Author: Denise Coley
Korean news portal Naver reports that on August 22, 2014, singer and actor Kim Hyun Joong was accused of allegedly assaulting his girlfriend of two years. He is currently facing a lawsuit for assault and battery. Acquaintances of the woman known only as A have reported that she was assaulted multiple times by Kim at his apartment between the period of May and July 2014. Acquaintances said that after each alleged assault, Kim became apologetic, but each act of violence grew worse over time. According to reports, A suffered facial bruising and lacerations and bruising on various other locations on…
K-Pop has been breaking barriers in almost every country over the past few years, and with good reason. Catchy songs, enjoyable dances, and all the hard work idols put into performances all help with K-Pop’s appeal. But, K-Pop artists have tried to appeal to Western audiences, and one of the ways is by creating covers from Western artists. Many of these covers are very well-done, and listeners should give them a chance. Here’s a nice little fusion of East meets West with some covers you should definitely check out! 1. Bella “Don’t Let Go” (En Vogue) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6KsyON5Vww En Vogue…
Say YES to ‘Say Yes’ is a Korean band with five talented members who are musical enough to compose, produce and write lyrics for their own music and play their own instruments. ‘Say Yes’ is a Korean band with five talented members who are musical enough to compose, produce and write lyrics for their own music and play their own instruments. Since ‘Say Yes’ released their first mini album titled, “Virus” in July 2013 last year, this year on June 26th, ‘Say Yes’ has come back reloaded with a newer image through their new mini album ‘SAY ?’ – Get…
B.I.G (Which stands for ‘Boys In Groove’) is a just-released five-member boy band from Korea. Since debuting with their first single, ‘Annyeounghaseyo’, which is a greeting for ‘Hello’ in Korean, the boys have already marked themselves as a Hip hop and street dance group, but that doesn’t mean their genre of music is limited. The members are into and able to perform to diverse music and dance – one was the member called Benji is a former violinist who studied classical music. ‘Anyeonghaseyo’ is fun and entertaining with lyrics not only in Korean and English but in Chinese, Japanese, German,…
Wassup is a Korean girl group formed under Sony Music and Mafia Records, which debuted in August 2013, after being in training for three years. Wassup’s music video for the first single “Wa$$up” was released on August the 7th, which was in no way like any other ordinary girl group video, bright and loud, plus, displaying quite a lot of ‘twerking’ moves. When Wassup came out, it was announced by Sony Music that the group will be very different to the ‘standard’ K-pop girl groups. According to their management company, Wassup’s music would consist of genres like dancehall, reggae and…
HyunA’s A Talk came out July 28, and it’s something to talk about! HyunA is mostly known for her sexiness and for her work with 4Minute, and for many non-KPop fans, her appearance in Psy’s “Gangnam Style.” Although she’s had quite a few solo releases and albums, few were memorable in exception of “Bubble Pop” and “Change” as well as her work in Trouble Maker subunit with B2st’s Hyunseung. A Talk, however, changes many of the thoughts associated with HyunA involving how she’s nothing more than a pretty face. The mini album is filled with addictive songs that show how…
In South Korea, people take education very seriously. Education taught in Korea is known for a variety of reasons including very high results of major roles that helps develop the economy, but it has also, brought about a high rate of suicide among some students. So, it’s good and bad. It’s very common to see students from a very young age (elementary) to high school students walking around the neighborhood late at night. When you see them at night, it can either mean that they’ve finished their tutoring lessons at academies and are returning home, or they still have more…
LU:KUS is a newly emerged all male band, whose members are fully equipped with vocal, rap and dance skills… LU:KUS consists of 5 members with the names Donghyun, J. One, Kyungjin, Choi, and Jinwan. And, the band was formed to target fans from their homeland (Which is Korea) and also other countries and continents around the globe. Their name means ‘Look at us- Look us’, and pronounced as the latter. Lukus actually means a star, indicating that the group was named, so they wanted to be like stars. LU:KUS members are not only great entertainers and dancers, but excellent…
All celebrities have their sense of fashion, but there are those who are a bit over the top. You may have already heard about some of these people, because they’re highly recognized and known for their good fashion styles. G-Dragon A leader of a popular boy group Big Bang, G-Dragon is known for his unique fashion style. His fashion sense is so different than the others and that’s what makes him stand out. It’s almost like; even the worst outfits will look good on him. He always tries new things and many designers from all over the world have sent…
Generations is a Japanese pop boy group, who is signed under the sub-label, Rythym Zone, and the agency, LDH. The boys were trained well in terms of singing and dancing, making them experts in what they do. All the members attended Exile Professional Gym, which is a school where people can have dance and vocal lessons. The idol group consists of seven members: Shirahama Alan (Performer), Katayose Ryota (Vocal & Performer), Kazuhara Ryuto (Vocal & Performer), Komori Hayato (Performer), Sano Reo (Performer), Sekiguchi Mandy (Performer) and Nakatsuka Yuta (Performer). Generations debuted in 2012 and, right now, they have various singles,…
K-Fans feel I-Fans don’t understand what it’s like to be K-Pop fans, because we don’t wait in line to purchase albums and merchandise, don’t wait for hours to catch a glimpse of their idols, or stand in long queues for music shows.
Pack Your Bags For Korea– What You Need? If you do a quick Google search, you will see lots of blogs with helpful information detailing lists of things you might want to carry into Korea. Lists suggest silly items from honey (which is readily available all over Korea) to other items more universally recognized that foreigners can’t live without. Some of these items are readily available in markets for foreigners in Seoul (specifically Iteawon), but if you plan to stay outside these areas, be sure to stock up. The Drug Store For some reason I never really understood in my…
SpyAir – Japanese Indie 2005 To Today… SpyAir is a Japanese rock band from Nagoya formed in 2005. Previoulsy 5, the band now consists of only 4 members: Ike (vocals), UZ (guitar/programming), Momiken (bass) and Kenta (drums). The former member was the DJ Enzel. Until now, SpyAir has a total of three albuns, another old four that were self-produced and various singles released. Their name comes from the word, spyware. In the time they were formed, the band produced all of their own music, making four entire records (‘’Can You Listen?’’, ‘’NEXT STAGE and Vol.1’’, ‘’Alive’’ and ‘’I’LL BE THERE’’)…
“Happiness” Returns With Juciy Love Happiness is Japanese pop girl-group, who was formed in October 2008, and are produced by LDH, aka, their company. The idol-group currently has seven members, however, they were previously only a five member group: Kaede, Miyuu, Mimu, Karen, and Sayaka. Arisa Mikyuu is the leader of the group. Some members of Happiness, along with other girls from labelmates, ‘’Dream’’ and ‘’Flower’’, are also part of a unit called, ‘’E-Girls’’, created by their company. As of now, the girls have seven singles and one studio-album, which is called, ‘’Happy Time’’. Before they got really famous, the…
Celebrity couples: How it’s viewed – Juyeon Oh The number of celebrity couples has been increasing a lot lately, and there has been mixed reviews coming from the fans. Some turned out to be very negative and some were positive. Since celebrities are always exposed to cameras, it may or may not bring problems into the relationship. Once people find out about the couple, it can go 2 ways. The fans will either wish them a happy relationship, or they will demand for a break up. When negative comments get out of control, the couple usually ends up breaking up,…
How is the World Cup celebrated in South Korea? – Juyeon Oh Some of you may be wondering how World Cup is celebrated in other countries, and today, I’m going to talk about what it’s like to celebrate the World Cup in South Korea. Before I get into details, let’s take a few minutes and learn about the history of South Korea’s national soccer team. South Korea is one of the most known, and successful teams in Asia. They have participated in 8 consecutive, and 9 overall FIFA World Cup tournaments, which is the furthest any Asian team has ever…
Summer Gold: Girl’s Day Fourth Mini album Exceeds Expectations Joelle Halon “Whooo, ooh, ooh, ooh! It’s summertime!” This summer, every day is Girl’s Day! Girl’s Day made their summertime comeback July 14 with their fun and cool mini album Everyday 4. The upbeat sound is enough to take away your troubles, and despite only having four songs (excluding “Darling’s” instrumental companion), it’s worth purchasing, because it’s just that enjoyable from beginning to end. Right out of the gate, “Summer Party” featuring David Kim sets the tone. The Caribbean Island-vibe of the song just transports a listener to a warm, friendly…
JJCC (pronounced as Double JC) is a South Korean hip-hop boyband, created by Jackie Chan. The group was signed under the label, Jackie Chan Group Korea, making the first time that the chinese actor formed a boyband and debuted them in Korea. JJCC consists of 5 members: SimBa, E.co, EDDY, San-Cheong and Prince Mak, they debuted officially on Mnet’s M! Countdown, back in the 20th of last March. The name of the band combines the words, ‘’Jackie Chan’’, with ‘’Joint Cultures’’, therefore, ‘’Jackie Chan Joint Cultures’’. However, the band’s name pronunciation, ‘’Double JC’’, stands for ‘’Double Joy Creative’’. Overall, Chan…
For many, K-Pop is more than just music: It’s a lifestyle. People choose different music for a variety of reasons, but the main reason is because it speaks to them in a whole different way other genres cannot. But why dislike a person or a particular genre just, because it’s something you may not listen to personally? Dear K-Pop, We Hate You Because… Many international K-Pop fans greet this issue. When some say K-Pop is their favorite genre or name a Korean artist as their favorite singer or group, sometimes this is met with sneers and snarky comments.…
Things I Learned While Watching Asian Film– Joelle Halon Asian cinema has a lot to offer from weepy melodramas to outlandish comedies guaranteed to make you say “what the heck did I just watch?” That’s part of its beauty: There’s something for everyone, and most will keep viewers on their toes. Many of us eat these films up without a second thought. Recently, I went to an Asian film marathon and engaged the part of my brain that spent years in school learning how to analyze and see the deeper meaning in things. As it turns out, I did not…