GOASIAPLUS April 2019

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TRAVEL SPOTTED: ASIA IN FILMS HASHIMA ISLAND, JAPAN Text NG SHEN LEE Photos ADOBE STOCK & FREEVECTORMAPS.COM If you’re a fan of historical tourist spots, you might be familiar with Hashima Island, for its story is a bitter one. When the 2012 Bond film “Skyfall” was released, one of the filming locations in particular caught the eyes of viewers. It was battered, decrepit and unsettling. Home to the film’s main antagonist Silva (played by Javier Bardem), Hashima Island played a crucial role in the film as Silva’s base of operations. Despite this, filming never took place on the actual grounds of the abandoned island due to safety concerns. The majority of the setting was actually filmed in a full-scale replica in the UK, while a good portion of it was crafted through CGI. But the reality of Gunkanjima or the “Battleship Island” is an even more harrowing one. The small island was initially established during Japan’s industrial revolution as a coal mining facility. And when the number of labourers soared, a multi-storeyed apartment block was built to house the workers and their families, making the island the most densely populated area in the world come 1959. Then WWII dawned upon the world, and prisoners of war from China and South Korea were forced into labour at the coal mines of Hashima Island, where an estimated 1,300 of them passed away on the island. Since then, the island has long been abandoned thanks to the rise of petroleum, which rendered the need for coal-mining towns such as Hashima useless. Of course, word began to spread and not long later, journalists and filmmakers began flocking to the island. The result? Documentaries galore from the History Channel, Forgotten Planet and most recently, Netflix’s “Dark Tourist”, a documentary TV series exploring ominous tourist locations. But be it insightful documentaries or compelling images, the controversy revolving around Hashima island only ballooned, for in 2009, Japan’s request to establish the island as a UNESCO World Heritage Site was met with backlash from South Korea after the country refused to acknowledge its role in the island’s cruel history. Today, even you and I can step foot amidst the crumbling concrete of this history-laden island to admire its ruins...and perhaps we have 007 to thank for that. FUN FACTS The communal apartment block was supposedly the firstever building of its kind in Japan made from reinforced concrete. Despite all this, Hashima was at one time home to a thriving community, including a movie theatre, swimming pool and even a pachinko parlour! 22 · WWW.<strong>GOASIAPLUS</strong>.COM
THE FACE OFF FACE OFF: CASH VS MOBILE PAYMENT THE OMNIPRESENT VALUE OF MONEY HAS TAKEN MANY FORMS THROUGHOUT HISTORY. WILL “CASH IS KING” BE DETHRONED BY THE PIXELS OF DIGITAL CURRENCY IN THIS TECH SAVVY WORLD? Text JESSY WONG • Illustration ADOBE STOCK CASH TYPES Paper printed currencies BENEFITS Managing tangible cash gives a form of control and improved fiscal conduct as compared to the digital mode. This is because handling money physically can affect our psychological well-being that influence how we spend or save our money. Cash transaction also open doors for negotiations deals in the marketplace. RISKS Carrying cash (especially when overseas) gives a mixed sense of security as the natural appeal of money can also attract unwanted attention. Knowing you have instant money in hand for emergencies leaves you wrangled with the possibility of theft and robbery as stolen money is impossible to track. So, stashing away emergency cash in hotel room's safe or lugagge is commonly practiced as a precaution. VALUE Indisputable appeal MOBILE PAYMENT TYPES Mobile, banking and payment apps through smartphone BENEFITS It is all about convenience. Transactions could happen in an instant through several taps on digital wallet without the hassle of finding a cash machine and fiddling with tangible notes for payments. Most mobile apps also exclusively reward their users with cashbacks, promotional services and products with usage of digital payment. RISKS Unlimited access to credit via payment apps could result in poor spending choices. It has been proven that digital money and its transparent transaction make us feel less affected with our expenses and puts us in risk of unauthorised transactions. As many payment apps require authentications, a majority of us tend to reuse password across multiple services. This will inevitably increase the risk of hackers and data leak. VALUE Ever expanding with technology WWW.<strong>GOASIAPLUS</strong>.COM · 23
Page 1: APRIL 2019 | ISSUE 35 WWW.GOASIAPLU
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GOASIAPLUS April 2019

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