Kimchi Mamas

Mother Father Gentle-Wha?

Have you seen the new PSY music video? 

 

You might be thinking: What in the world?  Mother Father Gentlemen?  What the heck is that?  Because that’s what I thought the first time through.  But I did have to admit it was catchy.  So I watched it again….and I think I get it.  At least what it means to me.

Korean Celeb Face Match

Have you ever wondered which celebrity you resembled the most?  Now you can with a free iPhone app called "Korean Celeb Face Match" (also available for Android here)!  My mom actually introduced this app to me, can you believe it?  How times have changed!  

It's fun and simple: you can take a photo using the app itself, or upload an existing one from your photo stream, confirm where your face is, then they guess your age and give you your result.

Here are my results using the same picture, so that tells you something about the scientific precision of it all, but it's great fun nonetheless, even with non-Asian faces.  (Note: the writing is in Korean because my mom had the Korean version installed, the one we are linking to is in English.)

 

Julie vs. Moon Hee Jun

 

Julie vs. Kim Hyun Ah

 

I'm a little mortified at the Moon Hee Jun comparison, because he was hands-down my little sister's favorite member of H.O.T., and I used to make fun of him and his eyebrows all the time (I mean come on, how could anyone look past Kang Ta?  Amirite, ladies???).  Now I look at him, and I think he looks like Jack White.  Does that mean I look like Jack White???

And I have no idea who Kim Hyun Ah is, but I appreciate being compared to a 21-year-old female vs. a 35-year-old male the second time around!

Try this out and let me know what your results are!  Have fun!

--Julie 

When worlds collide

One interesting part of living here in Korea is watching Korean TV.  You'd think that I'd be glued to Korean dramas all the time, but really, it turns out that I can only handle only one of them at a time which ends up being just a couple of hours a week.  Not that I don't love them.  I have my favorites that I look forward to and I get happy on my K-drama nights.

But I was surprised at how much TV time was taken up by Korean versions of shows we watch in the US.  Mostly reality shows like, Top Model, Project Runway, Biggest Loser, Dancing with the Stars, and American Idol.  Well, it wouldn't be called American Idol here.  It's called Superstar K (K for Korea, I guess) and it's just as addicting with an additional crossover factor for me because they keep bringing on past American Idol contestants. 

But before I get to that, there's something just fascinating watching the Korean version of these shows because though the set up is the same, the way the people go about solving the problems and hashing out the issues seems different.  Example.  When one group is told they are moving on in Superstar K and another is told that they have reached the end, the group that has passed on is usually the group to shed tears and carry on.  They talk about how they don't deserve it and how they sad they feel for their friend.  Or on Top Model, the youngest of the bunch is put in her place by her Unnis who feel it is their duty to teach her how to be respectful.  So Interesting.

Anyway, back to the tie in to my former American life.  Last year, my first season being sucked into watching Superstar K, John Park was on and made it really far.  Like to the finals.  He eventually took second place and kind of became a celebrity here in Korea.  Then, this year I tune in, and find it just as addicting.  I also find in the sea of dark haired and brown eyed talented Koreans, Chris Golightly, who looks familiar.  With some googling, I find that he'd been on American Idol before too.  Remember this story?  So sad.  But I guess he's friends with John Park who encouraged him to come to Korea and the story seems to be that he's been in Korea working in the music biz and was encouraged to try out for the show. 

He made it into the top 10 (through all the initial audtion stuff and mission stuff even with the language and cultural barriers) and it's time for the Korean public to vote.  EEK!  Here's his first performance all gussied up.  Only Korean songs allowed.

 

Wasn't he amazing?  This performance got him into the next round.  Team Chris!  I am also Team Christina because she is an awesome kimchi sister from America (her korean is pretty good but with her totally perfect English and American way of thinking you can tell she's a second generation) doing her best in the competition.  So I guess I am the Team Chrises.

  

 

Korea's Got Talent: Sung-Bong Choi

I have a hard heart when it comes to reality television, but even I couldn't stop the tears from flowing when I watched this:

Orphaned at the age of three and left to fend for himself starting from the age of FIVE, Sung-Bong Choi sold gum and Bacchus drinks on the street to survive.  He did not attend school until high school, and during his many nights wandering alone through the city, he listened in on vocal lessons to learn how to sing.

I hesitate to call him Korea's Susan Boyle, not because of any lack of talent, but because there is too much tragedy staining the transcendence.  In his pre-performance interview, Mr. Choi stated he entered this competition so he could be normal like other people, not famous or rich or notorious.  I find that very telling of his strong character, and since he had been let down in such a profound way by his government and fellow citizenry, I hope his appearance on this show will at least cement a sure and stable future for him, never lacking in comfort or company.

--Julie

The Warrior's Way

Jang Dong Gun is starring in a Hollywood film called The Warrior's Way with Kate Bosworth! I'm a little bit excited. Are you going to see it?

He was a lead actor in two huge Korean films, TaeGukki (Brotherhood of War) and Chin-goo (Friend). He tied the knot with Go So Young, a beautiful Korean actress, earlier this year and they had a baby couple of months ago. I hope it's better than Ninja Assassin... I didn't watch that one but I heard it wasn't that good. Sorry Rain!

- Mary

America needs Pororo!

As many of you already know, I'm currently halfway through a year of living in one of the most densely Korean populated areas in the United States.  Seriously.  There are condo complexes around here that are occupied entirely by Koreans.  That's 100%.  I know this for a fact because someone I know just moved into a complex and she says she kicked out the last non-korean family who lived there.  

The downside to this is that the McDonalds and Dennys in the area are filled with lots of loud Korean talk in the morning over coffee, I park my humble Camry in parking lots filled with luxury cars and since I'm usually dressed in non brand clothing and carrying a bag from Target, well let's just say that I get looks that say I need to do better.

BUT, it also means great Korean food everywhere (omg the soondubu and dongchimi kooksoo rocks) not to mention lots of choice in Korean products and entertainment.  Which we have been totally taking advantage of and is probably why suddenly the Little Einstein and Go Diego Go DVDs have slowly been pushed aside to make room for Pororo the Little Penguin.  And what a relief it is.  I actually like watching it.

Pororo is a cartoon about a cute little penguin who dreams of flying and lives in the arctic.  He has several cute and warm hearted friends to keep him company.  The creator, Choi Jong-Il, has actually been featured in Time Magazine for possibly changing the preschool cartoon world.  The episodes share simple stories, usually with some social lesson.  A big part of the success though, seems to be that unlike most Korean children shows, the lead character is not an adult.  Pororo is 4, and acts like a 4 year old would.  It's been translated into multiple languages and currently shown on cartoon networks in 80 different countries.  Not in America though, I have no idea why.

There are DVDs with multiple episodes in either Korean or English.  The English ones have much more simple dialogue because I think they're meant to teach Korean children English (judging by the occasional Konglish.)  But, they're still really enjoyable.

At first I was disappointed a bit by how although the characters spoke Korean, very little of anything else was Korean.  They ate with forks and knives, and none of the set looked Korean.  I guess the makers might have done this on purpose so it wouldn't look out of place anywhere else.  But as I kept watching, I realized I might have judged too quickly.  The lessons taught through story are certainly more Korean than not.  For instance, there's an episode all about keeping one's face and hands clean.  That's a top priority as something to teach for parents in Korea.  Even now my mom makes me and my kids wash our face and hands before going out anywhere, or coming home for anywhere.  But it's not something American parents may feel the need to take a whole episode of a show to teach.

I've look online, and currently you can find DVD sets of Pororo at different sites that sell entertainment products from Korea, BUT make sure to check the region code of the DVD player it needs to be played in.  We are region 1, but the DVDs on those sites state that they sell region 3.  I have found though, that I can change the region code on my computer so it will play region 3 DVDs.  They also sell them at Korean video and DVD stores here, which is where I've been getting ours.  I find that I can play these on our regular DVD player attached to our TV.

I know not everyone is so lucky to live by so many Korean choices, so I'm willing to buy them and ship them to you Kimchi Mamas out there in what I have been calling "true America."  Of course, because the cartoon is not yet on American TV, you can also find episodes of it on Youtube.  But if you need them for a car trip or something, I could get one of those flat rate boxes and fill it with your favorite ramen and some choco pies too.  ^^

-jooliyah 

Screening Humanity: a look into real Korean life, sort of...

You would think that my first post about Korean Television would be about a majorly addicting Korean drama.  But as I was mulling over in my head where to begin on such a topic, Screening Humanity came on and I realized that I'd much write about this little gem.

Screening Humanity is a daily event for me.  My DVR captures it when it's on early in the morning so I can turn it on whenever I want during the rest of the day.  Lately, it's been my companion during nursing sessions with Natalie.

Hold on, what IS Screening Humanity you say?  well, let me tell you.....