My k-pop story

K-pop, sometimes I wonder what k-pop has really done to me. What would be different if I didn’t like it? But then I realise that I was bound to like it anyway. Being in Korea kind of makes it hard not to like it. Some of you might wonder how I got into k-pop so here follows that story. I started liking k-pop when I was in Thailand with my friend. We did and intership at a school on Phuket in spring of 2008. While we were there we kept seeing this MV on TV all the time. It would play almost everyday during the evenings when we watched TV. We both thought it was thai, because we never really listened properly to them singing we just watched it. One day at the school some of the kids had brought a thai star magazine and they were flipping through it. So I sat down with them and they started telling me who everyone was. Suddenly I recognized the group we had been seeing on TV and the girls told me they were Korean and that they were called ss501 and then had a 20 min lecture about k-pop. They showed me more pictures of Super Junior, DBSK etc. During the rest of our stay in Thailand I did not care that much for the whole k-pop thing, the MV (it was Deja Vu) was still stalking us and we would laugh when we saw it and eventually we even learned some of the lyrics. When we got to Bangkok before we were about to go home we wandered into a CD shop and we found their CD so I bought it just for the crack. When I got home I started casually You Tubing and as you know on You Tube one video leads to another and then you are lost. So during that summer I watched a lot of shows mostly Super Junior because they had the most things with subtitles, but also stuff with DBSK and SS501 of course. I didn’t really become that attached to k-pop until I found Big Bang, who released Haru Haru that fall and later when I started watching Idol Army with 2PM (if you haven’t watched the show WATCH IT it’s hilarious) and the rest is history. I rather miss being a k-pop fan back in 2008-2009 for some reason things were a lot nicer back then, more calm, more chilled, not so crazy. I remember when Allkpop was just some random gossip site. K-pop has exploded, especially last year, on one side it’s great but on the other it’s not so great. I don’t know, it was just funnier loving k-pop a few years ago. Also I think that k-pop has lost some of it’s quality, lately there are bands popping up every day but not many of them bring something good out. Well maybe I don’t know what I am talking about but all I am saying is that liking k-pop ain’t fun any more, or not as fun as it used to be. K-pop stans are so aggressive these days and crazy and annoying. I kinda want to go back and stan k-pop in Korea again, that way I don’t have to deal with Internet k-pop fans haha. Liking k-pop while living in Korea is chill. I miss it, picking what you want to go to and not stressing about stupid fan stuff, just chilling and for some reason I like Korean fans better. They are CRAZY too but somehow I like their crazy, it’s more fun, totally not making sense.

Stanned SHINee during their debut days too…

Also, some of you might think I went to Korea because of k-pop, WRONG. When I got back from Thailand I started to prepare to go on an exchange to Ireland and I was dead set on it. But then I became a mentor for two exchange students, this is something I had been doing for a long time at uni, and both of the students were Koreans! The three of us became really good friends and when I told them about going on an exchange one of them said come to Korea. So I thought about it, I would be lying if the k-pop aspect didn’t play a small part in my decision but it was not the major point. It was more about the fact that I love to travel and to experience new things. Also being in Thailand made me fall in love with Asia, so I really wanted to go back there. If I did not get them two girls as my buddies then I never would have gone to Korea. I don’t think my love for k-pop would have ever been that strong that it would have driven me to go to Korea just because of it. I bet that if I would have gone to Dublin instead I would have forgotten about k-pop altogether. So there you go, this is my k-pop adventure. I shall leave you with a video that I love and hate, it’s so bittersweet watching it…

Tags: 2PM, K-Pop, SHINee, Korea, SS501

Do you like kimchi?

My life, it’s such a mess right now. But surprisingly I am not worried or freaked out, I am just going to let the mess happen. I have SO much in school, this week is no joke, have to read loads, have reports to write, have an exam on Sunday (I have not started studying for), it’s like I am drowning, but I just have to plan it right and then I should be fine, will I be fine?

My friend Shelbi got a question about Korea and how foreigners are treated there. She brought up a few good and bad points, one of the bad points being that it’s very common that older Korean men approach you and ask if you are Russian. This may not seem like something offensive but in Korea Russian is a code word for prostitute. I don’t know how it is in Korea today but back in the days most prostitutes in Korea used to be from Russia so this is where it comes from. During my time in Korea I never got approached by a anyone asking this, I knew about it because my friends told me, but it never happened while I lived there, but then, this summer, it happened. I was on the subway with my friends Maria and Heidi. The train was rather empty, we were sitting on one side and on the other there was four Korean guys around 25. Suddenly this older Korean man stepped on the train. For a few stations he just looked at us then after a while he stepped closer and made eye contact with Heidi who was sitting at the end. He casually started talking to first her then to all of us. Asking the normal questions, but leaving out the question about where we are from. Then after a while chatting he asked us: So where are you from? Russia? This awkward silence sets in, because we had JUST talked about this earlier in the day, then we all try and not laugh at the poor man but we politely say that we are not Russian and tell him where we are from. At this point we were all dying on the inside. I gazed over at the four guys sitting across from us, they had all also caught on to what the man asked us and they have also understood that we know what it means. This leads to that I can’t hold it and let out this small spastic laugh, which leads to that we all start laughing. We have no where to look because everyone is laughing, we, the guys, it’s a mess and in the middle of this is this poor old man, who slowly backed away from us looking totally horrified and I have never seen anyone leave a train faster than him. Once the doors closed we were all laughing so hard tears were flowing down and the four guys were laughing just as much. I know I should be offended because someone just called me and my friends whores but I don’t know any better than to laugh about it. This is still one of my favourite stories from this summer and I think Maria and Heidi feel the same way. Well this and the adorable high school boys who did rock paper scissor over who had to talk to us and then said in the cutest engrish ever: Welcome to Korea!! Do you like kimchi?

Tags: Korea

Things that keep me up at night that has to come out before bed

What is it with people and making crazy ass assumptions out of things I say? I was watching the pre-elections earlier from the States and as I was watching it just hit me that so many of the candidates that are running are against abortion or does not believe in evolution and they are really open about it and uses this to get votes. I think this is scary. So I made a tweet about it. Later I get this tweet from some randomer who is really pissed off and telling me that I have no right to say stuff like that because abortion is legal everywhere and that Sweden is not perfect (they brought up the fact that Sweden has a law that says that transgender persons have to be sterilized, which I think is rather crazy, it’s funny how this law has been around since 1972 but it just got current right now because someone dug it up) so I should watch what I say.

My first reaction is, what the hell are you talking about? A. I never said Sweden was perfect B. So just because Sweden is not perfect I am not allowed to voice my opinion over something C. It is not like this is a lie or some insane statement, it’s the truth. D. What has this trandsgender law even have to do with this? I said that presidential candidates in the States uses abortion as a tool to get votes. No candidate who is up for becoming prime minster in Sweden would EVER use this transgender law as a tool to get votes. So I don’t see how it is even relevant to what I tweeted other than pointing out that Sweden is not perfect which is something I never said. Why even bring it up? Also Sweden might not be perfect but when it comes down to LGBT rights we are LIGHT YEARS ahead of most countries in the world, also because this transgender thing has become an issue I am about 100% sure that the government will work on a solution, because we might not be perfect but at least we try.

Also, as this person pointed out I am also pretty sure that LOADS of presidents around the world are against abortion BUT, I could be wrong here, only in the States has this issue really become a HUGE vote winning point and a tool that is used in debates and discussions and this is what I am worried about. Taking a life is wrong, but taking away the right to choose is even worse. I have lived in Ireland were abortion is illegal, it is not good and it causes more harm than it does good. We have to have a right to choose. Also during the time I lived in Ireland I saw two elections for Taoiseach and even if abortion rights is a HUGE issue in Ireland I never saw the candidates use it in their debates, nor was their opinion about it a main focus for who people should vote for.

Oh Lord now I drifted off topic a little, but yeah there you have it. I seriously do not understand how people have the time to find stuff like this and tweet back and start shit over nothing, it’s the second time now in less than a month. Maybe I am the problem, I am just too opinionated I guess ^^

If you wish to respond do so in a civilized manner, I am not aggressive here nor am I in someone’s face so I ask for the same courtesy from all of you…

새해 복 많이 받으세요^^

Happy Lunar New Year

Happy Chinese New Year

It’s the year of the dragon this year.

Also, I did something, I am totally weak but I came to the conclusion that it was a good idea. I don’t really like to flood this blog with loads of pictures or too much k-pop stuff, because I feel this place is for me and me only. So after thinking I made the choice to create a new Tumblr, because no matter how much I think that Tumblr is evil it’s a good place to just post pictures and stuff like that. Plus since I got photoshop I love making GIFs and Tumblr is just the best place to post them on. My new Tumblr will strictly be for me to post pictures I take or pictures I tweak and GIFs I make. Feel free to follow http://grandmia.tumblr.com/

Year of the Dragon

Tags: Chinese New Year, Infinite, Lunar New Year

Plans…

Itinerary for my Seoul trip 9/2-14/2

9/2 – Actually I have no idea what to do this day? I land at 1pm I will be in town at around 2.30pm I guess. So I can be ready and out by maybe 3.30pm. Shelbi, get us tickets to M!Countdown, maybe? Could be nice ^^ I’ll buy you dinner after.

10/2 – Spending the whole day with Sehwon, told him to figure out something cultural we can do for the day. Then I want to go up the Namsan and have dinner in Sinchon or Hongdae after. Maybe Shanai wants us to party it up in the evening since it’s Friday.

11/2 – Shanai day in Insadong and Samcheong-dong. Ddukkbokki for lunch and then coffee shop hopping in Samcheong-dong. Maybe I’ll buy some nice stuff for my mom in Insadong. We are DEFINITELY going out in the evening. Party hard!

12/2 – Hungover, but I need to meet Minsun and I think I can only do that this day. Oh kinda have to meet Eunbee too and I should squeeze in some shopping this day as well. Can we add more hours to the day?

13/2 – Pure shopping the whole day most likely start in Myeongdong then I’ll go down to Gangnam and COEX in the afternoon. Will most likely go to the cinema in the evening with Sehwon, the cinema at COEX is nice ^^ or no we should go to the Yongsan one. Then I can shop some more there too.

14/2 – Won’t be able to do much this day, I’ll probably have breakfast with Sehwon before I leave though.

This is what I want to do, but I am 100% sure this is NOT how it will turn out in the end. But one can hope right? I have two concerts that kind of messes with the plans a little. I will see how I will manage to manoeuvre them in to the schedule ^^

 

Tags: Seoul