Will you have a happy new year? — issue #7

Will you have a happy new year? — issue #7

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Do you have 2020 vision?
As we crossed into a new decade, many took the opportunity to recount their significant moments during the past 10 years. At Kontinentalist, we too reflected on our journey and shared our favourite moments. We've published more stories than ever, and even won an award! Unfortunately for me, my festive period was a lot less exciting: I spent my time struggling with bouts of fever that finally landed me in a week-long hospital stay. Not the best way to start the '20s!

We're now on the cusp of the Lunar New Year, and I'm very excited to share one of our latest data investigations into the world of zodiac predictions. Some of us laugh about these predictions, yet many take them extremely seriously. Recently, my mother sent me an urgent text asking me to have a kid in the year of the Rat, as those born in the year of the Rat will be both smart and wealthy.

While some of us look forward to spending time with loved ones, many will undoubtedly be taking the chance to hop on a quick getaway. Asia is the fastest-growing region for tourism, and this comes not without worry. Our writer Kathy details the perils of overtourism and what it means for our environment.

As always, we're open to hearing your story suggestions and ideas! If there's something you'd like us to investigate or do a data deep-dive into, just holler at us at hello@kontinentalist.com. 

Lastly, we would like to wish you all 鼠年行大运 (May the rat year bring good luck)! Huat ah!

Peiying
Editor-in-chief

We think you'd like...
Huat Oxes, Suay Dragons: Zodiac predictions in the year of the Rat
Is this a good year to get married or chase a new career? Explore your fortunes, as told by three local Feng Shui masters, with our interactive data visualisation.
Managing overtourism in Asia
By 2022, Asia will have the largest volume of international visitors in the world. But beyond the economic gains, tourism has also brought the destruction of natural habitats. How have local governments handled this?
Konti in retrospect 2019
As a small editorial studio, we're always celebrating small achievements. We look at the goals we've achieved and our individual highlights for the past year. 
Visualisation of the month
Nothing unifies Singaporeans quite as much as our collective disdain towards things. Here's a scatter chart of all the complaints people have had about Orchard Road's Christmas light-up, gathered from newspaper articles and forum letters. Are their complaints fair—e.g., the decorations are too commercialised—or are Singaporeans being plain scrooges?

Why I wrote...the Asian representation in movies story.
“Whenever a major awards ceremony rolls around, like the Oscars, there'll be thinkpieces written about racial representation. I wanted to add value to the conversation through data visualisation, which is not by itself conclusive, but will at least push the discourse forward by debunking certain long-established myths about minority representation and profits."  —Bella
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