Week 9: Kpop

Aloha guys! I'm a little sad that this is the last week of blogs but, I had lots of fun doing this and looking at everybody else's blogs too. The last song I chose to do a review on is by one of my all time favorites, Jay Park. The song is titled "Solo" and came out a little over a year ago, although I've listened to it before it's been stuck in my head this week.

Some background on Jay Park is that he used to be a part of the boy band 2pm (who is still together) but, some years ago he decided he wanted to be a solo artist (very good decision). I will be honest and say that many of the songs Jay Park has been coming out with aren't "clean" so to speak but I still love them! Sometimes I find it difficult since I don't necessarily like the lyrics of some of his songs but I like the vibes/ feels I get from the song itself.

Anyways back to the song "Solo", the music video was produced by Cha Cha Malone and was sung by Jay Park featuring Hoody. Aside from loving both Jay Park and Hoody's vocals in here I also enjoyed the video which did a great job of supporting the lyrics. Before I even looked up the lyrics I could tell that Jay was falling for his stylist/ photographer. However, after checking the lyrics I noticed that it was more than just falling for her, he was actually falling in love with her and hoping that she's single. He makes mention that usually girls are lined up for him since he's popular but this time all he sees is her and wants her to notice him. Jay also says that regardless of what anyone else says he wants her and will retire for the girl if he gets too busy for her. When Hoody comes in she sings about the girl's version/ side of the situation- from saying that she said she was single even though she wasn't shows that she's into Jay as well. The girl also expresses her confusion and uncertainty since she isn't sure why Jay doesn't want any one of the thousands of girls lined up for him and instead wants her.

I'm not sure why I really like this song but I thought it was cute and that the music video was well put together. Most of my favorites by Jay Park are his older songs, so liking this one was new for me but I hoped you guys liked it too!

As a bonus, here is my top favorite from Jay Park titled "Joah" which translates to "I like you" you can look up the lyrics at: https://colorcodedlyrics.com/2013/04/jay-park-joha-joah if you're interested.

Thank you so much for visiting my blog, this was definitely fun! I wish all of you good luck on your finals and hope you guys have a nice break. Have a good Christmas~

Week 8: Korean Dramas

Hey guys! I've been pretty busy this week so the topic I chose to focus on (Kdramas) was a last minute/ quick idea.

Since the 1960s or so, South Korea started to broadcast television series. Episodes now usually last about an hour or so with around 16-24 episodes per season. Unlike American TV shows like, Friends, CSI, Bones, etc., most Korean dramas only have one season. There have been some dramas that I've watched that have a continuing season that stems from the first but, the entire cast is different and I'm usually sitting there thinking "why did they even bother making this one?!". However, some of the reality tv shows like, We Got Married or Running Man have ongoing seasons with over 100 episodes.

In any case, Kdramas have been getting more and more popular over the years. Since the spread of the Korean Wave, these dramas have also become popular worldwide with sites that provide subtitles in various languages.

As far as genres for Kdramas, I noticed that there are different categories to choose from such as: action, comedy, romance, reality, horror, historical, etc. but, no matter what I have picked they all seem to have some sort of romance meshed into the story line. Nonetheless, all the ones I have watched were pretty entertaining.

It took me a while before I actually started watching Kdramas, I thought that listening to Kpop was more than enough. Once I started watching though, there was no stopping it was one drama after the other. Although I got hooked and started binge watching dramas, I also realized that watching helps with my language skills which I really like. However, while school is in session, I refrain from watching too much as it can get very distracting.

The two main sites I use to watch Kdramas are viki and dramafever. For both sites you can watch most dramas for free..as long as you don't mind ads. If you can't stand ads though and don't mind paying, you could sign up for various types of memberships on the site, I like the idea of it being free though haha.

Just a little extra~

Here are some commercials for some of my favorite Kdramas

Week 7: Kpop

Hey guys! Just a couple more weeks to this semester and we're done!

Since I have been going back to all my old playlists recently, I thought I'd do another oldie. Although I only listen to my old playlists every once in a while, I actually prefer some of the older songs over the new ones being released now. In any case, the song I chose this week is: Mirotic (주문) by TVXQ.

TVXQ aka DBSK was and still is a popular boy band, both in South Korea and Japan. However, the members have since split into two separate groups, TVXQ and JYJ. Some of the members have also done solo work on the side (not sure if JYJ is still together).

Mirotic, which came out in 2009, is about a guy who gets a girl under a "spell"/ in love with him. In the beginning of the song, the girl is innocent and sweet but, she soon gets caught up in the love and seems to fall head over heels for the guy. This song isn't a sappy love story like many songs I know, it seems a little more rigid and, in a way, rough. The lyrics also ask and attempt to reassure the guy who's casting this "spell" if what he's doing is still considered love.

Although this song was quite different from what I was used to listening to back then, and even now, I found it very catchy. Something about the beat and the way the guys sing just pulls me in and gets me under their spell haha.

I also liked watching the music video for this song. At the start, it seems like the girl is about to lure the guy in and trap him, but the guy's strength allows him to overpower her so called "spell" and ends up catching her under his own spell.

As always, I hope you guys enjoy! See ya next week~

Week 6: South Korean Dialects

Just as we have different accents in America, Korea has something quite similar called dialects. The dialects differ based upon region, like accents changing from state to state. These dialects however, can vary enough so that Koreans who may not necessarily speak one dialect may not be able to understand those who do.

For this blog I’m going to focus on 6 South Korean dialects so, let’s get started!~

1. Seoul/ Gyeonggi- This is the standard Korean language that all Koreans are educated to speak. For those learning Korean outside of the country, this is the dialect you are most likely being taught in.
2. Chungcheong- Since this area is Seoul’s “next door neighbor”, the two dialects are very similar. The pronunciations and vocabulary are all pretty close to the standard Korean. Although similar to the standard Seoul dialect, the people from this region are known for speaking slowly.
3. Gangwon- Also known as Yeongdong. When looking at the area of this province it looks huge but, it is divided by the Taebaek Mountain Range which is why the population here has never been too big. As a result of little to no residents, no distinctive dialect was ever really formed. However, the part of Gangwon that meets with the Eastern coast managed to develop a rather unique dialect which used/ included tones (like Chinese and Vietnamese).
4. Gyeongsang- Can also be referred to as the Yeongnam region. This particular dialect is spoken with a strong and harsh accent. Due to the way the dialect sounds, the Yeongnam region has long been stereotyped to be the land of the manly men. Similar to the Gangwon dialect, this one is very dynamic with high peaks and low valleys resulting in the use of tones. Those who speak in the Gyeongsang dialect are also known for their inability to pronounce certain sounds that are commonly used in the standard Korean.
5. Jeolla- Honam region (Southwestern part). This province was able to develop its own highly distinctive dialect that is spoken at slower pace compared to the Seoul one but, faster than the Chuncheong dialect. There are also some tones (ups and downs) with the pronunciations but not nearly as much as in the Gyeongsang accent. One last thing to notice is that the people who use this dialect are known to use vowel conjugations to end a sentence instead of the normal, polite way.
6. Jeju- While this is Korea’s largest island, it is also the most geographically isolated. With this isolation, a proper Jeju dialect was established which caused many people to classify it as a different language. By looking at the grammar both “languages” appear the same but, the vocabulary is quite different. Since Jeju-do has been able to preserve very old Korean words and has imported words from China, Japan and Mongolia, there are many words that have stemmed from a mixture or from one of these languages. The lack of spreading this knowledge of vocabulary can be blamed on the island’s isolation [from mainland Korea], which is why mainland Koreans do not know/ understand a majority of the Jeju dialect.

Although I only focused on South Korean dialects, I found this interesting commercial which gives a small example of the different dialects in North and South Korea. 

Hope to see you again next week!

Week 5: Kpop

Aloha Guys! I'm back with another review on yet another favorite Korean pop song (:

This song titled, "Hot Times (Don't Test Me)", is an older song compared to what I've posted so far. About 5, almost 6 years ago an SM Entertainment band named SM The Ballad was formed and they came out with this song. The members at the time this song was released included: Jonghyun (Shinee), Kyuhyun (Super Junior), Jay (TRAX) and Jino (Pentagon). The members have since changed and the number increased but, Jonghyun is still a part of the group.

Upon becoming a fan of Kpop music years ago I realized that most, if not all, songs relate to love in one way or another so bear with me! If you remember the last song I posted about it was a sad love song but this one isn't as sad...however, it's not necessarily happy either. From the very beginning we get a sense that the song is a bit serious not only from the music but also from the member's solemn facial expressions and the fact that the video is in black and white. The lyrics also start out by saying that they're going to tell us a story about love. The song continues on and basically the guys are singing about how a guy's life has changed after falling in love with a girl (the one). They sing about what the love is like (I'm assuming in the very beginning when everything is exciting and fiery) and how it has made them stronger and able to push through just about anything. From the lyrics, it is clear that the man doesn't want the love between them to go sour and he has no intention of leaving the woman. The guy wants to stay loyal to her and can't survive without her; she has become his support. No matter what happens he will stay by her side and hopes that she never leaves because, even if things go bad he feels alright as long as she's there- he has come to rely on her and the love that they currently share.

For those that have read my previous posts you probably already know that I love guys, or any singer in general, who have strong vocals. So, as you listen to this song, it's already a given that it's in my top favorites haha. Even if I had no idea what they were singing about I would still love this song. In my opinion, all 4 men are pretty talented with their voices but, Jonghyun and Kyuhyun were the strongest. I really liked this group arrangement and was disappointed when they "disbanded", but it sounds like they're all doing good in their own groups and Jino finally made it after switching over to Cube Entertainment! He's in a band named Pentagon who just debuted with their song, "Gorilla", on October 10 this year.

Hope you guys enjoy~

Week 4: Things to do in Korea

Hey Guys! This week I would like to share some things that I would love to do while visiting Korea. Honestly, my list could go on and on which is why it was pretty difficult for me to compile a small list for this blog. However, I managed to get a top 5 list which is in no particular order, enjoy!

1. Eat Korean Street Food
No matter what I do I can't seem to control what and how much I eat, I just love food! If you were to ask any of my close friends they would all tell you that I am almost always hungry and have a black hole for a stomach haha. Seriously though, sometimes I scare myself with how much I can fit into my small body. From hot snacks like tteokbokki, seafood pancake, fried chicken and mandu to sweets such as ice cream or chapssaltteok (mochi with red bean), these food stands have it all! There are countless of these stands and they can be found all over, they're very convenient for those looking for a quick bite in between transportation (buses, subways, etc.).

2. Visit Lotte World
Lotte World is the world's largest indoor theme park and amongst Korea's most favorite. It is described as a city within a city since one can do just about anything here. Aside from the theme park, which is the huge draw, Lotte World also has a department store, a hotel, a duty free shop, a museum and a large discount store. When it comes to choosing what to actually do, the options seem endless. I think the first thing I would probably do is head to Lotte Mart and stock up on Korean snack cause you know, food is everything :D

3. Hiking at Naejangsan National Park

Naejangsan is one of the famous mountains that can be found in the Jeolla-do province of Korea. Noted for offering one of the best displays of the autumn foliage in Korea, this mountain has several waterfalls and temples to see and visit. Personally, autumn is my favorite season and I love to look at all the warm colors of the leaves so this definitely sounds like a must! Although it seems to be noted for it's view of the autumn leaves, this park is open all year around and is said to be beautiful with changes of scenery and types of wild flowers blooming according to the seasons.

4. Visit SM Town Studio at the Coex Artium
This one is for all of my fellow Kpop lovers! If you weren't already aware of this then did you know that you could visit this studio which allows you to do a bunch of different activities based on how much you want to spend? You could choose to take vocal or dancing lessons for the day, participate in a recording session, styling, photoshoots and much more. To add the cherry on top, you can even buy Kpop merchandise here!

5. Shop in Myeongdong
Found in the heart of Seoul, Myeongdong, is Korea's number 1 tourist destination which brings in about 1 million shoppers per day. From clothes and make up to food and even accessories, Myeongdong has a wide variety of products to offer. I also noticed that every single Korean cosmetic brand (there are about 1,000 cosmetic stores) has a branch in Myeongdong, isn't that crazy?! What makes this place even better is that many employees within Myeongdong know foreign languages and flyers are available in other languages aside from Korean. So, if your Korean skills aren't that great or, if you have little to no skills, then no worries- the international atmosphere in Myeongdong is perfect for you!

Alright, that's all for this week! I had fun playing tourist wannabe this week, hope you're all having a good semester~

Week 3: Kpop

Aloha guys and welcome back for any of you who have visited my blog before! As I mentioned earlier in Week 1, I was considering doing a blog on Kpop every other week since I have so many favorite songs that I'd like to share with all of you. That being said let's begin!

This week I have picked a song titled, "Tell Me What Is Love", sung by Yoo Youngjin and D.O (from EXO). As soon as I heard this song, when it was released about 8 months ago, it became an instant favorite. The song triggered my emotions and my heart just went out to both guys. I will admit that D.O is one of my top favorite singers but, that aside, I think that even if he wasn't he would have become one after listening to this song. I felt that the vocals from both men were so powerful and that they did an outstanding job of incorporating all the appropriate emotions within the song. Throughout the song my heart was aching and I felt pretty sad but, for good reason. While listening to the song I got the jist that the song was about a rough break-up of some sort. After looking up the lyrics I see that I was on the right track. The song is about a man who questions what exactly love is after an ex left him for reasons unknown; he is left clueless and has a hard time accepting the break-up. Unlike many of the pop songs I listen to, this song doesn't have as much background music or a bunch of other sounds/ instruments/ auto-tune. The main focus of this song was the strong vocals of both men which would spark the feelings/ emotions of the listeners. Although this song isn't a light or one with a happy ending, I was very impressed with not just the vocals but also how the message of the song was given. Ever since this song came out it has been at the top of my list, I actually think I could listen to it on replay for hours haha. Hope you guys enjoy!

On a side note: Station, the one's who put this track out, have produced quite a few good songs if you guys would like to go and check them out. They are under SM Entertainment and the songs are sung by various SM Entertainment artists.