CL’s ‘Doctor Pepper’ Song Review

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CL Doctor Pepper
The time is finally here for K-pop’s greatest hope in the West to begin her attack. As K-pop fans, we have seen many before her attempt and fail to break the musical holy land, America. BoA, Se7en, Wonder Girls did not have what it takes. They, however, did not have the backing that 2NE1’s leader CL has at her disposal. Her overall style since her debut has generally taken a greater influence from the West, anyway. She seems to believe in and love her music which, whether true or not, is more common to a Western pop artist. Her performance style is more about putting on a good show than delivering crisp choreography. Moreover, she always has the famous friends like Jeremy Scott, Diplo, and M.I.A. Collaborations with them could raise her profile in the future.

It comes as no surprise that Doctor Pepper is a sleazy hip-hop track so relevant to the US musical environment right now. Does this live up to the hype of K-pop fans though? And is it going to push her career in the US?

Song

Given that hearing Major Lazer on mainstream radio stations is very common these days, Doctor Pepper is the ideal jumping off point for CL. It’s a heavily synthesized piece of hip-hop that we have come to expect from everything Diplo works on. Musically, it doesn’t deviate from its stabbing electro riff for the most part. The clip clopping drum beat behind it keeps things interesting though. It’s a far cry from what most K-pop listeners will be used to. Yet, like Diplo said, K-pop is broad enough to be able to accept and promote just about anything, even super weird Atlanta hip-hop.

This is really a showcase of the rapping talent featured with CL taking centre stage. It is here where the song really delivers. The repeating hook which CL lays at the beginning is a lot of fun. At first listen, it comes across as pretty cheesy, but there’s a wry cleverness to the lyrics that I like. It’s not a silly little rhyme about a soft drink, but an introduction of the baddest female.She’s letting the US public know how cool she is. Ice cool, if you needed help getting that.

 Also on KultScene: Artist Spotlight: Giriboy

Her rap that follows is similarly simple in its lyric. It contains, however, some slight similarities to CL’s K-pop roots. The vocal inflections and auto-tune recall for a small moment more popular elements. Not to say this is exclusive to K-pop though, most rappers do switch from rapping to singing within one verse a lot. Here though, it seems much more natural due to CL’s incredible vocal range. It appeals to CL’s die hard fans and the party loving Western fans she wants. It’s a pretty good verse to officially open up herself to the public. But in order to leave room for supporting acts, it’s her only verse though.

Those supporters are RiFF RAFF and OG Maco. Raff delivers a typically wacky and fun time while Maco has the Atlanta style flow that perfectly suits this music without overshadowing anyone else.

The Future

The success or failure of Doctor Pepper will have a big impact on CL’s future American career. How the public reacts to it will probably affect what kind of music she continues with, i.e. sticking with Diplo’s signature sounds or going in a more popular root. The success of Nicki Minaj and Diplo’s own work on the charts with Major Lazer show that the style should not be a problem though.

What will probably be the biggest issue is race, unfortunately. The public’s reaction to an Asian pop star getting involved in rap, especially Atlanta style since it’s so local, could be contentious, to say the least. Even though it’s very much in the popular realm now, rap fans have a strong loyalty to their music and artists, not unlike fans of K-pop. The roots of rap are also found in oppression and suffering, whereas CL is a well-travelled superstar who has seemingly never suffered a day in her life.

 Also on KultScene: YG Entertainment and Authenticity in K-Pop

It might seem unfair to assume that people will think this but it’s happening right now to Iggy Azaela, so we know it can happen again. Iggy is constantly being accused of cultural appropriation and it seems to have started hurting her career. I hope the difference between Iggy and CL is that CL actually makes good music. A lot can be forgiven for music that really speaks to people.

While Doctor Pepper may not work as a complete song it does give out good vibes for the future. The style is at once popular and legitimate. The big name connections are there. CL herself is devoted to her music and wants to connect with new audiences. If this isn’t enough to push CL further than those who have tried to break America before, then I hope K-pop stops trying. No one else can do it.

CL 'Doctor Pepper'
3.5

What do you think of CL’s Doctor Pepper? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

Playlist Sunday: Boy Groups Covering Girl Groups

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PLAYLIST SUNDAY 15

Fan service has to be the greatest invention in K-pop. For some reason, fans go especially crazy with the type of fan service where male idols act cute or dress up and dance to girl group songs. We can’t really explain the psychology behind it and won’t try to. Instead, we’re just going to list our favorite instances of boy groups covering female groups for this week’s playlist.

Putting together the divas of multiple K-pop groups and having them perform the biggest hit of the day is brilliant. Having a group of male idols from different groups perform one of the biggest Korean hits ever is pre-genius. Way back in the day, members of 2PM, Super Junior, SHINee, and 2AM performed Girls’ Generation’s Gee and it was fabulous. 2AM’s Jo Kwon and SHINee’s Key shone in their spastic dancing, while all the other performers also joined in on the fun. This is also a little bit poignant, as took place before Jay Park’s departure of 2PM.

— Tamar

It came as no surprise when I saw GOT7 cover A Pink’s Mr. Chu, which was titled Ms. Chu for their stage at Music Bank’s end of the year show in 2014, I was ecstatic. GOT7 is naturally cute, so it was only right that they covered this bubbly song. Not only did they stick to the original concept by keeping the performance delightful and youthful, they also incorporated their own charm into it: Jackson’s little sexy wave, Mark flying midair flip, and BamBam’s reference to their Stop Stop It choreography. It’s a shame the guys didn’t perform this at their recent stops on their fan meeting tour in the USA. I’m sure all the iGOT7’s (fan club name), would’ve all fallen over due to their bewitching charisma!

–Tam

Jo Kwon’s second job is covering girl band songs, but that can’t be said for the rest of 2AM. When it comes to male groups covering the girl ones, you can’t expect them to take it completely seriously, especially when they do it for a variety show. That’s why their interpretation of miss A’s Bad Girl, Good Girl, but in this case Bad Boy, Good Boy, is awesome, because even if they wore similar outfits, sang, and did the choreography, they were acting a fool the whole way through. The cherry on top of the sundae? miss A was right there to watch them slay their song.

— Alexis

These two groups are popping out all throughout this playlist, but 2PM& 2AMare undeniably good at girl group covers. This parody/cover of Brown-Eyed Girls’ Abracadabra is hilarious, because the members of both groups really go all the way out in imitating BEG, be it in acting out the music video storyline or in the costumes that they don. They even went on to name themselves Dirty-Eyed Girls as a parody of BEG.

–Anna

When your favorite boy band covers your favorite girl band it could be the most hilarious thing ever. Thankfully when BIGBANG covered 2NE1’s I Love You for the YG Family concert, they gave us a very funny rendition of the song. From their sexy girl dance moves to T.O.P.’s screams, the boys were having the best time of their lives. Taeyang’s vocals were so on point that it made us even want a real studio version of this cover. Since BIGBANG and 2NE1 are label mates and friends they weren’t afraid to make fun of the song and have a lot of fun with it. This is one of my favorites covers of all time.

–Alejandro

Maybe I’m picking this cover because half of it is Girl’s Day performing Something as supremely as they usually do. Or maybe I’m picking Boy’s Day because it gives NU’EST’s Ren a chance to show off his true colours. I mean that boy is a beautiful woman, no doubt about it. The hair and makeup are flawless and the dress seems to fit his figure perfectly. Even his movements and expressions are quintessentially feminine. Ren completely outshines the rest of the boys which even includes VIXX’s Hongbin who is also known for looking pretty in drag. Unfortunately it is lip synched but at least it lets them concentrate on performing the dance.

–Joe

‘The Producers’: First Thoughts

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korean drama the producers iu kim soo hyun
[Disclaimer: This article contains minor spoilers]

KBS’s The Producers premiered last week on the 15th of May to high ratings but mixed reviews. Netizens were mostly divided, some of them fully on the Producer bandwagon, while others rejected it as being too boring. As a drama being shot like a mockumentary, it is a rarity among other normal K-dramas, which may or may not turn people off.

There were a few aspects to this drama that are particularly enjoyable, despite the fact that only two episodes have aired so far. The first aspect would be the most special part of this show, the “mockumentary” format. This is shown by the constant interviews of the different characters that take place throughout the episodes. These interviews were the basis for some complaints made by netizens, as they deemed those scenes unnecessary and a waste of time. However, these interviews allowed viewers to understand the different characters in a deeper and more relatable level, and that this was a very unique way of presenting these characters. In a way, it is similar to the interviews featured in hit 2014 drama My Love from the Stars, which provided a lot of comedy and depth to the main characters. In the same way, these interviews do enhance and liven up the long Producer episodes, which go up to one hour and 20 minutes (normal K-dramas are around one hour per episode), in an effort to imitate a real Korean variety show.

Also on KultScene: BoA ‘Kiss My Lips’ Music Video & Song Review

The use of real TV programs, names of producers, names of celebrities, and so on, really brings the level of realism in this drama to a new level. It also allows it to stay through to its mockumentary format and brings in a lot of comedy for viewers as well. For example, the constant mention of Na PD (Na Young Seok, producer of tvN variety shows like Grandpas over Flowers and Three Meals a Day) is hilarious, along with all the meta jokes being made throughout the show. Admittedly, it might be difficult to understand and enjoy these jokes if you are not well-informed about variety programmes in Korea, however, the show also has a lot of comedic moments apart from the meta jokes that all viewers can enjoy! A good example would be the car-scratching incident between our two main characters, Baek Seung Chan (Kim Soo Hyun) and Tak Ye Jin (Gong Hyo Jin), which took place in the first episode. The drama makes full use of the longer screening time and uses repetition to increase the effectiveness of its jokes, making for more enjoyable comedy.

kim soo hyun gif the producers

kim soo hyun gif the producers

kim soo hyun gif the producers

kim soo hyun gif the producers

via shura on Tumblr

Another part of the drama that’s greatly appealing is the four main characters, along with the amazing cast. Two characters in particular, Seung Chan and Ra Joon Mo (Cha Taehyun), really stuck out, mainly because they are the underdogs. In just two episodes, this pair faced several challenges and unfortunate situations, be it Seung Chan, the variety rookie who faces heartbreak and failures in his first two days at work, or Joon Mo, whose variety program is nearly cancelled and has to face scary old actresses. In the midst of these challenges however, both of them grew and developed in their own ways.

Also on KultScene: K-Pop & the Collective Body

In a short span of two episodes, this drama was able to showcase growth, no matter how minute in these characters, which was a definite winning point. It showed that the characterization for these characters were well thought out, and we can look forward to even more growth (hopefully) in the rest of the show. Ye Jin and Cindy (IU) haven’t really had the same character development yet, but their characters are, for the time being, imperfect and utterly relatable. Their conflicts and feelings come off realistic, which makes a bigger impression because they’re relatable and is something that is important for a drama to be successful. After all, if viewers were not invested in the lives of the characters, the drama would definitely be a flop.

iu gif the producers cindy

via Tumblr

The cast has, so far, managed to play these characters to a T, especially the more veteran actors Kim Soo Hyun, Cha Tae Hyun, and Gong Hyo Jin. They’re so natural in their roles that viewers are able to let go of their previous images. With IU, though, it’s evident that she’s trying very hard, but she definitely doesn’t seem as natural as the rest of her castmates. Her character, Cindy, hasn’t really had much time to shine so far, but she still has time to develop her character more. But overall, even though The Producers has just begun, it’s showing a lot of promise with its strong writing and cast that viewers will surely enjoy.

Are you watching this drama? How do you like it so far? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

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Zion. T’s ‘Eat’ Music Video & Song Review

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Are you feeling tired and/or having a rough day? Don’t let those feelings defeat you. Instead, let Zion. T comfort you and sooth your uneasy heart with his latest single and music video, Eat. Read more

‘Coming Out! FTISLAND’ Takes Cues From American Reality TV

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The Real Housewives of South Korea? Almost, but not quite.

It’s not every day that Korean idols go to a waxing salon and let their fans watch, but that’s exactly what some of FTISLAND’s members did during the first episode of “Coming Out! FTISLAND.” With scenes showing the band arguing and getting drunk, the reality show feels a lot more like “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” more than typical Korean idol reality shows.

The five-episode long show began airing on SBS MTV in South Korea on April 7, and became the first reality show dealing with K-pop idols to receive a 19+ rating. The result is something almost entirely foreign to the K-pop world- full disclosure. While this is something new for K-pop fans, elements of “Coming Out! FTISLAND” would make it a perfect show for the American reality-loving audience.

This Is FTISLAND’s Reality as a Band

If you’ve never watched “The Bad Girls Club” or “The Real Housewives” series, consider yourself lucky. But two important elements make those shows enjoyable to watch- the fighting and the partying. That also happens to be some of the elements that many bands are known for (ever hear of Guns N’ Roses or Van Halen?) and helps FTISLAND shirk off the idol-band image they began as. The group doesn’t hide behind the smoke screens of editing, sleeps naked, and doesn’t keep their tempers in check.

In fact, FTISLAND doesn’t really keep anything in check. The group completely disavows its idol-image, showing the nitty gritty of their lives and relationships in a way that idols typically hide behind makeup and perfectly manufactured personalities. In essence, FTISLAND attempts to use the show that it is a band not an idol group.Drunk Minari

FTISLAND drinks… A lot. Hongki’s love of alcohol verges on alcoholism and he’s a clear enabler, which he admits. The band’s youngest member, Minhwan, even wakes up one morning still drunk from the night before after Hongki insists on buying vast quantities of alcohol. Drinking games and parties are part of South Korean culture, and FTISLAND lives up to it.

Drunk Minari 2

Also on KultScene: FTISLAND Give Vibrant Performance in NYC & Announce New Album

The other members aren’t as intense as Hongki, who lives up to his status as a Korean rockstar, and there’s nobody tearing out one another’s weave, but “Coming Out! FTISLAND” isn’t just an outlet to showcase FTISLAND’s preparations for their comeback. The members mention multiple times that the show is for their fans, but it’s also a way for FTISLAND to break the mold of K-pop idol and become real people. Well, reality show people.

Take Us As The Humans We Are

FTISLAND doesn’t shy away from their issues, though, and instead broadcasts them freely. All reality television shows, American and Korean, get edited to some degree, but this is the perhaps the first time in K-pop history that an idol group doesn’t claim to be anything but the co-workers that they truly are. What FTISLAND has going for it is the members have worked together for so long that they’re able to freely communicate with one another their thoughts and needs.

Lee Hongki 1

The tension between FTISLAND’s members is clear from the first episode. Lead vocalist Lee Hongki is described as an “American rockstar” by the other members of FTISLAND, and shows it by not showing up at practice and instead going drinking with friends. Leader Choi Jonghoon is mostly quiet and sulks, while the three younger members (Lee Jaejin, Choi Minhwan, and Song Seunghyun) play around, mostly carefree. There’s bickering and irritation, and even though K-pop fans want to believe that idols are best friends with one another, it’s clear that there are issues within this band.

Lee Hongki 2

Throwing together humans and telling them to be a band is difficult (ie TVXQ, EXO, One Direction.) But “Coming Out! FTISLAND” depicts FTISLAND honestly, allowing the members to be frank about their worries and concerns while making it brutally honest that their relationship is as bandmates and not best friends forever (Minhwan and Jaejin’s waxing date aside…).

Lee Hongki 3

“No matter what problems we face, no matter which members fight, I will protect the name FTISLAND and protect my members until the end!” — Lee Hongki

Lee hongki 4But, even though FTISLAND’s members have issues internally, they still work together. The personalities in the band are different, but they are still connected by what they’ve accomplished as K-pop’s first real band. The second episode was the most tense (Jonghoon got mad with Minhwan and Seunghyun and Hongki showed up hungover to a fan meet) but also features the five men drinking together and talking honestly to one another. Because, at the end of the day, FTISLAND has come so far together that the very suggestion that the thought of their group’s end is something they must protect against.

Also on KultScene: Banishing the Stigma of K-Pop Idol Singers, One ‘Mask King’ Episode At A time

Rated 19+

One of the most newsworthy things about the reality show is that it’s the first time a K-pop act filmed a mature rated reality show. FTISLAND’s clearly trying to break away from the K-pop idols image that helped them debut. And the band is popular enough that it no longer needs young K-pop fans; FTISLAND’s Primadonna fanclub is extremely loyal, and FTISLAND’s prowess as a band is not up for debate (I repeat, listen to their latest album in its entirety.)

Ugly HongkiUGLY HONGKI 2

But going 19+ is still risky. FTISLAND is still a K-pop band, and idols, no matter what anybody says. The choice to bare all (waxing!) is smart marketing but could only happen with a loyal fanbase. SHINHWA set an example of a K-pop act doing something outrageous to make fans happy and shot a nude photo book in 2001; FTISLAND shot 19+ in 2015. It’s not something that all K-pop idols could do and get away with, but FTISLAND’s outrageous attitudes have brought the band all over the world and made them successful. By “Coming Out!” FTISLAND is declaring its emancipation from manufactured.

It’s a bit difficult to find episodes of the show with subtitles, but here is a link to the first episode for anybody who has yet to watch.

“Coming Out! FTISLAND” is a fun reality show that highlights FTISLAND in all its R-rated glory. It’s a nice change from the usual, highly edited and cleaned up K-pop reality shows, and makes FTISLAND more likeable for it.

What do you think of FTISLAND’s coming out as something other than K-pop idols? Should other idols film 19+ shows? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

[All gifs credit Cross And Change on Tumblr]

K-Pop & the Collective Body

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If I were to pick one thing that makes K-pop stand out over other pop music it would be dancing. Not since the death of the boy and girl group in the 2000s has the West seen much dancing at all in music. Even at the heights of the nineties there was no collective dancing as what we see in K-pop. The effort put into dancing in Korea is unparalleled within pop music history. Each member of a group is required to be at least a great dancer. They must be able to pull off complex movements as an individual and as part of a group. The collective dance is key to K-pop but it is not always pulled off.

The many ways in which the collective bodies of a K-pop group moves can tell us things about a group. For some groups, the dance charts an evolution, for others it is a statement of unity.

Nine Muses’ troubles with members has been well documented yet the effect it has on their dances has not. They have consistently failed to do well on the charts since their debut in 2010, and we can find part of the reason for that in their dance. No Playboy is a complete mess. The production is cheap and it seemingly wants to play to the weaknesses of the group’s vocals.

The dance at first glance is what you would expect from the first ever supermodel-dols. Each members struts her stuff across the stage as if it were a runway. After this intro though, they delve into a cavalcade of awkward, erratic movements. The model like movements could have been something interesting to take away from an otherwise failure of a debut. But their long, skinny bodies end up hurting them when coupled with a dance like this. They are all protruding elbows and knees. What should have been elegant looks awkward as a result.

 Also on KultScene: When K-Pop Lineups Change – 9 Muses

Cut to their next single Figaro, which is in general a vast improvement, but brings up problems that would last a lot longer for Nine Muses than bad production. First of all, my least favorite thing in group dancing, the walk around. This is when the member who was last singing has to get back into formation by walking all the way around the group to the back. It is distracting to watch as usually not a lot is happening elsewhere and shows a lack of thought being put into the overall machinations of the dance. In nearly every case, it is clear that it could have been avoided. It ruins what it is otherwise a great mix of perfectly synchronised model and disco movements in this song.

It wasn’t until they were back to having nine members after a series of line-up changes that the dance come together. They returned with Dolls and continued refining their dance until their best yet, Glue. The shame of this is that it was also their last song with this particular group. The changes they went through prevented their dance from finding its footing for so long. It took four songs into their second run as nine to come back with something that really worked. Everything from No Playboy to Gun was mediocre at best.

Glue shows a group who are finally moving as one. They move from formation to formation swiftly and gracefully. A lot of the time they are split in two which is an efficient and satisfying way to control a large group. They even managed to use the walk around yet not let it distract due to these dual formations which can act like a kind of wall to those walking around.

Larger groups will always have this problem so I’m not singling out Nine Muses. One group has shown that coherence and quality can go together when it comes to big groups though. This may be due to their split nature, but EXO have consistently delivered when it comes to choreography and delivery. Their concept of a Korean half and a Chinese half becoming carries over into their dance. This plays out by first having one half performing the first part then being replaced by the other half. For the climax all of the members are on stage performing together. This has been their style for every single when all 12 members were performing. How they perform this is also interesting.

The changing of members here also poses some problems for EXO, but we’ll come back to that later. What’s really interesting is EXO’s manipulation of the stage and their bodies around it. Coming off the back of the ‘Growl’ music video, they began to interact directly with the camera. It would sweep in and out of their formations, giving us insights into places we hadn’t seen before. It adds a layer of participation that works so well with EXO’s fangirls.

 Also on KultScene: #CallMeBabyXWin: Korean Music Shows & the Songs That Win Awards

EXO also handle the shifting of groups within the one performance well. In ‘Wolf,’ they dramatically ran off stage while the rest run back on stage. It works to transition not only the dance but the song too. In ‘Growl,’ they used both sides of the stage as opposing groups. When the song changed, the camera just has to turn around and the switch is made instantly. ‘Overdose’ uses the same technique as ‘Wolf’ but also adds some new elements. The opening is especially great where the camera flows all over the stage to give time to each member. Each performance showcases great form and structure while sticking to the 50/50 theme. They contain some of the most complex moves in K-pop yet never let one move dominate a dance.

The problem of losing members has caused EXO to adapt their style to something functional but lacking for their latest single, ‘Call Me Baby’. Instead of 12, there was 10 (and now maybe 9, oh no wait 8). They kept the idea of not having all members on stage at once but this time it didn’t have to be half and half. Any amount of them can be on stage from 1 to 10 and every time it works. It helps build a more seamless dance as they are not slaves to a formula anymore. What they make up for in structure they lose in theme.

To find a group with a real unity in performance we can look to EXO’s labelmates, SHINee. In particular their most recent singles ‘Sherlock’ and ‘Everybody’ have shown an attention to detail that exemplifies their work. In both, they exhibit a manic kinetic energy between each of them. Seemingly every move they make is connected or passed between them. Even when one member is on his own, the others soon mimic a move he did. These songs are the best examples of a group as one. Each member is only part of a larger performance and each is integral to it working.

It is the ultimate advantage of a smaller group. Bodies move gracefully and collide on a K-pop stage in all manner of ways. When stripped down to five or six they do this with great beauty. SHINee’s ability and clarity of movement is the best example of this. They use their bodies in increasingly interesting and amazing ways to attach greater meaning to their work.

Nine Muses could certainly learn a lot from both of these groups of boys.

This is only a tiny window into what K-pop bodies can achieve. There are so many different takes on the type of dances I just talked about and then there are some that approach it completely differently. VIXX’s themes, miss A’s simplicity, Infinite’s synchronicity, and 2pm’s acrobatics are only some examples of the wide possibilities used by K-pop acts. Each one is as interesting as the last and they all offer new spins on old ideas, something so intrinsic to what K-pop is.

What do you think of these groups’ dances? What are some of your favorites we didn’t mention? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

Playlist Sunday: Ultimate Bias

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Do you remember who your first ultimate Korean idol bias was? Is it still the same person? No? Yes? Well, at KultScene, we understand it might be hard trying to narrow it down to a single favorite artist, especially with new groups debutting each day. However, we all have that one that triumphs over the rest of them. So for this week’s playlist we’re choosing songs from our ultimate K-pop biases because we can’t contain all our feels.

Let’s throw it back to 2002 when I first laid eyes on my first Korean idol and forever-ultimate bias, Eric Mun, from SHINHWA. Eric’s found a nice balance between leading the longest running Korean idol group, to showing off his charismatic acting skills. Not only is he the alluring leader of SHINHWA, he’s also a skilled actor and quite the prankster wherever he goes. Aside from his silly antics, there’s something about those sad puppy eyes, deep husky voice and manly built of his that continuously draws me in. Eric’s been talking about marriage for several years now, but nothing’s really come of it yet, which I’m fine with because I don’t think my heart is ready to let this 13-year-old love go. But when the time comes, I’ll let him go with an open heart. With this said, I have to go with Alright because he gave a great performance.

–Tam

Also on KultScene: BoA ‘Kiss My Lips’ Music Video & Song Review

The first time I saw Jang Wooyoung (on TV that is) was in 2011, when he acted as Jason in Dream High. Back then, I took a special interest in him, especially as I started to find out about his group, 2PM, and listen to their songs. It was only after I heard This is Love, however, that Wooyoung became my ultimate bias. It may not be a very well-known song, especially compared to the rest of his solo releases, but to me, this jazzy and relaxing song filled with his silky vocals is a masterpiece that showcases Wooyoung’s growth both as a singer and as a composer. It makes me look forward to his future works, and I’ll definitely be supporting him all the way.

–Anna

He might have not been my first K-pop bias or even my favorite in Super Junior, but Kyuhyun is definitely bae now. And with his solo debut last year, this week’s playlist theme is the perfect opportunity to brag on my baby’s talent. Of course At Gwanghwamun is stellar, but it was his contribution to the recent drama Fool’s Love that gets my pick this time. ’Till I Reach Your Star is the main reason why I decided to watch the drama in the first place, and it being played at every other scene was the icing on the cake. The song is everything Kyuhyun is the best at: emotional, heart-tugging ballads. And even though he tones his greatness down, he still delivered a powerful performance.

— Alexis

If you ask me who my favorite K-pop star is, I may have a different answer every day, but there are two people I always go back to, and the first was Super Junior’s leader Leeteuk (The other is INFINITE’s Sungyeol, by the way). As a singer, Leeteuk is typically overlooked as a mediocre vocalist in Super Junior, but he’s the heart and soul of the group. His version of Huh Gak’s Hello from Super Show 6 gave him a chance to shine as a vocalist in a way rarely previously seen from him, showing a great deal of growth and improvement from a singer who had typically shied away from vocally strenuous performances.

–Tamar

Also on KultScene: South Korean Patients Dream, and Curse, in A Hybrid Punk World [Interview]

When I think of ultimate biases I always think of the idol that I most want to succeed and I have no doubt that that is Rainbow’s Kim Jaekyung. She is one of the only idols that so completely outshines the rest of her group that I feel sorry for her. Jaekyung excels at singing, dancing, and on variety shows. She is one of the most beautiful female idols working now and is multi-talented (check out her instagram to see the many things she draws and makes). If given the chance to go solo, she would nail every aspect and perform better than nearly all female soloists working right now. I always get the feeling that she genuinely enjoys what she does, and for me, that is most endearing. Unfortunately, Jaekyung has not had the chance to do any solo work that I know of, so I’m picking Rainbow’s To Me for my song. She particularly excels in the chorus wailing her lines to perfection.

–Joe

Who was your first K-pop bias? Share your picks in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

K-Dramas as a Window into the Realities of Korean Society

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K-dramas, at times crazy and out of the world, at times melodramatic and tear-jerking, at times sugary with romance and heart-warming gestures, they are also at times very realistic in the depiction of real-life situations and problems in the Korean society.  K-dramas are an integral part of the Korean entertainment scene and have played a big part in the globalization of Korea’s culture. From realistic dramas such as Misaeng and the School Series, a lot can be learnt about the Korean society and their way of life, especially for foreign viewers like me who have not experienced this first hand.

The Korean society can be a materialistic one, as shown in a Reuters poll where more than two-thirds of Koreans considered money to be the most important sign of success. When Pope Francis visited Korea in August, 2014, he also urged the Catholic youths in Korea to go against the materialism that was present in the society, showing that Korea’s materialistic society is indeed “well-known” and existent.

Traces of this particular aspect of the Korean society can be found all types of dramas, from teenage rom-coms to makjang weekend dramas (dramas  with very dramatic plots, ranging from birth secrets to revenge, etc.) For example, in SBS’s currently airing drama, Heard It Through the Grapevine, Han In sang (Lee Joon) and his lover Seo Bum (Go Ah Sung) face many oppositions and challenges in their relationship from their families and parents because of their differing family backgrounds and economical status. This drama was even promoted as a black comedy to supposedly satirize materialistic ideas held by the upper class in Korea.

Another common problem in the Korean society accurately depicted by K-dramas is the wealth gap between the extremely rich and the extremely poor. These wealth gaps are depicted normally by “chaebol meets poor person and falls in love” scenarios in rom-coms. And through these dramas, these social classes and the resulting difference in lifestyles is also clearly brought out. Take the example of popular drama The Heirs. The drama is literally filled with rich chaebols, such as Kim Tan (Lee Minho) and Rachel Yoo (Kim Jiwon). In the midst of these rich kids however, there are a few poor ones, such as female protagonist Cha Eun Sang (Park Shin Hye) and Jeon Hyeon Ju (Lim Ju-Eun). The poor characters led significantly different lives compared to their richer counterparts, as shown by Eun Sang’s part time jobs and her mother, who worked as a servant in a rich household. Rachel, on the other hand, was consistently shown shopping extravagantly and her fashion was clearly more expensive than Eun Sang’s. In short, there is always a significant difference between the lives of the rich and the poor characters.

This problem is an existing one in the Korean society, due to factors such as the changing salary system, where a new ability-based system was implemented in efforts to improve Korea’s economy, thus increasing the income gap between professional and managerial workers. This can also be seen by the Gini Coefficient (measure of inequality of a distribution) for Korea, which increased from 0.256 to 0.280 between 1990 and 2013.

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 K-dramas and realities of society

Skipping away from the technical economics of the complicated Korean society, let us move on to a more light-hearted topic, high schools. Characterized by trends such as glamorous school uniforms and light-hearted romances, school dramas generally attract a younger and more fun-loving audience, but there are still instances in which the cruelty of real life seeps in. For example, a theme that is recurrent in School 2013 is that of the struggle of studying and the stress of getting into a prestigious university. The students in the drama attend school from morning to night and a few of them are constantly shown cramming notes and studying feverishly to prepare for their university entrance exams (Sunueng). An example would be the character of Song Ha Kyung (Park Seyoung), who has immense pressure placed upon her by her family of S University graduates. As a result, she studies all the time (literally, I kid you not) and even resorts to drinking a combination of energy drinks to stay awake and study more, eventually landing herself in the hospital.

This is an extremely realistic situation of the students in Korea now. The long school hours and all the time taken for studying leaves students with no time to think about their dreams and their future as they only have time to study. The reason for all this stress? According to an article from Aljazeera News, college entrance exams are seen as the gateway to a better future, and as a student interviewed in the article stated, it “can determine the rest of your life.” Getting a good score in this exam could lead to entrance into prestigious universities and the achievement of a high paying job and a potentially better marriage.

Another character in this drama that showcases the negative impacts of this study-inflicted stress is Kim Minki Choi ChangYub). Always a model student, Min Ki is a nice and kind boy, who has on many occasions helped his fellow classmates and teachers. His mother, on the other hand, constantly comes to the school to make complaints against the teachers and principals for the “poor teaching standard,” causing Min Ki a lot of embarrassment and stress. She also sends her son to attend private academies after school and even helps him cheat so that he would achieve better grades. Needless to say, this does not bode well with him, and after several years of submitting to his mother, he finally reaches his breaking point when his mother gives him the answer key for an essay competition. Unable to take the pressure anymore, he goes to the rooftop of his school and contemplates suicide. Fortunately for Min Ki, he manages to reconsider his decision and with the help of his caring teacher, Jung In Jae (Jang Nara), he reconciles with his mother and settles his problems.

Sadly, there are many students in Korea who are not as lucky as Min Ki and have succumbed to their internal struggles. This can be seen by the high suicide rate recorded of Koreans, which is at an average of 28.5 people per 100,000 people, one of the highest in the world, according to statistics from the World Health Organisation in 2013. Suicide is indeed the number one cause of death for South Koreans aged 10 to 30.

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K-dramas and realities of Society (2)

When we talk about a society, we can never neglect the working class as they are the basis of a society’s economy. Perhaps the office life may seem too mundane and boring to ever base an entire drama upon, but as proven by the unexpected hit of 2014, Misaeng, realistic office dramas do indeed tug at the heartstrings of viewers due to its relatability and accurate portrayal of the problems in the society. Take for example, the problem of gender discrimination. This is especially poignant in the case of Ahn Young Yi (Kang Sora), who was initially one of the most promising and successful interns in the office before she was transferred to a department full of men who were biased against her. Although she conquered it and won their respect in the end, the lack of respect she was shown because of her gender is a real-life problem that many women in the world (not just in Korea) still face now.

Another real-life situation illustrated through this drama would be the importance of education in one’s career. The main character, Jang Geu Rae (Im Siwan) faced the problem of only knowing one language on his first day at work, as he was unable to answer and understand the calls made to the office by foreign businessmen. He was also looked down upon by his fellow co-workers because he graduated with only a high school diploma. In a direct contrast, Ahn Young Yi was able to succeed at her job because she was fluent in several languages was competent and had more experience as well.

There are plenty of K-dramas out there apart from the ones listed above that also depict several realities of the Korean society, and while some of them may be overly grim or too unrealistic, they are definitely still helpful for viewers to gain a better understanding of the real Korean society and way of life.

How accurate do you think are K-dramas in portraying real life? Do you think that K-dramas should even be so realistic? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.

BoA ‘Kiss My Lips’ Music Video & Song Review

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Hear ye, hear ye, the queen is back and looking more radiant than ever! BoA wrote, composed, and produced all 12 tracks on her eight Korean studio album and title track Kiss My Lips. Let’s see what this veteran idol has in store for us in commemoration of her 15th year anniversary. Read more

Banishing the Stigma of K-Pop Idol Singers, One ‘Mask King’ Episode At A time

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Let’s take some celebrities who people think they know, put masks on them, make them sing, and trick the general public into recognizing and admitting how talented some K-pop singers actually are.

If that’s what the producers of MBC’s Mask King said to themselves, they did a wonderful job in doing just that. Mask King turned South Korea’s attention to top Korean celebrities, and caused a public discussion about who was who. Disbelief and awe came after each episode’s unmasking, along with recognition of the hidden talent.

The show essentially forced Korea’s audience to admit that K-pop idols are more than just pretty packages.

With the likes of f(x)’s Luna, BTOB’s Sungjae, B1A4’s Sandeul, After School’s former leader and founding member turned soloist and music star Kahi, EXID’s Solji, and other singers who gained fame for being K-pop idols.

The producers of Mask King didn’t pick any mediocre singers. The first (and hopefully not last) season of the show showcased some of the most widely recognized, talented singers in South Korea. The surprise of Mask King was that some idols were able to break out of the K-pop idol box and prove their worth as live singers, singing with only a live band or other competitor as backup.

Many prominent performers appeared on the show but if a singer was recognized by their vocals show (Hong Jin Young, K.Will, Jo Kwon, etc.) then they cannot continue on to the next round. Surprisingly, nobody did this better than one of the most vocally respected members of one of Korea’s most popular idol groups, who has previously been featured in musicals and soundtracks, but the idol title kept her from gaining true recognition as a singer until Mask King came along.

Gold Lacquer Phenomenon

One singer, known as Gold Lacquer (or Use 2 Bucket Gold Lacquer), won multiple rounds of the show, for being both extremely talented and keeping the celebrity guests and audience from recognizing her voice.

The female vocalist continuously wowed the audience, and was given the title “Mask King” twice, before finally revealing that she was f(x)’s member Luna.

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Luna debuted in 2009, and Korean and international viewers of the show alike figured out ahead of the reveal that she was likely Gold Lacquer. However, it wasn’t because her vocals were recognized automatically by fans of f(x). Instead, it was mostly because of her distinct nail polish that was visible while Gold Lacquer sang and on Luna’s Instagram; singers began to wear gloves shortly after the pictures were circulated around the Internet.

Answering The Question “Who Are These Singers?” With “Idols Can Sing Too”

Luna alone would be some well-deserved recognition, but an almost accidental side effect resulted from Mask King. Most solo singers and main vocalists of idol groups, like Navi, G.Na, 2AM’s Lee Changmin, FTISLAND’s Lee Hongki, were recognized almost right away. A few solo artists, such as Ivy and Kwon In Ha, were not immediately recognized, but it was the K-pop idols that gained the most attention, shocking people into noticing them.

Due to Mask King f(x)’s Luna, B1A4’s Sandeul, EXID’s Solji, BTOB’s Sungjae, were all given a chance to shine in a way that isn’t typically offered to them. They’re all from popular groups, but aren’t the popular member. Luna is arguably the least popular member of f(x), B1A4’s Jinyoung and Baro are representatives of the group, EXID’s burst to fame was due primarily thanks to member Hani, and BTOB’s recognition in South Korea and abroad has been minimal due to lack of hit songs.

K-pop is seen as a mostly contrived music genre both nationally and internationally, a genre of music that’s technologically advanced. But instead of singers, it’s filled with all around entertainers. But while not all K-pop idols are extremely talented singers, the ones who are shouldn’t be shunned because of the idol title.

The shock on the audience’s face each time an unknown singer revealed their mask to be an idol was visible, as if they were simply were unable to believe that the talent was hidden amongst K-pop. When Luna took off her mask, it was as if everyone in the auditorium was shocked that an idol could be so talented.

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Netizen Buzz, a website that translates comments from Korean news articles into English, shared the reactions from the show that featured the unveiling of Luna and Sungjae.

One article from OSEN featured comments with over 9,000 upvotes, showing the popularity of the show. Some of the comments are as follows:

[A comment regarding Sungjae] with over 8,700 upvotes I normally didn’t give idols a chance because of idols so I had no idea that an idol of this level existed. I’ve been so selfish. I thought it’d be Lee Suk Hoon… I feel sorry for being biased against him. If the worst member of a group is this good, how good are the others..?

[A comment regarding Luna with over 3,000 upvotes] SM needs to apologize to Luna. They took a talent like this and made her sing nananana nuabo [f(x)’s Nu’ABO], jeez.

[A comment regarding Sungjae with over 560 upvotes] He’s not even the main vocalist and he’s this good… BtoB’s vocal line must be really talented then.

The magic of Mask King is that it promises the audience good performances and makes the viewers sit through every song, removing all bias against “manufactured” idols. All are equal behind the mask, no matter how pretty they are or how good of a dancer they are. Because of this, it gives K-pop idols who can sing but have been previously pegged as “mere” idol group members who go previously unrecognized (whether because they’re hidden amongst a crowd or simply because of the stigma against idols) a chance to shine.

Have you watched Mask King? What do you think of the stigma against idols? Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts. Share your thoughts in the comment section below and be sure to subscribe to the site and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to keep up with all of our posts.