Super Junior Magic MV and Album Review

I'm seeing a pattern in my actions. Something comes out that I am interested in and I decide "Okay! This is my moment to start blogging again!" Then I get all pumped up and nothing comes from it. Hopefully the third time is the charm though. I am finding that recently I have started to fall into a funk and I think that it is because I don't have very many creative outlets here in Korea. I don't have a piano, I can't make dolls, and there isn't a pool that I can get to easily. I have loved living in Korea but I think that I will be glad to go back to the states when the the times comes.

All that being said, this blog I'm realizing is the easiest way to be creative that I have at the moment and even now as I write down my thoughts I am already feeling better about life. I guess that means I should start writing about things again!

Super Junior Devil MV and Album Review

I have been taking a mental health break and even though Super Junior's song and album have been out for a week now, I don't even care, I'm going to write about it because it was awesome! On to the post!

It's Super Junior's 10th anniversary (almost)! I have only been around for the last four years of it but it has been a really good four years for me. I had to do a lot of catching up and there was a lot of history to learn, but it was totally worth it. I am a little jealous of those E.L.F.s who have been around since 2005 because they really got to see SuJu grow as a group while my time has been like a lightning round.

Spring Favorites 2015

I have not been in the writing mood lately if you couldn't tell and even if I had felt super inspired to write something I have had literally no time. It is the end of the semester over here in Korea and which means essay tests. My students write an essay at the end of each semester for my class and I have been giving essays and grading them All MONTH LONG. You know how many classes I have? 24! And each class has about 30 students each! 30! There was also some scheduling issues so my co teacher and I have been hustling this week and it's been rough, but now it's done! And next week is finals which means I don't have classes. Let the vegetating begin!

Super Junior Evanesce MV Review

So much Super Junior! I love it and Super Junior comebacks seem extra special to me because they are always doing individual promotions or subunit things so to see everyone together makes my little E.L.F heart happy. I'm not going to say that I am unhappy with the song selections for the repackage, but I did think that it was weird that they didn't make new songs like they usually do. I have come to the realization why though and even though it makes me sad, I have accepted it.

Flower Grandpa Investigation Unit Drama Review

Well, that drama was just as weird as I had hoped that it would be and then some. My life hasn't changed in any great way, but if I was ever having a bad day, I would turn this on and I know that I would immediately feel better. Even better than all that, this drama makes me feel better about watching Nail Salon Paris last year. Why? Because this drama did everything that drama did wrong right.

Both dramas start out with a crazy plot FGIU: Flower boys turn into grandpas and have to figure out why; NSP: girl dresses up like a boy to work at a flower boy nail salon, also, gumihos. They were also a short one episode a week drama, so far so good. That's where any likeness ends. Right from the beginning I knew that I would like FGIU. It was cute and funny and had a good cast of characters. NSP, while I was excited about the cast, right from the beginning I could feel the pain welling up in my soul. 

First Impressions: Flower Grandpa Investigation Unit

This drama is a special kind of stupid. It took me all of two seconds to fall in love with it as soon as the story line began. I am also aware that I am late to watching this seeing as it ends today and here I am writing about the first two episodes. I feel a little ashamed about that since Heechul is my number one bias and he is in this drama. I knew that this drama was going to happen, but I didn't hear that it had started until episode seven and I'm not watching it until right now. Better late than never though, right? 

My K-pop Biases

Is it bad that I think that Valentines Day is a load of crap? Maybe I'm just jaded because I have never had anyone that I wanted to spend Valentines Day with, but I just generally think it is annoying. It's just another reason to spend unnecessary amounts of money on someone that you should be showing your love to all the time.

On that happy note, let's talk about my biases in K-pop groups! I like quite a few groups, but that doesn't mean that there is someone in that group that I like more than anyone else. For the people that I picked here, they are the ones that I can say without any doubt in my mind that they are my favorite person in their respective groups.

Heechul of Super Junior 

If you didn't see this coming, then there might be something wrong with you. Heechul is my ultimate male bias and he always will be. He's just so 4D and he's also very honest and that is something that is lacking in the entertainment industry. He can also keep a secret too because I'm pretty sure he has the dirt on every single famous person in Korea. With great power comes great responsibility?

Jaehyo of Block B

Oh, Jaehyo, so much ego, so little time, and so little respect given to you by your members. Maybe that is why I like him so much. He takes a lot of crap, but he can also give it back and a lot of the time he just seems to laugh it off.

I actually don't have a lot to say about Jaehyo, I just like him and that's the way it is.

Second place: PO and Taeil, they're a package deal, okay?

CNU of B1A4

CNU is another person that I don't have a specific reason for liking, I just like him. He sings, he raps, he writes music, he has magical hair, what's not to like? I also feel that he is the member that is the most done of all the members. All groups seem to have that one member who is laid back and just watches the insanity going on around him, and that member more often than not is CNU.

Second place: Baro

 Changsub of BTOB 

I started to get into BTOB after their song "Thriller". I wanted to know more about them and I found that they had done Diary which is a fantastic show and I wish that it was still happening. As I watched all the BTOB variety I could find I slowing began to fall for Changsub's quirkiness. He has a different look about him too with his perpetual I-just-woke-up face.

One of my favorite things about him is that he is very layered. You watch him on camera and he is such a weirdo, but then he sings and you just want to wrap yourself in his voice, but he also skateboards and plays the drums and has two tattoos.Who are you really, Changsub?

Second place: Peneil, PenJae is real.

Leo of VIXX

I think that anyone who says that they don't like Leo is a liar. Yes, he's quiet and he kind of puts off an I'm-going-to-kill-you vibe, but watching VIXX TV, and Diary you find........well......I guess he is kind of like that. Not all the time though!

Since he is always so quiet, it's a lovely treat when he does something unexpected like dancing, laughing (even though he always hides), or actually saying more than one word. 

Second place: Hongbin, that kid is so awkward, I love it. 

Himchan of BAP 

As I was creating this post I realized that I often fall for the most embarrassing member of the group. Maybe it's because they are funny and they stand out for that reason, but I often experience second hand embarrassment from those that I like.

Take Himchan for example, he can be the most self centered little turd and then he goes and says "What is hurricane in English?", "the loof is on fire",declares his love for "cheeju burgers", and is constantly talking about how good looking he is. He is one of those people that should never be allowed to open his mouth, but at the same time, we're glad that he does.

Side note, there needs to be a BAP sub-rock-unit that features Bang Yong Guk and Himchan. That has the possibility of being the most amazing thing ever.  

Tao of EXO 

I have come to find that sometimes when picking a bias, one day you just know. It was never a conscious decision, you just know one day and it felt right so you went with it. This is how I came to like Tao and sometimes I wonder about that decision.   

I have been watching EXO's reality show Showtime and more often than not, I am sometimes embarrassed to say that Tao is my favorite. When he isn't talking he looks really cool, but then he opens his mouth and it is all over. He's also really needy, but for some reason, I love it.  

Second place: Xuimin

V of BTS

So it wasn't until after I fell in love with this kid's strangeness that I found out he's totally jail bate. I probably should have knows though, I mean look at that face. At least I didn't decide I liked Jung Gook, that boy is practically still covered in amniotic fluids. Babies, all of them.

On BTS's Youtube channel thy post funny videos of the boys and if you haven't watched them you should because they will make your day better. Something that I have noticed about V is that in the videos, he is about 50% crazy and 50% judging his members. There doesn't seem to be any in between and I love it.

Second place: J-hope, he's V's partner in silliness.

So there is my list of my favorites. I guess since I don't have a real valentine I'll just pretend that they are my valentines. No, that's weird, I'll just go eat a cookie and call it good. Sounds like a plan.

~ Alora

K-pop Tag

So, just for giggles, I thought that I would do the K-pop tag, not that I have been tagged by anyone. It would be cool to be tagged, but alas, I'm not that cool.


1. Favorite guy group 

This was actually a hard decision because I also really like VIXX, Block B, and B1A4. These four groups are my favorite collectively, but I chose these guys because they are my first love. They got me into K-pop and no matter what happens, they will always have a special place in my heart.

2. Favorite girl group 

I'm going to be honest, I don't really listen to girl groups. Right now I am really liking G.I and Heyne, but I can't really say that they are my favorite since I don't know a lot about them. The reason that I picked 2NE1 is because I have all of their music except their most recent songs because I haven't really liked them. What I do like about 2NE1 though is that they are a powerful group of women who sing powerful songs. It is different than the usually sexy, cutey look that most girls go for.

3. Ultimate guy bias 

I think that this macro speaks for itself.

I love me some Heechul.

4. Ultimate girl bias 

Can we all just agree that  Dara is perfect? Please? It makes me sad that she is overshadowed in 2NE1 because while she is talented, CL, Minzy, and Bom are more talented so Dara's position is confusing sometimes. She's the director of communications of 2NE1 though and she has talent for variety. She has talent, but it isn't something that can be conveyed in a music video.

5. Favorite K-pop performance 

Super Junior's "No Other" is probably one of my favorite live performances. Why? Because these boys are a bunch of weirdos. That, of course, could be said about many groups, but with this performance, I feel like SM just told them to have fun and do whatever they wanted to do.

1. Leeteuk is way too happy looking, flipping his hair, but he's not constantly yelling things during this particular performance, only occasionally
2. Leeteuk's insanity causes Heechul to give him stank face
3. Ryeowook also gets in quite a few hair flips as well
4. The insanity that is Eunhyuk, Shindong, Siwon, Ryeowook, and Sungmin at the start of Shindong'srap
5. Lastly, every performance is different, in this one Heechul has a balloon, Sungmin retaliates, and it is wonderful

6. K-pop dance you would want to learn 

Yeah, we're talking about Super Junior again, deal with it. Maybe because this was the first K-pop song that I really liked, but I have always enjoyed this dance. It has that one key part and it isn't incredibly difficult, not that it is easy either though.

7. First K-pop song you ever heard 

This isn't the song that grabbed me by the throat and dragged me into K-pop, but it was the first song that I ever heard. It was a complete accident as well, I think that it was a add on the side of my Facebook that I randomly clicked. I thought that the concept of the video was cool, but I didn't love the song.

I actually ended up forgetting about the song which was a problem when I wanted to look it up again so that I could learn more about it. The video that helped me find this one was actually The Fine Bros "Kids React to K-pop" video.

 8. Favorite interview 

I'm having trouble posting the video because it's on Daily Motion, but this is an interview with Block B. The reason that I like it so much is because, I like anything that has to do with Block B and they are so natural in their interviews. They don't just sit there stiffly and read things, they destroy the area that they are in. No joke, they are hitting each other, dragging one another out of the shot, and there is a little booth type of thing that looks like it went through a hurricane by the end of the video. It's great. 

9. Favorite picture of your favorite group 

Okay, so I know that I said that my two favorite groups are SuJu and 2NE1, but this is one of my favorite pictures of Block B. It's not a picture of them being derp monsters, it's their comeback picture. This was one of the greatest comebacks ever because they were able to tell the industry to suck it and came back and then won an award.

10. What do your friends and family think about you watching K-pop  

My family has come to accept it. They do think that it is really weird, but after being all about anime and manga in high school, to say the least, they're not surprised. 

11. Favorite cover by a K-pop song by a K-pop artist 

I'm going to cheat here and put one funny cover and one serious cover. I do what I want!

When it comes to K-pop groups singing other groups' songs, I normally prefer things that are done for fun rather than for seriousness. It is also amusing - and terrifying - when guy groups go full out and put on a skirt to do a girl group number. I'm looking at you VIXX.

For this category though, I have chosen a group of covers, and that word is being used loosely. BTOB have a collection of videos of them in the Cube practice room jamming on the karaoke machine to various K-pop songs and it is...... interesting.....to say the least. 

You rock that tambourine Peniel.

 
This song makes me feel a lot of feels. It would probably make me feel more if I knew who Kim Sung Jae was, but I can still appreciate the sadness that is felt when someone leaves us too soon. VIXX does a beautiful job at capturing the feel of this song while also making it their own.

My favorite part though is that note that Ken hits in the beginning. Holy crap, that was amazing.

12. Favorite cover of an American song by a K-pop artist 

Well, that just happened.

13. Favorite video of your ultimate bias 

This is more of a group thing that a solely Heechul thing, but it is still awesome. For those of you who haven't watched Super Junior's Intimate Note, you are missing out on life. In this particular cut, some of the SuJu boys decide that Heechul and Eunhyuk are particularly awkward with each other so they decide that they are going to stand on a roof and insult them. Heechul of course cows the members into saying that they love him instead.

I'm pretty sure that Heechul could ruin almost every famous person in the Korean entertainment industry if he wanted to.

14. Favorite dance battle 

There is quite a lot going on in this video, but the important part is the first half. The idol groups all send out their best dancer to show off their moves. The only two groups that I care about though are Block B and BAP who send out B-Bomb and Jongup respectively and the two of them do pretty well. Jongup also makes everyone fear for their lives as he gets his b-boy on.

But then, it gets real. The female host, whose name I can never remember calls out Shindong and everyone else in the room become dancing peasants. He kills it and it's amazing. He puts all the other dancers to shame and they are all aware of that.

Shindong has always made me really happy because he is the "chubby idol". He doesn't look like any other idol because he is heavier and I think that is great. It shows that you don't have to have abs and be conventionally good looking to be successful in the business. Get it Shindong.

15. What is your favorite album? 
 

I don't buy a lot of albums because I don't want to buy the whole thing if I don't absolutely love it. Why would I spend money on something that I don't want? After saying that though, I have to be honest, "No Joke" isn't my favorite song I have to be in a certain mood to listen to it. Linking that video was the first time I looked at the translated lyrics and Holy English Lirycs Batman, where did all that come from?

For other albums that I really like, they are Super Junior's second album, it's a shame that it is overshadowed by "Sorry Sorry", and B1A4's new album Who Am I.

So there you have it, the K-pop tag. If I had someone to tag, I would, but I don't. So who wants to do this? Anyone? Anyone?

~ Alora

Bad Family

In honor of Heechul's discharge from the military, I am going to be writing about the 2006 drama Bad Family. I am also going to try to review this drama in a similar way that I review music videos to try for a more structured approach. Let me know what you think about it!

Initial thoughts 

Bad Family is one of those dramas that, while it is very good, it is hard to find and it is even harder to find anyone talking about it, which is a shame. Yes, this is an older drama, but it doesn't have that same old feel that you might get from Full House which made me laugh the whole time at how "old" it seemed in comparison to what is being produced today.


Again I say, it is a huge injustice that this drama doesn't get the recognition that it deserves because it really is a heartwarming story about a fake family that becomes a real one and all the crazy things that happen to them. The cast is also fabulous and you could tell that they really all enjoyed working with one another.

The last thing that I like about this drama is that it seems like they took every single dramaland trope and tossed them into the same drama and let it unfold. This drama seriously had everything: amnesia, car crashes, adoption, murder, fake families, gangsters, loan sharks, chaebols, flying kicks to the face, lip pressing, and awkward relationships. How awesome does that sound? It is done it a totally not annoying way too because some of these things, when they happen, you sit and yell at your computer, but not this time. They all tie very well into the story line and make it better. 

The storyline

This story is about the tragic death of a little girl's, Na Rim, family and the loss of her memory all resulting from a terrible car crash caused by a "friend" of the family. Na Rim's uncle becomes suspicious of said "friend" and highers the help of ex-ganster Oh Dal Gun to put together a fake family in the hopes that they will bring back Na Rim's memories of that day. Oh Dal Gun then finds people that owe him money and blackmail them into becoming a family telling them that they can repay their debts this way.

How amazing does this sound so far? Car crashes, amnesia, gangsters, and blackmail all in the first episode!

As you can probably guess, these people do NOT like each other which adds to the fun of watching it. The fight and gripe, but as soon as Na Rim enters the room, no matter what it happening, they have to love each other. It is like watching an improve show when the actors are acting out a bar fight and then someone calls out a change for "Swan Lake".

I think what ends up being my favorite part of the drama is that everyone is happy and has somebody to love at the end. In a lot of dramas there always seems to be those one or two people that either don't live happily ever after or just live ever after with nothing much to go for. Everyone has someone at the end though and the characters don't totally change either, they just become better versions, happier versions, of themselves.

The characters 

Even though we only know Na Rim's real family for about fifteen minutes, you can tell that they are a family that really love each other. Grandma and Grandpa probably spoil their granddaughter silly and let her get away with about anything; Mom and dad are the perfect couple who love each other and their daughter unconditionally; and whatever the uncle was like, he was probably the complete opposite of Oh Dal Gun. The only people who are the closest to being like Na Rim's real family are her fake brother and sister, Kim Yang Ah and Gong Min, who care for Na Rim because of their own sad home lives.  

This is something that makes the fake family so much more fun to watch because they are all such horrible people. Grandpa is a womanizer, Grandma is a foulmouthed, dirty ahjumma, Dad is a push over with no self respect, Mom is selfish, and Uncle is an ex-ganster, yeah, that's a winning combination.

Na Rim  

Na Rim is at the center of this drama and she could not be cuter. While she was young during the filming, sitting at eight years old, she did a wonderful job and totally killed in it the last episode when she came to the family crying. If you've seen this drama you know what I'm talking about and don't pretend that you didn't cry too with the whole will they or won't they issue in the last episode.

Gong Min 

Let's be honest here, the reason that I watched Bad Family was because Heechul was in it, no shame. Heechul was far from the most important person in the drama, being a side character, but whenever he was on camera, he did a pretty good job.


One of my favorite moments from his character that hit me right in the feels was toward the end as he interacted with Na Rim. Na Rim was crying because she drew a family portrait, but it was wrong because she had to color Gong Min's hair orange instead of yellow because she didn't have a yellow crayon. Gong Min then told her wait and ran off the the hair salon and dyed his hair for her. Cutest thing ever!

Dad

I was just going to talk about Na Rim and Gong Min because she's adorable and he's Heechul, but this was my first experience watching a drama with Kang Nam Gil and I am so happy that I have found him! In the dramas that I have seen him in, he always plays these happy father figures and it just makes me really happy. I want him to adopt me into his family!

Grandma

One more mention and that belongs to Yeo Wun Gye who did a wonderful job as Grandma. This is the only thing that I have ever seen her in and I don't know if I'll ever watch anything with her in it again because she unfortunately died in 2009 at the age of 69 from complications from kidney cancer. 

All the other characters do fantastic jobs a well and really make you care for the them. There are no weak links in the main cast and they all do a really good job complimenting each other. I would love to watch more of their home life and I think that it would make an interesting sitcom to expand upon all of their characteristics.
 
Themes

I am all for themes and symbolism since that is what I learned for four years as an English major in college and this drama deals a lot with the theme of love and what it means to be a family. Is a family the people that you are born to or the ones that adopt you? It also touches on what kind of people deserve to be a part of a family. You have all of these people who have been abandoned in one way or another forced to work together. They don't think that they need each other, but in the end, the thought of leaving breaks their hearts (and the audiences).

One other thing that is put on the table is the theme of self worth. These people have all been mistreated or abandoned by someone and because of it, they feel that they do not deserve the love of someone else or they don't need the love of someone else. It is fun to watch them grow and discover that they do need each other and that they are worth loving.

 Final thoughts

This drama will pull on your heart strings, but it is also very funny in equal doses. It is a shame that more people haven't watched it or write about it. It isn't flashy and it may not stick with you in the same way as a trendy drama, but it shouldn't be ignored! I don't feel like I've ever watched anything like Bad Family before either, are there any other dramas that follow the same idea as this one, because I would totally watch that. 

So, yes, this is a drama that everyone should take the time to watch and enjoy and then make everyone around you watch as well. 

What else am I watching? 

Who Are You? - Is it wrong that I want Hyung Joon to either pull an Arang or have Si On die? Because, seriously, their chemistry is SOOOO much better than her's and Taec's.


The Master's Sun - Who cried during episode nine? I did! I might have also yelled "shut up and kiss!" at my computer a few times during both episode nine and  ten, because, man, they got really close to each other a few times.

~ Alora 

Attack on the Pin Up Boys

I don't think that anyone can call themselves a true ELF if they haven't seen this movie. It was made during the golden years of thirteen members and all it is is about an hour and a half of fan service. I can't remember how I came upon the movie, but after I watched I gathered the rest of the F4Plus1 and forced them to watch it. I was the biggest K-pop fan at the time so they didn't fully appreciate it like I did, but now that they are more into K-pop, they have re-watched it and love it. 

Our story starts out with our two main characters, I guess you could call them, Kibum and Donghae. Kibum has recently quit the student council because Siwon is driving him nuts and Donghae wants to enter a b-boy contest to help him get into college. The best part about this is that Heechul is the leader of this dance group.

As they talk, Donghae tells Kibum that the lead singer of a band has been attacked. Kibum then begins to think about the other attacks that have been going around. The first victim was flower boy Sungmin.

He sparkles, of course he does

Sungmin is the pretty boy at his high school who always get love confessions and when he opens his locker (which has stickers that say SM Ent on it), it spits mountains of candy at him. As he is walking home with all of the gifts that he was given that day, he hears something. When he turns around to see who it is he is hit with a bag of poo.

I felt a loud unending scream piercing nature ~ Munch

Then we meet sporty flower boy Hangeng.

 He is also attacked after school when he is walking home.

Oh my gosh, close your mouth!

Our last victim if rocker flower boy Yesung, he is the person that Donghae mentioned in the beginning and the most recent person attacked.

Again, close your mouth! Gross!

Through some deduction, Detective Kibum decides that the next person to be attacked will probably be from the school that he is attending. Donghae tells him that he thinks that the next person will either be Kangin, Heechul, or Siwon. Let the games begin.

Part cyborg part Sith lord

Narcissistic as ever

Master of the ippon move

As the movie continues, no one, of course wants to get hit by a bag of poo, except for maybe Heechul. Kangin thinks that he is an idiot for promoting himself on his blog, but Eunhyuk says that he is the smart one, not Kangin. Whoever gets hit by poo is the one that the attacker thinks is the coolest person in the school. Therefore, poo = coolness. That makes total sense right?  

Kangin decides to take his own pictures and it is not cute, even if he tries really hard to look that way.

Heechul, trying to get another step ahead of Kangin, decides that the world needs to see his body. His plan is to take his pants off and have Shindong take a picture. Donghae is totally against this idea which starts a very awkward, yet very funny, wrestling match between 'pants down' Heechul and 'pants up' Donghae.

I hate writing about endings in movie reviews. When you know how something ends, it takes away the fun of getting there for there for the person who hasn't seen it. That being said, I think that I'll end right there plot wise. 

Something that I really like about this movie is that all the members' characters are kind of like hyperbolized versions of themselves. Siwon is the strong and silent one, Heechul is crazy and narcissistic, Shindong is the fat, funny buffoon, Sungmin is sparkly and full of aegyo, and Kangin is the strong brash one just to name a handful.

There are three scenes in this drama that I want to mention before I close this post:

One scene that really plays to the ELFs watching is when Heechul and Kangin are at Kangin's Aunt Mae's house. "Rokkugo" is playing in the background and Kangin makes a remark saying "What kind of music is this?". They also comment on Sungmin's popularity after being hit and Heechul read somewhere that he is now dating BoA. BoA is in the same entertainment company as Super Junior and is their Sunbae.  

This isn't a scene but a person. How wonderful was Ryeowook in this movie? There are really no words to describe his character, it is something that you just have to see. He was so funny and he actually got to show that side of himself because whenever you see him on variety shows, he kind of quiet, but totally adorable.

The last part I want to mention is the musical number at the end, because who doesn't love a good musical number? Especially when it showcases a panda.

This movie doesn't try to be anything it is not. They are fully aware that they are making something for the fans and that its purpose is to be lighthearted and stupidly funny, and they did their job. It is sad that Kyuhyun isn't in the movie and that Leetuk is only in it for about two seconds, but Super Junior is still Super Junior no matter how many members there are.

What am I watching?

Nail Salon Paris - ASDFGHJKL Yeah, I think that sums up what I feel right now

Dating Agency: Cyrano - This drama continues to impress and Gong Yoo is the next celebrity cameo!

Cruel Palace: War of the Flowers - This can also be described with a ASDFGHJKL, but this is a good computer smash. Things are starting to go down! Not that they haven't been since episode one, but still.....

Full House - Finally finished. I have said a lot of cruel things to my computer while watching this drama. More on that next week.