that there should be stricter laws to regulate porn and that i have even thought about the proposed bill such as limiting the no of men that can be 'doing it' with the actress...eg: 1 actress with a max of 3 men.. (this is in response to what i hear is the common storyline of having a pack of men with one actress in most porn which is disgusting and unacceptable to me) and the japanese all laughed cos it was the 1st time they had heard of limiting the no of people....and one friend of mine even asked her friend (who by the way has a swimmers body which i noticed instantly when i first met him cos his polo t was just stretched across his formidable chest and he is also on a Japanese govt scholarship here. He worked for the Cabinet Office in Tokyo which means he got to see Japan's PM Koizumi once every 2 or 3 months!) that there was a male habit to watch porn isn't there!! The Q was phrased such that it was implied whether 'he' watched porn himself and as can be expected, he got embarassed haha...

Since i am on the topic of food, i will intro some restaurants i have been to recently...

I had lunch of pasta bolognese and italian hot chocolate mint at Stuzzichino on Lygon St this week. It was nice and the drinks menu is extensive with cocktails,etc and for those who love their chocolate drinks thick, they should try out the nice hot italian chocolates...but cos i DO NOT like my chocolate drinks thick, i was horrified when i saw the drink brought before me! It was super super rich and i had to keep adding water in to dilute it...the place is next to Koko Black.

I came across Kimchi Tray whilst walking by Flinders St on my way to FedSQ for Festival Melbourne last Friday and so i went in. I thought it was Grandma Kimchi, the well known Korean chain in Melbourne but was told though originally under the same owner, it was now under a separate management. The usual korean fare was there and i had chanpon (korean chinese noodles like ramen) An alright place with mainly chinese and korean patrons.

More food pics at My Online Photo Album: http://hcpen1111-marchphotos.buzznet.com/

Photos during The CW Period 英聯邦運動會期間的照片 コマンウエフの間の写真

Southgate Area at Night
The red thing is a temporary seating structure for the CW games
The beachcomber cafe at St Kilda with JJ
Melbourne Museum
Festival Melbourne Culinary Competition
Malaysian flag at the Culinary Competition Mas vs Eng
More pics at my Online Photo album.....

Out with Friends...與朋友的日記 。 。 。 友達との遊び日記

Just posting on some of the things i've been up to for the past few weeks....
On a Friday, went with a Penang friend for lunch at this Japanese place on Flinders Lane. It is VERY well hidden and in fact, the entrance has no signs indicating that there is a restaurant there and so u really would NOT even notice this restaurant if it were not by introduction from a friend. Well, he brought me there and we were lucky that we got a seat cos this place requires booking in advance but i guess the fact that i said お願いしますto the japanese staff there must have helped somewhat in getting a place.....there is no menu in terms of the restaurant has a set menu in advance for every month and u can actually get a copy to see what is going to be served on a specific day cos they only serve a certain set meal on certain days so there is only one choice per day. The day we went, we had the buckwheat noodles with three coloured rice set on offer for that day and it was pretty sumptious....a nice experience given i have never eaten at such a reclusive place with a fixed menu before. We then had chocolate waffles with chocolate drinks at Max Brenner(see pic above!!) and a good chat too....the conversation ranged from women's rights to gays and lesbians and my friend is surprisingly liberal when it comes to both despite being a church going Christian...hehehe, i always seem to bring up topics that interest me in my conversations with friends....

photo i took at Docklands all the cards collected that day

On the 19th Sunday, went to see the Marathon at the MCG with my Taiwanese friend D. We went there early in the morning to catch the marathon runners passing by and i got a pic with them~then after that went to Docklands for the 1st time (yes it was my first time despite being in melb for so long!!!) It was a nice place and we had lunch at this place beside the river called 'Berth'. I had steak which was good given that i haven't had steak in a long time...it was really really cold that day....after we took the City Circle tram and then to St Kilda Sunday Market. Nothing much really but there was a large outdoor screen broadcasting the CW Games there...I had ice-cream at Seven Apples on Acland St and we both bought sunglasses as well...yes i now have this cool looking sunglasses,hehehe....saw these cute gum packs one saying 'Boys are stupid, throw rocks at them' another 'gay gum' ,and another 'I love my penis' , so that was interesting...went to melbourne museum and saw the exhibition on the CW opening ceremony and took more photos and then had dinner at Vina Vietnamese on Lygon Street. Then we went to Crown and Southgate for a stroll, SO CROWDED! The day was a fulfilling one but my legs were exhausted by the end of that day.....

Went to Melbourne Museum to watch the Melbourne Festival Culinary Competition on one of the days. It was England vs Malaysia and guess who won? Malaysia!!!! The English team was just SOOO Bad that malaysia just had to win....i mean the english cook was so slow that the time had to be extended to allow him to finish....

I have something to tell my readers, well i didn't mention it before but....i have a Korean friend!! He is a student here in melbourne studying english and just finished military service in South Korea. I will call him JJ. JJ is from Incheon and studied in Yonsei University in Seoul which is one of the best universities in SK apparently....i have known him for awhile now but just never thought of mentioning him..anyways, we had dinner at Hungry Jacks last week and went for a stroll at St Kilda pier and then went to this nice cafe/restaurant by St Kilda Beach called
'Beachcombe Cafe' situated just outside the St Kilda Seabaths.....we had ice chocolate and garlic bread...anyways the cultural difference b/w us once again surfaced as i found that it was true that korean guys are much more confident with their sexuality cos JJ would often comment on the looks of korean actors like 'he has a good body' or that he wants to know good looking guys...he also explained that in korea, it was ok for guys to comment that another guy was really 'good looking and attractive' from the standpoint of admiration and jealousy. the rationale for wanting to be friends with good looking guys was cos they are often surrounded by pretty girls and so u can get introduced to alot of pretty girls....i had to explain to him that in western and also in chinese culture, men CANNOT say out loud that another guy is good looking and saying he wanted to be friends with good looking men would immediately set off the alarm bells 'he IS gay!' ...so it was interesting this cultural difference...and JJ is NOT gay, he keeps on asking me to intro nice aussie girls cos he wants a caucasian girlfriend... and no, i don't like him 'in that way' despite my korean obsession...when i talk about korean men in my blog, please don't think i would fall for any korean guy cos i am just saying only and i actually think korean men wouldn't be suitable for me given the vast language and cultural difference, its just that i am extremely attracted to them sexually (shy...)but that does not equal to love...and so JJ is just a friend to me, i actually don't even feel attracted to him, which is as it should be, friends shouldn't be attracted to each other 'in that way' anyways....hehe...

more updates coming soon.....

Hope lives on...全 力 以 赴 永 不 言 棄 。 。 。 最後まで希望を捨てないでください。。。

A friend of mine is recently going thru some tough times, i am writing this post to give CK some words of encouragement. First of all, i apologise that whenever u sms me, i am always out with friends and cannot reply as soon as i would like to. I do hope u understand. Also, i hope ur family situation improves and everything goes well.......with regards to 'that guy u like', well i don't know what to say except that u will just have to get over him in time, as he is attached already and he obviously loves his other half and his other half also loves him, so there is nothing that can be done. It is not ur fault for falling for him as love can come so suddenly and swiftly that its really out of anyone's control.....thats the good and bad thing about love i guess....u just have to try to forget him.......i am however glad to know u are trying to better urself and start a fresh chapter in life which is good, i am looking forward to seeing an improved u......hope u achieve what u aim for!

On my other friend Jeff, he has recently switched to a new job and i hope everything is going well for him! He is such a nice friend and as we both like the feeling of sending and receiving traditional posts and letters, we correspond thru letters and he is the first person to send me a Valentines Card this yr! (the above letter and card is from him!)How sweet of him......and before u ppl start to speculate on our relationship, WE ARE JUST FRIENDS....he sends all his single friends handmade cards cos it can be lonely being single on valentines...so sweet of him...waiting for your next letter Jeff!

Controversy 爭論 争論

Been some time since i last blogged cos i have just been so busy in the past couple of weeks going to some of the CW Games free Festival Melbourne events and being too much of a 'social butterfly'...i will post about the CW Games soon and also put up some pics when i have the time... am soooo behind my readings...catching up NOW....anyways, i wanted to post about the controversy that erupted on my post on Korean men earlier. I did not expect so many ppl to leave comments, i have got 40 comments incl mine so far, something u see only on those super popular blogs!!!I simply did not expect such a simple post to generate so much controversy with alot of anon commenters (must have come from the korea-related blogs) simply attacking koreans and even pretending to be korean and then going out of their way to be racist to give koreans a bad name. I have had to change my comment settings such that from now on, all comments have to be approved by me first and i have also deleted some of the unacceptable racist comments left in my blog. Some are such attention seekers posting things they know will get them attention...well i am NOT going to play into their game, and from now on ALL RACIST and UNACCEPTABLE comments will simply not get published and so they might as well not waste their time....anyways, i just find it funny how some ppl just go out of their way to take on an identity to look credible when i can see that they are just pretending....
on another note, i thought i should mention my Gay History Buddy (GHB) . He is a gay friend of mine and we share a common interest in history which is what i like about him...he seems really intelligent and is very well learnt in many aspects of history. For example, when he found out that i was Hunanese (chinese ppl usually know where their ancestors originate from, eg cantonese, hokkien, shanghainese,beijinger, shaanxi,etc) he immediately said isn't that where Chairman Mao is from....not many ppl outside China would know that fact and further most malaysians would NOT be aware of that. In fact, i doubt most malaysians even know that there is a province called Hunan in China, Canton and Fujian province being where the majority of Malaysian Chinese come from. He is smart and is abit different from the stereotypical image of gay men being just interested in other men and sex (though he is too!) However, his blog posts on men seem to garner the most comments whilst his posts on history seem to get less attention....i hope this doesn't reflect on the intelligence and depth of the average gay male! And of course, he has such a nice voice....haha...

Commonwealth Games Celerations on Yarra 英聯邦運動會in墨爾本 コマンウエフゲームスinメルボルン

above is the malaysian dessert 'ice kacang' stall found in the Queen Victoria night market.....i found it interesting and so i took a pic...
Above pic is of the Cheongsam/Chinese dress girl i took...
Above is the fireworks along the Yarra River, as u can tell, my flash was not working properly...damn!!
I went to the Commonwealth Games celebrations along the Yarra River today and just got bck..it was fantastic, esp the fireworks display!!! Really crowded too! There were big screens at many locations screening what was going on inside the MCG Stadium and there was a line of artificial fish displays representing each participating country along the Yarra river......and also quite alot of korean tourists too,hehehe, i just can't seem to not mention koreans somehow, and did i mention about how cute some of the korean guys were too?hehe....the girls were good looking too actually, ANYWAYS, i shall not be distracted by the cute korean guys and ramble on about them, it was a great experience and my digicam went down on me...no battery!! so hopefully my friends brought their handphones and digital cameras so i will get the photos off them...these photos are the ones i took b4 my battery went flat....i also saw a girl in a cheongsam! took a photo of her,hehehe....the one above.....a fantastic evening to be remembered. Before the CW event, i went to the Queen Victoria Night Market with my friend (who's from Penang as well) and we ate some stuff there and looked at the handicrafts being sold there and really liked these hand-made paper desk lamps but abit too expensive....BUT guess what i came across....a yukata stall!!! Yukata is the summer version of the kimono so basically the same thing but the material is abit thinner....AND it was selling 2nd hand yukata for both guys and girls for only $10!!!!! That is SUPER SUPER SUPER cheap considering that i couldn't buy it in Tokyo cos they cost at least 10,000 yen (mayb Aussie$150?) or aussie$50 at least for a 2nd hand one so i was OVERJOYED and guess what, i bought myself a yukata, my first yukata/kimono and i was surprised how good i looked in it when i came home to try it on, i have decided that i shall go to the Japan Festival coming to melbourne wearing the yukata, i mean what other chance do i have to wear it besides Japanese festivals?? Really glad to have found such a bargain,i mean its even cheaper than ur average western clothes....so for those of u who live in melbourne and who don't know or haven't been to the QV night market, it is ending next week (on weds only), so go visit and have a look at the yukata stall whilst u r there!!
What an eventful day it was today!

Moomba festival 幕 芭 遊 行 ムンバーフエスチバル

Went to the Moomba Parade on Monday.....it was really nice and took many photos. It went thru Swanston St and started at around 10am....will post up more photos of Moomba on my online photo album when i have the time.....

Blogs I Read 閱 讀 的 部 落 客 訪ねるブログ

This post is basically to introduce just some of the blogs i read....it won't introduce all the ones i read which are in my links section and it does not mean that the ones i did not introduce specifically are not good enough cos if there is a link,they are good, but cos of time limitations, i will only point out some:
(1) The Plunge: Fantastic Korea related blog written by a Westerner married with a Korean wife. His blog is the ONLY one in english i've come across so far whose ideas and thinking i almost completely agree with! in fact, he is one of the very few westerners who is so concerned about the Japan and WW2 issue that his 'all important posts' links are all related to japanese apology and compensation for WW2 issues....he basically supports the chinese/korean viewpoint on japanese lack of sincerety on the war issue....in fact all that he has written on his blog about japan and WW2 I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH so please go and have a look at his arguements cos they represent mine as well and it saves me from writing about it when someone else can write it better for me...and yes i am deeply passionate about the Japanese war atrocity issue though i haven't written much about it lately....and he has also been very kind to write 2 posts recommending my blog to others on his own blog somethin which has increased my readership, so pls go and take a look at his blog sometime, in the 'korea blogs' link section below.

(2) kimcafe: fantastic japanese language blog showcasing where to find cheap and delicious food in Japan and the rest of Asia from the writer's personal travels....nice pics too..

(3) What does the world look like/Clayton/Alexander: Three blogs which are incredibly frank and filled with the real emotions of the authors....

(4) Bedtime stories/Confetti in the Wind: Bedtime Stories is the authoritative blog for blogs representing a certain community, the tongzhi community, so check it out, the other blog is also an interesting read and written by a pilot...(note i have explained what tongzhi means in my archives so go check if u dun know the meaning)

(5) beijing or bust: Intelligently written by a social activist in beijing who is quite popular in the blogsphere, also has a taiwanese boyfriend which is always nice given that i am half-taiwanese myself.....

(6)Asia pages: one of my favourite korea blogs written by an intelligent and insightful korean-american woman currently living in Pusan...just love reading about all the topics she writes about...

(7) ESWN blog: Very important news source for english translations of chinese media sources...

(8) Gay Japan News: an extremely useful website for info on gay news around the globe in Japanese....

(9) Multi-Colour dreams of Krungthep: Thai-Malaysian blog which is funny, witty and hilarious at times giving some insight into a certain community and their life.....

(10) Nanking Atrocities/Korean council for comfort women: Informative sites on Japanese war atrocities during WW2....

Kawasaki Saiwai Ward 2006 川崎市的幸區2006年 川崎市幸区2006年

Kids frolic on a mountain of thanks
02/20/2006
Children had a rare chance to play in snow in Kawasaki's Saiwai Ward on Sunday morning after a 72-year-old man trucked in 300 tons of the stuff from the former village of Yamakoshi in Niigata Prefecture. (Takeshi Tokitsu/The Asahi Shimbun)
I found this on the Asahi website front page some weeks back and was pleasantly surprised given that Kawasaki's Saiwai Ward was exactly the place i lived in whilst in Tokyo in 2005. I mean not only is it the same city Kawasaki City which is big anyway, its the same Ward and i think i even recognise the tall buildings behind in the picture, could they be the buildings close to JR Shin-Kawasaki Station?? (This was the station i used most frequently to travel around and also to get to Keio University in Mita campus which is where i went despite my apart being like 15 mins walk to its Hiyoshi Campus BUT i am so glad all the classes were at Mita cos its right in the Tokyo metro area and i got to travel almost daily using the busiest inner Tokyo Yamanote train line circle.How i miss Tokyo life.......戻りたいなあ。。。東京)

Gay Korea Column (2)同志韓國(二) ゲイ韓国(二)

Been awhile since i last posted so i will post a few more posts as is my habit to post alot after a loooong lull. I hope more people leave comments, as u can tell my blog has a variety of posts relating to all kinds of topics of interest to me and so it can't really be classified into any of the conventional categories for blogs such as 'korea blogs' or 'chinese blogs' or 'history blogs' or 'women's blogs' cos i post on a range of issues....u can find all different kinds of posts dealing with issues ranging from women's rights, the chinese dress, japanese war compensation and apology, to korea and south korea's current trends and film reviews and gay issues...so u can find everything here whereas in other blogs they will prob only deal with one specific issue only...such as gay stuff for 'gay blogs' and korea stuff for 'korea blogs'...yes i know i am shameless and conceited but i am proud of my little blog here so pls feel free to comment liberally, all constructive comments are welcome....The few posts below are part of my continuing series on 'Homosexuality in Asia' and part of the 'Gay Korea' series which is to inform the greater public on the gay side of South Korea given that i have interest in both South Korea and gay issues, i thought of matching the two up and given the dire lack of info on gay korea (as opposed to gay china and gay japan) out there in english...hope u find it interesting!.

Group Denounces Abuse of Gay Conscript Chosun Ilbo Article (February 16 2006)
A coalition of civic groups has denounced the treatment of gays in the Korean military. The leader of Solidarity for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Human Rights of Korea, one of the groups, on Wednesday told reporters of the case of one private who asked to speak to his superiors about his homosexuality and was asked to bring photographic evidence showing him having sex with another man (ridiculous lar!) He was in effect the victim of sexual harassment, the leader said.
The Human Rights Network called on the government to resolve the issue, saying the incident was a clear example that the military is in a blind spot in terms of human rights abuses, and demonstrates just how serious human rights abuses of homosexual soldiers have become. A spokesman for the military said the forces await for the outcome of an inquiry by the National Human Rights Commission. He said the private petitioned the NHRC on Feb. 9, and the watchdog has been investigating the facts at the unit where the incident took place since Tuesday. Depending on the results, the military will decide whether to launch its own investigation.

HIV-Positive Man Held for Endangering Sex Partners Chosun Ilbo Article (13th March 2006)
An HIV-positive man has been arrested for having sex with other men without warning them that he was infected with the virus, police said Friday. Incheon Metropolitan Police said the 24-year old, who contracted the virus through homosexual contact in 2002, is charged with having high-risk sex with seven men he met through an Internet forum in 2004.
Police said the man had sex with another, whom he had met online, at a hotel in Incheon as recently as a week ago. Police quoted him as saying he was unable to suppress his sexual urges and had sex “even though I knew I shouldn’t.”
The arrest came as part of a crackdown on obscene websites( in S.Korea laws banning dangerous sites for children and minors have been used to shut down certain korean gay sites and restrict access to others by requiring keying in ID no and 21 yrs above requirement as 'gay material' is considered 'harmful' to children and minors) Police have asked health authorities to test the man’s sexual partners for the virus and are determining whether there were others.

A Good Time for Gay Movies in East and West Chosun Ilbo Article (March 13 2006)
Planning on “coming out?” Now might be a good time, as a slew of recent hot-topic movies produced and released in Korea, the U.S. and Japan are drawing attention to the topic of same-sex love affairs and perhaps making the idea more accessible to the conservative masses.
Above all, the recent hit Korean movie "The King and the Clown" just became the biggest blockbuster of all time here by attracting more than 11.8 million viewers nationwide as of last week( this has been the talk of town in South Korea for the past few months and is ground-breaking given that it is a gay themed film and a gay themed film has become South Korea's No1 Box Office in its entire 60 yr history smashing even the well known 'Taegukki' by JDG and Won Bin, i will post more on this film when i have a chance to see it when it comes to the korean DVD rental here which i am sure it will most definitely). It focuses on King Yeonsan (Chung Jin-young) and his love for the clown Gong-gil (Lee Joon-ki). The milestone puts the movie ahead of patriotic blockbusters like "Silmido" or "Taegukgi." Homosexual themes, however, are fairly discreetly woven into the tapestry of the film, even if the original Korean title itself -- which translates as “The King’s Man” -- is fairly unequivocal in its connotations.
In Hollywood, "Brokeback Mountain" directed by Ang Lee has been no stranger to public controversy either. Set on a ranch in Wyoming, the movie deals with the love shared between two cowboys -- not an icon one would usually associate with homosexuality. Its commercial success, too, has gone beyond all expectations, with the film picking up four Golden Globes and Lee’s winning the Oscar for Best Director. Back in the East, "La Maison de Himiko," which deals with a gay man in love with a straight woman, an unusual topic even for an art film, drew some 30,000 viewers in three months since its release in Japan in October.
So far, homosexuality has been dealt with mostly in independent movies. In Korean society, which traditionally doesn’t look to kindly on gay relationships, the success of "The King and the Clown" therefore seems an even more exceptional feat. The major force of the movie lies in its solid storyline, but the kiss scene between Chung Jin-young and Lee Joon-ki( LJK has become immensely popular in SK from being a nobody to many a high school girl's dream boy, he is part of the new wave 'pretty boy' look popular with some korean girls, indeed he looks ALOT like a woman, many a western expat from the korea blogs have commented 'why the heck would any guy wanna look like him?' i admit he isn't my cup of tea too but i always think the greater the diversity the better! the West should pick up this trend of 'pretty boys' which is popular in South Korea and also Japan for the sake of giving women more options.)seems so natural that viewers almost forget to squirm. That such stories have moved into the mainstream can be attributed to the watchwords of cultural diversity and political tolerance of the early 2000s. The film critic Shim Young-seop says the result has been mighty step forward for Korea, which now seems able to approach homosexuals as human beings.
(this just goes to show how much times have changed, i mean would anyone in their right minds have ever thought a mere 10 yrs back that a gay themed movie could become deeply Christian and Confucianist South Korea's No1 Box Office hit of all time ...i think NOT!)

Below is my translation on a Japanese piece dealing with Gays in Korea's Military (note its just a summary translation of the gist of the article, not a word for word one, and i am proud i have come to be able to read Japanese articles, newspapers, novels,etc esp after my exchange in Tokyo last year, sad to say the same can't be said about my speaking skills which are like still at primary level,hehe)

ニュース from Gay Japan Web (a very useful Japanese language resource by the way)
韓国：2005年に8人のゲイ兵士が除隊させられる2006/03/01　18:57
（韓国）2005年に8人の兵士を同性愛を理由に除隊したと、韓国軍当局が明らかにした。“8人”という除隊させられた兵士の数は地元のメディアによって報道されたものだが、軍当局もこれを認めている。軍当局によると、同性愛を理由に除隊させられた兵士の数の統計をとるのも、それを公表するのも過去に例がなく、これが初めてだという。
韓国軍法ではゲイ男性の入隊は認められていないが、韓国には徴兵制があるため、全ての男性が2年間の兵役を務めなければならない。士官は兵士から話を聞いたり医者に診断を求めるなどして、兵士が同性愛を理由に兵役逃れを企んでいないかどうかを調査しているという。
韓国LGBT人権連合（Solidarity for LGBT Human Rights of Korea）のファン・ジャンクォン氏は、今月の初めに一人のゲイ兵士から助けを求められていたことを明らかにした。その兵士は、ゲイであることを証明するために性交渉の際の写真を強制的に提出させられただけでなく、同意無しにエイズ検査も受けさせられ、軍当局は彼のプライバシーを保護しなかったという。彼は除隊を望んでおり、同連合も彼を早期に除隊させる方向で動いているという。
韓国性暴力救済センター（Korea Sexual Violence Relief Center）もまた、軍隊内でのゲイ兵士に対する差別を激しく非難しており、ゲイ兵士を任務から除外する規定を変更するよう要求している。厳格な儒教とカトリックの影響の強い韓国において同性愛がある程度受け入れられてきたのはここ数年のことである。韓国では現在、独裁的な王と2人の道化師を巻き込んだゲイの三角関係を描いた映画『王の男』が大ヒットを記録し話題を呼んでいる。
English Translation: In 2005, the Korean military has admitted that 8 gay soldiers were expelled from the korean military on the grounds of their homosexuality which was first reported in a local media. This is the 1st time that the Korean military has publicly revealed that it does keep a record of the number of soldiers expelled from the military on the grounds of homosexuality. Although the Korean Military Law does not allow for gay men's entry into the military, due to the compulsory national service in SK, all men must do 2 yrs compulsory service. The military officials have to talk with men who proclaim that they are gay as well as seek the advice of medical professionals to ascertain whether or not those who say they are gay are genuine cases or merely attempting to escape from military service. A Korean NGO has said this month, there was a case of a private who was asked to produce photographic evidence of him havinf sex with another man to prove his homosexuality as well as forced to take an AIDS test, thus the military having failed to protect his privacy. The KSVRC has severely criticised discrimination against gays in the korean military and have requested that the rules whereby gay soldiers must be expelled be amended. In strongly Confucianistic and Catholic South Korea, the acceptance of gays to a certain level has only occured in these few yrs. In South Korea currently, the film about a ruthless dictatorial King and his gay relationship with 2 clowns has become a huge hit.
Ok one thought i have is how does the military decide who is gay and who isn't? Do they just pick out the effeminate looking ones? I mean how do they found out or do gay soldiers just volunteer the information? I remember reading somewhere that the famous Korean transgendered singer HaRiSoo managed to skip NS by getting a doctor to write that she had 'severe mental problems' which is one of the only ways to get exempted given the korean military doesn't like exempting ppl. This definition in itself is a problem given that by categorizing gays as those with 'severe mental problems' they are put in a similar category as to schizos and deranged people...
Well, hope the above gave my readers some more insight into Gay Korea and gay related issue currently in South Korea.......
AND LASTLY....PrinzJ i still have no reply from u, dun u wanna know ur senior in law school?i realised like what u said there aren't alot of malaysians in law school as compared to sg,etc...at least even if u refuse to give an email, have the courtesy to reply and give me some dumbass excuse, but not replying at all is NOT going to give me a good impression, still like a contact but dun wanna lose a loyal reader....so either give me a contact or give me a dumbass excuse, either way a reply means u will continue to be very welcome to leave comments here, not replying however will be just the opposite.....this shall be my last attempt....