My Favorite, Recent K-Pop Trends

OG COMEBACKS 

From g.o.d to Jinusean, many K-Pop originators have been releasing new music putting the youngsters to shame with reminiscent tracks that not only attract the older K-pop fans but also excites the newer generation.

HIP HOP/R&B

That's right, this has become a trend in K-Pop. Though a lot of K-Pop songs have always had a rapping portion or some sort of R&B influence, these days that influence is getting stronger and stronger. Whole groups have been composed with the main members being rappers instead of singers. Also Hip Hop and R&B singers that long dwelled in the underground indie scene are starting to get a lot more attention.

90's THROWBACK

A lot of songs these days have a 90's sound to them. However the 90s sound isn't exactly from Korea, instead it's more in the vain of American 90s R&B and Hip Hop. Though there are similarities between the two countries, 90's American R&B and Hip Hop has a more grimy street vibe where as 90's music from Korea has a lot of pop twisted into it. Either way, there are a lot of great songs that have taken on this sound. One of my favorites is Life by Rubber Soul. 

SINGLE SUB-UNITS

These days instead of someone being the featuring artist, artist are creating sub units for one single. The trend seemed to pick up serious steam after Soyu's successful collaboration with Junggigo for Some and now the collabs won't stop. The most recent example of this is Jimin N J.Don of FNC. Of course, who can forget GD X TAEYANG, one of the best collabs of 2014.

SOLO ALBUMS/PROJECTS

A lot of talented group members have been flying solo. Some even have solo tracks on their group's album. With the formal introduction of band members' stellar talents many fans have been impressed over and over again by not just veterans but also rookies.

Trends that should stop:
1. Rookies: Is it just me or is there like a new rookie group every week these days. I like that more and more people are debuting and getting into the rotation sooner rather than later, but there's so many that it is hard to keep up with which ones are which. Also I think a lot of them can get lost in the shuffle. I've been trying to stay on top of it as much as possible but as soon as I grab one, another one knocks them out. I think agencies should slow down a bit and really look for the most optimal time to release their new artists. From their standpoint that might be exactly what they're doing but I'm not so sure that peak season is always the best season.

2. Nonsensical videos: I really hope that music videos in general will start to match the songs at least a little bit. There's nothing wrong with an artistic video or a video that showcases the good looks and smooth moves of a group but I think that a great music video could be made with sticking to a cohesive and thought provoking story line too.

3. Disbandment & Member Losses: I know am not alone in hoping that the groups that are together stick together until the end. I know that sometimes people have to think of themselves first but it's so sad to see your favorite groups get shaken up and broken down. It's sad and I hope that it doesn't happen too often this year because last year was crazy.

Trends that I'm Excited to See:
I am hoping that as 2015 progresses that there will be a rise in Rock music from Korea. It's already starting with the comebacks of F.T. Island and Lee Moon Sae. And you can't forget the solo debut of Jung Yonghwa. Also, last year we saw the return of 10cm and other residents rock groups of Korea. Jung Joon Young made an awesome comeback recently and the Indie band Hyukoh is steadily on the rise. I think that it's safe to say that Korea is ready to rock out.

I must also note that with the debut of Hip Hop/Rock Band, N.Flying, and Rock/Hip Hop tracks from a few other groups that the mix of the two genres might be a popular one this year. I am looking forward to it.

Mini Movie Reviews: 2000-2010 (Part 1)

Korean Movies are a great break from Korean Dramas. It gives you all the subtitles and good looking actors that K-Dramas provide but in a more digestible dose. Plus, movies are an easy way to get your non-drama watching family and friends to open their minds to foreign entertainment. I've gotten more into watching movies and I must say that I am impressed with many of the movies from Korea. Here are short reviews on a few of the movies I've seen.  

Friend

Year Released: 2001

Cast: Yu Oh Seong, Jang Dong Gun, Seo Tae Hwa, Jung Woon Tae

Where I Watched: Hulu

One Sentence Synopsis: Old friends become enemies as they get caught up in the gang life.

Mini Review: I couldn't pass up on the chance to watch a classic movie that people are still talking about. It was a good movie but it wasn't as fluid as I thought it could have been and some moments made me uncomfortable but that's what I get for watching an R-rated movie. Anyway, it was a good gangster movie and a good show of friendship and how it can change in a second.

My Tutor Friend

Year Released: 2003

Cast: Kim HaNeul, Kwon Sang-Woo

Where I Watched: YouTube

One Sentence Synopsis: A college student becomes the tutor for a high school student that is the same age as her.

Mini Review: This movie was bit hard to digest, part that might have been from the horrible quality while watching and part of it might be that it was adapted from an internet series so the movie writers decided to smash as many events as possible in the time allotted. Anyway, the pacing of events was a bit off to me, however the events that occurred were entertaining, so I think it's a movie worth watching. 

Please Teach Me English

Year Released: 2003

Cast: Jang Hyuk, Lee Na-Young

Where I Watched: DramaFever

One Sentence Synopsis: A woman falls in love with a man in her English class, but can't really get him to take his focus off their foreign teacher.

Mini Review: It was funny with just the right amount of romance added in. It was also interesting to see the process (however exaggerated) of learning English as a second language.

200 Pounds Beauty

Year Released: 2006

Cast: Kim Ah Joong, Joo Jin Mo, Ji Seo-Yun, Sung Dong Il

One Sentence Synopsis: A romantic comedy that takes a fat girl to a skinny pretty girl with a lot of plastic surgery.

Where I Watched: Hulu

Mini Review: It was funny and endearing. It also gave thoughtful commentary about the pressures to be thin in the entertainment industry despite being talented.

My Tutor Friend 2

Year Released: 2007

Cast: Park Min Ki, Lee Chung Ah

Where I Watched: Hulu

One Sentence Synopsis: A Korean college student tries to tutor a foreigner living at his dad's boarding house in Korean.

Mini Review: For the most part this was a cute and funny movie, there was only one event that threw it off for me. Park Min Ki's character, Jong Man, is supposed to have been a really great boxer but gave it up. The event that kind of hindered the flow of the movie, to me, was when he returned to boxing. It was a bit out of place, other than that I thought it was a fun movie. 

Crazy Waiting

Year Released: 2008

Cast: Son Tae Young, Jang Geun Suk, Jang Hee Jin, Danny Ahn, Yu In Young, Kim Sam Ho, Han Yeao Reum, and Woo Seung Min

Where I Watched: YouTube

One Sentence Synopsis: Four couples try to stay together as the men serve their mandatory military service.

Mini Review: This was another movie that I felt lacked flow. I know that it was in the anthology style focusing on multiple couples at one time so it wasn't going to be the most fluid movie, but I still feel there was a way to make the movie less choppy.

19-Nineteen

Year Released: 2009

Cast: T.O.P., Seungri, Huh Yi Jae, Kim Young Ho

Where I Watched: DramaFever

One Sentence Synopsis: A coming of age tale of three teenagers accused of murder.

Mini Review: I consider this a good starter movie and Big Bang fans will be pleased with T.O.P and Seungri's acting skills. I thought it was well written and I thought it was very relatable. I am no longer 19 but I still feel growing pains as I am moving into adulthood. I thought this issue was addressed in a very creative and suspenseful way.

Mr. Idol

Year Released: 2009

Cast: Park Ye Jin, Ji Hyun Woo, Kim Su Ro, Lim Won Hee, Jay Park, Jang Seo Won, Kim Randy

Where I Watched: Hulu

One Sentence Synopsis: The pains of becoming an idol condensed into a movie. 

Mini Review: It was pretty predictable, but I still enjoyed watching it. It addressed common place problems within the music industry in Korea, so the situations that came about and how they were resolved weren't necessarily shocking but the movie was well written and the acting was pretty good. I wished they would have addressed the stories of the other boy band members a little more.

My Girlfriend Is an Agent

Year Released: 2009

Cast: Kim Ha Neul, Kang Ji Hwan, Jang Yeong Nam, Ryoo Seung Ryo

Where I Watched: Hulu

One Sentence Synopsis: Two exes meet again as enemy agents.

Mini Review: This movie was hilarious. I laughed the whole time.

The Man from Nowhere

Year Released: 2010

Cast: Won Bin, Kim Sae Ron, Kim Hee Won, Kim Sung Oh, Kim Tae Hoon, Lee Jong l, Thanayong Wongtrakul

Where I Watched: DramaFever

One Sentence Synopsis: A girl gets kidnapped by gangsters after her mother is killed, and he next door neighbor starts kicking butt to get her back. 

Mini Review: This was actually my first taste of Korean action films. It was so legit! The back story, the fighting, the villains. At no point was I bored, disappointed, or felt lost. After watching it I fully understood why it was such a popular movie, it was action packed and not did the villain but also the hero sent chills up my spine. Kim Sae Ron also displayed the talent that would carry her into her current status as a promising child actress. Two thumbs up!

JAPAN: First impressions -- Heat & Death Note (2015)

Image from asianwiki.com

Heat is about a real estate agent who wants to use an entire town for one of his clients. In order to buy up the town he becomes a volunteer firefighter so that he can become close to the residents and buy them out. I thought of this as a second coming of a Bitter Blood and started it right away. There are many similarities between this show and Bitter Blood (Partners by Blood) - action packed, funny, and a full cast of characters that are just as important as the main lead. So far, the main lead, Tatsuya Ikegami, is a self-centered workaholic and it's clear that he does not care about actually doing the job of a volunteer firefighter correctly. However, as episodes go on and hi-jinks ensue you can see him start to understand the importance of being a firefighter and hopefully as time goes on he will start to act more like one before someone really gets hurt. The only thing I am unsure of at this point is if there will be a romance in the show. Right now there are two potential matches for Tatsuya: Sakura Azumi and Eri Yuki. Even though it seems that he has a relationship with Eri Yuki, there seems to also be room for him to care about Sakura Azumi too. Right now, that is not the focus of the show but there's always that underlying plot, isn't there? I've only seen two episodes of the show so far but it's very entertaining and endearing. I am looking forward to watching the remaining episodes of Viki.com.

Photo from asianwiki.com

I can't even remember how I stumbled upon the information for this show, but once I did I had to watch it. I have not read the manga, seen the anime, or watched the movies, but I was not going to pass up a chance to watch the live action television version of the show. [I'm sure I can watch the anime in no time if I really want to and catch up on the movies.] Since I have no real reference for the show I can't say if it's just as good or better than any of the others, but I can say that it is pretty interesting to me as someone who is experiencing it for the first time. As of now I am both fascinated, entertained and freaked out by the show, but I am sure that's the feeling you generally get when dealing with any version of Death Note. If I were to just talk about this version I'd have to say that the acting is good and the actors are definitely keeping my attention. In that regard I guess it may be worth watching to someone who's already a veteran of Death Note.

REVIEW: High Society (Practically Spoiler-less)

I was so excited for this show when the announcement was made about the full cast. Three of the four leads already captured my attention in other dramas so I was really looking forward to seeing them again. After watching just a few episodes I knew the drama was going to be good and I was glad that the show kept my attention until the end.

First off, I have to say that I like that the show wasn't overly cliche. Korean drama writers seem to love the themes of money and love, so I was worried that this would be a mix and match version of so many other dramas I've already seen. I'm happy to say that it wasn't that. Of course, there were very familiar elements that I've seen time and time again but the writers, actors, directors, etc managed to give the show an appropriate amount of sprucing up so that I didn't feel like I was watching The Heirs, mixed with Secret Garden or something like that.

The fact that I was able to lose myself in the drama was a good sign. It meant that even if there were majors errors I didn't care. That's the mark of a good drama.

Aside from a well written and well executed show, the acting was just as I had predicted: A-Class. It's really funny how young, and in some cases, green, the leads are. Three out of the four leads didn't even start as actors yet they delivered performances that even veteran actors can appreciate. I applaud them for a job well done. My favorite has to be Park Hyungsik. The transformation he undertook to play his character is marveling. If we think about the last notable characters he played then I think it's reasonable to be shocked at the type of character he played in this show, and how well he played Yoo Chang Soo. I'm already excited about his next role and this one just ended. Uee's character wasn't much different from some of her other characters but she still shone in this show. I really like Sung Joon. I like the characters he takes on and how he seems to grow into a better actor with every role. This is my first time seeing Lim Ji Yeon and I am really excited to see her in more. She played her role really well and definitely made her character lovable to the very end. Overall, it was very good casting of the four leads and I also have to give a nod to Ko Du-Shim as Min Hye Soo (Uee's mom) and Yoon Ji-Hye as Jang Ye Won (Uee's oldest sister). They did a great job at scaring me with just their eyes. *shivers at the memories*

One of the best parts of the show was watching Yoo Chang Soo's relationship with his mom. In most shows about rich kids all we get is Evil Rich Parent vs Nice Poor Parent. I like that in this show we got to see a healthy relationship between rich child and rich parent. It was sweet and funny, but mostly it gave us a fair portrayal of parents. There are some mean parents, there are nice parents with expectations. I liked that the writers didn't just explore the love and relationships between the leads but between family members too.

Lee Ji Yi grew to be one of my favorite characters. She was bold but in the sweetest way and she didn't try to do what she couldn't. She was smart and knew when to let go. Her character knew her place and tried not to step outside of it too much. She was able to win over many hearts by being honest but humble. My other favorite character had to be Yoo Chang Soo. Not only was dude's hair game out of this world, but I actually liked that he tried really hard not go against his parents wishes. When his parents set a rule he wanted to follow it even if it meant going against what he wanted to do. Isn't that so normal. I really appreciated these two characters for being as normal as they could be while still keeping me excited about their journey through the show. I also really enjoyed watching the two as a couple and comparing their innocent love to the other relationships on the show. It was pretty refreshing to have them break up all the bitterness, even though they had their own set of problems to face.

If I have to give a critique about the show it would be the haphazard way they handled Jang Yoon Ha's (Uee) brother, Jang Gyeong-Joon (Lee Sang Woo) at the end of the show. They didn't give him any time to hash out his problems at all. They just kind of ignored the events that happened and I think that they hoped we would too. But that was the one thing that I was really curious about in the aspect of the show and they kind of swept it under the rug, and made his part pointless. Aside from that the rest of the show was worth watching.

If you are looking for a serious show that's realistic enough then this is the one. There are so many good aspects of the show: good acting, well thought out characters, and fair portrayals of all types of people that could exist in real life. However, my favorite aspect of the show is that it was it's own show. I wasn't sure how the show would turn out after the first episode but I am really glad that the writers didn't piece too many familiar aspects together and try pass it off as something original.

First Impressions: Last, Mrs. Cop, Yong Pal

It is once again time for another crop of dramas, and since it's summer the action dramas are almost nonstop. I have yet to see an action drama that I didn't like, but the jury is still out on three of the newest action packed k-dramas.

photo credit: asianwiki.com

Last is about Jang Tae Ho, a stock manipulator who becomes homeless after a deal goes horribly wrong. So far I've only seen two episodes but I'm already on the edge of my seat dying to know what will happen next. In just two episodes Jang Tae Ho has been murdered, come back to life, and is well on his way to becoming a crime boss among homeless men. If that's not intriguing enough for you then let me tell you about Kwak Ham Seung played by Lee Bum Soo. His character holds the most mysteries in my opinion. How'd he become like the king of homeless people? I really need to know how one makes something like that happen. There are so many questions but I think the most exciting idea from the show is the fact that there is hope in the bleakest of situations. We get to see how one man does what he can to turn his life back around. Of course, I don't think any of it will be legal, but it will be thrilling.

photo credit: asianwiki.com

Mrs. Cop is about Choi Young Jin, a female detective and single mom. I am assuming that the show will be about balancing life as a tough cop and life as a sweet mom. Already we see that Choi Young Jin has a hard time actually balancing the two roles and frequently chooses cop over mom. Although this is a very familiar concept it seems that it will definitely be one worth watching as we've already seen how much more focused on cop work than mom work the main character is. What I am hoping from the show it that it lacks as many cliches as possible. The whole woman-should-be-at-home-taking-care-of-her-child thing isn't wrong but this woman is a single mom, if she doesn't do her job then she really won't be able to take care of her daughter. So far, I've only seen one episode and from what I can see there is another theme that will be more impactful: life of a cop vs life as a father/husband/mother/wife, etc. I think that even though the show will mostly be focusing on Choi Young Jin's journey it will not neglect the other members and their journeys for balance as well. I am optimistic that the show's theme will be well written and I'm confident that it will be well acted.

photo credit: asianwiki.com

Yong Pal is about Kim Tae Hyun, a young surgeon who tries to make money to take care of his sister any way he can, including operating on gangsters outside of the hospital. So far, I love this show. It has thoughtful action, snippets of comedy, and of course lots of hospital scenes (I don't know where my preference for medical dramas is coming from these days.) In the first two episodes, the writers and actors have managed to capture my attention and I am so excited for the continuation of the show. The only thing I am not understanding at this point is Kim Tae Hee's role, but I am sure that will come with more episodes. I think the thing I like most about this show is Joo Won playing the genius surgeon who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty, who seems cold on the outside but is actually very thoughtful, and who is cocky and arrogant but not afraid to beg when need be. He just one of those actors that you look forward to watching. I've only seen him in four other productions and in each one he's been someone different. That type of acting prowess is hard to come by these days so even if it's a commercial, if Joo Won's in it I will be watching it.