11 - Paradise

"All about South Korea"

Annyeonghaseyo! Jeoneun Samantha Imnida. I am here to introduce KPOP and South Korea. The different things and traditions that the famous groups or artist grew up doing or believing. I hope that at the end of the day, you have learned something new.

Language is only a method of communication but in music? Music can connect us. Because music is made to produce a beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion in which we can communicate with our hearts and soul

KPOP is one of the ways to communicate with other people. Even if you can’t understand it, your mind and body will join in to the rhythm and melody of the music. It can also make your body move to the groove. What is KPOP? KPOP is a music genre that originate in South Korea. Of coure, fangirls doesn’t just stick on knowing their idols deeper. We, fangirls, also go through knowing the different things and traditions that our idols grew up doing.

Let’s start with the place, Seoul. The most famous place in South Korea. South Korea is known for its beautiful tourist spots and places but it is actually famous for the historical places it has, which is founded more than 600 years ago by the Joseon dynasty.

Koreans are mostly known for being fashionable. I can say that Koreans are a very unique when it comes to this kind. They have their unique fashion sense which is really cute and swaggy.

            They like to eat spicy food. When I say spicy, it really is spicy as hell. For example, the very famous kimchi and the famous street food or should I say rice cake, tteokbokki.

            Koreans have this tradition that they can drink to what they call as “soju” an alcoholic beverage, whenever they like. The alcohol content of this drink ranges from 16.7% - 45%. Isn’t a bit too hard? Well, most Koreans drink it as if they’re consuming water.

             Age. What are your age? Did you know that when you travel to Korea, you’ll add 1 to your current age? So if you’re 16 as of now, well ladies and gentleman, you’re already 17 in Korea. You’ll also add another year if New Year passed by.

Valentines’ Day is popular around the world but in South Korea, there is a twist. Valentines’ in Korea is all about men. A day where women show their love by giving chocolates and gifts to their husband or boyfriend. Of course, everything changes on March 14. Which is known as White Day. This is the holiday where men buy gifts for the girls, but there’s a catch: A guy is supposed to spend three times the amount of the gift he received on Valentine’s. And of course, most of the gifts are white.

            Make-up. Yes, Korean males put make up on their faces. Just like women, Korean males have a tendency to put make-up on their faces to hide those scars, blemishes and to look more like a celebrity. And I can say, they’re a metrosexual kind of person. Plastic Surgery. Who wouldn’t know that Koreans are famous for this? Just to enlighten you all, Korean entertainment companies really require their artists to have the celebrity like faces. So in this case, Koreans do plastic surgery just to acquire what the company needs regardless the talent.

            Koreans are known for their dramas. Can you name some of them? Princess Hours, My Girlfriend is a Gumiho, Boys over Flowers and many more. I can say that Koreans make the best dramas ever.

            Let’s now move on to the groups. Girl groups. The very famous Wonder Girls which are known for their Nobody song. There are other groups that are famous like Girls’ Generation, Sistar, A-pink, 4Minute and many more.

Boy groups. I bet some of you know G-dragon, well he’s in also the famous group known as Bigbang. Also there are other groups like EXO, GOT7, BTS, Boyfriend and many more.

            KPOP is also known for the so called Fandom. Fandom means fan club and fandom names are much likely related from the group name. Koreans are also known for the expressions like Saranghae, Fighting, and the favorite lines of the fangirls “Oppa”.

          

 I don’t say these things nor just introduce KPOP because I wanted to, but because I want everyone to know what my stand is. I want everyone to know what I really want to say. KPOP is not all about what we understand, but what we hear. Music doesn’t always depends on the lyrics itself. You also have to consider whether the rhythm and melody is good enough. Also, KPOP is not a bad influence. It just depends on the teenager whether she’ll take it as a good one or a bad one. You can’t also say that it’s a hindrance because you might not know that teenagers use it as an inspiration. Be open-minded enough to know things and not judge as what you see and hear.