Month: November 2018

Our Baby is in a Korean Commercial

2018/11/29 / Nic / 0 Comments

Yul is in a Korean Commercial!

In this video we talk about how Yul was selected to be in this commercial, the process and the actual day of filming. It was our first experience of baby commercial filming and we learned a lot! If he gets another commercial we will be more prepared!

We’ve had questions from people about how to get their baby into commercials but we can only explain our process. We aren’t deliberately signed with an agency but we have agencies contact us and work on our behalf. They take a cut of the payment but we don’t sign exclusive contracts with them. Hugh also now works for a management company who can negotiate for us next time. The most we’ve done is have an Instagram account for Yul (which is here). This Instagram account is mostly for people who follow us and want to see more of him, as well as for family around the world, but is also a good place to showcase his professional photos.

All opportunities have been through the Instagram account, and there have been a bunch we have said no to. Although we knew he’d be good on camera we didn’t want to shop him around to auditions and become stage parents. We wait for opportunities to come to us and then decide which ones to take. There are talent agency sites in Korea where people can upload a photo of their baby and apparently companies or agencies can look through the photos and select what babies they like. But these sites seem to have pages and pages of baby photos and often have fees, which to me seems like a rip off. I think people working for agencies that are finding babies and kids for commercials are usually on Instagram looking. So a good Instagram account seems vital, at least in our experience.

The other things to consider is whether your child is good around a lot of people. Yul is very comfortable with lots of people and did a good job, but it will be overwhelming for most babies. A baby needs to be very easygoing and comfortable in unusual situations, otherwise it will be stressful for them. Your child’s comfort and security should be the most important, so it’s not good to put them into a situation they don’t enjoy, even if you are certain they have star potential. Getting a baby to smile at home is very different to getting your baby to smile in front of a huge camera and lots of people.

Another thing I didn’t get to mention in the video is that even though it’s a baby commercial, it doesn’t mean the space will be set up well for babies. We know for next time to bring mats and bedding and many many toys. And you may be in the same waiting room as the other families! A sense of competitiveness is just going to make it stressful, so being nice to other parents and kids is the best option. It was originally only going to be one baby in the commercial, but they couldn’t decide between Yul and the little girl. Her parents were lovely and we were really happy that she got to be in that commercial too. We all bonded on the day of filming and keep in contact. But, there will also be stage mothers/fathers around as well so you may have to brush off any rudeness of competitiveness from those types.

If you have any more questions please ask them here to over on YouTube!

First Snow of the Season!

2018/11/27 / Nic / 0 Comments

Last Saturday we had the first snow of the season in Seoul. Last winter Yul was just a tiny little baby so didn’t see any snow. This was the first time he had really seen snow falling. He was quite fascinated by it. The snow was mostly gone by the end of the day but I hope we get some more soon so he can play in it.

Korean Spicy Duck Soup

2018/11/16 / Nic / 0 Comments

In our latest video we have a late dinner at a duck restaurant. Duck meat is often barbecued or roasted in Korea, but this restaurant serves it as a kind of spicy soup. Kait, who has been helping us film some of our videos lately also joined us, so it was her first time trying duck.

We also have a vlog that was filmed back at the end of summer here:

AUSTRALIAN BABY FOOD VS KOREAN BABY FOOD

2018/11/10 / Nic / 0 Comments

Australian Baby Food VS Korean Baby Food

In this Emart collab video both Hugh and I make baby food for Yul. I made something Australian and Hugh made Korean baby food. We had to go to Emart to buy the ingredients and then we cooked at home. Yul tried both and he liked one better! Watch the video to find out what he liked!

Recipes:

Zucchini and carrot slice:

5 eggs
1 zucchini
1 carrot
1 onion
1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup cheese (grated)
1/3 cup olive oil

Preheat oven to 180°C
Grate zucchini and squeeze out excess liquid.
Grate carrot.
Finely chop onion.
In a bowl, whisk eggs. Add zucchini, onion, carrot, cheese, sifted flour, oil and mix together.
Grease baking tray with a bit of oil. Put into a baking tray or tin.
Bake in oven for 40 mins or until golden brown.

Hugh’s recipe: Beef and Seaweed rice porridge:

Rice 70g
beef 35g
seaweed 45g
sesame oil 1 spoon
280ml water

Cook together on stove for 15 mins and leave to cool for 5 mins.

Korean recipes are much more about ‘feeling’ what is the right measurement and how long to cook for. But for an Australian recipe like zucchini slice, exact measurements are pretty important.

The slice that I made is quite different from what Korean babies that age would eat. Rice porridge “juk” is the main thing babies and toddlers eat. It can have a huge range of ingredients so they are getting all their nutrients, but it is a mushy food fed with a spoon. When Yul eats something that isn’t baby food like that, we have him do ‘self feeding’ which is a style of feeding and parenting where he can touch and play with the food and also feed himself. He has been experimenting with spoons and chopsticks, even though he’ll resort to his fingers mostly. These days he eats a lot of the same things we eat as well.

BTS, WANNA ONE, TWICE and more at Genie Music Awards

2018/11/09 / Nic / 0 Comments

We were given an awesome experience this week as we got to go to the MBC Genie Music Awards. Not only could we attend, but we were in a special section in front of the crowds and right near the artists. Kpop groups attending, performing and receiving awards were BTS, Twice, Wanna One and more. We have a big vlog about our experience here:

As we mentioned in the video, Hugh was very close to BTS and other artists. I was further along and next to the walkway the artists walked on to go receive their awards. There were only a certain amount of fans in this area and we were called “supporters” and given special banners. We were in a position to interact with artists, like when they touched our hands when walking by and we were there to cheer them on. It was a really fun experience.

Not only was it amazing to see all the artists and celebrities, but we got to see all the behind the scenes views of how a big awards show is run and organized. Being parents of a 1 year old, we don’t get to have as many fun experiences these days, but Yul was with a babysitter and we made sure we had a good time.

Hugh is now even more a BTS fan since he has now interacted with them and seen them perform in person. I guess he’ll be going to a concert next tour! haha. He said he finally understands why I get so excited about concerts and seeing my favourites perform. Speaking of my favourites: iKON did win an award but weren’t there. But I cheered for them anyway!

Since BTS is the biggest Kpop group in the world at the moment we made sure we got lots of footage of them for all the fans, a lot is through the vlog, but also a bunch is on the end of the video. Hugh had our good camera with him, so he got some nice shots that I hope people enjoy!

Big thank you to our friends who gave us this opportunity, and thank you to all our friends and fellow YouTubers who went with us and made it such a fun experience!

BTS AND MILITARY SERVICE

2018/11/02 / Nic / 0 Comments

There are suggestions in Korea to change the laws about military service which could possibly mean that a Kpop group as big as BTS would be exempt from military service. Read more here.

One of the big misconceptions about military service is that “everyone has to do it” so therefore Kpop groups should as well. But when you dig a bit deeper you realise there are already lots of exemptions and not all seem that fair. For example, classical musicians can be exempt when they win certain prizes. Should one type of music be seen as more important than another? The more we have been learning about exemptions the more we have changed our own opinions about whether all idols should have to do it. Watch the video to see us talk about it!