Welcome to the Magic Show… May 1, 2010

Emotion: ❤ ❤ ❤

Hi Guys!! It’s been a really long time since I’ve made a post…sorry 😦 I’ve been caught up with soccer, MUN, tests, projects etc.  No worries now though, I have come back to inform you about a lot of comebacks that have been catching my eye lately.  One of them is the four-membered  group, Secret!  They released a new single called, “Magic.”  I’ve got to say that it’s one of the catchiest songs I’ve ever heard.  If you can get over their pronunciation of the word “Magic” as “Mazik,” then you’ll notice that it’s hard to get it out of your head.

This isn’t their first single but you’ll notice that it’s hard to find a performance of their first single, which is “I Want You Back.”  They released the song back in October 2009, along with another digital single called “3 Years 6 Months.”  After performing it on various music programs for merely 3 weeks, they suddenly stopped for a reason that was not known.  They waited a very long time and finally made a comeback with their first min-album in April 2010, which was where “Magic” had started.  I’ve only been seeing some powerful dancing along with exemplary live stages.  Take a look for yourself!

Live Performance:

Music Video for “Magic”:

Music Video for “I Want You Back”:

P.S. I don’t know if you guys noticed, but when you enter my blog, the song “Magic” starts to play! 😀

Credits: YouTube

Bang! Bang! Bang! March 23, 2010

Emotions: Impressed & Amazed

This is going to be a pretty short post but I just wanted to get my emotions across.  Recently, After School released a teaser for their 4th official single, “Bang!”  I gotta say that, it’s pretty impressive.  Why?  Well, because these girls are trying something that no other group has tried, playing an instrument while singing.  Apparently, these girls have been practicing these drums for over five months, that means they’ve practicing since around November 2009.  November 2009 is near when their 3rd official single, “Because of You (너 때문에)” was released.  Going for this whole new image, and especially something that no one has ever tried is something that’s hard for normal human beings to do and the fact that these celebrities, who are basically busy 24/7, pulled it off is something they should be proud of themselves for and something the viewers and listeners should be quite amazed and impressed about.

Another thing that amazes me is their teamwork with new people.  Ever since their first single, “Ah,” they’ve been adding a new members to their group.  When their second single was released, “Diva,” they gained a new member, UEE, who is one of the most successful members of the group.  Then, for their third single, “Because of You (너 때문에),” member Yoo Soyoung announced the withdrawal from the group, resulting in the addition of two new members, Raina and Nana.   Now, after the release of their 4th single, “Bang!”, the group has another addition, Lizzy.  Currently, After School has 8 members (Gahi, Joo Yeon, Jung Ah, Bekah, Uee, Raina, Nana, and Lizzy), and is continuously heading for success.

Check out their teaser for their music video, “Bang!” and stay tuned for the full release of their new single:

After School's New Concept with 8 Members

After School with Drums

Their Full Music Video:

Credits: Daum, Wikipedia, DramaWiki, Youtube, AllKpop

Beimun XVII March 17, 2010

Emotion: Undescribable

(I want this post to be special and different from my other posts, so I will not add any pictures, music, video or any other form of media, thanks!)

Recently, I went to Beimun XVII held in Beijing, China, as a delegate of the General Assembly 2 committee.

My issues were:

1. The role of sustainable development in improving global climate conditions.
2. The implementation of macroeconomic policies aimed at promoting international trade and development.
3. Facilitating the transition of developing nations into the world economy.
4. The role of the United Nations Convention against Corruption and other related documents and protocols on the prevention and combat of corrupt practices with regards to the illegal transfer of assets.

I decided to take a chance and tried main submit a resolution, but in the end, other delegates of MEDCs took control.  I was the delegate of Afghanistan, which, as you may all know, is not the most economically developed country.  Usually, in a Model United Nations conference, there is debate going on, but Beimun XVII was different.  The delegate of St. Lucia and Norway were fighting to get the privilege of main submitting.  These arguments are settled through a simple coin toss or rock-paper-scissors; Beimun, no.  The two delegates had fought so much that the delegate of Norway started to cry.  I was pretty shocked to see someone CRY at a conference, but again, Beimun is different.

Now readers may be wondering, “Why am I suddenly writing about Beimun? ”  Well, even though I usually write about things that happen in the Kpop scene, this one is special.  Because of all the changes and emotions I felt, I’ve never felt one like this one before…So, to explain what happened…

As you all know, if you read my first entry, you would know that I’m currently in Seoul, South Korea and Beimun was held in Beijing, China.  So, I put my phone on roaming and took it to China with me.   If you guys don’t know what roaming is, it’s when you set your phone that it’ll work perfectly fine in the country you’re heading too, and of course, the cost becomes more expensive.  On the 5th day, which was the last day, of China, everyone went to a HUGE mall, with about 8 building which were about 4 floors high, but each floor was about 4m tall.  I went to eat with my friends, then visited a Mac Shop, Dr. Martens and so on.  Then, I came into Uni Qlo to try on a pair of pants and when I came out, that’s when it hit me: I didn’t have my phone.

I started to panic and thought I just left it in the change room I used, so I went back but two people were in there together…So, my friend named Peter asked them in Chinese, “Excuse me.  Do you see a phone in there?”  And I think they understood the question wrongly, since neither of us spoke Chinese fluently.  The couple answered “Yes.” in English, so we asked him, “Oh, could you pass down the phone?” and they answered, “No.”  And we were both staring at each other going, “Did they just say that they see my phone but wont’ give it to us?”

After the couple came out, Peter asked them again if they saw a phone or had a phone and they said no, but they came out with a basket full of clothes and a bunch of things shoved in as if they were trying to hide something at the bottom of the basket.  I started getting suspicious but I coudln’t ask them.  We had to go because of our curfew, but I told Peter that I would stay behind and look for my phone.  After Peter left, I went to them and asked them in English, “Hey, can I just check your basket in case it dropped in there?” and I pointed at the basket and bent down.  When I did, they took the basket and walked to the front desk and they were about to call security, thus, I had to leave.  I searched all three floors of the store and went outside and started to panic as tears were pouring down my cheeks.  I was running around the whole mall, visiting every store I went to and going through alleys I walked through and checking for a phone, which would be a miracle, if I found it…unfortunately…I didn’t get that miracle to come true.

It was time for curfew, so I went to Starbucks to meet my teacher, as told, and one of the two teachers came with me to look for my phone.  He said, “Wait outside for a second, let me talk to Mr. Duncan about the situation for a sec.”  When I went outside, I bent down onto the floor and I was drowned in my tears.  Then, I realized that I was wasting my time, so I ran to the restaurant where I ate, without telling my teacher.  I was in so much panic and shock that it didn’t occur to me that I would have to inform the teacher that I was leaving, but he somehow found me in the restaurant I was at.

Eventually, I had to accept that my phone was lost and all of the memories I had with that phone were now gone.  As I rode the taxi back to my hotel, all I did was cry and feel bad fro my parents, who went through so much, and much more than you think, to buy me that phone…

Some people may be thinking why I got so depressed over a phone that was stolen, which I could simply re-buy.  Well, there are several reasons why:

1. I had a two year contract and I used only 7 1/2 months of it, so I would need to either, a. not use a phone until it was over, b. pay for the left over amount.

2. It was expensive.  The phone had costed a lot of money to buy, and I just lost it, just like that.  Until it happens to you, you won’t know how it feels like.

3. I lost all my memories.  In my picture albums, picture memo albums, messages and others, I had a great number of memories with friends, myself, and family, and I just lost it all in that second I lost my phone.

4. My mom and I had so many fights about buying this phone for me.  I received it as my graduation gift and my mom had told me that it was a waste of money to change it, when I already had a phone that worked perfectly fine.  I wanted this phone so badly that I was willing to do anything to get it, of course, nothing illegal.  All the stress that my mom received because of me and the hard times she went through, and all of the money she had to spend on me so that I can have the thing I wanted so badly, had been wasted.  This was one of the major reasons I had cried and cried, and couldn’t stop.

This lead to me to other thoughts and I just had a long time to think and clear my mind of things I never really thought about before.  What was ironic was that, when we were having dinner that day, we were talking about the burden and stress we get from colleges and entering one, and I started thinking about how much my parents are putting in to me so that I can go to a good college and how much of a lack of appreciation I give them.  Then, I excused myself to the bathroom and cried there and came back, and I didn’t show my friends that I cried, but they seemed to have noticed something was wrong with me, and they asked me whether I was okay or not, but I just told them that I was, because these problems are problems you need to solve on your own, not have people feel bad for you, which doesn’t solve anything.  After thinking about all that, I lose my phone and I was beyond sorry to my parents.  I also thought about how, my parents are working so hard everyday and night to earn money so that I could have the privilege of going to the school I am attending now, and I haven’t given them anything back in return.  That’s when I realized, “Be sincerely nice to your parents, you owe them more than you think…”

I sent my mom and dad an email explaining what had just happened and how I was always doing stupid things while they are working so hard to give the best for me.  They want me to have the best of things and be successful in everything I do, even though I will fail, not at every attempt, but some attempts, I still have to try.  That day changed me entirely.

Despite the many words I wrote on this page, I still can’t fully express the feeling I had and the change I went through.  I can merely describe how it felt and how it feels now.

March 14th, 2010.

That day was the day I lost so much, but got so much in return.  Even though it wasn’t anything tangible, while the things I lost were, I believe, one day, through the intangible things I got in return, I will be able to lay my hands on many more things I never imagined I would.

The final thing I’ll say is…Remember…

Be nice to your parents, you owe them more than you think…

What Will Become of 2PM? March 4, 2010

Emotion: Touched

2PM started out as a 7-membered group that is now a 6-membered group.  People who do not know 2PM may think that this is a minor change within the group, but the fans would not agree…

For those who do not know what happened, here is a quick summary.  The leader of 2PM, Jaebum, had withdrawn from the group.  Why did he do this?  Well, it’s related to his days before he debuted as a celebrity.  When he was still in training, he had wrote something on his blog that was quite disappointing to everybody.  Jaebum was a guy that had lived in Seattle all his life, and he had never been to Korea before.  When he came, he felt like he didn’t belong in Korea; nothing in Korea was suited for him.  The food didn’t taste right to him, the people didn’t seem to warm up to him, and everything seemed out of place.  Considering those facts, you can imagine how much he wanted to go back to Seattle.  When his friend in Seattle had posted a message on his blog, he made a comment saying “korea is gay.”  This angered citizens of Korea and fans of 2PM intensely.   A few hours after this discovery of the comment, there was a lot of controversy going on.  Despite the controversies, his entertainment company, JYP Entertainment, had stated that Jaebum would stay as a part of 2PM and would not leave.  A few hours later, pictures of him leaving the country were released.

Jaebum at the airport

He stated that when he goes on stage and he sees his fans, he would feel too bad; therefore, he could not continue as a member and leader of 2PM.  This had caused a lot of ruckus and protests, BIG protests.  Fans protested in many different types, ranging from silent protests to nation-wide protests.  They had started out with having protests in front of the JYPE building.  Then, they started leaving post-it notes of supportive notes for Jaebum to come back.  They went all the way to demanding a press conference and personal interview with JYP (CEO of JYP Entertainment).

Besides fans and citizens, the media played a huge role in making the situation become a much bigger than it could’ve been.  The media had taken the direct translation of Jaebum’s comment.  When he said “korea is gay,” people had thought that he was literally saying that Korea was a gay country.  If you are a typical American teenager or know the casual slang that teenagers use when speaking English, you would know that he just meant boring and not right for him.  The media obviously made the mistake in interpreting this comment wrong, and causing one of the biggest problems within the entertainment business.

After Jaebum had left, many news stations had been curious to find out what was going on with him in Seattle.  They tried to call him and schedule interviews, but they were all rejected, because Jaebum did not want the media interfering with him any more.  The media went as far as interfering into his personal life and went to find him in Seattle without notifying him.  As soon as he saw the cameras coming, he quickly ran away, saying that he had nothing to say.

Many fans had stated that, if 2PM comes back with a new single without Jaebum, they will protest and boycott the album.  I knew already that, even if they say they will boycott, deep inside they will want to buy the album, and the album was one of the highest selling albums on the week it came out.  Their single, “Heartbeat” was also a HUGE success.

JYP had stated that the six members would not make appearances on variety shows, but shortly after the end of their promotions around January, for their single “Heartbeat,” many of the members started appearing on variety shows.  The fans were angered by this, but once again, we all know that they all liked it, so I don’t get why they need to pretend to be mad and displeased.

The group was scheduled to make a come back in April with a brand new single.  Ever since the single “Heartbeat” was released, there had been speculations that Jaebum would be returning, but JYP kept on stating that all the rumors were false.  Then, on February 25th, JYP Entertainment had announced that Jaebum would not be coming back at all.  Even more fans had started to go insane and that is when they held the press conference and interview among the 2PM members, JYP, representatives of the company, and representatives of the fan clubs.  This conference was almost 8 hours long and they had asked very serious questions, expecting to get out the truth and reasons of what was happening.

On February 25th, 2010, Jaebum had stated in an interview that during their promotion of their second single, “Again & Again,” he made a huge mistake, which was bigger than the blog incident.  He refused to say what it was because it was very personal issue, and the rest of the members had agreed that it was a pretty bad thing he had done.  Therefore, his contract was fully terminated, and he had left JYP Entertainment completely.  Many fans became outraged by this fact, but someone’s statement had pacified them.  Jaebum’s mother had finally decided to release a statement.  She stated:

“Please tell all fans ‘thank you’. Please tell them to often check up on him and keep interest in him.

Through out all these rumors Jaebum could have been despaired but seeing him strong gave me more hope than despair.
Thank you to all the fans.

You have worked very, very hard.

Please forward our heart to the fans and I will pray for the wound in the fan’s heart to be healed quickly. Thank you for trusting and loving our Jaebum. This is not a good ending for Jaebum but my heart is lighter now that this issue has ended. I wish that after this entry, Jaebum will not become a bad issue. Please love the 2PM dongsaengs too. They and their families will have had a hard time because of Jaebum.”  (http://sookyeong.wordpress.com/2010/03/02/letter-from-jaebums-mother-to-2pm-fans/)

After I read that, I think, not only I, but everyone realized all of the hardships, not only Jaebum went through, but his family too.  This really is the time when fans and citizens should reflect on what they did, and see if it really was the right thing to do.  Jaebum is a person like us and he has feelings like we do, so please, next time, THINK before you act and try to realize how the other person will feel.  With that in mind, I hope you felt touched, because I know I did. 😀

Here’s 2PM’s single “Heartbeat”:

Credits: http://music.kpopshare.com/kpop/index.php?showtopic=30665

A Bit Too Mature…? February 25, 2010

Emotions: Shocked

Recently, an idol group named T-ara (티아라) released a music video teaser for their next single, “I Go Crazy Because of You. (너 때문에 미쳐).”  Their new concept for their new single is “Evil Seduction.”  This concept may be shocking for many people considering their youngest member only being 17.  Many people have stated that this type of concept is a lot like the concept that the diva popstar, Britney Spears uses.  Even though the group may seem a bit too mature, their previous single, “Bo Peep Bo Peep,” had a very cute concept, using animal cat paws as their outfit for live performances.  This transformation was a great turn in their image, and responses from the audience have been varied.  Some people have stated that T-ara may be a bit too mature, and some state that T-ara is just what they like.

After watching this teaser, I was shocked by many different things.  The first one was the sudden change that someone can go through, after being a certain type for over two months.  What I mean by that is, during the days when T-ara was promoting their single “Bo Peep Bo Peep,” they put on a very cute image, and then after about three weeks, they released a teaser, using the concept of “Evil Seduction.”  The fact that they can change so easily was kind of shocking quite amazing.  The amount a person can change for money is very shocking.

The second thing that shocked me was the age of the group and their concept of “Evil Seduction.”  Their youngest member is 17, and they are making them follow a theme that someone like Britney Spears would do.  Now that is one brave girl right there.  She is able to pull off such a provocative image.  This is pretty shocking for such a young girl to do.

Now, most people’s goal in life to earn money from their jobs.  If we look at celebrities, they’re not different!  So let’s take T-ara for example.  As previously stated, these girls are putting on a VERY mature image, and that’s pretty shocking, consdiering their ages.  The only reason they do this is that their entertainment company tells them too.  It’s shocking how much these celebrities will do what their company tells them to do.  If T-ara were normal people off the streets and someone random asked them to do something like this, they probably would not.  It’s amazing how much a company has control over their employees, and how far they will go to earn money for themselves.

Finally, I just want to say, I’m a huge fan of T-ara.  I’m not hating on them in any way, don’t worry if you were getting upset.  I was just merely making some observations, I mean, it is pretty shocking, right? 😀

Take a look here (T-ara’s New ):

Sunmi Withdraws from the Wonder Girls February 22, 2010

Emotion Felt: Shocked, Satisfied & Anger

First of all, I know this is kind of old, but I just wanted to make my first entry about the Wonder Girls.  Why?  It is because I am a huge fan of the Wonder Girls.  I am a fan of many other Kpop groups, but Wonder Girls was the first group that I actually became a true fan of.  So, for those who do not know what happened with this, Sunmi had left the Wonder Girls after working with them since February 2007.  She wishes to leave the Wonder Girls to focus on her studies, and then come back as a new Wonder Girls member after she is done with her studies.

Sunmi

The Wonder Girls are a part of an entertainment company called JYP Entertainment.  This company holds some of the most popular groups today, such as 2PM and 2AM.  When Sunmi had revealed the devstating news to the public, the CEO of JYP Entertainment, Park Jin Young, was blamed instantly.  People were saying that he does not care about his employees (celebrities under his company), and he just fires them if they do something bad, and tells the world that the member simply decided to “withdraw” from the group.  This really angered me.  Keeping in mind that fans of 2PM did the same thing when Jaebom had left 2PM.

Park Jin Young is a business man and he has a career to make money.  So if he is trying to do that, why in the world would he randomly fire his employees, especially if they were a part of group that was becoming known world wide.  JYP (Park Jin Young’s Initials) presumably tried his best to keep both Sunmi and Jaebom in their groups, but JYP Entertainment has a part in their contract that states that the company cannot effect the members’ personal lives.  That means, when Sunmi told JYP that she wanted to leave, JYP couldn’t say no.  So why are fans getting a raged up without knowing the fact?  I have no idea.

When I read the news that Sunmi left the group, of course I was devastated too, but I wasn’t thinking “Oh, it’s JYP’s fault, we should blame him.”  No, I was not thinking that.  I was thinking, “With situations like these, there is always a true story, which the companies are choosing not to make it public.  Just wait and we’ll find out what truly happened.”  Along with these feelings, I also realized how hard it is to be known to the public and always have the public criticize you.  Everyone out there who dream about becoming a celebrity, think again.  Don’t only think about the fame you’ll be receiving, think about the consequences that’ll come with it.  This really showed me how passionate a person can be about something and how deceiving things could be if they are not told all the necessary parts.  At the same time, it was really disappointing how closed minded all the fans were being, but I hope they’ll realize that JYP is not complete fault here.

So that concludes my first actual entry!!  I know it isn’t that fun, but it’s something that I hope all of you can connect to.  Stay tuned for more!! 🙂

Credits: http://cutegiurl.wordpress.com/category/inkigayo/

Hi Guys!!

Hi everyone who is out there reading this blog.  This is Jung, your new blogger of 2010.  In this blog, I’m going to be sharing things that happen in the world of Kpop, that make me feel a certain emotion.  Before I continue my blog, you should first get to know me.

Birth Date: November 30th, 1995

Birth Place: Seoul, South Korea

Current Country: Seoul, South Korea

Current School: Korea International School

Current Grade: 9

Personality: Beyond Quirky

About Me:  As I stated before, I am quirky.  In Korea, we have a term called “4-Dimensional (4 차원).”  This means that you see the world as a four-dimensional place, which just means that you are different and quirky.  My friends called me that, but one day, a very close friend of mine named Erin told me something quite interesting during our orchestra class.  As it was the cello’s turn to play, Erin and I were having our side conversation and she told me, “Hey, you know, you’re not 4-Dimensional, you’re 20-Dimensional.”  I believe what she said is self-explanatory, so I shall not go into further details…hehe…but yes, that is my personality.

One really weird thing about myself is that, I tend to understand people more than others usually can.  In my grade, there are approximately 100 students, and out of all the guys in our grade, I’ve got the quickest sense when people are lying.  I can tell almost immediately when someone is lying to me, but I do not tell them that I know that they are lying.  Why do I do that?  No idea.  I just am beyond quirky 🙂  I also have a really quick sense on telling how people will react or what people will do after a certain situation.  If you told me “Hey Jung, I have to tell you something, but I have to wait till July.” and it’s the middle of March, I know when and what you’re going to tell me, based on your current situation.  I think I should look into psychology.  It’s always interested me, but I can’t take it; our school doesn’t really give us many choices with our classes.

So, from this moment on, I will reveal more sides of myself as we go through the Kpop scene.  So here we go 🙂