K-Pop Academy [Week 7 - Homework]

As I'm sure you all know, from my numerous posts about Korean Cultural Centre UK events, the KCCUK hard to make people aware of Korean culture. Saturday's All Eyes On Korea event is a prime example of this. The focus for this weeks lesson was Korean culture and events so as part of this weeks homework I made a video about another 5 possible events the KCCUK could hold to promote Korea further.

If there are any aspects of Korean culture that you would like to learn more about, feel free to leave a comment. ^^

-Tamanna

Taegukgi Inspired Outfit

The dress-code for the K-Pop night was Taegukgi (태극기) so to ensure I stuck to the theme, I made (with the help of my sisters) a Taeguki tank top.

Taeguki tank top

We made it by mixing paint with PVA glue. I tried to paint it  but even though I was trying really hard I was just making a mess and my sisters had to clean it up. Ooop, art isn't my forte.

I love nailart so Afsana painted the Taegukgi flag on my thumb and used white, black, blue and red on the other nails to match the theme.

Nailart

'All Eyes On Korea' Event [17-04-12]

All Eyes On Korea

On the 17th April, the Korean Cultural Centre (KCC) organised the 'All Eyes on Korea' to mark 100 days till the Olympics. This event involved various flashmobs, a funky double decker bus and a K-Pop night. I was lucky enough to be a supporter for the event and get involved in all the epic madness.

As there were flashmobs scheduled, the day started at 9am with a dance rehersal. Although I had practiced most of the dances previously, there were a few I didn't know well so this ensured I knew the dances well.

We then got on a eye-catching double decker bus that was decorated especially for the event. For an hour the bus drove around central London while we were on the top deck singing and dancing to K-Pop songs like true diehard K-Pop fans.

The bus we rode to promote the event and show our support for Korea

Us supported on the bus

The bus driving past Oxford Street
 

 Here's a video Korean Class Massive recorded of the bus passing through Haymarket:

The atmosphere was lively with the bus attracted a lot of attention with many people stopping to take picture and waving. Some people were even dancing as we sang. After screaming till I almost lost my voice, we had a break before heading to our next location, the OXO tower. As we walked to the OXO tower, passers by were intrigued to know about what we were promoting.

Supporter and our fury mascot near the Millenium Bridge

When we  arrive at the OXO tower we performed a brief flashmob which consisted of the Sunny and Victory Korea dance. It was the first time we had all performed together in front of large crowd but everyone tried their best.

Dancing near the OXO tower

After the flashmob we were all feeling full of energy so we headed to out next location, the London Eye. When we got there we handed out baloons and leaflets about the upcoming Korea events that will take place during the Olympic. People seemed keen to know more about the events. Even street performers were asking what we were promoting and dancing along as we sang 2NE1's I Am The Best.

Then made our way to Trafalger Square. Before we even started performing, a crowd had formed eager to see what we had in store. I would too if I saw a large group of people dressed in yellow T-Shirts and waving Korean flag. Haha.

We then performed the full routine in front of the crowd and this time it was longer than the previous one as we also had to perform the K-Pop dance too. I was excited to see the crowds reactions.

Us supporters performing the full routine in front of the National Gallery in Trafalge Square
Source: KCCUK

In Trafalger Square
Source: KCCUK

Source: KCCUK

It felt food to see the crowd clapping and cheering us on. They took a lot of interest in the event and several people requested to take pictures with our adorable mascot.

In front of the Olympic clock

We headed back to the KCC for a brief break and then headed back onto the funkiest bus ever enroute to Picadilly Circus where we were supposted to perfrom another flashmob. 

Source: KCCUK

However, unfortunately the weather wasn't on our side and it raining like crazy so we were unable to perform. We tried to keep our spirits up, singing along to the songs despite the awful weather and made our way back to the KCC.

Because it was raining too much we had to stay in the KCC so we watched a video of the Dream Concert . The perfect way to keep K-Pop fans occupied.

Supporters watching the Dream Concert

A good way to kill time: take pictures =P

At 6.30pm before the K-Pop Night was under way, we had to perform our last flashmob of the day infront of the KCC where there were lots of people waiting and several passersby.Seeing as it was our last performance, I put in 110%. There is a video of the flashmob:

Thanks Korean Class Massive for recording it.

K-Pop Night

You'd think that after only 3 hours of sleep and constantly dancing, cheering and singing throughout the day, that I'd be tired but I felt the opposite. The KCC was almost unrecognisable with amazing disco balls and chandeliers which completely transformed the place into the perfect dancing environment.

Source:KCCUK

With all my favourite songs playing, I couldn't help but dance. I met a lot of my friends that I hadn't seen in a long time so it was really nice being about to hang out with them. As well as this, lots of K-Pop Academy students were also present which made the atmosphere electric. When we heard Fantastic Baby, we formed a big circle and performed the routine we learn.

Group picture of the supporters

All in all, I had such a wicked day. From start to finish the day was so fun with so much going on and making great memories along the way. I felt so proud representing Korea and expressing my passion to others.

I think I speak on behalf of all the support when i say, thank you KCC UK for allowing us to have thsi experience! ^^

Media coverage of the event

Well, if having an awesome day wasn't enough, it appears the event received a lot of media coverage in Korea. To read new reports of the event and watch news coverage click on the following links:

MBC

SBS

Yonhap

Decoding Korean [쌩얼] #15

A few days ago I learnt a new Korean colloquialism:

쌩얼

Pronounced: Ssaeng-Oel 

This word is used when someone's face is make-up free. 쌩 means 'saint'  and 얼 is an abbreviation of 얼굴 which means 'face'. I've seen this word being used a lot when Korean celebrities upload makeup-free pictures of themselves on Twitter.

K-Pop Academy [Week 7]

This week was the 'Hot and Cold' class where members of our family and friends were invited to come to our class to discuss their opinions, about K-Pop and Korean class. It was a chance for the students to show their loved ones why they love K-Pop culture so much and for some, it was a way for people to convince their parents that K-Pop was helping them for the better.

Class started with a performance from Katrina, a fellow K-Pop Academy student. She composed an amaing song about the K-Pop Academy and her experience so far. She performed so well, Its a shame I don't have a video of her performance. After her performance, the lyrics were displayed on screen and we all sang along.

Katrina singing the song she composed about the K-Pop Academy
Source: KCCUK

The song was a brilliant way to display all the students experiences and how much fun we're having so far. A short presentation was then given about K-Pop in the UK and what we've done for the past 6 weeks at the K-Pop Academy. All the guests were engrossed in the video as it gave them an insight into the various task we've done so far.

Source: KCCUK

 In the second half of the class, students were required to make a short pitch why they are passionate about Korea and K-Pop. The guests then scored the teams on how convincing the team was in persuading them to become interested in K-Pop and Korean culture.

My group decided to talk about how we were first introducted to Korean culture and we prepared a K-Pop dance to 2NE1's Clap Your Hands. We tried to go for the entertaining perspective rather than being very perssuasive. Other groups has really convincing pitches about how they met a lot of their good friends through an interest in K-Pop and it helped them to be movitvated in academic studies. The best 2 groups were given a prize.

A group giving their pitch
Source: KCCUK

Guests scoring the pitches

The last activity of the day was a quiz for the guest to test their knowledge about K-Pop. As some o the guests were K-Pop fans themselves, the groups were split equally with a mixture of K-Pop fans and people who had never heard of K-Pop.

Guests taking part in the quiz
Source KCCUK

Afsana looking eager to answer a question
Source: KCCUK

Us students then joined our guests team to help them answer the question so I joined group A. It then turned into a game of 'who can get their hands up the fast'. Haha. In the end, the winning team was Team B. Congratulations guys~! =)

Overall, the day was really enjoyable as it was useful for both us students and the guests. I'm glad my sister had the chance to see what I do in the K-Pop Academy because after every class I always tell her what an awesome time I've had~! ^^

SISTAR - Alone [Album Review]

Recently SISTAR, a four member K-Pop girl group released their album 'Alone'. I have been a fan of them since their debut song 'Push Push' and they have improved as a group with every song.

As ever, their new concept is oozing sex appeal. So let's take a listen and see what the songs on the album are like.

SISTAR - Come Closer

Come Closer is the intro for this album and although it doesn't sound too bad, when I first heard this song I though it was Hyorin's solo because her voice dominates this song. With that said, she does have an amazing voice which is hightlighted in this song.

SISTAR - Alone

This is SISTAR's title song and I was really anticipating it as I watched all the teasers. It is produced by Brave Brothers, a very well-known Korean producer. To be honest, I was starting to think Brave Brothers songs were all starting to sound too similar before this song was released. This song is a concoction of different sounds which makes it infectious and will have you singing along to it.

SISTAR - No Mercy

 This dance song has a way of drawing you in with it's catchy repetitive lyrics and funky beat.

SISTAR - Lead Me

Wow. Just wow. Lead Me is definitely my favourite song on the album. Everything flows so well in this song: from their voices to the beats. Chance from One Way, actually produced this song which explains why it's so great.

 SISTAR - Girls On Top

This song is probably my least favourite song on the album. It sounds like a typical K-Pop song but I like the way it's promoting girl power. =B

SISTAR (Hyorin) - I Choose To Love You (널 사랑했어)

When I first heard this song, I was busy doing work and it suddenly played so I had to check my playlist for the song name. It's is Hyorin's solo OST song for Dream High 2. Hyorin's incredible control of her voice makes this song a beautiful soothing, ballad-esque song.

Overall, this album definitely has some amazing songs especially Lead Me, No Mercy and I Choose To Love You.

You can purchase the album on:

iTunes

CN Blue - Ear Fun [Review]

CN Blue have released their 3rd mini labum titles 'Ear Fun' it consists of 6 tracks including their title track 'Hey You'.

CN Blues music style is indie/rock, the members each play their own intrusments and have amazing vocies which makes them more appealing to others.

I've been a fan of CN Blue's label mates FT Island so I was excited to hear another indie boy band would be coming out. CN Blue did not fail to disappoint me since their first debut single 'I'm A Loser' I've become hooked onto their music. When I heard they would be releasing their 3rd mini album I was anticipating what new songs they had instore for use.

My favorite song on the album is 'Dream Boy', the song starts of with a soft and mellow start with leader Yong Hwa singing at the start followed by lead guitarist Jong Hyun. The song is uplifting and bubbly.

Still In Love

Hey You

Dream Boy

Run

In My Head

Rock and Roll

Purchase the album at:

Yesasia - http://www.yesasia.com/global/cnblue-mini-album-vol-3-ear-fun-special-limited-edition-jung-yong/1030778534-0-0-0-en/info.html
http://www.yesasia.com/global/cnblue-mini-album-vol-3-ear-fun/1030459473-0-0-0-en/info.html