"Asia Pop: From Video Games to the Mobile Internet: The Gaming Platform Economy in Japan," March 23 (online) at Pitt.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Marc Steinberg and his talk "From Video Games to the Mobile Internet: The Gaming Platform Economy in Japan" as part of the center's Asia Pop series on March 23.

This lecture by Dr. Marc Steinberg, Associate Professor of Film Studies at Concordia University, will situate Japanese mobile gaming within the longer history of mobile platforms in Japan in an effort to better understand the close relationship between mobile gaming and what we now know as the platform economy.

It starts at 5:00 pm and is free and open to the public, though registration is required.

Azby Brown and "Mottainai: Sustainability in Contemporary Japan," March 17 with Pitt's Asian Studies Center.

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host Azby Brown and his talk "Mottainai: Sustainability in Contemporary Japan" on March 17.

The “mottainai” environmental resource and design principles of Edo-period Japan were so effective that they canserve as prototype and inspiration for truly sustainable living, teaching us the many benefits of living in a highly-developed circular economy. This talk shows how Edo-period Japanese lived and how they made optimum use oftheir limited resources.

Azby Brown is a native of New Orleans, and has lived in Japan since 1985. A widely published author and authority on Japanesearchitecture, design, and environment, his groundbreaking writings on traditional Japanese carpentry, compact housing, and traditional sustainable practices of Japan are recognized as having brought these fields to the awareness of Western designers and the general public. In addition to The Genius of Japanese Carpentry, he has written Small Spaces (1993), The Japanese Dream House (2001), The Very Small Home (2005), and Just Enough: Lessons in living green from traditional Japan (2010). He retired in 2017 from the Kanazawa Institute of Technology,where he founded the Future Design Institute, and is currently on the sculpture faculty of Musashino Art University in Tokyo.

This program is brought to you by the Asian Studies Center at the University of Pittsburgh and made possible with the generous support of the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership

It starts at 7:00 pm EST and is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

"Table for Two: Japanese Soy-based Foods" hybrid event at Pitt, March 15.

via Futuredish.com

The University of Pittsburgh's Asian Studies Center will host "Table for Two: Japanese Soy-based Foods" with Samantha Sodetz. It starts at 6:00 pm on Zoom and in Posvar Hall's Global Hub, and registration is required.

"We Learn: Korean Learning Circle" continues online and in-person at Carnegie Library Oakland, Saturdays through (at least) March and April.

via the Republic of Korea's Flickr page.

The Carnegie Library Main Branch in Oakland will host "We Learn: Korean Learning Circle" on Saturdays in March and April: March 12, 19, 26, April 2, 9, 16, and 23.

We will cover the basic level to the intermediate/advanced levels. Based on the level of students, we can adjust course materials. Not only the Korean language, our tutors are always happy to share Korean cultures as well.

It runs from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. It's free and open to the public, but registration is required. The library is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. in Oakland (map) and is accessible by buses 28X, 54, 61C, 61D, 67, 69, 71A, 71B, 71C, 71D, and 93.

"We Learn: Korean Learning Circle," online and in-person at Carnegie Library Oakland, March 5.

via the Republic of Korea's Flickr page.

The Carnegie Library Main Branch in Oakland will host "We Learn: Korean Learning Circle" on Saturdays from March 5.

We will cover the basic level to the intermediate/advanced levels. Based on the level of students, we can adjust course materials. Not only the Korean language, our tutors are always happy to share Korean cultures as well.

It runs from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm. It's free and open to the public, but registration is required. The library is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. in Oakland (map) and is accessible by buses 28X, 54, 61C, 61D, 67, 69, 71A, 71B, 71C, 71D, and 93.

K-Rave In Pittsburgh, March 11 at Level Up Studios.

The group 412 K Town (KPOPittsburgh) will present "K-Rave in Pittsburgh" on March 11.

K-Rave In Pittsburgh. Yes , we are having our own k-rave in Pittsburgh PA. For those who aren't familiar with k-rave, it is a kpop dance party event ( its not an actual rave ^^ ) Come join us and others to dance the night away by dancing to your favorite kpop songs from 2nd Gen to 4th Gen (also includes mash ups , remixes and concert mixes). Music will be provided by Dj.kidplay ( who is also known as imyoonotyou on tiktok ** that kpop dj from tiktok**). Door will open at 7pm and its $20 to enter this event. feel free to come by yourself or with a group because in the end of event , you will be making ton of kpop stan & kpop fan friends.

It runs from 7:00 to 11:00 pm. Level Up Studios is located at 4836 Penn Ave. in Garfield (map).

"MONKEY: New Writing from Japan Volume 2: Travel w/ Aoko Matsuda, Polly Barton, Adam Ehrlich Sachs, Motoyuki Shibata, and Meg Taylor" Virtual Launch at White Whale Bookstore, March 4.

White Whale Bookstore will host a virtual launch for "MONKEY: New Writing from Japan Volume 2: Travel w/ Aoko Matsuda, Polly Barton, Adam Ehrlich Sachs, Motoyuki Shibata, and Meg Taylor" on March 4.

So excited to be partnering up with MONKEY, which is based here in Pittsburgh, to launch their second volume of new and translated Japanese literature, Travel! We'll be joined by contributors Aoko Matsuda, Polly Barton, and editor/founder Motoyuki Shibata in an exclusive pre-recorded interview, followed by a conversation with contributor Adam Ehrlich Sachs and managing editor Meg Taylor.

Vol. 2 of MONKEY is 184 pages of full color, featuring the best of contemporary Japanese literature, from Kikuko Tsumura and Aoko Matsuda to Mieko Kawakami and Haruki Murakami, new translations of work by twentieth-century writers such as Yasunari Kawabata, a new graphic story by Satoshi Kitamura inspired by Gogol's "The Overcoat," and new work by American and Canadian writers Brian Evenson, Laird Hunt, Eric McCormack, and Barry Yourgrau—all friends of MONKEY. Published during the second year of the pandemic, this issue celebrates travel—something we did mostly in our imaginations in 2021!

It starts online at 7:00 pm and is free and open to the public, though registration is required.

Asian Grocery opens in Castle Shannon.

via @asiangrocerypit  Asian Grocery opened in Castle Shannon on February 5. Located at 300 Mt. Lebanon Blvd. (map), it carries a variety of produce and staples from East, South, and Southeast Asia. The Allegheny County Health Department reports note it's the same ownership as the "Asian Grocery" on Library Rd. that closed in 2021.

Concert film BTS Permission to Dance on Stage - Seoul: Live Viewing in Pittsburgh, March 12.

The BTS concert film BTS Permission to Dance on Stage - Seoul: Live Viewing will play in Pittsburgh on March 12.

‘BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE -SEOUL’, a performance for BTS and ARMY to dance together live. Join us as BTS and ARMY become one once again with music and dance in this unmissable live concert experience broadcast from Seoul to cinemas around the world! ‘BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE’ is the latest world tour series headlined by 21st century pop icons BTS, featuring powerful performances and the greatest hit songs from throughout their incredible career. The earlier Los Angeles shows were seen by approximately 813,000 people across the four sold-out shows, making them one of the most successful shows in 2021. Don’t miss ‘BTS PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE -SEOUL: LIVE VIEWING’ to see RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook on the big screen in your local cinema on Saturday, March 12 only. We don’t need permission to dance~♬

It will play locally at the AMC Loews Waterfront and the Cinemark theaters in McCandless, Monaca, Monroeville, and Robinson, and tickets for the 4:30 pm and 8:30 pm shows are available online.

Fifty (one) years of Asian festivals at Pitt.

Fifty-one years ago the University of Pittsburgh held its second annual Asian Spring Festival. No information remains about the first one, but there is ample literature to tell us about the 1972 iteration. Highlights included screenings of the 1961 Korean film Spring Fragrance (better known today as Chunhyang [춘향]), the 1965 Taiwanese film Beautiful Duckling (養鴨人家), an exhibition of 19th- and 20th century Korean art, and a series of lectures and performances.

A February 22 Pitt press release said of the 1961 Korean film, which is now available for free on Youtube with English subtitles:

Directed by Shin San Okk, Spring Fragrance is based on a famous folk tale of romance set in feudal 18th-century Korea. One of the country's most successful and beautiful films, it features may [sic] of Korea's leading stars.