Word of the Day: Second Male Lead

Second Male Lead n. 1. The supporting male character in a drama. 2. The man who is a lovely human being, but ultimately looses to the jerkish male lead

There will, without fail, be a second male lead in a drama. He is there to create conflict for the main couple so the male lead will eventually step up his game and confess to his lady love. He is also there to break the hearts of the audience. They sit and wish futility that some how, some way, he can win the female lead and live happily ever after. It is nine times out of a ten a wish that will only bring heartache and the fangirls out there are well aware of it.

I have felt this pain a few times, though not as much as the rest of our group. The main one that comes to mind is Cha Chi Soo from Flower Boy Ramyun Shop. I like Cha Chi Soo, okay? I liked him better than Kang Hyuk and that's just the way it is. I'm looking at you Kris.

 
Not all male leads grab me by the heart and don't leave any room for any one else though. Sometimes, for whatever reason, the second male lead weasels his way into my heart and no matter how I fight it I continue my love affair knowing that, in the end, I will probably end up hating everything and/or crying.

So, in no particular order, these are the second leads that left me with a broken heart.

Oh Jin Rok in Flower Boy Next Door

 

I can't really say why I liked Jin Rok better than I liked Enrique, I just did. Maybe it is because he had a personality that was closer to my own as opposed to the ADD puppy that was Enrique. 

It might have also been that he didn't push at Dok Mi like Enrique did either. That is what she needed though. I even think that about myself sometimes. It is nice to be around other quite people, but that can get weird, it's nice to be around loud people sometimes. 

Master in Dating Agency: Cyrano 

I've mentioned before that I liked Chun Hee's character better than Jong Hyuk's, I didn't believe the Sooyoung and Jong Hyuk pairing. I think that it had a lot to do with the fact that he was so much older than her. Their personalities were too different and it just felt awkward. Especially that kiss at the end. It actually creeped me out a bit, is that wrong? 

She and Chun Hee seemed a lot more natural when they were together. He still had eleven years on her, but their relationship didn't make me uncomfortable. 

Kay in Nail Salon Paris 

It's no secret that I hated this drama. I watched it because Song Jae Rim was in it and because he was my reason for watching, he was the one that I wanted to get the girl in the end. As the drama progressed I slowly became more and more unhappy because he was the second male lead and he was going to have his beautiful heart broken.

This was one of the beautiful rare occurrences though that allows the second male lead to rise above all other second male leads. He is one of the second male leads that other others aspire to be like. It is possible! If only the pairing wasn't such a backhanded victory.

Park Se Joo in Mi Rae's Choice 

 

When I think about liking Se Joo more than Shin, I wonder if I was tricked into liking him. Future Mi Rae came in talking about how Mi Rae needed to marry Se Joo rather than Shin so I automatically think, okay, let's root for Se Joo. But then again, Shin just was kind of a sucky person. Not that there were really any great people in this drama. Those characters.......

Lee Hyung Joon in Who Are You? 

 

Why are you dead!? Why!? The chemistry that you had with Shi On was beautiful and so are you. Even though he was wasted in this drama, he was the star, at least for me. Like in Dating Agency: Cyrano I didn't believe that Shi On and Gun Woo really liked each other. I would believe it if they went for a noona donsaeng relationship. I think that fit them a lot better, especially because there wasn't a lot of romance. It was a lot of him letting her have her space while she dealt with her issues.

I guess that this would mean that in the end she would end up alone and that is terrible, but I stand by what I always say about Hyung Joon pulling an Arang or Shi On could just die and then they would would live happily ever after.  

 David in Beautiful Man 

Anyone who says that they didn't like David is a liar! A liar, do you hear me? He was absolutely wonderful and quirky and his character was a nice anti DokGo Ma Te. The second he walked on screen my heart was overcome by his lovely smile and kindness that he showed to Bo Tong. Then, the next time we saw him when he was actually wearing that hat/wig definitely sealed the deal for me. Where can I find myself a David? 

Choi Young Do in Heirs 

Yes, that's right, I liked Kim Woo Bin better than I liked Lee Min Ho. I liked his tragic character better even though the writers could have done so much more with him than they did. He was so sad because his whole life was about fighting back against people and he thrived on negative attention. That is all he knew so that is how he treated Eun Sang.

I'm just strangely attracted to characters like Young Do. If someone treated me like that in real life though they would get a swift kick to the balls.
 
Well, there you have it, all the second male leads that have made me really sad because they don't get a girl, except for Song Jae Rim, and I guess the writers did give David and Jin Rok potential girl friends at the end of their dramas. It's not the same though!

So, what are the second male leads that left you sad at the end of their dramas? Even better, who are the second male leads that were able to rise above the odds and win the girl of their dreams at the end?

~ Alora 

Word of the Day: Secondary OTP

Secondary OTP aka Secondary One True Pairing n. 1. OTP or One True Pairing refers to the lead romantic couple in a drama, so the Secondary OTP is the romantic relationship between secondary characters in the drama. ex.My feels are out of control for this secondary OTP.

Okay, this situation has happened to all of us. We are dedicatedly watching a drama and about two-thirds of the way through the series we get frustrated with all the stupid roadblocks and misinterpretations and amnesia that the main characters keep running into. When all of a sudden, like a summer breeze a new secondary couple comes together. They are so funny and cute, we could care less about Jandi drowning in the background.

Yi Jung and Ga Eul you both look great... but can someone tell Woo Bin to stop rubbing that white girl in the background.  Woo Bin, she's not cute enough for you!!

 Here are Some of My Favorite Secondary OTPs.

1. Boys Over Flowers: Yi Jung and Ga Eul.
These two were such a popular pairing that even after Boys Over Flowers finished airing they were asked to reprise their roles for a cell phone commercial. It is all we could have hoped for and more. I say that if they ever wrote a sequel to Boys Over Flowers, these two should be the leads. And Woo Bin should get a girlfriend... and some decent plot points. Here is the cell phone commercial.

2. Dream High- Jason & Pil Suk

These two are truly the most adorable couple I've ever seen. I love how Jason calls her Miss Sushi and avoids singing with other girls because he only likes to sing with her. They just like each other so much but somehow keep slipping away from both admitting it at the same time. This is a clip from one of my favorite scenes. Pil Suk is singing with Sam Dong. Watch how Jason looks at her and then at Sam Dong. There is no question, that boy has got it bad.

3. Dream High- Mr. Kang & Miss Shi
Since the romantic love triangle for the main characters in Dream High is such a disappointing jumble, JYP was able to salvage the series by including not one, but two fantastic Secondary OTPs. Mr. Kang starts off the show as a pretty pathetic guy but finds redemption as a man and as a teacher as he puts everything on the line to help further the dreams of his students. Miss Shi is a talented, stern (& slightly scary) teacher who comes to admire and like Mr. Kang.

How can he not realize that she likes him, even after an open-eyed accidental kiss! Really Mr Kang, you should watch more dramas!

Miss Shi, you don't need a flower in your hair to get Mr. Kang to like you, you just need to spell it out in very small words for him. 

4. Protect the Boss- Moon Wan & Na Yoon

 To me, Protect the Boss is a nearly perfect K-drama and a lot of credit goes to wonderful misadventures of Moon Wan and Na Yoon. Na Yoon is a childish emotional train wreck and Moon Wan is a workaholic mamas boy, but somehow are perfect for one another. Ultimately their only problem is how long it will take Na Yoon to grow up so Moon Wan will marry her.

See, look how much she has grown! Moon Wan, if you like it her then you better put a ring on her.

5. Flower Boy Next Door- Dong Hoon & Web Toon's Company Manager

You know it is true love when she is willing to cosign a crazy loan for him and when he is able to see how cute she is beyond her crazy raccoon eyes. I only have one real issue with this couple. Why wasn't she given a name in the drama? In all the credits she is listed as "Web Toon's Company Manager." That can't be the name embellished on their future wedding invitations.

These picture make me want a boyfriend. One that looks like Dong Hoon, if possible.

6. Me Too, Flower! - Park Tae Hwa & Kim Dal
This is the oddest couple on the list. She is a young, beautiful, self absorbed gold digger and he is an old, dowdy psychologist. She worms her way into his life and eventually comes to realize that he sees and accepts her for who she really is. There are much worse things on which to base a relationship.

7. Faith- King Gong Min & Queen In Deok
Usually royalty are the main characters in a drama, that is, unless Lee Min Ho is a time traveling warrior sent to the modern age to retrieve a plastic surgeon for an injured empress. So in the case of Faith, the King and Queen are bumped down to secondary characters.

Before: They are so stiff. They hardly speak or even look at each other.

After: They love each other so much. They really grow to trust one another. 

Those are all of my favorite secondary OTPs. Leave a comment and tell me which ones are yours.

~Autumn

Word of the Day: Noona Slayer

Noona Slayer n. 1. A younger man pursuing a romantic relationship with a significantly older woman. 2. The Korean male counterpart to the American female "cougar." ex. I didn't think I'd like Lee Min Ho as a noona slayer, but I did. 

Here in the US, pop media has been obsessed and scandalized with the idea of "cougars," an older woman pursuing a much younger man. But for Korean pop media, it's the much younger man who is pursuing the older woman. Hence the origin of "noona slayers." These different terms seem like opposite sides of the same coin, but "noona slayer" infers that the relationship is male initiated while "cougar" implies that it is female initiated. Probably the biggest difference is that in western society, cougars are still considered slightly scandalous but no one bats an eye when Korean dramas cast younger men with older women. That is, unless the guy is very young, in which case the actress is then considered a pedo-noona. Now for the fun part.

My List of Top 10 Korean Noona Slayers!

1. The Telepathic Noona Slayer. Since I Hear Your Voice is ending this week, I'm listing them first. Lee Bo Young is 10 1/2 years older than Lee Jong Suk.

Noona Slayer Rule # 7- The age difference goes away completely when you are both dressed like high school students

 2. The Time Traveling Noona Slayer. Lee Min Ho and Kim Hee Sun in Faith have a whopping 10 year age difference. It's weird at first, but I promise, after episode 13 or 14 you totally forget about it.

Kim Hee Sun, how do you not run your fingers through Lee Min Ho's hair all day long? Also, how do you keep your hear so shiny and perfectly made up in ancient times?

3. The Most Adorable Noona Slayer Ever. Yoon Shi Yoon. How can you not melt when this boy smiles? You can't. It's impossible, even for this very uptight police woman, Lee Ji Ah, in Me too, Flower! ( which is the worst name ever for a K-drama). But, more importantly she is 111/2 years older than he is.

She started her period while he was still in diapers.

4.The 'My Baby Needs a Mama' Noona Slayer. In Oh My Lady, Choi Siwon discovers that he has the most adorable daughter (Yoon Shi Yoon level adorable). So what does he do? He falls in love with Park Chae Rim, the nanny. 

Park Chae Rim, you could also be Siwon's nanny since you are 9 years older than him.

5. The Body Switching Noona Slayer.Ok, so Lee Min Jung fell in love with little Shin Won Ho, who is almost 10 years younger than her in Big.

You can't blame her cause most of the time he looks like Tom Hanks... oops I meant Gong Yoo. Sorry, I've haven't seen it yet.

6. The 'So What if You have 6 Months to Live!' Noona Slayer. If your dying wish is to fall in love with a crazy hot guy, may I recommend Lee Dong Wook who was 6 years younger than his Scent of a Woman costar, Kim Sun Ah.

Yes, please protect her face from premature aging. You know what, protect it from regular aging as well.

7. The Dating Contract Noona Slayer. If you didn't want to fall in love, you shouldn't have written a contract to be in a fake relationship. Everyone knows that! Unfortunately Hyun Bin and Kim Sun Ah found that out the hard way in My Lovely Sam-Soon. 

What is 7 years or 15 pounds when you really love someone?

 8. The Student-Teacher Noona Slayer.  Okay, so Lee Chung Ah opened the door originally in Flower Boy Ramyun Shop by mistaking his age and calling him oppa, but Jung Il Woo happily ran through that door to win her heart. Funny that this drama, more than any other that I've mentioned is specifically about  noona slaying, but Lee Chung Ah is actually only 3 years older than him.

Your babies would be so attractive, they would come with a warning label.

9.The Original Gangster Noona Slayers.The opening lyrics of SHINee's debut song  literally begins, "Noona you are so pretty." After 5 years of honing their skills, they are the most practiced and professional noona slayers on the list. I love them so much. 

Slaying noonas since 2008.

 10. Real Life Attempted Noona Slaying Fail. I saw this in the news recently and I had to include it. You remember Ah Sun Young from Dream High? She played Mr. Kang's alcoholic sister. Well, in Dream high she was a bit of a cougar... at least in her imagination.

Well it turns out that she was recently approached by a real life noona slayer. According to her, he was a male idol 12 years younger than her that bragged about how he was going to win her over. Apparently he was very persistent and she had a really hard time shaking him loose. Check it out.


Now it's your turn. Leave a comment and tell me which noona slayers I missed.

~Autumn

Word of the Day: Study Nose

Study Nose n. 1. In Korea, it is the commonly held belief that extreme mental and physical exertions will cause nose bleeds. 2. More specifically, the belief that studying super hard will cause a bloody nose. ex. Did you see her study nose? She must have been up all night.


This sounds weird right? I know, but I have watched a ton of Korean dramas and over and over again I've seen them write this into the plot. Often it occurs in an opening montage showing what a dedicated student they were, when all of a sudden...

WARNING! 

Do you faint at the sight of blood? 

Then Turn Away Now.

You have been warned.

 Now, where were we? Oh yes- flashback montage of main character studying, when all of a sudden... drop drop.

Is this blood going to be on the final exam?

 What!?! Oh no, my crazy dedication to studying has caused my nose to start bleeding! 

This is of course followed by the, "That couldn't possibly have come from my nose," reaction.

Before No En Sol could "Protect the Boss," she first had to crush the books... and the boys- look how crushed he is. 

Or possibly the, "How sweet for my crush to show up right now with a tissue," reaction.

Ah Jung, you can't "Lie to Me," about how hard you're studying.

At this point they usually cut away and move on with the story. Why? Because showing a 5 second clip of getting a nose bleed while reading a text book is shorthand in Korean culture for showing that the character is a dedicated student. 

When I first came across this, I was weirded out. Why do they keep getting nose bleeds? Is there something genetically different that causes their noses to bleed more often than other races? Why do the other characters not realize that this nose bleeding epidemic is unnatural!!!

But then, I came across this wonderful nugget from the drama, "Stars Falling From the Sky." Here, two characters actually have a conversation about this phenomenon.

Ok, the dialogue is disjointed, but you get the point. Koreans believe that exhaustive levels of studying can cause a bloody nose, hence the term "study nose." 

A few last points to make.

1.  All of this was corroborated by our Korean friend, Henry. While I admit that his English was not the best, and part of my question had to be pantomimed, he assured us that it is a commonly held belief. 

2. I have no way of knowing if Koreans' noses actually do bleed from studying, and if so, whether it is at a higher or lower rate than any other nationality or race. I only claim that they believe nose bleeds to be associated with studying. 

3. Maybe I am lame and never studied hard enough for my nose to bleed. It's possible, I'm pretty sure that I'm ADHD.

4. I have brought this up a lot to the other members of F4Plus1. I think I noticed it before they did and I have seen more examples of it, so I became slightly obsessed with it. But a few months back, one of our members, Alyson, told us that this happened to her. She was in the middle of her first semester as a teacher of Social Studies at a middle school. She was working super hard and geting very little sleep. After a few weeks of this unrelenting schedule, she noticed herself getting a spontaneous nose bleed. Weird. 

5. Lastly, as a reward for getting to the end of this article and dealing with all the icky pics, here is your reward.

I have this picture of Lee Jong Suk labeled under the category, "Pictures that Make My Ovaries Explode." 

You're Welcome. 

~Autumn

Words of the Day: Nugu & Concept

Nugu 1. pronoun. Who ex. "Nugu se yo? Who are they?" 2. adjective. A term used in k-pop to say someone is new, unmemorable, or a "nobody". It can be used as a putdown, especially for well established bands. ex. "It's so easy to get tickets for them because they are nugu."

So what do idols record companies do to keep their idols from this dreadful identity? They establish a clear "concept" for their public image.

Concept n. 1. The tool used to invent and/or reinvent individuals, bands, and albums by the music companies that scout, form and promote k-pop groups as a way of catching the public's attention. ex. I really don't like overly sexy concepts for the female groups. They are icky.

The term, "concept," as referenced to k-pop seems pretty straight forward. It is the themes and images used to promote k-pop music in order to keep idols from being considered "nugu". Yes, this is basically a conversation about branding, however, k-pop goes to great lengths to offer a wide variety of "concepts" to catch the publics' attention. What is interesting, is that these concepts are assigned not only to groups, but to individual members, and to different albums. There are also varying degrees of flexibility and variety within these concepts as well. Members can change their concept as they grow and gain more independence and artistic license in their company. But with each new album or mini album, companies feel pressure to have an original concept that will set them apart from the pack, and make sure they are never considered "nugu". Here are a few of the most commonly used concepts in k-pop and the idols who utilize them.

Common Concepts Found in K-pop


1. Diva / Fashionista - These are the idols with impeccable airport fashion, who grace the pages of major fashion magazines, and who make sure to have things exactly the way they want them.
               Examples: Lee Hong Ki, CL, Heechul, G-Dragon & Key

Who gave you permission to be this good looking?

2. Masculine - The "masculine" litmus test for k-pop idols is when you show a picture of them to your parents and they don't respond, "Who is this pretty girl?"
               Examples: Teacyeon, Siwon, Rain & Taeyang

3. Aegyo- This term will be a future word of the day, but for now all you need to know is that it means "cutesy" and "childlike."
               Examples: Yoseob, Mir, Nickhun, Sungmin, Teamin, Daesung & A-Prince

If I were in a room full of these boys, I'd feel like giving them milk and cookies and putting them down for a nap when they get all tuckered out. They make my inner kindergarten teacher come out. 

My Question to A-Prince: Is the price of fame really worth it? is it?

4. Funny/Clown- So you want to be a Korean idol, but you aren't the prettiest flower in the garden. What do you do? A.) Get millions of won worth of plastic surgery. B.) Pull a K.Will and never show up in your own music videos. or C.) Embody the concept of the "funny idol."
               Examples: Shindong, Psy

Yes, that is Psy in a leotard with fireworks coming out of the brasier. Why do you ask?

5. Outgoing & Talkative- This is not a concept born in the brainstorms of record executives. Instead it organically develops around those few idols who can never really shut up. And we love them for it.
               Examples: Kwang Hee & Leeteuk

The things I've learned about Kwang Hee this week: 1. He is good friends with Teacyeon, 2. He is the weakest idol on Running Man's Winter Olympic episode, 3. His personality is so bright, it could light up a small European country. Seriously, Liechtenstein could save millions of dollars annually if they could find a way to convert his charisma to into fuel. 

Leeteuk, how are you so handsome? Did you and T.O.P. make make deals with the devil to make every woman fall in love with you? Cause it's working. 

6. Tomboy- Usually reserved for female rappers, idol tomboys can always be spotted by their short cropped hair. It's k-pop 101.
               Examples: Amber & GI

Amber, you are the tomboy to which all other Korean idol tomboys aspire. 

A whole group of tomboy rappers? You know what that means.... Hair cuts for everyone!

7. 4th Dimensional- This will be another future post. In a nutshell, Koreans use the term 4th Dimensional to describe people they think might actually be from a different universe.
               Examples: TOP, Jaejoong, Dara & Kim Hyun Joong
               

This is the most attractive group of weirdos I've ever seen.

8. Legs- What!?! How can an entire group's concept be centered not around their voices, nor their sparkling personalities, nor even their faces... but their legs!?! Ya, you must be new to k-pop. Welcome. And yes, in Korea "legs" is a legitimate concept- even for boys.
               Examples: Dal Shabat, Brown Eyed Girls, Girls Generation, & Teentop

Why can't I stop looking at them!! Who knew legs could be so hypnotizing? Oh ya, every teenage boy ever.

Oh, that's how you stop looking.

9. Sexy- While nearly every male idol group has at least one extremely uncomfortable "sexy" album cover *, few groups choose to use this as their primary concept. On the other hand, it's hard finding a good girl group who doesn't outright exploit their sexuality.
*Do a Google image search of SHINee's Sherlock promotional images. They are just too disturbing to post here.
               Example: Everyone in #8 plus JYJ

That's right Junsu, roll down your sexy window! 

10. Height- Any concept that can make you memorable is a good concept. Even if that means building your group around a certain centimeter. The members of these two groups are on average 153 cm and 172 cm tall ( thats 5' and 5'7" for all you Americans).
               Examples: Tiny G & 9 Muses

Can you tell which group is which?

11. Bands- I often use the term "band," pretty loosely when referencing k-pop, but if you strictly look at the groups that actually play their own instruments, you would realize they are a small minority. For that reason, "bands" inevitably become part of their concept.
               Examples: CN Blue, FT Island, LedApple & Eye Candy

Pro: Playing instruments is sexy. Con: The guitars cover up their abs. 

Pro: More guitar solos. Con: Less dance solos... ok, no dance solos. 

Pro: Hanbyul's Blah blahs. Con: Did he stop making them?

Pro:They are just so beautiful! Con:They're not a real band. 

Concepts of Specific Idols/Groups:

IU- "The Nation's Little Sister" 
This title was granted after fans voted for her in an online poll and has really become part of her identity... Although, due to some scandals, recent online polls have tried to take this title away. But I say No! It's bigger than you or me. You can't take back her title and try to give it to Moon Geun Young (no offense MGY, I loved you in Mary Stayed out All Night!). It's just not gonna happen.

IU- The ultimate Korean girl next door.

Jang Geun Suk- "Prince of Asia"
This is the actual photo Jang Geun Suk tweeted to show how he earned this title.

"The Asia Prince works hard even on the flight to China" -tweeted 5/30/12

2pm -"Beast Idols"
I'm not sure if they made up the name themselves, or if they were granted this title because of their uber masculine physique, but there is one thing of which I am sure. It must bum out B2ST.

Reason #7 why JYP loves 2PM: The wardrobe budget is half of what they spend on any other group.

Miss A- "Suzy's Group"
Since "Dream High,"Suzy's popularity has skyrocketed & it has only gotten bigger with her current hit show, "Gu Family Book." But you do have to feel a little bad that her bandmates have been unanimously demoted to the role of, "The Girls Singing and Dancing with Suzy." Hmmm, it would be kinder to not let them find out.

Oh wait... yup, they already know. 

U-Kiss- "Nugu Group" 
This is a name that has been haunting U-Kiss ever since their debut in 2008. At that time, they were debuting up against SHINee, 2PM & 2AM, and while they have outlasted nearly every other group that has come from a small music label, it has been a very arduous and uphill battle for them. They have worked so hard, I say it's time for a change to their concept.

New Concept: "Super Talented, Underdog, Scrappy, Work Horse Group"

What concepts did I miss & what are some of your favorite k-pop concepts? Leave a comment.

~Autumn