A.W.W. [ ULZZANG ]

pronounced: uhl-jang

Defined by Urban Dictionary.Com:

1. A Korean term that translates to "best face" or "good looking." 2. Eyes being the main focus and concept of the look. They usually use lots of products to make their eyes very large, such as eyelid glue, Korean cosmetic circle lenses, eyeliner, long fake eyelashes, etc. They also usually have fair skin, a small nose and thin small lips, just like anime characters. 3. They use a lot of editing websites such as Photoshop and Haduri to edit their pictures to make them even more prettier.

Examples:

Oooh, I like your selca! That must be your ulzzang face!

It predominates in Korea, but there's also these types of photos in Japan, China and the US! Kind of like how we have the "duck-face" fad, Korea's is the "ulzzang" face. While most people are creeped out by such large and cartoon-like eyes, there are some who find them incredibly cute and attractive~~~ All in all, the ulzzang look has become more a specific style or fashion statement.

Meet Dakota Rose of KotaKoti

Wow, just discovered this girl today, Dakota Rose Ostrenga, of Florida. She has quite a following, some being avid haters who claim she's all photoshopped! When you look at some of her pictures she certainly looks photoshopped, but I really think it's mostly illusion. She has great examples of the perfect "ulzzang" face. When you take a look at some of her snap shots, some of them look really photoshopped; enhanced eyes, airbrushed skin etc. She is probably one of the best examples of a white girl cosplayer! LOL.
I couldn't find any real information on this girl except people just talking trash about her. Her older sister is also famous on the web as Kiki Kannibal. Her family is actually enduring a lot of harassment and death threats! Ain't the internet and all it's people just amazing?! (I hope you caught the sarcasm in my writing). People tend to call her the living Doll or Mannequin.

This girl has her own blog, Kotakoti (which seemed to be under construction when I checked), has 33,000+ Twitter followers and 51,000+ subscribers on YouTube! And she speaks and writes in fluent Japanese! Woohoo! It's just, the more I stare at her face the more I get freaked out by how huge her eyes are! Awwww! Run away, run away! It's amazing how make-up can really make your eyes look huuuuge!!! I think for one of my future posts I'm going to do some sort of make up tutorial on making your eyes anime-ish??? Yes, they make her look like she jumped out of an anime.

I really wanted to post of video of her speaking Japanese, but it wouldn't let me embed the perfect one! Wahhh! ToT So please enjoy her tutorial on how to get big curly twintails and visit her channel.

K-Pop Obsession: B1A4's I'm Sorry Baby

It's already time for the obsession of the week! I can't believe it! I'm sorry I've only had time to do one post in between (eek!). This week features B1A4!!! I'm not a huge fan of their stuff, to be honest I've never really followed them. But I gave them a chance when they came out with I'm Sorry Baby and it's great! I really love that hard techno beat! Love it!

Visual Concept: ♥♥♥/5 Video Concept: ♥♥♥/5 Singing Talent: ♥♥♥.5/5 Music/Sound: ♥♥♥.5/5 Dancing: N/A English Usage: ♥♥♥/5

Overall Rating: ♥♥♥/5

A.W.W. [ OMO ]

pronounced: oh-mo

Defined by Urban Dictionary.Com:

1. Meaning Oh My! Usually used by those who speak the Korean language or wannabe Koreans who watch Kdramas all day.

Examples:

Omo! You scared me!

Omo! That guy punched that kitten!




Kinda like saying O-M-G or Oh my Gosh, just say Omo! Shortens it considerdably and it's actually a really cool sounding non-word. There were some other definitions that were also listed on Urban Dictionary that were really funny. Like: The odd man out (unfavorable to men) or Oh My Oprah! Generally, I've only heard it in dramas and some Korean reality shows. When someone wants to do slapstick or be over dramatic you just add a bunch of "OMOS!"

K-Pop Obsession: NU'EST's Face

It's been a while since the last obsession and not because I haven't had any! BigBang's album Alive is one of the best albums this year so far. I wish I could feature all of the songs on their album and in truth, Fantastic Baby was well, fantastic! But this weeks obsession I'm going to feature rookie group, NU'EST and their single, Face. Their debut was not too bad, room for improvement, but what really caught my eye was one of their members, Ren. Very androgynous but with his hair style he looks like a girl!

Visual Concept: ♥♥♥.5/5 Video Concept: ♥♥♥.5/5 Singing Talent: ♥♥♥♥/5 Music/Sound: ♥♥♥♥/5 Dancing: ♥♥♥♥/5 English Usage: ♥♥♥/5

Overall Rating: ♥♥♥.5/5

Drama - The Moon that Embraces the Sun

Alternate Names: The Sun and the Moon
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Period
Episodes: 20
Network: MBC
Broadcasted: 2012-Jan-04 to 2012-Mar-15
Lead Actors: Kim Soo Hyun, Han Ga In, Jung Il Woo, Kim Min Seo

My Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥/5













Loved this drama! Usually period dramas are too long and hystorically heavy for me to really get into, but this has just the right amount of historical and romantic drama to make it perfect! It's also had record breaking ratings in Korea!

You have black magic, political struggle, romance, sword fighting and enough tears to keep you tightly glued to the screen. Not to mention one of my favorite male actors Kim Soo Hyun (Dream High)!!! It's a Korean remake of Romeo and Juliet, except Romeo and Juliet don't die...Spoilers! This is one of the few dramas that make me cry, I mean really cry...tears down my face! T^T. It's fictional so don't take this story as a real story of the Joseon era, so I shouldn't say it's really historical, just a period piece.

Basic Synopsis:The future kind of Joseon falls in love with Heo Yeon Yoo and makes her his future queen. Jealous and driven by power, Yeon Yoo's enemies cast an evil spell on her that almost takes her life. Eight years later she comes back as Shaman Wol, with no recollection of her past. It's when she meets the king that her memory starts to come back.

A.W.W. [Sel-ca]

Welcome to the first installment of a new segment called Asian Word of the Week (or AWW)!!! Yay!!! This was born from the idea that a lot of words used in Asian countries don't always transfer over into the Americas. So in these segments I want to clarify vocabulary, phrases, ideas etc. so that everyone can be on the same page. I hope this segment will change and morph and into something that is valuable and entertaining.

Without further ado...the first AWW Vocab is:

[ SELCA ]
pronounced: sell-caw

Defined by Urban Dictionary.Com:

1. A Self-Cam picture. ie a picture of yourself taken by yourself. Not professionally. 2. A collection of pictures of oneself.

examples:

I have a lot of selca pics because i'm a camwhore.






Asians love love LOVE talking photos and this has bred a whole culture around taking pictures. Taking cute pictures of yourself is huge! Put together the two English words, SELF and CAPTURE and you get SELCA (I've also seen SELKA). Idols and non-idols have tons of selcas, all ranging from scary to funny to down right adorable...believe it or not, it is considered a fan service to loyal followers.

Generally, selcas involve just the person in the picture; using one hand to hold out the camera and take the picture. Nowadays I've been seeing some taken with a little bit of help. I have also started seeing more and more selcas posted in series style. Look at some examples below:

Hongki FTIsland

Qri T-Ara

Narsha BEG

Actress Park Min Young

Actor Lee Minho

White Day

Happy White Day my darlings! If you don't know, White Day is usually celebrated in Japan and South Korea. It works closely in conjunction with Valentine's Day! In Japan or Korea it is usually the girl's job to give chocolates to the one she likes on February 14. In this case, it's best to give homemade chocolates because it is thought to be more representative of sincere feelings. One month later on White Day (March 14), it is the the guy's job to give back to those who gave him gifts. I think in general, no matter who gives you a Valentine, you're supposed to give back. I really like this tradition, I wish this would happen in the United States! But I didn't even get a Valentine so I can't even give a White Day gift (forever alone T^T)!

Lot's of idols like to thank their fans by posting selcas or singing songs just for them. Can you imagine how many gifts a Korean idol gets on Valentine's Day?! Probably truck loads!

G-Dragon BigBang

Minzy 2NE1

Drama - Scent of a Woman

Genre: Romance
Episodes: 16
Network: SBS
Broadcasted: July 23 - September 11, 2011
Lead Actors: Kim Sun Ah, Lee Dong Wook, Uhm Ki Joon, Seo Hyo Rim

My Rating: ♥♥♥/5













I've been off my posting cycle for a while. So I apologize to the three people who possibly read these posts about Korean dramas (ᄏᄏᄏᄏ). I've been busy and occupied with life so I'm going to be trying to get back on track, as well as adding a new feature. ^-^

The title Scent of a Woman doesn't really seem to fit the story of this drama. I feel like it should've been something along the lines of...My Happy Life or something ridiculous like that. The title is a bit misleading, it might lead some people to think of it as something else entirely. The story starts out very humorously, a woman falls into a giant bowl of food in front of her boss (embarrassing!)! But then it starts to get more and more depressing and serious. In the beginning, I didn't care much of the actor Lee Dong Wook's looks, but by the end of it, I think he has a charm all his own. Kim Sun Ah (My Lovely Sam Soon) is a wonderful actress but her lips have always bothered me...I sound so superficial but I just end up looking at her face. I wish she was portrayed as beautiful as she is on the promotional poster. There are moments in this drama that you just say to yourself, "Argggh! I wish that would happen to me!"

Basic Synopsis:Lee Yeon Jae is a hardworking clerk at a travel agency who doesn't don't seem to value her contribution. She's taken advantage of, overworked and hasn't had the chance to enjoy much of life. It's when she is diagnosed with cancer and told she only has 6 months to live, that she gets the courage to quit her job and start doing the things she always wanted to do. This is how she meets Kang Ji Wook, the son of her company's boss. They fall in love with each other despite her deadly diagnosis but have to deal with the consequences around them.

Fashion Forward: Nazi Chic

“Nazi chic” a term that describes the use of Nazi imagery, paraphernalia or fashion either for the exhilaration of breaking taboos or for sensational shock value, but not for the express purpose of sympathizing with the ideology of Nazism. (via Chinasmack) Ever heard of it?! Or start to see it pop-up on the internet??? Well, it's all the rage in Asian right now, particulary Thailand, where gangs of youths can be seen seen walking the streets donning their Hitler cartoon t-shirts and dressing up in full Nazi uniform (complete with Swastika armbands and toy guns). It's nothing new, it's actually been documented as early as 2000. Cosplay images of Nazi chic have been popping up and creating a stir among Western netizens. Foreigners visiting Bangkok, Thailand will be surprised to see stalls and shops selling a panda Hitler t-shirt alongside Michael Jackson. Lol. Have you seen any of these? The most popular have been the McHitler design. You can buy them for $7-$12 a piece in Thailand. I personally think they're funny and says alot about McDonalds, Teletubbies and pandas...

Oh panda Hitler...you are so cute? Terrifying? You remind me of that bear with claws that beats up the kid...Gloomy! That bear's name is Gloomy. These shirts actually look like you might find them in Hot Topic, just saying. The panda is like stitched up like a vodoo doll and Hot Topic is always trying to be emo and "trendy."

McHitler, you are now a symbol of the McDonalds Corporation. Don't miss the transvestite version in the yellow! I mean, these designs aren't too bad, it's just that it is Hitler and he's very evil. Just know it's a trend and they don't understand the horrific meaning behind it.

Teletubbie Hitler is just funny! He looks slightly constipated or like he's raising his hand in class.