*RANDOM POST: KPOP

Two posts in one day?! That's how you know that:

1. It's Friday
2. My Spanish class was cancelled, so I have nothing that I'd rather do than blog! :D

Okay, so in case you haven't notice...

I. LOVE. KPOP!!! (^^) <3

Yep. I love it. I love everything about it...okay, not everything, because, just like in America, there can be inappropriate things in the music industry in Korea too...

But there's something about listening to music in a different language and watching music videos (MVs) with adorable Asian boys dancing and singing and acting all "aegyo" ("cute" in Korean). I have gotten a little into 2NE1, a girl KPOP group, but not as much as the boy ones. I just love it.


*FACT: I am "blasian."

*FICTION: The Asian side of me is Korean.

*FACT: The Asian side of me is Filipino, but I love Korea and also Japan just as much as I love the Philippines. I love ALL Asian countries.

*FICTION: Doing this "Fact/Fiction" thing wasn't weird at all...

Bria and I are learning the dance moves to "Standing Still" by UKISS. We're going to learn other dances by other KPOP groups such as MBLAQ, SHINee, and 2PM, maybe. And we're going to see if we can be a part of Culture Fest next year. SO EXCITED!!! 

I'm also excited because AJ's back with UKISS! After 6 months of schooling in NYC, it's so nice to see his face with theirs!

I'm thinking about posting up more things about KPOP, like things about my fave groups, the MVs, and other things, just so I can share it with y'all. I understand that KPOP isn't Christian music, but you'd be surprised that some members of KPOP groups are Christians! Which is really what Korea needs! (^^) 

Don't worry, I won't post about KPOP consistently so I don't choke you up with it...wouldn't want to do that to y'all!! :)

Later, I'll post up something about KPOP and Christianity: Engaging in the Culture for the Glory of God. Because yes, Bria and I do joke around about how every time we have dance practice, we're "UKISSin' it up." And when we're working out, we joke about how we're working our arms out for KPOP so we can do dances and stuff.

But I realized that, really, we shouldn't be joking around about those things (mostly about doing stuff for KPOP). And I'll talk more about that in the next post I post about KPOP.

So, here are some basic things about KPOP that I seem to have to explain to most people when they experience it:

1. Yes, some of the hairstyles and the clothing styles are weird. I understand that some of the hairstyles will be weird to you. I mean, it's not everyday you see a full bleach blonde Korean or a Korean with this weird bun hairstyle that makes him look like he has devil horns in some shots. Trust me, it is painful sometimes to see what their stylists come up with. For instance, AJ from UKISS has some blue highlights in his hair now, but the way it's cut is definitely not appealing to me as much as his other hairstyles have been. But just because that's what they look like in their videos, doesn't mean they like having their hair like that. Just sayin'. Also, the clothing they wear can throw you off. There are other KPOP videos out there where the members are wearing weird things. I don't think they choose what they wear; their stylists do. So, don't blame them.
2. Yes, the dancing can also be weird. I have many favorite KPOP groups that I love. However, just because I love them and love listening to their music doesn't mean that I agree with everything they do. Some of the dancing to you may be very weird and maybe even inappropriate, in your opinion. There have been videos where I have to skip parts because I think it's inappropriate or because I feel awkward watching it. A friend of mine who's Korean explained to me that people don't understand KPOP because their style of dancing and doing things reflects 90s boy bands like the Backstreet Boys. It's like they're keeping the style up, hence the dance moves and clothing choices.
3. Beware of other strange things. In KPOP MVs, there can be other weird events or things that are just not normal for American MVs to have. For example, in B.A.P.'s MV for their single "Stop It," the leader, Bang Yonnguk has a tail that the woman in the video squeezes near the end of the video, which knocks Bang out and he then wakes up, and finds out he's been dreaming, I'm guessing. Is there some type of sexual connotation to this squeezing of the tail? I personally have no idea, but I surely did not think of it as so when I first watched it. I can try to do more research and find out (yes, you can look up the English translation to all KPOP songs. That's what Google is for.) And now onto UKISS's "Standing Still" MV. For some reason, UKISS is starting to put more girls in their MVs. I personally, don't like it. I mean, they did perfectly fine in their other MVs without the girls. It was nice to just see some adorable Korean boys dancing around and singing. In my opinion, I think their agency is doing it because it shows UKISS is "growing up" out of the cutesy boy stage and into the serious, manly, "sexy" stage. Whatever. I thought they were awesome by themselves. But in this MV, there's this random girl standing behind a fence and she's also coming up out of the water. She's pretty, but beware, she has these INTENSE green eyes that kind of creeped me out. But maybe it was just me...
4. The English might not be so good. Yes, in KPOP songs, the singer/s or group will use English randomly in the middle of singing Korean. I don't know why, but just because they use English, doesn't mean they use it correctly. Sometimes they don't enunciate quite right. Other times the sentences don't make sense. 
5. A plot to a KPOP MV (if there is a plot) can be confusing. There will sometimes be things that can't be explained in a KPOP MV, such as plot. Or, things can be explained, but the producers just decided not to explain them. All I can tell ya is this: Just roll with it. Sure, ask questions, but I can't guarantee that you'll find answers.

So, after reading all of this, you're probably wondering, "If there's such weird, questionable stuff in KPOP, why do you listen to it?" I listen to it because it's enjoyable to me. It's different than the norm. It's sometimes better than listening to "Top 40s" crap we have here in America: songs about sex, drugs, and other awful things.

I'm not saying there isn't bad KPOP out there. There is, and I avoid those songs and stick with the songs about simple love or following dreams or making others smile. I enjoy KPOP because there is some innocence in it as well. Yes, the girl KPOP groups try to dress sleazy sometimes, and the guy groups sometimes take pictures shirtless to attract fangirls. But a lot of the time, you'll have Korean boy bands on a poster holding kittens or dressing like nerds or eating cupcakes in a messy fashion. I don't see much of that in America, except for groups like One Direction and Justin Bieber, and even then you'll get bare ab pictures of them too.

Yes, there is Christian music, and I listen to it as well (as you may've noticed since I talk about Britt Nicole in almost every single one of my posts). But I don't think there's anything wrong with my listening to KPOP. Like I said, sometimes listening to KPOP is more innocent than listening to stuff on the radio in America. 

I hope you can give KPOP a try and maybe look past some of the weirdness to see the talent that they have!

I'm so excited to share with y'all a piece of me that is KPOP! (^^) And I'm also excited because I got a really great friend of mine who normally listens to hard rock music into KPOP! :) So, anyone can like it. Doesn't mean you have to like everything about it. But you can like some things.

Hope you didn't completely drown in my KPOP talk! :)

Love y'all!!! 

*~.Mishy.~* (^^) <3