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AAPI immigrant TV representation increased from 12% in 2020 to 27% in 2022. The research was in partnership with the University of Southern California Norman Lear Center’s Media Impact Project. It looked at 167 immigrant characters across 169 episodes of 79 scripted series that aired between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2022.
 

According to the study, 27% representation puts it about equal to the actual AAPI immigrant population in the U.S. The study also found that immigrant characters were also more likely to be associated with crime. 

• YouTuber turned CEO Liah Yoo is breaking new ground with her skincare company Krave Beauty. Yoo is also giving back with a $1 million investment fund called Press Reset Ventures, dedicated to sustainable innovation and technology in the fashion industry. 

• Asian American studies in Massachusetts: Williams College in Massachusetts has approved the creation of an Asian American studies program starting in Fall 2023. The votes in favor of the program make the institution “the first small liberal arts college in New England to establish such a program.” The program will consist of a five-course concentration of introductory and senior level classes, a capstone project and three electives.  

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• TikTok’s time out: Several states are in a tussle with Chinese-based app TikTok. Indiana is suing the technology company over mature content exposure and private data access concerns for the Chinese government. Texas and Maryland are slated to ban the app on state devices, with Georgia considering taking similar action too. South Dakota, South Carolina and Nebraska have already banned the app.

• South Korea’s reversing aging: South Koreans will soon be a year or two younger on official paperwork. The South Korean parliament has opted to scrap the country’s traditional system for counting age starting in June 2023. The “Korean age system” works by considering a person one year old at birth and then gaining a year on the first day of the new year. The “counting age” in South Korea is another method, primarily used to calculate the legal age for smoking and drinking. This is done by calculating zero at birth and then adding a year on Jan. 1.   

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• Iran’s first execution of protestor: Iran revealed that it has executed a prisoner linked to an alleged crime during the country’s nationwide protests, the first known death penalty carried out by Tehran. In related news, medics are seeing gunshot wounds from Iranian security forces on women’s faces, breasts and genitals. 

“Rings of Power” gets stronger: Amazon’s “Lord Of The Rings” series “The Rings of Power” have added Gavi Singh Chera and Selina Lo to its cast for season two. Their characters are unknown at this time.  

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“JAMOJAYA” joy: Justin Chon’s newest film “JAMOJAYA” is slated for a premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The project stars 88rising’s Rich Brian in his first film as an actor.

• The Hmong American Peace Academy, a K-12 school in Milwaukee, was the recipient of a $3 million gift from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott.  
   
• A director for Nickelodeon's hit animated series “Avatar: The Last Airbender” revealed they intentionally added “The Last Airbender” part to the title because director James Cameron owned the rights to “Avatar,” the film with the blue aliens.   
   
• “Weathering with You” and “Your Name” director Makoto Shinkai’s latest project, “Suzume no Tojimari,” will hit U.S. cinemas on April 14, 2023.
   
• The Gurunavi Research Institute has crowned Japan’s dish of the year to be… frozen food. 
   
• Over 70 restaurants across Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines joined food aid efforts for Ukraine from NGO World Central Kitchen.