Unnie's Wednesday Write Up: Understanding KPop

I know its hard to believe, but I was not always a KPop fan.  {{GASP!!}}  I know, I know.  It kind of shocks me too.  I've talked about how my addiKtion to KPop began, it all leads back to the KDrama, Heartstrings & CNBlue's Jung Yong Hwa singing to Park Shin Hye The Comfort Song & You've Fallen For Me OST's.

{TCA AddiKtion Therapy Lesson#1: For you newbies, OST is short for Original Soundtrack, you probably already knew that but just in case.  Bear with me, it's kind of my job, as one of your 2 AddiKtion Therapists.}

But the world of KPop is huge!  And complicated & there are many, many KPop groups out there & some of the groups have SO many members, I'm talking to you SuJu & GG.

{TCA AddiKtion Thereapy Lesson #2: SuJu is Super Junior & GG is Girls Generation both are incredibly successful KPop groups.  Super Junior has anywhere between 9 - 13 members, their current "official" count is 10.  Some are pursuing acting careers, one was in the military, one left etc...  Girls Generation {also known as Sonyeo Shidae or So Nyuh Shi Dae - SNSD} has 9 girls.  These two respective groups are probably the most famous (in a worldwide capacity, & have been around for quite a number of years, 2005 for SuJu & 2007  for GG, to be exact.}.  


{{WOW!!  Unnie, lesson #2 was a big lesson!!  ~Well I hope you paid close attention AddiKts, there WILL be a pop quiz!  Just kidding. giggle }}   

And I adore both groups.  For very different reasons.  But I honestly knew nothing about them until GG made an appearance on two US TV shows.  Dongsaeng texted me one morning & asked if I had watched Live w/ Kelly Ripa that morning.  I am not a day time TV talk show kind of person, so my answer was an emphatic, "no".  But she found the video clip on YouTube & sent it to me.  And then that night they were on David Letterman.  They were performing their latest song, The Boyz.  They kind of remind me of a less trampy version of The Pussycat Dolls.  Now I must admit while I do enjoy GG, sometimes they just feel way too manufactured.  They all have similar body styles, heights, coloring, & of course they're put into coordinating outfits.  It doesn't help their cause that I like my music to have an edge to it.  Before I was a KPop fan girl I was a Linkoln Park, System of a Down, Nirvana, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Blink 182 fan girl.  I like my music to have attitude & be loud & head banging.  I did not fall into the Brittany Spears/Jessica Simpson group of listeners.  I also like Pink, Avril Lavigne, Niki Minaj.  In short I tend to like the strong female rock/rap singer to the pretty girls.  Although I absolutely love Christina Aguilera's voice.  Diva has majorly powerful lungs.

After I discovered KDrama & had watched quite a few dramas, including Secret Garden, I came across something on Viki, about a year ago, called Big Bang Parody of Secret Garden.  I had just finished SG so I thought I have to watch this!  And I did & I about died laughing.  I had to know who this Big Bang was, so I used my favorite resource since discovering the K world, Google.

{{Seriously??  What the heck did we do before Google?!?!  Oh yeah those big square shaped buildings w/ books in them called libraries.  I forgot about them.}}

And I looked up Big Bang & discovered they were a KPop group.  I looked up some of their music videos on YouTube & discovered their songs; Haru Haru & Tonight & Love Song & this meant I had found another KPop group I liked.  No...scratch that... one I LOVED!

Then this last winter our favorite K website allKpop started showing the teaser trailers for the upcoming Big Bang album.  Yay!!  And I couldn't wait for it to come out.  Dongsaeng & I were constantly texting & talking about the newest MV, first up was Blue which was beautiful.  Then we watched Bad Boy & couldn't help ourselves laughing at the introduction of G Dragon's "seaweed" hair.  But then Fantastic Baby came out & we were floored & in love!!  We could NOT stop watching this group, this song.  We each managed to hook our kids on KPop because of Fantastic Baby.  It's that good!  As soon as I was hooked on BB I found another KPop group I loved... a girl group this time.  Only they weren't all cutesy & manufactured.  2NE1.  Serious girl power.  Rock & Rap all in one girl group.  Amidst all this is when I discovered the funny hubby/wife team over at Eat Your Kimchi.  And the world of KPop exploded for me!!!  I now have 113 KPop songs {{& growing everyday}} in my iPod "KPop Playlist".

But in the world of KPop, there is a lot of manufactured groups & sounds & songs.  There are several companies that produce the music.

The top 3 KPop Manufacturers are:
YG: {Who seems to like different & unique & artists that create.}
BB, 2NE1, Tablo, Se7en, PSY & Gummy

SM Town:  {IMHO Sm is more of a 'cookie cutter' manufacturer}
Super Junior, Girls Generation, EXO, F/X & SHINee.  
These are all good groups & they really do produce fun, diverse music.  


JYP: {is the 3rd big time KPop Manufacturer} 
The Wonder Girls, {the incredibly yummy} Rain, 2AM, 2PM, Miss A & most recently JJ Project.  


Then there are the smaller, just starting out producers like:


Key East Ent: 
Kim Hyun Joong {my Hyun-y} 


C-JeS {who spend MOST of their time, not all, on}
JYJ  aka: Kim "Hero" Jaejoong, Park "Micky" Yuchun & Kim "Xiah" Junsu.

I guess you can tell from this WWU that I am partial to the YG family.

{{I mean other than my Hyun-y, he ALWAYS wins over EVERYONE!!!!  -  Uh. Unnie?  You're doing that scary thing again. ~Oh!  Sorry.  I'll try to tone it down a notch or two.~}}  


I just really like several of their artists as they appeal to me more than the other groups.  KPop is a fun, clean, sexy way to get to know Korea a little more.  Koreans love music, almost as much as they love food!!  Who doesn't love going to a Noraebang & singing along to their favorite songs & groups?  Okay I don't but Koreans love singing & dancing & they love doing it at a Noraebang.  Of course they're also heavy drinkers & therefore who cares if your entire office thinks you suck at singing, they're all drunk anyway.  Right?!?!  Noraebang + Soju = uproariously funny/off key/ not caring that you are singing like that, in front of your boss.  I don't care who ya are that's just awesome right there.   I WISH I had that kind of bravery!!

{{TCA AddiKtion Therapy Lesson #3: Noraebang is Korean for Karaoke.  And is featured prominently in A LOT of KDramas.}}

Something else that I found interesting, about KPop music, & it's artists.  Once they join the group or are picked to be a part of the group, they no longer have lives of their own.  They room w/ their group in a big dorm/house.  They are constantly working on dance moves, singing, language lessons, music lessons, making music videos, promoting the group, the album, the song, the production company they work for.  And probably 90% of them are under dating bans.  When they sign the contract they agree to no dating until such time as their production company says they can.  This includes the young groups like EXO-K, when these kids sign up in their teens & early 20s they're agreeing to no dating.  Until their company deems it okay.  Sandara Park of 2NE1 is 28 years old & YG just EXTENDED her dating ban, much to Dara's dismay.  She's been w/ 2NE1 since 2009, she was 25 at that time.  It is now 3 years later & I am betting she'd like to start having a life.  Of course, I am sure there are some that sneak in a little date time here & there but it cannot be easy to accomplish when you room with your entire band & your under constant to watch, and you're working 7 days a week on your career.  So even if they are a more manufactured sound or group, they are still worked incredibly hard & deserve that respect.

Plus, each group is assigned a "Leader" of the group.  One that is in charge of the rest of the members.  My Hyun-y was the Leader of his boy band...SS501.  Hence the nickname 'Leader'.   These kids are not out every night partying hard & sleeping around & getting out of cars without underwear like US singers & bands.  This is not to say there aren't members of the bands that aren't misbehaving.  I am sure there are but it's going to be a lot more difficult.  Besides if you screw up big in Korea, you'll get banned & your career is over.  Unlike US groups who seem to live under the concept of "there is no such thing as bad publicity".  These men & women are dedicated to their craft.  I sincerely respect that kind of dedication & devotion to following your dream.  And it kind of reminds me of Old Hollywood, when the stars were under the rule of the studio head.  You know back when Hollywood actually had glam & glitz & some class.  

So if you are looking into trying out some KPop for yourself, especially if it's for the first time, go slow.  Research the groups via YouTube.  There are so many & KPop, while new to you & slightly new to me, has actually been around since the early to mid 90s.  It has grown & morphed & mutated several times over, just like music does all over the world.  And music is an awesome way to find common ground & to find out that we all have a lot more in common than one might otherwise think.

CL of the "Leader" of 2NE1 is right...

Music is a Universal Language all on it's own.

So enjoy the music.  Dance, laugh, sing, laugh some more.  And enjoy the music.

That's it for this week's WWU AddiKts.  As always, we here at TCA appreciate your support & your love.  Now it's your turn.  Who are your favorite groups/artists?  How did you get turned on to KPop?  That handy dandy comments section down there is waiting for your comments.  OR maybe you have questions for Dongsaeng & myself or of our wonderful AddiKts?  Just post your KPop question there & we'll answer away.  But we can't recommend or answer or help if you don't ask first.

Now, because I heart you guys, I thought I'd include the SG parody videos from BB.  And then at the bottom of this post, I've embedded my YouTube playlist, as part of your KPop education.  There are around 70 MVs on there.  There has to be something you like.  LOL  And all the artists we love & listen to regularly are included on the sidebar...over there....--->  Just scroll over the black area & out pops the sidebar.  Towards the bottom is the link list of our favorite artists Official YouTube Channels.

Until next week AddiKts...

Saranghabnida,



BB Secret Garden Parody Pt 1/2


 BB Secret Garden Parody Pt 2/2

Unnie's YouTube AddiKtion KPop Playlist:

Admitting the KPop AddiKtion too.

Just yesterday, I admitted my addiKtion to K-Pop music.  I won't copy & paste the whole post, because it also contained info for fam & friends re: my little family.  I'll just include the addiKtion part.  If you want to see the whole thing you can wander over there...but we're really boring people.  I promise. 


Originally posted on unnie's family blog on 4/1/2012*

But probably the pinboards that people want to ask me about the most are the ones that makes them scratch their heads the most.  I can almost hear them saying, "What on earth???"  or "Why is she pinning all that???"  or what I think people think most about these boards is, "I think Jess may have lost her mind.  I should call someone."  LOL As 3 of my boards are entitled, "K-Dramas...Not a Secret Addiction Anymore", "K-Pop/Hallyu Wave is Taking Over the World" & "KHJ Gets His Own Board".  But I also have an "Eye Candy" Board that has pinned, all of the good looking men I have crushed on, over the years.  Everyone from my absolute favorite, Johnny Depp, to my Favorite Korean Guy Crush, Kim Hyun Joong.  Its these 4 boards, that probably raises the most eyebrows, & has people wondering if I have lost my marbles?  I have, but it was way before my K-drama/ K-pop addiction. 
But that's just because they aren't aware that I am hopelessly in love with Korean Dramas, Korean Pop Music & Culture. I came out on this blog about this in a post in July of 2011, in a blog post entitled, "Confessions of a K Drama Addict".  Well, because of that addiction, I became fascinated with the whole country.  It really is an amazing country.  Full of a violent & ever changing history.  But its also a beautiful country.  So many things about this beautiful country & its culture fascinate me.  The people are a big part of that.  So charming.  Including the Pop Music scene.  Which can be heard in quite a few of the Kdrama's as OST (Original Soundtracks). 

I am not alone in this...if you aren't aware of it, KPop music is riding a wave of popularity all over the world.  Several of the most popular boy & girl groups from Korea have sold out concerts across Europe & South America.  Flash mobs dancing to Kpop music are popping up all over.  There have even been sold out concerts here in the US.  In New York, Las Vegas & Los Angeles.  My favorite group Big Bang, took home tons of awards from the European MTV Awards, including "Best Group".  South Korea itself, is now a power house in the way technology.  It is fast becoming one of THE power house countries.  And its music, movies & yes those silly little dramas are spreading across the globe. 

My bestie & I have talked about how awesome we are for being cool before everyone else even knew what cool was. LOL  I told her we aren't on the bandwagon, we're driving it & collecting more fans everyday.  I have managed to hook another couple of people who are not yet ready to "come out" for fear of being looked at weirdly.  So they will remain anonymous.  Personally, I am proud of my weirdness & like those in the south who are proud of the 'eccentrics' in their families, I am putting myself on display in the front room.  I am who I am. 

Even Kier & CA have admitted they like the music.  They both have Kpop music in their iPods.  In fact, Kpop is closer than you even know.  Kier came home from school a couple of weeks ago & told me Kpop has made its way to his school!!  Several girls were watching, one of my favorite Kpop groups, on their iPod!  And Kier showed them a Big Bang music video!  They LOVED them!!  So you see you don't have to understand the words, in order to enjoy the music.  I promise its so much fun.  And its clean!  No swearing in the lyrics.  Just like the dramas they aren't allowed to use curses in the lyrics.  That is the best part.  I don't know how long that will last for though.  At one time American music was clean too....not so much anymore.  :(

*Thank you Pinterest*

*Thank you Pinterest*

In my confessions of a K Drama Addict post I shared my favored sites to watch Kdramas.

Now I will share my "Current" Top 5 K Dramas to watch:
#1 Secret Garden (20 episodes total)

#2 Playful Kiss (16 episodes total)

#3 Flower Boy Ramen Shop (16 episodes total)

#4 Scent of a Woman (16 episodes total)

 #5 Coffee Prince (17 episodes total)

Now these are all dramas that have already aired most recently, one a few years ago.  But all good.  And they are all on Hulu.  I thought that might make them more accessible to those interested, but afraid of trying out a website they don't know, just for dramas, IE: Viki. 

These are the ones I am currently watching & are still airing on Korean TV.  So like our current American TV season, I have to wait week to week for the next episodes to air.  Now, the difference is that in Korea these 2 shows air 2 episodes per week.  So my 16 episode show will be finished airing in 8 weeks, as opposed to Sept-May with breaks in between.  They don't take breaks unless something actually stops production, like an accident (either on set or off). 

King 2 Hearts

Rooftop Prince

These 2 can be found on Hulu as well.  However, Hulu takes about a week longer than Viki ,when the drama is currently airing, so if you decide to check them out, Viki is fastest at getting the show up & having the English subtitles completed in a timely manner.  Don't let subtitles scare you.  They did me at first too, but after you get into the show you don't even realize you're reading subtitles anymore. 

As for the music I can share a couple YouTube Videos of my favorites you can decide for yourself. I will even make sure they have English subtitles too. 

Big Bang (at the top of this one, at the very beginning of the video, there are links to 2 other Music Videos by Big Bang, in each of the upper corners... Blue & Bad Boy.  Blue is another of my favorites...Bad Boy has grown on me. LOL) 


Kim Hyun Joong (this one is my favorite & has his very own pinboard..total celebrity crush)

2NE1 (the first girl group that didn't drive me crazy w/ their cutseyness)


If you are looking for some really great music to work out to I highly recommend all of these & you can download any of these on iTunes.  I have & so many more.  I actually have quite the growing collection of KPop music.  

Well conference is starting so I will close this post for now...but expect more posts about KPOP/Kdramas, as now that I am really out, I will be talking about it more.  You won't hurt my feelings if you want to ignore these posts or if you pretend to not know me in public. LOL

*Thank you Pinterest*

And that in a nutshell is how this whole thing started.  Once the Dongsaeng saw this post she left the comment "Let's Chat".  And the rest is history.  Do you see the kind of influence she holds over me?!?!   

my addicKtion - wow. fantastic baby. 3/16/12

*Originally posted on dongsaeng's personal private blog on 3/16/12*


I've decided to write these posts as they come to me and are still fresh in my mind but then schedule them to be published at a later time so as to not overwhelm the blog here.  So by the time you read this, this particular song will be a little older, but as of right now when I write this, this one is the latest song/MV release from Big Bang's comeback album, Alive.  Can I just say how much I have fallen for Big Bang with this new album?!  I am still a fledgling in the world of KPop and so all of this is new to me.  I had heard of Big Bang but wasn't really familiar with their work.  But I have been following each release of their new videos from Blue to Bad Boy and now Fantastic Baby and I can say I am officially a huge fan of all things Big Bang at this time.

Whereas Blue was a pretty tame, easily palatable song, Fantastic Baby is a little harder to digest.  At least it was for me.  To give you an idea of how I came around to it, I'll give you my Fantastic Baby Journey to Acceptance.

I had heard some buzz about this one before it was released.  So to see what all the fuss was about, I checked out the song before the video was released.  I heard it and was kind of like "Eh.  It's okay, but I don't see what all the fuss is about."

Then I watched the video for the first time.  My reaction?  "Whaaaaaa?  Weird.  Kind of cool, but whaaatt the heck was that?"

Second time with the video...  "Hmmm.  Kind of catchy.  Video a little less weird now that I know what to expect."

By the third time through....  "This song ROCKS!  G Dragon's hair still bugs me as does his whole persona (sorry GD fans), T.O.P. is HOT and I LOVE his voice, Taeyang is amazing as is Daesung, Seungri's part was so-so..."

A couple of viewings later and I have purchased the track and have listened to it repeatedly.  I am officially hooked on this song!  It may have taken me a while to get there, but now that I'm here, it is quite simply FANTASTIC, BABY!  Boom Shakaklaka!  (by the way, another thought I'd had along this Fantastic Baby Journey to Acceptance was that any song with boom shakalaka in the lyrics was automatically awesome).