China’s Growing Luxury Goods Market and Asian Models – China Daily Hong Kong May 24, 2006

A former Miss China, Du Juan has proved her appeal in her native Shanghai. But how well do her charms translate to the streets of New York?

Not too badly, apparently. “I saw her once while out to lunch walking down the street,” said Wayne Sterling, editorial director of the US Web site Models.com, in an email message, “and every head turned as she floated by.”

Since appearing with Australian model Gemma Ward on the cover of Vogue China’s premiere issue last September, Du has been in constant motion. In addition to more coverage in Vogue China, she has graced Paris and Italian Vogue. In Paris and Milan earlier this year, Du walked on the runway of Marc Jacob’s Louis Vuitton show, as well as for Hermes, Yves Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta and a few others, leading the editors at Style.com – Vogue and W Magazine’s website – to pick her as one of fall’s top ten new faces.

But Du Juan is more than just the next big Asian model. In many ways Du’s success reflects changing sentiments toward Asian beauty in a globalizing world. Buoyed by interest in Asia and movie stars with a growing presence internationally, China’s promise as a land of luxury goods buyers has also made Chinese beauty matter, and the daughters of the East look to have an even more prominent role in the eyes of the fashion industry in the 21^st century, where a convergence in taste is emerging.

For Du Juan, this had meant that she is – as a certain one-note heiress likes to say – hot.

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Art Auctions in China – 2006

A Tang dynasty camel, anyone?

Ceramic sculptures of the ruminant mammal may not have the popular currency of Chinese-made lighters or DVD players, but Chinese art – where Made in China is a good thing – has been traipsing its way to record prices, climbing on the purchasing power of a widening pool of collectors willing to pay millions for a 14^th century blue and white jar here and a Qianlong period armor there.

Ever responsive to emerging tastes and opportunities, many international auction houses are putting more attention and resources in their Asian operations, centering on Hong Kong.

But with the rising number of mainland buyers a tantalizing sign of a large new market, can China, specifically Beijing, be the next frontier for international art auctions?

Many say it is – citing growing sales within China. But there are questions about how international it can really be.

While China may be home to untold hordes of potential collectors, concerns about provenance issues as well as currency and export restrictions drive away many Western collectors from buying or selling in the mainland, diminishing access to both major pieces and clients.

Also, in the world’s most populous nation the world’s most prestigious art auction houses can show but not sell because of cultural protection laws. While no one contests China’s right to safeguard cultural treasures or its concerns about smuggled artifacts, some believe international auction firms could help China further toward becoming a more desirable destination for art auctions.

“The best auction is when you can bring the most unencumbered art to a single place, you can bring as many eager collectors as possible to that place, and then have them competing against each other,” explained Henry Howard-Sneyd, Sotheby’s managing director of Asia and Australia.

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My Story in the Korea Times

That Mary Connor has become a guide for educators isn’t surprising: she taught American history in Los Angeles-area high schools for over three decades. But now the 68-year-old Evanston, Illinois native is teaching teachers about Korea.

Since 2004, teachers from 18 Los Angeles public school districts have come to Connor’s educational programs on Korean history and culture. They’re introduced to Korean family life and philosophy; treated to a production of the Korean folktale “Chunhyang”; and taken on field trips to a Buddhist temple.

For Connor – whose interest in Korea is rooted in her contact with Korean-American students and the Korean-American community – bringing Korea to American teachers is more than just educational outreach.

“I would say bottom line it’s a need to teach about Asia,” Connor said, explaining that increasing American consciousness of Korea not only benefits Korean-Americans, but all Americans, as the country becomes more connected with Asian-Pacific economies.

Meanwhile, the New York-based non-profit Korea Society has been reaching out to educators in the greater New York area. Last November the organization held a conference on Korean studies for elementary, middle and high school teachers in its Manhattan office, with Connor as a speaker.

Forty-one teachers signed up for the conference, said Yongjin Choi, senior director of the Korea Society’s Korean language program. Many others had to be turned away, there being over 150 inquiries.

At a time when U.S. politicians debate a national language and a nuclear test on the Korean peninsula has created international alarm, small groups within the U.S. attempt to bring all things Korean to primary and secondary school teachers. Efforts stem from a number of causes, including the rising number of Korean students.

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