Solo-Battle: I NEED A CHRISTMAS DATE!!!

Christmas time in the States is something that is synonymous with: Baby Jesus, the commercial shopping frenzy, Santa Claus, and family get togethers. When you've lived your life being "in" the American Christmas season, it's hard to think that Christmas isn't like this everywhere else (I mean, it's not?! Hooooooowww?!)


Simon and Martina of the blog/vlog Eat Your Kimchi, recently brought up this subject of Christmas in South Korea in a recent vlog. In South Korea, Christmas is more subdued and even though there is a small family and religious aspect, the Christmas season (especially Christmas Eve) is mostly focused on romantic couples (even more important than dreaded Valentine's Day!). I mean, according to Simon and Martina, everyone is running around trying to find a date and not be single. So when I read about this recent event, I just had to laugh!



A group on Facebook started up a massive blind date flash mob event or "Solo-Battle" for all the single people on Christmas Eve. A reported 36,000 users signed up to attend the event held in Yeouido, Seoul, but only 3,500 showed up for the hope of a possible date. Unfortunately, the crowd was almost entirely made up of lonely, single men in their 20's and 30's. ^_^' The women were greatly outnumbered! Women were asked to wear something red and guys to wear something white. There was even a special kind of code you had to know in order to participate, "Are you here to go for a walk? Would you like to go for a walk with me?" Poor guys! The event quickly dispersed when the guys came to realize it was an embarrassing sausage fest... Don't give up guys, just keep trying. Fighting!

Impatient Asian

Saw this many weeks ago on Tosh.O and it was the most hilarious thing ever! Reverse auntie...

Meet Fukacumi of Ukraine

Meet 19-year-old Ukrainian, Anastaysia Shpagina, virally known as the real life Anime girl, Fukacumi. Do you remember American,Dakota Rose? Well, compared to Anastaysia, Dakota is terribly normal! Ever since she was little, this girl has been experimenting with makeup and when you add a liking for Japanese anime, well, you can even achieve that wide eyed doe look as every other anime character. Ms.Anastaysia has even taken on a different name to even sound more Japanese. As to whether she was taken plastic surgery extremes is unknown, but she is considering undergoing surgery to make her eyes wide permanently. Anastaysia takes up to an hour just to complete her eye makeup in the morning!

The young Ukranian woman is currently living in Odessa, Ukraine as a hair dresser. Not only has she been transforming her face, she has taken drastic measures to lose weight. There are many similar visual qualities between Anastaysia and Dakota that I find are very unhealthy and scary. It's one thing to have big eyes, it's another to try and mimic a cartoon. Strangely enough, she's also friends with fellow Ukranian, Valeria Lukyanova, the human Barbie. Meet Fukacumi and get a little tutorial on how you can achieve her extreme look below:

K-Pop Obsession: Gain's Bloom

K-Pop obsession is back after a long hiatus! And it's none other than sexy Gain from Brown Eyed Girls to grab my attention. I have loved Gain ever since I saw her on the Korean reality show, "We Got Married" with Jo Kwon. Gain is cute, sexy and fun loving! She has always done very sexy and controversial roles in her solo and group comeback music video. There was the sexy sex scene in "Abracadabra", drama filled solo "Irreversible", beaten and bruised in "Sixth Sense" and now loosing her virginity in "Bloom?!" This completely shocked me, all of the sudden there's a sex scene! Perfect banning material *heeheehee*

Honestly, it's a little reminiscent of IU's "You and I." Because they share the same producer, I guess it can't be helped. I also didn't care for how white Gain is and how white the whole set was, I miss her dark hair so much! And the dancers freak me out. Eek!

SKIP TO 1:15 TO GET RIGHT TO THE MUSIC VIDEO.

K-Pop Obsession: Orange Caramel's Lipstick

Been a while since my last obsession post so to kick it back up, it's Orange Caramel's "Lipstick". Usually this group is a bit too cutesy for me, but I love love LOVE the concept for this video; which is ping pong! Yay! Hilarious ping pong! Can I say I've seen those crazy neon yellow teddy bear shoes on a customer recently? They seem to fit right in with this video. And it's also hard to believe, but these girls are a subunit from the girl group After School, who just finished promoting their sexy single "Flashback."

PSY on Ellen Degeneres Show!

So this is awesome, I love PSY and I love Ellen Degeneres and here, they are teaching/dancing Gangnam Style on her show! With Britney Spears! PSY says the perfect sentence that totals the Gangnam Style dance to a "T" ---"Dress classy and dance cheesy." Way to go PSY! PSY is his stage name, short for psycho. He actually speaks very good English, even graduated from a university in the US! I'm so proud of PSY, he's a big hit in the US!

K-Pop Obsession: G-Dragon's One of a Kind & That XX

I really wanted to feature G-Dragon when he released his music video for "One of a Kind" but I was busy and lost track of time. Before I knew it, he had released his first single and music video for "That XX"!!! Ahhh! So this week's feature is going to be the two release singles off his new comeback album One of a Kind.

What I need to say is, these singles are very G-Dragon yet very different from one another. In one single, he's very quarky, odd and off beat with fast beats and rap. Then in the next, he's smooth, dramatic and melodic. Both I loved, but I have to say I probably like "One of a Kind" just a little bit better-he's just so charismatic and the beat so infectious I can't help it! The single, "That XX" is rated 19+ in Korea because of the used of the Korean word "bastard" so that's why it's annoyingly bleeped in the music video.

Watch "One of Kind" for fast rapping, stern but sexy dancers hip thrusting in pilot outfits, an earworm autotuned "Helloooooooooooh", and G-Dragon's ugly yellow corn rows (yup that's G-Dragon's kinda style this time).


Watch "That XX" for good/evil G-Dragon, beautiful imagery, and a cameo by a member of new rookie girl group mentored by G-Dragon himself.

Kong Suni the Farting Doll

The fart sound translation is "Bbong Bbong"

Meet Kong Suni, a very popular Korean play doll that farts. Yes, farts! She eats cereal and when you push her stomach she farts! It's even sold with a flushable toilet! Cute poop, cute poop! Poop is cute in Korea. The thing is, this doll doesn't look Korean she's actually very European or American looking...do dolls around the world look like white Europeans?! Check out the "cute" commercial below (By the way, I find most dolls to look very creepy. Especially the ones with the eyes that close when you lay them down. Eek!).

Pokemon Tim Burton Style

I saw this and I was like WOW! WOW! WOW! Tim Burton style is so whimsical yet dark and having it applied to Pokemon is just amazing. Check out these illustrations by Vaughn Pinpin (aka hatboy) via his Tumblr page.

The Debut: EvoL

Been a long time since my last post. Mianhamnida! I really wanted to highlight a new rookie girl group called Evol. This group has impressed me, a lot of people are unfairly comparing them to 2NE1, which is a little unfair. I'm the first to admit I am a Blackjack (2NE1 fan) and just adore the new girl group! 2NE1 definately has taken over the market of "tough/strong girl group" and it's going to be tough competition. I believe EvoL has the potential to be serious competition! The groups' label Stardom Entertainment, who are labelmates with boy group Block B. EvoL is pronounced "evil" and is also LOVE (EVOL) spelled backwards! It's not to be mixed up with the Sonic Youth rock album.

The group is comprised of five group members: Leader SAY, Jucy, Yull, Hayana, and J-Da. Leader Say has a very strong and intimidating looking face that I feel really suits the group. The group doesn't follow the typical "cutsey" Korean girl group.

There debut mini "Let it Explode!" is a great example of there style and voices. And their debut music video for "We Are A Bit Different" was the bomb! I will learn this dance! So much fun!

Go for the Gold!

This month is all about the Olympics, so when I saw this I nearly cried from laughing. Thanks Justin for sharing! He got the GOLD! LOL.

Summer of Bubble Pop

Hyuna's single "Bubble Pop" was released last summer, since then I have always associate summer with bubble bubble pop pop! It's also why I bought red heels and dance around my house...Check out the sexy music video now! Dubstep breakdown around 2:30, sweet....

Ace Power Exercise Machine!

I'm sure most of you've seen some ridiculous infomercials for things like the Steak Knives, the FlexBow and Shake Weight, but this is much MUCH better. Check out this Korean infomercial for an exercise machine called "Ace Power." So embarrassingly good.

The Comeback: Brown Eyed Girl's The Original

As some of you might know, I am a huge fan of Brown Eyed Girl's (BEG). Luckily, they're having a little mini comeback this summer with their newest album, "The Original." They've already released the music video for "One Summer Night" and the vocals are just amazing. I love you BEG, keep shining!

A.W.W. [ SOJU ]

pronounced: show-joo

Defined by Wikipedia:

1. A distilled beverage native to Korea. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though often slightly sweeter due to sugars added in the manufacturing process. 2. Though it is traditionally made from rice, most modern producers of soju use supplements or even replace rice with other starches, such as potatoes, wheat, barley, sweet potatoes, or tapioca.



Examples:

Aiish! I drank too much soju last night.

Let's go eat some samgypsaul and soju tonight!

Alcohol equivalent to vodka or sake (more closely to sake because it is made out of rice). Soju literally translates to "burned liquor." Even though there is a population of Koreans here in MN, I haven't been able to to find actual soju...there is a Korean grocery store I have yet to go to, they might have something there.

K Pop Obession: PSY's Gangnam Style

Tons of new music suddenly coming out this week! BEG's "One Summer Night", BAP's "No Mercy", and Jang Wooyoung's solo "Sexy Lady" were all released within a week of each other! Crazy! Not to mention my favorite K-Pop girl group 2NE1's "I Love You." So today I decided to go with something I would never ever normally listen to.

PSY from YG has finally made a comeback with "Gangnam Style." Hilariously tacky good! Feeling a bit down from the awful weather? Listen to Gangnam Style! I really don't know where to begin with this music video, every part is my favorite part! It's just so funny and random. It even has sexy Hyuna from 4Minute in it! You have to watch it to believe! "Heeeeeeeyyyyy sexy laaaaadddy!"

Gangnam is 1 of 25 districts that make up Seoul, it is one of the most affluent areas of the city.

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

Overall Rating: ♥♥♥♥/5

Learning Korean FAIL

So my brother actually found this and shared it with me. It is a very unfortunate mis-pronunciation and is probably a big reason why schools in Korea always want a native speaker to teach English (speaking). Maximum laughs though!

The Comeback: 2NE1 I Love You

So 2NE1's comeback is NOW and I am so pumped! I love, love, love, LOVE these girls. I don't think this comeback is as great as "I Am the Best" but it really does have a good beat and sound, their voices are really maturing. The concept photos look beautiful. They kind of have a painting-like feel to them that transfer over to the music video very nicely. Welcome back Ladies!

Amazing Shots!

No Asian Word of the Week (AWW) today. But please enjoy these videos of awesome shots! So crazy!

Most Awesome Archery Shot - Korea



Most Awesome Boomerang Shots - Korea



Most Awesome Ping Pong Shots - China



Most Awesome Pool Shots - Japan

K-Pop Obsession: Super Junior's Sexy, Free & Single

After nine months, Super Junior is back! As a whole, the song is a little different from what I had heard in the teaser. I thought it would be a little more robotic and electronic. To be honest, the song has me a little bored. Otherwise, they took a very different approach to the dancing style and it's very noticeable. I like it!

And I don't know if anyone else notices this but they always have Siwon start singing his part in the beginning part of the song and then never again...he always does that in all the songs.

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

Overall Rating: ♥♥♥/5

Ukiyo-e Heroes

Just really, really cool! These talented artists interpret video games into traditional Japanese woodblock prints called Ukiyo-e. Check out some of their works so far and like them on Facebook!

The Comeback: Sexy, Free & Single

Ok, Super Junior is set to have another comeback, like, real soon (July 1). I'm sure all the ELFs (Everlasting Friends - Super Junior Fans) out there are freaking the heck out and causing mass chaos in general. In the teaser for their comeback song, "Sexy, Free & Single" Super Junior is still stuck in their weird, confined room? Area? Undisclosed location??? The boys are singing "Sexy, free and single. I'm ready to mingle." in their SUJU robot voice, yes, it's kinda weird (gotta admit it). Let's face it, although they may be talented singers, the songs they generate tend to sound all the SAME! Robotic techno, mashed with 360 degree cameras, mashed with 10 members and you've got SM Entertainment's recipe for easy cash $$$.

But let's not get totally down. I will say, SM Entertainment does a great job producing concept photos...yet, the concept photos don't even have anything to do with the music video! After raging in frustration for a minute, we will move forward! Lets admire the concept photos in all their artistic glory. It's not what American mainstream would really go for, it's too "feminine" and whimsical for a pop group, but it has all the ELFs in a tizzy.

A.W.W. [ TAMAGOTCHI ]

pronounced: tah-mah-got-chi

Defined by Wikipedia:

1.A Tamagotchi is a keychain-sized virtual pet simulation game for children. 2.combining the Japanese word "たまご" (tamago), which means "egg", and the English word "watch"(ウオッチ uocchi). 3.Tamagotchis are a small alien species that deposited an egg on Earth to see what life was like, and it is up to the player to raise the egg into an adult creature.[3] The creature goes through several stages of growth, and will develop differently depending on the care the player provides, with better care resulting in an adult creature that is smarter, happier, and requires less attention.

Examples:

My teacher is such a prick! He took my Tamagotchi away in class...

My Tamagotchi is so needy...I'm just gonna discipline it a lot.

Does everyone remember Tamagotchis?! They were huge in like, 1996, every kid wanted them and every kid needed them. I remember they got banned in school because they were distracting (along with Pokemon cards) There were also several knock-offs, but what you really wanted was the real Tamagotchi by Bandai. To be honest, I was never very good at raising mine, my pet always seem to die before the full two weeks was up and then I damaged my egg thing by dropping it in a bowl of soup ^-^; So so sad...

K-Pop Obsession: After School's Flashback

So this week's obsession is After School's comeback song, "Flashback." Now the leader of After School, Kahi, has officially "graduated" and has gone on to do solo things. I miss her so much! I really think she put a lot of creative energy and input into the group (like Bang and Shampoo). I wasn't too impressed with After School's comeback this time, they usually do something that requires a lot of training for a great performance. Yes, they are one of the hottest girl groups out there, they really turned up the heat in this one. But the song is only meh. Nothing extraordinary or really exciting...just really really sexy and confusing...why is that guy tied up? Why did you shoot him sexy Uee?

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

Overall Rating: ♥♥♥/5

Hiyah!

Asian school girl kicking ass. That is all.

Son Ga In for Singles Magazine

I haven't been posting much, so very sorry! Mianhamnida! Just been too busy to really post the usual posts, so I'll try to start doing it from now on. For now, please enjoy Brown Eye Girl's Ga In on the cover of Singles magazine. I love Ga In!

K-Pop Obsession: f(x) Electric Shock

I've been bad. Not posting as much as I should have...oh well...A bunch of music videos have been released lately. SNSD (Girl's Generation Paparazzi), Boyfriend (Love Style), and U-Kiss (Believe). None of them I'm really crazy about, but f(x) just released their new album and single "Electric Shock". I am more crazy about their concept photos than their actual song. The music video isn't very creative, but the song still gives you a beat to dance to! Amber is still my favorite out of the group, I was surprised she didn't do any rapping, but actual singing.

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

Overall Rating: ♥♥♥/5

K-Pop Obsession: BigBang's Monster

For the release of BigBang's Alive repackaged album, the boys have a new music video called "Monster." Very different outfit choices and odd accessories. I still love the song, some of the rapping sounds a bit odd. The word "monster" is really emphasized by the lightness of their eyes. Go BigBang! I love you!

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

Overall Rating: ♥♥♥♥/5

Princess of China MV

I really don't know what to really say about this music video with Rihanna and Coldplay's "Princess of China"...should I be offended? Is it awesome? Doesn't really make sense to me how anything in this video relates to the song besides the title. Then again, stuff like this always happens. I just think, if they're going to do this, they should really go all out.



BONUS!!! Niki Minaj's "Your Love":

K Drama - 49 Days

Genre:Fantasy
Episodes:20
Network: SBS
Broadcasted:March 16, 2011 - May 19, 2011
Lead Actors: Lee Yo Won, Nam Gyu Ri, Jung Il Woo, Jo Hyun Jae, Bae Soo Bin

My Rating: ♥♥♥♥/5














After seeing lead actress, Lee Yo Won, in the historical drama "The Great Queen Seonduck" it's hard to picture her acting in a modern drama. I don't think she's the typical korean beauty but I do recognize her as a very talented actress. I still think she is way too skinny! Just take a look at her legs! Sticks! Sticks I tell ya!

Like any other Korean drama, this storyline is just one twist of plot line after another. To explain it to someone would only confuse them further, so what I always tell people is, "You have to watch it from the beginning!" There is no use trying to explain it to someone unless you basically want to tell the story from beginning to end with every little detail. It is a fantasy drama involving reapers, corporate take over and lost love.

Basic Synopsis:Two completely different women find themselves caught together by a premature accident involving Ji Hyun. She has the perfect life, loving parents, a best friend and fiance when she falls into a coma and becomes a ghost walking the earth, learning the terrible secrets about her so called "perfect life." She is given 49 days to find three people who would truly cry for her so she can have a second chance at life.

A.W.W. [ MANGA/MANHWA ]

pronounced: mahn-gah and mahn-wah

Defined by UrbanDictionary.Com:

1.Japanese comic books/graphic novels. The word literally means "whimsical pictures" in Japanese. 2.There are 6-7 major types of manga, each having its own audience. Kodomo manga is for children. Shonen manga is for boys ages 12-18 , Shoujo manga is for gilrs age 12-18. Josei manga is for adult ladies above the age of 20, mainly working women. Seinen manga is for young men between the ages of 18 and 30, and Hentai manga is pornographic, adult manga. 3.Manhwa is comic/graphic novels produced in Korea by Korean artists/authors.

Examples:

Did you read the lastest manga by CLAMP?! It's so awesome!

The only manhwa I've read was Bride of the Water God.

To be honest, I've read a lot of manga including Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura. Yeah, I'm a nerd but I guess everyone has their own dark secrets...Most Americans think manga is cartoon porn. Sure, there is a specific genre just for that, but it is not every manga series out there. Many Japanese/Korean dramas and movies are directly taken from manga stories and are immensely popular.

K Pop Obsession: TeenTop's Supa Luv

TeenTop just came back with their new single, "To You" but I didn't really like it...It kinda sounds like, "Do you..." I actually am not a huge fan of these boys. They definately have the vocal and dance skills to really kill it, but I'm not too fond of their music/song themes. I also am not too fond of some of the members, they look a little "slimy?" So instead here is a TeenTop song I love better, "Supa Luv."

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

Overall Rating: ♥♥♥/5

K Drama - Oh! My Lady

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Episodes: 16
Network: SBS
Broadcasted: 2010-Mar-22 to 2010-May-11
Lead Actors: Chae Rim, Choi Siwon, Lee Hyun Woo, Park Han Byul

My Rating: ♥♥♥/5














Nothing too different than most Korean Romances...but it does have Choi Siwon from Super Junior in it...LOL. Not the biggest fan of SUJU (don't kill me ELFS!) or Siwon for that matter (please don't kill me) but I thought he was okay in it. I think there was a shower scene in it??? I can't remember but there are definitely scenes with him shirtless. The ex-husband is a douche-bag, I really hope most people aren't as cruel and heartless as he was in this drama...man...

I don't know what it is but there's just something so cute and attractive about a good-looking man with his daughter at the zoo!

Basic Synopsis:Thirty-five year old, Yoon Gae Hwa is a spunky and hardworking mother who recently divorced from her cheating husband. Working as a housekeeper can only get her by so much as she fights to get the custody of her little girl. After a couple of odd coincidences, she becomes the housekeeper and manager of the popular singer/actor Min Woo.

A.W.W. [ POCKY ]

pronounced: pok-ki

Defined by Wikipedia:

1.a Japanese snack food produced by the Ezaki Glico Company of Japan. Pocky was first sold in 1966, and consists of a biscuit stick coated with chocolate. It was named after the Japanese onomatopoetic word for the sound Pocky makes when bitten, pokkin (ポッキン).

Examples:

Please buy me some Pocky when you go to the Asian grocery store.

Let's share a Pocky kiss!

Pocky is my favorite! I love it! Chocolate is the best! You can also get strawberry, vanilla and special ones with almond crunches. Word of advice, even though US grocery stores now carry Pocky in the "Ethnic Foods" sections, it's really expensive and it shouldn't be! Go to your nearest Asian grocery store and you can get the regular sized boxes for $0.99 or less! Don't be paying $1.99 for a box of Pocky. Pocky is worldwide! In Europe, it was renamed to Mikado. In Malaysia it was changed to Rocky and in South Korea there is a similar product called Pepero.

K Pop Obsession: JJ Project's Bounce

Not too much I'm interested in this week...here is something a little more unusual for me. I've never heard of them, but I guess they are signed on with JYP. This weeks obsession is the silly and "bouncy" JJ Project's "Bounce."

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

Overall Rating: ♥♥♥.5/5

Panda Dogs

And now...panda dogs for your pleasure.