Danson_ I'm Back feat. f(x) Amber_ Music Video

What I like about this music video (besides the 3 languages spoken fluently - Mandarin, English, and Korean - and it's obsession with milk) is that it implies a romantic relationship between Amber and Danson without trying to fit Amber into a feminine image that she has never presented before. This is the first time I've seen Amber in a music video with a romantic story as a backdrop - and I was excited to see that her image didn't change from the same boyish-clothes boy-ish hair ambiguous gender that she usually presents.

There's some argument about this - some people are claiming to be "happy to see Amber looking more feminine" - but I don't really know where they're coming from. Sure, she's wearing lip gloss and the director put in excessive close-ups of her shiny lips - but frankly, most Korean male singers wear lip gloss too. Her hair style hasn't changed. Maybe the "more feminine" presentation of Amber in this video is just heteronormative wishful thinking.

But then again, it really makes me happy to see a romantic relationship in a mainstream music video that involves gender presentations that are not traditionally masculine/feminine. Maybe I'm too excited about seeing a love relationship that could be understood as queer by people who don't know who Amber is. Maybe Amber is portraying a more feminine image in the video, and my refusal to see it is just wishful thinking.

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK.

it's true that my stalker tendencies have increased since I got to Seoul.

I continue to allow it.

I've been obsessed with this prettypretty man

Kim Hyun-Joong

ever since I finished watching Boys Over Flowers.

yeah! sell that cell phone!

doesn't he have a cute smile?

look at how cute he is with a towel on his head!

look, there's a horse!

I've also become consequentially obsessed with the boy band that Kim Hyun-Joong is the leader of, SS501, and their RIDICULOUSLY CUTE DANCE MOVES.

I'm sorry for the bad quality. But the dance moves are worth it, I PROMISE.

This is their newest song:

I already have the chorus memorized.

pop music profile #13: SHINee - Nuna is so pretty (Replay) [english subs + romanization + hangul]

Let me tell you about incest in the Korean language. "Nuna" is the term this group calls their love-interest for the duration of this video; it means "older sister (from the perspective of a younger brother)". Younger brothers use this term to refer to their literal older sisters, but all men also use it for a slightly older (not old enough to be their mother) woman that they have a familiar relationship with (ex. a friend, a co-worker they are friendly with, or a girlfriend who is older than them - which is the aspect I find most fascinating). Generally, a Nuna is someone with at least a small amount of authority over "younger brother" - since authority comes with age in Korea.

"Unni" means "older sister (from the perspective of a younger sister)"; the same dynamics can probably be applied in the case of lesbian relationships, but I haven't been around enough Korean lesbians to know if this is the case. "Hyung" means "older brother (from the perspective of a younger brother)"; again, I haven't been around many Korean gay couples.

Last, "Oppa" is "older brother (from the perspective of a younger sister)". I hate this term, am so tired of it. Nearly all girlfriends and some wives call their boyfriends/husbands Oppa - it's all over the television and the streets of Seoul. And it's true that Nuna and Unni carry some authority, but Hyung and Oppa carry more. Because Korea is still a very sexist place. The thing I hate the most is the infantile, simpering, high-pitched tone that most girlfriends use to call "Oppa!"

So, "Oppa" is on my bad side. But I don't mean to say that I'm bothered by this system in which everyone becomes a member of your family. People old enough to be your parents become aunt/uncle (in Korean, of course), and people old enough to be your grandparents become grandmother/grandfather.

It's true that Nuna/Unni/Hyung/Oppa can be just another way to enforce gender roles. And they do enforce gender roles, people use them that way. But because of their gender-specificity, there's also the possibility to use these terms to fuck around with gender roles - I've seen it once or twice. There's a general assumption that two brothers will be closer to each other than a brother and a sister will be, and so an older woman can be called "Hyung" as an indication that she is closer to her "younger brother" than a Nuna would be.

In that case, the implied gender of the older woman is changed. I also find it interesting that gay men sometimes call older women "Unni" rather than "Nuna"; in this case, the implied gender of the younger sibling is changed.

It's all very fascinating. I expect this won't be the last time I'll write about it.

pop music profile #12

Super Junior is back,



but they've done something terrible to Heechul's


HAIR.

pop music profile #11

Lee Hyori makes a comeback, and she might be a CLOWN.

pop music profile #10

Okay, so this has nothing to do with K-Pop. But I'm obsessed with this Shakira video lately, esp. the crazy contact dance scene.

But also: Dear Shakira, I resent the random depictions of female Koreans in traditional dress doing traditional Korean drumming. THERE IS NO CONNECTION. STOP EXOTICIZING MY - um, I mean, the history of the place I've lived in for the past 6 months.

Fuck.

pop music profile #9

Finally, T-Ara's come out with a new song, which I love even more because it reminds me of several Britney Spears songs. I love T-Ara, and two of my favorite students discovered this when they came to my desk while I had my headphones on, watching a less racy T-Ara video.

"Teacher! You know T-Ara?"
"Oh yes, I love T-Ara."
"T-Ara member what favorite?"

I've promised them I'll decide who my favorite member is this weekend and tell them next week.

My favorite member is Eunjung, the leader, by the way.

Their favorite song is Bo Peep, I relate completely.

pop music profile #8

Remember G-Dragon, way back from pop music profile #5? A month or so ago, he put on his debut solo concert, and is now facing charges and possible jail time for violating the Youth Protection Act with this scandalous performance at a concert with teenagers (13+) in the crowd.

G-Dragon maintains that the song is about having an innocent dream about your ideal lover and that the performance was not meant to be sexually explicit.

pop music profile #7

I am unexpectedly done with packing 2 hours before I need to be, and am left with little to do (except cleaning, and let's face it, that's a lost cause) to distract me from being anxious.

So, this is F. Cuz (supposedly pronounced "focus") with their debut single Jiggy. Another dubious use of "shawty" by Korean pop culture. And score one more for Boney M (Ma Baker). Though, let's be honest - Korea has never heard of Boney M. They got the "ma ma ma ma" from Poker Face. Korea loves Poker Face.

F. Cuz just premiered in January, in fierce competition with C.N. Blue (see pop music profile #6). I love them. I want to get jiggy.

OMG, I'M SUCH A LONELY DRIFTER. DON'T LOVE ME. (@warmandbarky)

alternately, "weekly" pop music profile #6: C.N. Blue.

C.N. Blue (Code Name Blue) just debuted in mid-January, and high school girls everywhere have already decided to be in love with them. Here is their only music video so far: "I'm a Loner." (@bird_esque MinHyuk [Lovely] and YongHwa [Emotional] have dyke/SuperJunior hair.)

These guys are one of a few Korean boy bands that don't dance (FT Island is another). I DO NOT APPROVE. What kind of a boy band are you if you don't have precisely choreographed mediocre dance moves (that are mesmerizing despite their mediocrity)?

I'LL TELL YOU WHAT KIND OF A BOY BAND YOU ARE: A FAKE ONE.

IT'S A PRETENSE. A MOCKERY.

(what I mean to say is, dear Super Junior: I love you and am lost without you. Plz make more music videos.)

weekly pop music profile #5

Weekly pop music profile is LATE, I know, but forgive me: I poured a huge mug of boiling yuja tea all over myself and my computer last Wednesday, and the keyboard definitely has not forgiven me for it. I'm using an external keyboard and mouse now; on the bright side, at least now I have a keyboard that is labeled with both the Roman and Korean alphabets. (@Sara: thank you SO MUCH for the HUGE-ASS MUG you sent me for Christmas. It's what made all of this possible.)

Big Bang, I would say, is the biggest boy band in Korea right now (bigger than Super Junior, because Super Junior only became popular in 2008, but Big Bang is an established success - they've been around for about 4 years).

G-Dragon is the leader of Big Bang, and he just came out with his own solo album, featuring the single "Heartbreaker." Sony Music is angry at YG Entertainment because the rap sequences of "Heartbreaker" are extremely similar to Flo-Rida's "Right Round," so they've denied YG Entertainment the right to promote "Heartbreaker" any further. It doesn't matter; they don't need to promote it anymore. Everyone's already obsessed with it.

I agree, mostly: the rhythms are extremely similar. I can't decide whether I care or not. Korea definitely doesn't care very much about copyright; I can't decide if that's a good thing or not.

Either way, I'm super into the apple thing. I'm super into the slinky he's wearing around his neck. And if you want to watch the sequel video, "Breathe," know that I'm SUPER INTO that rainbow flower jacket. And the yellow smiley face gloves and the zebra print pants and the leopard print shirt and ahhhhhhhh KOREAN POP FASHION I love you, you're perfect, don't ever change.

weekly pop music profile #4

Teen-bop girl band f(x), with the only song they have come out with so far: "Chu <3."

"Chu" is not a Korean word, by the way. It supposedly represents a kiss, because the motion your mouth makes when you say "chu" is kind of like puckering your lips.

The short-haired girl (@bird_esque dyke hair! real dyke hair!) who dresses in masculine clothing throughout and starts rapping about two-thirds of the way through is Amber. She is Taiwanese American (but now lives in Seoul), fluent in both English and Korean. She is easily the group's most popular member, especially amongst teenage Korean girls, who think she is "so handsome!", confirming my suspicions that everyone in Korea is queer and just hasn't figured it out yet. Internet rumors abound, but so far, no official news of her sexuality or gender orientation. But not to worry - she's only 17. There's still time.

Despite the fact that she regularly dresses in masculine clothing, these pictures still caused a huge controversy:

Four of the f(x) members in traditional female Korean clothing (hanboks). Amber in a male hanbok, gasp!

Heartz.

weekly pop music profile #3

I am lazy today, and busy streaming "Iris," my new favorite Korean drama. But here, watch this video of T-ara, singing "Bo Peep," and tell me they aren't the exact Korean replica of the Pussycat Dolls. And please, pay special attention to the cat-tail (bestiality?) that shows up near the end of the video. (also, @bird_esque can you spot the chest-thrusts?)

This video is super-scandalous for Korea. Granted, the video that gets shown on TV, etc. is the 15+ version (the above is the 19+ version). But frankly, the 15+ version isn't interesting, so I don't care.

And no, even after reading the lyrics and translated lyrics, I have no idea what "Bo Peep" has to do with anything.

weekly pop music profile #2

or: reasons why language education in the U.S. needs to get a goddamn grip on itself.

Here's another Super Junior song ("Supergirl") sung in Korean. Here's the same song, in Mandarin. I think the Mandarin version is the original. (Because the Korean version sounds a little awkward, doesn't it? Like the lyrics weren't originally meant to go with the music?) But maybe that's just because I found the Mandarin video first.

You see, one day SM Entertainment discovered that a number of Super Junior members were fluent in Mandarin. And so they decided to create a subgroup, called "Super Junior M" (the 'M' stands for Mandarin) that sings and performs in both Korean and Mandarin, for both Korean and Chinese audiences.

Imagine we're back in the golden era of American boy bands (and let's be real, American boy bands never had anything on Korean boy bands). Then imagine that one day the Backstreet Boys discover that 3 of them just happen to be fluent in Spanish. And so those 3 members start performing in both Spanish and English.

And it's not even that the other members don't know Spanish -- they know some, and probably a little French, too -- they're just not fluent.

Seriously, guys, wtf.

weekly pop music profile #1? (@bird_esque)

Maybe this will become a thing, we'll see.

This past week I did a "describing celebrities" lesson with a lot of my classes. I taught them how to describe appearance & repertoire (he/she sings ______, etc.) and then we played guessing games with Korean and American celebrities for the majority of the class.

The result of this is that I know way more about current Korean idols than I did before, a) because of the internet researching I did while lesson planning, and b) because of all the other celebrities that my students described to me.

All of this, to tell you that I've found a new boy band to be obsessed with: DBSK, or Dong Bang Shin Gi, which apparently translates to "The Rising Gods of the East."

Listen to my favorite song (so far) here.

Reasons why I think I like this song/video more than I like the other songs/videos I've watched (and let's be honest here, I watched DBSK videos for about 3 consecutive hours today):

1. BONDAGE IMAGERY. And it's the MEN who are being bound, at various points in the video, but notably at 1:00-1:02 and starting at 1:12.

2. Weird power dynamics. I'm creeped out by the ethereal woman-figure with gauze over her face, but she seems to be dominating all the men in the video. I think I'm interested in seeing (for once) men being made physically vulnerable by a female force (mysterious and face-less though she may be), instead of always the other way around. (See this video that Nora recently posted on the fb for why I've been thinking about women being threatened by a mysterious male force lately.)

But then, she's faceless! And towards the end of video, she's running away from them but then disappears! "My infinite crystals flow through your veins"/"I've got you under my skin." Both the "you" and the "I" in the song hold power over the other? The lyrics say "You can't escape me"/"You're my slave." Who is the "you," and who is the "I"? I can't tell. So, weird power dynamics.

3. Crucifixion imagery, wtf?

4. I don't know, maybe I like all the splashing of water that's going on?

Korea thinks the phrase "I got you under my skin" is inappropriate for minors, here for more.

The more I learn about Korean pop music, the more I discover that SM Entertainment is the immovable force behind the vast majority of top Korean hits. Super Junior, Girls' Generation, DBSK, BoA... most of the super powers of current Korean pop, all produced by SM Entertainment. The band members don't even come together on their own; they are recruited from mass auditions that SM holds and then built into a massively advertised performing machine. It creeps me out a little. (But I'm still obsessed with them.)

In other news, I saw snow in Seoul for the first time ever today! It didn't stick or anything, but the windy gusts were super fun to watch from the open window of my cozy 4th floor room.