See on Scoop.it – Korean Wave
BTS Celebs talks to Steven Lee, a producer who frequently works with K-pop artists. This is one of the few interviews that delves into those who are behind the scenes.
It gives some interesting backgound information, but the interviewer does not ask the one question I would ask, namely: how does he feel about criticisms about K-pop being manufactured and fake, as he spends so much time and energy in the studio creating the music?
See on btscelebs.wordpress.com
See on Scoop.it – Korean Wave
James Little gives in-depth insight into Simon and Martina, the couple behind the internet phenonemon, Eat Your Kimchi. Soon after this story was posted, the couple began fundraising for their Eat Your Kimchi business through a video posted on YouTube on September 5, 2012, which also ran on their website.
By providing more details about the couple’s motives for doing what they do, the article does provide more context for the fundraiser. While the fundraiser video, post on EYK and description on Indiegogo all suggest that the couple needed the funds to support their business venture by renting a studio and paying for full-time video editor, the article quotes the couple as suggesting they are in fact financially set: “Simon and Martina freely admit that the website, and the businesses associated with the website, are now successful enough that they do not have to worry about the security of their livelihoods.” Such discrepencies relate to comments on YouTube and in an allkpop forum, as well as posts on Tumblr and blogs (including a post on House of Hallyu, written by a colleague of mine), all of which question the manner in which the couple fundraised for the business.
The inteview covers the development of the popularity of the couple, but overstates their importance to the international K-pop fandom. EYK features humorous videos about K-pop, but it is far from being “the top source of information on K-pop in English.” That would be Soompi, the oldest source of information about K-pop in English (the site began in the 1990s, concurrent with the rise of Hallyu K-pop). allkpop would be a close second for the source from which English speakers receive news about K-pop. EYK do humorous skits, critique K-pop videos and provide informative insights into getting around Korea as a non-Korean. They do not provide a steady stream of information about K-pop.
Also, the piece participates in the misrepresentation of K-pop fandoms as crazed groups of teenagers who blindly follow their favorite groups and attack those who do not. While there are numerous sites dedicated to individual K-pop groups, a cursory glance at the rules for many forums and sites explicity state that bashing of other groups are not tolerated.
Moreover, there are several site in English that do what EYK claims to only do: criticize K-pop. For example, Asian Junkie bills itself “as a place for a collection of individuals to mock, analyze, and satirize the comings and goings of the Asian entertainment world.”
See on groovekorea.com
See on Scoop.it – Korean Wave
KDK presents a comprehensive interrogation of the recent fundraiser by Martina and Simon of Eat Your Kimchi, as they seek to fund their business venture through donations from their fans.
See on houseofhallyu.wordpress.com
See on Scoop.it – Korean Wave
Evan Ramstad devles into an often overlooked aspect of K-pop: fan activity. Ramstad focuses on services crucial to K-pop fandom, such as subtitling and translation. However, it’s unclear how their activities function as a business and profit-making venture.
Lyric translation is just the tip of the iceberg: fans are busy sharing information and photos about artists and groups, translating tweets and subtitling Korean shows. International fans, often not allowed to join Korean fan clubs, have created communities around such activities. Fans are often the best reposittories about information about K-pop, which is crucial given the amount of coverage, and sometimes misinterpretation, it receives.
See on blogs.wsj.com
See on Scoop.it – Korean Wave
Jeff Benjamin’s review of 2NE1’s performance, like others, positions the group as the forerunners in the race for K-pop to “make it” in the United States. His review focuses on what he calls “the spectacle,” and given his description, there seemed to be quite a lot of it at the show. There is a lot of description of what he saw,less about what he heard.
One thing I’m noticing about the coverage of 2NE1 is the focus on their gender. Benjamin’s take highlights their gender by describing the ladies as “adorable” and “nymph-like,” both of which counter the prevailing image of 2NE1 is a bold, confident female group.
See on www.billboard.com
See on Scoop.it – Korean Wave
August Brown provides a more positive review of the 2NE1 concert than appraisals of the New Jersey show. He does a good job of parsing his overview, taking care to define Hallyu and tailor his comments in terms of 2NE1’s potential success for the American mainstream.
However, like many commentators with little direct knowledge of Kpop as a culture, he makes generalizations, forgetting that the music is part of K-pop. For those who are K-pop fans, K-pop typcially involves the music, videos, variety shows, photo shoot and endorsements, and sometimes Kdramas.
2NE1, and in fact, several artists of YG Entertainment diverge from this pattern in K-pop (Osy notwithstanding). Recently, YG apologized for not letting 2NE1 on Korean talk shows because they said the girls didn’t have the personality for it. At the same time, however, 2NE1 did have their own behind the scenes show. It’s clear that YG wants its artists to go beyond what some consider to be typical K-pop, but in doing so, it doesn’t reap the same kind of loyalty that other groups gain.
So, Brown’s overview of the performance reads more like an American concert rather than a K-pop one. This has its advantages and disadvantages. it’s probably good for YG looking to make the coveted splash in the American mainstream. However, it subjects YG artists to the same kind of generaliations that some say drive them to other modes of music outside of the American mainstream.
See on www.latimes.com
This is an interesting list of Kdramas to avoid, many of which are key to their genres, especially fusion sageuk fusion and melodrama. In fact, it is fairly atypical of individuals who write about Kdrama on the Internet. Personal preferences aside, most sites supplement personal opinion with a review that is based on evidence from the Kdrama.
See on ethlenn.blogspot.fr
See on Scoop.it – Korean Wave
Jonathan M. Hicap writes about the latest collision of culturel and politics, where the dispute over the Dokdo islands has spilled over to Kpop celebrities. The post recounts Siwon (of Super Junior’s) retweets of comments from the Blue House, as well as the impact on other Korean stars in Japan.
While those of us outside the region may look at the dispute with a degree of confusion, the other interesting element to this story is the Japanese response in relation to Korean cultural products. Dokdo provides only the latest circumstance for some Japanese to call for a crackdown and, in some cases, an all-out ban, on Kpop and Kdrama. Such calls, however, overlook the agency and opinions of those who consume such cultural production.
See on www.mb.com.ph
This is a nice piece on Chang Cheh’s work. He compares Chang Cheh’s aesthetic, which is quite violent, to the more aesthetic work of King Hu.
See on bijoustreet.blogspot.fr
See on Scoop.it – Korean Wave
Kim Yoon-mi reveals the role that social media plays in the spread of K-pop, especially its use by Korean agencies, and fans.
This makes sense. Because international fans do not have access to Kpop directly from Korea, the internet fostered the kind of fan activity that increased the popularity of Kpop worldwide. Kim also points to how this translates into profits for the agencies and their artists, which counters the conventional wisdom that such activiites diminish profits.
See on www.thejakartapost.com
See on Scoop.it – Korean Wave
This article not only shows the international spread of K-pop, but how it introduces fans to other elmeents of Korean culture. While some critics argue that the cultures in Hallyu wave culltural production are indistinct, many people are drawn to Hallyu precisely because of Korean culture.
For example, the fact that Kpop songs have both English and Korean lyrics drives many people to learn Korean. Watching a Kdrama may spark in interest in how Koreans live. Unlike other cultural movements, Hallyu enjoys support from the Korean government in teh form of the Korean Tourism Organization. At the same time, the supply is clearly impacted by demand by international audiences.
See on news.asiaone.com
Kim Yoon-mi reveals the role that social media plays in the spread of K-pop, especially its use by Korean agencies, and fans.
This makes sense. Because international fans do not have access to Kpop directly from Korea, the internet fostered the kind of fan activity that increased the popularity of Kpop worldwide. Kim also points to how this translates into profits for the agencies and their artists, which counters the conventional wisdom that such activiites diminish profits.
See on www.thejakartapost.com
Alex Billington serves up the second trailer for Stephen Fung’s ‘Tai Chi o’ film. While some comments predict this will be bad film, context is key. The film clearly takes the conventions of the martial arts film and intends to subvert them. By incorporating steampunk elements in to the film, Fung’s project takes the Chinese martial arts film out of the familar premodern era and incorporates modernity into the mix. Although a film like Let the Bullets Fly is not a martial arts film, it has the same kind of aesthetic one sees in the Fung trailer: an updating of familar film tropes.
See on www.firstshowing.net
Todd Brown delivers a solid review of Dragon (Wu Xia), focusing on the beautiful visuals and Donnie Yen’s acting, but critiques the lack of martial arts sequences. However, for the seasoned wuxia watcher, the film delivers a breath of fresh air with unusual fight sequences and a return to staple wuxia themes of loyalty and justice. Instead of placing this film in a wuxia context that includes contemporary films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero, it may be more useful to remember earlier wuxia films, such as King Hu’s Come Drink With Me or Touch of Zen. Wu Xia reminds me of this kind of pacing, focus on character, and occaisional flourishes of humor.
See on twitchfilm.com
See on Scoop.it – Korean Wave
Sukjong Hong provides an examination of the meaning of Gangnam style as a metaphor for wealth in Korea. Its meaning resonates within an American context when South Korean students from the neighborhood study in the United States. This is a more interesting take on Psy’s recent American popularity, but how does the average American read the satire, if at all?
See on opencitymag.com
High Yellow - Asian Popular Culture 