Music Video: Phantom "Burning"

I'm not really familiar with Phantom's music, but I like their sound. I posted a video in an earlier post for their "Hole in Your Face" which was released in Nov 2011. Link: Hole In Your Face MV

They are a hip hop group, but this is their debut into K-pop. This song is from their first mini-album titled 'Phantom City'.

Korean Holiday: August 15 (Liberation Day)

On August 15th Koreans celebrate 'Gwangbokjeol' or Liberation Day. It is a public holiday that marks the liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

A ceremony led by the president is held at a history museum in Cheonan, The Independance Hall of Korea, or Sejong Center. The Independance song (광복절 노래) is sung at the ceremony.

The Korean flag (태극기) is raised in honor of those who fought for Korea's freedom.

The government also issues pardons on this day.

Music Video: Psy (feat Hyuna) "오빤 딱 내 스타일" (Oppa Is Just My Style)

Psy joined Twitter. @psy_oppa

This is the girl version of "Gangnam Style". "Oppa Is Just My Style"

I liked the first one better. Sequels are never as good as the original. The 2nd video isn't funny like the 1st one. The first video had so much appeal because it was funny. Most non Koreans probably didn't have a clue what the song was really about, but they could all laugh at the funny parts. I read a lot of the comments and most of them say Hyun-a ruined the song. Her voice sounds really childish and doesn't really fit with the song. Maybe she is trying to be 'aegyo' (acting cute and childish) which is really popular in Korea. I don't like 'aegyo' because its not a part of my culture. I don't think American men would respond well to 'aegyo', but I think Korean men love it. I'd give the first one 5 stars. This one gets 2.5 stars.

Coming August 15th...."Oppa, You're my Style"

Psy plans to release "Gangnam Style" Part 2. He decided to make a new video because of the video's international popularity. The video has over 27 million views in less than a month! Psy made a huge comeback!!

The video will be released August 15th and will be titled "Oppa, You're My Style". The video will be from the female's perspective. Hyun-a will still be the leading lady in the video.

Here is the first video (released July 15):

Music Video: Super Junior "Spy"

Super Junior released the teaser to this video about a week ago. I was checking the YouTube channel almost everyday to see when it would be released. Its finally here!!!

Super Junior is one of my favorite groups in Korea! I like the music video!! I also really like the suits!

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Medal Count (day 16)

Day 16 Results

The Olympics are officially over. Korea did a good job.

On day 16 South Korea gained 1 silver medal. They are in 5th place by number of gold medals. They are in 9th place overall with 28 medals.

13 Gold
8   Silver
7   Bronze

New medalist:

Silver---Boxing--Han Soonchul

 한국, 파이팅! Good job!!!

London Olympics 2012: IOC doesn't want South Korean to accept bronze medal

Read about it here: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/ioc-says-south-korean-player-t-accept-bronze-145955541--oly.html

  The IOC doesn't want Jongwoo Park to accept the bronze medal for men's soccer because he held up a sign with a political statement. Athletes are banned from making political statements.

South Korea won the soccer game against Japan. Park held up a sign that said "Dokdo is our land".

South Korea and Japan each claim to own this piece of land in between South Korea and Japan. South Korea calls the islets Dokdo. Japan calls the islets Takeshima. Both countries are passionate about saying they own the islands. 

When I was in Korea I would hear Koreans talking about Dokdo. A few years ago they even had an event in New York City where they gave out bracelets that said that Dokdo belongs to Korea. I think it will be a never ending feud between the 2 countries.

 

 

 

 

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Medal Count (Day 15)

Day 15 Results

Only one more day left. I've enjoyed writing about the Olympics. I am an American, but I kept up with what South Korea was doing. I watched a lot of events on TV in the USA, but the coverage wasn't very good in my opinion. Of South Korea's events I saw the vaulter that won gold and the volleyball team playing against the USA.

On day 15 South Korea did not earn any medals. They are in 5th place by number of gold medals. They are in 9th place by total medals with 27.

13 Gold
7   Silver
7   Bronze

 한국, 파이팅!

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Medal Count (Day 14)

Day 14 Results

On Day 14 South Korea gained 2 medals--one gold and one bronze. They are in 5th place by number of gold medals. They are in 9th place by total medals with 27.

13 Gold
7   Silver
7   Bronze

New Medalists:

Gold--Taekwondo--Hwang Kyeong Seon

Bronze--Men's Soccer---Baek Sungdong, Hwang Seokho, Ji Dongwon, Jung Sungryong, Jung Wooyoung, Ki Sungyeung, Kim Bokyung, Kim Changsoo, Kim Hyunsung, Kim Keehee, Kim Younggwon, Koo Jacheol, Lee Bumyoung, Nam Taehee, Oh Jaesuk, Park Chuyoung, Park Jongwoo, Yun Sukyoung (Team medal)

한국, 파이팅!

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Wins Bronze medal for Men's Soccer

Today South Korea beat Japan 2-0 to win the bronze medal in men's soccer!

한국, 파이팅!

(This entry is short, sweet and to the point!!)

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Medal Count (Day 13)

Day 13 Results 

On Day 13 South Korea did not gain any medals. They are in 5th place by number of gold medals. They are in 9th place by number of total medals with 25.

12 Gold
7 Silver
6 Bronze

한국, 파이팅!

Music Video: EvoL "We are a bit different"

EvoL (Effective Voice of Ladies) is a new girl group in South Korea. I thought they would release "Magnet" first since they released the most teasers for that video.

Evol’s 1st Mini Album (Let Me Explode/Blow It Up)

Tracklist

1. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

2. I'm Sorry

3. Magnet

4. We're a Bit Different

5. Let Me Explode (Blow it up)

I've seen the lyrics and they don't really have anything to do with the video. The concept and the lyrics don't really match up. I kept wondering how the "we're a bit different" fit in with the song, but then they had one line where they said it. The song mostly talks about being on the dance floor, but there's no dance floor in the video.

The teaser for "Magnet" looks a lot like the "We are a Bit Different" video. Check it out:


They really are teasing us. Another teaser for "Let Me Explode" shows the same scenes:

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Medal Count (Day 12)

Day 12 results

On day 12 South Korea gained 2 silver medals. They are in 4th place by number of Gold medals. They are in 9th place by number of total medals with 25 medals.

12 Gold
7   Silver
6   Bronze

New Medalists:

Silver--Table Tennis--Joo Saehyuk, Oh Sangeun, Ryu Seungmin (team medal)

             Taekwondo--Lee Daehoon

한국, 파이팅!

PSY's "Gangnam Style" gets international attention

Korean music is going to take over the world!! or PSY is taking over the world!!

Today YouTube trends wrote an article about Psy's "Gangnam Style". Link: http://youtube-trends.blogspot.com/2012/08/gangnam-style-is-your-international-hit.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+youtube-trends+%28YouTube+Trends%29

They are calling it the international hit of the month. I thought it was funny that they described the video as "off the wall". I agree. Most things in South Korea are off the wall to me. I lived in South Korea and its a quirky place! (And I loved every minute of it!)

The video is number 3 on YouTube's music video charts.The video has over 18,000,000 views in less than a month!! The video was released on July 15, 2012.

I watched the video last week..It is so funny!

The video is getting a lot of recognition in the USA on TV, Social Media and comments from celebrities.

I follow Josh Groban on Facebook. I was surprised to see him post the link to "Gangnam Style" on his timeline one day.

On July 29th The US rapper T-Pain @TPAIN tweeted about "Gangnam Style". He said  "Words cannot even describe how amazing this video is.." He also posted lyrics on 2 other dates.

CNN aired the video on live television on August 2nd.

In case you're wondering--Gangnam is an affluent neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea. The video is about PSY looking for his ideal girl.

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Medal Count (Day 11)

Day 11 results

On day 11 South Korea gained 1 gold medal. They are currently in 4th place by number of gold medals. South Korea is in 9th place by total medals with 23 medals in all.

In other news South Korea played Brazil today in the soccer semi-finals. Brazil won 3-0.

12 Gold
5   Silver
6   Bronze

New Medalist:

Gold--Wrestling--Kim Hyeonwoo

한국, 파이팅!

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Medal Count (Day 10)

Results for Day 10

South Korea gained 2 medals on day 10-1 gold and 1 silver. They are currently in 4th place by number of gold medals. They are in 7th place by number of total medals with 22 medals.

11 gold
5   silver
6   bronze

New medalists:

Gold--Gymnastics--Yang Hak Seon (I watched the footage of his vault....it was awesome!)

Silver--Shooting--Kim Jonghyun

한국, 파이팅!

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Medal Count (Day 9)

Day 9 Results

South Korea gained 3 medals in Day 9. They received 1 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze. They are currently in 4th place by number of gold medals. South Korea has 20 medals in all which puts them in 8th place by number of total medals.

10 Gold
4   Silver
6   Bronze

New Medalists:

Gold--Shooting--Jin Jongoh

Silver--Shooting--Choi Young Rae

Bronze--Badminton--Chung Jae Sung, Lee Yong Dae (Team medal)

한국, 파이팅!

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Medal Count (Day 8)

Results for Day 8

In day 8 South Korea picked up one silver medal. They are currently in 4th place in number of gold medals. They are in 9th place by total medals with 17 medals.

9 Gold
3 Silver
5 Bronze

New Medalists:

Silver---Fencing--Shin A Lam, Choi Injeong, Choi Eunseok, Jung Hyojung (team medal)

한국, 파이팅!

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Medal Count (Day 7)

Day 7 Results

Today South Korea gained 2 gold medals. They are currently in 3rd place by number of gold medals. They are in 8th place by number of total medals. South Korea has a total of 16 medals.

9 Gold
2 Silver
5 Bronze

New Medalists:

Gold--Archery--Oh Jin-Hyek
          Fencing--Gu Bongil, Kim Junghwan, Oh Eunseok, Won Woo Young (Team medal)

한국, 파이팅!

South Korean weightlifter dislocates elbow at London Olympics

Read about it here: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/olympics-fourth-place-medal/weightlifter-sa-jae-hyouk-dislocates-elbow-london-olympics-083825819--oly.html

Sa Jae-Hyouk is 77kg (170 pounds). He was trying to lift 162kg (357 pounds) when he dislocated his elbow.

Ouch. I would never try to lift double my body weight. I wouldn't even try to lift half of my body weight! I guess I will never understand the appeal of weightlifting.

There is a picture of his dislocated elbow on the article. I didn't include it here for copyright reasons.

Here's the video :
(Warning: Don't watch the video if this sort of thing grosses you out--although it happens so fast you can't really tell.)

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Medal Count (Day 6)

Day 6 Results

Korea gained 2 medals on day 6. One Gold and One Bronze. Korea is in 3rd place ranked by number of gold medals.They have 14 medals in all which puts them in 8th place by number of total medals.

7 Gold
2 Silver
5 Bronze

New Medalists:

Gold--Archery--Ki Bo-Bae
Bronze--Fencing--Nam Hyun Hee, Jeon Hee Sook, Oh Ha Na, Jung Gil Ok (Team medal)

한국, 파이팅!

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Medal Count (Day 5)

Day 5 Results

South Korea did really good today! They gained 4 medals--3 gold and 1 bronze! They now have a total of 12 medals! They are in 3rd place. The official results app ranks the countries by number of gold medals (not by total medals). They are 6th by number of total medals.

6 Gold
2 Silver
4 Bronze

New Medalists:

Gold--Judo--Song Dae-Nam
           Shooting--Kim Jangmi
           Fencing--Kim Jiyeon

Bronze--Fencing--Jung Jinsun

한국, 파이팅!

London Olympics 2012: South Korea Medal Count (Day 4)

Results for day 4

South Korea gained 2 medals in day 4. They now have 8 medals. They are in 4th place.

3 Gold
2 Silver
3 Bronze

New Medalists:

Gold--Judo--Kim Jae Bum

Silver--Fencing--Choi Byungchul

한국, 파이팅!