Pittsburgh Sakura Project photo contest.

A rainy March day in 2012.

The Pittsburgh Sakura Project, which has been planting cherry blossoms and other trees around North Park's boathouse the past few years, is holding a photo contest. The group

seek[s] photos showing the scenery in North Park that convey the beauty of the cherry trees the Pittsburgh Sakura Project has planted. Photos may also show people and pets enjoying the trees.

More information can be found on the Pittsburgh Sakura Project's webpage. Because, unfortunately, the cherry blossoms don't frame the boathouse or the nearby picnic groves particularly well, it will be a time to get creative with angles, subjects, and poses. The top three photographers will win gift certificates to Chaya Japanese Restaurant in Squirrel Hill.

Also according to an April 17th post on the website, the blossoms there are in full bloom.

Part three of Pitt student's spring break in North Korea.

A kindergarten performance, from the Young Pioneer Tours Facebook page.

The Citizen-Standard, a paper serving three eastern Pennsylvania counties, has been running a series of columns by Evan Terwilliger, a Pitt senior who spent his spring break in North Korea. Here is an excerpt from the final of three installments:

Much of the information we see in our media about the DPRK has been comprised of primarily values-based critiques. I urge you to be very wary of the pitfalls of these types of judgments. A values-based critique occurs when one uses his/her own values as a perspective to evaluate something else. They are not conducive for understanding others and they tend to oversimplify others (particularly negatively). They lead to evaluation before understanding. Lastly, values-based critiques require no skill in perspective thinking. There is only one perspective, which creates no productive discourse. We get into very dangerous situations like we see at the present by arguing "I'm right! You're wrong! We're better! You're flawed! I'm still right! You're still wrong, ignorant, and dangerous!" We can, of course, be angry and feel disgusted about issues. What is not okay is to simply dismiss the people on the other side. We must engage.

Tomodachi Festival at Carnegie Library Oakland, April 20.

The Carnegie Library in Oakland (map) will host the 2nd annual Tomodachi Festival on April 20 from 2:00 to 4:30. Promoted as a "celebration of Japan and Japanese culture" and aimed toward the little ones, the library website invites families to

[j]oin us for Kamishibai storytelling, singing and dancing, kimono try-ons, origami art and more. Cookies will be served.

The cookies will be provided by Yummyholic, and the event is put on by the library and the Japan-American Society of Pennsylvania.

People interested in this may also want to check out "Camp Konnichiwa", offered at the library again this spring. There are two sessions left of "this four-week camp offering fun activities to help children learn Japanese": April 27 and May 6. Registration is required, and can be done so at the events' webpages or by calling 412-622-3122.

Cherry blossoms in Philadelphia.

We had a great time at the 2013 Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia over the weekend. We were lucky enough to wander around the day before Sakura Sunday and see the sakura in fuller bloom. Highlights included dancers and taiko drummers from Tamagawa University, tours of Shofuso Japanese House & Garden nearby, and perfect weather. It's definitely worth a drive next year.

"Of borders and ball pits"; second installment of Pitt student's spring break in North Korea.

Ball pit in North Korea, via Young Pioneers Tours Facebook Page.

Last week was the first installment by Evan Terwilliger on his trip to North Korea in March. Terwilliger is a Pitt student who spent spring break there and who is writing about it for the Citizen-Standard, which serves three eastern PA counties. Yesterday brought us the second of three installments. An excerpt:

[W]e traveled to the balcony of Panmungak (that big building you see in the pictures opposite South Korea's House of Freedom). We could wave, smile, laugh, point, and take pictures of whatever we wanted (including soldiers). We even got our picture with the First Lieutenant that was showing us around. When we arrived back at the outer perimeter again, I found some common ground with our KPA escort. We agreed that as normal people we would not want to hurt each other. He claimed that I was a nice guy and everything, but that I would be shooting at him if I was fighting for my country. I told him that I never hope it comes to that. Oh, and we also agreed that we love potatoes. Isn't that a start to peace?

It's always a treat to find such things in small, out of the way newspapers.

Eat Drink Man Woman at Maridon Museum, April 18.

Butler's Maridon Museum will show Eat Drink Man Woman (飲食男女) on April 18. It's a 1994 Ang Lee film that is certainly one of Taiwan's best known. An abridged New York Times review writes of it:

[A] look at ethnic and sexual conflicts in a Chinese family, with meals as a centerpiece of the film. Master chef Chu (Sihung Lung) is a long-time widower who lovingly cooks large Sunday dinners for his three daughters, who view the meals as too traditional. Secretly, however, successful airline executive Jia-Chien (Chien-Lien Wu) loves traditional cooking and would like to be a chef like her father, if women were permitted to do so. Her older sister Jia-Jen (Kuei-Mei Yang) is unmarried and cynical about men, but she becomes attracted to a volleyball coach and eventually pursues him vigorously. The youngest daughter, Jia-Ning (Yu-Wen Wang), is a college student who becomes pregnant from her frequent sexual escapades. As the film progresses, the personal relationships between the daughters and their significant others change unexpectedly.

The Maridon is an Asian art museum at 322 N. McKean St. in downtown Butler (map) that presents Asian films from particular countries as part of its spring and fall series. Last year it was China and Vietnam. Eat Drink Man Woman begins at 6:30 pm and is presented by Dr. Kenneth Harris of Slippery Rock University.

2013 Korean Food Bazaar, May 4th.

Advance notice for the 18th annual Korean Food Bazaar (바자회), scheduled for May 4th from 10:30 to 4:00 at the Korean Central Church of Pittsburgh (피츠버그한인중앙교회) in Shadyside (map). We went last year; it was good.

"The Passion of Gamelan and Pop Sunda" at Pitt, April 12 and 13.

Poster from the Asian Studies Center.

Pitt will host a concert on April 12 and 13 featuring its University of Pittsburgh Gamelan orchestra and several visiting Indonesian musicians. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes today about Pitt's program and the upcoming collaboration this weekend:

Pitt News on Philippine Nationality Room stuck in development hell.

A look at the room from Popi Laudico. It was "designed to incorporate the look of the traditional Philippine Bahay na Bato circa 1820".

The Pitt News---student paper at the University of Pittsburgh---has a lengthy article on the proposed Philippine Nationality Room, stalled and doomed by years of in-fighting.

Pitt student visits North Korea for spring break.

Photo in a North Korean school's language lab, via the Young Pioneer Tours Facebook page. Guides for English study are posted on the wall.

Flipping through the Citizen-Standard, which serves three eastern Pennsylvanian counties, brings us to a timely piece by Evan Terwilliger, a University of Pittsburgh student who just spent a week in North Korea. Cutting to the chase:

Many of the popularly-held beliefs that I took into the country turned out to be completely unfounded. For one, the average DPRK citizen is extraordinarily normal. They're not robots. They get through the day one day at a time and, just like us, have pride and support for their country. The biggest fear of the average citizen is being misrepresented in the global media. I had to admit it: the very notion of content and happy communists threatens the foundation of a capitalist society like ours. A couple of times, I was asked what the average American thinks of the DPRK. I was asked about my views of the government and the ongoing tension between our countries. We met up with one tour guide in Pyongyang. He said to me: "Evan, I know I'm from the DPRK; I know you're from America. But remember this: all around the world. . .children is children, life is life, and love is love." Over a few drinks, we agreed that nobody actually wants war. Everybody wants a peaceful world. I proposed a cheer to peace. We drank through the night.

The Young Pioneer Tours Facebook page has more pictures and posts.

For a couple takes on the latest North Korean situation---and especially on Western media's interpretation of it---written by expats living in the South, visit Roboseyo, Scroozle's Sanctuary, and the category on the topic at The Marmot's Hole. And for a thoughtful look at life in North Korea (and one with a local touch), former St. Vincent's College professor Richard Saccone's Living with the Enemy: A Year in North Korea is worth a read.