macho men

For some reason it seems like some weeks there are just no new songs out and then BAM! In a few days there are 10 that you can’t stop watching and talking about. Recently, I have noticed a high discrepancy in the manliness of a lot of popular (male) K-pop singers.

Exhibit A – Dazzling Girl by SHINee

Clearly SHINee is on the bottom of the manliness scale. This video is of this “plain” girl who Shinee transforms into a “dazzling” girl. The boys show off their make-up artist and designer skills while dancing around in skirts and purple feathers. I’m pretty sure this is ultra-gayfeminine behaviour even by K-pop star standards. Hey, if some of the members are gay then all the power to them, but I really don’t think a ‘gay best friend’ image was the intention of this video.

Exhibit B – Please don’t by K.Will

Watch the video before you read below!

OK. Hopefully you watched the video till the end and I’m not spoiling anything by saying I LOVE THE TWIST AT THE END!!! It blew my mind the first time I saw it and I had to immediately watch from the beginning again. In Korea, there is not a lot of presence of LBGT-ness in the media or public. Yes, they have a gay pride parade but that’s the only time I’ve seen it discussed and celebrated out in the open – unlike Canada where we are loud and proud about our LBGT community. So people back home – the end of the video might not seem like a big deal to you but in Korea it is a huge risk and a small step forward I would say.

Exhibit C – Up by Epik High 

Moving up on the MAN-scale! Epik High has been away for a few years and they are about to release their new album ’99’. I don’t know Epik High too well but what I do know, I like! They are a bit more edgy and hip hop than your typical boy band and they collaborate with a lot of different artists. I love how they can go from a soulful female chorus to a fun upbeat verse. ‘Up’ is basically just about getting back up after you fall – it’s a super fun and inspiring song!

Exhibit D – Nillili Mambo by Block B

Despite all the make-up, I put Block B at the top of the macho ratings for this week’s new videos. The video actually has a story line and the boys play gangsta-ish jewel thieves. The very end of the video was a bit too cutesy but P.O.’s super deep, gruff voice makes up for it. OK, so they’re probably not actually gangstar-ish guys in real life, but let’s face it, all the singers in these videos are just acting, and I think Block B pulled it off!

To re-cap: there are lots of new videos out this week and these four caught my interest for obvious reasons because of the super-girlie to mean-muggin levels of macho-ness portrayed in them. Hope you liked them too :)!

just my mommy and me

As most of you know, my Mum came to visit for two weeks recently! It was an awesome visit –  she really got to experience a lot that Korea has to offer and we got to hang out a lot even though I was working during the week. Here are some highlights:

tofu salad and fish paste soup!

We eventually got to Andong over Chuseok (note: do NOT try to travel on the first day of Chuseok if you have not booked way in advanced). We loved the traditional villages, the mask festival, all the crafty things and of course the food! Mum was very adventurous with her food-trying and generally liked everything that wasn’t too spicy. She even tried kimchi once a day :)!

so handy!

We took a nice hike up Cheonggyesan with Alexis and her Dad. Mum loved the air pressure boot cleaners at the end of the trail :)! Such gorgeous weather!

we are officially a tourist attraction!

We took hilarious sticker photos and when we were at the top of Seoul tower we noticed a bunch of people had put pictures of themselves on the wall. So we are now at the top of Seoul tower for all to see!

story time!

Mum came into my class several times to read books and give out Canadian treats! The kids loved her but were concerned that she was going to take me back to Canada.

dalkgalbi and soju!

Mum was gung-ho (sp?) for coming out with us and participating in our regular hang-outs. She came to Friday night BBQ, the GS several times, a beer bang and of course chicken galbi. Things got a little crazy at the noraebang and she even did a shot of soju!

great way to top off the visit!

On her second weekend here, we took a trip up to Seoraksan, which has the reputation of being one of the most beautiful parts of Korea. Well, apparently the rest of Korea also thought it was the best weekend to go because it was absolutely packed! Now I know ‘peak season’ means ‘don’t even think about it’ season. We had a good time anyways!

So those are my highlights, maybe I will get Mum to write in with her votes because there’s a lot we did that I didn’t talk about. These are things I would definitely recommend if you/your family are coming to visit Korea!