Korean film Poetry (시) at Maridon Museum, September 26.

The Maridon Museum will show the 2010 Korean film Poetry (시) on September 26. A Korea Times review gives a plot summary:

Yun [Jeong-hie] plays the role of a grandmother who lives in the suburbs with her teenage grandson. Though in her 60s, she is still naïve, curious and charming like a little girl, and one day becomes immersed in the world of poetry. She begins to explore the beauty of the small things in everyday life as she builds her craft, but when a terrible, unexpected incident occurs she discovers the dark side to things.

The movie starts at 6:00 pm and is presented by Dr. Bill Covey of Slippery Rock University's Department of English. The Asian art museum is located at 322 North McKean St in downtown Butler (map), roughly 40 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Lecture "Design Thinking: Japanese Style" at Pitt, September 25.

The University of Pittsburgh Asian Studies Center and International Business Center will present "Design Thinking: Japanese Style", a lecture and book-launch tour stop by Dr. Robert Tobin, on September 25. An overview, from the University Center for International Studies:

What are the elements of Japanese aesthetics and design?
How is the Japanese approach to creativity different from the American approach? How can you apply these principles to your daily life?

Dr. Robert "Bob" Tobin, emeritus professor from the Faculty of Business and Commerce at Keio University in Japan, and former director of the Program on Creativity and Change will be speaking on the Japanese approach to creativity and design. Dr. Tobin has over 20 years of experience in organizational consulting and training with global business leaders. His presentation style is strongly focused on audience participation and designed to help participants change their world view and spark their creativity.

The talk is from 12:30 to 2:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (campus map).

NAAAP September Dinner Club at Fukuda, September 25.

The Pittsburgh chapter of the National Association of Asian American Professionals [NAAAP] is holding a dinner club meeting on Thursday, September 25, at Fukuda.

Come and join NAAAP PGH on September 25, at 6:00pm for a night of great food and conversation at Fukuda on Liberty ave. in Bloomfield!

More information available at the event's Facebook page.

Another Northwest Chinese Pop-up Restaurant Event at Sonny's Tavern, September 20.

Northwest Chinese Pop-up Restaurant will host another event on September 20 at Sonny's Tavern. The person slash group exists to "strive to bring Northwestern Chinese culture to Pittsburgh through its authentic food, arts, music and crafts." This fall's first event was last weekend.

The event runs from 6:00 pm to 11:30 pm at Sonny's Tavern in Bloomfield (map), and registration can be done online.

New home for Chinatown bus station.

As of September 1, the Pittsburgh Chinatown bus station moved to 1613 Penn Ave. (map) in the Strip District from its former location on Meyran Ave. in Oakland. Not to be confused with Pittsburgh's Chinatown, which used to be downtown off Grant Street. The surviving buildings are along Court Place (map).


Former home of the local Hop Sing Association (協勝公會) branch.

Panel Discussion "China's Entrepreneurs" at Pitt, September 19.

The University of Pittsburgh Asian Studies Center and the Pitt International Business Center are hosting a panel discussion on September 19 called "China's Entrepreneurs" with presenters Mr. Zhao Bin (Chairman, Xi'an Kitamura Machine Works Co. Ltd.) and Megan Xi (Director, Blue Water Growth.). An overview:

Over the past decade China’s rapid economic growth and diversification has powered that country’s economy past a stage of primary industrialization into a new era of creativity and manufacturing. The country’s entrepreneurs are playing a leading role in developing businesses, seeking new markets, and creating products. Please join us in a discussion of China’s new entrepreneurs and how their business decisions are changing the global economy.

Refreshments will be served.

The discussion begins at 1:00 pm and is held in 4130 Posvar Hall (campus map).

Language exchange and conversation partner programs in Pittsburgh this fall.

There are a good number of free language classes in Pittsburgh at the Carnegie Libraries: Japanese, Chinese, Korean, German, French, Spanish, English as a Second Language, among others (search events on the CLP webpage for details). If you're looking for one-on-one exchanges, or just want to chat with someone from a different country, many local universities and language institutes run language exchange and conversation partner programs to help their international students share quality time with native English speakers, time that can be surprisingly hard to come by. A new semester means renewed need for conversation partners, and if you're in Pittsburgh you can register now with the University of Pittsburgh English Language Institute or contact Duquesne University's ESL program or Chatham University's English Language Program.

Schools in other areas have these outreach programs, too, so Google around. Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Penn State, and the University of Pennsylvania come to mind. It's a great way to help someone new to your city and to make a meaningful experience for both of you.

No Name Painting Association at Global Shift Festival, September 20.

The Global Shift Festival, at Point Park University from September 18 through September 21, will show the 2013 Chinese-American documentary No Name Painting Association on September 20. The 23-minute documentary is, says imdb,

about the Wuming (No Name) group of renegade Chinese artists who painted forbidden images during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and pioneered the Contemporary Chinese Art Movement.

The documentary is paired with Finding Mike, and the pair start at 3:00 pm. Tickets are $5 and are available online.

"A Taste of Korea" at Maridon Museum, September 17 - 20.

Butler's Maridon Museum will present "A Taste of Korea" from September 17 through 20, with talks and presentations on Korean people, culture, and customs. Highlights include two talks Dr. Kang-Yup Na of Westminster College and one by the author of Love Beyond Measure: Memoir of a Korean War Bride. Tickets are $3 per day or $6 for a four-day pass.

The Asian art museum is located at 322 North McKean St in downtown Butler (map), roughly 40 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Japanese film Why Don't You Play in Hell? (地獄でなぜ悪い) returning to Pittsburgh in November.

On Wednesday, the Hollywood Theater in Dormont announced it would be showing the Japanese film Why Don't You Play in Hell? (地獄でなぜ悪い) from November 13 through 16. A summary, from The Japan Society:

A tribute to old-school yakuza cinema and shoe-string amateur filmmaking based on a screenplay Sion Sono wrote 17 years ago. The Fuck Bombers, a group of film geeks led by Hirata (Hiroki Hasegawa), try to turn brawler Sasaki (Tak Sakaguchi) into their new Bruce Lee but are nowhere near making their action masterpiece. An ambush set up by a yakuza clan comes to a gory end in the home of boss Muto (Jun Kunimura) with only one man, Ikegami (Shinichi Tsutsumi), surviving. When Mitsuko, the Mutos' young daughter, makes an unexpected entrance, Ikegami is instantly smitten. Ten years later, she has become one sultry mean mess of a girl (Fumi Nikaido). Determined to make Mitsuko a star, her father gives Hirata a once-in-a-lifetime chance to make his movie, with the yakuza as film production crew and the Bombers joining the "real" action--the ultimate sword battle between the Muto and Ikegami clans.

The movie was first in Pittsburgh last spring as part of the 2014 Silk Screen Asian American Film Festival.