Sung Hak Kim has lived in Canada for three years since coming from South Korea. Kim, executive secretary of the Korean Society of BC, remembers the public and government officials meeting in the national cemetery in Seoul with the format similar to Canada’s events – military bands, gun salutes and the placing of wreaths at the base of monuments.

Mohammed Imraz Asin, funeral director for the British Columbia Muslim Association, says that his association has purchased bulk cemetery space in Chilliwack in an effort to decrease the expense of funerals for their members.

Since being officially designated as a health profession by the BC government in 2000, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has slowly made its way into mainstream health care. John Yang, MD and Dean at PCU College of Holistic Medicine, says there are almost 1800 licensed TCM practitioners in BC.

Born and raised in Vancouver, filmmaker Mark Sawers loves laughter. Sawers, 46, is an award-winning director of numerous short films and TV series with 20 years in the industry. His first feature-length production, Camera Shy, is one of the 63 films in the Vancouver International Film Festival’s (VIFF) Canadian Images program this year.

As intercultural communication becomes the norm, there is a growing need for the public to understand proper rules of engagement in a heterogeneous society, especially as workplaces become more diverse. Learning the basics of etiquette is a stepping stone to understanding people on a deeper level.

Few British Columbians have heard of English 12 First Peoples. It is a high school course designed as an equivalent to English 12 and is open to anyone of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal background. It is accepted by many post-secondary institutions in B.C and Alberta.

It’s hard for Fenella Sung to imagine a world without translators and interpreters.
Sung, a certified Chinese to English translator and interpreter, has been a part of courtroom proceedings, immigration cases, medical procedures and large business deals between the private and government sectors for over 20 years. In each case she doesn’t want to be seen, just heard.

It started slowly, with a lone man strolling casually down Hamilton Street. Catching his attention was a brightly painted truck parked curbside, which was wafting spicy, exotic aromas towards him.
A woman poked her head through the truck’s window and asked the man if he would like to try a new drink – Thai iced tea. This released a flood a memories of his long ago trip to Thailand.

Vancouver is a city of many facets. It is made up of different communities, ethnicities, identities and sexual orientations. While it may be dark and rainy at times, the sun always manages to show up for the summer. Warm weather means it’s time for festivals and community celebrations. Here’s a snap

Shade-ism. The film, which gained notoriety in 2011 for its examination of the impact of discrimination based on skin tone, has been well received for its role in launching a dialogue about this taboo subject. Great efforts have been made throughout the world and within Canada to eliminate discrimination based on race and ethnicity. [Read more…]

Bridging the gap between the older generation of Asian Canadians and their offspring has never been an easy feat. The issues that presented themselves years ago, are still very much alive today. [Read more…]