A little taste of Korean pop culture - bubbly!

To counteract my last entry, I've decided to post a little "jolly" tidbit on Korean pop culture seeing as I'm half Korean and all. I know quite a bit about it (though nowhere close to a LOT of other people.) Still, I keep up with what's popular, who's hot (Gong Yoo is ALWAYS) and, of course, Korean fashion, which is far more superior than American fashion hands down. In fact, when I visit S. Korea in the near future, I'm at a loss for what to bring clothes-wise. Which is why I plan on bringing an extra empty suitcase - not only are their clothes ultra cute but cheap too!

So, anyway, you might have heard the term J-Pop, basically Japanese pop music. And maybe you've heard the term K-Pop, or Korean pop music. I keep up with K-Pop more since I can understand it (for the most part), and tend to like it better, but J-Pop catches my attention once in awhile. Asia is ahead of us in so many things - except music. Remember the 90's when pop music was all the craze? The Backstreet Boys, Britney before she turned skank-mode, N'Sync, etc. Well, that's Korea now. And there seems to be no stopping it. (Not to say that that's the ONLY music out there, in fact there are a few "indie" bands I like a lot.)

There is this HUGE, and I mean HUGE, Korean all-girl pop band called SNSD - I'm not sure how many members are in this band, but there's more than your typical four that's for sure. Yoona, who is a BIG, BIG celebrity in Korea (an actress, singer, and other such things) is its star. They just recently debuted their music video for their song "Run Devil Run" which is very catchy. It's constantly blasting from my laptop - drives my mom a little crazy.



And this was my jam before this song came out, by the same band, without subtitles this time:



Ha, I know I'm a nerd for liking this so much. But then again, I LOVE anime. It's really no surprise I like K and J-Pop.

Other than that new release, there's Japan's all-girl band Scandal who somewhat, kindasortanotreally recently debuted their music video for "Shoujo S." It came out last year. Also, if you like the anime Bleach, this is the 10th Bleach opening song.



I cannot stomach Asian boy bands which is why both of these were all-female bands.

Here is an example why:



Moving on...

What I love most from Korean pop culture is the drama. Korean soap operas that is.

I haven't watched any new ones as of late and I only just finished watching one of the most popular dramas in Korea (and Asia) called "Boys Before Flowers" and I'm working on "The 1st Coffee Shop Prince" right now.

I LOVED "Boys Before Flowers" even though I didn't like the first episode. And I LOVE "The 1st Coffee Shop Prince." Korean dramas are honestly unlike any soap you've seen - they're so much more fun (and innocent) and TRUE and plain out different, better (for the most part.) I mean, who really cares if Jessica is Caleb's real baby's mama? I sure don't.

Take for instance "The 1st Coffee Shop Prince." I watch all my dramas on a website called www.mysoju.com and here's the site's summary of the drama:

"The life of Go Eun Chan (Yoon Eun Hye) is not easy; she works many jobs to pay off debts and even gave up her feminine image. Choi Han Kyul (Gong Yoo) is the heir of a big food company, but his grandmother wants him to settle down, so she arranged many dates for him. After Eun Chan bumped into Han Kyul and was mistaken for a boy, Han Kyul decided to hire Eun Chan to be his gay lover in order to avoid the arranged dates. Desperately in need of money, Eun Chan had no choice but to accept. Han Kyul's grandmother also made Han Kyul in charge of a filthy coffee shop in danger of being bankrupt. Eun Chan begged to work at the coffee shop, and not long after, feelings start to spark, except, how would Han Kyul accept his 'homosexuality'?"

It's honestly great. I love it. And Gong Yoo is seriously the cutest, most attractive Korean man ever.

Anyway, I was watching this drama which sparked this entry. Now to get back to it!