weegukin

I've forgotten how many times I've talked to foreigners, like myself, in Korea.

Inevitably, our conversation always turns to how Korea is such an inhospitable place for foreigners.

In this age of globalization, it's still a wonder how a city so modern as Seoul can still feel so provincial when it comes to dealing with 'foreign' visitors.

It's probably different for tourists, since the locals would be nice and friendly to give a good impression.

But for foreigners who have to live and work here, it's a different story.

When asked to do a story about cultural diversity in Korea, a NZ co-worker once remarked how 'cultural diversity' and Korea are incompatible.

Foreigners are mostly tolerated. I can't even say we're actually welcomed. I guess the unemployment rate does lend fuel to the raging concerns that foreigners are out to 'steal' the jobs from Koreans.

Korea is probably one of those last bastions of homogenity in race, culture and language. They pride themselves in having a 'pure' race and utterly reject attempts by foreigners to pollute it. This is why Koreans who marry foreigners are probably better off living anywhere else but here, where their union will be challenged by meddling in-laws,  discrimination and other societal concerns.

There are so many little things that bug me here.

No one ever tells the foreigners anything. They insist on talking in their own language. Even matters that concern you... you only find out later what the problem is or something. 

Or how some would try to pull a fast one on you, simply because they think you're foreign, therefore you're clueless.

Michael Breen, the journalist who wrote the book The Koreans, when he said there are two types of foreigners who stay in Korea. Those who absolutely love Korea, and those who absolutely hate it.

Their version of nationalism is so extreme, it just invites anti-Koreaness from fp

November Chopin

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Music
Genre:	R&B
Artist:	Jay Chou

I'm going to be really honest. I didn't like Jay Chou at first, simply because he had too many fans. I thought Chinese fans had developed a weird taste for a brooding, unsmiling guy who mumbles when he raps. I couldn't see what the fuss was about, well look at him and he is certainly not an F4-quality cutie.

Then, I watched Initial D and fell in love with the ballad at the end of the movie. I searched and found it was Jay's song. I may not have understood any of the Chinese lyrics, but the sadness of the song just came through.

And so... last week, I (and Yam) discovered Jay's musical talent.

November Chopin is already Jay's nth album. The title is a sort of homage to his classical idol Chopin.

Jay's appeal is his ability to create music which combines Chinese with Western style. Looking at Jay, you can't quite believe he can come up with poetic lyrics. Where does he get the insipiration to create music that sounds like that, I wonder.

Hair Like Snow (Fa Rue Xue) is so romantic, with Jay's voice sounding so heart-felt. The same is true for Maple (Feng) and Always Head Towards the North (Yi Lu Xiang Bei), the theme from Initial D.

Somehow, I keep listening to Always Head Towards the North everyday.

Aside from his beautiful ballads, Jay also has these cool, R&B, rap songs like Drifting (Piao Yi) and Blue Hurricane (Lan Se Feng Bao) which was played at the start of Initial D. Its got great solid beats that make your head bounce.

I've found new respect and admiration for Jay. He's got real musical talent. He plays the piano, composes music and write lyrics.

Besides, I've watched Initial D and I admit (yes, Yam you can use this against me in the future) he's kinda appealing in a bad boy, shy-type, cool sort of way.

Yeah, he grows on you... You look at him, listen to his songs and you go-- "Wow, I love Jay!"

The cool thing with Jay is he knows he doesn't have to act cute to sell albums. Its his music that draws everyone in.

"Even when my female fans approach me, they don't tell me that I'm handsome," Chou explains to Time Magazine. "They tell me they like my music. It's my music that has charmed them."

And utterly charmed is what I am.

beeyatch

I don't quite know when I started to be a real bitch.

As a little girl, I've always been spoiled rotten being the first grandchild. I always had my way. If I didn't get my way, I would throw huge tantrums.

Even at school, at first I would sit with the little quiet girls, but I would end up sitting next to the noisy girls who would gradually influence me into becoming "bad."

No one really knew. I looked like a prim little miss, rarely speaking out and always smiling.

But I was never one to root for clean-cut Betty (Boring), since I absolutely made Veronica (Beeyatch) as my idol. I always had sympathy for the much-maligned bitches, while secretly wanting to bring down the goody-goody two-shoes of the world.

It does take a lot of effort to be nice and smile.

How long can I keep this up?

Love Letter

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Drama

Starring Miho Nakayama

For me, the perfect Valentine's day movie is the Japanese film, Love Letter.

I was first intrigued by the little-known film, after finding out it was huge hit in South Korea. I remember laughing after seeing a film showing a hard core gang leader (was it Happy Ero Christmas?) watching Love Letter and weeping uncontrollably.

Love Letter is probably the first modern Japanese film I can remember watching, not counting Hayao Miyazaki, Akira Kurosawa and anime movies.

The movie starts by introducing Hiroko, a young woman who is still mourning the death of her fiancee Fujii Itsuki after two years. In a moment of impulse, she writes a letter to her fiancee's old home address (which she knows has already been torn down) in his hometown.

Little did she know there is also another Fujii Itsuki (played by the same actress as Hiroko) living in the small town. But this time, Itsuki is a girl, who has been nursing a terrible cold throughout winter. She receives the letter, and in a whimsical move, decides to write back to Hiroko even if she has no idea who she is.

Hiroko becomes intrigued, thinking her fiancee is writing to her from the graveyard. Thus begins a unique relationship between Hiroko and Itsuki, who it turned out knew the male Itsuki. The two girls are strikingly similar, could even pass as twins, but they never meet.

Hiroko asks her to "share" her memories of her dead fiancee during junior high. The female Itsuki (Do I look like the young Itsuki? Hmm...) was the classmate of the male Itsuki, whom she described as unfriendly and aloof. She only had bad memories, recalling her classmates' incessant teasing for 3 years because of their same names.

She had to endure being teased with the male Itsuki, who somewhat aloof and unfriendly; and being voted for the library committee with Itsuki.One of the male Itsuki's quirks was his penchant for writing his name on the blank library cards of books which no one ever checked out. He would wait for the female Itsuki and cover her head with a paper bag,
while biking!

As Itsuki shared her memories, suddenly it seemed apparent there was something between the two Itsukis. But the female Itsuki did not think so, at least during their younger years.

It was so cute, seeing the young stars go through junior high. The fact that the younger male Hsuki is such a cutie, only made me like the film more. Itsuki is played by Takashi Kashiwabara.
If the story started with the love story between the dead Itsuki and Hiroko, it ends up being the untold romance between the two Itsukis. One of the sad moments is when Hiroko realizes that her fiancee may have chosen her because of her striking resemblance to his first love, Itsuki. Her fiancee once told her it was "love at first sight", but she realizes it was not actually true.

Itsuki is actually really dense, she does not realize how the male Itsuki must have liked her before. Hiroko has to tell her that the male Itsuki may not have been writing his name on the library cards, but actually her name.

Is it possible that one goes through love without realizing it? After all, it was only in adulthood when Hsuki realized it. I cried at the end, when Itsuki sees the old book the guy gave her. In the past, she did not realize it but the library card had her name and sketch of her on the back.

Director Shunji Iwai really created a beautiful film about love both lost and found. The movie wouldn't have been as effective if any other actress than Miho Nakayama played the lead roles.

Grab a pack of tissues before you see this film.

Initial D

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Action & Adventure

Starring Jay Chou, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue

First of all, I am not a fan of Jay Chou. In fact, Yam and I have described him as looking like a tambay from Binondo.We just couldn't get why most of Asia seems to adore Jay, with his slitty eyes and bored look. Besides, I couldn't stand to watch him long enough to decide if he has real talent.

Initial D is more known as Jay Chou's debut movie, than it is an adaptation of an immensely popular Japanese manga and anime series. But I was actually excited to see this movie because of Edison and Shawn!

From the opening scene, the movie looked really slick and had a kickin' soundtrack. I'm guessing it was Jay who sang most of the songs, which combined hip-hop, rap with more classical elements, but still retained some Oriental sound.

The story is about Jay aka TuoHoi, a gas attendant by day and tofu delivery boy by night, who has an incredible talent for racing. His father, played to perfect greasiness and drunkenness by Anthony Wong, is a has-been racing driver.

One night while delivering tofu in his fathre's beat up Toyota Sprinter AE86 Trueno, he gets into an impromptu race with Shawn and his GTR and beats him. It is a pretty exciting scene, except Jay seems to do nothing but look bored and sleepy while driving. Shawn doesn't know who he is, except he sees the tofu sign and tries to track down the mystery driver.

The story develops with shy Jay falling in love with a girl (Japanese actress with big eyes) who turns out to be a ho; Jay trying to hone his racing skills and eventually racing against Shawn, Edison and racing pros.

The racing scenes are impressive. You do get a feel of the excitement of driving through a zigzag road with hairpin turns. However, there's no real emotion in Jay's face most of the time. At least, Edison and Shawn are both charming and have those devilish smiles. (Okay, I'm biased for these IA guys!)

I can't help but feel Edison would have made a more interesting lead guy than Jay! But oh well, Jay did pass his first movie role with somewhat okay results.

Initial D is bound to have a sequel, judging from the vague ending. Will I still be in it for the ride?

Love of May

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Music
Genre:	Pop
Artist:	Shin Hye-sung

Fans have been waiting for Shin Hye-sung to go solo for the past few years. After all, everyone knows he's got the best voice in Shinhwa.

When he finally came out with his debut album, fans rewarded him by making the disc number one for a couple of weeks. I mean, even Japanese fans are crazy over him!

His album is mostly a collection of pop ballads. His voice is perfect for sweet syrupy slow songs, which make girls weep.

It's a relaxing CD to listen to. He seems so heartfelt when he sings. I liked the somewhat bossanova feeling of Buen Camino, and the cool Don't Leave.


Here's my old post about Sungie:

Sunday, May 08, 2005
saturday with sungie

After I realized Hye Sung will have his showcase on May 7, I couldn't stop thinking about it.

I was extremely excited about getting his first solo CD, so I dropped by Synnara to get a copy and free posters (one for Uchi) on Friday evening.

By Saturday morning, I was prepared. Hyesung's 14 tracks plus the stooopid Michael Learns to Rock track were uploaded on my iPod. Bottle of water. Box of cookies. Candy. A cafe mocha at Starbucks to wake me up and keep me alert. Shopaholic and Sister book. Umbrella.

I ended up at the Olympic Park around lunch time, mildly surprised at the long lines already. I tried to stay in line along with the rest, but I found out the only way to get tickets for the concert was to be a KTF subscriber. Ugh. I am an SK subscriber. F**K!!!

With my orange, heart-shaped balloon, I gave up on the line, saved a seat in front of the huge screen and walked around Olympic Park so I didn't totally waste my Saturday. I even had second thoughts about staying, thinking its so juvenile to spend my day with high school kids ! Gosh, I felt so damned old and silly.

So, I looked for a place to eat and nursed my migraine headache. I ended up watching the live Cokeplay show, the host kinda looked cute but not really. The kids dancing looked dorky and awkward, pero kina-career talaga.

When I came back I saw a booth selling Sungie's cds, a small black Shinhwa book with more photos from their Winter Story 2 cd, and Sungie's 8x 10 photos. Did I buy? Does a cat meow? Does a fish swim? Of course I did... It was the photo of Hyesung wearing a headband with a stuffed bee on top. He looked soooooo adorable.

After a series of false alarms on more free tickets for the poor kids outside the gym, I settled down on my seat. There were two opening acts, a guy and a girl, but I didn't pay much attention.

Promptly at 7:30pm, the screen showed a series of Hye Sung's pictures, then amid a cloud of smoke, he appeared. Wearing white jacket and white pants, he started singing Track 1 from his album (don't ask me about the Hangeul titles).

OMGGGGGG!!!!

Suddenly, I remembered why I was so gaga over Shinhwa! He started talking to the crowd (syempre, wala ako naintindihan), pero he got a bit teary-eyed thanking everyone and seeing the crowd's reaction (syempre, SS na ito...who knew what he was saying!).

His next outfit change was black polo with red tie and white pants.Then, he came out, looking fresh in white shirt and faded blue jeans. Gosh, he looks so boyish in that outfit! Super!!!

The crowd was literally screaming the whole time. The screams went louder (if it was possible), when the camera showed Shinhwa guys Junjin, Minwoo and Dongwan and (my current fave) Project S Lee Ji Hoon sitting on the front row, giving support for Sungie! Too bad, Andy and Eric weren't there. Hmm... where was Kang Ta? Probably busy promoting his own cd.

It was of course expected the three Shinhwa guys would go up the stage! They all hugged Sungie. Minwoo looked so hot (ayan, crushie ko na siya ulit!) in those bubuyog shades, Junjin with his stylish hat, and Dongwan with the beanie hat. Darn, where was Lee Ji Hoon?! It was so cool to hear the guys say "Shinhwa-imnida!" Sheeeet... I couldn't quite believe it was live (and to think I was just watching this on the big outdoor screen, and not inside the gym). They were probably saying everyone should support Sungie's solo album or whatever.

Hye Sung sang a total of five songs, including Buen Camino, his duet. His video was also shown at the end. There was also a montage of clips from other famous kpop stars giving their support to Sungie, like MC Mong, Jewelry, Buzz, Kim Ye Seul (Sungie said, "Ipuda"-- Pretty when she came on, causing everyone to scream in protest). The camera also showed Hye Sung's mom in the audience, looking proud.

It felt funny to be around so many bagets, who were really so obssessed about Shinhwa. They would go around giving their calling cards with pics of the guys,or show off their colorful banners and pictures, or scream whatever. They screamed when they saw the girl kiss Sungie on the forehead in the MV. Cheeze, get a grip.

At the end of the show, Coke cans with Shinhwa pics were handed out to "refresh" everyone. The kids chased after heavily tinted vans, thinking Sungie or the other Shinhwa guys were in them.

By the time I got home, I was dead tired. When I took out my slightly creased Hye Sung photo, it was only then I realized there was an autograph (probably fake, but still an autograph).

Awww, just the ending to make my day complete.

IInd Winds

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Music
Genre:	Pop
Artist:	M

I still remember the first time I saw M on one of those Korean pop shows on Arirang. At first I laughed, thinking he looked funny but then again he danced so well I was just glued to the screen.

I ended up ordering his first album, un-touch-able, and the rest is history. Unlike most who thought his first CD was a disappointment, I actually thought it was great. I liked his mix of dance and R&B songs, not to mention the fact that since the lyrics were all in Korean-- it just sounded cooler.

His second album, with the weird title IInd Winds, has got the right mix of hip-hop, club tracks and R&B. His first single was Last First Kiss, which was a pretty R&B ballad, but didn't really have much impact. Besides, his line about "My boo" was pretty laughable.

His next single, Bump!!! (with the three exclamation points) is a good track that makes you want to hit the dance floor and bump with M. His video, while quite visually exciting, featured some crazy outfits that made him look like a hobbit. The hood and the ripped shirt? He should have kept his shirt off!

Among the other tracks, I particularly like Sinkiro and sexy Let me love you, which featured Tablo of Epik High. I also loved listening to the smooth sound of Sometimes, and the thumping beat of Battle (Jump! Jump!).

Personally, I dind't think much of Girlfriend, which he wrote the lyrics. It was kind of mushy sounding.

Overall, I think this album showed M's maturity as an artist. He shows how different M can be from the Min-woo of Shinhwa.


(Here's my old blog about the album launch)
Lee Min-woo IIndWinds AlbumLaunch

KS and I spent the past few days of biting our nails, wondering if we could actually go and cover his show. But it was cool because we got our wish! In my years as a reporter, I don’t think I’ve ever been glad to go and cover something as much as this one.

The presscon was supposed to start at 5:20, but we had to wait for a good 40 minutes before it actually started. The room was already filled with reporters, photographers and cameramen.

KS and I again played our game of “fashion-victim-spotting” and we did see a couple of weird outfits. Oh well, there really was nothing much to do. There was one thing we discovered about M, but it’s kinda embarrassing so I’m not sure if I want to share it.

Finally, M came inside the room. Wearing a white polo and jeans (take note, jeweled jeans! Wtf, we both shook our heads at M as the fashionvictim!), his hair was really puffy and tousled like a nest again. My first impression was: “Ugh, he has a big head (for a small guy 5’7 or 5’8),” I mumbled to KS, who said people with big heads look good on TV. KS always thought M looked weasel-y, and he did.

M looked kinda nervous, none of his famous charisma really shone through. Since I don’t really know much of the language, I just stared at him. His eyes shifted around the room as he spoke rapidly. Hmm… the longer I looked at him, the cuter he was. Well, not looking at the odd hair.

KS and I were nudging each other to ask him a question, any question! Finally, KS just shouted (in English) “Question! When are you going to the US?” I think she startled a lot of the people, even one of the PR guys stood up to look at us.

M looked way surprised, “US? Miguk?” and then he proceeded to answer in Korean. Blah blah blah… It was so funny. This question prompted one of the reporters to ask us where we were from -- which we think he'll put in his story. There were cameras from the major stations -- which could mean we could be seen in one of the clips! hahaha...

Then, the presscon was over.

We went inside the hall to check our seats. The hall was quickly filling up with screaming girls in school uniforms and orange lightsticks. Our seats were in the middle of the hall, with a good view of the stage. We wondered why the girls kept screaming and looking at us, then we realized we were sitting in front of M’s family!

After three front acts including Joosuc?, M finally got the show started! He came down from the top in a sort of open cage, singing Battle. The crowd went wild, and the sticks started swaying to the beat. He was wearing a shrunken leather blazer which showed off his abs. But what are those netty things on his pants?!

We would see that M in various stages of undress would be a recurring theme. What does he have against clothing?! I guess he just wants to show off his nicely tanned, ripped bod.

But I found new admiration for M’s dancing skills. He can move! But then again, I didn’t really care for the slutty dancers, bumpin’ and grindin’. Man, they were dancing dirty. I guess they want M to have a sexy image, but it’s kinda weird coz his crowd is all PG13. The kids were all screaming, out of excitement or outrage I couldn’t tell.

Then of course, the other guys came! OMG, I was so excited to see Eric! He was wearing a pair of jeans, plain white tee and slippers and a white cap! But he looked sooooo hot!!!

ShinHyesung was wearing jeans, a blue jacket, his knitted cap and his studious glasses. Andy---wore a tiny white tee (it looked so g*y), but he still got the most screams. What does that say???

The guys cheered M on, even asking the crowd to sing HappyBirthday but with congratulations lyrics.

M sang a total of 8 songs, including the encore “Overdose” with fireworks! Talk about ending with a bang.

KS and I laughed a lot about M’s costumes, but appreciated his dancing and his flatter hair during the show. He does have that something special on stage.