Jo Seung-woo's New Movie Brings New Interviews

 

Jo Seung-woo's new movie, Perfect Game might be the next Korean sports blockbuster. Two weeks in, and it already pulled in 473,088 admissions. Competition is tough, with big budget movies like Hollywood's Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol and Korea's very own My Way leading with the number one and two spots, respectively. Considering the competition, number four isn't that bad. It's only two weeks anyways, so cross fingers. With the emerging fame, if I may say so, comes the abundance of interviews. This article isn't really about the interview itself, although the original interviews are linked at the bottom. It's mostly my personal remarks about my new found treats. Ha.

Drama Fashion King is On!

So last week all of you have to witness my bitch-rant-fest about idols becoming actors. Even if you didn't, I'll just assume that you did. One of the news that was attached with that article is Yoo Ah-in's rumored casting in the upcoming SBS drama, Fashion King. Well, I have good news! The drama is on and Yoo Ah-in is officially on board!

First Take: Brown Eyed Soul's Youngjun feat. Simon D with You Than Flowers

 

Member of South Korea's very own R&B group just released his own solo album. That is Youngjun of Brown Eyed Soul! I'm so excited. BEG is one of my favorite musical acts that came out of Korea, and Youngjun's voice is my favorite. That alone got me really excited. A couple of months ago I reported two of BEG's members, Jungyup and Sung Hoon, released their solo projects and I wished Youngjun would release his own. Well thank you very much my wish came true!

Idol Turned Actor

Ah, the classic idol-turned-actor problem. It's a problem that has left me scratching the ground in horror. It's a freaking epidemic, I would say. Here's the case. Idols are probably the celebrities that garner the most attention in Korea. They are fueled by hormones of adolescents thirsty for love from a pretty stranger they don't even know. This of course has become the main income to many money-hungry people. Putting idols everywhere from every single reality show on TV to every single endorsement on the market is deemed profitable seeing how many people actually love these idols.

First Take: Bang & Zelo's Never Give Up

I knew this would happen. I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Ugh, I'm going to be hating whoever approved of this. Behold the weirdness that is Bang Yong-guk and Zelo in 'Never Give Up'.

First Take: Clazzi featuring 2AM's Seulong with How We Feel

DJ Clazzi is back again. Most of you knew of him from his collaboration project under the name of Clazziquai with singers Alex and Horan. This time he's stepping away from Clazziquai and making friends with another great singer, Seulong from 2AM. The product? 'How We Feel'.

First Take: IU's You and I

Is it me or is there an increase in mini-drama music videos? No matter. Because today, I will be talking about the awaited comeback of Korea's little sister, IU and her new single, 'You and I'. The 9 minute video is a little lengthy for my taste, but it's IU. What can I say?

Korean SNL as a Sign of Change?

Korea's cable channel tvN is going to launch a new show, a Korean Saturday Night Live. The original American SNL is known for its satire on global, national, and pop issues, hosted by some of the most well known celebrities, and shot live on the spot. It paved way for stars to showcase their more intelligent yet comedic side. Having almost no live shows for celebrities, the Korean SNL is trying to break through that mystical wall.

Jo Seung-woo is not a bad guy

This piece of news is probably irrelevant in so many ways. But it's Jo Seung-woo! And supposedly he was acting all cute in front of the camera. Which I can't say no to. I will search for the SBS entertainment news thing and hopefully find a translated article somewhere. But until then, I only have my poor Korean, Google Translator, and me.

'Wandeugi' Punching Its Way to Box-Office Glory

It seems like Yoo Ah-in is fast becoming one of Korea's most valuable young actors as of late. His last year's drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal earned a rightful cult status. Now, his movie Wandeugi is climbing its way into box-office gold. The movie managed to earn top box-office five weeks in a row and quickly becoming one of the biggest hits this year.

First Take: INFINITE's BTD Japanese Edition

So in case anyone's wondering, INFINITE will be leaping over to the land of the Japanese, following just about every other Korean idol that ever existed. And also like those other Korean idols taking a chance at the biggest music industry in Asia, INFINITE will be releasing Japanese remakes of their songs. It's the same songs with only Japanese lyrics. Exciting, I know. And with that comes the release of "BTD (Before the Dawn)" in Japanese. Boy, oh boy, this is going to get interesting.

Album Review: Tablo's Fever End

Rapper and member of Epik High, Tablo just came back with a solo album under YG Entertainment while the other two members are off in the military. His signing to one of the big three caused quite a heated discussion among K-pop fans. But that doesn't matter anymore once the album came out. This album is definitely one great album to respark his career. And the title, 열꽃 (Fever's End) is the perfect for the situation.

First Take: Jay Chou's Mine Mine

I know Jay Chou is not a K-pop artist. But does it matter? He's so awesome! I also didn't say that this website is exclusively for Korean things, so I might as well spice it up a little once in a while. And what better way to spice up this blog with a little awesome Jay Chou? I can't resist.

The Korean Idol Invasion

If you've been in the K-pop world long enough, you'd notice that recently there has been an increase of new idol groups debuting in the first 10 months of the year 2011 alone. But did you know in that ten months there were 50+ new groups that debuted?! Can I just say that this is just getting a little out of hand?

First Take: Brown Eyed Girls with Cleansing Cream

Following "Sixth Sense", quartet ladies extraordinaire Brown Eyed Girls followed up with a mellow number titled "Cleansing Cream". True to BEG style, the song provides much vocal prowess and goosebumps on my behalf.

First Take: MYNAME's Message

New boy band MYNAME recently released their debut track, "Message". The five-membered band, previously known as "Hwanhee's Boys" decides to go for mega-bass and super edgy for this song. How will it fare against all the other boy bands out there?

Stills and Trailer for Perfect Game is Out!

I can not just stand still when this lovely thing was released. I mean, how could I when Jo Seung-woo is involved? It doesn't matter if I have an exam in 3 hours. What matters is that this lovely video is given to you all. Yes, I'm dedicated like that.

First Take: Girl's Generation with The Boys

Ah, the girl's are back! This time with a heavy bass of a song called "The Boys". Different than the cutesy image they've been promoting since who knows when, Girl's Generation a.k.a. SNSD are turning on the sexy yet classy. Also, a bonus video! As in a Korean and English version for the song. So, did they pull it off?

Psychology and Fanaticism

If anyone's wondering, which is no one, I have a minimal 6-page interview report that I have to finish tomorrow, which word of the wise tonight. But my fingers are tingling to write another thing, a blog post out of all things. Then I came upon this article from one of my favorite websites, Psychology Today. The website gathers a few articles a day that correlates with each other. Yesterday the theme was fanaticism, which is an everyday language in the world of K-pop. So maybe it will be nice to bring psychology and K-pop together into one heck of a post.

B1A4 Becomes My Pseudo-Noona Guilty Pleasure

I'm not a big fan of cutesy boy concept, like the one used for Boyfriend. Well, well, well did I betray myself big time. I have come to realize that another similarly conceptualized band by the name of B1A4 has struck my heart in a very strange way. Nevertheless they accomplished joom joom-ing my heart like a locket for sure.

I Need Some Bloglovin'

So... I just made a Bloglovin' account! To activate it or whatever I needed to post this up on the blog. That or I'm extremely clueless as to what I needed to do. But nevertheless I am posting it up anyways. I don't know why you'd want to follow me, but the least I could do is try to convince you to. So, if any of you have a Bloglovin' account or know a friend who has one, please do follow in Bloglovin'. Thank you!

And Now We Bid Farewell to Rain

Super star, multi-talented, self-proclaimed world star, Rain, is saying goodbye to regular citizen life and hello to two years of military. Goodbye stages of the world, hello buzz cuts and Choco Pies.

First Take: Boyfriend's Don't Touch My Girl

The quintessential bubblegum pop genre at its best, this video gained my attention after gaining 1 million views on YouTube after only 3 days. That is impressive, considering they're a rookie group and from a smaller management, Starship Entertainment, also the home of SISTAR. So here it is, Boyfriend's "Don't Touch My Girl"!

One Awesome Drama: Protect the Boss

I've been talking a lot about K-pop and a particular movie, but I haven't discussed one aspect of the Korean entertainment industry that is pretty huge. Dramas. And today I'm going to give my attention to a particular drama that I've been watching and enjoying. That my friend is the great, Protect the Boss.

Appreciation Post: INFINITE's BTD (Before the Dawn)

If you've been reading a few of my posts, I may have mentioned this song once or twice. It really is INFINITE's best song to date. No question. Every time a new single of theirs come out I will always refer back to this song. I mean, this is almost perfect. Probably one of my favorite songs in K-pop. Maybe ever, proven by its number one position in my iTunes's most played. That song is none other than the song, BTD (Before the Dawn).

First Take: Sunny Hill's Pray

This video was actually released about a month ago. There has been so many praise going for it. But boo hoo my scaredy cat self couldn't pull myself into watching this thing that seemed so scary from the outside. Boy, I was missing out a lot. Sunny Hill previously released their awesome track, "Midnight Circus" after a 3 year hiatus. This time they released a moving ballad, "Pray", which becomes the soundtrack of one amazing music video.

First Take: INFINITE's Paradise

Two months ago the boys of INFINITE released their first full album, Over the Top with the lead single, "Be Mine". Now they are back with a repackaged album and a brand new track, "Paradise". Say yay!

First Take: Brown Eyed Girls' Sixth Sense

Wow. K-pop, get ready to get your grounds shaking and rumbling because Brown Eyed Girls are back with their full on voice prowess in 'Sixth Sense'.

Stills and Preview of Peach Tree is Out!

You can't imagine how excited I was when I saw the stills and preview of some sorts. And of course naturally I would come here and tell you all about it. After about 15 minutes of pure spazzing.

Movie Review: Sky and Ocean (2009)

Believe it or not this movie was premiered back in October 2009 and download links were only up just this weekend. How crazy is that? That aside, here's my review on the movie Sky and Ocean. So was it worth the wait?

Seo Taiji and Lee Ji-a's Career Comeback: Is It Too Soon?

After much debate with myself about what kind of article I want to write about, I decided to write about this. Korean music legend, Seo Taiji and actress Lee Ji-a recently ended their marriage in a very public divorce which just finalized last July. It's only been a little over a month since their divorce and already the two are planning to make a comeback in their respective careers. But the question is, is it too soon?

Members of Brown Eyed Soul to Comeback This Fall

Not to be confused by another Brown Eyed group who's also making a comeback, Brown Eyed Soul is a four-member R&B male group who has pure vocal magic. And apparently they're coming back. At least two of the members are.

'Peach Tree' Will Premiere in BIFF?!

Oh my God, say it isn't so. Or say it is so. Or please hope that Google Translate is somewhat right and I could understand it that much. Okay, seriously, I need to calm down and get a Korean translator.

What does it take to be a K-pop fan?

One of the things that stood out the most about K-pop, at least to me, among other things are the fan clubs. I don't think I have ever seen anything quite like a K-pop fan club. But can a person casually claim him/herself a fan and giving herself the title? It might be more complicated than that.

Brown Eyed Girls Will Be Back!

Another great September news after another, the fabulous girl group Brown Eyed Girls will be returning with a new album! Here comes some serious powerhouse vocals ready to hit the K-pop airwaves. September will be a great, great month for entertainment.

Something to Look Forward to This September: Yoo Ah-in's Wandeuki!

It's been a while since I've blogged about another favorite actor of mine, Yoo Ah-in! Ever since his stint in Sungkyunkwan Scandal he's been everywhere. Either that or I'm just more aware of all his projects because I'm his fan. Well, now there's another project to look forward to. It's his new movie, Wandeuki!

Congrats to INFINITE's 1st Win!

You know this is coming right?

No Solo Career for Bang Yong-Guk

It's no secret that I am just mesmerized by new rapper, Bang Yong-guk. I was also looking forward to his very bright solo career. But guess what? My dreams of a Bang Yong-guk solo album is vanished, at least for now.

MBLAQ is King of Live Performance?

I have to admit I throw around the term "King of Live Performance" a little too easily. But seriously, after reviewing a few of MBLAQ's performances, I have nothing but great appreciation for what they bring on the table, or in this case stage, every time. I'm just glad there's more singers out there that aren't merely recording artists.

Movie Review: Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005)

Now I have to tell you, I hate war movies. Or war overall. I hate war. I'm totally against the concept, the idea of war. Whatever the reason for war I never agree with. I hate the blood, I hate the fights, I hate the selfishness, I hate everything about it. Especially the blood and piling corpses. Which automatically leaves me hating war movies. I just don't have the heart, or stomach, for it.

Double Dose of Jo Seung-woo!

One of the things I'm looking forward to at the end of this year is the two movies released both starring one of my favorite actors, Jo Seung-woo. It's been two years since his last movie was out, so I'm extremely excited.

First Take: Bang Yong-guk's I Remember

This is the first single of rapper Bang Yong-guk! I see a bright future for this person. Check it out, "I Remember" featuring B2ST's Yang Yeoseob!

First Take: Chocolat's Syndrome

A girl group marketed as a bi-racial group? Do you think they deserve the spotlight? Here is Chocolat with "Syndrome"!

Spy Myung-wol, a Drama Within a Drama

If you've been following Korean entertainment news in the last 24 hours, the biggest story to come out of it all is probably what I like to call Han Ye-seul vs Spy Myungwol. So, what's up with all the hullabaloo you ask?

First Take: SISTAR is So Cool

Even though that's the title of SISTAR's new single, I won't hesitate on giving it as a compliment. These girls are cool! So here it is, SISTAR with 'So Cool'.

Netizens Say No to KBS's Lesbian Drama

There's an interesting news bit that came out today that I want to talk about. It's about netizens (or internet citizens) being upset about KBS airing the first Lesbian-themed drama titled Daughters of Club Bilitis. This isn't the first time the netizens have spoken about their disappointment of a certain channel airing topics concerning the LBGT group. I guess it's nothing new that a conservative society is speaking out against LGBT. I understand them at first. But now, it's just getting old.

First Take: Super Junior's Mr. Simple

Here's my take on Super Junior's new music video Mr. Simple fresh off their 5th album! Do I hear a Bonamana clone?

The Best K-Variety Show: 1 Night 2 Days

To tell you the truth, there is no better variety TV than Korean variety TV. There's just something about K-variety shows that makes you want to sit in front of the screen and watch it more and more. It's mindless fun and a great way to end a hectic week.

One of my ultimate favorite variety show is KBS 1 Night 2 Days (1박 2일). It follows 6 celebrities of different backgrounds (actors, comedians, singers) and age (the youngest is in his mid 20s and the oldest in his 40s) as they travel around the country highlighting Korea's beauty in 2 days and 1 night. The show debuted in 2007 and has since garnered quite a large audience, both inland and international. The cast has changed a few times during its 4 year run. Currently, it boasts "national MC" Kang Hodong, comedian Lee Sugeun, singer/rapper Eun Jiwon, singer Kim Jongmin, the multi-talented Lee Seunggi, and their newest addition the adorable ajusshi/actor Uhm Taewoong.

Derpy Big Bang in New Zealand

And you never thought the word "derpy" and "Big Bang" can be in the same sentence? Well think again.

4minute's Hyuna Bubble Pops to 10 Million Views

Roughly a month ago, 4minute resident rapper Hyuna released her second solo single, the fun-lovin' 'Bubble Pop'. Close your eyes and you have an awesome summer track for the hot sunny days. Watch this video and you'll think otherwise.

First Take: 2NE1's UGLY

Today I will be talking about 2NE1's newest music video, UGLY! No, I'm not bashing 2NE1. That's the title of the song. Let's go!