Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Halloween!

AsianTalks One-Year Anniversary

What a difference a year makes! Here at AsianTalks we’re taking a break to pause and reflect on the whirlwind of interviews and podcasts we’ve hosted to highlight an emerging community of Asia-based expats and professionals who love living in the region and always have great advice for how to launch a career in cities like Shanghai, Tokyo orSeoul. So, just this once, we’re turning to AsianTalks interviewer Liz Shim for her insights into what we’ve done, and where we’re going. Read on!

AsianTalks: So Liz for the first time how does it feel to be on the opposite side of the microphone?

It’s quite an honor! As you know we’ve been quietly but steadily building a website dedicated to expatriate professionals who are just so astonishing. Everyone I’ve spoken to is such a model of grace, candor, and insider expertise. Thriving in Asia is not an easy task, so I was thrilled to discover so many who have met the challenges and even surpassed them.

AsianTalks: How and in what ways do you think Asian Talks has grown and progressed?

I think the column has certainly evolved. We’ve gone from asking very basic, 101-type questions to handling more advanced, industry-specific questions that can really help readers figure out, ‘Well, is that something I would like to do, if given the opportunity.’ I’m discovering there’s many ways to find a career or a calling in Asia. Nothing’s written in stone, and our interviewees prove there is no wrong or right way to go about it.

AsianTalks: Where do you see Asian Talks going in the future or in the next year?

This is a long shot, but I would really like to see a community emerge from the AsianTalks column. As diverse and geographically scattered as Asia-based professionals are – we do all have something intrinsically in common. We all live with a sense of adventure, acceptance of differences, and love the congenial culture who have accepted us. We all know we are lucky to build a business in Beijing, or witness changes in Burma. It’s such a dynamic region, I think it’s only logical we feel a sense of solidarity as we witness these changes, together.

AsianTalks: What do you like best about interviewing? What would you say is your favorite part of interviewing people?

I love comparing notes with our interviewees. Many of their experiences living and working in Asia do resonate with some of my past lives!

AsianTalks: What do you think is you favorite interview thus far?

Now that’s like asking a mother who is her favorite child. Everyone’s been great, I’ll leave it at that!

AsianTalks: What about Asian Talks are you most proud of?

I’m proud that I’ve been able to build this blog as a team, with Pricilla Niode and Don Shin of 1-Stop Translation. They are really great to work with, and of course, they run a fantastic company that specializes in Asian language translation.

AsianTalks: Alright at this time let’s open up the floor and ask the following. What is one thing that you would like to say to all of your readers?

I hope our readers have found the insights from the interviews useful, fun, and refer to it as they embark on their individual Asia adventure or career. Don’t forget you can always tell us what you’d like to see, or if you want to be featured as well, drop us a line. And thanks so much for keeping up with us! Look for more great stuff in the months ahead.

For more information please visit www.asiantalks.com 

Korean Pop Music Takes the World by Storm: How it Appeals to Fans

In our second interview on the rise of Korean pop music, or K-Pop, we turn to a dynamic duo – Wendi Wheeler and Kris E. – two bloggers who have taken their passion for Korean music and entertainment to the online world. Are they consumers, entertainment journalists, or prosumers who straddle both worlds? What’s their take on the latest K-Pop craze? Find out in our exclusive interview!

AsianTalks: What ignited your interest in K-Pop?

Wendi: It all started with Rain. I was amazed by his talent and also by who he was as a person and his struggles and rise to fame. So yes, I’m a big Rain fan. Through him, I learned about MBLAQ, a boy group he was training. And it was just a natural progression into the world of K-pop from there.

Kris: For me it started with the hit Korean drama ‘Boys over Flowers.’ I took an interest in Kim Hyun Joong who I later found out was the leader of SS501, a K-Pop group. He gave rise to my interest in Korean pop music.

AsianTalks: You’re both working on an exciting site for K-Pop fans right now. Tell us a bit about kPOPfix.com.

Wendi: kPOPfix is a collaboration between Kristina and I. We both love K-pop and we know how diehard K-pop fans can be. So Kristina came up with this idea to take a citizen journalism approach to K-pop. We’ve learned from our own experience that K-Pop fans have a lot to say and contribute, and there wasn’t really an outlet for them. So we thought a site where K-Drama and K-Pop fans could put their thoughts directly out there would be a cool thing. That’s kPOPfix!

AsianTalks: What does K-Pop offer that other music genres do not?

Kris: It offers fun, fashion, and excitement. It’s the only genre of music that I know that really teases the fans before the release of a new music video. Also it offers an inside look into the idols’ lives. It creates a more intimate level of entertainment. Not to mention, it provides hot guys and girls!

Wendi: I have never seen so much time and money invested into visual appeal as I have with K-Pop entertainment companies. Everything is cute and adorable. Aegyo is a very important skill K-Pop idols must have to woo their fans. Everyone is beautiful–the guys are so gorgeous, the girls are so pretty. In addition, I believe that K-pop is an interpretation of Western pop, hip-hop and R&B music, but with a very special Korean flare.

AsianTalks: What’s your take on the Gangnam Style phenomenon?

Wendi: I’m really happy for PSY, and as someone who’s been following K-pop for over three years, it’s a good feeling to see K-pop finally receive mainstream recognition in the US. I wish PSY and any other K-Pop crossover artists the best. I would love to see other artists like Rain, Big Bang or 2NE1 succeed as much as PSY has as well.

Kris: I think it’s really cool and kind of crazy how he’s gotten so many views on YouTube. He’s blown up overnight. I’m really happy he’s putting the Korean entertainment industry on the map. However, ‘Gangnam Style‘ is not everything, and is not the complete definition of K-Pop. There’s a lot more to it than the “horse dance.”

AsianTalks: For K-Pop fans who don’t speak or understand Korean, what do you think is the appeal of the music?

Kris: I think it’s a combination of cool fashion, bright colors, young, fresh faces. Whether you understand what they’re saying or not, it’s the beat of the music. It can be played in any club in the world.

Wendi: I find that the style often used in K-Pop music is reminiscent of the music I listened to growing up. It’s sort of retro and has a different feel to what’s on the radio now in the West. K-pop speaks to your heart, not your head.

For More K-Pop articles visit Asian Talks

By: Elizabeth Shim

Korean Pop Music: Why has it Become so Enormously Popular?

Korean pop music, better known as K-Pop, has become enormously popular in Asia in recent years, but other parts of the world by and large remained immune to its catchy rhythms and melodies. North America in particular has always been a target market for major music producers in South Korea, but success has been hard to come by. In this interview with Flowsion Shekar, founder of Koreaboo.com based in Los Angeles, we talk about how K-Pop is now turning the tides and steadily becoming viral. We also discuss whether the much touted ‘Gangnam Style’ music video by PSY, now counting over 300 million YouTube views, will bring Korean pop music to the American music mainstream.

AsianTalks: How did Koreaboo get its start?
When I was thirteen or fourteen, I started listening to K-pop singer BoA because I grew up in Vancouver, and J-Pop was popular back then. A friend of mine originally introduced me to BoA, and a couple of years later I started expanding and began listening to more popular groups. But I couldn’t find any resources on the Internet for K-Pop music, which was fast, reliable. That’s why I started Koreaboo, which was launched in 2010.

AsianTalks: Given the sudden surge of interest in Korean pop music, you must have experienced some strong growth on your site.

Yes. When we first started we had a launch event in Los Angeles. As K-pop expanded internationally our traffic grew with it.

AsianTalks: K-Pop popularity is pretty established in Southeast Asia, China, and Japan. In your opinion what does K-Pop offer that its predecessors did not?

I think K-Pop is super-catchy and the production quality is super-high. That’s really important. The music videos are high budget, nicely done, polished, and it’s just super-catchy pop music!

The thing K-Pop does differently is that K-Pop has its own trends, its own style. But even beyond that there’s different styles within the genre. And it’s not done in a 90s style of music. They actually keep up with trends and what’s new.

AsianTalks: What’s a general age range for K-Pop fans?

They’re very young! I think our demographic is 14-26. We’re holding an event called KCON, and I see postings by 11-year-olds! But there’s older fans in their early to mid-twenties.

AsianTalks: Your blog is a great resource. How do you keep it updated?

Most of the writing is done by editors and staff managers. In terms of hits, controversy always gets a lot of views. We try not to report on controversy too much unless it’s fully researched. We make sure it’s 100 percent accurate before pushing out the information. Regardless, if it’s an SM artist, we get tons of visits. When we first released news of SHINee’s comeback we got an enormous amount of traffic. It’s still one of our most read articles.

AsianTalks: How would you differentiate your blog from similar K-Pop websites?

We differentiate ourselves by working heavily with the community. We work with all the communities. We put together two of the first K-Pop conventions with our SM town event. The KCON event is our first North American convention. So we’re not just online, we do a lot of community efforts as well.

AsianTalks: Let’s talk about the unprecedented popularity of Gangnam Style. The singer, PSY, has made more stateside television appearances than any other Korean artist to-date. What’s your take on the Gangnam Style phenomenon?

When I first saw it I thought it was kind of cool, but it wasn’t really my style of music or what I like. In the US it got started because it was a funny video. That’s how it spread – like most viral videos. In terms of trends I don’t think it’s possible to sustain Gangnam Style’s popularity. I don’t think most people who like Gangnam Style will listen to other K-Pop.

AsianTalks: For K-Pop fans who don’t speak or understand Korean, what do you think is the appeal of the music?

I like certain kinds of K-Pop because it’s pleasant to listen to. I listen to mostly ballads and hip-hop. We don’t need to understand exactly what they’re saying, but through music videos you can tell what’s going on. If it’s catchy it doesn’t matter what language it’s in.

AsianTalks: Lastly, what kind of translation do you do for the blog?

We get entertainment news directly from Korea. We check with our partner website to see whether our translations differ. We often conduct peer reviews as well. So senior writers will check up on other writers before we publish. And we try to minimize error as much as possible.

For more information and other K-Pop articles visit www.Asiantalks.com 

By: Elizabeth Shim 

Tenth Biennial Conference of the AMTA 2012

1-Stop Translation is pleased to announce our upcoming participation in the Tenth Biennial Conference of the Association for Machine Translation the Americas.  This event will be held in San Diego California, Sunday, October 28 through Thursday, November 1, 2012; which will follow the 53rd Annual Conference of the American Translators Association (ATA).

The conference is designed to “deepen MT researchers' and developers' understanding of the needs of the commercial translation industry and human translators, while also fostering translators' understanding of modern MT technology and the role of advanced translation automation in enterprise globalization and commercial translation processes.” (AMTA, 2012)

This Year CEO and Founder Don Shin will represent the company. Although we can all recall the 2010 conference, our company anticipates a week full of enlightening and informative activities. Some highlights of this event will include; tutorials, workshops, Showcase exhibitions, and a variety of prominent keynote speakers. We look forward to seeing you there! For more information Click Here.

How to Have a Successful Business in Asia: Network and Communication

We wrap up our career networking series with a podcast on how to get it right. In conversation is Kevin Kane, Director at Lux Research Korea, and Candice Lever, a PR professional at AustCham Beijing. We explore the challenges of cross-cultural communication when doing business, explore ways to better enjoy networking events in cities like Seoul and Beijing, and the kind of skills needed to make your career a success in Asia.

(Editor’s Note: The audio component of this podcast is provided via a link at the end of this transcript.)

AsianTalks: When it comes to career networking in Asia, or paving a niche for yourself, how do you balance going at it alone, versus joining a group? Is striking the right balance more challenging than it sounds?
Kevin: I think it depends on your personality. But for anyone who moves to Asia, I’m going to assume they have the type of personality that was somewhat independent to begin with. The comfort level of being independent and moving from group to group depends on their personality. For me I prefer that.

But there are a lot of overlaps, in my case I have Korean friends who have never left Korea but are perfectly comfortable networking with foreigners.

Candice: I would echo what Kevin has said, that it’s really dependent upon your personality. Because you get all types of people who move to Asia for all kinds of reasons. I would definitely say it is a balancing act. You’re sort of striving for independence, and really blazing a path, but at the same time networks are incredibly important here.

I would say it’s a healthy dose of making your own connections but also not being afraid of using sources around to help you. Networking isn’t the same here as back home. It’s very much of the culture here to use your connections, to be part of a group that can help you succeed, whereas you might not be able to independently.

AsianTalks: Are there more career opportunities in Asia than elsewhere?

Candice: I’d say there are a lot of variables involved. In Melbourne, where I grew up, my brother struggled for a few months after university, and that’s just on the east coast that’s Melbourne. But if you go to the west coast of Australia the mining boom is beckoning people to come over, to get into that industry.

As for coming to Beijing, in my case, there is this kind of idea, a burning optimism that China is on the rise, and there really are so many opportunities. You can see there’s more Chinese graduates from top-tier universities to study abroad, they’re actually coming back to China more than before, because China is on the rise with jobs and opportunities.

As a foreigner, I was not brought over by a company for a specific project. I came over to try to find work. Because my Chinese was basically non-existent I actually struggled a bit to find a job. But I don’t think you can ever be poor in China. There is always an English class to teach somewhere. There are always opportunities to make money.

Kevin: In Korea there are more career opportunities for a certain kind of personality. At the same time it could be a complete disaster, and absolutely more difficult for another type of personality.

The type of personality to succeed is calm, patient, reserved, yet ambitious, and a very good listener. It’s how I would describe my friends who have succeeded here. And if I didn’t adopt those tendencies, I would have had to return a long time ago.

AsianTalks: Let’s say I go to a networking event where I don’t know anyone. What is your advice for breaking into a conversation in an unfamiliar situation? Any stories you’d like to share?

Kevin: I’m very social, and there’s no shortage of other expats you will meet here. I don’t think it’s really an issue. You’ll find a way around.

If you are here alone I would start with the Internet. Look up chambers of commerce, look up LinkedIn groups.

Someone reached out to me last night, asking me about my experience here at school, and I checked whether we had mutual friends. I think they were just beginning that journey of looking for organizations.

But really they could accomplish a whole lot just by googling ‘Korea’ and ‘social networking.’ Soon someone will direct you in the right path.

Candice: I work at the Australia Chamber of Commerce, and we run a monthly networking event. We also partake in all-chamber networking events where all 15 chambers get together.

So I’ve had a chance to observe what goes on there, and be part of myself a year and a half ago, when I first arrived.

When it comes to new networking events, I would say not to take them too seriously. Yes, it’s a networking event. You’re there to make business connections but at the end of the day everybody’s there for the same reason: to meet new people, socially, professionally. And if you take the pressure out of the social situation, and just go up to chat with someone, just remember you are all in the same boat. It really takes away the tension.

By: Elizabeth Shim

                                                                    For Other Interesting  Interviews Click HERE

Thank Gosh it's almost Friday

This is a treat for all my Hardworking People around the World! Enjoy! http://ow.ly/i/X6Za