"Heroes and Toilers: Work and Life in Postwar North Korea, 1953-1961," November 5 at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present Cheehyung Harrison Kim and his talk "Heroes and Toilers: Work and Life in Postwar North Korea, 1953-1961" on November 5.

DR. CHEEHYUNG HARRISON KIM offers an analysis of postwar North Korea that avoids the pitfalls of exoticism and exceptionalism to offer a new answer to the fundamental question of North Korea’s historical development.
In search of national unity and bureaucratic order in the decade following the Korean War, the North Korean state turned to labor. Even more than coercion or violence, work was crucial to state control. Industrial labor was both mode of production and mode of governance, characterized by repetitive work, mass mobilization, labor heroes, and the insistence on convergence between living and working. At the same time, workers challenged and reconfigured state power to accommodate their circumstances—coming late to work, switching jobs, and fighting with bosses, as well as following approved paths to secure their livelihood, resolve conflict, and find happiness.

The online event starts at 5:00 pm on Zoom and is free and open to the public. Registration is required.

2018 film Shoplifters (万引き家族)) with Pitt's Asian Studies Center, November 4.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will present the 2018 Japanese film Shoplifters (万引き家族)) on November 4 as the final installment of its three-part Hirokazu Koreeda series.

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..

It will be accompanied by a lecture from Dr. Linda Ehrlich, author of The Films of Koreeda Hirokazu: An Elemental Cinema. Registration for the free 7:00 pm event is required.

Taiwan's Ministry of Education signs Memorandum of Understanding with Pitt's Asian Studies Center to promote Taiwan studies.

Writes Focus Taiwan:

The Ministry of Education (MOE) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the University of Pittsburgh to carry out a research project on modern Taiwanese history, according to a Wednesday press release from the MOE.

Selections from China, Japan, Korea part of 2020 Film Pittsburgh Fall Festival, November 11 through 22.

Selections from China, Japan, and Korea will help compriise the 2020 Film Pittsburgh Fall Festival, which runs online from November 11 through 22.

"Aida," a 10-minute film from the US and Japan.

A young mother is stuck between development and decay.

"Angel's Mirror," a 14-minute Chinese short film.

A group of young boys are fascinated by a girl who spends her days looking out the window.

Beethoven in Beijing, a 2020 documentary.

The often-tense relationship between the U.S. and China is seen through a different lens in Beethoven in Beijing. Targeted for elimination during the Communist Revolution, Western classical music had all but disappeared from China. But in 1973, Chinese interest in classical music was rekindled when President Nixon dispatched the Philadelphia Orchestra to help open the bamboo curtain. Co-directed by Duquesne University alumna and former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter, Jennifer Lin, the film gives a compelling, up-close look at how music can change hearts and minds–and history.

"Beyond Noh," a four-minute short from the US and Japan.

Masks from all over the world take us on a cultural journey through ritual, utility, deviance, and politics.

"Pangu," a six-minute short from the US and China.

A modern tale about parenthood and the differences between generations.

"Son of Memory," a 19-minute film from Japan.

What if you could bring back your loved one for 49 days?

"Tiger and Ox," a nine-minute short from South Korea.

What does divorce mean to women in a patriarchal Korean society?

Tickets are available for purchase for full-length films on their own, or for short films as part of blocks.

Kung Fu Hustle (功夫) online with Pitt's Office of International Services, November 4.

The University of Pittsburgh's Office of International Services will present the 2004 Chinese movie Kung Fu Hustle (功夫) online on November 4, part of OIS's Watch Party Wednesday series. From the distributor:

Stephen Chow (director and star of Shaolin Soccer) is at it again with his newest action-packed and comedic martial-arts adventure, KUNG FU HUSTLE. From wildly imaginative kung fu showdowns to dance sequences featuring tuxedoed mobsters, you've never seen action this outrageous and characters this zany! With jaw-dropping fight sequences by Yuen Wo Ping (famed action choreographer of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and The Matrix), KUNG FU HUSTLE will blow you away! In a town ruled by the Axe Gang, Sing (Stephen Chow) desperately wants to become a member. He stumbles into a slum ruled by eccentric landlords who turn out to be kung fu masters in disguise. Sing's actions eventually cause the Axe Gang and the slumlords to engage in an explosive kung fu battle. Only one side will win and only one hero will emerge as the greatest kung fu master of all.

It is free and open to the Pitt community and plays online from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Registration is required.

More theaters announced for Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] 1 & 2 (劇場版「Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel]) in Pittsburgh, November 14.

The Japanese animated movies Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] 1 & 2 (劇場版「Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel]) will play in Pittsburgh as a double feature on November 14. From the distributor:

Join fans across the country for an exclusive one-night double feature event featuring parts 1 and part 2 of the Fate/stay night [Heaven’s Feel] trilogy. Don’t miss “I. presage flower” and “II. lost butterfly” as the films returns to the big screen before the final installment, “III. spring song,” arrives in theaters later in the month.

It is scheduled to play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and Cinemark theaters in Monaca, Monroeville, and North Hills; tickets are available online.

Filipino-American film Yellow Rose continues in Pittsburgh, through October 29.

The 2019 film Yellow Rose, which opened in Pittsburgh on October 8, will continue here through at least October 29. From the movie's official site:

Rose, an undocumented Filipino girl, dreams of one day leaving her small Texas town to pursue her country music dreams. Her world is shattered when her mom suddenly gets picked up by immigration and Customs Enforcement. Rose, facing this new reality, is forced to flee the scene, leaving behind the only life she knows, and embarks on a journey of self-discovery as she searches for a new home in the honky tonk world of Austin, Texas.

It plays locally now at the Tull Family Theater in Sewickley, and tickets are available online. The Tull Family Theater is located at 418 Walnut St. in Sewickley (map).

“Music, Sound, and Nostalgia in My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies" with Pitt's Department of Music, October 29.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of Music will host Visiting Scholar Kunio Hara and his lecture "Music, Sound, and Nostalgia in My Neighbor Totoro and Grave of the Fireflies" online on October 29.

"In Conversation Online: An-My Lê, Monique Truong, and Hannah Turpin," October 28 with Carnegie Museum of Art.

Untitled, Sapa, 1995, via anmyle.com

The Carnegie Museum of Art will present "In Conversation Online: An-My Lê, Monique Truong, and Hannah Turpin" on October 28, part of the exhibition An-My Lê On Contested Terrain running through January 18, 2021.

Fantuan / Just Order Enterprises Corp. (饭团) hiring Mandarin-speaking Business Developer.

Fantuan, a delivery service catering to Asian restaurants and groceries that recently expanded to Pittsburgh, is hiring a Mandarin-speaking Business Developer.

Full Job Description

Fantuan was founded in Vancouver, Canada in 2014. With a mission of “life made easier,” the company is a one-stop platform providing food delivery (Fantuan Delivery), reviews (Fantuan Reviews), an errand service (Fantuan Rush), e-commerce and marketing services. Fantuan is one of the top Asian life-services platforms in North America, currently operating across Vancouver, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and other metropolitan areas in Canada and the US.

Responsibilities

• Actively develop business partners and maintain relationships with existing businesses
• Correctly instruct customers to register, install and use merchant app
• Responsible for the offline promotions
• Complete specified monthly tasks on time