WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) hiring Mandarin-speaking Spanish tutors.

Pittsburgh-based Chinese education and consulting company WholeRen Education (美国厚仁教育集团) has announced openings for Mandarin-speaking Spanish tutors.

New Chinese film The Wandering Earth (流浪地球) in Pittsburgh through February 25.

The new Chinese movie The Wandering Earth (流浪地球), which opened in Pittsburgh on February 5 for the Lunar New Year, will stay in town through Monday, February 25. The South China Morning Post summarizes the movie, considered China's first big-budget science fiction film.

The film portrays how a group of intrepid Chinese astronauts save the world from the brink of annihilation due to the imminent destruction of the sun. Like Hollywood space movies where Americans are portrayed as the only ones capable of saving humanity, here Chinese astronauts are the sole adventurers among the global space community determined to complete the arduous task of fending off the apocalypse.

In spite of such overt patriotism, the film is spectacular for its ceaseless stream of hair-raising close-shave encounters and apocalyptic landscapes oozing desolation and despair. There is also a touching subplot involving family bonds at the centre of the mission to save the earth.

Tickets are available online via Fandango. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

Arden Cho at Pitt, March 2.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Students Alliance presents Arden Cho on March 2.

Arden Cho is a Korean American actress, singer, youtuber and model best known for her role as Kira Yukimaru on Teen Wolf. She also has been an strong advocate for Asian American issues especially within media.

Tickets will be available soon at the William Pitt Union Ticket Office; information about ticketing will be released on a later date.

Black and gold gloves for infielder Bae Ji-hwan.

Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop prospect Bae Ji-hwan (배지환) unveiled some new gloves on Instagram the other day. Bae is a 19-year-old prospect from Daegu, South Korea, who signed with Pittsburgh in March. He is currently in Florida preparing to attend spring training, though he is likely to peak at single-A this season.

Pachinko book discussion ahead of Min Jin Lee talk, March 28 at Pitt.

via minjinlee.com

Author Min Jin Lee's April 1 lecture is sold out, but the University of Pittsburgh's Global Studies Center is holding a discussion of Pachinko on March 28.

"North Korea in Transition" opening lecture, February 22 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Scott Snyder and his talk "North Korea in Transition" on February 22.

"Japan 2019: Outlook and Challenges" with Deputy Counsel General of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Koji Abe, February 20 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Deputy Counsel General of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Koji Abe and his talk "Japan 2019: Outlook and Challenges" on February 20.

Deputy Counsel General of Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Koji Abe will be discussing the current situation in Japan and challenges to come. He will consider Japan's relations with East Asia and South Asia, as well as the US-Japan alliance. He will examine the USJTA and TPP, grassroots activities in Japan, and other political, social, and economic aspects of Japan.

It will be held from 3:00 to 4:30 pm at 4130 Posvar Hall (map) and is free and open to the public.

Japanese film Shoplifters (万引き家族) at Parkway Theater, February 22 - 28.

The acclaimed 2018 Japanese film Shoplifters (万引き家族) will play at the Parkway Theater in McKees Rocks from February 22 through 28. A summary of the 2018 Japanese movie and Palme d'Or winner Shoplifters (万引き家族):

After one of their shoplifting sessions, Osamu and his son come across a little girl in the freezing cold.

At first reluctant to shelter the girl, Osamu’s wife agrees to take care of her after learning of the hardships she faces.

Although the family is poor, barely making enough money to survive through petty crime, they seem to live happily together until an unforeseen incident reveals hidden secrets, testing the bonds that unite them...

When Shoplifters was released in Japan in June it was the country's highest-grossing movie its first three weekends, and finished the year as Japan's fourth highest-grossing domestic film of the year.

Showtime information is available on Facebook, though tickets are not yet available online. The theater is located at 644 Broadway Ave. in McKees Rocks (map).

Battle Royale (バトル・ロワイアル) added to Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival.

The 2000 cult classic film Battle Royale (バトル・ロワイアル) has been added to the nine other films that currently comprise the upcoming Pittsburgh Japanese Film Festival.

In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary “Battle Royale” act.

Battle Royale became a cultural phenomenon, and has been highly influential in global popular culture. Since the film’s release, the term “battle royale” has been used to refer to a fictional narrative genre and/or mode of entertainment inspired by the film, where a select group of people are instructed to kill each off until there is a triumphant survivor. It has inspired numerous media, including films, manga, anime, comics, visual novels, and video games; the battle royale game genre (including Fortnight), for example, is named after the film.

"Historical Irony in Wang Xiaobo’s Intertextual Narrator," February 22 at Pitt.

The Asian Studies Center and the Department of East Asian & Languages Literatures will host MA candidate Xiaoqi Shen and her talk "Historical Irony in Wang Xiaobo’s Intertextual Narrator" on February 22.