Found it!: Pittsburgh's Asia Way.

The intersection of Asia Way and Cypress St. in Bloomfield (map). "Asia Alley" can be seen on maps dating back to at least 1899.

Korean Heritage Room in Cathedral of Learning slated for November 15 dedication.

One design by Arumjigi (아름지기)

The Korean Heritage Room in the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning has been in development for nearly a decade. In 2007, then-Chancellor Nordenberg allotted room 304 to the Korean Heritage Room Committee, and subsequent news articles always put its open a few years away. In the Spring 2015 Nationality Rooms Newsletter, released today, we learn that the dedication ceremony will be held on November 15. In the Message from the Director, on page 3, Director E. Maxine Bruhns writes:

The Korean Heritage Room’s walls, ceiling and floor arrived in a seaborne container on a truck March 27. Construction will begin in May when six Korean carpenters and three supervisors will construct the Room based on a 14th Century academic structure in Seoul.

Details continue to be sparse, though a pamphlet circulated at the 2012 Korean Food Bazaar talks about the proposed layout:

The design of the KHR is faithfully based on our historic academic institution, Sungkuenkwan. The room wil be equipped with a state-of-the-art audiovisual system including an interactive touch screen LCD monitor. Thus through this endeavor, we will have an opportunity to showcase our splendid 5000-year history and cultural image, as well as the intellectual and economic prosperity of South Korea.

And the Korean Heritage Room Committee website wrote, in 2012, on the design and planning:

In July 2009, the team including two candidate architects visited Pitt and met with the University architect for briefing of requirements related to the project. Ms. Minah Lee of Coparch Studio in Seoul was eventually selected as the primary architect. She, together with Mr. Young Suk Jang of Arumjigi Culture Keepers and Professor Bong Ryol Kim of Korea National University of Arts, returned in February 2012 and presented a detailed design of the KHR to the Pitt contingency and the U.S. architects including Mr. Park Rankin of the University and Mr. Kenneth Lee of McLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni. The overall design concept of the KHR room was well-received, and only a few minor details are yet to be determined.

This duality is a common theme in Korean national brand marketing, and this room will reflect both a traditional image of Korea (at least a traditional image of old Korean universities) and a modern one, given that South Korea is an industry-leader in electronics (like the touchscreen monitors made by Samsung and LG, for instance).

In addition to the rendering by Arumjigi atop the post, a few other concept drawings have appeared online. Details are a bit inconsistent, owing to the duration of the project, the number of consultants involved, and the lack of updates by the KHRC and the designers.



A pamphlet from 2009 by 내촌목공소 (.pdf) has more details about dimensions and building materials of the design by architect Minah Lee:


via 내촌목공소 (Naechon Carpenter's Workshop).

The Cathedral of Learning has dozens of Nationality and Heritage Rooms on its first and third floors which

represent the culture of various ethnic groups that settled in Allegheny County and are supported by these cultural groups and governments.

2015 Donnie Yen movie Kung Fu Killer (一個人的武林) at Hollywood Theater, May 1 through May 4.

The Hollywood Theater in Dormont will show 2015's Kung Fu Killer (一個人的武林) from May 1 through May 4. Wikipedia provides a summary of the movie, which is now commonly known as Kung Fu Jungle in English:

Hahou Mo, a martial arts expert and police self-defense instructor (Donnie Yen) is incarcerated for involuntary manslaughter during a fight with an opponent. Three years later, a vicious killer (Wang Baoqiang) emerges and starts killing retired martial arts masters that Hahou knows. With his own personal agenda, Hahou reveals he knows the killer's next intended victims and offers to aid Inspector Luk Yuen-Sum (Charlie Young) in capturing the killer with his martial arts skills and knowledge in exchange for his freedom.

Tickets are available online via the theater's calendar. The theater is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station.

"Asian American Women's Symposium: Bamboo or Glass Ceilings? The Challenge and Opportunities Asian Women Entrepreneurs Face" at Chatham University, May 2.

Chatham University will host "Asian American Women's Symposium: Bamboo or Glass Ceilings? The Challenge and Opportunities Asian Women Entrepreneurs Face" on Saturday, May 2. The press release, from Chatham:

The Asian American Chamber of Commerce (AACC) Pittsburgh is partnering with the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship (CWE) at Chatham University, The IndUS Entrepreneurs (TiE) Pittsburgh, and the Business Department at Chatham University to host the upcoming Women Entrepreneurs Symposium on Saturday, May 2, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Mellon Board Room of Chatham University’s Shadyside Campus. Registration (which includes lunch) is $30; $20 for CWE/AACCP/TiE Members; and $10 for students.

Facilitated by Rebecca Harris, Director of the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurship at Chatham University, the panel discussion, entitled ‘Bamboo or Glass Ceilings? The Challenges and Opportunities Asian Women Entrepreneurs Face’, will feature a group of successful Asian female entrepreneurs from the Pittsburgh area. Panelists include Dr. Priya Narasimhan, CMU Professor and Founder of YinzCam, Inc, Cassandra Pan, President of Fenner Dunlop Americas, and Nicki Zevola, Founder of FutureDerm. Debra Lam, Chief Innovation and Performance Officer in the Office of Mayor Peduto, will unveil the city’s “Innovation Roadmap” as the keynote speaker.

Pittsburgh Business Times on new Sushi Fuku location(s).

On Friday, the Pittsburgh Business Times wrote on the Sushi Fuku restaurant under construction on Craig St., its owner, and its future plans:

Building on his experience of running the sushi bar franchise for Giant Eagle supermarkets, [owner Ting] Yen has been devising a system for Sushi Fuku for six years, seeing opportunity in new automated machinery for preparing seaweed and rice that is being used in Japan and Manhattan.

It’s a combination of assembly line processing paired with the traditional knife and hand-rolling skills of sushi making that's enabled Sushi Fuku to dramatically cut down on the preparation time. Yen said the added automation is the only way to to serve very high-quality sushi at an affordable price in a restaurant that also allows diners to completely customize their orders.

The success of the first Sushi Fuku has given Yen confidence to pursue expansion.

“We serve between 300 to 500 customers a day,” he said. “We’re always packed.”

The first Sushi Fuku opened on Oakland Ave. in 2012. Signage has been up on the Craig St. facade for a while, but the L.A. Galbi hoax last fall has led us to wait for more confirmation before posting.

Jung-ho Kang on Instagram.

The Korean media is watching Jung-ho Kang's Instagram, too.


Via 스포츠투데이.

"눈오는날 야구를하다니. .처음이다 ㅋ" Kang wrote on the 23rd. Roughly: "Playing baseball in the snow . . That's a first ha". His handle is sdew0405.

Guitarist Hiroya Tsukamoto at Carnegie Library in Oakland, April 26.

The Carnegie Library will host guitarist Hiroya Tsukamoto on April 26 as this month's installment of its World Kaleidoscope series.

Japanese guitarist Hiroya Tsukamoto takes us on an innovative, impressionistic journey filled with earthy, organic soundscapes that impart of mood of tranquility. Eclectic, immersive and mesmerizing, Tsukamoto offers a hypnotic blending of Japanese roots, folk and jazz. Hiroya will share his “chops, passion and warmth” here at the Library, but feel free to find out more at his website. All ages!

The performance runs from 2:00 to 3:00 pm and is free and open to the public. The Main branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is located in Oakland at 4400 Forbes Ave. (map).

2015 Korean Food Bazaar, May 2 in Shadyside.

There is now a poster to go with the April 5 post about the annual Korean Food Bazaar in Shadyside. Look for 2015's Korean Central Church of Pittsburgh Korean Food Bazaar (제20회 선교바자회) on May 2, from 10:30 to 4:00 pm. The annual Korean food festival is in its 20th year, and is held at 821 S. Aiken Ave. in Shadyside (map).

Hong Kong movie A Simple Life (桃姐) at Maridon Museum, April 30.

The Maridon Museum will show the 2012 Hong Kong film A Simple Life (桃姐) on April 30 as the second installment in this spring's Hong Kong Film Series. Dramacrazy provides a summary likely plagiarized from elsewhere:

A solemn yet humorous exploration of seniority, the film tells a bittersweet story revolving around the lives of elderly maid Sister Tao and her master, played respectively by veteran actress Deanie Ip and superstar Andy Lau, whose past screen collaborations serve to inspire enormous chemistry between their characters. Their impeccable performances have earned numerous prestigious prizes for the film, including Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival, Best Director, Actor, and Actress at the Golden Horse Awards, and the rare feat of the Big Five (Best Film, Director, Screenplay, Actor, and Actress) at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Sister Tao (Deanie Ip) has served five generations of the Leung family since she was thirteen. Today, at over seventy years old, she continues to take care of Roger (Andy Lau), the only member of the family left in Hong Kong. After suffering a stroke at home one day, Tao realizes it's about time she retired, so she asks Roger to find her a nursing home for rehabilitation. Tao struggles to adjust to the strange new environment as well as her eccentric fellow inmates, but Roger is there to care for this mother figure who has devoted her life to his.

And an excerpt from a Roger Ebert review:

What we understand is that "A Simple Life" is content to regard these two inward people as they express love and care in their quiet ways. A movie in which the old lady is forgotten by the family would have been predictable melodrama, but how much more moving it is when she is remembered. The movie has an emotional payoff I failed to anticipate. It expresses hope in human nature. It is one of the year's best films.

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

The Chinese Nutcracker, May 9 at Byham Theater.

The Yanlai Dance Academy will present its annual Chinese Nutcracker performance on May 9 at the Byham Theater in the Cultural District.

The Chinese Nutcracker borrows from the classic ballet and infuses it with Chinese elements. The performance is a wondrous spectacle filled with glorious costumes, memorable characters and dazzling dances.

Little Yuanyuan receives a white pony toy on Chinese New Year. In the magic of the moonlight, the pony transforms into a prince and little Yuanyuan into a princess. Together they travel throughout China visiting ethnic groups, admiring their native costumes and marveling at their traditional dances. Join the Yanlai Dance Academy as they take you on this magical journey.

The show starts at 7:00 pm. Tickets are $30.75 for adults and $20.75 for children 12 and under, and are available online.