SunnySmartShopping in KOREA!

Sunday, June 30, 2013

More Than Just K-Pop - Part III - Jaurim

Part III – Jaurim

If you think girl rock suck, then it’s your fault for buying all those Hole records. The fact is that most rock band out there suck, but it takes a certain something to get you noticed and get you signed, and to make it stick for more than one song.

Gaining buzz on the Indie scene, they first emerged to the Korean public at large with the single “Hey Hey Hey” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVIK1IxmRo0 - from The OST of “A man holding flowers” (I haven’t heard of it either, but the song is pretty catchy).

They did not let this define them. Their diverse library speaks for itself, not binding their selves to one style. Their lyrics are often praised for their depth and power, two adjectives that also define the singing voice of frontwoman Kim Yoon-ah. If you were to see a picture of her, or even a brief video of her speaking, you would think, “small woman, small personality, small voice”. This misdirection is indeed part of the mystique that gives them so much standing. This power gave them one of the strongest debuts back in the golden days of “I am a Singer” with “Whale Hunting” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHVHVGTwxXE .

Her personality is enough to overshadow the other three extremely talented and versatile members of the band, guitar guy, bassist and drummy drum drum… Yes they matter… okay, Lee Sun-kyu, Kim Jin-Man and Goo Tae-hoon.

Songs of note:

IDOL - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_BQIAKi4kI

Shining - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uZrMpLJ5Xg (read the lyrics [link only] on this one; so 90s)

Loving Memory - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeNS8Hy4F_o (feat. Tiger JK; Korea does crossovers too!)

Ha Ha Ha - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86PrQjP2hC4 (With subs)

Magic Carpet Ride - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YJBlnsPE5s

For links to all the articles in the series so far, check out the list in the original post: http://sunnysmartshoppingkorea.blogspot.kr/2013/06/more-than-just-k-pop.html

Friday, June 28, 2013

More than Just K-Pop - Part II - Guckkasten

Part II – Guckkasten

In 2003, a group of Hongdae students formed a band called The C.O.M.

Then they went to military service…

But THEN, when they came back, they changed their bass players (seriously, bass players are like batteries; they may “drive the band”, but they’re ultimately disposable). They also changed their name to the much more identifiable “Guckkasten” (German for “Chinese Kaleidoscope”, but written in Hangeul as 국카스텐). The name was chosen, not out of respect for the old bass player, but rather to “show off a never-ending, fire-work like image of the passion of the young and the mirage of life”.

The combination of roots in the OLD Hongdae, the name choice, and the explanation of the name choice meant one thing: The added aspects created a giant mass of pretention that could only pay off as a modern day, Korean Smashing Pumpkins or Oasis.

Yup, that’s about what happened.

Described as psychedelic rock, they strove to be indie, but sold out when they realized that indie paid less than the local Lotteria. It was a compromise, being a smaller label that allowed them to keep their own style.

They eventually earned their stripes, winning an award for the song “Mirror” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8IOC-ihboI – with the main vocalist Ha Hyun-woo showing to be a true frontman, with solid guitar work and powerful vocals.

They only recently became known and admired in the mainstream for their work on the TV program “I am a Singer” where non-k-pop stars cover Korean music from throughout the ages. The most popular was the cover of k-pop girl group Sistar’s “Alone” - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72Hn6SoDk4Y – The way it was always meant to be played. (external only)

More samples:

Vitriol - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc50hzSn1TQ (just music)

Montage - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-mNXYebIBs (epileptics beware)

Manicure - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aH9Z0oUsAWU

For links to all the articles in the series so far, check out the list in the original post: http://sunnysmartshoppingkorea.blogspot.kr/2013/06/more-than-just-k-pop.html

Thursday, June 27, 2013

More Than Just K-Pop - Part I - Drunken Tiger

Part I – Drunken Tiger

A long time ago, a young Korean boy moved from Seoul to Florida, then quickly to LA. He was witness to the LA Riots in 1992 and saw a great divide that emerged between the Korean American community and the African American community. He sought to bridge that gap by educating both sides with his music. That boy’s name was Seo Jung-kwon, later to be redubbed, Tiger JK.

He entered underground Hip Hop competitions and concerts. At first, people didn’t take the little Asian kid on stage too seriously, and he soon got frustrated. He flipped his language switch and started raging at the crowd in his native tongue and THAT they got. Trying out rapping in Korean paid off and he was soon signed along with east-coast Korean American, DJ Shine, forming the duo Drunken Tiger.

They had several hits, with “Because I’m a Man” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_3QTqBmUic&noredirect=1 and the VERY old-school “I Want You” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aiAiw8hrKLI (sorry no subs).

Shine left in 2005 for personal reasons. The following year, JK was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis, effectively halting his career. He was given a death sentence, but fought back, against all odds, to take his life and career back and credits in part to the support of his now-wife, Tasha “Baby-T” Reid, also known as Yoon Mirae, a fellow Hip Hop artist http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pq5C1LA9Xk.

He has since had great influence throughout the Korean music industry. He really began what is now the non-k-pop movement and supported numerous others and their careers, include LeeSsang, Epik High, Dynamic Duo, Eun JiWon, and YDG.

Here are a few more links to his work, post-DJ Shine:

Convenience Store - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPh8cYvaoMo

Liquor Shots - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBKQgAXQBOw (Real song starts just before halfway; it’s a shout out to Nowon residents too…)

Jet Pack - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O1LMZ32QJk (Just music)

Monster - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H12ipDPRHzw

Enjoy!

For links to all the articles in the series so far, check out the list in the original post: http://sunnysmartshoppingkorea.blogspot.kr/2013/06/more-than-just-k-pop.html

More Than Just K-Pop

June 27th:

I’ve taken a break from blogging for the past few months for numerous reason, but I thought I’d come back with a crowd pleaser. Earlier on, someone had mentioned in the comments for my article “I Hate K-pop” that they wanted a list of my favorites.

The artists (and yes they have earned that title, unlike many k-pop idols) were chosen not due to being my personal favorites, but for their accessibility to non-Korean listeners. Each one could very well end up into some followers’ playlists once they hear me out. I will add links to each of them as the series progresses so that you can navigate around them.

If you look at the list, I plan to start big and finish bigger. Check out some of the YouTube links I’ll attach to them as well if you wish to really get a feel for them.

UPDATE:
August 11:
All Ten have been written.
BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE!!!!
There's a lot of great Korean Music out there and to ignore it would be unfair. Get ready for an Epic Epilogue... An EPIClogue! ( http://sunnysmartshoppingkorea.blogspot.kr/2013/08/more-than-just-k-pop-epilogue.html?spref=fb )

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Keep off the Grass!

Spring Has Sprung!

Get yourself outside and enjoy the warmer weather (if it manages to stay that way long enough to do so). There are plenty of places to enjoy the great outdoors, even in urban areas. First and foremost, city parks are a wonderful time outside. In Seoul the number of parks outnumbers that of mountains (partly because the mountains technically count as parks by zoning and classification laws, but that’s just splitting hairs… *cough*).

Seoul Forest is a HUGE park with multiple playgrounds, biking paths, picnicking spots, and plenty more. You could easily spend all day there and not run out of things to do. The outdoor theatre is also host to multiple amateur performances if you’re into a relaxed-free-concert scene. One of the best things about this place is the biking. If you don’t own a bike, no worries, there are rentals all over the place, including tandems and trolleys.

If you get bored there, walk over the bridge to the vast Han River Park. This goes on and on and the attractions tend to repeat but there are some really nice hang-out spots. Night is popular here for fireworks, so get ready to make some explosions (little ones). It stretches throughout the whole city along the river. This is also a biker’s joy as you can go the whole length of Seoul and still technically never leave the park. There are multiple pit stop locations for those who need a quick pick-me-up.

Olympic Park is another great one with its own special attractions. The outdoor art is enough to visit for, alone. It’s home to Coffee Shops, Arenas, and Galleries, so it is no walk in the wild, but it is the perfect halfway point. Getting a shot of yourself with the World Peace Gate is also one of the world’s best photo ops, so definitely don’t miss it.

Aside from these, there are numerous other parks around, both big and small. Take the time to enjoy the some fresher-than-China air,

Friday, March 29, 2013

There's a New Sheriff in Town...

Since Sunny was running all of her article ideas through me and my fingerprints were all over the posts, anyway, I now have admin privileges and will run the blog almost entirely on my own. This will give Sunny the time to work on the Facebook side of things and work on her other endeavors.
If you want to know more about something and have it posted here for our archives, as well as any suggestions, let me know and I'll look into it.

Jon

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Fun Outside the Box Part 3 (Party Rooms)

Part 3: There and Trashed Again: A Waygook’s Tale (because ‘Party Rooms’ was too difficult to come up with something for…)

Seriously, this article was ready two days ago, but we couldn’t come up with a suitable pun.

Do you like hot tubs? Saunas? Noraebangs? Pool tables? How about having them all in one room? Better yet, with all of your friends, and no one else? Then why not spend the night in a party room!?

The party room is an awesome innovation that gives you and a group of friends a setting outside of the norm in which to hang out and have a good time. Birthdays, anniversaries, office parties, or just because you want to, there are many reasons to try this out at least once.

Mate Hotel is prime as it has a HUGE two-level room complete with Noraebang and a small swimming pool or hot tubs and a terrace. The décor is a little classy and there are prices that will stop your pulse until you factor in the number of people you’re splitting them between. Not EVERY Mate Hotel Party Room is the same (It’s a chain with several locations), so make sure you do your research and know which room you’re getting before you go. No sense bringing your swim suit to a pool table.

Hotel M, near Sungshin, has an even bigger one. Pool table, noraebang, hot tub, lasers. Oh yeah, lasers. Woot.

These are just two options in a giant list of choices. There are bound to be some handy to a good location for you, and also likely that they will match your needs. If you don’t mind the prices, and have the people to make it worth it, go for it. It’s bound to be a memorable night. Be aware that time and numbers are a factor in many of the prices and plan well.

Thus concludes the Three-part series about having fun in Korea that differs from the normal, expected cultural (palaces and teahouses), and counter-cultural (Clubs, Hofs, and PC Rooms). These aren’t the only ways to enjoy yourself in Korea, so if you have anything you’ve done or have heard about, leave it in the comments to share with everyone.