Friday, July 9, 2010

Korean music is somewhat odd....but oh so awesome

OK, here goes.

I'm pretty sure we haven't done an entry on any sort of Korean music or any other pop culture realted topics. So, what I will do is introduce you to the wonders of a (amongst others) Korean girl band, called Girls Generation (Son Ye Shi Dea).

They are one of the first Korean bands I was introduced to, by my friend, and fellow Safa, Rob. He felt it necessary to show me what kind of goodness Korean pop culture has in store for us. The first video is the one that Rob showed me the first time, and it's still one of my favourites. I know I probably shouldn't admit to that, but hey I am living in Korea, I might as well embrace the culture.



As is blatantly obvious, the girls are all super cute. But that's a given, even in western pop culture. But what smacks me in the face is not so much the cute girls, as it is the 'cutesie-ness' of the music video. And it's not just this one, it's most of the videos that follow that same sort of vibe. It might be a little more obvious to us, living in Korea, as it's not just the music videos, it's on TV and also, a lot, in the advertising. Funny thing is, it's not just the girls doing it, there is a lot of cutesie-ness, featuring guys in TV commercials. If you ask me, they don't do it half as well as the girls, but then I have a little bias towards the chicks!

Here is another one. This time, pay close attention to the wink-headtilt-smile. It's a often employed tactic to show you how cute they really are...



Rob also did me the favour of introducing me to this guy, MC Mong, who is a Korean MC, and he proves to me that Koreans are able of making really cool, 'regular' music. The song I'm posting is a gut wrencher, but it's a really awesome song. Listen to it, read the subtitles, cry a little, it's OK.



This might have been brief, and not very in depth, but there is only so much of this awesome, small, Asian country's music I can show you. The rest is up to you to go out and find. And yes, I am busy trying to work something out to get Girls Generation to come out to SA to do a tour. It's proving somewhat difficult getting hold of them though. We'll see!

Post by Oliver

1 comments:

Sean Kim said...

Hi.
My name is Sean Kim, and I am Director of Huijun Communications(www.huijun.co.kr). I came across your blog on your personal experiences in Korean, and I was inspired by it.

Due to strict Korean Immigration laws that do not allow foreigners to have side jobs, or start their own businesses, it is hard to find good websites where people can find all information and services they need.

At Huijun Communications, we are currently in the works of creating a website that serves as a hub and a community for foreigners living in Korea. At the moment, since we are at the beginning stages, we are just trying to gather more information on entertainment news and living in Korea. We want to make life easier for other foreigners living in Korea, and our vision is to eventually create a website where people can get all info and service they want through this website without need of searching and looking here and there, and through which people communicate with Koreans also.

And we have staffs and finance to make this happen.

I was thinking your blog/website would be a great asset for us, and I was wondering if you would be willing to post your blog entries on our website as well. It will allow you to have a chance to share your thoughts and info with members of lifeinkorea.kr and all members of lifeinkorea will appreciate you for that. If that is not workable due to your schedules, please allow us to bring your articles to our website. We will make sure the source and author of articles appear in our website.

We plan to find ways to realistically benefit enthusiastic writers like you.
Depending on the depth of your interest, we can consider giving you a dedicated section or sub category in our website.

Please feel free to check our website beforehand (www.lifeinkorea.kr). The current design will be changed totally.
A whole new design for the website is on its way (attached design draft)

I have a strong belief that this website will be a center of all people living in Korea.
If you have other proposal in your mind, please feel free to contact me any time at skim@huijun.co.kr or call at 010-9088-6212.

Your prompt reply is highly appreciated.

Truly yours,
Sean Kim

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