How you know you're watching a Kdrama...

There are quite a few things which I have noticed that seems to crop up now and again during my lifetime of watching kdramas. Okay, apart from the obvious fact that the characters are all speaking in Korean and oriental-looking, I have managed to pick out a couple of other habits or 'events' which appears in multiple dramas.

For instance...

Love stories between Rich Guys and Poor Girls

Rich Guys

Gu Jun Pyo (Boys Over Flowers)

So Ji Sub (The Master's Sun)

Cha Seung Jo (Cheongdamdong Alice)

Lee Tae Ik (Full House Take 2)

 

Poor Girls

Cha Eun Sang (The Heirs)

Why is it that we're always poor?

 For once, can't we be arrogant rich girls who saves the desperate poor guys?

Geum Jan Di (Boys over Flowers)

I totally feel you, my Dongsaeng! 

Yes, people may classify this as a form of sexism. That's up to you - but just keep in mind that not all kdramas follow that pattern. Trust me, if it did, I wouldn't be writing this right now because I would have stopped watching kdramas altogether. But you see, that didn't happen

The Heirs is honestly the perfect example of this, and in some respects, I sort of see the character Cha Eun Sang as a reincarnation of Geun Jan Di from the legendary Boys Over Flowers. Yes, Lee Min Ho is the leading male actor in both dramas, whose character falls in love with both of the girls. But, there are just so many more similarities between the two characters: obsessed with work, ending up in a rich private school, being bullied by other rich girls, etc. However, I think that producers have made attempts to turn the stereotype around if you closely examine the latest dramas. So, this isn't such a bad thing.

Piggyback rides

A rather dramatic one...

From Good Doctor (an amazing drama - so sad)

'

GUY:

"Sure, hit me in the head with a teddy bear why don't you?!!"

(see the full list here: http://www.dramafever.com/news/8-of-the-cutest-k-drama-piggyback-rides/ )

From watching kdramas, I am beginning to feel like it is the norm to see couples giving piggy back rides whilst walking down the road in South Korea, especially at night. Well, I don’t know- for those of you who have lived or are living in Korea, is it really? I find this actually extremely adorable but you can’t really do that in real life…

GIRL: Oh no! I twisted my ankle for some bizarre reason.

GUY: That’s a shame! Tell you what, I’ll give you a piggy back home.

(In the land of Kdrama)

GIRL: Omo! Thanks!

(In reality)

GIRL: (clears throat) I think I’ll just take a cab…

Soju

You cannot miss this at all, no matter what kdrama you are watching. The consumption of Soju and other alcoholic beverages are highly prominent. You will usually see characters going off for a drink after finding out they’ve been rejected by their lovers, or as a way of releasing stress after a long day at work, or as a get-together for work colleagues or to in the process of drinking, accidently confess their love for another character and make things awkward the morning after. Personally, I have vowed not to ever drink alcohol so I will never really understand the magical powers inside Soju, in making Kdramas entertaining and lively.

Ramen

This guy hasn't even bothered to cook it!

A perfect midnight snack or a substitute for lunch or dinner when the characters don’t feel like cooking, be it home-cooked or instant ramen. Flower Boy Ramen Shop is the perfect example – as you can see from the name…It really is such a genius invention though.

Car Accidents and other car-related accidents

Prime Minister and I

The heroine runs across the road, after her child, when the traffic lights turn red. Then, suddenly she finds herself in front of a large accelerating van, only to be saved by the hero whose miraculous sense of timing pulls her away from danger. This is pretty common in romantic comedies and is used as a turning point for many relationships: to cause the heroine to feel like it’s her fault for putting the hero in danger and come to such a stupid conclusion that there’s nothing she should do but desert the guy, or the opposite, to result in progress between the two lovers.

Everyone having the same phone and other sneaky ways to advertise 

this brilliant meme is referring to The Heirs

These are the extremely cute Emotion Eye Smartphone Android, produced by LG in South Korea, which was used by almost every single character on Birth of a Beauty.

But you know what I mean just by looking at the pictures. They also have a tendency to promote Samsung a lot too – it’s not even just phones, they also promote Samsung Cameras and even vacuum cleaners! Other than electronic devices, they are also promoting certain shops such as Discovery ,which I suppose is a clothing brand for winter and sporting activities. Subway (where you get those foot-long sandwiches) is included amongst many of the places where the characters tend to eat.

Prime Minister and I

the same place in You're all Surrounded

SNSD Taeyeon falls on stage & other tragic accidents

Taeyeon

The sub-group of Girls Generation, TaeTiSeo, or in short, TTS, made an appearance at the 24th Seoul Music Awards on the 22nd of January 2015 (Well, that's today actually). Well, that is hardly surprising. However, as they were leaving the stage after their performance, let's just say things went a bit shaky...

From the video, taken by a fan, you can see that one of the members (that is Seohyun we're talking about here) trips or stumbles but manages to get her balance back but, the unlucky one is indeed Taeyeon who falls next and seems to have suffered an injury as that part of the stage seems to have collapsed.

I really hope it's nothing serious, especially when Yuri revealed that they were working on a new album comeback this year.

What I am really concerned about is that stage falls are unfortunately common in the world of Kpop. Sure, it's funny and amusing to see your idols fall or trip sometimes on stage, but stage falls are sometimes definitely not a laughing matter.

'The 1st Pangyo Techno Valley Festival' took place on the 17th of October 2014 ,where 4Minute, T-ara, JungGiGo, and Cherry Filter were invited to perform. During 4Minute's performance, a ventilation grate where fans have somehow got onto to get a better look at the performance, collapsed. The unfortunate fans fell about 10 feet. 4Minute had no idea that the accident occurred until they left the venue. 

The BBC News reported that 12 died at the scene of the accident and 4 more passed away afterwards. In total, it was reported that 16 had died and 11 were injured. 

It was really a tragic accident...(I feel kind of sad just writing about this). 

BBC also said at the time of the incident:

'After the Sewol ferry sank six months ago, with the loss of more than 300 lives, many alleged that the country's regulations had not kept pace with its rapid economic development.'

To be perfectly honest, to relate this with the infamous ferry incident is a bit far-fetched and seems exaggerated. It's not really logical to state that just because of these two incidents Korea is unable to catch up with its own developments. Come on, one was a Kpop concert, the other was a ferry - there isn't really much of a relation. 

Kpop Highlights #5 (Hyuna and Ladies' Code)

Starting from this Highlight, I will be including the links to the recommended videos on YouTube because, I found that the screen that appears is a bit awkwardly small, unless you choose to watch it full screen.

Hyuna - Red

OMG! to be very honest, I have not actually watched the whole of the music video and I don't think I plan on doing so either. The very start of the video showed a monkey's bum and I was completely put off! I'm sorry, I am very judgemental. But, this isn't surprising. After all, she is Hyuna, if you know what I mean. I should have expected this much. However, on the more comfortable note, the chorus of the song is actually very addictive and fun (and rather seductive)! If you search on the lyrics, you will come to find that she says,

'A monkey’s butt is red, what.
Red is Hyuna, Hyuna is yeah.' 

Okay, at first glance, I thought like wtf? Sorry! But then I found out that what she did was actually very clever- she had incorporated a nursery rhyme into the song and that the rhyme actually goes something like 'A monkey's butt is red' and so on. Plus, in the middle of the song, the beat slows down almost dramatically and the music really seems to have an air of something Indian- if you get what I'm trying to say. Yeah that was really interesting...

If you don't want to watch the music video, why not just search for an audio version on YouTube, because I really recommend that you listen to this song to the end before you decide whether you like it or hate it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTXCgR93zC8

Ladies' Code - Crazily Hooked

I think you would recognise Ladies' Code, if you have read my previous post. Once again, I can't express how sorry I am for what happened to them. On a more lighter note, I really wanted to include this song when it appeared in the drama Flower Grandpa Investigative Team, because it is a real feel-good song. I initially thought Girl's Day sang it to be honest. However, now listening to this again and knowing that the two of the members who sang it are no more, it's really heart-breaking...

www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQM6wOUQImg

I think this is it for now. I guess this is the shortest Kpop Highlight I have ever done.

Kpop Group Ladies' Code and road accidents in South Korea

RiSe and EunB

Some of you may probably be aware of this incident already, when the tragic car accident happened on the 3rd of September 2014, where two members from Ladies' Code, namely EunB and RiSe, lost their lives, and the other members seriously injured. So, why bring up the past?

Well, it's solely because of my guilt over the fact that even though I have heard about the crash, I didn't really pay attention to it. The incident somehow got into my head again and I now feel so much grief over the loss of the lives of EunB and RiSe.

Ladies' Code - Kiss Kiss (released in August 2014)

EunB, died at the scene at the age of 21

RiSe died at the age of 23, 4 days after the accident due to a severe head injury.

Polaris Entertainment, the group's label made a statement after the accident:

‘After a schedule in Daegu on September 2, Ladies’ Code was headed back to Seoul. Around 1:30 AM in Suwon, an issue occured with the car′s back wheel coming off. With the rainy road and wheel coming off, the vehicle spun several times, hitting a guardrail.'

Ladies’ Code members Ashley and Zuny were released from hospital and attended the funeral of EunB on September 5 2014, with much grief. The remaining member was sadly unable to attend she was still hospitalized and needed an operation for a facial fracture. 

Ashley and Zuny

However, there were no witnesses and no CCTV recordings present at the scene of the inicident and the blackbox could not be uncovered, resulting in a rather dim perspective of who was to blame for the tragedy. 

It was also revealed that the van’s air bags did not work at the time of the accident. Another report then came out claiming that they hit the guard rail when it tried to avoid a collision with another vehicle. 

Later on the year, reports have come in saying that Manager Park, who was driving, was travelling at a speed of more than 80 mph when the speed limit was reduced to 55 mph because of bad road conditions. He was arrested on the 12th of November 2014 and was trialled on January the 15th. 

There is a seriously important life lesson to learn from here. Dangerous driving is indeed fatal. No matter how quickly you need to travel to a place in order to keep up with schedules or no matter how experienced you are as a driver, or are in the belief of the 'tattle tale' that people sitting in the back seats do not need to wear seatbelts (which many people in Asia believe and which is actually very alarming), you must follow the regulations of the road that have been put in place. Speed limits are not there for meer decoration!

To finish off, why not have a look at what EatYourKimchi have to say...

Ladies' Code 'I'm fine, thank you.' have been released in tribute to the deceased members. 

Just what will be the future of Ladies' Code, if there is any...?

Also, check out this URL: 

I personally think that what they have written there is a lot of utter nonsense in relation to the tragedy. 

http://vigilantcitizen.com/musicbusiness/k-pop-stars-eunb-rise-die-car-crash-death-foreshadowed-last-video/

I made a Pinterest account!

I discovered Pinterest from my sister actually. She was obliged to create a Pinterest account of her own because that was actually the new policy of the Arts Department in school- and I no longer does any Arts-y subject considering I'm in year 11 and have already chosen my subjects, which are mainly purely academic actually, I had no idea, until I looked at my sister's account. I fell in love with it completely. I discovered just so many pictures on Kpop and all these other stuff- it's fully awesome. I recommend this to anyone who doesn't have an account.

 So, those that do have an account, I kindly ask you to check out my account and...

My Pinner name is

Onisa Naing

P.S. it's pronounced: ON-I-SA, 'I' being pronounced like the pronoun 'I'. Some of my friends even call me, 'O-nice', because I'm so nice. LOL.

Kpop Highlights #4 (Taeyang, G-Dragon, BAP)

OMG! This is my very first Kpop Highlights of 2015, come to think of it. Nonetheless, it's the same old procedure- I inform you of all the kpop that are currently catching my attention right at this moment and the songs may not be completely recent but a little old, though I avoid talking about kpop from more than 2 years ago. Well, in this highlight, you can definitely tell that I'm a bit obsessed with Taeyang and G-Dragon from Big Bang, and not to mention taekwondo, because I'm starting to develop an interest in more upbeat and fast, catchy songs, and ultimately hip hop.

Taeyang - Ringa Linga

My first impression of the name of the song, 'Ringa Linga', was something like, 'What on earth is this?' and has on a number of occasions put me off from listening to the song. This is probably why I am doing this review late. Seriously, the song title should never have been that severely prejudiced because to be honest, it is such an incredibly powerful song. It has become one of my all-time favourites actually. But, just to let you know, Taeyang isn't exactly my perfect idea of a good-natured and totally-moral musician, if you get what I mean. Actually, the same goes for G-Dragon, too. 

You should totally check this taekwondo cover for the song by the famous K-Tigers. Trust me, it is absolutely breath-taking!!

Taeyang and G-Dragon - Good Boy

Ok, this is actually a good song, which has a really cool and upbeat sound track that you should definitely not miss out on. I am hard to impress when it comes to things like this, so me admitting it's good, does actually mean that it's good. The only negative I have to say is that the music video, the bit with all those flashy neon lights in their hair and stuff, just seems a bit...unnecessary. In all due respect, to be honest, it just made the mv a bit off-putting. Sorry. But nonetheless, the dance (both the original and the taekwondo version by K-Tigers) is amazing and one of the most creative things I have seen in my life. lol!

B.A.P - 1004 (Angel)

This song became an instant favourite as soon as I listened to it. It's the usual BAP song with all the drama and the guns and shooting and the special effects and so on. But this time, it also includes a gigantic fossil of a T-REX or a skeleton of some kind and wings. I am not completely clear on the meaning of the song because I was too stupid to realise that I should probably have searched for the lyrics before actually writing this blog. Anyway, I think it is my favourite BAP song. Every aspect of this song flows so smoothly from one member to the next, from the chorus to the rap and yes, it is an amazing song!

Running Man Compilation #1

Hey guys!

I actually uploaded this on YouTube yesterday night. Sorry, you guys should have been my first priority.

Basically, this is a  compilation of the hilarious popular Reality TV show in South Korea, called Running Man. Currently, there are 7 permanent members and guests are invited in each episode to complete a series of missions, which involve vicious ripping of name-tags, searching a whole shopping mall for animal masks and running into a freezing-cold river barefoot to build a stone sculpture. There are so many more and the ideas are all ingenious. Just watch it!

I am now just watching random episodes because there are over 200 episodes and I can't be bothered to start from 1. My favourite member right now is Lee Kwang Soo. My sister gets so mad whenever I compare how them two are so similar. LOL

Here's my video:

COPYRIGHT GOES TO THE RIGHTFUL OWNERS.

MUSIC USED: 

One Direction - Live while we're young