KPOP Korral - [B.A.P] - Warrior

B.A.P (비에이피) is a new six member group just launched by TS Entertainment.  Their group name stands for "Best Absolute Perfect", so it makes sense that these guys do not seem shy coming out of the gate.  Their members names are, Yongguk (용국), Himchan (힘찬), Daehyun (대현), Youngjae (영재), Jongup (종업), and Zelo (젤로).  However, with those hair styles, I do not think I am going to be able to tell them apart anytime soon.

Eat Your Kimchi had a good review of their video.

I am liking that giant creepy bunny in the background.  Reminds me a lot of Donnie Darko.

KPOP Korral - [EXO-K] - What is Love

I cannot say much about this group because they are soon to be lauched and announced by SM Entertainment.  There is a lot of hype around this guys, and this first song released by just two of their members has a good sound to it thus far.

Eat Your Kimchi has more about these guys.  It's fun when they admit in their segments that a lot of the videos that their fans vote to make them do aren't always interesting and enjoyable for them to review.  It's great to see genuine enthusiasm from them in this review.

Cool shot, but is that really the guy's iris?  Looks pretty anime to me.

KPOP Korral - [Big Bang] - Fantastic Baby, Blue, & Bad Boy

The KPOP scene has been upended the last month by the return of Big Bang (빅뱅).  G-Dragon, Taeyang, T.O.P., Daesung, and Seungri (탑, 지드래곤, 태양, 대성, & 승리) are back and they released three new singles and three new videos in the last month. The songs are Blue, Bad Boy, and Fantastic Baby.

The videos are pretty consistent with their previous work and they all pretty good.  Each song has a different sound and feel, so check 'em all out.

In general, I think the female KPOP groups have a greater chance of achieving international fame in the West, but if there was one male group that could make it big in North America / Europe, it would have to be Big Bang.

The 10 Best KPOP Videos of 2011

For many Westerners, KPOP ranges from a mystery to a nuisance. But within the Pacific Rim, KPOP is what is quickly becoming the preferred playlist for the youth of Asia. The Korean Wave has been progressing quick to engulf the Asia pop markets in the last five years and it is only a matter of time before the Korean Music Industry adapts a group that will be able to crack into the European and North American pop markets.

KPOP is simply entertainment. Gorgeous people singing and dancing with a catchy tune, some flashy clothes, and a few crazy moves. It does not require thought (especially if you do not speak Korea), and the less you think about it, the more entertainment you will get from it.

These are the ten best music videos of 2010 as chosen by an expert panel of free-time Youtube surfing Waygooks.

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#10 - "Itaewon Freedom" by UV (with J. Y. Park)

Release Date: March 27th, 2011

Special Honors: Best Styled Wigs, Most Likely to Offend a Black Person in Itaewon, Best Remake of an 80s Pop Song Nobody Has Heard Of Before







A comedy duo decided to team up with JYP to remake a song called "Harlem Desire" by the London Boys.  These guys had fun making a song dedicated to the foreigner district in Seoul, and the joke was lost on Koreans.  This song received little attention or appreciation from sincere KPOP fans, but it is hard to not be infected by the absurdity of this song and it had to make it on the list of best KPOP songs of the year.  Nice hair!

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#9 - "Knock Out" (뻑이가요) by GD and T.O.P

Release Date: January 3rd, 2011

Special Honors: Best Use of Bubble Wrap, Least Likely to Acknowledge Your Presence In An Elevator, Best Effort at Literacy Promotion in a KPOP Video




G-Dragon and T.O.P of Big Bang had a fantastic year.  They took a break from their own solo work... and their work within their group, Big Bang... to release a series of awesome hits together.  They have a compelling story as childhood friends turned pop stars and their clash and compliments in style make for memorable moments.  If you think these guys deserve recognition, check out their other songs together "High High", "Don't Go Home", "Baby Good Night", "Oh Yeah".

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#8 - "Hot Summer" (핫썸머) by f(x) (에프엑스)

Release Date: June 17th, 2011

Special Honors: Most Likely to Ask to Borrow Your Spare Stick of Deodorant, Best Use of Pink Artillery, First to State the Obvious About the Weather in August


This is a dynamite song with an obvious seasonal message, but it caused some controversy in that f(x) bought the rights and completely stole this song from a German group called Monrose.  Can you blame them for stealing?  It's a... hot... song.  This countdown also needed a second song with a tank in the video, so this song had to make it.  f(x)'s other hit this year was "Danger".

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#7 - "Keep Your Head Down" (왜) by TVXQ (동방신기)

Release Date: January 3rd, 2011

Special Honors: Most Likely to Actually Be Gods, Best Use of Gratuitous-360-HD-Slow-Motion-Panning, Most Likely to Show Up To a Knife Fight With a Fireball


TVXQ holds a very coveted title in KPOP: 'Most names for their group'.  Their international name is TVXQ (also stylized commonly as TVXQ! or TVfXQ) and it stands for Tong Vfang Xien Qi in Chinese. However, in South Korea they are known as DBSK or Dong Bang Shin Ki (동방신기) and in Japan they are known as Tohoshinki (東方神起). All of their names and acronyms are supposed to translate as "The Rising Gods of the East.".  This alone makes them the biggest badasses on the countdown.  The video lives up to their name(s).

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#6 - "Be My Baby" ( 비마이베이비) by Wonder Girls (원더걸스)

Release Date: November 5th, 2011

Special Honors: Least Likely to Be Your Baby, Best in Heels, Most Likely to Have Gotten Their Inspiration From an 'OK Go' Video



Everyone loves the Wonder Girls!  How you can not from watching their videos?  Their style is definitely distinct and their retro fashion and set design always makes for a great combination with their upbeat music. They spent much of 2010 touring with the Jonas Bros. and they took a hit with their fan base here in Korea.  But this song has brought them back and put them back in the top tier of groups.

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#5 - "Perfection" (태완미) by Super Junior (슈퍼주니어)

Release Date: February 28th, 2011

Special Honors: Best in Coon Skin Hat Fashion, Most Perfect at Being Perfect, Least Likely to Know the Names of Everyone in Their Group





With Super Junior, you know exactly what you are going to get with every video: amazing style and furious dance moves.  These guys brewed a powerful formula with their all time greatest hit, "Sorry, Sorry", three years ago and all they have done since then is rinse and repeat their silky smooth image.  These guys always show up to entertain and it would not be a true countdown without them representing.  Their other hits this year were "Mr. Simple" and "A Cha".

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#4 - "Sixth Sense" by Brown Eyed Girls

Release Date: September 22nd, 2011

Special Honors: Best Use of Sex Appeal in a Music Video, Most Super-Sexy-Sex-Sexiness, Least Likely to be Without a Date on Valentine's Day




Is there any group that Korea missed more than B.E.G.?  We all have been waiting forever for them to release a new hit together.  The girls who brought us "Abracadabra" more than two years ago are finally back and their new hit was the sexiest video of the year.

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#3 - "Love Song" by Big Bang

Release Date: April 13th, 2011

Special Honors: Most Likely to Spontaneous Combust, Least Likely to Comprehend the Origins of the Universe, Best at Not Looking Sweaty in the Desert




Be careful if you utter the words "Big Bang" in public, it will cause the Korean masses to go into a fit of panic.  No other male group can come close to the recognition and respect that Big Bang has earned for their members both as a group and as individuals over the last three years.  These guys are all accomplished and distinct personalities and their return this year generated the most hysteria among diehard KPOP fans.  Their two big hits this year were "Long Song" and "Tonight".  Love Song made the countdown for all the cool stuff that gets set on fire and blown up in the video.

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#2 - "Roly Poly" by T-ara

Release Date: June 28th, 2011

Special Honors: Coolest Dance of the Year, Most Totally Historically Accurate KPOP Video Ever, Most in Need of a Popped Collar



For those who remember T-ara's "Bo Peep Bo Peep" from two years ago, it is difficult to watch these girls and not picture them in cute animal outfits saying what in English really fast sounds like "puck me, puck me, puck me".  T-ara easily had the best dance of the year and their video was a cute retro throw back to a time in Korea that probably never existed.  This video is buckets of awesome.  You just have to skip the first 8:00 minutes to get to the good part.  Click here for the 'Copacabana' version.

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#1 - "I am the Best" (내가제일잘나가) by 2NE1

Release Date: June 27th, 2011

Special Honors: Most Modest, Best Use of a Rotating Chair, Last People You Want to Know the Combination to Your Gun Safe


The title of their song says it all.  If artists were allowed to repeat on this countdown, then all their hits from this year would have had to have been included on the countdown.  These girls are fierce, fun, sexy, and overall hands down the best pop group that Korea has to offer to the world.  They can dance.  They can sing.  And they will charm your pants off in an interview.  They are the best, don't hate.  Their other hits were "Hate You", "Don't Cry", "Don't Stop the Music" "Ugly", and "Lonely".



There were lots of other lesser known and appreciated KPOP videos that were still good this year.  If you like KPOP and missed any of these, check 'em out.

Mighty Mouth - Tok Tok
Girls' Generation - Visual Dreams
Girl's Generation - Taxi
Kahi - Come Back You Bad Person
GD&TOP - Don't Go Home
2NE1 - I Hate You
Kim Wan Seon & Yong Jun Hyeong - Be Quiet
IU - You and I
Girl's Day - Twinkle Twinkle
B2ST - Fiction
Orange Caramel - Shanghai Romance
Orange Caramel - Funny Hunny
Tiger JK - Get It In
Secret - Shy Boy
Sunny Hill - Midnight Circus

KPOP Korral - [Lee Hyun] - You Are the Best of My Life

Lee Hyun (이현) is a singer and the leader of a ballad group called 8Eight.  I do not normally enjoy Korean ballad songs, but this video is very amusing to watch.  I recommend checking it out, even if you also do not care for ballads.

It is interesting to see in this video what Koreans view as being unattractive.  They just gave a normal looking woman freckles and pig tails and all of a sudden she is hideous.  Hilarious!  It reminded me of the movie "She's All That", which then reminded me of the parody movie of that movie, "Not Another Teen Movie."  All you have to do is give an attractive woman glasses and a pony tail and BAAM, she's hideous... lol

Korean Pop Stars Profit More From Foreign Sales

The BBC ran an article this week about the the Korean Wave.  The article was kind enough to not mention how rampant and common it is amongst Koreans to illegally download and file share their favorite KPOP songs and dramas.  However, that is the only explanation I can draw from why Korean music sold in Korea is so cheap, and why it is sold for such a higher price in foreign markets with a lower percentage of the population with high speed broadband internet.

Source:

[...] Bands such as Kara and Super Junior have become household names in much of Asia. They belong to a new hip generation of South Korean artists that has launched the musical genre K-pop. 

Coupled with the success of Korean TV shows and films, they are part of a wider cultural movement here that has become known as Korean wave. [...] 

The number of people who visited South Korea specifically to attend events such as album launches, concerts and awards ceremonies doubled to 34,000 in 2010. [...]

And the fact that K-pop's unique style is attracting foreign fans is something that benefits both the people who visit South Korea and the bands whose music they like. 

That is why Ms Tanaka is stocking up on Korean music in Seoul. A CD that costs 15,000 won in South Korea ($13.81) is four times more expensive in Japan. 

In fact, according to music industry veteran Bernie Cho, K-pop stars do much better financially when they sell their music abroad, rather than just at home. His company, DFSB Kollective, markets and distributes a range of Korean music. 

"If you bought a single on iTunes in the US, you're paying around $1," he says. 

"In Korea, the price was originally 50 cents, it dropped to 12 cents, then it dropped to six cents. And the artists are getting 35% of that - they're making two cents a download." 

To legally download a song in Korea on iTunes, it only costs 6 cents, and the Korean music industry still cannot convince Koreans to legally purchase music instead of illegally file sharing.

According to Mr Cho, many of K-pop's top acts are selling 100,000 or 150,000 albums straight after release. It is an impressive number in any major market. 

"Music is so heavily discounted in Korea that a lot of them are looking to go overseas, or are relying on their popularity to boost their income in other ways, like acting or advertising," he says. 

Indeed, there are not many KPOP stars who just sell music.  All of them are aspiring actors and want endorsement deals because they make so little off of record sales.  They also have very heavy tour schedules and have to promote themselves a ton because live performances is how they get their fans to actually pay for their music.

That diversity of roles is helping to spread their appeal to other countries, as well as to other areas of the South Korean economy. Many tourists who come for the music also buy the clothes and cosmetic brands promoted by Korean stars. 

According to South Korea's Trade and Investment Agency, income from cultural exports like pop music and TV shows has been rising by about 10% a year. In 2008, it was worth almost $2bn. 

The success of the South Korean economy was, for decades, laid at the door of the big "chaebol" or family firms. 

While conglomerates such as Samsung and Hyundai still form the backbone of the country's financial structure, many people now believe that the Korean national brand itself is changing to reflect this new passion for Korean wave. 

Mr Cho cites the English-language websites devoted to Korean wave, which attract more visitors than the Korean-language versions. 

For people under a certain age, all across Asia - and increasingly in Europe and the US too - the South Korea of today is just as likely to be associated with pop music or TV dramas as with cars or microchips.

I still think that Korean pop stars have failed to penetrate any music markets outside of Asia.  Although, I say it is only a matter of time.  Some music agency here is going to figure out the right formula and finally strike it big in the English speaking Western world.

I don't know about you guys, but I think KPOP way more fun and interesting than current American pop stars like Justin Bieber.

KPOP Korral - [Kahi] - Come Back, You Bad Person

Kahi (박가희) is the leader of the KPOP girl group After School.  However, Pledis Entertainment has released her first solo album this year, and she has confirmed that she has not left her group.  Kind of silly that a leader of a group would pursue a solo career... not being a very good leader I think.

Kahi has a rather interesting life story.  She grew up in a small village in gangwondo and received no formal training or support from her parents during her childhood to pursue singing and dance.  She dropped out of university when she was 18 to move to Seoul to pursue her dream of becoming a dancer and her father disowned her and did not speak to her for seven years.  I think he got over it once she started making real money though...

KPOP Korral - [Jewelry] - Back it Up

Jewelry (쥬얼리) is a four member girl group and holds the honor of being the longest running currently active KPOP group in Korea.  The group has existed with different members for almost ten years.  The group announced their disbandment in 2010, but apparently they are back again with two new members.  Their current members include Baby J (베이비 제이), Eunjung (은정), Yewon (예원), and Semi (세미).  The group has seven former members that are no longer associated with the group and none of the original members are still in it.

Their latest release is Back it Up.  I'm a little surprised by their pro-American and British outfits.  Very colorful...

Jewelry was one of the biggest groups in Korea when I first arrived in early 2009.  Here was their hit at the time and the kids went crazy over it.  Two of the members in the video below are currently solo artists now.

Rain Ranked #1 Again on Time 100 Poll

And my fifth graders tell me that Rain isn't really popular anymore... I guess Korean netizens did this as a show of force and ganged up on this online poll to make Korea look important in the world.

Additionally, since a Taiwanese actor came in second on the poll, there was probably a big online rivalry happening to win this that went way over everyone else's head.

Source Times News Feed:

He's done it again, and we're not surprised. 

Korean pop star Rain has won the top spot in the TIME 100 poll, in which we asked readers to rank who they think are the world's most influential people. By the time the poll closed Thursday night, he had garnered 406,252 "influential" votes and 33,813 "not influential" votes. This is certainly not the first time Rain has taken the top spot; he won in 2006 and 2007, and placed in second in 2008. Coming in a distant second this year was Jay Chou, Taiwanese star of The Green Hornet, getting 207,239 "influential" votes. Rounding out the top three was Britain's Got Talent phenomenon Susan Boyle with 151,324 "influential" votes. The top-ranking American on the list was Beyoncé, coming in fifth.

Second place finisher, Jay Chou, was the runner-up and only got about half as many votes... So, those crazy Korean netizens went a little over-kill.

Source:

Rain garnered 406,252 votes in the online poll to rank No. 1 among 203 candidates, Time magazine said on Friday. He also previously placed first in 2006 and 2007, and in 2006 he was shortlisted to the final Time 100 and walked down the red carpet for the ceremony.

Taiwanese actor and singer Jay Chou was the runner-up on the latest list with 207,239 votes, followed by "Britain's Got Talent" sensation Susan Boyle. U.S. pop star Beyonce came in sixth, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange 11th. U.S. President Barack Obama ranked 46th.

Time is preparing its final 100 list based on the online poll and its own selection process. Last year, Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na was named to the final 100.

And NMA TV has it covered...

Here is the first time I ever heard of Rain, when Stephen Colbert called him out for beating him in the Time 100 poll in 2006.

KPOP Korral - [UV w/ J.Y. Park] - Itaewon Freedom

I cannot find much about this group on the internet.  UV is a recently formed two man group consisting of Yoo Sae Yoon and Muzie.  They teamed up with producer and singer J.Y. Park (박진영) for this song and this video.  The song is titled "Itaewon Freedom" and it is a fusion of disco and retro 80s.

It is certainly one of the more distinct kpop videos I have ever seen.  If you don't know, Itaewon is the foreigner district in Seoul and I am guessing these guys were trying to capture the feel of the place in the 80s.

Specila thanks to Brian for finding this for me!  Itaewon Freedom is a parody/tribute video to "Harlem Desire" by the London Boys.  Check it out.

KPOP Korral - [Mighty Mouth] - Talk Talk

Mighty Mouth (마이티마우스) is a two man group with Sanghu (상추) and Shorry J (쇼리 J).  Their recent hit song is Talk Talk (톡톡).  The video features a rising pop star in Korea, Soya (김소야).  This might be my favorite song/video of 2011 so far.

Here is a live version that perhaps was performed on St. Patrick's Day?  Hence the green hats... I think...

KPOP Korral - [Girl's Day] - Twinkle Twinkle

Girl's Day (걸스데이) is a five member girl group under DreamTea Entertainment.  Their five members are So Jin (박소진), Ji Hae (우지해), Min Ah (방민아), Yura (김아영), and Hyeri (이혜리).

This is their third MV release, and their first song that has got them noticed.  The song is called "twinkle twinkle" (반짝반짝) and it has an infectious chorus line and easy to mimic dance moves.  The video is cute enough... but I think the guy in this video is really not that attractive...

Their debute song and video was "tilt your head" (갸우뚱).  Interesting look...

Arirang World TV Shits on "Healthy" Women

I want to thank The Grand Narrative for posting on this topic and raising awareness of it.  Since he posted, the video was taken down from Arirang's Youtube channel.  You can read TGN's posts here and here.  The segment is an outrage and I seriously want to find the editor who okay'd this segment and punch him in the face.

This segment actually had the audacity to tell these gorgeous women that they should take "more care" of themselves or do "some yoga" to fix their disgusting and "chubby" looking legs.  The photoshoped images of how much skinnier these "healthy" legs should be almost made me vomit on my keyboard.

Seriously, the left leg on the "after doing some yoga" picture is creepy.

One of the worst things about Korean culture is their obsession with physical beauty.  Unattractive people are openly discriminated against daily in every social situation and I have had coworkers deliberately go out of their way to make other less attractive coworkers feel like shit all the time.  It is also socially acceptable amongst my coworkers to talk about the physical attractiveness of other coworkers and even our students (sometimes in front of them).  I always refuse to participate and when Koreans comment about my physical appearance I put my foot down and let them know that is not in anyway appropriate or appreciated.

I can't believe in this segment actually targeted T-ara's Eun-Jung (함은정) and said she needed to slim down those "healthy" legs in order to become perfect.  This is one of the most attractive women on the planet and there is nothing about her that needs changing before I can declare her perfect.  Her legs look great.

KPOP Korral - [Super Junior M] - Perfection

Every time I see a new video by Super Junior (슈퍼주니어), there appears to be less of them in the video.  At one point they had thirteen members and now I only see seven of them.  They have misplaced nearly half their members.  Maybe there is some KPOP reality TV show were these guys have to perform absurd tasks to be judged and each month a different member is kicked out of the band.  That'd be awesome...

Their latest video is Perfection (太完美).  These guys never disappoint in delivering a decent song with a slick video.  Even though none of my students even pretend like they remember "Sorry, Sorry", they're probably still my favorite guy group.

The folks at EatYourKimchi noticed a growing trend in male kpop stars wearing ridiculous furry hats.  Nice catch.  What is up with that?

KPOP Korral - [Sistar] - How Dare You

Sistar (씨스타) is a four member girl group created by Starship Entertainment.  The group enjoyed much success after their debut last summer with their hits "Push Push" and "Shady Girl".  Their latest hit song and video is "How Dare You" (니까짓게).

In a recent radio interview, group member Bora was asked if the girls were contractually forbidden from dating.  She replied that restrictions on dating was not in writing, but was a promise the group members made when they were signed.  She was then told by Starship Entertainment that if any of the girls absolutely HAD TO date, it should only be with another top star.  lol

This video was banned because there was a brief period in which it looked like the girls would be pole dancing.  The whole video feels a little pornographic to begin with, so it is uncertain if their popularity took a hit or got a boost from this video.  Eat Your Kimchi had a fun review, check 'em out.

KPOP Korral - [MBLAQ] - Cry

MBLAQ (엠블랙) stands for Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality... kind of a wordy name just to get a clever sounding acronym.  These guys were getting ready to release an album and tour in Japan this Spring, although that might be cancelled or delayed because of the natural disaster there.

There other recent release was Stay.

Here's a fun sketch of them I found.

KPOP Korral - [Secret] - Shy Boy

Secret (시크릿) is a four member group under TS Entertainment. They debuted in late 2009 with the onslaught of identical looking girl groups and did fairly well with their hit releases "Magic" and "Madonna".

Their newest song is Shy Boy (샤이보이).  The concept for the song is a swing dance with outfits, hairstyles, and a set resembling 1950s America.  Apparently, the girls of Secret openly expressed their disappointment in the concept of Shy Boy and did not like its "cute" concept.  They wanted a stronger identity and concept to follow their other videos.  However, the success of the song and the video has exceeded their expectations and the song has been dominating the Korean pop charts for early 2010.

This is not the best video/song mash-up I have ever seen, but I appreciate the effort and thought in combining these two random KPOP songs.  Below is a mash-up for Shy Boy and Keep Your Head Down by TVXQ.

KPOP Korral - [PSY] - Right Now

Park Jae-Sang (박재상) is a Korean hip-hop artist that goes by the name PSY (싸이).  He is not exactly a mainstream artist, but he has become quite popular for his sense of humor and willingness to make fun of other KPOP artists in his videos.  He received his education in the United States and attended both Boston University and Berklee College of Music.  This guy probably can speak English quite well.

His latest hit is "Right Now" and I have to compliment this guy on his amazing body.  2PM better log some more hours in the gym because they cannot compare with this guys's abs.

KPOP Korral - [Seo In Young] - Into the Rhythm

Seo In Young (서인영) is the break out solo artist from the girl group Jewelry.  She also goes by the English name Elly and does just about everything from TV, movies, modeling, dancing and singing.  Do a google image search of her and you may agree she is one of the sexiest women in Korea.

Her latest song is Into the Rhythm (리듬속으로) The visuals in her new video make her look a little bit like Cruella Deville.

One of the first KPOP videos I ever watched online was hers two years ago.  I still like it and I think this video is pretty fun.

KPOP Korral - [TVXQ] - Keep Your Head Down

I think TVXQ holds a very coveted title in KPOP: Most names for their group.  I've been internet researching these guys for the last fifteen minutes and I'm still not sure I understand what their deal is.  Their international name is TVXQ (also stylized commonly as TVXQ! or TVfXQ) and it stands for Tong Vfang Xien Qi.  However, in South Korea they are known as DBSK or Dong Bang Shin Ki (동방신기) and in Japan they are known as Tohoshinki (東方神起).  All of their names and acronyms are supposed to translate as "The Rising Gods of the East."

The group debuted in 2003 under SM Entertainment and there were five members.  However, the group went on a hiatus and three members (Micky, Hero, and Xiah) recently resurfaced in Japan as a new group, JYJ.  The remaining two guys, U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin, are still in the group and recently released their latest single and video, Keep Your Head Down (왜).  The group is still on an indefinite hiatus as a five member group, and these two guys are just doing their own thing apparently.

This is a very crisp video.  The production value of these videos is enough to impress me.

This is a personal favorite of mine from when there used to be five of them...