8 Miles to Kpop

   Oh, I feel like smashing something. Watching drama surely has calming effects on me, and right now I'm left without any (yes, I caught up with everything), so imagine my frustration. Well, seeing The Diva in crown (yes! finally! Although it wasn't queen's tiara) made my day, that's for sure, but not until I stumbled upon the article that somehow eluded me for some time. Not anymore. We had Dream High drama about bunch of high-schoolers dreaming of becoming stars. Zero acting from the said "stars" put me off right in the middle of the first episode, so I don't know, but I presume they became hallyu stars with millions of crazy devoted fangirls/fanboys. Are you satisfied? Apparently there were some voices stating that 8 Mile was an american version of musical Cinderella, therefore Korea needs to have "the presiousssss" as well. And yes, new movie is on the way - Mr. Idol (oh what an elaborated title, I wonder how long it took them to come up with that?).

JYJ in... Germany?

  在ドイツ韓国大使館は「人気グループJYJより、10月末から11月初めにかけてドイツで公演したいとの連絡を受けている。また、Wonder Girlsや2PMなどが所属する芸能事務所JYPも現在、ドイツ公演を検討している」と説明した。

(from Chosun online)

I'm sorry, but if Korean Embassy is not pulling any joke on us all... I'm in heaven. Now, to find some extra work and save money. 

The whole article is about the music charts in Germany (VIVA Charts) being swept by Kpop: 2NE1, MBLAQ, B2ST, 2PM, Super Junior etc.

Well, if apart from YG, SMEnt and JYP they could also add some smaller agencies, like CJ E&M also, I would be on cloud number... ah hell, 12 even.

The Princess' Man

   Each and every one of us needs sometimes cathartic story. This is why Shakespear's Romeo and Juliet will never grow old. Now less and less people read it, saying: "Oh, it's so boring! They behave not like us! It's stupid!" The last sentence is somewhat true. Love makes us stupid. Especially this kind of love that comes like a storm, destroying everything on its path. Those stories are similar, no matter where they take place - Mexico, China, Greece, Korea or England. There are thousands of tragic stories - Tristan and Iseult died, Romeo and Juliet died, and this is what was called l'amour impossible. The tragedy in this drama is written all over the place, it's hiding in shadows, it's crouching in corners, it drops with morning dew.

Once in a while, we need to immerse ourselves in this kind of story, relating to people walking slowly (or not) their path to destruction.

Infinite cuteness

   Oh damn, they are young men. No kids, ah damn... Mah heart cantz take it no more...
Yes, forgot to add what this post is aboout - the interview. 

Xenophobia

According to wikipedia:

Xenophobia is defined as the "hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of their politics or culture". It comes from the Greek words ξένος (xenos), meaning "stranger," "foreigner" and φόβος (phobos), meaning "fear."

Xenophobia can manifest itself in many ways involving the relations and perceptions of an ingroup towards an outgroup, including a fear of losing identity, suspicion of its activities, aggression, and desire to eliminate its presence to secure a presumed purity. Xenophobia can also be exhibited in the form of an "uncritical exaltation of another culture" in which a culture is ascribed "an unreal, stereotyped and exotic quality".

This is why I present the article below. The comparison to rivers and sea is actually crushing. This should stop all nonsense, but unfortunately it won't.

This is Kim Jonghyeon post

   Deal with that.

Some people don't like this young man, and me... well, his talent puts me in sheer awe. I wouldn't mind if he started all jazzy, bossa-nova sounds and I would pre-order any. Damn, as for him, I would even become indie, dance or other crap fan. So for today, I'd like to present maybe less known, not polished and raw videos of him singing live. Because I have my theory saying that only when listening to a song performed on stage, we can judge someone's talent or lack of it. This is why I became sworn supporter of INFINITE's young men, and this is why Jonghyeon, and Junsu as well, are on my daily list. I would be a hypocrite if I didn't acknowledge also Onew's singing, they are both good in SHINee, and although I like Key, he's not a match for those two, sorry^^'

Second Twitter Crusade

   Jaejung showed class yet again. It's been few days since he tweeted:

“I don’t know if I should be saying this… I miss Yunho and Changmin… No matter what anyone says, they’re our members and I know them better than anyone else… People might say it’s pointless in saying this but… I want to see them again. It’s been a while.”

He added:

“Junsu always wakes up before the members and gets his hair and make up done before the tired members. He has always been like that for the past eight years. It’s his sincerity that has allowed us to exist, and I hope to learn from him as a friend and co-worker.
There’s a lot to learn from him in a lifetime.”
“Yoochun is always in the middle. He stands in the middle of the members and watches over everyone, which is why we never have any time to feel that we’re alone. He’s one of the most spirited members and he shares that spirit with us so that we feel comfort during difficult times.”
“I have to do better.. That’s what our Junsu and Yoochun make me think. They’re greedy, hoo hoot!”

Korean Royal Family

   I guess everyone who watches sageuk or taeha is more or less familiar with such words like seja, gongju, mama, jeonha. But in any case, a list of such terms may be useful.

Inside the palace complex, names were rarely used, and this is why those titles come in handy. 

Here is the website of Royal Family in Korea (yes, the descendants are living): http://www.royalcity.or.kr/

New ranking

Looks like Arirang is running out of the ideas to make another ranking. And, what's funnier (more funny?), Yucheon got his own ranking, muwahaha!! Ekhe, ekhe...

Dokdo again

Two articles from editorial column from JoongAngIlbo.