Author Archives: Ben

About Ben

Ben Hwang is involved in a number of online publications and also writes at his personal blog, LUX.ET.UMBRA. When he's not in the middle of starting companies and dreaming up new ventures, he is heavily involved in local community efforts. Currently resides in North Carolina.

K-Pop Star Rain Joins South Korean Army

Posted on October 14, 2011 by Ben

K-Pop star Rain takes a temporary hiatus from his stardom to join the military as required by South Korea: “The 29-year-old singer and actor gave a military salute to tearful fans Tuesday before walking into a boot camp in the … Continue reading →

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Dole Japan Launches Search For Dole Dance Ambassador For Banana Commercial

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Ben

Dole Japan is setting up to find their “Smile♪ Dole Dance Ambassador” who will make $11k per hour for singing and dancing with SMAP singer Shingo Katori in a commercial. Not really my cup of tea, even for $11k an … Continue reading →

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War of the Arrows Movie Review: Cinematographically Awesome

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Ben

http://youtu.be/1WebxC4VDTk Distributed by Lotte Entertainment, War of the Arrows is directed and written by Kim Han-Min. The film is something I’ve been wanting out of Korean films for a long time: an epic action film that keeps you on your … Continue reading →

Posted in Entertainment, Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Richest Self-Made Woman is Chinese

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Ben

Not Oprah? What? This can’t be! But no, quite on the contrary, it seems that the richest woman in the world happens to be Wu Yanjun, executive director of Longfor Properties Co., who has a net worth of $6.6 billion. … Continue reading →

Posted in (simple), Business | Tagged , , , | 13 Comments

NTT DoCoMo Releases Smartphone Radiation “Jackets”

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Ben

NTT DoCoMo has released a smartphone that comes with a radiation jacket. The company will “show off three kinds of ‘jacket’ for use with a model of smartphone loaded with the appropriate software. As well as radiation, the company said … Continue reading →

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Hong Kong Mobs Its First Apple Store

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Ben

Apparently, people don’t just camp out at Apple Stores in the United States Oh no – the Chinese have had lines for almost two days for the grand opening of their first Apple Store. Being that Apple’s products are the … Continue reading →

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Club KT Shibuya Store Opens As DJ Hello Kitty Spins To Japanese Teenagers

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Ben

In Japan, Sanrio opened Club KT Shibuya, a new store for Hello Kitty merchandise. But this isn’t your typical Sanrio shop. “Teenagers want to experience club culture for themselves, but they are not allowed to go into places where alcohol … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Fashion, Lifestyles, Shopping | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Teijin Chemicals Develops Radioactive Detecting Plastic

Posted on September 13, 2011 by Ben

In the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi plant disaster, Teijin Chemicals has developed a polyester resin that will glow blue in the presence of radioactivity. This product, Scintirex, will help push forward cheaper radioactivity detection equipment: “Scintirex ‘will help to … Continue reading →

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Is Gaijin Just a Word or a Racial Slur?

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Ben

A piece written by Eddie Landsberg for Japan Today hits home for not only the word gaijin, but any other racial word or slur. In a short form, the article is about how a Caucasian moved to Japan and his … Continue reading →

Posted in Discrimination | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

DUDE WTF ASIA: Japanese’s Calorie Burning Underwear

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Ben

Before you watch this commercial for Japan’s “Calorie Shaper” underwear, make sure that you have two minutes of your life to wonder what the hell you just watched. And you might want to get the wastebasket ready when the 70’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Business, DUDE WTF ASIA, Fashion, WTF | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Japan Looks Towards Geothermal Energy

Posted on September 1, 2011 by Ben

When it comes to quakes, Japan is known to have some of the best sensors and detection technology in the world. But for energy, they seem to stray from geothermal which only makes up one percent of their energy production. … Continue reading →

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DUDE WTF ASIA: Japanese Woman Accidentally Kills Self and Husband in Pitfall Trap

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Ben

One young woman in Japan decided to play some sort of joke on her husband for his birthday and spent the better part of a day digging a 2.5m hole in the sand with a couple of the guy’s buddies. … Continue reading →

Posted in DUDE WTF ASIA, WTF | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments