재중 씨, 당신은 너무 미남입니다!~~~

Aaaaahhhh…bb looks so handsome and young with that hairstyle ^^

And he looks so much healthier and cheerful these days. Jaejoong…hwaiting!

I wonder what is that blue thing that he holds? Looks like a puncher. But why would he pose with a puncher? (Well it’s JJ. He can pose with other weird things in the world if wants)

It’s Nintendo. He was doing Nintendo Super Mario CF.

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I love you Kim Junsu

I love you so much Kim Junsu!

I trust you the most in this whole Kpop world. When in doubt about things – what’s right and what’s wrong, I’ll just look at you, because I believe you will always make the most morally right decisions.

I’ve always have this protective noona-esque feeling towards you. I want to protect those precious smiles that brighten our lives since we know you. Junchan-yah..hwaiting!!~~ Noona love you!

-but wae u look so sekshi nau…makes me don’t wanna be noona anymore, and cheat on my boyfriend JJ  >.<

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Forehead

“Hey there sexy beast, can I stroke your forehead?”

Uri Dongbang boys love to make fun of Yuchun’s wide forehead, but I love it~~Sorry JJ, I love you the most, but I find Yuchun’s the sexiest 😉

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Congrats Yuchun!~

For winning the Popularity Awards at Baeksang.

Am sooooo loving that hairstyle – show us that beautiful forehead of yours more often. You know how obsessed I am with foreheads (especially Korean forehead, cuz they’re rare sights) ^^

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아리랑 Arirang

Last week’s lesson was so fun! We learned about Korean traditional music and instruments. The first part of the class consists of lecture on Korean traditional music and a Gayageum perfomance, and the second half was introduction  to Samulnori and a hands-on lesson on how to play the 4 instruments of Samulnori. It’s so great to see a young person like Ms. Norris to become an expert at Korean’s traditional music (okay I’m gonna go back home and learn about Malay’s traditional music and cultures too -.-).

Ms. Norris demonstrates how to play Janggu  (one of Samulnori’s instruments). credit: KCCUK

Now for the homework, I chose to do a research on Arirang – what is the origin of Arirang, and how did it become popular? Most k-loving person would know what Arirang is, or at least have heard of it at some point. It is Korean’s most popular folk song and has become sort of an unofficial national anthem of Korea. Many k-pop artists have also sang it , especially at end of concerts. It is also  sang to uplift athletes’ spirits in international sporting events.

Kpop artists sang Arirang at Kpop Masters LA. credit: koreanyousay@youtube

Arirang symbolizes unity and spiritual strength of Korean people. This song is about overcoming hardship in life and the lyrics uses crossing the Arirang Pass as an analogy to life’s obstacle, hence the title, Arirang. There exist many theories on the origin of Arirang.

One version says that it came originated from the time when the father of King Gojong (the second last king of the Joseon Dynasty) was rebuilding Gyoungbok palace in, which had been destroyed by fire during the Japanese invasion of 1592-1598  The laborers consoled themselves with songs and one of them is Arirang. Another version says that the song existed since the Shilla Dynasty, more than 1,000 years ago. The original version used the words “Aryong Arirang…” in praise of of Aryong, wife of the founder of the Shilla Dynasty. Over time, the words have changed to “Arirang, Arirang…”.

There are several versions of Arirang, each version originates from different regions and have slightly different lyrics and melody. The most commonly sang is the the version from Gyeonggi, which is the province of Seoul. For some reason, it gave me goosebumps when I first heard of this song some time ago.

Here is the lyrics of the first verse of Arirang:

아리랑, 아리랑, 아라리요…
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다.
나를 버리고 가시는 님은
십리도 못가서 발병난다.

Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo…
Arirang gogaero neomeoganda.
Nareul beorigo gasineun nimeun
Sibrido motgaseo balbyeongnanda.

Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo…
Crossing over Arirang Pass.
Dear who abandoned me here
Shall not walk even ten  before his/her feet hurt

Random pic: Junsu playing the Janggu . I played it too last week!^^

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English

 

I wish that DBSK’s English has improved, so that they can understand what we commented in youtube and their official facebook, what we tweeted them. So that they know how much us, international Cassies, love them and support them in whatever they do, as Homin or JYJ, in musicals or in dramas.

How we tell them to stay strong despite being apart from each other. How we applaud JYJ for standing up for what they believe in, and how we applaud Homin for continuing the legendary DBSK name so greatly. How much we want to see them, how much they inspire our lives. How we’re so proud at their achievements and congratulate their sold-out concerts, and how we’re so proud calling ourselves Cassies in front of other Kpop fans.

And most importantly, how much we wish for them to be friends again…

On the other hand, I don’t want them to read all those yaoi fanfics about them. Poor babies, imagine reading lesbian fanfic about you and your buddies..Ew.

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How to Promote Korean Culture

Last week at Kpop Academy is bring-your-family-and-friends week. We watched a promotional video of events held by KCCUK, had a round of Kpop quiz, and a pitch session where we have to persuade the family and friends on why they should/would love Kpop. It wasn’t easy to persuade them. I totally understand what average, non-k-loving citizens feel about Kpop. I used to dislike Kpop because I didn’t even wanna try listening. If they TRY, I’m sure they’ll be converted like me too 😉

For this week’s homework, I chose option 1: Suggest 5 events you think will  be effective to promote Korean culture.

1. Food Festival

Food is a big part of a culture and what better way to promote Korea than to promote it’s cuisines, because, who doesn’t love food right?

 A big scale event at Trafalgar Square where KCCUK can collaborate with London’s Korean restaurants to promote Korean cuisine.

2. Cooking Classes

A lot of my friends were really excited when I told them we’re going to have a cooking lesson back in week 3 and asked if they could join. I take that as an indication that regular citizens would love to participate if KCCUK were to hold cooking classes.

An ajusshi demonstrating how to cook Kimchi Jjigae XD

3. Craft Workshop

Korea has a lot of unique crafts like kites, fans, paper-crafts, embroideries and so much more! So why not make workshops for craft-lovers to learn how to make those?

4. Travel Fair

The best way to explore Korean culture is by experiencing it in Korea itself. K-pop lovers already marked Korea as their must-go destination, so a travel fair can be set up to attract the public to go visit Korea for it’s wonderful culture and magnificent natural landscapes.

5. Open Day

Ideally, I would love to have an open day at a Korean family’s house during Seollal day to celebrate it together with them, but that is quite far-fetched, so an Open Day at KCCUK during other festive time like Chuseok  is a good way for the public to experience Korean festives.

I really look forward to participate in KCCUK’s future events!~~ 

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10 Basic Korean Etiquettes

Last week’s Kpop Academy students’ visit to the residence of the Korean Ambassador to London was very fun as it was informative! It was an honour to be invited to Ambassador Choo’s residence. He made us feel very welcomed and patiently entertained our questions. We learned about Korean food, festive, the Jeol (Korean bow), and even Korean traditional medicine. We got to perform the Jeol in front of him – it turned out that his 60th birthday was coming, so that made the Joel even more meaningful.

Ambassador Choo applying the mugwort medicine. 

It is very useful to learn about Korean manners and etiquettes to avoid any faux-pas when visiting Korea. Here I compiled 10 basic Korean etiquettes that I know. I learned most of these out of K-dramas.

1. Remove your shoes when entering the house

Like most Asian cultures, Koreans put great emphasize in keeping the floor sparkling clean, because the floor is used a lot; like lying on the floor while watching TV, or sometimes sitting on the floor to eat. Hence, this is the number one rule you must remember when going to a Korean’s house. You may be required to remove your shoes in some restaurants too. You will be supplied with slippers to use indoor.

2.  Wait for the eldest to eat first

Older people are generally respected in other countries too, but in Korea it’s a whole different level! Koreans are really strict with age gap; even a person who’s a year older gain the respect. The younger ones should also grill the meat when eating barbeque dishes. The seating arrangement at the dinner table is also important; the seniors should get the best seats.

3.  Pour drinks for each other

Koreans pour drinks for each other. When someone older is offering to pour you a drink, never reject it, and you must always hold the cup with both hands.  Don’t want to drink too much because you can’t reject a drink offer? Simple – don’t finish your drink, always keep the cup half empty. It is also customary to drink with your head turned sideways in front of seniors.

4.  Never offer anything with the left hand

Always use your right hand to offer and receive something, even though you are left-handed. Best practice is to use both hands.

5.  Do not put your chopstick upright on a rice bowl

Please don’t do it because it resembles the incense sticks that are lighted during funerals.

6.  Do not write anyone’s name with red inks

Again, this symbolizes that the person is dead, and anything related to death is a sensitive subject to Koreans.  You might want to avoid using red pen altogether.

7.  Do not blow your nose in front of anyone

Although it doesn’t seem like such a big matter in western countries, blowing your nose in front of people  is considered terribly rude in Korea, and most of Asia I believe. Please do it in the washroom.

8.  Always refute a compliment

When complimented, reply modestly with (aniyo). Koreans are known for their politeness and humility.  Maybe you just wanted to be honest, but if you agree when someone complimented you and added some more good things that you do to add to that compliment, you will come across as arrogant.

9.  Never point at someone with your index finger

I guess this one is considered rude everywhere, but especially more so in Korea. Please avoid pointing people (or things) with chopstick as well.

10.  Koreans don’t “go Dutch”

If Koreans invite you to a dinner at a restaurant, they will pay for your meal. Don’t insist on splitting the bill, you are expected to pay for  the next round too. I personally find this a good concept; everybody’s treating each other in every round. Happy.

Random picture. After going to Ambassador Choo’s house, I suddenly wanted to buy a  Hanbok.

Seriously, I really want one. Those expensive custom-made silk ones >.<

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