Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Unnie's Wednesday Write Up: How to explain your addiKtion 101

It was just yesterday.....

{Uh...no, Unnie, actually it was over a year ago.  ~ Just be quiet & go with me here, okay?~   Fine.  Whatever.  Go on with your story.     ~ Thank you.- sheesh stinking voices in my head~}

FLASHBACK TIME:

{Setting the scene: Dongsaeng & Unnie are laughing & visiting on the telephone.... in other words they are having another awesome & profound conversation filled with giggling & uproarious laughter & 'oohs' & 'ahhs' over David Boreanaz's hotness on the TV show Bones...deep stuff.}

DS: I found this really cute show on Hulu the other day, you should check it out.  

U: Cool, what's it called?

DS: Ummm...well here's the thing.  It's called "My Princess".  And it's not in English.  It's actually a Korean soap opera.

U:  cricket....cricket....cricket.....uhhhhhh.....oooooo....kaaaaaaay.  {thinking to herself 'awwwkwaaard'}

DS: It's really cute & funny.  I know you'd like it!

U: But it's not in English?  What?  Does it have subtitles or something?

DS:  Yes, it has subtitles.  It's about this girl who thinks she's just a regular college student but then finds out she's actually the missing Princess of Korea.

U: I didn't know Korea had a Princess or any Royal Family anymore?  {Yes, Unnie was very un-edu-ma-cated, head hanging in shame}

DS: No they don't have a Royal Family.  It's more of a "WHAT IF Korea had a Royal Family?" kind of thing.  Just trust me, I think you'll really like it.

U: Ummm, ok.  {clicking on keyboard on the computer...types in hulu.com.  searching My Princess on Hulu.com}  Does it have a picture of a girl in a ball gown & tiara on the front page?  Cuz I think I found it.

DS: Yes!

U: okay.  {reads synopsis}  Hmmm...looks interesting.  Kind of like Princess Diaries.  I guess I can check it out...but I don't have time right now.  I'll watch it as soon as I can.  But I have to get going now.  

{conversation goes on a couple minutes more & then our leads hang up & go about their day.}

A couple of days later....Unnie finds herself once again caught up on her chores & after checking her email remembers her conversation with Dongsaeng & decides....What the heck?  I'll give it a try & then I can honestly say, it's just not my thing.  

{Sits at computer & loads 1st episode of My Princess....within minutes has stopped noticing she is reading subtitles & is loving the show.  An hour later, loads episode 2.  Then another hour later, loads episode 3.  Then it's time to get kids from school & get dinner made.  Hurrying through all tasks & chores so she can load episode 4.  Within a couple of days has surpassed Dongsaeng's progress on the show & is going crazy as this show is still airing in Korea & the next episode hasn't been put on to Hulu yet!  Oh the HUMANITY!!!!}  



{Primitive scream into the air....WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME SHANNEN!!!!!!!}

Now a year later & even after starting this blog w/ Dongsaeng I still find it awkward & slightly embarrassing to tell people about what it is I am doing.  I don't have to imagine how hard it had to have been for my bestie to admit she was watching this show to me, when it was her first foray into the world of K-Drama.  This last weekend, my family & I, went out of town for the long Memorial Day Weekend.  We headed south to St. Louis, Missouri.  We lived there for about 18 months.  So we headed down & stayed w/ friends & visited & laughed & had lots of fun.  While we were there one of my friends, who shall remain nameless, asked, "So Jessica, {she doesn't call me Unnie}, you've told me about the kids & CA, {She DOES call the husband CA}, have been up to, but you haven't told me what YOU'VE been up to?"  Uh-oh! I had started to respond,  'oh nothing much just same old same old', when CA piped up nice & loud, "She's just an international bloggess now.  That's all."  You have to understand this friend is an amazing friend & extraordinarily smart & active & busy & very impressive.  And I value her opinion of me, greatly.  And I was seriously intimidated to admit that I spend(t) a majority of my time watching Kpop music videos & K-dramas & then write reviews of each for no money, on my own blog, that I started w/ my best friend.  And was worried I would get that look.  You know that look that says, "Uhhhhhhh  why?!?!"  Or "What a waste of time".  That one is worse.  She seemed a little shocked but overall she was okay with it.  I think. LOL   

Each time I explain what I do, what I watch, what I listen to it gets easier.  But man oh man that initial "coming out of the k-drama/pop closet" thing regarding my addiKtion is painful.  And scary.  How are we supposed to come clean without feeling like people think we're losing our grip on reality?  I used to make so much fun of my friends that watched American soap operas, which are just more trash & the story line goes on for decades!  And there was, I will admit, a slight disdain, given to those who watched tele-novellas on the Spanish channel as well...I mean unless they were actually hispanic.   

I find it interesting that people turn up their noses without even checking it out first.  When Dongsaeng suggested it to me, I thought she was nuts I admit it!  I thought she had lost her marbles!  BUT then I remembered this is my bestest friend in the whole world!  I can totally take 5 minutes of my time & give it a shot.  With an open mind & a lot of trust.  And what did I find?  She was 100% right.  The show was cute & funny & totally addiKtive!  And absolutely NOTHING like American Soap Operas!  It's still makes me nervous admitting my addiKtion out loud.  For example, I haven't officially told my family or my husband's family what I do or am doing yet.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not keeping it a secret, I'm just not telling every person I meet.  That, it would seem is CA's job. ^^  In fact, I've posted on my family blog about this new adventure a lot.  And I am pretty open on my personal FB page, about it as well.  And if they ask me directly, I'll tell them as well.  But as yet no one has asked & I am not offering.  

My name is Jessica, I go by the nom de plume "Unnie" on my "All Things Korean Blog".  I am a K-Drama addiKt.  I am a K-Pop addiKt.  In fact, I'm a K addiKt!

And I, one of your addiKtion specialists has come up with a few good ways to explain your addiKtion to your loved ones.  They are in no particular order...

How To Officially Explain your addiKtion to your loved ones:


1.) It's really fun to think 'outside the box' & what better way to do that than by watching another country's TV shows?  

2.) The shows are really clean, I don't have to watch it in my room with a blanket over my head & my ear buds in so that my kids can't see it.

{I still do that but only because these are MY shows, MY people & I am not ready to share them with my kids yet!}  

3.) The shows are really funny, exciting, romantic, well written, acted.  Way better than our country's TV.  

4.) It's really nice to be able to see the world from a different perspective.

5.) I'm learning about other cultures & other ways of doing things, it's fascinating.

{Because TV gives an honest, unscripted/un-choreographed view of foreign countries.  TV never lies or misleads!  ^.^}

6.) The guys(girls) are really hot!  {MY favorite reason}

7.) I decided to try to learn a foreign language & I chose Korean, so I figured what better way to get a handle on "Conversational Korean" than by watching Korean TV.

{Daebak, right?!?!}  

8.) I love the imagination in the K-Pop Music videos & when I'm a music video director, this music video's concept will help to inspire my creativity & imagination.

{No this is not one that I can use....no desire to be a MV director but it might work for someone}

9.) The K-Pop Idols are really hot too! {MY 2nd favorite reason!}

10.) I'm just a homebody but daytime TV is filled w/ junk so I found  way to watch quality shows that show me the world!

{I was looking for a really great way to kill my brain cells, turn me into an agoraphobic who'd rather spend the day inside, in my jammies, ignoring my husband & children but worried to death over the 2 romantic leads in my favorite foreign TV show.  Plus, I never could relate to real people as well as I can the fictional foreigners who live in my computer screen.}  


Of course if you are admitting your addiKtion to your family & friends then you have already accepted you have a problem.  Admitting the problem is the first step in any addiction.  But just in case you are not sure that you do, in fact, have a problem, your unnie has compiled a "You might be a K AddiKt if..." list to help you decide for yourself.

How to know if you are a K AddiKt:

1.) You check out your favorite show hosting websites at least 5 times a day to see if there is anything new out to watch or for something to watch WHILE your latest favorite K-Drama show finishes subbing.  

2.) You find you can't remember what you did with your day but you now know every drama that your current favorite K-Drama actor has been in & have already added them to your Netflix/HuluPlus Queues.

3.) Your homepage is no longer your email or FB but your favorite drama hosting website or a K dedicated website.

{Might I suggest our blog TCA for this role of home page?}

4.) You Pinterest Board(s) are loaded with more pictures of Korean stars (mostly hot men) than they are w/ any other kind of man on earth.

5.) You have at least 20 of those, "K-Pop Fans Can Relate" buttons/signs/boxes on your Pinterest Board.  

6.) You have Drama-wiki &/or K-Pop Wiki as a Bookmark(s) or on your Bookmark Bar. You also follow any or all of the following K Dedicated websites or have them on your Bookmark bar as well;  American K Pop Fans Blog, Allkpop, Drama Fever Blog, KPop Stars, Eat Your Kimchi Blog, & The Crazy Ahjummas Blog on your Bookmark Bar as well.

{Did ya notice that last website?  I hear they are awesome!}.  

7.) You have had to employ Unnie's K-DD Cure more than once since she wrote that post just a few weeks ago.  

8.) You know your favorite K-Idols blood type &/or zodiac sign &/or animal year they were born in but you can't remember your significant other's.

{Or that you were supposed to be at your kid's school 20 minutes ago for parent teacher conference.} 





9.) You have more K-Pop music on your iPod than your own country's pop music.

{And you sing along to the K-Pop music after having studied the romanization lyrics off the subbed MV on Youtube. At least to YOUR ears it sounds like you are singing along correctly.}










10.) You actually dream in Korean now.  You can't understand anything anyone is saying, except key phrases like; "Ottoke?, Bichosso?, Anyeong, Komawo, Saranghae, Bienhae-yo, Ne, Anni, Omo!, Aigoo!, Aish!, Yah!, Arisso, Nuna, Unnie, O-ma!, A-ba!, Halmoni, Hyung, Agassi, Ajhussi, Ahjumma, Chingu, Chincha, & Oppaaaa!!".  But that's ok because it's all in Korean now.

{Daebak!}

If someone you know meets even 5 of those 10 signs of K addiKtion you need to get them here to our blog right away!  I figure if you are already here, then you already know you have "issues" & are here for support & help.  Just in the nick of time too.  All are welcome at TCA.  However, I feel I should explain that we are here to help you EMBRACE your addiKtion not to overcome it.

{For that kind of help I mumble something about seeking professional help or some blah blah blah stuff like that. } 


Now I turn the time over to you fellow addiKts?  How do/did you come clean with your friends & family about your addiKtion.  It's time for a little group therapy.  Leave your story in the comments section or send us an email on FB.  We'll keep your name out of it, if you haven't officially gone public with your closet addiKtion.  And on this here blog we allow anonymous commenters too.  Just keep it clean.  Our one request.  

I think I can honestly say I am having the time of my life as one of your addiKtion specialists.  I LOVE this blog.  This has been so much fun & so exciting for me.  I am so grateful to my dongsaeng for contributing to my delinquency.  Through this experience I am learning about lots of different cultures & peoples & DIMPLES!!  Cannot forget the importance of the Dimple!  Sigh.  Now I'm sad because I just remembered the Dimple won't be visiting me this week.  :(  

Guess this calls for a little K-DD Cure, right?  Bring on the Dimple!!

{And yes by suggesting the cure for you I am only trying to make your addiKtion worse...shhh...it's an evil plot!  BWAHAHAHAHAHA...}



Sending all my love out to you fellow addiKts.  Unnie & Dongsaeng have your back.  Only the best support groups can make you feel as safe & normal, as we do.  ;)  

As usual, you can Like us on FB.  Follow us on Twitter.  Become an official Follower of this here blog, down there, at the bottom of this here blog.  Watch our Crazy Ahjummas Pinboard.  Google + us.  Share us, share our blog, share the support!  Its been really slow on here lately & we're honestly starting to get nervous that you don't like us, after all.  Yes, we are that insecure & needy.  

And to those of you that wished me a Happy Birthday?  Thank you.  That meant a lot.  I appreciate it, you, your sentiments & your love.  And I thank my dongsaeng.  The bestest bestie in the whole world.  Even though it's her fault I'm an addiKt now.  :)  I heart you bestie!  MUAH!!  

Saranghabnida,

17 comments:

  1. My name is Fransiska and to borrow a quote from Unnie: "I am a K-Drama addiKt. I am a K-Pop addiKt. In fact, I'm a K addiKt!" LOL.

    I was a K-Drama addiKt in 2002 when I returned home to Indonesia (previously I went to college in US and worked a few years in Singapore) and it was during that time that the Hallyu wave (for K-dramas at least) started in Indonesia. I remember, THE K-drama of the year was All About Eve. All the ahjummas are IN LOVE with the story (i suspect it's more JDG than the story), including my mom. I was very skeptical too, as I know it involves crying and wailing at some point, and it seemed sooo silly to me to be crying over a drama (serves me right!). Anyhow, since I had lots of free time on hand with just my wedding prep to take care, I gave it a try.
    And what do you know??? I didnt come out of it for days!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    I'm sooo in love with JDG's character in it. He's like the ultimate boyfriend/husband material, he's charming, kind, soooo handsome and dashing and most importantly, he's a chaebol!!! I need to have my chaebol prince in most of my fantasy :)

    After AAE, I soon got bored with K-drama cos I couldnt find one as nicely or interesting as AAE, and most importantly, JDG didnt sign up for anymore drama (horror!) after AAE. Bummer.

    Then last year, my chingu (she's my ex colleague in Singapore) told me to watch Secret Garden. She's a die-hard fan of SG. So what do you know, I got hooked straight away.

    After Secret Garden, I watched all Hyun Bin's old dramas, including Friend, Our Legend, which is AMAZING in my opinion.
    After I'm done with Binnie, it was right around the time Scent of A Woman started. And I watch it cos I like Kim Sun Ah in My Name Is Kim Sam Soon.
    And what do you know, Scent of a Woman gave me my 2nd Oppa, Wookie!!!! :D He's soooo gorgeous.

    So here I am now, a year later and I officially have 3 Oppas: Hyun Bin, Wookie and Seung Gi!

    Along the way I've picked up a couple of variety shows that I absolutely adore: We Got Married and 1N2D.

    Nowadays I bombarded my FB wall and Twitter with links and updates of all kinds of K-dramas, K-actor/actress news and K-pop. My friends and family all thought I'm nuts (heee).

    I feel it's my mission to K-educate my friends and family one person at a time hahaha... I was so happy when my sister-in-law told me she saw Wookie's picture in the cover of a magazine when she and my brother was transitting in Japan on the way home to Jakarta (they live in SF). I was like, you know who Wookie is??? And she went: No, I dont know who he is, but you kept posting his picture on your FB wall, so I know his face - LOL

    I hope to be in this K-wagon for a LONGGG time and hopefully pick up a few more Oppas along the way ;)

    And lastly,a very big and happy news I got yesterday, BigBang is coming to Jakarta on Oct 13th!!! Woot woot!!!! DAEBAK!!!!!!!!!!
    I'm in the process of begging and pleading to my cousin's 13 y.o daughter to pleaseeee come watch the concert with me, cos alas none of my friends are fellow K-addiKt :)))) Her mom surely rue the day she gave her daughter my BB Pin hahahaha :D

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    1. Okay first, I LOVE that your addiKtion began while you were planning your wedding! That right there is just awesomeness squared! Second I LOVE that it was your mom who got you hooked to begin with. And third, thank you for recommending All About Eve. I will have to check it out. As well as Our Legend. Definitely LOVE some Hyun Bin. Yumm!

      Secret Garden totally sealed the deal for me. I adored Secret Garden! Hyun Bin, Ha Ji Won, excellent writing, amazing acting & all the comedy & all the romance is definitely what finished me off as an addiKt. I could not get enough!

      Next I LOVE that your friend had no idea who Wookie was but recognized him from the plethora of pictures you posted of him on your FB page!! You are definitely qualified to be an addiKt! WooHoo!! Spread the K LOVE!!! And I heartily approve of your Oppas! Oh My! They are just wonderful Oppas.

      And I am seriously jealous that you are going to get see Big Bang! Dongsaeng & I feel like we're losing our minds waiting for the release of the North American tour dates! Come on YG!!! We're dying here!!! Have fun & take pictures & share them on TCA FB page! That would be awesome!

      That friend I went & visited in MO this last weekend just showed her daughter, 13 almost 14, the first episode of Lie To Me & the daughter loved it! Another addiKt in bloom!!! That's just good parenting! hahaha... I am trying to indoctrinate as many people as I can. This is such an awesome ride! Remember we are not ON the K-Bandwagon we ARE the K-Bandwagon!! The people out front can either climb on & enjoy the ride with us or get the heck out of our way! We're coming through!

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  2. And I just noticed, in my mobile phone i have 1001 Dimple's pictures and not a single one of my hubby hahahaha. Well, at least I have a few of my kids' pics in there ;)

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    1. I try really hard to keep the pictures of my favorite Oppas off my phone but I have a whole folder in my pictures files entitled Oppas. So every time I get the chance I download the pics from iPad & iPhone to my laptop & my special folder. giggle

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    2. Why you keep your Oppas pics off your mobile? I saved it in my mobile and when i recommend a certain drama to my friend/sis-in-law, i seriously bombed their mobiles with the pics i've saved hahahah.
      My favorite response is from my sis-in-law, who turned dimple's fan too after TK2H, i kept on sending her Dimple's pics, and her only reply was: SAVED! Hahaha, Yarr, she's awesome :D

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    3. Duh!! If I have tons of K-Idol pics saved then I have no room for K-Pop music! Besides my background & lock screens are all about my favorite Oppa right now. giggle. Thanks to having iPhone/iPad I don't need to save them. Anytiime someone wants to see a pic I just go to my Pinterest board(s) & show them, if they are with me or email/sms mssg the pic to them directly to them. More room for K-Pop Music!!

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  3. I'm so NOT out of the closet about that! Now that we are FB friends, please don't give me away with that there :D
    And If I am finally in Asia/Seoul, please don't mention that it's good for a Kpopper to finally fulfill her dream and come to Korea in the comments to my statuses/photos lol.
    Only my mom and some of my closest girlfriends know about my obsession, and I don't want any other people to know about that, although I would not lie if they ask... After all I know some guys who watch "Desperate housewives" and are not ashamed of that.. they totally do that because of Eva Longoria..just like I'm listening to Kpop mainly while watching MVs with hot guys.. here we go this is my excuse for people... Ah, btw why in the world the main reason to be a Kwave fan (hot guys) is only on the 6th and 9th place in your list?
    :D

    I require that one of the next topics on this blog is "how do you choose which oppa you like the most" or "who is your favorite oppa?" ;)

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    1. Anonymous. It took me about 7 months before I was brave enough to come out on the family blog. Then it took another 6 months to come out on FB. And like I said, even now not all of my fam & friends know, because it wasn't like I was going to call them all up & say, "Hey! Guess what?!?! I'm addiKted to K-dramas & K-Pop." But when they ask what's up with the pictures or lists of music on FB or why is there a picture of some asian guy on your phone? I answer honestly, if somewhat carefully. I must admit, coming out helped me to not feel quite so obsessed. Yes this is me not as obsessed as I was previously. LOL Does that give you an idea of how bad it was? And in the beginning my husband was so NOT supportive. Oh the fights we had in the beginning. But doing this blog has made the biggest difference. He's finally accepted this is who I am. And is awesome about it. But you come out when you feel comfortable. It's really & truly not an easy thing to do. Which is funny because it's not like we're doing drugs or addicted to porn or something. We're just watching TV shows from another country. What's so awful about that?!? Nothing.

      Good luck & don't worry "Mum's the word" on Facebook. I got your back Chingu. Chincha!

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    2. You're so lucky your husband has accepted your K-addick-ion. Mine has not and always made fun of me. When i was live-streaming TK2H and believe u me, live streaming is a very delicate art!, and i didnt let him use the internet, he told our kids, see mommy has gone crazy over a stupid drama.
      I think he should be more appreciative of my K-addick-ion, because i have let soooo many things slide with him cos I'm too busy keeping up with any news about my 3 Oppas, reading up on recaps and googling for Oppas' pics to save in my phone hahahah.

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    3. LOL. Oh CA still teases me but there isn't any contention anymore. I'm okay with teasing but I wasn't okay with him being extra super grumpy over a stupid TV show. When I finally pointed out that there was no difference to my being addicted to American TV shows than I was to K shows he finally started to relax. I asked him, if you want I can always put in my 8 hour Brittish miniseries of Jane Austen movies or my 12 hours of Anne of Green Gables miniseries from the 80's?!?! THAT finally shut him up!

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    4. LOL! Good argument there :) Because my husband made fun of my Kdrama viewing, I also started to make fun of his, which are (I swear it's true!), the Kardashians and the rerun of Justin Bieber's story (i forgot the title, but it's definitely Justin Bieber!) in HBO.
      I know he's not a fan of the Bieber, but everytime HBO is re-running it (and we know how HBO ALWAYS re-run a program repeatedly for a certain periode of time), he always watches it from start to finish.

      And yet he dares to make fun of my K-dramas??!!!

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    5. HAHAHAHAHA...omgosh!! The Biebs!! That is awesome ammunition!! And the Kardashians?!?! Really??? Ugh! American trash TV at it's worst! It's actually embarrassing to me that they are so popular. Between them & The Jersey Shore is it any wonder I'd rather watch K-Dramas?!?! And these shows are supposed to represent Americans. That just makes me sick to my stomach! NOT ALL AMERICANS are like these idiots! I promise! UGH!

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  4. I'm quite surprised you got hooked on My Princess cos that is one of the Kdrama I couldnt stomach to finish.
    I've never been a fan of SSH, I find his acting is really wooden. Dont get me wrong, the guy is GORGEOUS, but i feel he's handsome only in 2D picture shots, not so much in video (if that makes sense at all).
    He's the total opposite of Dimple who I think is not photogenic in photo shots, but absolutely GORGEOUS in video.

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    1. You are so right! It was just such a nice romantic change from the way too much information TV shows that America shows. I can't watch a great many American TV shows when my kids are awake because they are way inappropriate for young eyes, ears & minds.

      So when I was watching My Princess I totally fell for the funny & cute & the romance. But about 6 episodes in Dongsaeng & I were making fun of SSH's acting & the fact that Kim Tae Hee burst into tears every episode. LOL We're watching Dr Jin now, just started it, and not even 1/2 way through episode 1 & I was already laughing myself silly over his bad acting. But he is SO pretty to watch, which helps to mesmerize me into not noticing his lack of acting chops.

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  5. My first K-drama was Boys before flowers. I thought I would just watch for a few minutes but 25 short hours later I was hooked for life!
    We were having a party at my house with all of my in-laws and I mentioned my recent obsession and got the whole family
    (well,the women) hooked on My lovely Sam Soon. We choose a different culture to celebrate every Christmas and it was a no brainer 2 years ago to have a Korean Christmas. Everyone made a Korean dish for x-mas dinner and my MIL even made kimchee. We all wore traditional Korean clothing and my daughter looked lovely in her hanbok. The musicians in the family learned some traditional songs and played for us. I have extremely open minded in-laws as you can probably tell.

    The funny thing is that my side of the family doesn't get it at all,they have no interest at all so we just don't talk about it.

    My husband has watched anime for years so he completely got it right away. He helped me out by installing a laptop on my elliptical so I can work out while I watch my K-dramas.

    I have a couple more for your list:
    You find yourself checking out Korean guys when you are out (even though you are happily married with kids)
    and
    You understand some of what you hear when people are speaking Korean!

    I haven't explored K-pop at all, where do you think I should start?


    Heather B.

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    1. Silly question,I just scrolled all the way to the bottom of your blog and saw 76 music videos to choose from!
      Heather B.

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    2. You are so lucky that your in laws are so open minded. That is so cool & yes I am now supremely jealous of your awesome in laws. Are they into adoption? ;) And I think it's cool your hubby was so supportive too. You are one lucky ahjumma!

      I totally loved that you gave me 2 more addiKtion signs! You rock! And they are both spot on! I totally check out Korean, oh who am I kidding, all asian guys now when I'm out & about town. LOL And I found myself listening in on a conversation at the local McDonald's the other day to see if I could understand what they were saying...alas, it was Chinese. I haven't watched enough Chinese/Taiwanese Dramas to understand what they were saying though.

      As for what kind of K-Pop to recommend...I'd need to know what kind of regular pop music you like first. Or you are right you can just go through my playlist. There should be something on there you'll love. Can't wait to hear which ones are your favorites & I totally expect a full report of your K-Pop findings! Enjoy Unnie!

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