BOBBY X MASTA WU X DOK2

I can't believe this is happening. I seriously can't seem to wrap my mind around this new YG hip-hop project. Mind. Blown.

Many speculations were made regarding YG's second hip-hop project. When they first announced Bobby, no one was surprised. Literally, no one. Bobby's popularity blew up when he won Show Me The Money 3. Now, he's not just YG trainee and future iKON rapper Bobby. He's SMTM3's champion Bobby.

When I was in Seoul last month, I would hear his version of "연결고리 (YGGR)" at the most unexpected places. He's everywhere. So, it's to no one's surprise that YG is milking as much as he can from the most recent man of the hour (almost quite literally, too, as he was named one of Korea's Men of the Year by GQ Korea).

As for the other two guys on the project, people were offering random guesses, most of them so far off the mark. No one was prepared for this.

Combinations criss-crossed so many ways, some of which were plausible, others not so much (like some saying that YG would troll real hard by announcing himself as the final member- HAHA!). Some offered the very obvious - and therefore not real - Bobby-Mino-B.I. Some unrealistically wanted CL on the team. I personally wanted a Bobby-Mino-T.O.P collaboration. Alas, none of these are anywhere near the truth.

Although, I read someone say that because YG announced Bobby first, that clearly meant the last two on the roster were probably huge names. And, indeed, they are. It seems Masta Wu is coming out of hiatus and all it took was some Bobby. They've also managed to take Dok2 on board.

I really shouldn't be surprised about Dok2. Many people also thought he could be a possibility. But because most also thought that a YG project meant all-YG artists, the idea of having Dok2 in the team was a pipe-dream. However, this is not Dok2's first time collaborating with a YG artist, and Bobby was on Team Dok2 and The Quiett on SMTM3, so I have no real reason to be this taken aback. But I am.

For real, December 2nd can't come any sooner. With the announcement of all the rappers on Project 2, I am officially hyped. Not sure why, but I'm hoping half of the song is in English. Also, while I'm still loving GD x Taeyang's "Good Boy", I'm hoping this new track is nothing like that one. I want an actual hip-hop record and not another club banger. Knowing Masta Wu and Dok2, it will be. I'm so ready for a really good beat.

Who's excited? Gaaahhh. And as they would say, "Put your 1llionaire hand signs up. Sorijilleobwaaaa!"

Read More

Seoul, 기억하죠!

It's been awhile since our trip to Seoul and I realize I haven't said anything about it except for seeing BTS (which was one of the highlights but a very brief moment in my longest visit to the city so far). My friend and I stayed in Hongdae for about ten days and explored as much of Seoul as we could, only venturing out of the capital for Everland, Nami Island, and Petite France.

While it's been almost two years since my last trip to Korea, being back in Seoul felt comfortable and familiar. Finding my way around the subway system felt almost second nature. And I'm glad I know way more Korean now than I did during my last visits (first visit: hardly any; second visit: very limited) because it proved to help a lot in getting around and finding answers to our questions.

I remember trying to find a specific restaurant in Myeongdong that I had been to before that I wanted to visit again. I approached one of the tourist information people and asked my question in Korean. The lady confirmed with me if it was okay for her to answer in Korean as well and I nodded to her to go ahead. I was pretty proud of myself when I understood her instructions even though I didn't know each and every word she said.

Ordering food was 10 times easier. Being able to read road signs and maps that were purely in Korean increased efficiency tenfold. It also made people respond better to us - and that includes getting so much service from a lady in Namdaemun.

Also, a lot of the ahjummas found it fascinating to converse with foreigners in their own language. As soon as they realized I spoke a little Korean, they'd go and start very lengthy and animated conversations with me. On my part, of course, it was more of trying to catch words here and there and trying to figure out the gist of what they were saying. That's the best way to learn though.

In the winter of 2012, when I had gone to Seoul with my sisters, we met a very friendly ahjumma selling Hallyu souvenirs in Bukchon. My sisters and I engaged her in a very stilted conversation using whatever Korean I knew, plus the very limited English she could muster. Most of the conversation involved very grand hand gestures.

This time around, when I accompanied my friend to check out the Running Man and CN Blue memorabilia in the store, I was armed with better Korean skills. I asked her if she remembered me and told her that I had met her two years back with my sisters in tow. She said she did, I honestly don't think she did at that point, but she encouraged the conversation and asked me about my sisters' whereabouts and if I was studying in Seoul. Then I asked after her son, whom she had managed to tell me about last 2012, and if he was still living in New Zealand. The ahjumma was beyond shocked that I had remembered that small bit of trivia. "Gieokhane?!" she had exclaimed.

She then went looking for a Running Man 2015-2016 desk calendar. She said she wanted me to have it! I wasn't even buying anything and here she was shoving a $10-calendar at me. I tried pushing my luck a little further by asking if, since she was giving me a free calendar, instead of Running Man could she give me the Winner one instead. After jokingly giving me the side-eye, she said yes!

It's those small things that made my trip exceptionally memorable. Like when that one ahjumma in the Gwangjang Market suggested I try my shot at being an actress in Korea since I spoke their language. Believe you me, I walked out of that place with my head in the clouds!

I know my Korean language skills leave much to be desired, but the fact that a Korean colleague whom I had visited at our Gangnam office told me that my Korean was much better than his English (and he speaks good English!), then I think there's hope for me yet. Haha.

After a week and a half of walking and eating our way through Seoul (and surrounding areas in Gyeonggi-do), I was exhausted and cold enough to actually miss home but it was still depressing having to say goodbye. I'm not sure when I'll get to go back (a trip to Sydney must come first, my aunt insists) but here's to hoping that when I do, Seoul will remain as familiar as it had been this year. Also, I hope by then I would've upped my language game a bit more.

Read More

Currently Watching: She's So Lovable, Liar Game, Mix & Match

I'm itching to get this entry out of the way because I need to get started on the finale of She's So Lovable. Also, lunch. I'm starving.

So without further ado, here are the shows that are still keeping me very busy.

1. She's So Lovable - Despite the ick factor of dating your dead sister's ex-boyfriend, I must say I'm loving this show. Krystal has definitely climbed some steps up my list of favorite idol-actors. Rain is effortlessly gorgeous. And L, though definitely the weakest link among the 3 leads, is still owning my heart. Shi-woo is such a wonderful character and I hope he survives this heartbreak and stay by Se-na's side, even as just a friend.

Although I love the show, it isn't perfect. It's far from it. There have been a lot of things that made me want to throw a rock at my screen, mainly how Hyun-wook kept his relationship with So-eun a secret for the longest time and would've actually gone all the way to Boston just to keep Se-na from finding out. That was such an ass move and I'm sort of glad Jae-young was just as big an asshole to out Hyun-wook's secret. Also, in the recent episode where Hyun-wook's father decides not to learn anything from fighting with Hyun-wook for the past 3 years and is trying to keep him away from the girl he loves. Like that's gonna keep the balance in your screwed up father-son relationship.

The finale aired last night and my download is almost complete. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to how they close the show.

2. Liar Game - Lee Sang-yoon is love. So much love. He was adorable in Angel Eyes but he's super hot in this one. Shin Sung-rok, too. And despite Nam Da-jung being my least favorite character in the drama, Kim So-eun is so pretty.

The show is intense and is getting more exciting as we move along the rounds of the game. I'm not proud enough to admit that there have been times when they talk so fast about strategy that I'm left not knowing what the hell just happened. So I have had to rewind a couple of times just to make sense of the subtitles.

Right now, I'm not loving how idealistically naive and dumb our lead girl is. Here's to hoping for some character development as the show progresses. We can already see how she's affecting Woo-jin, I only hope some of his smarts rub off on her too.

3. High School Love On - I'm one episode behind. But so far, still good. Woohyun is owning me, as usual. His heartbreak is my heartbreak and I just want to reach into the screen and give him a hug. Well, him and Sungyeol both. Those boys need a break, and each other. To hell with that woman who does not know the basics of being a mother. She's not being a good one to either of the boys when she'd throw Woohyun away so she can be a mom to Sungyeol. In what logic is that even remotely right?

I need to catch up on this before the new episode comes out this weekend. Since several of my shows are ending this week, I might have some time again.

4. Cantabile Tomorrow - Admittedly, I'm super behind on this show. I think I'm only midway through episode 2. So I have a lot of catching up to do. I'm hoping it gets better as it goes on. Right now, the only thing keeping me from giving up is Joo-won and his pretty hair. Oh, also Go Kyung-pyo. Sooo cute!

5. We Got Married - Jjongah couple will be the death of me. I'm really liking the slow progress between the two of them. They're not suddenly super lovey-dovey and Jong-hyun is still really awkward, but visibly less so than he was at the onset. Skinship has slowly been increasing and I love how easy Jong-hyun laughs these days. He's visibly more comfortable around Yura and he's starting to really come out of his shell. It's apparent not just during their dates but also during his interviews.

Jae-rim and So-eun on the other hand are, well, out of hand. Skinship on this end of the spectrum has been insane and Jae-rim is such a sly character. It's absolutely wonderful to watch. But then you also start to question the sincerity since they had only just met. There's no build up, no actual progress, because they started at 0 and sped right to 180 kph.

6. Mix & Match - Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised with the way YG delivered iKON's final lineup. He simply wanted to make people think it wasn't just a battle for 7th between the new guys. Which, admit it, made things a little more exciting. And I really can't complain. I voted for Chanwoo.

Sadly, I also voted for Hongseok. I think my friends were genuinely surprised that I didn't vote OT6 + newbie. I voted 2 old Team B members + Chanwoo + Hongseok. I sincerely feel like Hongseok was a victim of cruel editing, how they made him seem like someone who didn't work hard and like he didn't get along well with the original guys. Which, of course, was obviously not true based on the insane skinship he had with Bobby and Jinhwan in that adorable cuddle pile-up they had going on during OT9's sleepover. Also, he also seemed very close to Hanbin. I'm really hoping YG keeps him around.

Otherwise, I'm fine with the final members. I am such a Bobby fangirl. I absolutely love Junhoe's voice. And Chanwoo was a favorite from the start. Honestly, the best thing about Chanwoo being in iKON is the cuteness explosion between him and Bobby. Kid’s a potential hyungwhore.

Now, my only wish is for iKONTV to happen. Seriously. I need this to tide me over.

I still have several downloads of current dramas that I haven't started on. Maybe now that Lovable and Mix & Match are over, I'll have some time for them. On my back burner are Modern Farmer, Bad Guys, and Misaeng.

Read More

iKon's official 6th member and new maknae

Well, things just got interesting. YG is making fans go crazy by announcing Chan-woo first. This makes people think it wasn’t just a battle for 7th between the new guys. I can’t complain. I voted for Chan-woo.

/Honestly, the best thing about Chan-woo being iKon's 6th member is the cuteness explosion between him and Bobby. Kid's a potential hyungwhore./

Who’s ready for tomorrow’s finale? I’m sure as hell not.

Read More