One World, One Dream? (Jianwai SOHO, Beijing)
When I first got to Beijing, my roommate Nick, who is a licensed tour guide, wanted to show me the central business district Guomao (国贸) where there’s been quite a bit of commercial development, such as the architecturally impressive CCTV building. One of the building complexes there is Jianwai SOHO, an upmarket mostly-expatriate residential and shopping area, where the glass-and-steel towers have rooftop gardens. Posh.
Is microfinance the key to saving us? (Beijing)
As my internship on Chinese microfinance has begun, it is timely to consider the role that microfinance institutions are playing in the reconstruction and recovery of Sichuan. Many MFIs around the world operate in post-conflict zones and post-disaster regions (such as the 2004 Tsunami), and there are important lessons to learn from how they negotiate the challenges and risks involved. During my research I came across a Mandarin press release from an MFI in Sichuan province, the Association for Rural Development of Yilong County. I did a rough translation of it below:
(Bank of Japan, Tokyo) I walk this empty street/ On the Boulevard of Broken Dreams/ Where the city sleeps/ I’m the only one and I walk alone/
In one of those cosmic accidents, my seat at the alumni LNY dinner was right next to someone who shares all my personal and academic interests (development, asia, microfinance, social enterprise, BOP etc), we have the same major and concentrations, we have the same career aspirations and life goals, and we even watch the same dramas. Over the course of some two hours of on-and-off conversation, the coincidences became somewhat eerie.
Microfinance is kind of like initiating a kiss. You take a risk on a long shot… and hopefully it pays off 
(Actually I just wanted an excuse to post my favorite scene up)
In July 2007, the South Korean ministry of finance announced that it had hired the lead actor and actress from a hit television serial that aired May-July to promote their microcredit program. That television serial, “War of Money” (쩐의전쟁), was about the informal moneylending industry in South Korea, reaching an average of 32.8% of households in the greater Seoul area and 31% nationwide, and it was the top-rated serial of the season, so popular that ‘bonus’ episodes were produced - it remains one of my personal all-time favorite kdramas. Much of its storyline emphasized themes of income volatility, uncollateralized credit, innovative entrepreneurship, and good (and bad) borrowing practices - all themes relevant to microfinance. In an interview prior to the serial’s airing, the lead actor Park Shin-yang (박신양, of Lovers in Paris/파리의연인 fame) had even noted that one of the sources of inspiration that he drew from was the work of Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank.
Perhaps it may be useful to take “Money’s Warfare” one step further, and consider a similar application of television serials in microfinance education, through its plot, themes, and product placement strategy.
