The Japan-British Exhibition of 1910: A historical re-assessment 100 years on

Date: 16 June 2010, 6:30pm
Venue: The Japanese Foundation, 10-12 Russell Square, London, WC1B 5EH
Tel: 020 8800 7101
Email: event@jpf.org.uk
Web: http://www.jpf.org.uk
Organiser: The Japan Foundation

The Japan-British Exhibition was held at White City in Shepherd's Bush in west London between May and October 1910 to celebrate the ongoing Anglo-Japanese Alliance. This was a massive undertaking by the Japanese government to improve the British image of Japan.

This lecture brings together a range of experts in order to place the event in its proper historical context. Professor Ian Nish will provide a general introduction; followed by Professor Kimio Miyatake of Hokkaido University, who will discuss the Ainu village included in the exhibition; Dr Meri Arichi from SOAS will focus on the display of fine arts at the exhibtion; with other experts on hand to comment including Professor Janet Hunter and Professor Toshio Watanabe. The event will be chaired by Dr Ayako Hotta-Lister

Sony delivers a smarter on-the-move computing experience: Ultra-portable, easy to carry new VAIO P Series

It’s smaller than a notebook and smarter than a smartphone: the colourful VAIO P Series from Sony is your perfect partner for on-the-move computing.
Weighing just over 600g and slipping effortlessly into a bag or jacket pocket, new VAIO P Series gives you all the power of a fully-featured Windows® computing experience… and so much more.
Ideal for busy people who can’t sit still, it’s the first VAIO designed for simple operation if you’re standing or walking. The central trackball is complemented by an additional touchpad and mouse buttons. Duplicating the main controls, they’re located at either edge of the screen for comfortable operation with both thumbs while you’re holding the computer in two hands.
VAIO P Series is the first notebook computer from Sony with built-in GPS and a new Digital Compass. Perfect for telling you where you are and what’s happening around you, they can help you find your hotel or a nearby restaurant if you’re standing on the street corner in an unfamiliar city1.
A brand-new VAIO Location Search software offers a real-time map view without tying up your web browser. Your map position and orientation are displayed along with nearby Points of Interest and even local weather conditions.
The ultra-light notebook’s ‘on-the-go’ credentials for travellers are boosted with Everywair 3G on-board, giving high-speed connectivity to mobile networks (where available).
New VAIO P is the first notebook from Sony with a built-in accelerometer that responds to physical movements. Just give VAIO a gentle shake to ‘flick’ through pictures or the pages of a PDF document, or navigate back and forth through your web browsing history.
The sensor also recognises when VAIO P Series is turned on its side, automatically ‘flipping’ the screen for easy reading of documents or web pages in portrait mode. The notebook’s additional mouse buttons are perfectly placed for comfortable page-turning when you’re reading in portrait position – just like a paperback book or magazine.
New VAIO P Series is beautifully designed for easy operation, with a comfortable full-pitch keyboard for easy typing, plus a bright, extra-wide VAIO Display Plus that’s ideally proportioned for viewing movies or two web pages side-by-side. There’s also an ambient light sensor that dims screen illumination for comfortable viewing while saving power.
For extra convenience, dedicated buttons are provided for Quick Web Access and one-touch access to VAIO Care.

There’s also a handy new Change Resolution button: instantly select a larger font size for easy on-screen reading, or choose maximum detail for HD movie viewing.
Available in five vibrant colours (black, white, pink, green and orange), the new VAIO P Series is complemented by a choice of stylish accessories that includes a distinctively perforated silicone slip case and carry strap.
The new VAIO P Series ultra-portable notebook computer is available from June 2010.

Kabuki featuring Ebizo Ichikawa XI

Date: 4-15 June 2010
Venue: Sadler’s Wells Theatre, Rosebery Avenue, London EC1R 4TN
Tel:020 7400 1700
Fax:020 7400 1799
Email: Victoria.lau@askonasholt.co.uk
Web: http://www.askonasholt.co.uk/
Organiser: Askonas Holt and Sadler’s Wells
For tickets please visit http://www.sadlerswells.com/show/Kabuki-2010

Kabuki superstar Ebizo Ichikawa XI returns to Sadler’s Wells following his hugely acclaimed performances in 2006. He brings with him both long tradition, as a direct descendant of the 17th cenutry Ichikawa acting dynasty, and a thoroughly modern glamour that has helped win new audiences for this riveting and highly stylised art form.

The programme is taken from the epic play Yoshitune Sembon Zakura (Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees), in which Ebizo – together with over 40 distinguished actors and musicians – gives a virtuosic display of Kabuki stagecraft. He takes on the dual role of Yoshitstune’s loyal retainer and the enigmatic fox spirit, performing the dazzling sequence of stage tricks that has made this one of the most popular works in all of Kabuki.

Asiana Achieves Grand Slam in Airline Awards

Asiana Airlines (President & CEO: Young-doo Yoon), after receiving the 5 Star Airline for 4 consecutive years from the world-renowned airline research organization ‘Skytrax’ in February of this year, is the winner of the“2010 Airline of the Year” at the “2010 Skytrax World Airline Awards”held in Hamburg, Germany on the 20th of May.

Skytrax, which has been conducting surveys to passengers worldwide since 2000, have been annually announcing the “Airline of the Year” and this year’s survey was conducted from July of last year to April of this year (10 months) towards 18 million passengers that have boarded international flights.

Skytrax’s survey is well known for its strict, reliable, independent, transparent survey that receives no funds from any 3rd parties. The survey is conducted online, offline, phone interviews and a variety of methods. Skytrax’s participants to the survey range from ordinary travelers, business travelers, panels that specializes in tourism which makes the survey’s fairness highly rated.

CEO of Skytrax Mr. Plaisted commented this is a fantastic achievement for Asiana Airlines to be named winner of this top Airline of the Year Award, and Asiana Airlines are clearly meeting and exceeding their customer's expectations. This award represents a true recognition of the front-line product and service that Asiana Airlines is delivering to it's customers, and the award slogan of 'The Passenger's Choice' underlines the fact that Asiana Airlines are succeeding in satisfying the hardest critics - their users."

Asiana’s President & CEO Young-doo, Yoon commented "We would like to express our most heartfelt appreciation to our customers who voted us for Skytrax 2010 Airline of the Year Award. Asiana Airlines is extremely honored to be recognized as the world’s top airline by our customers and to be awarded our industry’s highly esteemed accolade from Skytrax. To be the winner of the 2010 Airline of the Year Award is even more special and holds greater meaning, as it is 'The Passenger's Choice'."

On the other hand, Asiana Airlines received the “World’s best Flight Attendants Awards” both from BT (Business Traveler Magazine) and GT(Global Traveler Magazine) in December of last year and January of this year. By receiving the ATW award, B/T, G/T awards and world-renowned airline research organization ‘Skytrax’awards, Asiana has now accomplished a Grand Slam in the airline service sector.

Films at the Embassy of Japan: Sumo Do, Sumo Don't

Date: 2 June 2010, 18:30
Venue: The Embassy of Japan in the UK, 101 - 104 Piccadilly, London W1J 7JT
Organiser: The Embassy of Japan in the UK

Shuhei, a lackadaisical student in his final year at college, is called into Professor Anayama's office and told that unless he joins the failing university sumo team, he won't graduate. Anayama, a former university sumo champion, has watched the club deteriorate into a one-man team but is determined not to let it close down. Together with Shuhei and his beautiful graduate student, Natsuko as team manager, Professor Anayama begins his recruitment drive. Thus a team of misfit students is brought together: Aoki (the incompetent club veteran), Tanaka (a lonely and overweight boy), Haruo (Shuhei's brother who is sick of wrestling in drag in the pro-wrestling club), and Smiley (who is in it only for the free room and board). An appearance on television brings them a stream of young, female fans and gradually the spirit of sumo is developed...

Honda Bodyweight Support Assist Device Selected for Innovation Exhibit at Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum

Honda's experimental Bodyweight Support Assist walking assist device will be showcased in the National Design Triennial "Why Design Now?" exhibition at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution in New York, NY, from May 14, 2010, through January 9, 2011.

The exhibition of design innovation will showcase the work of designers from around the world that demonstrate the value of design in helping solve some of society's most urgent human and environmental problems including sustainability, accessibility, universality, fair trade, conservation, health, education, creative capitalism, and underserved audiences.

The designers are being recognized for enhancing human experience by inventing solutions that are as beautiful as they are just.

Honda developed the Bodyweight Support Assist device to help support bodyweight to reduce the load on the user's legs while walking, going up and down stairs and in a semi-crouching position. The device reduces the load on leg muscles and joints utilizing an easy-to-use structure consisting of a seat, frame and shoes.

Unique Honda technologies include mechanisms that direct the assisting force toward the user's center of gravity and control the assist force in concert with the movement of the legs - making it possible for the device to provide natural assistance in various postures and motions.

ROBIN-B-HOOD available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray from 24th May 2010

Described as “genuinely funny” (Movie Exclusive) and featuring “some of the very best stunt work [Jackie] Chan has done in years” (Twitch), Robin-B-Hood sees Hong Kong action superstar Jackie Chan (The Karate Kid; Little Big Soldier; Shinjuku Incident) taking on the roles of co-writer, action director and leading man in a lively and entertaining caper concerning three crooks who are quite literally left holding the baby.

Directed by Benny Chan (Divergence; New Police Story) and co-starring Louis Koo (Flash Point; Triangle), Charlene Choi (Storm Warriors; Kung Fu Dunk; Twins Mission) and veteran Hong Kong comic Michael Hui, the film come to DVD (two discs) and Blu-ray in May 2010 as an Ultimate Edition release featuring a vast array of special features making it a ‘must-have’ for Jackie Chan fans.

Jackie stars as a lithe, acrobatic burglar and skilled safe cracker willing to take on any challenge, no matter how perilous, so long as the rewards are sufficient to finance his gambling addiction. However, his relatively uncomplicated life is quickly turned upside down when he and his partners in crime, Landlord (Hui) and Octopus (Koo), accept a mysterious kidnapping assignment from an eccentric underworld tycoon. Their target unexpectedly turns out to be a cute baby who instantly steals their hearts and tranforms the hardened criminals into matronly protectors of their fragile but troublesome charge. What appears to be a simple kidnapping deal takes a deadly turn, however, when the time comes to hand over the prize to the client and it becomes apparent that the baby may be in more danger than first anticipated. Discovering their consciences, the trio decides the baby’s safety is worth more than their biggest ever payday to date and soon they’re caught up in the fight of their lives as they take on specialist police units, mob enforcers and, worst of all, dirty nappies!



Loaded with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and breathtaking fight sequences and stunt set-pieces, Jackie Chan and the director of ‘New Police Story’ deliver a stunning action showcase that ranks alongside the very best of Chan’s previous action-comedy offerings.

Robin-B-Hood (cert. tbc) will be released as a two-disc DVD (£17.99) and single-disc Blu-ray (£24.99) by Cine Asia on 24th May 2010. Special Features include: ‘Crashing The Hood’ with star and action director Jackie Chan; ‘The Hand That Mocks The Cradle’ with director Benny Chan; ‘Baby Boomer’ with co-star Conroy Chan; ‘Playtime For Adults’ – on the set of Robin-B-Hood; ‘Robin-B-Hood – An Original Making Of’; trailer; Dolby Digital Cantonese 5.1 and English 5.1 audio options (DVD); DTS HD MA English 5.1 and DTS HD MA Cantonese 5.1 audio options (Blu-ray); optional English Subtitles.

Further details on our website - http://www.the-associates.co.uk/displaytitle.php?id=296

Get in touch with Korean Air through iPhone!

Korean Air launches its own iPhone Application service today, May 17 2010 to users worldwide. The Korean Air iPhone Application will allow the traveling public to verify and search up-to-the minute flight and airline information with just one touch.

Services available through this latest application include flight status check, schedules and availability check, current reservation information, ticket fares and SKYPASS mileage records. More services such as ticket purchases and mobile check-in will be added later.

One touch of the call button within the ‘Korean Air application’ will show the list of Korean Air’s call centre of the relevant country. Furthermore, as this application is linked with other online SNS (Social Network Service) channels provided by Korean Air (Twitter, Facebook), the public can gain easy access to all connected sites.

To enjoy this privileged service, customers can simply download the free application through iPhone App store. This application is available in multiple languages including Korean, English, Japanese, and Chinese for users all around the world.

To celebrate this new release, Korean Air is holding special events on its global website with prizes for the winners. The ‘Application Launch Event’ will be held throughout 17th ~ 31st of May and ‘Download event’ from June 1st ~ July 31st.

Taste The East (London Festival 2010)

Date: 09/07/2010 ~ 10/07/2010
Venue: Potters Fields Park, 3 Gainsford Street, London SE1 2NE
Contact: English or Korean - info@theeast.org / Chinese or Japanese - event@perfect.eu.com

Organisers: A Concept Advertising & Communication, Perfect Employment, The East Business Newspaper and The East Food Magazine

“Taste The East” is part of the annual Eastern festival which is a series of high quality events with an Asian theme held each year in London. With over 50,000 people expected over the two days of “Taste The East”, it is an ideal opportunity for promoting and selling your products and services.
The “Taste The East” team will ensure participation from as many countries across Eastern Asia as possible to give the visitors the best experience.

“Taste The East” offers exhibitors many benefits including:

• A unique festival with high quality entertainment
• International, national and local reach to millions of people
• A professional portfolio of the event
• An opportunity to create your own brand experience within the event
• Opportunities for exclusive category rights
• A superb PR platform to get your message across
• Access to a prime target audience
• Cost effective marketing platform for sales across many sectors and nationalities
• Opportunities for competitions and promotions through the festival
• Opportunity to promote your culture with sponsored performances

Main Theme

Cookery demonstration
A collection of the best Asian chefs in London demonstrating how to prepare exciting dishes

Wine matching
Experts from the industry matching wines with East Asian cuisine

Food court
There will be restaurants selling an East Asian range of irresistible menus for visitors to sample

Exhibition
A wide range of exhibitors displaying food products, cookery books, cooking utensils, travel information, stunning artefacts from East Asia, fashion, jewellery and more…..

Cultural programmes
A perfect opportunity to showcase the best of your country through cultural performances

About Potters Fields Park
Potters Fields Park lies at the very heart of London on the southern side of the Thames. It has sweeping views of the river and iconic sights of Tower Bridge, the Tower of London, the ‘Gherkin’, the glass dome of City Hall and HMS Belfast. The grassy mounds and riverside walks of Potters Fields Park are also one of the few remaining green open spaces along the riverside.
Extensively landscaped in 2007 the park you see today has been transformed into a beautiful world class facility which hundreds of people pass through and enjoy on a daily basis. Landscape architects Gross Max created a place for public events and private contemplation; a park which reflects upon its distinctive local history and provides a safe, clean and restful space within the bustle of the city.

*Photographs & Videos were taken at Taste of Asia 2009 at Potters Fields Park

Samsung Electronics Launches World’s First 3D Home Theater

Samsung Electronics, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today announced the launch of the world’s first 3D Home Theater (HT-C6930W), offering the ultimate experience in 3D stereoscopic images and 3D sound.

With the launch of the HT-C6930W, Samsung now offers a total suite of 3D products including 3D TVs, 3D Blu-ray players, 3D content and 3D glasses.

HT-C6930W was created based on Samsung’s expertise in 3D technology, which has already been displayed with its launch of the world’s first full HD 3D LED TV and 3D Blu-ray player earlier this year. All of Samsung’s models minimize eye fatigue and dizziness, and provide more vivid 3D stereoscopic images.

When it comes to sound, Samsung’s ‘Crystal Amp Pro’ minimizes sound distortion and noise by refining input sound twice, delivering cleaner and clearer sound by amplifying analog signals with complete fidelity.

By adding two vertical speakers to the 5.1 channel speaker system with flat surround sound and realizing 1330W high-power surround based on a 7.1 channel speaker system, the HT-C6930W provides perfect vertical surround sound for 3D which conventional systems cannot provide. This provides a true immersive 3D experience at home.

The system is equipped with Wi-Fi wireless network technology and AllShare home network technology, and can easily reproduce multimedia content stored in devices such as PCs or mobile phones through both wired and wireless networks.

What’s more, Internet@TV, a widget-based, easy-to-use, internet service allows users to enjoy useful information on the internet such as news, weather, stocks, UCC and movies for free. Content and Firmware updates are both done automatically.

With advanced features including a single button click of the remote control to change full screen function from 21:9 screen to 16:9 without losing height and ‘Automatic Sound Field Optimization’ that automatically calculates the distance from speaker to listener and provides optimized sound, the HT-C6930W is Samsung’s most advanced home theater to date.

“Samsung is the first company to offer a complete 3D product line-up including TVs, Blu-ray player and home theater,” said Yang Kyu Kim, senior vice president of sales and marketing, Visual Display Business, Samsung Electronics. “Samsung will continue to provide customers with best-in-class 3D experiences in the future," he added.

Painter and Art Official, Feng Yuan, Says Painting Should Regain Ancient Values

As the nation's influence continues to grow, Chinese paintings and artists should be valued and grasp the world recognition they deserve, says Feng Yuan, vice-chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circle. He urged "Chinese artists to be brave enough to express their unique and outstanding views on whatever topics through their artwork".

"Chinese painting, with a long glorious history, has its own value, and I firmly believe it has a value equal with, if not more worthwhile than, Western paintings," said Feng.

Chinese artists are increasingly featured in international shows, an illustration of increased acceptance of their work. Chinese contemporary art is one of the reflections of China's enormous transformation over the past few decades.

One example of the flourishing Chinese art market is the 798 gallery district in Beijing, a Bauhaus-style former munitions complex, that has been transformed into the capital's hottest art center with more than 150 galleries.

Feng views emerging cultural groups as inspired and responsible young people who are brave enough to pursue their own ways of expression.

"You can see how the art tradition has been passed on to the younger generations," Feng said during his visit to the third Academic Forum of Contemporary Chinese Painting at the Hong Kong Exhibition Center in January.

'Deeper insight'
Feng's career as both an artist and art official gives him insight into contemporary Chinese painting. Born in Shanghai in 1952, Feng's talent manifested itself very early in life. He refined his art through years of self study before enlisting at an art studio in Liaoning province in 1977.

The following year he became a post-graduate student at the prestigious Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied painting under the watchful eye of an acknowledged master, Fang Zengxian. From 1987 to 1999, Feng worked in the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts as an art teacher. He went on to become vice-president of the school.

In 1999 he was appointed director of the department of education, science and technology at the Ministry of Culture. He later became director of the arts department at the ministry and in 2004 was appointed curator of the National Art Museum. Since 2005, he has also been vice-chairman of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circle.

Feng said Chinese traditional paintings of landscapes, birds and flowers have been extensively developed, while figure painting has not flourished as much. In recent years, figure painting has taken more varied forms but emphasize patterns and painting techniques. But Feng's work uses enormous emotional elements along with intense realism.

A new school called "Neoscholar painting" is trying to restore the essence of paintings that ancient scholars and officials had. Feng said that after the Song Dynasty, the cultural foundations of scholarly painting gradually disappeared and government officials and intellectuals came to view art, especially painting, as a type of entertainment or pastime.

'Tibetan paintings'
Feng has also long had a strong connection to Tibetan painting and culture.

"An increasing number of Tibetan and Han artists in China go deep into the hinterlands of Tibet and show the great progress with their painting brushes, depicting their own experiences, inspiration and artistic vision," said Feng.

For more than half a century, Tibet has experienced a historical and fundamental change from serfdom to a society with modern civilization, he noted. Paintings on Tibet are developing in the historical context of Tibetan and Han cultures, promoting and complementing each other.

"The efforts of artists from several generations have laid a solid basis for painting works on Tibet - an important subject of fine art and a theme widely presented in the works of many artists," Feng said.

Entering the new century, the works created by both middle-aged and young artists of Tibetan and Han heritage vividly present the life of various ethnic groups of China in the modern age, Feng said.

Robo-Geisha trailer - Cine Asia's UK DVD release for 7 June

SHE'S THE KILLER IN THE KIMONO - ROBO-GEISHA (FROM THE TWISTED TEAM THAT BROUGHT YOU 'MACHINE GIRL'!)

Get ready for the most unashamedly over-the-top and deliriously inventive cinematic experience of your life, as the Japanese masters of movie mayhem achieve a brand new level of jaw-dropping craziness with their latest film, ROBO-GEISHA.
Here's the trailer.

To help them achieve their goal of taking over the world, a megalomaniac Japanese businessman and his son recruit a vicious gang of Geisha assassins. These include two feisty sisters with an amazing range of surgically added weapons.
But when one of these Robo-Geishas refuses to kill an innocent group of ex-employees, its butt-blades versus wig napalm and machine breasts against killer-cleaver socks as the assassins take on the Geisha’s in one of the most mind-bending movie battles of all time.
Throw in the buildings that bleed, the Giant Castle Robot and the Breast Milk From Hell, and you have a wonderfully insane Kamikaze movie that will have you laughing out loud!

Special Features include: DTS HD Master Audio Japanese 4.0 Audio Track (Blu-ray only); Dolby Digital Japanese 2.0 Audio Track; optional English Subtitles; Trailer Gallery; Original Trailer.
ROBO-GEISHA is released on DVD (£15.99) and Blu-ray (£24.99) by Cine Asia on 7th June 2010.

The Japan Society Annual Golf Tournament

Date: Thursday, 27th May 9.00am
Venue: Donnington Grove Country Club, Grove Road, Newbury RG14 2LA
Fee: £63 for Japan Society Members

The Japan Society’ Annual Golf Tournament, for the Asprey and Garrard Plate, will be held this year at The Donnington Grove Country Club, Newbury , West Berkshire www.donnington-grove.com. The Donnington Grove Estate is set in a delightful and secluded position on the outskirts of Newbury and is overlooked by the historic Donnington Castle. The club is situated just off Junction # 13 of the M4 and will take about 70 minutes by car from Central London.

His Excellency, The Ambassador Shin Ebihara is hoping to play. A maximum of 32 players will be accepted on a first come first serve basis and you are welcome to bring friends and colleagues. Tee off will be from the 1st and 10th Tees commencing 10.00am playing 18 holes, stableford scoring system.

A light breakfast will be provided from 09:00 and the day includes18-holes of golf and a three course lunch in a private room on completion. The all-in price for the day is £63.

Programme
9.00am Registration. Hot drinks and bacon rolls.
10.04am 1st & 10th tees are reserved until 10.30am
(half way house refreshments)
14.15pm Three course lunch in private room.

More detailed instructions, including directions and the format to be played, will be sent nearer the date.

To register your attendance please contact The Japan Society on tel: 020 7828 6330 or email: events@japansociety.org.uk

All cheques should be made payable to “ Donnington Grove Country Club ” and enclosed with your entry form.

Please remember to state your golf handicap when making your booking.

Samsung Announces New High-performance NAND Memory

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., the world leader in advanced semiconductor technology solutions, announced availability of an eight gigabit (Gb) OneNAND™ chip that takes advantage of advanced 30 nanometer (nm) class process technology. Based on a single-level-cell (SLC) NAND flash design, the new high-density OneNAND addresses the need for more code data storage in smartphones, a trend being driven by the increasing use of diverse application software and larger amounts of multimedia software. The high-density OneNAND memory is now sampling with volume production scheduled by the end of this month.

“We are happy to see that our advanced 30nm-class NAND solution is being widely adopted in smartphones,” said Sejin Kim, vice president, Flash memory planning/enabling, Samsung Electronics. “The availability of an 8Gb OneNAND chip will add considerably to our diverse line-up of advanced mobile memory solutions.”

“Not only does our new OneNAND nicely address the need for higher density memory in smartphones, but it will enable the addition of many more features, bringing greater customer value, while broadening the scope of the OneNAND market.”

The 8Gb OneNAND features the reliability of a SLC design and the proven performance of OneNAND, which reads data at 70 megabytes per second (MB/s), more than four times the speed of conventional NAND (17MB/s). These characteristics and a low-voltage design make it a particularly attractive solution for handling the growing amount of code data used with touch screens and other high resolution smartphone features.In addition, by applying advanced 30nm-class process technology, Samsung is able to raise productivity by 40 percent over its previous 40nm-class design.

Since 2004, Samsung has expanded the adoption of its OneNAND as a high-performance solution that can be applied to handset applications without having to develop separate software.

OneNAND memory can be used as buffer memory not only for ‘writes’ in the system – thanks to its faster-than-NAND ‘write’ speeds, but also as a buffer for faster, high-performing ‘read’ operations thank to its NOR flash interface.

According to market research firm, iSuppli, the demand for embedded NAND flash in mobile handsets is expected to reach 1.1 billion units (1 gigabyte (GB) equivalents) in 2010 and more than doubling to 2.5 billion 1GB equivalent units in 2011. Moreover, the Strategic Analysis firm forecasts that demand for smartphones will reach 285 million units in 2010 and grow to 580 million units in 2013.

The 43rd Korean Film Night (Barefoot Ki-bong)

Film title: Barefoot Ki-bong, 100mins
Director: Kwon Su-kyung
Cast: Shin Hyeon-jun, Kim Su-mi
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Venue: Multi-purpose Hall, The Korean Cultural Centre, Grand Buildings, The Strand, London WC2N 5BW
Time: Thursday, 13th May, 7:00pm

5th of May was Children's Day and the 8th is Parents' Day in Korea. Celebrating a month of family, we are introducing a family film Barefoot Ki-bong which is based on a true story of a filial son.

Synopsis
Ki-bong who suffered from a fever when he was a child, is commonly called a 'fool'. The village people call him 'Barefoot Ki-bong' because he runs barefoot with the food he has begged for to serve his mother before it gets cold. Running is Ki-bong's greatest skill. It is his mother that Ki-bong loves the most. Ki-bong decides to take part in the 'National Amateur Half Marathon' in order to buy artificial teeth for his mother with the prize money, and works hard looking forward to the day of the race. Mr.Baek, the head of the village, volunteers to be Ki-bong's trainer. The village people realise what family and love between family members mean to them when they see Ki-bong, who is considered a non-entity working hard for the competition. The village is changed by the efforts of Ki-bong and Mr. Baek. (KMDB)

Booking is required, please RSVP to info@kccuk.org.uk or call 020 7004 2600
Admission is free.

Asiana Hosts Carnation Zone

Asiana Airlines (President & CEO: Young-doo Yoon) will be hosting variety of services during the family month of May. Senior citizen boarding domestic flights will receive carnations at the “Carnation Zone” and also be privileged to be seated in the front rows of Asiana’s the aircrafts.

“Carnation Zone” services will start from Parents Day and last throughout the month of May. Senior Citizen over the age of 65 will be privileged to be seated in the front isle (Seat 1~3 excluding the emergency exit) of Asiana’s aircrafts when traveling on domestic destinations. Senior passengers may request for this service prior to their journey by calling Asiana’s main reservation center number (1588-8000). Passengers accompanying senior citizens (maximum 2 passengers) may also receive the front row seating services.

Other promotional events during the month of May include services for passengers composed of large families(2 parents that have 3 or more children) 1 50% discounted ticket for one child in the family for the Gimpo~jeju route and 1 free ticket and front row seats to one child for other domestic destinations. Passengers may apply for this service through Asiana’s main reservation number (1588-8000) and for detailed information please check Asiana’s homepage (www.flyasiana.com).

Other promotional events like handing out traveling notes for children on Children’s Day (May 5th till May to 10th) will be handed out to children departing to international destinations. Also with Teachers Day also in the month of May, every teacher ranging from elementary school to university professors will receive a 10% discount on airfares for the domestic routes.

Finally with the Coming of Age Day also included in the month of May, Asiana Club Members becoming 20 years of age will receive additional mileages when flying on domestic/international flights during the month of May. A variety of marketing promotions will be provided to passengers on the family month of May.

Third Thursday Lecture: Making Tea Japanese

Date: 20 May 2010, 18.00
Venue: Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures, 64 The Close, Norwich, NR1 4DH
Tel: 01603 624349
Fax: 01603 625011
Email: sisjac@sainsbury-institute.org
Web: www.sainsbury-institute.org

Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures
Dr. Kristin Surak, Robert and Lisa Sainsbury Fellow, at Sainsbury Institute will be talking on 'Making Tea Japanese,"

Every Third Thursday of the month, the Sainsbury Institute hosts a lecture on a topic related to the art and culture of Japan. Talks begin at 6pm (50-minute lecture followed by refreshments). Speakers are all specialists in their field and the talks are intended to be accessible to those with no prior knowledge of Japanese history. Admission is free and all are welcome.

To book a seat email us at sisjac@sainsbury-institute.org or fax 01603 625011 stating your name, number of seats required and a contact number.

ST-Ericsson enables much greater choice in smartphone market

ST-Ericsson, a global leader in mobile platforms and semiconductors, has expanded its smartphone portfolio to enable device manufacturers to quickly develop handsets with open operating systems and high-end multimedia features at a range of different price points.

ST-Ericsson‘s new family of platforms will move the smartphone market forward by enabling consumers to choose a device that both suits their budget and provides the right combination of multimedia capabilities for them. The new platforms support open operating systems, such as Symbian and Linux, a rich web experience, a wide range of immersive applications and high-definition video. They also use ST-Ericsson’s new power-efficient dual-core architecture to ensure that manufacturers can create powerful advanced smartphones with long battery lives.

Based on the existing U8500 solution, the extended smartphone portfolio allows handset manufacturers to reuse software across both high-end and mainstream smartphones, significantly speeding up the development cycle and reducing their R&D costs. ST-Ericsson will also add TD capabilities to the new portfolio so that handset makers can quickly develop smartphones for China's rapidly growing TD-SCDMA mobile standard.

“We are on the cusp of a new era in the smartphone market in which consumers across the world will be able to find a model that exactly meets their price and features criteria,” said Marc Cetto, Senior Vice President and head of 3G and Multimedia division at ST-Ericsson. "This new range of platforms will make it cost-effective for handset makers to dramatically expand their smartphone portfolio.

Today, ST-Ericsson unveiled the U5500 - the second member of the extended smartphone family after the U8500. With a dual-core application processor, an HSPA+ broadband modem, support for high-definition 720p video, up to 12 Mpixel cameras, 80 hours of music play time, up to 10 hours of talktime, 35 days of standby and enhanced 3D, the U5500 will enable handset makers to bring next-generation smartphone technologies to the mainstream market. The U5500 will be sampling in the third quarter of 2010.