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…

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?

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…

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

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 ^^

]]> http://ninna83.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/plans/feed/ 1 ninna83 IMG_1491 http://ninna83.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/winter-where-are-you/ http://ninna83.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/winter-where-are-you/#comments Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:47:30 +0000 ninna83 http://ninna83.wordpress.com/?p=4615 ]]>

Today was the first time this winter that I have felt that it was winter. The winter 2011-2012 has been a disgrace so far. I kinda like winter, I like having rosy cheeks and seeing the breath come out of your mouth. I love dressing in warm coats and cute scarves and gloves and waiting with a hot cup of tea, I actually don’t mind it at all. But this winter has been nothing like this, it hasn’t even been cold. I like to dream back and think about last winter, when we had a lot of snow and I used to take walks on the frozen lake almost everyday. Plus even if the snow caused a lot of problems and you cursed it a lot it was still nice and it was pretty outside. It ain’t even pretty at the moment.

Winter on our lake

So I am going to sit back and wait for spring to come. I really hope I can go to France for Easter. I love meeting the spring in Bourgogne. I think it will be freezing cold in Seoul though, but I do not mind that at all, even if the cold in Seoul is like no other. When my brother visited for new years he was living in the north of Sweden working in a ski resort, the day he left Sweden it was -25C there. When he got to Seoul the first thing he had to do was to buy a new winter jacket because the one he was using was too cold for him to use in Seoul. It was not -25C in Seoul it was maybe -10C but the cold in Seoul is deadly. But I am looking forward to it, winter in Seoul is amazing, means loads of time to get cozy in nice coffee shops around the city. But enough about winter, I am dreaming and waiting for spring to come again.

Cherry blossom in Stockholm

Me and my mom went to the east Asian museum today, they had some activities because it’s the Chinese New Year. I won’t post the pictures I took now because the new year doesn’t official start until Monday. So I’ll hold them off a little and post them then. But I can say that it was really fun to watch. The museum itself was rather boring. It’s called the east Asian museum but they might as well call it the Chinese History Museum. In my opinion I have always thought that Japan’s history is more interesting than China’s. And after living in Korea and learning about Korean history I think that Korean history is the most diverse and interesting of them all. But, yeah, maybe I am just biased (but my mom agrees too).

Koreans are no Vikings…

The most beautiful thing happened at work today. I was playing cards with three of the 5th graders, they are all boys, we had the radio on, as we usually do during the afternoons. At one point Set fire to the rain with Adele came on and as we were playing I find myself sitting in a little boys choir as they all sing along to the chorus, I couldn’t help but to smile when I see three 12 year old boys singing their heart out to Adele. It was so cute, because they were totally focused on the card game we were playing and the singing just came. My precious, precious boys, I really love my job SO much and I know why I want to become a teacher so I can work with kids like this forever.

Ma girls...

My darling Cia is leaving on a jet plane soon and I don’t know when she will be back again. She is going to China to further develop her already savage Chinese skills. It will be a little weird that she will be gone for so long. I haven’t known her for that long, it’s actually only been two years since we met for the first time (still remember how she tried to force me to listen to CN Blue’s 외톨이야), but it feels like we have known each other for a lot longer than that. When I became friends with Cia I also got Fia and it’s funny how close we have become. I am amazed everyday that they even want to hang out with this grandma but I thank them for their patience and they are two girls that I will always cherish. It’s funny how our journey together started in Seoul and how we all might end up in that neck of the woods again. Fia has applied to go on an exchange to Hankuk University in Seoul in the fall and I have my fingers crossed that I will find a job so I can go too. It would be pretty cool to all live so close to each other in Asia. They talked about going to Japan next new year and I think that sounds like the best idea ever. What do you say? New Year 2012 in Tokyo BABY!!!

Feels...

Had a long discussion the other day with some of my friends. They were going to go and see Hamilton, a new Swedish film, kind of like James Bond but a little lamer. The main guy is played my Mikael Persbrandt (holy mother of, I just saw he is going to be in the new Hobbit movies). I have never liked him that much, I mean he is handsome but not insanely handsome. But when I saw the posters for the film I got this tingling feeling, damn he looks good. Suddenly he became one of them old guys you wouldn’t mind being with, you know like Sean Connery, Johnny Depp or George Clooney. He is a silver fox and that is just it. Suddenly I feel really old…

George Clooney

Have been working a little too much this week, I know I was suppose to focus more on school but I realise I like working but I know I can’t neglect school any more. So I have REALLY write this stupid religion assignment so I can get my CSN money next week. SHAPE UP MIA! But I am still working tomorrow, I mean it’s Friday and that means smoothies and movie time!!

Click for huge glorious poster...

Can it be the 30th of January already? I am here jumping up and down waiting for Flower Boy Band to start so I can spazz just as much I did while watching Flower Boy Ramyun Shop. PLUS, today I learned that Jung Euichul has joined the cast (!!!!!!) if you read my posts about Boys Before Flowers then you know how OBSESSED I was with him when he was in that drama, even if he was a little creepy there and only was in about one episode. He seems however to be one of the main cast in this drama so I am a very happy panda.

Jung Euichul

Also got excited to see some shooting pictures from the set. I really love how TvN are good with uploading BTS pictures and videos. They better have bloopers reels for this drama too, just like they did for Flower Boy Ramyun Shop.

BTS

One more HUGE glorious poster

The drama will start airing on TvN on the 30/1 at 11pm. I will try and make posts about the episodes as they come out, it was fun over analysing Boys Before Flowers and I would have LOVED to do so with Flower Boy Ramyun Shop. So stay tuned for my silly and annoying posts about this drama in the future ^^

Russian Earl Grey my absolute favourite

I don’t drink coffee, instead I drink tea and I drink loads of it. I love all sorts of tea, black, green, white, purple you name it I drink it. I prefer black tea though. I love a strong black breakfast tea, I blame Ireland for creating this habit. There is nothing better than a huge cup of Lyons or Barrys with a little milk and maybe some honey. If I ever feel down or tired I make myself a cuppa and as soon as I take that first sip all the problems of the world seem to vanish, so I am convinced that tea has healing powers.

So it looks like my money problems will solve themselves, I just need to shape up and fix the things I messed up. So far I am being a little lazy, but I have time this weekend to sort it out so I shall dedicate this whole weekend to writing and reading. I am a good student, I have just been lazy and I can not be lazy any more and I can not think that stuff will solve themselves. But anyway the point was because I felt a little better I went on a little ‘cheer Mia up‘ mission today which meant shopping. I had some gift cards from Christmas to use up so I went to H&M bought two tops and a scarf and then I bought a mascara. Still have some money let on one of the gift cards but I shall save that and spend it on something flashy to wear for a night out  in Seoul.

Also this is my new k-pop jam! Not really a fan of this group but I have to say that their songs have been kinda good in the past. This song is however the new jam for 2012. Love the beat, love everything about it. I kinda like the video too. It has sex kitten written all over it ^^. Woollim girls new single did however not impress me that much (Baby Soul + Yoo Jiah – She’s a Flirt) the song was kind of boring. I really liked Dongwoo’s rapping, he has really stepped up his game and evolved even more with his rapping skills. But his rap part seemed so off in the song as a whole and I think the song would have been better without it or if one of the girls rapped or sang something there. Don’t get me wrong, I think the girls are mad talented and they have amazing voices, I just did not like the song that much. I liked Baby Soul’s solo single much more.

No hun, I do not think you can take me…