A Completely Amateur Intro to K-Pop

In case the title wasn't crystal, I know absolutely nothing about K-pop (aka Korean pop) aside from having a generous exposure to middle-school-girl musical tastes, and the odd hit that I hear around Jeju. I am by no means versed in this genre. This post is like, K-pop through the eyes of a 25 year old Canadian living in Korea learning about K-pop through the eyes of her middle school kids. I know right? So #meta.

I do, however, fully appreciate how random and awesome K-pop is, and hadn't really listened to it until I came here. So if you are like I was (aka, a K-pop noob), maybe this post will unlock the raging love you didn't know you had for K-pop all day everyday.

Here are a bunch of videos that will give you a very vague idea of this genre.

CATCHINESS: I would argue that the biggest strength of K-pop is its sheer ability to be WILDLY catchy. The songs have these little hooks that get you every time, and in a single listen you feel as if you've been listening to the song forever and ever. This, for example, is currently the song that is FOREVER STUCK IN MY HEAD. Just when I think I've escaped it, I walk down the hallway, and it is there (being played by someone), waiting for me, so it can be eternally on replay in my mind. Seriously, listen with caution.

RECRUITING: The groups can have zillions of members (but usually something like 5ish), and kids as young as 9-10 years old are recruited into super intense K-pop boot camps to gear up for their K-pop lives. This video, for example, uses footage from a reality TV show where over 100 girls are auditioning to be part of a group of 11. Apparently it's really tough to get in because of "devil editing," where any weak moment might become a point of focus of the show. Pretty cutthroat! SO CATCHY THOUGH OMG!

CHOREOGRAPHY: Evidently, K-pop thrives on really distinct Korean-style choreography. Usually the dance moves are done in complete synchronicity and somehow relate to the lyrics. Take this video, for example. Boy bands! With sassy choreo dancing! In a warehouse!

INTENSE FANBASE: I think it's fair to say that most Koreans love K-pop, and many of them are mega dedicated to their favorite groups. My girls have posters, photography magazines, and all kinds of merchandise from their favorite bands. They LOVE these guys, for example:

GENDER BENDY: The cool thing about K-pop is that even though Korea is conservative as hell, K-pop boy bands certainly bend some gender norms. The beauty expectations for women are insanely narrow (quelle surprise), but it is 100% peachy for men to be decked right out in their videos. It's SO AWESOME!

SOME OF IT IS SOOOOO BAD: Some K-pop is hilarious. It borrows from hip-hop and RnB and... well, this is basically Korean Iggy Azalea in "The Baddest Female".

THERE ARE GANGSTER KOREANS: This song, It G Ma, is seriously one of my all-time fave Korean songs. It's just so weird and confusing and hilarious and awesome and catchy, and I just LOVE the general strangeness of the video.

A SPRINKLING OF ENGLISH: Last but not least, I'd say that the vast majority of K-pop songs have at least a couple English words thrown in, just enough that you can kind of sing along (and get more hooked). This song, for example, has this "shake it, shake it for me" line, paired with a bunch of "na na na na"s, so you basically find yourself belting along to it without even noticing.

What a time to be alive.

Traveling with Blake

Blake and I have been good pals for ages now, and we have done a fair amount of traveling together. He is a chill guy, which was one of the main reasons why I signed on to go across the world with him. Thanks for coming Blake!

The only thing with Blake is that he is a really tall and generally big human. He is tall pretty much everywhere, but he is ESPECIALLY tall here in Asia.

Here is a picture of us from past weekend to demonstrate the height differential. Also, he shaved off his beard, which means that he has transitioned from caveman to baby dino.

The pros of traveling with Blake the friendly giant:
- No one ever dares to mess with us, since I basically have a linebacker as a bodyguard
- He is really easy to spot when we get separated
- He can see more than I can see in general I think
- He is probably strong and could do strength-related things if needed
- If I am sleepy on the subway his shoulder is a great height for leaning on
- Blake can eat more than most people put together, which means that he is always game for getting food

The cons of traveling with Blake the gigantic giant:
- Sitting next to him on a plane is a real struggle. Although it's nice to have a pal, he automatically gets the window or aisle because of his sheer size, so I am usually taking the middle seat since I am such a good person
- I have had to take the top bunk to accommodate his height
- In squishy car situations there isn't extra squish-space, since Blake already has issues in regular size vehicles
- His spider legs make him really hard to hike with since his casual stride is basically two of mine
- If you have to share food with him, you might as well accept that he is getting 90% of it (bite sizes alone, dear god)

Luckily Blake's many redeeming qualities make up for his occasional size challenges. Hey Blake, keep up the great work on being yourself!