CNBLUE Can't Stop Tour 2014

The guys are coming back to Manila and I need to be there!!! I caught their Blue Moon concert last year and had so much fun. Possibly one of the best concerts I've ever been to. Not only because they sounded flawless live, but also because of how much effort they had put into connecting with their fans. The endless banter they exchanged with the Filipino audience was endearing because they endeavored to speak not just in English but also in Tagalog. And even when they spoke in Korean, most of the fans could still understand.

One of my favorite moments from last year's concert was when bassist Jungshin noticed the audience responding even to their banter in Korean and so reverted to his native tongue to ask the audience a few things.

Jungshin: 재밌어요? [Are you having fun?]
Fans: 네! [Yes!]
Jungshin: 여러분 재밌어요? [Everybody, are you having fun?]
Fans: 네! [Yes!]
Jungshin: 한국말 알아요? [Do you understand Korean?]
Fans: 네! [Yes!]
Jungshin: 대박! [(Daebak) Awesome!]
Fans: /screaming/
Jungshin: 필리핀 대박! [The Philippines is awesome!]
Fans: /more screaming/

And who could even try to forget the entire conversation the 3 other guys had in full Tagalog as they conspired with the fans to surprise Yonghwa for his upcoming birthday? It was beyond fantastic.

It's not flawless Tagalog (or English), but still. They're the only foreign artist I've watched live who dared to speak this much Tagalog. Ever. Sandara Park totally does not count.

So, even though I'm not exactly rolling in cash right now (what with my upcoming trip to Seoul), I kind of really want to catch the boys in concert again. Especially now that my appreciation of them goes way beyond just Yonghwa and Jonghyun. Jungshin and Minhyuk have totally stolen my heart as well. And my love for their music is a given. Ugh. I'm such a fan right now.

The tickets are not exactly cheap, so I'm crossing my fingers for a miracle.

Because I'm in a CN Blue mood right now, here's a bunch of awesome live performances. Just because I can.

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Current Addiction: Taeyang's "Eyes, Nose, Lips"

It's been over a month since Taeyang released his new album RISE containing hit track "Eyes, Nose, Lips" and, to be really honest, I'm still not over how awesome this song is. It's an amazing contemporary R&B track with a haunting melody and an addictive hook. It's no wonder the song is everywhere.

In a smart marketing move, YG is not only accepting cover entries for an "Eyes, Nose, Lips" cover competition, they've also released 3 (so far) YG Family covers from Akdong Musician, Tablo, and Lydia Paek. Each one of these covers are awesome in their own right and despite changing up the lyrics - adding rap verses, or totally changing the song into English and just keeping the basic foundation of the song's hook - they've all just succeeded in making me fall in love with the original version even more.

Brother-sister duo Akdong Musician put their own spin on the song and the results are fantastic

Epik High's Tablo angrily rewrites the song and churns out a purely English rap version
with Taeyang joining in on the song's bridge and outro

Quest Crew member and YG producer and artist Lydia Paek puts out the same song minus the angst

I've been listening to these covers on repeat. They're awesome and, for covers, all quite unique. They took the original and spun the song on its feet and made it their own, without forgetting that they're all homages to Taeyang's awesome single.

As a testament to how awesome this song is, several different Korean artists have also come out with their own covers. Eric Nam's version (video posted below) is, by far, my favorite. I've ripped the audio from YouTube and I listen to it on repeat. K-pop groups 2BiC, BTS, and Topp Dogg have also uploaded their own renditions onto YouTube. Even Korean YouTube-star and guitar prodigy, Sungha Jung (a frequent YG collaborator) has released his own guitar cover of the song.

Solo artist Eric Nam loves the song so much that he came out with 2 different covers,
the English version posted above and a live Korean version

Now I'm off to watch more covers from fans all around the world. VIPs rock!

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Currently Watching: Fated to Love You, You're All Surrounded, Trot Lovers, Marriage Not Dating

It's been awhile since I've had this much shows on my plate... and I love it. SO. MUCH.

That's not to say that the currently airing shows are the best shows ever, but at least they're all managing to keep me glued to the screen and I've been pretty good with keeping up to date with most of them. Which means I'm watching at least two dramas a day, plus the occasional variety show. Which also means I'm driving myself crazy waiting for the next episode and I'm going through all the woes that's part and parcel of live watching k-dramas.

I shouldn't be complaining about lack of sleep and time though, because seriously, I've been begging the drama gods for good stories for the past months and my prayers have finally been answered.

1. Fated to Love You - I only saw the first episode of the original Taiwanese version years ago, so really, I can't compare. But so far, so good.

Although, admittedly, Jang Hyuk's over-the-top portrayal can get testy, it's the fact that he delivers the softer moments of Lee Gun with so much heart that has me invested in him. And I just really love Jang Nara. She always conveys so much with just a simple look or the nuances of facial expression or body gesture. It would've been too easy to dismiss Kim Mi-young as pathetic and weak, but Jang Nara has managed to portray her as having so much inner strength and heart that's hard to disregard. I love it, so far.

2. You're All Surrounded - This drama is almost coming to a close, and I'm enjoying the ride so very much. And as much as I love Go Ara and Cha Seung-won, I have to say that Lee Seung-gi is selling this drama for me. He has carried so much weight in the lead role and I'm glad he's delivering way beyond expectations. I never doubted his capability as a dramatic actor, The King 2 Hearts assured me of that, but I'm just happy that his progress as an actor has been continuous.

I'll be watching the final episode tonight, and though I know the turn of events will have me squirming in my seat (and plotting the bloody demise of certain drama villains), I'm also looking forward to seeing Puppy happy and at peace.

3. Trot Lovers - Jung Eun-ji. She's awesome. And adorable. And just such a delight to watch.

Admittedly, right now, I'm not yet completely sold on either male leads, but Jang Joon-hyun (Ji Hyun-woo) is slowly converting me. Yes, he's an immature, irrational hothead... But there's still so much time for the drama to turn that around. He doesn't deserve someone as nice as Choi Choon-hee, so I'm hoping the drama makes him work for it. Because when he isn't being an ass, he actually has so much chemistry with Choon-hee. And with Byul! Those two together; they just kill me. And to be honest, while on paper Geon-woo seems like the perfect guy, he just isn't enough for our girl. Choon-hee needs someone who is as passionate about music as she is, someone who's willing to fight for what they believe is right, someone as determined as her. And that's not Geon-woo.

4. Marriage Not Dating - Honestly, I first decided to watch this drama because of Yeon Woo-jin. And of course, Jinwoon is always adorable. But good god, Han Groo is such a revelation. This is the first time I've seen her in anything and I'm in love. She's just wonderful.

Also, I'm always so surprised by the way this drama is spinning gender roles in a way I'd never expect. Initially, when I read that it was about a man who didn't want to get married contracting it up with a girl who is desperate to get married just to throw off his matchmaking mother, I thought it was going to be yet another pathetic female stereotype. Well, color me surprised. Our heroine, Joo Jang-mi may be the romanticist who believes in happily ever after and does want to get married, but she is far from pathetic. Or weak. Or desperate. Instead, she's headstrong and vocal yet kindhearted and loyal. She is also awesome enough to question gender roles and call out injustice where she sees it. Even from her fake boyfriend's seemingly nice grandmother.

5. High School King of Savvy - I'm still not sure about the age gap between our leads, not because it's huge (because realistically speaking, it's only 10 years, and I've seen dramas with 14-20 years age differences) but because the guy is a child. He's not even legal yet. He's jailbait. So here's my dilemma... Jung Soo-young and Lee Min-suk are adorable together. So I do love the kisses and hugs, and everything that makes them a couple. But there will always be that niggling voice in the back of my head reminding me that he is a baby. And she is very much an adult.

Here's to hoping they use that 2-episode extension to introduce some kind of time jump just to make Min-suk legal enough for some sexy kisses. Mmmm...

6. We Got Married (Woo-young + Se-young, Jong-hyun + Yura) - I've finally dropped watching Namgoong Min and Hong Jin-young. Things were getting boring on their end. And reversely, things are starting to pick up with Woo-young and Se-young. They were totally adorable and awkward in the beginning and then right just when they were getting really close, Woo-young kept pulling back and things turned cold. But now they're back to insane skinship and cute bickering so I'm tuned in again.

But, hallelujah! More Hong Jong-hyun on my laptop screen! Gawd, I love that guy. Not only is he gorgeous, he's not a bad actor either. I just clearly have a thing for them male-model-turned-actor group. All of them. Kim Woo-bin, Lee Soo-hyuk, Sung Joon, Lee Jong-suk, Hong Jong-hyun. I love them. So to the person who decided to cast Jong-hyun, THANK YOU. He is beyond adorable. And surprisingly quiet. It's a good thing Yura is extra bubbly and super talkative. Jong-hyun paired up with someone just as introverted as he is would kill ratings. Haha.

Also, have I mentioned that I absolutely adore how Yura is not even trying to rein in the obvious fact that she's super pleased to be married to Jong-hyun, no matter how fake the marriage? That girl is literally kvelling before our very eyes. She's super into him, no acting required. I can't say he feels the same way, but he's certainly intrigued by her. But remember that time when Yura accidentally drove his RC car into the lake? And she persistently said she was sorry and when she was using a hairdryer to fix the toy, the way he looked at her... That killed me.

I have several more dramas to look forward to, with It's Okay, That's Love just around the corner and Discovery of Romance fast approaching. When will I ever find time to sleep again? But nope, not complaining. I love it when dramaland decides to bombard me with awesome shows. After a very long season of drought, I'm quite happy to be drowning in my drama downloads.

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My so-called kdrama-induced culture shock

Full House (2004) was probably my third kdrama ever

Amanda's blog entry on her experience of watching Korean dramas as an American viewer was an eye-opener of sorts. It's interesting discovering the different perspectives we have on dramaland. For me, because I'm from a very heavily Western-influenced Asian country, I can relate so very much to both Western and Asian dramas.

(Note: In order to fully understand where I'm coming from in this blog entry, I suggest reading Amanda's blog post on Outside Seoul first because what follows was originally supposed to be a comment in response to her entry that became tl;dr material and so I decided to post it here instead.)

My first language was English; I'm positive I only ever read English books (save for school-required reading assignments); I grew up watching Sesame Street, Nickelodeon, and Disney; and up until the early 2000's, all I ever watched was American and British shows and movies (and the occasional Mexican telenovelas). I knew there were things that were distinctively Western, but because of the lengthy exposure to the Western culture, none of them were jarringly obvious to me.

When I finally started watching Asian dramas (it all started with Meteor Garden, the Taiwanese adaptation of Hana Yori Dango, and everything else snowballed from there), I got the same "culture shock" as I did with the Western shows - in that, there weren't a lot.

My favorite multi-generational household in Ojakgyo Brothers (2011)

Multi-generational households wasn't a new thing, I myself still live at home with my parents and sisters. And when they were still alive, my great-grandparents too. And until the very end, they had a say on most big family decisions. Although I do have friends who have moved out of their parents' homes, that doesn't mean they have full autonomy of their lives. I would have to say there is no clear cut definition on what the norm is anymore. Both are widely accepted. So when I see our heroine going home to her parents' house, where her grandmother and an uncle also live, this is not weird for me.

I also live in a sprawling, yet highly-congested metropolis. Not as gorgeous or high-tech as Seoul, but not provincial or rural either. And we eat rice for almost every meal. Even for breakfast. Sure, we do cereals and cornflakes, bacon and eggs, but rice for breakfast is the local preference. And we do have dine-in tables at convenience stores. I've never eaten ramyeon there, but I do usually have the microwaveable rice meals. At 7-11, yes.

Tables outside convenience stores are also an option, as seen in You're Beautiful (2009)

I guess, culturally, from my standpoint, growing up in a country that has been colonized by Spain and the US, plus the short-lived Japanese settlement, my perspective is vastly different from a lot of the other international kdrama audience. Yes, I'm Asian, but I come from a country that is far from being homogenous. To quote Stanley Karnow, my people spent "300 years in a convent, and 50 years in Hollywood." Our population is a mix of Malay, Chinese, and Spanish, not to mention the ever-growing Korean community. So in terms of dramas being relatable, both kdramas and Western dramas feel very familiar and yet very different, at the same time.

Digging deeper into the matter of relatability though, as Amanda has also pointed out in her own post, the reason we watch dramas in general is because they speak to us on the most basic level. It's not really about the who and the where, but the what and why and how. It's not really because our hero is the grandson of a chaebol who manages a coffee shop in Hongdae. We cared because when he unwittingly fell in love with someone so beyond his imagination, he threw caution to the wind and faced his inner turmoil head on. Love, friendship, family, living happily ever after - these are the common themes we look for in stories, no matter where the story can be found.

Still dreaming of my very own Choi Han-gyul, because Coffee Prince (2007) will forever own me

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In defense of Park Bom

First of all, prior to watching Roommate, I was never Park Bom's biggest fan. But getting to peep into her "life" on the show and how she interacts with her housemates, I came to appreciate her and I have been slowly changing my mind about her. So now that shit is hitting the fan from all directions, I just felt the need to voice out what I think about all this crap.

To those who are unfamiliar, there have been "breaking news" surrounding Bom during the past week that have been very hurtful, to both 2NE1 fans and Park Bom herself. It started with the resurfacing of a 4-year-old dismissed case about her alleged attempt to smuggle drugs into Korea. Which was already cleared by YG CEO Yang Hyun-suk himself in this statement.

However, respite was short lived because now the Korean media are questioning Bom's real age. And it is at this point that I roll my eyes and groan because they clearly have nothing else to talk about (because someone's probably shutting them up about the Sewol tragedy and the donation money the government supposedly used to build a badminton court instead) and are pulling all these "news" out of their asses.

It's stupid. All these news about Bom and none of them are really worth our time. If this results in Bom leaving Roommate, I’m gonna be so pissed. Also, Bom is the sweetest little thing (as far as I can tell) and does not deserve so much unwarranted hate. No one does.

Also, in what US school are sophomore high school students 17 years old? NO. Here they go mucking up ages because of the confusing East Asian Age Reckoning thing. They’re claiming that Bom was 17 in 1998 because she was already a sophomore. Well, I am one month older than Bom (here I go revealing how old I am) and I was definitely a sophomore high school student in 1998. AND I WAS 14 YEARS OLD. I was 17 years old during my freshman year of university.

And please. Even if she were actually 2 years older than declared, WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MATTER?! Does it change anything? Does it affect her career as a singer? All it changes is the fact that more people need to be calling her noona or unnie and need to be giving her the respect she deserves.

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