Tag: big bang (Page 3 of 4)

Konglish: Mind Control

2012/06/29 / Nic / 13 Comments

There are a lot of Konglish words used by Koreans. I haven’t even heard them all so I’m constantly discovering new ones. It’s not like my husband or another Korean can just list them all for me because they don’t usually know themselves that it is Konglish or English. There are different types too- ones that are English words mashed together or shortened, and some that are just an English word used in a different way. Some are easy to work out: Like ‘Hand Phone’ for cell or mobile phone. Except it’s said like hand-der-pone.

Anyway, I first saw this one – Mind Control – on G-Dragon. It’s one of his newer tattoos. For a native English speaker when we see ‘mind control’ we are thinking of something like brainwashing right? Either in the realistic sense of brain washing and manipulating the population like in dictatorships and communist regimes, or we are thinking about the more science fiction definition of controlling people’s minds.

So what do Koreans mean when they say ‘mind control’? From what I can gather when they use it they mean they are trying to control their thoughts (so you can see why they use these words) and concentrate, calm themselves down or perhaps just what we might call ‘collecting their thoughts’. I’ve heard it a few times since seeing G-Dragon’s tattoo and it always seems to be used in that sense.

My husband assures me that some Koreans understand the original English meaning. Usually gamers, because this type of power is in a lot of computer games. I assumed G-Dragon meant the Konglish meaning for his tattoo. That he simply wants to concentrate and be in control of his mind. BUT, what if he means the original English meaning? What if he wants to do mind control? To control his fans?!

I drew him with his latest hair style which he changed yesterday? The day before? Anyway he is in Paris doing fashiony stuff and that’s what he looks like at the moment.

One could argue that with his charisma he hardly needs the supernatural power of mind control anyway.

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.

Big Bang Tour Date Australia

2012/06/23 / Nic / 12 Comments

Big Bang have released most of their tour dates for their world wide tour. Every time a new date is released. I’m excited… then disappointed. I thought with the successful K-Pop Concert in Sydney last year that Australia would be an obvious choice for Big Bang to go to. Now I’m not so sure. There are still some dates to be released but I’m not that hopeful anymore.

Sorry Peru fans… I was just a bit upset. My husband is a Big Bang fan but he will be quite happy if they don’t come to Australia because he knows I will spend all my money on getting the best tickets.

I should remind him though, that if it wasn’t for Big Bang then he would never have been able to use that terrible pick up line on me about him being in the same family as G-Dragon: Found Here.

He should be thankful to Big Bang because that line kinda worked… hey I ended up marrying him right?

In conclusion: this is my current feeling.

Big Bang and Weddings

2012/05/31 / Nic / 5 Comments

Is it sad that I was actually a little bit concerned about this? It’s not like we only had one wedding, we had two, and it’s not like only the exact date is out- but weeks around the wedding dates were really busy. Of course I’d choose my wedding! But I would have been annoyed if something was scheduled at a time I couldn’t go. I’ve only been to a Big Bang mini concert and never a Big Show.

I asked my friends on Facebook this question and some said “Big Bang without a doubt.” Haha… Good thing they weren’t the ones marrying my husband…

Also, now I’m waiting to see if they will come to Australia! YG is slowly announcing cities and dates but haven’t heard anything about Australia…

Obsession with height- Big Bang example

2012/04/17 / Nic / 25 Comments

Let’s explore the Korean obsession with height! I think most countries have some interest in height, with women usually preferring taller men, but not many rival Korea’s obsession.

I’m not exactly sure when or why this first started or if it’s just a product of modern culture. I don’t know how much pressure men put on each other but I know Korean women put a lot of pressure on Korean men. The famous example being on the TV talk show where the women said they would rather have a tall husband who was physically abusive than a nice short guy. WTF…

Many times I’ve heard women, and not just Korean women, say they only like tall guys. And not like guys who are the same height or slightly taller, they want men like a foot taller than them!

Because of this Korean men can get big complexes about their height. They are already not very tall compared to many other countries, but does it really matter that much? Unfortunately the message they are receiving is that it does matter. The incident of the women on the TV show hating short guys has been retold to me by many many Korean guys. It was really upsetting for them. Of course not all Korean women place such emphasis on height though, it’s just sometimes the negative views are the loudest.

Now in Korea, it is normal for guys to wear “lifts” inside their shoes to make them appear taller. These are like a foam triangle thing that lifts their heels and gives them more height. I had no idea these things existed until a few years ago when I dated a Korean guy and I was slightly confused to why his height seemed to change day to day. He eventually confessed to me but it was the first I had heard of such things for men and I didn’t ever think his height was a problem.

Now to the reason why I decided to talk about this today: Big Bang. Talking to a Korean friend once, I confessed how much I like Big Bang. Her immediate response was “but they are so small.” Huh? I was so confused. What did that have to do with anything? I was talking about music. How does the artist’s height affect that? The same conversation has been played out many times with Korean people saying to me “but they are small.” I usually respond with “so what?”

Big Bang’s height is in the news again today. There is a summary on Big Bang Updates which makes a lot of international fans go “what??” Such concern about height seems so over the top to us. And the comments about height are often quite nasty. It is used in a way to try to bring them down.

Having a taller height does not give a guy a good personality. There is really no real benefit to the relationship except maybe he can reach the top cupboard easier. I’ve dated extremely tall guys before and their height was not even a positive thing. It made kissing standing up almost impossible and did not magically make those guy’s crappy personalities any better.

So how tall is the guy I ended up marrying? He is only slightly taller than me. If I wear heels I am taller. This does not bother me at all. In fact, I like being able to look directly into his eyes.

So for girls out there obsessed with height: does it really matter that much? You could be missing out on meeting some great guys simply because you aren’t interested in anyone under a certain height. There are better ways to narrow down what qualities you want in a man.

For all the guys out there worried about their height: don’t stress about it. Not all women care about it. If a girl disregards you as a potential date simply because you aren’t tall enough then she is not worth your time.

"Guys! Don't you know that it doesn't matter how talented or popular we are... it doesn't matter because we are too short!" "Aww, okay let's just go home..."

First meetings and G-Dragon

2012/04/09 / Nic / 21 Comments

The first time we met it was with a group of people and we did stuff like dinner at Korean restaurant and noraebang. We’d already been talking for hours already but eventually what K-pop I liked came up in the conversation. (There were many more people there but I was too lazy to draw them).

We ended up dating and I forgot that he said that the first time we met.

However, about 6 months later I remembered…

Yeah, that’s not going to happen.

Big Bang Fantastic Baby

2012/04/06 / Nic / 3 Comments

So not only is the video for ‘Fantastic Baby’ amazing but the song is so many levels of wonderfulness. It gets stuck in your head but it’s actually enjoyable having it stuck in your head.

If you haven’t seen the video it’s here.

Big Bang Fantastic Baby

But what are the consequences of such an insanely catchy song? Haha well it’s definitely changed our reactions when someone says “wow”.

And then one of our Korean neighbours who is also a Big Bang fan joins in too.