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5 Korean Actors Who Can Carry A Tune Better Than K-Pop Idols

October 29, 2015/in Entertainment, MUSIC /by Anna Cheang

When you see the phrase “actors who can sing,” famous examples such as Lee Seung Gi and Seo In-Guk immediately come to mind. Reason being, they are amazing actors and vocalists alike, but perhaps more known for their dramas than their released albums. It is hard to remember that they started off in the K-pop industry before venturing into the world of acting. In fact, these occurrences are getting more and more common. There is virtually no K-drama showing now that does not involve an idol actor, whether they are playing supporting roles or even having leading ones. All of this made me wonder whether there were existing all-rounded actors and actresses who could go against the norm, to debut as actors before entering the K-pop industry. Lo and behold, I found five of them.

1. Park Seo Joon

You might recognise this multi-talented actor from his currently airing drama “She Was Pretty,” but did you know that he can sing? Unfortunately, his releases have only been limited to drama OSTs so far, but he undoubtedly has a really beautiful voice. Not just that, there is also evidence of training in his voice because he controls it skilfully. He doesn’t just act with passion and emotion, he sings with it as well. Take “Letting You Go” from the “Kill Me Heal Me” OST for example.

In the drama, his character Oh Ri On has to make several painful and difficult decisions regarding his adopted twin sister Oh Ri Jin, such as enabling her romance with the main character Cha Do Hyun, even when he himself has romantic feelings towards her. This heartbreaking dilemma is portrayed perfectly through Park Seo Jun’s acting, but even more so through this appropriately titled OST. Even for a person who doesn’t understand Korean like me, his voice transcends the boundaries of language and makes me understand fully what he is trying to convey through the song. Park Seo Jun is a real gem in the making, and I hope that he will release more OSTs and even an album soon.

2. Kim Soo Hyun

This actor is still at the height of his popularity a year after his hit drama “You Who Came From The Star,” but there is more to his charm than just his acting. He is a great singer as well and has released OSTs for every drama he has been in, with the exception of his latest drama, “The Producers.” Kim Soo Hyun’s voice is extremely skilled, and he sounds very sincere whenever he sings. He also loves to sing randomly, as can be seen by behind the scene videos of his dramas. Even in the 2011 drama “Dream High,” his vocal abilities stood out amongst the several idols who acted in the drama as well, especially in his emotional performance of “Dreaming.”

It is already difficult to act well or sing well, but to be able to do both well is a feat that few can pull off. Kim Soo Hyun’s singing in the wrong key for the first half of the song was impressive to me, because believe it or not it is hard to sing in a different key from the music that is playing around you. Not to mention the fact that he had to portray his difficulties clearly through his expression and his singing, and when he did this perfectly it created an extremely memorable scene in this drama.

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3. Sung Joon

When I first watched Sung Joon in “Shut Up Flower Boy Band,” his raw acting captivated and moved me to fall in love with his character. As I downloaded and listened to the OSTs of the show however, his tough and gentle voice reached out to me even further. He has the ability to carry rock songs powerfully but also melt your heart with his sincere ballads. It is a comfort to listen to his voice because he sings so effortlessly. In particular, I especially loved his rendition of “Words You Shouldn’t Know” from the OST of said drama.

While not as skilled as the previous two actors mentioned above, he definitely knows how to express himself through his voice and has the potential to become an even greater singer.

4. Lee Minho

Perhaps the most famous actor on this list, Lee Minho is an internationally recognised Hallyu actor. He debuted as a singer with “My Everything,” but was never recognised by fans as a good vocalist. That was what I thought initially as well, while I did enjoy the song his voice definitely had lots of room for improvement. He did not have many vocal techniques nor did his emotions come through in his singing, much like his acting for that matter. This all changed in 2013, when he acted in hit drama “The Heirs.” The drama as a whole left much to be desired, but it was through this drama that I discovered Lee Minho’s astounding improvement as a singer, evident through the OST he released, “Painful Love”.

If I remember correctly, the first time I cried in this drama was when this OST was played. I didn’t like Kim Tan (Lee Minho’s character) at all, but when he cried so painfully in an empty apartment, it broke my heart. Those emotions are brought across perfectly through this OST and Lee Minho’s voice has become a lot more confident since “My Everything.” He is even able to reach high notes and create climaxes in his songs. The OST is very moving because his pain is so believable and it just shows how talented he is both as a vocalist and an actor.

Also on Kultscene: 5 Tear-Inducing K-Drama OSTs Pt. 3

5. Jo Jung Suk

Ever since I watched him in “The King 2 Hearts” and “You’re The Best, Lee Soon Shin” I’ve been in love with this actor. And over the years, I can see how much he has improved in terms of his acting. As a vocalist however, he only has one OST under his belt but his natural talent shines through very well. “I Completely Love You” is an adorable acoustic song that suits his gentle voice, and the way he sweetly sings it makes his affection for Lee Soon Shin (played by IU) so believable. He has confidence in his voice and reaches the high notes effortlessly, which is perhaps aided by his background in theatre and various musicals. He also applies more vocal techniques than the other actors listed above and uses them smartly to convey his emotions.

He shows great potential both in acting and as a vocalist, while I’m happy that he is being given more lead roles in dramas and movies, I hope that he will receive more opportunities to sing as well. I want an album Jo Jung Suk!

Do you agree with the actors on this list? What do you think about actors who can sing?Let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear you thoughts and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and Bloglovin’ so you can keep up with all our posts.

5 Tear Inducing K-Drama OSTs

August 21, 2015/in Entertainment /by Tam Huynh

I remember watching my first K-drama series, “Autumn in My Heart,” starring heartthrob actors Song Seung-heon and Won Bin and charming actress Song Hye-kyo in 2001 on VHS with my mom. Aside from crying every other episode as the result of a heartbreaking plot, I remember falling madly in love in with the melodic ballads and acoustic OSTs (original soundtrack). I was young and didn’t want to ask my parents for money to buy the OST album, so as a result, I made my way onto Limewire (once an online file sharing downloading website) and downloaded the 13-track soundtrack and became completely immersed, day in and day out.

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Going into this drama, I wasn’t expecting to be so mesmerized by the somber songs and tender guitar and piano acoustics considering this was my first time being exposed to the Korean culture and the Korean music. My love for these sappy, heart wrenching, and emotional OSTs surely hasn’t slowed down. One of the reasons why I’m usually drawn to a drama nowadays is because I’ll hear the OST elsewhere, become completely absorbed in the music, and then watch the drama itself. Considering that I’m such a sucker for a great soundtrack, it was quite difficult for me to create this list, but if I let it go on any further it wouldn’t have ever ended. So with that said, here are my top 5 choices. Read more

Inside KCON LA 2015 [PHOTOS]

August 5, 2015/in Events /by Tamar Herman

In its fourth year, KCON LA expanded to add an extra day from last year, and headed to a larger venue at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Between July 31 and August 2, fans and purveyors of Korean culture in the United States kept busy with a variety of different activities.

Expo

This year, KCON LA’s booths became a full-on expo. Previously, KCON had featured only a handful of vendors, websites, and fa clubs. But this year, there were many more booths, plus an added business conference on the first day. The expo area was divided into different sections, including CJ Street featuring a variety of CJ E&M booths, the Marketplace where attendees could free up their dollars, the K-ICT Dream Zone featuring technology, and the K-Goods Zone, selling an array of Korean products.

Some of the most prominent booths included Verizon, Asiana, MBC America, Nongshim, and Toyota, sponsors of the event, but Korean beauty and technology brands, like Iope, K3I, The Face Shop, and Kakao, also were spotted throughout the event. People walking around could sing karaoke, try out virtual reality goggles, purchase Korean oriented clothing or ridiculously cute t-shirts, check out booths hosted by Korean channels like Mnet and TvN, buy K-pop posters and albums (and, of course, official KCON souvenirs!), and practically anything Korean wave related. Websites like Soompi and Glow Recipe also hosted their own booths.

Fanclubs played a big role in this year’s expo, with many K-pop fanclubs organizing fans in a variety of special events planned for artists during the concert. One Super Junior fanclub planned a banner event with the members of the group, while another handed out blue headbands that led to the first night of KCON 2015 appearing like a sapphire blue ocean. Fans of the show “Running Man” set up a Running Fan corner of the expo, where KCON-goers could try to reenact their favorite games of the variety show. Red Velvet fans sold jewelry featuring the members, and even fanclubs of artists who weren’t appearing at the show made themselves known. Fanclubs of groups like EXO and MYNAME were also there, gathering in North American fans.

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Along with the expo panels themselves, there was a central stage that featured performances throughout the three-day event, including Roy Kim, Buzzfeed’s The Try Guys (!), performance group Double The Fire, and violinist and dancer Jun Sung Ahn. GOT7 even surprised the convention on the second day by putting on a fashion show in collaboration with the Korean fashion brand Beyond Closet. Designer Ko Tae Young also appeared at the event, and GOT7 wore the clothes for multiple events throughout the day.

Panels

With a whole three days to fill, there were a lot more panels at this year’s KCON, and a lot of interest. Many panels were cram-packed with people who wanted to hear what was going on, with multiple lines wrapping around the corner of the convention center as fans tried to get seats close to their favorite panelists.

Korean drama producers, fashion icons, actors, YouTube stars, writers, and other sort of industry insiders made their rounds, giving their thoughts and opinions on a variety of subjects. Panels addressed the meaning of K-pop, Korean indie music, cultural clashes, behind the scenes of websites and dramas, K-Pop’s LGBT fandom, and a lot lot more.

KCON attendees were also able to learn the dances of their favorite songs, cook food, learn tips about applying Korean beauty products, and a lot more. For more culturally inclined people, KCON-ers could try on traditional Korean clothes, watch a Korean wedding ceremony, and learn about traditional Korean tea.

Several Korean dramas and films also were aired during the convention, including “Twenty,” “Emergency Couple,” and the premiere of “Mr. Baek The Homemade Food Master,” featuring KCON guest So Ho Jun. One event that gained a lot of attention on the Internet post-KCON was an 18+ fan fiction open mic, hosted by KCON’s Hoon Bae.

Fan Engagements

One of the highlights this year for many fans at KCON was the success of the fan engagements. In previous years, there were issues with meet and greets being too limited so that many fans couldn’t attend, poorly timed events, cancelled events, or not enough interaction between fans and their favorite idols. But this time around, KCON LA got everything very right.

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Many of acts who would appear at the M! Countdown concerts, including SHINHWA, AOA, Monsta X, Red Velvet, Got7, and Block B, held fan engagements with their fans. All of the meet and greets featured question and answer sessions, and most featured hi-touch events. After initial confusion on the first day, when two fan meets had to swap their times due to scheduling issues, all of the rest ran orderly and the majority of fans possible were able to enjoy. Morover, attendees also got involved in the KCON meet and greet black market, where you could trade tickets and, maybe, make a bit of cash. It was hard to walk through the convention without hearing “Looking for GOT7 hi-touch tickets!” or “Who wants a Roy Kim audience ticket?”

Food

Let’s talk about the grub. Along with the standard convention center fare of hot dogs, pizza, and coffee, there were free McDonalds samples being given out throughout the majority of the weekend and Korean cooking lessons from brands like Bibigo, where KCON-ers learned how to make bibimbap, a Korean meal in a bowl. There were also food trucks and stands from several Korean-oriented companies, like Tous les Jours and Shin Ramyun.

Klub KCON

While there were three days of KCON LA 2015, there were only two nights of concerts, so for the first day KCON introduced something brand new. Klub KCON opened up in the convention center after the expo ended for the day on July 31, giving attendees a place to party. SISTAR and Monsta X performed at the event, surprising KCON-ers in the intimate atmosphere with tastes of what they were going to perform the next night at the Staples Center.

KCON App

One of the most innovative things at KCON LA 2015 was an app that people could download to their phones, which would alert KCON attendees about events going on and schedule changes. People could look up the location and time of events and even make planned out, personal schedules for themselves.

Red Carpet

The Red Carpet was the highlight for many fans, since artists like Super Junior and Kim Soo Hyun had not held fan engagements, meaning this was the event to get close to them before the actual concert. But let’s not bore you and go straight to the pictures from that day of all of Korea’s top celebrities.

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Did you go to KCON or wish you had gone? Share your experience and 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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