Category: Music (Page 9 of 10)

All things K-pop

Selective Hearing

2012/08/18 / Nic / 15 Comments

Though I do try to listen to a lot of Korean conversation, there are times I have to tune out because it’s too taxing on my brain to try and decipher everything.

But my brain always alerts me when things interest me in the conversation.

If you aren’t into Kpop and don’t know what YG is, it’s a major record company. Big Bang belongs to it. My husband’s friend was giving him a hard drive that has a YG Family concert on it. A huge concert featuring all the artists from YG.

and HAPPY BIRTHDAY G-DRAGON!!!!

Sorting

2012/08/08 / Nic / 17 Comments

Sorry Gangnam… I don’t really care about your tourist attractions… I just like the song.

BTW, isn’t it great how popular that song has become around the world!

Simon and Martina

2012/07/23 / Nic / 36 Comments

I’m a big fan of Simon and Martina from Eat Your Kimchi. So much so that sometimes I tend to talk about them like I know them personally… (because they are so awesome).

IS THAT REALLY WEIRD?

I also mention Simon and Martina to my parents sometimes. Luckily my parents know who I’m talking about now. Because my husband and I are planning on moving to Korea at the beginning of 2014 sometimes we are discussing our plans at the dinner table and I’ll say “Simon and Martina said…. blah blah blah.”

Oh and their kitten is so cute!

Is there anyone that you talk about or mention in conversation like you know them but actually don’t?

Also: I’ve added a FAQ section.

Psy Gangnam Style

2012/07/16 / Nic / 11 Comments

Gangnam Style might actually replace Fantastic Baby as our dancing around the house song. Just released by the ever hilarious and ridiculous Psy.

Gangnam is a suburb in Seoul where rich people live. ‘Oppan Gangnam Style’ basically means “This Oppa is Gangnam Style” but talking about himself to a younger woman, because he is using Oppa (plus particle) to refer to himself, which is the name females use for an older male.

Here is the video:

I pointed out to my husband that he should actually sing “Jinju Style” instead hehehe.

Favourite

2012/07/11 / Nic / 16 Comments

Haha, well It’s not really a secret how much I love G-Dragon.

So what is the correlation between K-Pop and having a Korean partner? Does having a Korean partner make someone interested in K-Pop or does being interested in K-Pop result in ending up with a Korean partner?

Both are possible. Some people are gradually exposed to K-Pop through their Korean partner and grow to like it. There are also others who discover K-Pop in another way and start to really enjoy Korean culture as well. This interest results in meeting more Korean people and the possibility of having a boyfriend or girlfriend who is Korean.

My story is a little bit different. Years ago when I first starting making Korean friends I really didn’t hear any K-Pop. My Korean friends were all on working holiday visas while in Australia. At this time I briefly dated a Korean guy as well. I was not exposed to any K-Pop at all. The following year I was living in Sydney in a share apartment with Koreans and that’s when I got bombarded with K-Pop! I didn’t like it…. and I said a lot of negative things.

Because most of my Korean friends were on working holiday visas, eventually, one by one, they all left Australia. There came a time when almost all my Korean friends were gone. Missing them, I actually starting listening to K-Pop on my own accord. G-Dragon was really what first got me interested. Through him I discovered Big Bang.

By the time I first met my husband I had completely become a K-Pop fan. Oh I’m still critical of a lot of groups but I always give them a chance now. Big Bang remains my favourite group and G-Dragon will always be the one that first led me into the wonderful world of K-Pop.

It’s not that my husband dislikes him, actually he really likes him, he just gets slightly jealous of my admiration.

Adele Pregnant

2012/07/01 / Nic / 3 Comments

OKAY obviously he knows what sex is, he was just being silly. But his surprise at her being pregnant was real. There are 2 reasons for this. He is a big fan and hadn’t really thought of her as an ordinary human who can have a boyfriend and get pregnant (haha). The second reason is related to why he assumed something like that. In Korea, idols don’t have the same sort of freedom as idols in Western countries. While there are a lot of things I like about Korean music, this is something that I think is not that good.

You simply don’t really hear about Korean pop stars getting pregnant accidentally like that. They are controlled very much by their companies and aren’t allowed to. While they are young and under contract they have to do what they are told and their personal lives are pretty much put on hold. Even announcing having a boyfriend or girlfriend is a big deal so announcing a pregnancy outside of marriage would be shocking. People’s heads would probably explode. Korea is still very conservative in this aspect. It is very difficult for unmarried mothers. This is one of the reasons why there are so many babies for Western couples to adopt even though Korea is a first world country, because they don’t have provisions put in place for single mothers. However, somewhere like Australia there is government help and not really much judgement.

People have suspicions in Korea though. For example if a girl group is going really well and are really popular and then one member suddenly has to go study in another country to study or has some undisclosed illness. People suspect that there was an accidental pregnancy.

So this was why my husband was so surprised that it was announced that Adele is pregnant, not just because the world is told, but that people are happy and congratulating her. It just wouldn’t happen like that in Korea.

My Big Bang Experience

2012/06/28 / Nic / 10 Comments

We were in Korea for a month last year in the summer. While I knew I wanted to try and see Big Bang if possible, we had some important things to do: like announcing our engagement, meeting the family etc.

So we spent a lot of time in a quite rural area of South Korea. It was during this time that Daesung had the car accident. There was a mini concert scheduled in Seoul but they weren’t sure if it would go ahead. The day before we realised it was still on and my husband miraculously got 2 tickets. He had promised me that I could go see Big Bang if the chance arose while we were in Korea. He didn’t break his promise. He also didn’t tell me how much he paid for these tickets either. We had to get a friend in Seoul to pick up the tickets for us and then the next morning we caught a bus to Seoul. This took a few hours and then we had to go across Seoul to get the tickets from my friend and then go back to where the concert was being held. I barely had time to even comprehend that I would be able to really see Big Bang in the flesh!

By the time we got to the venue it was almost full, but it was a very small venue and I think there a limit of 400 people. We weren’t anywhere near the stage but we could see well enough. It was just a mini concert for the promotion of a phone so we knew it wouldn’t be very long, but I told my husband even if they only did 1 song I would be happy.

When Big Bang came out I was so amazed to be able to really see them I was pretty much in shock. My face was like this:

So yeah I probably looked like an idiot. Of course Daesung couldn’t be there, so I’m yet to see him but I was so impressed with the others. Even during a stressful and a traumatic time they gave a really good performance. During a short question time you could tell they were quite worried but they are professionals and we did see some smiles. They didn’t preform many songs – I can’t remember exactly – but maybe only 5. I was still so happy though. G-Dragon as just so beautiful, TOP was so handsome… I think most other fans there had seen them before, but as it was my first time I was overwhelmed.

Here is a photo from it:

As soon as it was finished they were rushed out of the venue and into cars. So here I am after Big Bang left:

The outside of the venue:

And some random guy standing in the window! He was probably from the LG company.

So when it was all over we stepped out into the rain. We had something to eat and then caught the bus back down south again. We got back to my husband’s family home quite late but his parents were still up. His mother told him he should have proposed to me at a Big Bang concert! haha. Oh well, too late.

So that is my brief Big Bang experience. My other Big Bang related experience is about the YG building HERE but that didn’t involve actually seeing Big Bang.

So the big question for Australian fans is: Will they come to Australia? We are running out of time.