Arts

This screenshot from the writer's own gameplay of the hit Nintendo title Animal Crossing features the "Lennon Wall" flag, designed by Chinese-Australian artist Badiucao in support of Hong Kong's pro-democracy protesters. (Daphne Lee)
Arts

Animal Crossing ban foreshadows stricter Chinese gaming crackdown

Censorship has long prompted players to use code names and foreign services

22 May 2020
Perenially popular show "Sazae-san," which has been on the air since 1969, has been put on hiatus for the first time since 1975 because of the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on production.
Arts

Japan's anime studios fall victim to coronavirus disruptions

'Pokemon' and 'Sazae-san' are delayed as animators and voice artists work from home

20 May 2020
The Sojeonseolim library was converted from a private museum. (Photo by Kotaro Hosokawa)
Travel & Leisure

Gangnam-style library in Seoul sells $25 getaway for book lovers

Sojeonseolim bills itself as a reading room, cafe and concert hall

20 May 2020
(All images from Amazon.com)
Arts

Top 10 East Asian books to read during lockdown

From Chinese sci-fi to Tibetan short stories, we have something for everyone

15 May 2020
(All images from Amazon.com)
Arts

Top 10 South Asian books to read during lockdown

From Indian mysteries to Nepalese histories, we have the perfect selection

13 May 2020
This manga series follows the ups and downs that a high school girl experiences after taking a part-time job at a gynecology and obstetrics hospital. (Tomei na Yurikago)
Life

The medical professions were in manga before they were in the news

How Japanese authors depicted hospitals and surgeons pre-coronavirus

9 May 2020
No professional actors were used in the sly and very funny 2015 film "Thithi" ("The Rite").
Life

Top 10 South Asian films to stream during lockdown

For those confined by coronavirus, our pick of the best movies available at a click

1 May 2020
"Okja," directed by Bong Joon-ho of recent "Parasite" fame, tells the endearing story of a girl and her relationship with a genetically modified superpig. (Courtesy of Netflix)
Arts

Top 10 East Asian films to stream during lockdown

For those confined by coronavirus, our pick of the best movies available at a click

29 April 2020
The Nakagin Capsule Tower has captured the imagination of many architects, artists, designers, film directors and musicians. (Courtesy of Shinichi Ito)
Arts

Fate of Tokyo's original capsule tower hangs in balance

Threatened building is a monument to Japan's Metabolist architecture

28 April 2020
Hong Kong bookseller Lam Wing-kee's life took a dramatic turn in 2015, when he was abducted by Chinese agents. "I didn’t expect myself to be China’s next target," says Lam, pictured here in Taipei in 2019. (Courtesy of Hsu Shih-kai)
Life

Abducted by China, Hong Kong bookseller starts again in Taiwan

Lam Wing-kee, who jumped bail in 2016, wants to defy Beijing's curbs on free speech

24 April 2020
Detail of a vintage propaganda-style poster by Vietnamese graphic artist Le Duc Hiep exhorting people to stay home during the coronavirus outbreak. (Courtesy of Le Duc Hiep)
Arts

Asian artists hone weapons in fight against COVID-19

Creative posters and comics are helping people cope with the pandemic

21 April 2020
Three yakuza in Tokyo's Kabukicho entertainment and red-light district in 1971. (Katsumi Watanabe)
Arts

Revisiting 'Tokyo Underworld,' book that lifted lid on crime in Japan

With a TV series in prospect, its author reflects on how lawbreaking has changed

15 April 2020
Director-writers Xaisongkham Induangchanthy, left, and Anysay Keola, center, and actor Khamhou Phanludeth at the Lao New Wave Cinema offices in Vientiane. (Johanna Son)
Arts

Laos goes to the movies

Local filmmakers are starting to overcome financing and censorship constraints

9 April 2020
A Samsung production line in South Korea in 1985. Founder BC Lee's gamble on a semiconductor line in 1983 proved to be a farsighted move. 
Life

'Samsung Rising': How a dried-fish shop became the face of Korea Inc.

New book shows productive clash between East and West but falls short on insider detail

6 April 2020
Tokyo studio Colored Pencil Animation, which is owned by a Chinese company, pays its artists more than the industry average. (Photo by Rei Nakafuji)
Media & Entertainment

Japan's starving anime artists get hand from Chinese producers

Tencent seeks talent as poor work conditions haunt birthplace of art form

5 April 2020
Stream article image
Nikkei Markets

Art investing broadens appeal, draws more millennials, women

Collectors show preference for emerging artists, socio-political themes

27 March 2020
"Seated Three Graces," a work by Korean American Debbie Han, who won the Sovereign Asian Art Prize in 2009. Han said the "best award," however, came two years later when the Sovereign Asian Art Foundation invited her to work with disadvantaged children in Cambodia. (Courtesy of the Sovereign Art Foundation)
Arts

Hong Kong's Sovereign reigns supreme over the art of charity

Asia's oldest prize for artists remains among its most distinguished

27 March 2020
A special 2018 feature in Idea magazine.
Arts

Tokyo's manifesto for graphic design still relevant 66 years on

Idea magazine remains global champion of print even as it embraces the Instagram age

9 March 2020
The ASEAN Secretariat has conducted the digitization of cultural heritage items from Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia to launch a 3D data archive online. 
Arts

ASEAN museums use 3D data to preserve items in online archive

More than 160 ancient and fragile items digitized to prevent deterioration

1 March 2020
Bong Joon Ho, right, is presented with the Academy Award for best picture for "Parasite" on Feb. 9 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
Tea Leaves

'Parasite' versus 'Winnie the Pooh'

Globalization of the film industry brings risks as well as benefits

26 February 2020
"Parasite" depicts a brother and a sister who trick their way into becoming tutors for a wealthy family.
Economy

'Parasite' offers glimpse of South Korea's class divide

Bong's Oscar-winning film illustrates tensions harbored against elites

19 February 2020
Park So-dam and Choi Woo-shik perform in "Parasite." (Photo courtesy of NEON and CJ Entertainment)
Society

South Korea's 'Parasite' celebrations tiptoe around brutal message

Oscar win highlights challenges President Moon faces in tackling disparities

12 February 2020
Director Bong Joon Ho, right, as he is presented with the award for best picture for "Parasite" at the Oscars on Sunday evening in Los Angeles. 
Arts

Oscar win for 'Parasite' sends South Korea into rapture

President Moon and fans laud success of film portraying societal disparity

10 February 2020
Striking Asian masks from the collection of Portuguese artist Jose de Guimaraes, exhibited in 2018 at Lisbon's Museu do Oriente.
Arts

Lisbon's Museum of the Orient highlights Portugal's history in Asia

From textiles to tai chi, gallery stands as testament to enduring connection

7 February 2020
South Korean director Bong Joon-ho poses with the Palme d'Or award received for his film "Parasite" at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2019.
Arts

'Parasite' marks a breakthrough for South Korean cinema

Film's unprecedented international success raises hopes of Oscars triumph

5 February 2020