It’s that time of the year again when J-Pop/K-Pop shop Fangirl Asia brings fans together for a day of music and dance. An even bigger ONGAKU GAYO will be held this year on May 18 at the Mondragon House in Makati City, as Fangirl Asia partners with k-pop convention organizer KFest Manila. The particular bit of the event I look forward to is the countdown of the bestselling merchandise (CDs, DVDs) of the previous 12 months (and not just because my Big Bang babies always kick ass in that list, but it’s a definite plus). However, the other parts of the event are also a blast. For instance, there are the cover groups who dress up and perform as their favorite k-pop idol groups. This year, there will be a competition between cover groups — I’ll be one of the judges, in fact. (I was also a judge for the cover group contest in FA’s Chuseok Festival last year.)
Tag: South Korea
Park Shin Hye “Kiss of Angel” in Manila — best fanmeet ever!
I’m seriously too spazzed out (and busy at work) to write a proper blog post of last Saturday’s Park Shin Hye (“You’re Beautiful”, “Flower Boy Next Door”, “Stairway to Heaven”) fan meeting (the Manila leg of her “Kiss of Angel” Asia tour), but in the meantime, enjoy these HD videos I took of the event. Miss Park was a hoot! She was funny and smart and charming, and everyone had a great time. And she sang one of my favorite songs from my childhood (the current version is a remake of a Smokey Mountain original), “Kailan”.
Review: Minami Shineyo (“You’re Beautiful”)
So this is my favorite Korean drama* of all time. Minami Shineyo (“He’s Beautiful”), a.k.a. “You’re Beautiful”, is a story about an orphan girl named Go Mi Nam (“mi nam” means “handsome”, and obviously the title is a play on her name) who’s a novice nun who gets called to impersonate her twin brother as the newest member of a pop band. Hijinks ensue, of course, and her three bandmates end up falling for her.
(This was actually the first Korean tv show I’d ever finished watching. The honor was initially going to “Iris“, but somewhere after the first couple of episodes, I checked out You’re Beautiful, and couldn’t watch anything else until I’d finish it. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t do anything until I’d finished it — work, sleep, go out. Korean dramas are made to be addictive, so consider this a warning to anyone who’d attempting to watch one for the first time.)
Yes, this is a comedy. The plot is ridiculous, but the script and the characters were so well-written, the show was so much fun to watch. It also featured some fine performances from everyone from the leads Jang Geun Suk (Hwang Tae Kyung), Park Shin Hye (Go Mi Nam), Jung Yong Hwa (Kang Shin Woo) of the kpop band C.N. Blue and Lee Hong Ki (Jeremy) of kpop band F.T. Island, to the supporting cast, particularly Uee of kpop idol group After School who plays Mi Nam’s romantic rival Yoo He Yi.