In Korea, K-pop dominates the dance industry. But shows like Street Girls Fighter are legitimizing dance–giving performers a platform to be seen as more than just back dancers. They say dance helps them be present–something that is still hard to do in Korea. Street Woman Fighter and its spin-off Street Girls Fighter are dance competitions that began highlighting more than K-Pop. They featured street dancing, which for many adults in Korea, is a pointless path. Even for the teens who are successful dancers, finding the answers to the questions from adults – “What are you going to do with this?” – feels like a very real pressure at a very young age. Despite the societal pressures, physical tolls, and injuries that come with this career, dancers like twenty-year-old Hong Hayeon say they hope to dance for the rest of their lives. Working together with other dancers as a unit is an art form, and being able to draw from your own personality to pair it with the dynamics of others is a skill of its own.

Announcing the launch of our EST apparel line! Featuring our logo and editorial vertical in the design, EST Apparel is made in Los Angeles and was designed by our creative director Silas Lee. Get something cozy for the season ahead and tag us @estmedia! Available on our Instagram Shop and Website now.

The con would start with a phone call from a powerful Hollywood exec, with a life changing career making opportunity. Vague details are exchanged, and a trip to Jakarta, Indonesia to scout for locations and take meetings becomes necessary. The glamor and globality of it all feels flattering, and so victims were quick to take up the offer. Fast forward to Jakarta, and many requests for driver reimbursements, things start to get fishy. Victims would leave the country in frustration, without a job and with less money than when they arrived. The “Hollywood Con Queen”, who faked being Wendy Deng Murdoch to Kathleen Kennedy, ends up being a man called Hargobind Tahilramani, an Indian-Indonesian man, who often posed as a middle aged Chinese woman. Tahilramani is the son of a rich Indonesian film producer and was a food influencer before he scammed $2M dollars from victims. This month, he will be going to trial for several counts of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. If he loses, he will be extradited to a US prison.

Kim Jung-youn lost her father this year, and became the world’s youngest billionaire because of it. Founder of Nexon, Korea’s largest gaming company, Kim Jung Ju passed away in February and left both his daughters 1 billion dollars’ worth of stakes at his holding company. Nexon is known for iconic games like Maplestory, Dungeon & Fighter, and Kart Rider. But outside of Nexon, Kim was known for philanthropic work like founding a children’s hospital and Asia’s first museum dedicated to computers and gaming. Kim’s company issued a statement that he was suffering from depression, while also being the 3rd richest man in Korea at the time. His daughter has now surpassed 20-year-old Kevin David Lehmann, who was the world’s youngest billionaire, owning half of his father’s German drugstore chain.

Much like racism in the United States: everyone is born into their caste.The way people perceive you is shaped by your caste, and people can usually deduce what caste you are based on your name and skin color. In India, members of the lowest caste are murdered and sexually violated weekly–and more than reported. In America, lower caste employees face discrimination regularly. When people immigrated from India to the West, they brought the caste system with them. Today, the discrimination that comes with castes existing in America is larger than the average outside spectator can see. Artists like Meena Kandasamy, Arivu, and Yogesh Maitreya are addressing the caste system. Upper caste American Hindus are being called to action to be active in dismantling castes, and having difficult conversations with parents, grandparents, family, and friends. It’s not “anti-Hindu” to talk about caste, the same way it’s not “anti-white” to talk about racism. You can also donate to and support organizations working to dismantle caste like Dalit Solidarity, Equality Labs, Dalit Camera, and Mavelinadu Collective.

Tourism is complex. It’s also one of the fastest growing industries in Asia. Bloggers make a lot of money in countries facing extreme income disparity and economic upheaval. Tourism has come to dangerously mimic colonialism, leaving those who actually live in the destinations without basic needs. Many countries rely on tourism precisely because of colonialism and having their resources extracted, and so tourism is continuing a dependency begun in colonial eras. Some travel bloggers' behavior in previously colonized countries in Asia have perpetuated narratives against the locals of that country–and even gotten them arrested. Tourist photography also falls into the trap of objectifying people belonging to a certain place and gaining profit through them. But there is a way to travel ethically as an individual. Start with understanding the destination’s historical, political, and environmental contexts. Upon arrival, support local business, seek sustainable living options, and make the trip about more than just yourself. If locals are struggling to access freshwater, rethink your luxury hotel. You can also follow @lostwithpurpose and @baniamor on Instagram to learn from ethical travelers. Ethical travel begins with your consciousness.