by Ziyi Cheng 

The multilingual societies in Hong Kong and Taiwan share historical and cultural ties in language system, especially the unsimplified Chinese written system. Although regional power still remains, these two areas have shined on their own economic, political, and cultural ecology, affecting the construction of their own sociolinguistic landscapes. As a Mandarin native speaker, “culture shock” is normally experienced, “cultural distance” is often measured through daily language usage during the recent resident days in these two areas. Namely, there are too many language differences even though the similar characters in appearance are used there. Based on empirical evidence as observed on the streets, this article examines the multilingual presence in Hong Kong and Taiwan societies to give rise to their unique sociolinguistic landscapes

by Ziyi Cheng 

‘KPOP’, a shortening of Korean pop, has proved its tremendous global influence. Originating in South Korea, the wave of KPOP has not only swept across the world only by its music, but a whole business system including music, movie, drama, fashion, cuisine and even lifestyle has been established. ‘KPOP’ has become a cultural icon, a powerful industry with non-stop potential.

To narrow down, it is normal to glimpse a Korean food restaurant on the street, open the door, check a bilingual menu with Korean characters on, order the Korean style food, and enjoy the meal with loud Korean songs or classic Korean dramas. When back home, turn on the TV, K-Content offered by Pluto TV offers you 24/7 access to KPOP entertainment; funny, intense or romantic Korean dramas also stands out on Netflix.

With the first Korean male group BTS making history to receive Grammy Awards, Korean movie Parasite won 4 awards at Oscar, KPOP has settled into daily life across the national or geographical limitations, bringing an inevitable and glorious chapter to the world.

by Ziyi Cheng

NCT 127, a Seoul-based, multi-national male group, has mesmerized audiences worldwide with their captivating music and dynamic performances in the K-POP realm.

What does NCT 127 mean?

Debuted in 2016, NCT 127 was announced as the first fixed sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT, formed by SM Entertainment. The name “NCT 127” combines the acronym for Neo Culture Technology with the number “127”, the longitude coordinate of the city Seoul.

Just as their aiming at starting from Seoul and spreading K-POP across the globe, they have received international attention with their experimental hip hop-based “NEO” music and performance.