East Asia Blog Round-Up : 19/9/2012

• American in North Korea - Joseph shares his photos of his visit to the Dongbong Co-operative Farm.
• Chengdu Living - Sascha explains why we shouldn’t believe the hype surrounding the anti-Japanese protests in China.
  
• Country Fried Egg Roll - The author lists some of the places in Shenyang that sell American and other imported groceries.
• Dale’s Korean Temple Adventures - Dale visits the colourful Eungseoksa Temple in Jinju.
• Dru’s Misadventures - Dru returns to Hiroshima.
• Fili’s World - Fili talks about the little-known Museum of Drinking Water in Taipei’s Water Park.
• Fluent Flix - Ben interviews Greg Bell, Chinese learner and author of the blog En Route to Fluency.
• Hacking Chinese - Olle lists 12 songs that are excellent for learning Chinese and expanding your horizons.
• Into the Middle Kingdom - Matthew writes about his visit to the Chiu Gompa Monastery in Western Tibet last May.
• Journey to Hong Kong - Anna revisits the charming fishing village of Tai O on Lantau Island.
• Life & Times in China - JZ talks about the highs and lows of his first week as a student in China.
• More Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan - The author seeks out onigawara “demon tiles” in Shikoku.
• My Kafkaesque Life - The author compiles a list of parks in Taipei.
• Oh Happy Dae - Janelle explores the Hongdae Free Market.
• Rurousha - The author talks about Japanese “fox weddings” (狐の嫁入り).
• Shu Flies - Catherine celebrates the 5th anniversary of her move to Taiwan and writes about the 10 things she’s learnt in that time.
• Sinoglot - Randy writes about Zhu Haijuan, a native Mongolian speaker, and what it’s like to grow up as a Mongolian speaker in Jilin Province.
• Tales From Hebei - Kelly finds that she’s increasingly unsurprised by all the ridiculous things that go on around her.
• Tea Leaf Nation - Eddie shares 15 feel-good internet stories from China.
• The Wild East - Steven lists 5 of Taiwan’s top tourist attractions.
• Tofugu - John writes about dragons in traditional Japanese culture.
• Unbrave Girl - Sally talks about the 5 things she kind of liked about Macau.
• Webs of Significance - YTSL shares some beautiful photos taken of Hakone’s Lake Ashi.
• Zooming Japan - Jasmine visits Japan’s “Cat Island”, Tashirojima (田代島).

Torii of the shrine in Hakone, at Lake Ashi
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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East Asia Blog Round-Up : 4/3/2012

Here is this week’s Eye on East Asia Blog Round-up.

• Ajumma’s Journal - The author creates an itinerary for night owls celebrating the Great Full Moon, or Daeboreum (대보름), festival.
• An American in North Korea - Joseph gives some advice on what to pack for a trip to North Korea.
• Annyeong from Anyang - Lana writes about her recent trip to Cambodia.
• Appetite for China - Diana shares a delicious recipe for spicy Hunan beef with cumin.
• Carl Gene - Carl compiles a list of Chinese nouns ending with de (的).
• Chinaful - Courtney talks about her adventures in the grasslands of Inner Mongolia.
• Dale’s Korean Temple Adventures - Dale visits Hwaeomsa Temple (화엄사) in Yangsan.
• East Asian Student - Hugh explains the difference between passive and active vocabulary.
• Good & Bad Japan - The author explains why Japanese really isn’t as difficult as the Japanese insist it is.
• Hacking Chinese - Olle talks about the “10,000-hour rule” in language learning.
• I’ll Make it Myself - The author talks about Japanese street food and the 2012 Foodpia Land food fair.
• Josephine McDermott -  Josephine bemoans the lack of good value massage parlours in London.
• Life of a Foreign Hachikin - Indi lists her top five Japanese movies.
• Life on Nanchang Lu - Fiona learns about allotment farming in China.
• Lingomi - Steven calls on readers to rate his spoken Mandarin.
• Mark’s  China Blog - Mark reviews the late Nien Cheng’s memoir Life and Death in Shanghai.
• Mountain Phoenix Over Tibet - The author talks about Tibet’s mythical King Gesar of Ling.
• Mutantfrog Travelogue - Adam explains why he feels his Japanese sucks and always will.
• My Mid-Twenties in Mongolia - Liz shows you how to celebrate the New Year Mongolian style.
• Out to Lunch - Carolyn shares her recipe for Shanghainese salt-and-pepper chicken (椒鹽雞).
• Seeing Red in China - Tom reviews Liao Yiwu’s book about Christianity in Communist China, God is Red.
• Shenzhen Noted - Mary Ann shares her thoughts on the sorry state of Shenzhen’s print media.
• Shizuoka Gourmet - The author posts a simple recipe for Okinawan chilli oil (食べるラー油).
• Space for Grace - Grace wonders what the future holds for her and her career and family.
• Taiwan Duck - JJ Lym shows readers how to make Taiwanese oyster omelettes (蚵仔煎) at home.
• The Wild East - Trista reviews Nick Kembel’s bilingual book Taiwan From the Eyes of a Foreigner.
• To Shuo - Mark talks about an interesting character in his life, the Chinese Character Enthusiast.
• Tofugu - Hashi responds to Adam’s post and considers what it means to be fluent in Japanese.
• TsukuBlog - Avi talks about the legacy of ancient Japan’s frontier guards, the sakimori (防人).
• Writer. Traveller. Tea Drinker - Becky talks about a slight mishap at McDonalds.
• You’re Not From Around Here, Are You? - Steve writes about his visit to the Dai homeland of Xishuangbanna (西双版纳) in Yunnan Province.

That’s all for this week. The next blog round-up will be posted on Sunday 11th March 2012.

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East Asia Blog Round-Up : 5/2/2012

Here is this week’s Eye on East Asia Blog Round-up :

• A Man With Tea - Toranosuke talks about the difficulties of engaging in Japanese culture in the US.
• Ajumma’s Journal - The author talks about the role of the peony, or moran (모란), in Korean culture.
• An American in North Korea - Joseph posts some stunning photos taken at the Arirang Mass Games (아리랑 축제).
• Beyond Kimchee - Holly shares her recipe for deep-fried winter vegetables.
• Blonde Adventures - The author visits one of Korea’s five grand palaces, Gyeongbokgung Palace (경복궁) in Seoul.
• ChinaB - Hannah explains why she thinks Guangzhou holds the key to China’s future.
• Dale’s Korean Temple Adventures - Dale visits Mireukasa Temple (미륵사) in Busan.
• East Asia Student - Hugh talks about the first year of his Chinese Studies degree at Churchill College, Cambridge.
• Fili’s World – Fili explores the Nanputuo Temple (南普陀寺) in Xiamen.
• Gyeongju Blog - Sherwin visits the Yeongcheon Memorial and National Cemetery (국립영천호국원 ).
• Haikugirl’s Japan - Ali reviews Lian Hearn’s novel Blossoms and Shadows.
• Haus in Korea - Meghan goes shark diving in Busan.
• Japan: Life & Religion - Doug sings praise for Japan’s convenience stores.
• Just Another Day in Japan - Joe talks about his life post-JET.
• Kunisaki - Alex mingles with the demons at the shujou-onie festival (修正鬼会) at JoubutsuTemple (成仏寺).
• Laowai Chinese - Albert shares his first impressions of the new Chinese Grammar Wiki site.
• Life & Times in China - Julie celebrates her first Lunar New Year in China.
• Life on Nanchang Lu - Fiona talks about her 3-day train journey to Harbin (哈尔滨).
• Lingomi - Steven interviews Dave, the author of the Chinese Hacks blog.
• Mountain Phoenix Over Tibet - The author talks about the difficulties of transliterating Tibetan place names.
• My Beijing Survival Diary - The author hosts a dumpling party.
• My Kafkaesque Life - The author goes on a sightseeing tour of Chiayi (嘉義) in southern Taiwan.
• Naruhodo - Steffen delves into the world of traditional Japanese mathematics (和算).
• Roboseyo – Rob shares his thoughts on Girls Generation’s (소녀시대) recent performance on the David Letterman Show.
• Shards of China - Nicholas talks about the rise of male prostitution in China.
• Shenzhen Noted - Mary Ann explores Macau’s historic city centre.
• Taiwan Duck - The author shares her recipe for Taiwanese-style braised chicken (紅燒油雞).
• The Korea Guide - WonTaek lists some typically Korean habits and behaviours.
• The View From Over Here - The author has fun in the snow at the Daegwallyeong Snow Festival (대관령 눈꽃 축제).
• Tigers & Magpies - Eddie wanders among the tombs of the Daereungwon (대릉원) tomb complex in Gyeongju.
• TsukuBlog - Avi talks about one of Ibaraki’s (茨城) unique festivals, hatsu uma (初午).
• Writer. Traveller. Tea Drinker – Becky escapes the madness of China’s New Year celebrations to spend the holidays in Hong Kong.
• Xinjiang : Far West China - Josh shares some beautiful photos of Xinjiang in the winter.

That’s all for this week. There will not be a blog round-up for the next two weeks as my mother will be visiting me, so the next Eye on East Asia Blog Round-up will be posted on Sunday 26th February 2012.

East Asia Blog Round-Up : 18/12/2011

Here is this week’s Eye on East Asia Blog Round-up :

• Aeri’s Kitchen - Aeri shares her recipe for making salted shrimp (새우젓) for use in homemade kimchi.
• Dale’s Korean Temple Adventures - Dale writes about the popular Korean deity San Shin (산신), the Mountain God.
• Fili’s World - Fili visits the Kimchi Field Museum (김치박물관) in Seoul’s Gangnam district.
• Fluent Flix - Get in the festive spirit with this list of Christmas vocabulary.
• Fuchsia Dunlop - Fuchsia shares her thoughts on her meal at the Manchurian Legends restaurant in London’s Chinatown.
• I’ll Make it Myself - Leah shares her recipe for spiced persimmon cake.
• Just Another Day in Japan - Blue Shoe talks about Japanese New Year greetings cards (年賀状).
• Korean Graduate Studies Prep - Matthew reviews Barbara Demick’s book “Nothing to Envy : Ordinary Lives in North Korea“.
• Life on Nanchang Lu – Fiona writes about the twelve steps of making traditional fermented soy sauce.
• Lingomi - An interview with Steven (aka SYZ), author of the Sinoglot and Beijing Sounds blogs.
• Out to Lunch - Carolyn shares her recipe for Tianjin-style garlicky fish (蒜瓣兒魚).
• Patrick Cowsill - Patrick visits the newly-opened National Museum of Taiwanese History (國立台灣歷史博物館) in Tainan.
• Sinoglot - Kellen and SYZ discuss the issue of “Second Round Simplification” as seen across Asia today.
• Taiwan Duck - The author posts a recipe video for making Taiwanese-style stuffed pork rolls (黑胡椒豬肉卷).
• The Blacksmith Books Blog - Pete reviews Cindy Miller Stephens’ new guidebook “Hong Kong for Kids : A Parent’s Guide“.
• Tofugu - John writes about the dying art of Japanese sword-making.
• Wandering Taiwan - Micki and Kristen learn how to pick spring onions and make spring onion pancakes (蔥油餅) in Yilan’s Sanxing Township.

That’s all for this week and this year. I’ll be taking a short break from blogging over the Christmas and New Year holidays so have a great Christmas (if you celebrate it) and I wish you all the very best for 2012!

The Eye on East Asia Blog Round-up will return on Sunday 8th January 2012.

Defectors Train to Aid Others from North Korea

The Los Angeles Times has a very interesting report about a North Korean defector, Choi Hui-suk, who has been trained as a life counsellor to assist fellow defectors adjust to life in South Korea. Many readers may be unaware of the multitude of problems that North Korean defectors face in their everyday lives in South Korea, which range from fairly trivial matters, such as difficulties operating an ATM machine, to mental health issues and “survivor’s guilt”, especially amongst those who have left family members behind in the totalitarian north.

Here is a short excerpt of the report :

When North Korean defector Choi Hui-suk arrived in Seoul in 2002, she was miserably lonely and could not escape the feeling of being an outsider.

Sure, these South Koreans looked like her and even spoke her language, but she might as well have landed on the moon.

She had little feel for the culture. She had never used a cellphone or even a TV remote control, and she was so suspicious of strangers that she refused at first to give anyone her real name.

Choi had reason to be cautious: At her first job at an electronics factory here, a South Korean colleague stole $10,000 from her and disappeared.

But the sociable 46-year-old survived and now feels at home in this new land. And she has received training to help others feel the same way — as a life counselor for North Korean defectors.

You can continue reading the report here.