AUGUST 2, 2022

Hello, everyone!

As we all know, the World Health Organization has designated Monkeypox as a global health emergency. But, what is that looking like in the U.S.?

Current at-risk demographics include those with preexisting conditions and men who have sex with men. To be clear, monkeypox is not an STI or an STD; anyone who spends intimate and extended amounts of time with an infected individual may become infected themselves. But, the U.S.’ response is lacking, and with a tired healthcare system and workforce, the vaccination campaigns, basic healthcare services and public health reaction has been slow and bogged down by bureaucracy. As a result, misinformation and panic within communities have ostracized and also endangered people.

In response to the emergency, the Biden Administration has rolled out over 1 million doses of the vaccines (there are two) and has ramped up testing significantly. 

Worldwide cases continue to rise, and India’s first monkeypox death was just recorded today. While the lesions from monkeypox are quite painful, other symptoms such as fever can also worsen one’s health greatly. Make sure to keep masking and washing your hands.

Spotlight💡

In South Korea, a doctor is breaking cultural barriers around mental health and therapy. Dr. Oh Eun-Young, hailed as the “god of parenting,” is famous for opening up conversations around parent responsibility as a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry.

Her mantra, “there is no problem child, only problems in parenting,” guides her reality show that creates a normalized, communicative and public relationship between doctor and patient on issues of mental health. Not only is she reaching the parents, but she’s also making medical and professional jargon more accessible to families and individuals who want to seek help.

South Korea’s mental health crisis, which coincides with their suicide rates, is an issue that Dr. Oh continues to bring to light by gently intervening through her show with real patients.

Race in America 🌎

In Houston, Texas, Korean American visual artist JooYoung Choi is bringing back magic at a children’s museum.

Through her various characters that embody different identities and stories that incorporate themes pertaining to real-life disputes and conversations, Choi performs her show, “The Cosmic Womb,” which resembles fantasy worldbuilding like J.R.R. Tolkien’s creations.

In her art, she uses puppets, animation or live-action figures to bring the storylines to life. Additionally, she also uses soft-sculpture installations and paintings to create multiple realities. Choi explains that her world is not linear or one-dimensional, it isn’t even sequential. Time, space and plots are ever-changing - it’s a multiverse.

In the cooking world, other Korean adoptees are reconnecting and reevaluating their identities. As a large population of adoptees flooded into the U.S. as a result of the Korean War, food became one of the outlets for transracial experiences to manifest and evolve.

For Katianna Hong, creating a “Korean mirepoix” is a testament to her Korean heritage and her German Jewish, Irish Catholic upbringing. These combinations aren’t merely fusions, but a recreation of their experiences. While some chefs label their cooking along lines of “korean-esque” or otherwise, the interrogation of authenticity continues to haunt these creatives, constantly asking: what is Korean enough? 

In Other Asian News 🗞

In Japan, traditional crafts are dying. Older craftsmen are pointing out that the number of  young folks in their industries are declining.

Various delicate crafts like gold leaf production and earthenware-related creations require years of practice, skill and knowledge. Small businesses and companies are the backbone of the Japanese economy, but more and more of them are disappearing, according to Yasuhiro Ochiai, an associate professor at the University of Shizouka specializing in business succession.

Traditions, skills and economic stability are all at risk, and with no successors to these businesses, older folks worry about the future of their arts. The government has also become more concerned about this trend, which led to various local apprenticeship programs to keep the culture alive. However, logistical issues including the exclusivity of these trainings, are still a barrier towards revitalizing these industries.
 

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In India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is planning on expanding and enforcing the plastic ban. In Tamil Nadu, its plastic bans were effective because they were enforced. Now the national administration aims to expand those bans to cover single-use plastics including thin plastic bags, disposal cups, plates, cutlery, straws and ear swabs.

Experts are calling India’s agenda ambitious as it tackles the supply chain that provides plastic packaging and products instead of relying on the consumer. Last year, the country aimed to eliminate thin plastic bag use, but local authorities were less stringent, which caused the program to fall flat. The results in Tamil Nadu were effective for two reasons: the authorities held people accountable and people held the government accountable, so now, the government plans to utilize an app that each resident can use to report violators. 

Music and Film 📺

BLACKPINK dropped a 30-second teaser trailer called “Born Pink” with an announcement of upcoming projects. The video shows mysterious dark pink smoke set to an instrumental snippet of a possible future track. At the end, it is revealed a music video will drop sometime this month, followed by a new album in September and a world tour starting in October.

Last week, YG Entertainment announced the group had started filming their most expensive music video to date. They also released a collaboration music video with PUBG Mobile featuring AI of the four members singing to the new song “Ready For Love.”

Amazon Prime Video announced their first ever lineup of Southeast Asian local-language originals. The slate includes a trio of comedic projects: “Comedy Island: Indonesia,” “Comedy Island: Thailand,” and “Comedy Island: Philippines,” about comedians and other celebrities being stranded on a paradise island. It will start streaming in 2023. Other content includes various new Indonesian, Thailand and Philippine films and dramas.

Head of Asia-Pacific Originals, Prime Video, Erika North said, “Southeast Asia is a tapestry of cultures, languages, and histories, and there has truly never been a better time to be a content creator or a content consumer in this part of the world. We are thrilled to be bringing our first three local Amazon Originals, the hilarious world of Comedy Island to customers in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, and worldwide.”

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

• Chef Nikhil Abuvala is the owner of tasting menu restaurant Roux 30A and Japanese concept Nanbu Noodle Bar in Florida, he has traveled to over 30 countries to get inspired for his menu offerings.

• According to pro-democracy activists in Myanmar, a Japanese video journalist has been arrested by military authorities after filming anti-government protests in the country’s biggest city of Yangon.

• It turns out a jellyfish caught in 2005 by a Japanese zookeeper is actually a completely new species, now called “Octorhopalona saltatrix" (or the Japanese name "Otohime-kurage”).

• Ila Popat has lived in India for more than five decades, getting married there, raising her children, and possessing a driver’s license and voter identification card, but she is considered stateless because she doesn’t have a passport. 

• Journalist Rhik Samadder and British psychologist Philippa Perry investigate the phenomenon of “ick,” the romantic gut reaction of repulsion by the person you’re supposed to be attracted to.