Hello everyone!
 

Simu Liu has officially goes public with new girlfriend Allison Hsu.
 

Liu posted a photo of himself with Hsu in Christmas sweaters at the premiere of “Violent Night” on Friday. Hsu is a digital marketing manager at Interscope Records and was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 list this year.

She posted a photo of herself with Liu at the BLACKPINK concert back in November. 

• Chef Daniel Harthausen is the winner of HBO’s first season of “The Big Brunch,” and with it, a $300,000 prize. His winning dish was Japanese chicken katsu curry.  

• Chinatown cheer: The Wang YMCA Chinatown in Boston celebrated its annual holiday party. The event also honored Madeline Wong, the matriarch of the legendary Kowloon restaurant, who passed away last month. 

...

• Elon’s Asian interest sorority: Elon University in North Carolina has chartered its first Asian-interest sorority. Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. spent three years trying to get a chapter chartered at the university.

• Iran’s morality police still active?: Several news outlets have reported that Iran will abolish its morality police following months of protests in the country. However, Iran state media has reported that these claims have been misinterpreted, but have not confirmed one way or another. The confusion comes after Iran’s Attorney General, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, said they “have been shut down from where they were set up."

...

• China’s airborne baby-killer: A new study from Peking University has found that 64,000 fetal deaths in the womb are the result of polluted air in China. The study analyzed 137 countries and found that 40% of stillbirths in Asia, Africa and Latin America in 2015 were caused by pollution. These numbers are a detractor in China’s ongoing efforts to tackle climate change and pollution.  

• “KPOP” the musical in studio: The cast of “KPOP” the musical on Broadway are recording an album together. The album, “KPOP – Original Broadway Cast Recording,” is slated for next year and will feature vocals from K-pop stars such as Kevin Woo, Luna, Min and Bo-Hyung.  

...

• EPIK HIGH’s tour: South Korean hip-hop group EPIK HIGH have announced their “All Time High” tour for North America and Europe. Tickets go on sale Dec. 9 at 10:00 a.m. local time at epikhigh.com. They will stop in over 20 cities in North America.

• Japan has released a wearable cushion this winter season. 
   
• One of Tokyo’s busiest subway lines now has a women-only car to help protect them from gropers. 
   
• Chinese university students have invented an invisibility cloak. 50 points for Ravenclaw. 
   
• Two New York teenagers have been arrested and charged with hate crime assault after beating an Asian subway rider and spouting racist slurs.    
   
• Tiktoker Megha Thakur, 21, died suddenly on Nov. 24. Thakur was known for using her platform to spread positive messages and speak out against body shaming.