One of the best ways to view modern Seoul, South Korean society is to spend a day at COEX.

AsianConnections Travel and Lifestyle writer Sarah Woo visited the mega complex which has an aquarium, hundreds of shops, restaurants, theaters, and a convention and exhibition center.

For a glistening look at modern day Korea, be sure to visit the Convention and Exhibition Center (COEX) mall in Seoul.

Part mall, part convention and exhibition center, this is anything but your average shopping experience.

One could easily spend an entire day in this underground complex, which at 85,000 square meters is the largest such center in Seoul to date. Visit any of the hundreds of shops, restaurants and food courts to suit any taste, the aquarium, or even the 16-screen Megabox cineplex.

Aside from shopping, the best reason to visit COEX is to witness the explosion of young Korean men and women who swarm this popular gathering place.

Dressed in every latest fashion trend, youthful Koreans are a testament to the changes rumbling in a country that still espouses cultural traditions of hierarchy and kinship ties.

While young women breeze by on stiletto heels, they are still modestly dressed by American standards. Starbucks has become a popular hangout spot, but coffee is still somewhat of a novelty in Korea, where until recently one could only find instant powder.

While unexpected, the COEX mall is one of the best places in Seoul to see the blend of old and new. Be sure to make a...

by Angi Ma Wong

FenSShui Lady ® Predictions for the

Year of the Water Snake 4711  

Currently Angi is scheduled to appear at an event called "The Chinese in America Interactive" with storytelling, displays, music and a surprise at the end!

Wednesday May 29, 2013
4:40pm
Live Oak Library
4153 E. Live Oak Avenue
Arcadia, California

You can order her feng shui books and kits at www.AngiMaWong.com                                              

GENERAL FORECAST

            During the Year of the Water Snake, the element of water sits on top of the fire element so they are in conflict. The Snake represents the month of May, a time of vigorous plant growth and signaling the oncoming zenith of summer, the hottest time of the year, possibly sparking revolution, change, violence and conflict. In recent times, the attack on Pearl Harbor fall of the Berlin Wall as well the Soviet Union, Tiananmen Square and 9/11 all occurred during Snake years. It is likely that there will be accidents and disasters involving air and sea, trains and ships, tornadoes and hurricanes, explosions and fires.  Children continue to be at risk.

                  In contrast to last year’s Dragon, the most yang of the twelve...

Gliding on fresh ice in a pair of skates is sheer bliss.

Gliding across fresh ice in a pair of skates is sheer bliss. My last fond memory of skating is at the age of twelve on an indoor ice skating rink in San Francisco, with visions of Olympic gold swirling in my head. A sport I dabbled in as a child, it is one of the few athletic pursuits I enjoy.

On this lazy Sunday afternoon, I hook up with Dustin Ross, a photographer friend, at the Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park . Young lovers, parents with chubby cheeked children and groups of teenagers have come out to play on the ice on this warm winter day. The 50-degree temperature makes the hour-long wait bearable. As we pay our admission fee, the ice is being resurfaced. Just as I finish lacing up my skates, a voice resonates over the loudspeaker calling the eager skaters to the ice.

Dustin is the perfect companion to skate with. A three-time state champion on the Aspen Avalanche Ice Hockey Team while growing up in Colorado, he started skating at age six and makes me feel at ease being back on the ice.

A grand time is had by all. Many skaters glide effortlessly without falling, while others hug the sides of the rink for dear life. Street wear is the mode of choice, from fleece tracksuits, to jeans and chunky sweaters topped by ski parkas of all lengths. Colorful knit caps, scarves and leather gloves finish off the ensembles.

Over 650 people are on the ice yet I feel as if Dustin and I are alone as we circle the ice at...

Circle Saturday, April 26 on your calendars! The world renowned Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts celebrates the opening of its extraordinary exhibition "Wedded Bliss, The Marriage of Art and Ceremony."

This exciting exhibition includes live presentations from internationally acclaimed artists and designers and a showcase of original wedding gowns and accessories, paintings, sculpture, and multimedia from the United States and cultures around the world including China, Japan and Korea, some dating back three centuries.

Attendees will be able to participate in a hands-on wedding cake decorating demonstration with professional tools and guidance.

Speakers on opening day, April 26 include internationally acclaimed wedding cake designer Cile Bellefleur Burbidge and globe-trotting photographers Tiziana and Gianni Baldizzone authors of photographic book "Wedding Ceremonies: Ethnic Symbols, Costume and Rituals."

Photographs Courtesy Peabody Essex Museum from the exhibition "Wedded Bliss - The Marriage of Art and Ceremony" opening April 26, 2008.

AsianConnections Editor Suzanne Kai: I have had the pleasure of visiting many of the world's greatest museums in Europe, U.S. and Asia. When I visited the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts several years ago, I was very impressed with the extraordinary quality and depth of its exhibitions.

Beginning April 26, as part of its latest exhibition "Wedded Bliss, The Marriage of Art and Ceremony" the museum will have on...

March 30, 2013

San Francisco

Updates - CAAMFest winners announced:

DEAD DAD is the winner of the Comcast Narrative Competition.

SEEKING ASIAN FEMALE is the winner of the Documentary Conpetition.

Aggie Ebrahii Bazaz received the Loni Ding Award

The Emerging Filmmaker Award recipient is Ernesto Foronda of SUNSET STORIES.

CAAM (The Center for Asian American Media) offers programs all year round.

Visit CAAM's website at CAAMedia.org, and support its mission by becoming a member. 

March 17, 2013

San Francisco

CAAMFest is in full swing! 

The Center for Asian American Media has launched CAAMFest, an exciting new festival March 14-24, 2013. Formerly called the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, the 31st annual event not only has a brand new name CAAMFest, and a brand new website CAAMFEST.com, the festival has branched out into food, music and digital media. 

As CAAM's Executive Director Stephen Gong says, CAAMFest aims to present a world-class festival of Asian and Asian American film, music, food and digital media.

Judging from what I saw in the first few days, CAAMFest's ambitious plans have succeeded. 

I counted at least 100 films and events representing more than twenty countries, held in ten venues mostly in San Francisco, with some events and film screenings at the Oakland Museum of California and Berkeley's Pacific Film Archive Theater.

There's still time to take in a screening or an event.

Click here to...