Welcome to SolGeumi's blog! I'm a foodie with a love for K-Pop and K-Dramas and I'll be filling this blog up with my personal takes on these things and more. Comments and feedback are welcome. (No profanity please) Check back often!
It's hard for me sometimes to keep up with the comings and goings of K-Pop idols on social media. It seems at times that they come and go as they please like the ebb and flow of a tide.
Since my biases are mainly FT Island and CNBlue and sometimes I like to blog about Super Junior, I mainly stick with them. But there's so many more idols out there, trust me. In the past I've blogged about how FT Island bassist and vocalist, Lee Jae Jin, had closed his Twitter account for apparently no reason. Not too long after that, both lead vocalist Lee Hong Ki and Leader and lead guitarist Choi Jong Hoon had both opened up their own Instagram accounts.
Slowly, but surely, idols are reaching out to more of their fans through social media. So it came as a surprise that Heechul (aka Heenim or Hee Dictator) of Super Junior mysteriously closed his own Instagram and Weibo accounts.
But with every closure, two more must open. Hmm, I think I heard about that somewhere? It's like the Hydra myth where you cut off a head and two more grow back. Same concept.
So, following that vein, and of course my biases, FT Island's Lee Jae Jin and Choi Jong Hoon let fans know through their Instagrams that they have opened up Weibo accounts. Follow them both at "JamesJin" (Jae Jin's) and "ChoiJongHoon90" (Jong Hoon's). I definitely liked Jae Jin's stab at an Anglicized name. The name, "James" suits him and is still very close to his original name.
Follow, follow, follow, these two handsome cuties. And don't forget to check out Jong Hun for updates on his new drama, JTBC's "Heroes", where he will play the lead role of Choi Hee Yeol.
Credit: Lee Jae Jin and Choi Jong's Instagram. Choi Jong Hun's image courtesy of @ftnorinori (as stated on original image.)
FT Island's front man, lead vocalist Lee Hong Ki, will be stretching his acting chops again. This time, he'll be tackling on the role of the most infamous and debonair monster of all time, Count Dracula.
Many people know of Count Dracula as the one time Romanian Prince Vlad "the Impaler", known for impaling unlucky victims on stakes, hence the nickname. As well as the lead character in Bram Stoker's, "Dracula". Pop culture has talked about him being suave, dashing but a horrifying blood sucker who quenched his thirst by entrancing lovely ladies to come to him so he could indulge in a little snack.
Super Junior's Sung Min, INFINITE's Sung Gyu and FT Island's Hong Ki will rotate in the role of "Count Dracula"
I am not familiar with the musical. The characters are all different from any version we've seen here in the U.S. Their version has characters named, "Adriana", "Pierre", "Lorraine". I have no idea who those are, unless they're supposed to correspond to the English counterparts, "Mina", "Van Helsing" and "Lucy". It's all a mystery to me. But it will be interesting to see how much will differ from the book and movies that have come out so far.
I'm especially interested to see how Hong Ki will bring his off-beat, endearing and sometimes comedic style into such a serious role. I had a taste of that in his last TV series, "Bride of the Century", where he played a plutocratic heir to a big named shopping mall. I felt he really pulled off the high brow brattiness in that role. However, I must say that sometimes I felt the depth of hurt and despair he experienced didn't reach down far enough to be really believable. And when he tried to be sexy, I didn't get the feeling that there was enough for the scene. I mean the girl didn't even look tempted! I actually didn't care for her, but anyways. (Sorry Hong Ki, I love you, I really do! Mianhae!)
If you take a look at the teaser, he looks very promising as the Count. I think even more so that the other two idols that will be rotating the role with him: Sung Min's Super Junior, Sung Gyu's INFINITE. Of the three, I think Hong Ki really gives off more charisma. Will be looking forward to the reviews!
Shortly after tweeting a cute and playful photo of himself wearing Asiana Airlines mitts, Super Junior's Shindong, posted another photo of four burgers about to be consumed at a local Honolulu, Hawaii burger restaurant called Kuaaina Burgers.
The photo showed four perfectly grilled pineapple burgers, a favorite on the menu, with sides of fries. He tweeted, "Ah... Delicious! Very delicious!" via his Instagram account.
There were rumors before the group left in mid-July that they will be back for a photo shoot. However those rumors were never confirmed.
Is he back for work with fellow members? (No news yet as to who traveled with him) Or, is he here alone for some R & R? Either way, welcome back to Hawaii Shindong! We hope you enjoy your stay!
In a previous post, I mentioned that members of popular K-Pop group Super Junior (along with f(x)'s Victoria) were selected as the new models for Asian beauty product line Tony Moly.
Now, it looks like the guys are working on more than just looking handsome for their advertisements. Members Donghae and Ryeowook hinted at a collaboration with Eunhyuk and Henry(?).
Donghae tweeted photos of the potential song title and a photo of the four in the studio session.
Ryeowook tweeted in response to one of Donghae's tweets "Tony Moly".
I had thought about what to write for my one year anniversary post. (I can't believe it's already been one year of blogging!) And I was going to do it on another review of an episode of We Got Married Global, or FT Island, or even CNBlue.
And then lo and behold...the princes of SM flew into town! Hawaii ELFs and local K-Pop fans were treated to a taste of what fans around the world have been experiencing when idol group, Super Junior arrived in Hawaii on July 9th.
If you haven't heard of Super Junior, and you like K-Pop, I have to say where have you been? With their debut in 2005, this 8-12 member group, have gained popularity over the years with songs such as "Sorry Sorry", "Mr. Simple" and most recently, "Sexy, Free and Single". Gracing covers of magazines and appearing on TV shows and dramas, these men have kept busy.
Members such as Kangin, Shindong, Sungmin, Siwon and Donghae arrived in Hawaii as early as July 9th for a photo shoot. Members Ryeowook, Eunhyuk and Kyuhyun arrived later in the week.
Donghae (Credit smjthanks.com and sup3rjunior.wordpress.com)
Siwon and Donghae getting ready to leave for Hawaii (Credit shijalee and sup3rjunior.wordpress.com)
Ryeowook on his phone waiting to leave Incheon. (Credit PaMongMi and sup3rjunior.wordpress.com
)
Apparently rumors were circulating around the ELFs here in Hawaii. And they were already waiting at the airport for their arrival. I, on the other hand, was tipped off by Siwon's tweet of a sun setting behind a hotel building. Soon after, Donghae uploaded a video to YouTube of he and some of the members walking around Waikiki near the International Marketplace. When I saw Donghae's video, my heart literally stopped. I can only imagine what my friend felt like when I showed her the video since she's more of a fan than I am. =)
View of a sunset in Honolulu from the beach outside of the Moana Surfrider. (Source: Siwon Choi's Twitter)
You can see Diamond Head in the background when they are on the beach! (Credit SM Town and Lee Donghae.)
We immediately took to the internet to figure out where they were staying. Yes, we had a lot of time on our hands. Well, actually no, we just made time, haha. And found out they were staying at the Moana Surfrider. This was later confirmed when Siwon had tweeted a photo of a double espresso from the Honolulu Coffee Company in that hotel. Yes, I am a coffee drinker and I remember little details of coffee shops. Go ahead, call me weird. =D
See the coffee shop name in the background? (Credit Siwon Choi's Twitter)
My friend and I unfortunately were not able to go to hang out at the hotel during the majority of their stay. Work interfered. LOL. But we did have a couple of sightings.
My personal account was at the Korean Festival on July 13th. It was nearly dusk and I was wandering around talking with my friends when I believe I had seen Ryeowook. (I didn't know it at the time, my friend "confirmed" it for me.) He was dressed in a gray cotton hoodie, shorts and carried a bag. Most of his head and body was covered up by the hoodie. But being local, you can pretty much pick out the ones that aren't. With his nearly white hair peeking out from under the hood, his super fair complexion made even paler with makeup, eyeliner around his eyes and a lost expression on his face, you could tell he wasn't from around here. I had thought at the time, "who would be dressed in a long sleeved hoodie when it's 90 degrees out?". When I saw photos of him later I wanted to slap myself! I was really surprised at how petite he was. I had thought all Super Junior members were tall, until my friend told me he was the shortest out of all of them. Unluckily for me, I didn't think to take my phone out to take a picture. And now I really hate myself for it. Sigh. =(....
I had tried to see if I could run into them on Sunday while cruising at the hotel, but no such luck. All of the members, with the exception of Eunhyuk, left on Monday, July 15th. My friend and I were finally able to go together on Tuesday, July 16th, to hopefully get a glimpse of Eunhyuk (her favorite). We were hanging out at the hotel late that afternoon with a couple of other fans when we saw their silver SUV pull into the driveway. To my friend's delight, Eunhyuk appeared out of the passenger side. He had just come from surfing, and he and his companions walked past us into the hotel lobby and up to their room. She was able to get a quick snapshot, but not a very clear one since someone had gotten in the way. Darn luck. Why can't people just stay still? Nevertheless, she was happy to even have gotten close to him. =) Hey, living in Hawaii, we hardly get these opportunities, so we take whatever we can get. My friend was so excited, she proclaimed she wanted to meet her other bias, Song Seung Heon, next year. At least one bias per year. Lol.
Other fans were much luckier. Some got autographs, others got a few photos of or with the members and the very lucky ones got hugs and handshakes. Some fans even caught some offguard!
Donghae, Sungmin and Kangin (?) relaxing on the beach (Credit sunggay_ and sup3rjunior.wordpress.com)
After this photo was posted on the internet, Sungmin blogged on Naver:
"i am a man that can surf now too! kkk
uwoo i know how to ride the waves like this
it`s a new discovery…
but this time`s concept (baby belly?) was revealed embarassingly in the end…
well i was excited~k
you should have told me if you were going to take a picture,.. i could have put strength in my stomache..ㅠㅠ
really no consideration for me~~
but there are people who like this kind of belly~it`s okay! I`m okay~ okay… sigh
i`m going to try snorkeling and kayaking~~~~with clothes on kkkk"
Later:
"Kk….. you make me unable to rest comfortably no matter where I go….
I should just exercise….
I will do exercises of fury!!k
Sigh… I was too off-guard…
In this world,…. there are too many delicious food…ㅠㅠ
I’m sad~"
Ryeowook ventured out to the North Shore to try some garlic shrimp!
"Shrimp truck is delicious ^^ in Hawaii" (Source Ryeowook's Twitter)
It was hard to pin the guys down together. They split apart for most of their stay. Some went surfing, some went sightseeing, some even went skateboarding.
Surf's up! Check out my shaka! (Credit Joseph Libby Photography)
If you want to see more photos and videos of their stay, go to this fan page here. The fans following them were pretty good about keeping tabs on them the whole stay.
At a skate park. Looks like one of them got really sunburned! Ouch! (Credit MimiKim12 and sup3rjunior.wordpress.com)
Eunhyuk and Ryeowook skateboarding in what appears to be Hawaii Kai. (Credit MimiKim12 and sup3rjunior.wordpress.com)
"surfing is great sport. good night all :^)" (Source Siwon Choi's Twitter)
Siwon woke up one morning and tweeted this selca saying his face looked swollen. Really?
Donghae looks surprised! (Credit geraldine_b and b_lyniee)
During their stay, Siwon didn't realize how confusing our island is, I think. See his video here.
Siwon and Shindong leaving Honolulu (Source Siwon Choi's Twitter)
Donghae back in Korea. Did he wear the same shirt going to and coming back from Hawaii? Lol, silly. (Credit dear_tiny and sup3rjunior.wordpress.com)
With the help of social media networks, fellow K-Pop fans and ELF's
spread the news and bonded over the experience. And this is one
experience that will definitely not be forgotten.
If one
of the Super Junior members read this blog, I'll be very honored. I hope
they enjoyed their stay on our island and they will return very soon! Please! Very soon! A week is too short!
And with that, I'll leave you with their version of hula. Credit SM Town and Eunhyuk's Twitter.
UPDATE 7/20/13: If you want to see more photos and video from their trip, see my anniversary post "Super Junior Mania in Hawaii" =D
Members of the K-Pop group Super Junior are in Hawaii! =D
Donghae uploaded a video to YouTube, which was also uploaded by SM Entertainment on July 11th.
Siwon also tweeted a photo of the view of the sunset from Waikiki Beach and tweeted the morning of July 11th that he was enjoying an espresso from one of the two major coffee companies on Oahu, Honolulu Coffee Company.
What they are in town for, one can only assume that it's for the Korean Festival happening this weekend at Kapiolani Park! UPDATE 7/12/13: They are here for a photo shoot and are staying at one of the older, yet very classy and upscale, hotels in Waikiki. (Sorry, I know which one, but I can't outright say. You can figure it out by any pictures you see.)
Aloha SuJu! Welcome to our lovely state! We're so happy you are here to enjoy a little bit of summer with us!
Source: SM Entertainment and Choi Siwon's Twitter
Author Note: Check out my anniversary post for more photos and videos of their stay!
As I was looking through a bunch of movies and TV shows on Hulu, I came across a TV series called "K-Pop Tasty Road". It's a spinoff of a Korean food and culture series called "Tasty Road", only this was about K-Pop.
They hired two idol MC's, NS Yoon G and Eli from U-Kiss. Since they were gearing this more towards a global audience, meaning outside of Korea, it was essential these MC's speak fluent English. Both Yoon G and Eli were born and raised in the United States so they know English very well. It was easy for them to converse in Korean and English, especially Yoon G, who did most of the talking.
Each episode would have a certain theme: a management company tour, dating/love tour, sites, etc. In the episode they would show you places that idols recommended foreigners to see, eat or shop at. And sometimes they would even have a special idol guest.
I love that they picked up on places that were unique and showed places that may be familiar to K-Pop fans. For instance, they showed the little cafe CNBlue's Jung Yong Hwa had taken his pretend "bride" Seo Hyun (SNSD) to eat when they were on "We Got Married" (if you want to watch some of their episodes, look up "YongSeo Couple" or "Goguma Couple").
They showed where groups like SHINee, TVXQ, Super Junior and FT Island like to do their nails, hair, shop and workout. If you ever want to try to spot an idol, this show will give you hints.
The only two gripes I have about this is that not all the episodes have been translated into English. The first 3 on Hulu are, but the other 5 aren't. The only times you will be able to understand them are when they choose to speak in English. Which brings me to my second gripe. As the show progressed, they seemed to be speaking more and more Korean. Very hard to understand.
But, I would still recommend this because Yoon G and Eli are both funny and adorable. They have a special interaction as "Noona-Dongsaeng". You can see that since they weren't raised in the U.S., they are still learning a bit about their own culture, so it doesn't seem like they're talking down to you, but you're learning along with them. Hope you all get to watch it! Two thumbs up!
If you follow K-Pop, you know that Lee Hong Ki of FT Island and Heechul of Super Junior are close buds. So it's no surprise to find out that these two had gone out and gotten..couple nails!
In preparation of the upcoming Christmas holiday, both had gone to a nail salon and gotten their nails decorated in a Christmas style.
True to his nickname, "Hong Star" got his nails decorated with skulls (he's aka "Skullhong" in the Twitter world).
How truly festive and cute! Slightly eery with the skulls, but still festive!
I love when guys do things together that you don't normally see. Now granted, in some countries, this may be odd. But in Korea, or rather Asian cultures, things like this are accepted. So, don't go getting any ideas if you know what I mean.
Since these guys started it, I found a quick nail decorating video to go with the theme of nail decorating. Let me know if you tried it. Lord knows that I totally suck at nail decorating. But I love to see other people's nails. =)
Photos courtesy of Lee Hong Ki's Twitter. Video by IHaveACupcake.
Recently, Siwon of Super Junior tweeted a pic of samgyetang soup. Samgyetang is a Korean chicken and rice soup with ginseng, jujubes, and garlic. Lots of garlic.
I remember a friend of mine raving about the samgyetang she had in Busan when she had visited earlier this year. It also happens to be a favorite dish of one of my favorite idols, Hong Ki of FT Island.
The picture that Siwon tweeted along with the description from my friend had me looking up the recipe.
Photo Courtesy of Choi Siwon's Twitter
Now, I love to cook. And I like to cook as authentically as possible. If there's any inkling that a recipe may be otherwise, I move on. Lucky for me, there's YouTube. I happened to see this Korean ahjumma demonstrating dukkbokki in one video and found she had one for samgyetang. Hallelujah! Can't go wrong. It's simple with only a few ingredients. The only thing that kinda makes me squeamish is the whole ginseng root. But apparently to all Koreans, it's a necessity and it's good for you. Otherwise it would just be chicken soup.
Now that the weather is colder, I'm going to be making this. And hopefully post a review on this, unless I eat it too fast. I hear you're supposed to eat this in the summer, but I would love this to warm me up on a cold winter day.
Here's the video, you can also find it on Maangchi's page. (Of course I don't take credit nor own the video and any pictures on this post.) Check out the other recipes too on http://www.maangchi.com. Then come back to see a review, or let me know how yours turned out. Enjoy!
If you haven't been watching, or fell asleep like me, here are the awards winners from the MAMAs. (I am going to have a heck of a lot to say about some of these! In another post.)
Best Female
Rookie : Ailee
Best Solo Dance: PSY
Best Male Group: Bigbang
Best Female Group: Sistar
Best Asian Awards: Wang Lee Hom
AKB48 (Japan)
Agnes (Indonesia)
Sarah Geronimo (Philippines)
My Tam (Vietnam)
Taufik Batisah (Singapore)
Li Yuchun (China)
MNET PD's Choice: B.A.P
Best Collaboration: Trouble Maker
Best Male Dance: SHINee
Best Female Dance: f(x)
Best Vocal Performance Solo: K.Will
Best Vocal Performance Group: Davichi
International Favorite Artist: PSY
Best OST : Eunji & Seo In Guk "All for You"
Best Band Performance: Busker Busker
Best Male Rookie: Busker Busker
Best Female Solo: IU
Best Music Video: PSY "Gangnam Style"
New Asian Artist: EXO
New Asian Artist (Thailand): Natthew
New Asian Artist (China): TimeZ
Voting has already started for the 2012 MAMA's (Mnet Asian Music Awards).
If you're into K-Pop/Rock as much as I am, please go and vote for your favorite groups/artists.
More votes mean more exposure for these artists. More exposure means that they will be noticed by others worldwide. When they're noticed worldwide, they can share their music. More sharing means more items being available to all!
Please go vote. I know there are those that are FT Island, CNBlue, Super Junior and Psy fans that pass through here. Currently FT Island is leading for Best Group Performance. CNBlue and Super Junior are both contenders for Best Global Group and Psy is in several categories such as Best Song, Artist of the Year and Dance Group of the Year.
If you've been to the movies, you will most likely have heard of a man named, Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg has been on numerous films (either as the director, script writer, producer, even actor) over the past, oh I dunno, 40 years?
"E.T. the Extraterrestrial", the famous shark movie "Jaws", his. "Indiana Jones" movies, yup that too. "Jurassic Park", "Transformers", heck yes. And, let's not forget the cartoon series "Animaniacs". Yes, I didn't know that either...
The man is legendary not only in the U.S., but Internationally as well. He's won numerous awards that I can't even begin to count on my toes and fingers.
Why am I mentioning this? Well, I had to build up the cred for the guy because I was insanely jealous when I saw who had snapped a pic with him recently: Psy and Super Junior's Siwon.
To meet someone on his status, to even be in the same room as he, is absolutely without a doubt, awesome!
Super Junior's Choi Siwon surprised his soon to be daily family (for the next few months anyway) with cake and drinks for the actors and production staff on the set of his new drama, "King of Drama".
This Soldier of Light is too much! And I mean that in a good way. Who wouldn't be charmed by such a personality like his?
If I were working on set, I would sure be grateful and at the same time would look forward to working with this kindhearted fella.
Anyone notice that this is a trend among stars? Give presents or serve meals to well-deserving and hard working staff. Such great appreciation. (Rarely hear about this in the States) Although, I haven't heard of a star begin to take care of the cast and crew at the beginning of production. Brownie points for Mr. Choi!
I'm currently enjoying watching "Faith" with Lee Min Ho, but I'll be sure to tune in to watch Siwon in this drama when it replaces "Faith" in November.
I came across this term within the past couple of days after reading a tweet from Korean actor Jang Geun Suk. He was warning these sasaengs (obsessive stalkers)to not interfere into his private life. And apparently, this wasn't the first time he was warning them.
One would think that after the first time, these fans would stop, relax and respect his wishes. In this case, they didn't. Perhaps some thought he wasn't talking to all of them??
In another instance, Super Junior's Heechul had been followed to work and home by these crazed fans. It had gotten so bad that he became very upset and closed his twitter account, @heedictator, and vowed he would spend the next year of his time in the military without tweeting.
This may not seem like anything for some, but if you absolutely adore an idol, to be cut off any form of communication from your idol is equivalent to never seeing them again.
I ask you, for what? A chance to take a whiff of his shirt? To perhaps touch their hair? Perhaps the odd chance they will fall in love with you?
Give me a break! Reign in your hormones! It's not worth the embarrassment or getting hauled off to jail for.
I mean seriously, how would you like it if the tables were turned? Would you want to not be able to walk to your car for fear of someone mugging you?
Give these idols a break! Sasaengs not only spoil the chance of keeping in touch with their idols, but they spoil it for everyone else as well.
I wish they would just stop it. And if any idol is reading this, remember the world is not full of sasaengs and that there are fans who truly want you to be happy.
Super Junior. <Insert screams from ELFs all over the world>
(Image courtesy of KimLegaspi)
I had to blog about them. A friend of mine is absolutely crazy about them. Especially, Heechul, I mean Eunhyuk! (Sorry, inside joke.)
They had recently come out with their new single, "Sexy, Free and Single", and what a title...I mean, these are young famous men, attractive "eye candy" men, may I add. Can I just say that there were probably all sorts of thoughts going through women's heads when the title was announce? LOL.
There are fans awaiting their comeback, and with members Kangin and Leeteuk switching in and out for mandatory military duty, the single was sure to generate a lot of hype.
But, I digress...other than focusing on how popular they are, the song also reminded me of how idols, like Super Junior, have many limitations.
To fulfill your dreams to become an idol, you have to go through rigorous auditioning, and, if you have that "it" factor, then you get signed by an entertainment agency.
The life of an idol must seem so glamorous. Jet setting from place to place, seeing thousands of adoring fans, doing TV commercials, magazine spreads, photo shoots, having endorsements, cool clothes. But I think sometimes we forget that they can never be normal again. Once you pen your signature, the agency owns you.
Grueling practices and schedules keep them away from friends. Having to live in dorms means they hardly ever see their families for months, sometimes years. Privacy? Yeah right. Girlfriends or boyfriends? Some agencies have a "no dating" policy.
Some don't get to have the luxury of even having their first kiss in private, but rather experience it on some variety show. It must be so hard.
Sexy? Sure, they have the best stylists in the world to help them look that way. But they also have to follow a rigorous diet and exercise.
Free? Yes, in a way. They are free to travel around the world.
Single? For now. Fan girls/boys, actual boyfriends or girlfriends hold on faithfully for their perfect someone. And likewise these idols hope their special someones keep the faith that one day, they will be able to be with them and the world will be ok with it.
So glamorous...yet, not. I give these idols a lot of credit.
Anyway, here is the video that inspired this post. I don't own this video. Credit goes to SM Entertainment and Youtube user "theOnlyAznNinja" for posting this.
Super Junior's "Sexy, Free & Single" with English translations and romanizations. Enjoy the hard work these guys put into this video.
Can't wait to see what they come up with next! Super Junior,
hwaiting!
