K-pop Blondies, the Good and the Bad

Blonde hair, it can either be the most amazing thing that can happen to an idol's head or it could make you want to throw liberal amounts of hair dye at them in the hopes that they will use it to change their hair back to an acceptable color.

Not too long ago on Allkpop there was an article about a writer's favorite blonde haired idols which got me thinking, who are my favorite blonde idols? And then, more importantly, who are the people who should never, ever, be blonde again (and if it does happen, their stylist should be shot)?

The Good 

Gongchan - Beautiful Target Japanese Version  

Gongchan isn't my favorite member of B1A4, that goes to CNU, but I still really like him. He has grown into his face recently and he has a really versatile look. One minute he can be the cutest thing ever and the next he's got his smolder on and looking all mature and jailbate-y. Is he still jailbate? I don't actually know and I don't care enough to look it up. I don't think he is.........

Hyuk - Hyde

Blonde Hyuk, was the best Hyuk. His blonde was really complimentary to his skin tone so it didn't wash him out like some other people who will be on the bad list. I think that Hyde was also the time that Hyuk started to look more adult like than in previous videos. The baby's growing up and he is doing it well.

Sungmin - Sexy Free and Single 

There have been quite a few blondies in Super Junior but my favorite bottle blond in Sungmin. Yes, even with my great love for Heechul and Enhyuk who have also been blonde Sungmin pulls it off the best. I think that it is because Sungmin is already adorable and the blonde adds to that cute innocence that seems to follow him everywhere.

Dara - Falling in Love 

Everyone here knows that Dara is a goddess right? Good. I know that CL is the blonde of the group and she looks mighty fine with her honey hair but Dara looked amazing in this video. Her blonde hair with that white dress and gold jewelry was stunning. She was glowing and I could probably go on but I'll save everyone from that embarrassment and stop here.

PO - Nillili Mambo 

Like Dara, P.O. is not the blonde of the group, that title would normally go to Zico and while I like Zico's blonde hair, I like it better when he has more of a chocolate color like in "Tell Them", post dreads. His hair was so fluffy and beautiful then. I do kind of miss the dreads though, he rocked them. I loved P.O.'s long blonde hair during this era though, even when he had it down, kind of. That middle part was questionable, but then again what middle part isn't questionable?

The Bad 

Kyuhyun - Don't Don 

"Don't Don" was a dark time for Kyuhyun. First, he almost dies in that horrible car accident and is unable to promote with the rest of the group and then to add insult to injury SM poured a bottle bleach on his head. This hair is too light for his face and there are artistic dark roots to go along with the song's J-rock concept. I really liked this song, but I do not like what it did to Kyuhyun's hair.

Taemin - Lucifer Japanese Version 

Yes, I am aware that this isn't a flattering picture of Taemin, but I feel that if you need makeup and lighting in order for you hair to work with your face, something is wrong with that. His hair and his face are similar colors and it is making him look sick and gaunt. Taemin can look good with light hair but it needs to be a brown or red blonde. No more single tone light blondes on Taemin's head SM!

Gain - Bloom 

I wouldn't say this was bad in the same sense that Taemin is bad, but Gain definitely doesn't have the same appeal when she is blonde. In "Bloom" she was going for a more innocent look and it matched all the pastels in the video, but for me Gain should always be black. She is this powerful woman that pushes the boundaries that are set around her and I don't feel like she can do that with blonde hair.

Jaehyo - Jackpot

Luckily for the actually video he had silver/grey hair which I did like, but during the "5 Minutes Before Chaos" promotions he had this super weird blonde hair going on. It was also styled quite terriblely in one of the teasers too which made it look even worse.

And there you have it people who rock a blonde head and those who do not. I can think of quite a few others who I like blonde or with white hair but not as many who I don't like, what do you think?

~ Alora

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: Birthdays

Speaking of birthdays, Henry taught us two interesting facts about how Koreans calculate age.*

First, Koreans are the age "one" on the day of their birth. I know this is common in many other parts of the world, but here in the US, we start at zero and it takes a year before we turn one.

Secondly, Koreans calculate age by the year, rather than the date. This means that Korens officially "turn" the next year older on the first day of the year, even though their specific birthday probably won't be for a number of months. Come the beginning of the year, everyone's age increases on the same day.

This means that for me, my Korean age can be up to 2 years higher than my North American age. Weird.

But, what is kind of nice, is that I can compare the Korean age of my favorite stars with my own North American age and it makes me feel like less of a pedo-noona.

Hmmm, Park Ji Bin... so your Korean age is 19? Nope it's still creepy.

*All facts regarding age come from a first hand conversation with my friend Henry, who is Korean. Also, wikipedia offers further insight into this concept.

~Autumn

Word of the Day: 4th Dimensional

4th Dimensional adj. 1. A person who is wacky, strange, or spaced out. 2. The idea that regular people live in the 3rd dimension, while the most strange, and intriguing people are in a 4th dimension. Also known as being 4D. ex. That girl so 4th dimensional, it's like she's in her own world.


The first time I ever heard about this concept was when I was watched an episode of Boys Over Flowers. Here, let me recap it for you. In this scene, all of the F4 along with Ga Eul and Jae Kyung are visiting Jandi in her new apartment and decide to play a game of Spin-the-Truth-or-Dare-Bottle.

 Pause, a second for all of the other members of F4 to get offended....

Philosophical Thought of the Day: Why does Woo Bin not want to marry any of them while I want to marry all of them?

Since then, I have noticed whenever media outlets post articles on celebrities being 4th dimensional. Here are some of my favorite celebrity 4D videos.


1. Sandara of 2ne1 parody of Seven's "When I Can't Sing," on Strong Heart.

Some people may think this is just aegyo. I think that to have aegyo with this level of creativity must be 4th dimensional.

2. Jaekyung of Rainbow talking to dogs.

 As a celebrity, you really might want to rethink getting stuff like this on video.

3. Kim Hyun Joong of SS501 on Thank You for Waking Me Up teaches how to cook.

I knew you were beautiful but I didn't know you were weird & funny too.

Who are your favorite 4th Dimensional celebrities?

~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