It’s hard to believe the woman in the photo below is actually 46-year-old and a mother of two. Jung Da Yeon is known as momjjang ajumma in her native land of South Korea which means “mom with a striking figure”, and it’s easy to see why.

But Jung Da Yeon didn’t always look like this. In 2003, after going through two pregnancies, she weighed 70 kilograms and looked like a normal housewife. According to most media reports, she just woke up one day and decided to do something about her dissatisfaction with her figure and weight, and I don’t mean not looking in the mirror for a very long time but strict dieting and physical exercise. However, Jung told the Wall Street Journal she was actually motivated to lose weight to relieve back pain, and that the perfect figure was only a side-effect.  She managed to lose 20 kilograms in just three months, and after posting some photos of her new self, the ambitious mother triggered what came to be known as South Korea’s “momjjang syndrome”. Housewives all around the country followed her example and started working out in an attempt to achieve the same toned physique. Before she knew it, Jung Da Yeon was making appearances on television, launching weight-loss books and videos, and building her very own fitness empire. The 46-year-old’s fame spread beyond Korea’s borders to Japan, where she launched an exercise-themed video game for the Nintendo Wii and opened an education center to train Figure-robics specialists.

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Japanese matsutake mushrooms are the most expensive mushrooms in the world. Fetching up to $500 per pound, they rival truffles and are considered one of the most valuable ingredients of Japanese cuisine.

Matsutake, or mattake mushrooms grow on the Korean Peninsula, in China, and even in the United States, but only the ones harvested in Japan, especially around the Kyoto area, fetch truly mindblowing prizes. While imported Matsutake can cost around $50 per pound or less, Japanese mushrooms can cost up to ten times as much. To help Japanese buyers discern between imported and home-grown matsutake, Japan has a law that requires imported mushrooms to be washed of dirt before commercialization, while the domestic variety has a rough, grubby appearance. Japanese matsutake are prized for their strong aroma, meaty texture, and earty taste.

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South-Korean tech giant LG recently made international news for using a virtual influencer as a co-presenter to introduce its innovations to the world, during the first ever all-digital CES 2021 tech show.

Reah Keem’s bio on Instagram describes her as a songwriter, DJ and virtual musician. She has over 6,000 fans on the popular social network, which may not seem too impressive, but is actually quite a lot, considering Reah isn’t real. She is part of a growing number of human-like virtual influencers created by AI and CGI companies and designers, some of which have proven massively successful. Keem seems on her way to social media stardom as well, especially after being “hired” by LG Electronics to present its newest tech innovations during this year’s CES event.

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Tokyo’s Shin Obuko neighborhood recently became the home of what will undoubtedly become one of the most popular cafes in the Japanese capital – 2D Cafe, a place that lets you feel like you’re in a real-life illustration.

Most likely inspired by the success of Cafe Yeonnam-dong 239-20, the Seoul-based cafe that went viral around this time last year, the new 2D Cafe relies on the same illustration theme to draw in Instagram influencers looking for the next hottest selfie spot. Using an entirely monochrome decor that makes a 3d seting look 2D, this eye-catching venue tricks visitors into thinking they’ve set foot in a different dimension, you know, like that famous music video for A-ha’s Take on Me.

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We’ve seen animals achieve online fame for their looks, in fact Instagram is full of animal influencers, but this handsome Saanen goat in Malaysia is the first to reach online celebrity status for looking like a Korean pop star.

Ramos, an 11-month-old billy goat at Muhammad Livestock Farm in Perak, Malaysia, went viral last week after his owner posted photos of him on the farm’s Facebook page. People instantly fell in love with his blonde hairdo and goatee, and some social media users even compared his beauty to that of a K-pop star. Ramos’ owner, 21-year-old Ahmad M Fadzir, told local reporters that the handsome goat loves getting photographed and turns to pose for the camera whenever he sees one. That’s what stars do, I suppose…

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One look at Puspa Dewi is all it takes to understand why people often confuse her with her two sons’ girlfriends. At age 50, the Instagram star looks a lot better than most women in their 30s.

Puspa Dewi, an entrepreneur and mother-of-two from Jakarta, Indonesia, recently celebrated her 50th birthday, but you’d have a heart time guessing her age just by looking at the photos she uploads on Instagram. She doesn’t look a day over 30, in fact, she could easily pass for a woman in her early 20s. When she poses with her two teenage sons, people (that includes me) can’t believe that she is their mother, and not their girlfriend.

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Pamela Jacobs, a dusky beauty from the UK, doesn’t look a day over 25. But you’ll be shocked to learn that the woman is actually 52, and has a 21 year old son! In fact, she appears so young that she is often offered student rail fares and no one believes her when she reveals her real age.

“Men do comment on my looks and say things like ‘I don’t believe you’ or ‘You must be lying,’” she said. “ I always say, what woman would actually add years on?” Her son is mortified with all the attention she receives though, because people often think she’s his girlfriend. “A while ago, someone my son knows thought I was his girlfriend,” Jacobs laughed. “And some people I know have thought the same in reverse.”

“It’s flattering, but I prefer men of a similar age to me,” she quickly added.

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29-year-old Koichi Kuwabara has made it his mission to distribute ‘Free Hugs for Peace’ to as many people as he can – he’s been traveling across Asia for the past three years, hugging random people on the streets. His videos have gone viral on YouTube, garnering over 1.5 million views. He also has over 5,300 followers on Facebook and about 3,000 on Twitter.

Koichi, an aspiring school teacher, said: “I don’t want to just regurgitate theories written on textbooks. I want to tell the kids what I saw and learned first-hand from giving free hugs worldwide.”

He began his extraordinary adventure in August, 2011, just after he graduated from university. Since then, he has taken his Free Hugs initiative to several cities in China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. At each location he visiyed, Koichi held up a sign that displayed the flags of Japan and the country he was visiting, along with the caption ‘Free Hugs for Peace’.

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