Tag:soft power

Let me say something that might make both the footy blokes and the wine-o’clock mums uncomfortable: alcoholism isn’t just a “men’s drinking problem” anymore. And it hasn’t been for a while. For decades, Australia loved the myth of the hard-drinking Aussie bloke. Beer in hand, sunburnt nose, loud laugh at the pub. But equality cuts both ways, darling. When women entered the workforce in bigger numbers, claimed space at the bar, ordered craft gin instead of lemonade — we also inherited the country’s deep, messy relationship with alcohol. I get...

Oh, darlings. Breathe. Drink some water. Put the phone down. I have been watching this Korea–Southeast Asia online brawl unfold like a messy family reunion where someone brought up politics after dessert. And honestly? Everyone needs to calm down. Yes, racist memes are ugly. Yes, stereotyping Southeast Asian women as jungle caricatures is disgusting. And yes, mocking Koreans as plastic, arrogant or culturally delusional is not exactly Nobel Peace Prize material either. But must we burn down the entire house because a few uncles got drunk on X? Listen carefully,...

Let me tell you something deliciously ironic: in some of the most patriarchal corners of Asia, the only woman everyone is afraid of is the one who talks to ghosts. You can deny her theology. You can mock her incense. You can roll your eyes at her trance. But when your business collapses, your daughter won’t sleep, your husband starts behaving strangely, or your house feels “wrong,” where do you go? Exactly. To her. Across the region—from Korean mudang shaking their bells in neon-lit Seoul apartments to Vietnamese lên đồng...

Darlings, here is something uncomfortable: every time a government says “national service builds character,” I instinctively check who exactly is being volunteered for this character-building exercise. Spoiler alert — it is usually 18-year-old boys who would rather be building a start-up, finishing university, or simply figuring out who they are. Across Southeast Asia, the old script says young men owe the nation two years of their lives. The newer generation is asking a very 2026 question: why? I’m not anti-defence. We live in a region of border tensions, maritime disputes,...

Let me tell you something about the so-called “good girl.” She exists in every Asian country, but in Vietnam she has been polished to near perfection. She is ngoan — obedient. She is hiếu thảo — filial. She smiles sweetly, studies hard, lowers her voice, keeps her skirt the “right” length, and never, ever embarrasses the family. She carries the invisible weight of tam tòng tứ đức — those old “three obediences and four virtues” that still float around dinner tables long after everyone pretends they are outdated. And now?...