K-Mondays: Female 93-liners in Kpop.

I tend to remember Kpop Idols (especially if they're female idols) when they are born on the same year as me (1993). It just gives me a feeling of saying, "this girl has achieved so much, and we're the same age." I sort of look up to them because I understand their hard work, especially in the Kpop industry. I chose to discuss only about the 93-liner girls because I am not familiar with Kpop male idols who are born in 1993, mainly because I tend to be inclined to Bigbang more, or those male idols who are older.

I'll start with Park Jiyeon (T-ara). Jiyeon was born on June 7, 1993. I got to know about her from T-ara, when they were promoting "Bo Peep Bo Peep" in 2010 I guess.

Photo taken from T-ara's official Korean website

I then got more exposed to Jiyeon when I watched the K-drama "God of Study," which is the Korean version of the Japanese drama 'Dragon Zakura.' I am actually not a T-ara fan, but I do listen to some of their popular singles like Boo Peep Bo Peep, Roly Poly, Lovey-Dovey, etc. I came to like Jiyeon mainly because of her appearances in variety shows like Heroes (SBS), Hello Baby, Running Man, and also in K-dramas. She was also a main cast in Dream High 2, and I watched the show because of her but I ended up liking the series and watching the first season as well. 

Next is Park Jiyeon's best friend, IU. IU was born May 16, 1993. I first knew her because of her friendship with Jiyeon. I was watching Heroes back then, and found out about IU, who's also a 93-liner.

Photo taken from IU's official Korean website

IU's real name is Lee Ji-eun. Like I mentioned before, I only knew her because of Jiyeon. She's a soloist, and that's why I think I never really encountered her music before. When I discovered about IU, I also liked her music and the fact that she plays the guitar and do covers. I got more interested in IU when I found out that she's friends with Cheon-dung (MBLAQ), who is Sandara Park's younger brother. I am a Dara fan ever since she got popular in the Philippines, and that's why I was intrigued when I knew about Cheon-dung being IU's friend. They even did covers together. 

I actually watched IU's guesting on Running Man, and that episode was the one that got me hooked on Running Man. Again because I liked Dream High 2, I then watched Dream High and it was just a plus that IU was part of the cast. Her role in Dream High was so cute, together with Wooyoung (2PM).

Lastly, I want to talk about Apink's Eunji. Jung Eunji was born on August 18, 1993. I only realized now that she has the same birth month and day as G-dragon. Anyway, her real name is Jung Hye-rim.

Screenshot from the K-drama, Reply 1997 Ep 7

I only knew Eunji because of Reply 1997. I like the K-drama so much, and I believe that Eunji's acting was really good. Her strong personality in the drama, coupled with her Busan speaking accent, made her more effective in convincing me that she's not like other female idols. To be completely honest, I don't take the time to know about the new female idols because I think that they just use the same concepts over and over (if not cutesy, then let's do sexy). Apink is one of those idol groups that I knew about but skip through when watching the year-end performances. I wouldn't even include Eunji here if I didn't watch and like her in Reply 1997. However, when I watched her guesting in Running Man just recently, I grew more interested. I hope to see more of her in variety shows and other K-dramas.

If you noticed, these girls all did acting in someway. I am not a fan of female idols, (except 2NE1) and that's why I like these three because I saw them act in a K-drama, and in variety shows. I do tend to listen to their music after getting to know about them, and they all have some nice songs that I listen to. 

I really hope to see more of them in K-dramas and variety shows this year.

Reel Thursday: Insidious Chapter 2 (2013)

Insidious: Chapter 2 was just released in cinemas here in the Philippines last September 18, 2013. I was so excited to watch this because I really liked the first movie. Last Sunday, when my friend and I were bored and I was waiting for the rain to stop so that I can go home, we both decided to watch the movie. It was still raining though, but it didn't stop us from watching this. She also liked the first movie, and we both agreed that it was much better than the popular horror movie in the Philippines, "The Conjuring," even though it was both directed by James Wan. 

The story of this second movie starts from the part where the first movie ended. I will not say much about the movie so as not to spoil it, but I must say that the story was well-written, although I cannot applaud the screenplay much. The mystery was fine, and it kept me guessing until almost the end, but I'm afraid that some people might not follow the movie easily because of the transitions. Other than that, I believe that this horror film is quite good. I even love its cinematography. It had some flashbacks to the past during Josh's childhood, and I found the young Elise and young Lorraine to be charming, probably because of the fashion style that they presented.

Elise's apprentices, Specs and Tucker, bring comedy to this horror film. In the first movie, they were a bit low profile, but in this movie, they really have a lot of (important?) roles, and because of that, they brought laughter in spite of the scary scenes.

The final scene of the movie implies another story that could be made into a film again (perhaps Insidious: Chapter 3), but this time with another family. Although, Specs, Tucker, and Elise, might still be present (as the last scene suggests) in the next film, if ever there will still be one.

Like I said before, I really like this film sequel as much as the original film. It gave me enough scares and yet it still has an original plot. I suggest that you watch the first film before watching this because it is important to be familiar with what happened in the first one. Also, the first movie is awesome so you should still watch it.

J-Wednesdays 水曜日だ！: Botchan by Natsume Soseki

I am quite ashamed of myself for having recycled one of my book reports when I was in college. I am a little bit busy because I'm preparing for my interview for graduate school tomorrow, when in fact I'm also busy watching some Korean drama series with my mother. I'm trying to take my mind off the interview tomorrow yet I know that I still have to prepare for it vigorously. Half of my mind encourages me to relax yet half of it tells me to panic! I don't know what to do anymore. Nonetheless, I bring you Natsume Soseki's Botchan.

This book called Botchan by Natsume Soseki was one of my book reports in my Japanese Literature class in college. It was a required report but I also had fun reading it. Some say that this book is an equivalent of "The Catcher in the Rye" or "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in Japan because the book is also widely read by Japanese people during their childhood. The term "Botchan" is used to call boys or young men of respectable families or can also be used to call someone (an adult male) who has not quite managed to "grow up" yet.

PLOT:

The story is about Botchan’s life as a middle school teacher in the country-side. Since Botchan was born and raised in Tokyo, he was ‘culture-shocked’ by how the people there behaved. At first he experienced the pranks of his students which made him really irritated because he hadn’t expected that even in a town so small, all of his moves were being monitored against his will. As the story moves forward, he learns more about the small town and he grows more hatred for it. Many unfortunate things happen to him and he eventually learns that some of his co-workers were responsible for it. The ‘evil’ co-workers made schemes in order to ruin Botchan’s reputation. Many secrets arise as Botchan becomes more involved in the happenings in the town.

The book's theme is on morality, and how the main character, Botchan, questions it. Especially in Japan, where there are certain types of "usual Japanese behavior" that Botchan doesn't seem to understand. In an attempt to bring you something from the book that I found amusing, I present you this excerpt.

".. what Redshirt had to say made perfect sense, but splendid as it sounded, that still didn’t give it the power to seduce you deep down in your heart. If you could really win people’s hearts over with the power of money, authority, or reason, then moneylenders, policemen, and college professors would be more popular than anybody else. There was no way that my heart was going to be swayed by the logic of some middle school Assistant Principal (Redshirt). People operate on their likes and dislikes, not on logic."

- excerpt from Chapter VIII of Botchan

The snippet above was one of Botchan's musings and it definitely shows his outlook in life. I definitely learned from Botchan's way of thinking, which also reflects the writer, Natsume Soseki's, way of thinking. He pointed out something that we might not know or might have not thought about yet, and that is no matter how we think that something is supposedly "logically right," if we don't agree with it, we will not accept it. People have feelings, and that's what makes us a more unique being, and because of that, we usually utilize our feelings in order to live.

I hope that by reading this sort of review of mine, you get inspired to read this book. It's definitely worth reading and it's also light-hearted and will leave you thinking about things in life that we don't usually think about everyday.

Tuesday Running Man: Episode 164, Go Dong Wan Family Feud!

I am writing this on a Wednesday morning because last night, I didn't remember that I haven't written an entry yet for this week's Running Man episode. I am regretful that I have to write it on a Wednesday, when I should've already had this post up by yesterday. Anyways, the damage has been done, and I'll just give more effort in writing this recap.

It's the Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) special! Go Dong Wan grandmother apparently has two daughters, the older daughter, guest Kim Hae Sook, and younger daughter Song Ji Hyo. The two families fight for Go Dong Wan grandmother's ultimate ladle, among all other properties.

Kim Hae Sook's family includes oldest son, Ji Suk Jin, second brother, Yoo Jae Sook, and youngest, Kim Jong Kook.

Song Ji Hyo's family has Kang Gary as her husband, Haha the oldest son, Kwang Soo as the second son, and guest Yoo Ah In as the youngest.

Yoo Ah In had the first taste of variety by getting into the outdoor pool in autumn.

The first game is a card picking game with Hwatu cards, and the mother who picks the donggwang card loses, and two of her sons will come flying into the water. Since the episode aired during the last day of the Chuseok holidays, the game involved Hwatu, which is commonly played during Chuseok.

The first team to have two sons flying is Song Ji Hyo's.

Both teams had their own taste of flying into the cold autumn waters.

A poor mettugi (grasshopper) died in the cold pool water, and Yoo mettugi tried to save his brother (or sister) but failed to do so. Haha!

During Gary and Yoo Ah In's turn in the flying chair, they never once went into the water. Poor Suk Jin ahjussi and Kim Jong Kook had to fly into the water consecutively.

Song Ji Hyo: I will send Ah In off!

Ah In: Mom, why? Why?

Because Yoo Ah In hasn't been drenched once (and since he's a guest), everyone wants him to fly. Even his "mom" Ji Hyo wants him to be fly into the water already.

This round, Ah In came with Kwang Soo on the flying chairs since Ah In is the youngest and the guest, and Kwang Soo lost the game between the brothers. When Ji Hyo picked the donggwang card, only Kwang Soo came flying, which was shocking and also hilarious because Ah In was still not wet.

Kwang Soo came back to his seat and immediately, the chairs came flying again and for the first time, Ah In experienced the flying chair. Look at his really shocked face. He was also shouting really loud at that time. Haha! So funny and cute.

At this time, Yoo Jae Sook expressed his sickness of water games (since it's already autumn) and claimed that he couldn't do any water games anymore (for this year). That's why they greeted water games "goodbye!"

"Mudflats too, goodbye~"

"Rice paddy fields too, goodbye~"

And finally, "goodbye, Ah In!"

With Ji Hyo-mother's wish, "goodbye, Ah In!"

Kim Hae Sook's family wins this game and gets a chance to choose between the "high" and "low" boxes which will be used in the final mission. Hae Sook family chose the "high" box.

Both families drove on their way to the next location, where they'll be able to "eat."

In the next location, they'll do games which are related to the senses and food. The team with the most win on the mini-games, wins this round and gets to pick between the "high" and "low" box.

The first mini game is the use of hearing, where they had to guess what dish is being made based on the sounds that is being made when making that dish.

Kim Hae Suk, being new to these games, answered three dishes at the same time, but none of them were right.

Haha, after getting a clue, answered right! One win for Ji Hyo family.

The next game is the use of the sense of taste. They will eat the dish and then guess what kind of food it is. Kwang Soo was the first one to taste the dish and because it was too hot, he was shouting non stop, which made the other members curious as to what that food was. Kwang Soo guessed that it was a fried mandarin, but he was wrong.

Kim Jong Kook was next, and because he doesn't really eat fried food, everyone teased him (especially Yoo Jae Sook) that he should eat the food completely and that he wouldn't know what it is that he's eating because he only eats chicken breast. Jong Kook guessed that it was a fried grapefruit, which in turn gave a clue to the other members that it was a fried fruity thing.

Yoo Ah In looked so cute tasting the dish, and when the time was almost up, he begged to extend the time. Haha! He eventually got the right answer, which is fried jelly! It's actually fried jelly worms which was a weird dish.

Kim Jong Kook complained to the staff because they fed him not only fried food, but also junk food (jelly).

All of the members tasted the fried jelly worms and they were amazed because it actually tasted good.

The next mini game is the use of the sense of touch. The item being touched is a mackerel.

Kim Hae Sook answered it right by being all persuasive and crafty.

The last mini game is with the use of the sense of smell, where they have to smell the food and guess what the three side-dishes are.

It was funny when Kwang Soo tried to taste the food and put his tongue all over the lunch box. Kim Hwan announcer looks like the care taker of the giraffe who's licking the lunch box all over.

Kwang Soo answered it right and Song Ji Hyo's family wins! They chose the "low" box.

The hungry Running Men couldn't wait for to eat lunch anymore and started to feast on the lunch box that they were smelling (and Kwang Soo licked).

The last game is finding 10 Songpyeons and putting it on their own team's container. The first team to collect 10 Songpyeons, wins. Of course, stealing is allowed.

Songpyeon is a Korean food made with glutinous rice, which usually has a sweet filling. It is traditionally prepared and eaten during Chuseok.

We again see Kwang Soo here being bullied. He tried to hide one Songpyeon in his butt but the other team found out about it because of Haha, and then they stole the Songpyeon from his (Kwang Soo's) butt.

Kim Hae Sook's family won, and they chose to get the "low" box.

The box contained plastic bags, to be used in shopping for ingredients in the final mission, which is to make a delicious Korean dish. The "high" box contained a bigger plastic box than the ones in the "low" box. They only have 100 seconds to get their ingredients, and only those in the plastic bags will be bought.

Hae Sook team kept on getting kimchi.

Ji Hyo team gets seasoning.

Ji Hyo team bought ribs, and Kwang Soo shouts to cut the ribs faster.

Ah In shouts "Onion!"

Everyone's panicking already because of the time limit.

Hae Sook's family bought many things, but kimchi was definitely abundant.

Kwang Soo squeezed in a little personal shopping, and Haha told on him.

Ingredient shopping was done, and we see Ji Hyo's team planning to make something with ribs, probably Kalbi Jjim!

The teams only have one hour to prepare their dish!

Ah In was the one preparing the seasoning for the spicy kalbi jjim. It looks delicious already, if you know what I mean. Hahaha!

Gary insisted that Kwang Soo should just wash the carrot because he (Gary) is getting irritated with Kwang Soo. Poor Kwang Soo!

A little snippet was squeezed in the scene with Gary bullying poor Kwang Soo, and this preview is for the next episode, where his "real father" appears and he tells on Kim Jong Kook.

Kim Hae Sook's dish is kimchi soup with rice cake. The team's not so confident with it though, because of the kimchi being plenty in the dish. Kim Hae Sook even put her "special powder" which is "not msg" to make the dish more delicious.

Ji Hyo's family has talented cook Ah In and Haha and so their dish looked more appetizing.

The battle begins, with 100 people tasting the dishes and voting on which dish is more scrumptious.

Go Dong Wan grandmother finally makes her appearance and announced the winner of the "ultimate ladle," which can make a dish taste good.

With 71 votes, Ji Hyo's family won! Kim Hae Sook's family was thankful for the 29 votes though.

The episode next week will be a mission from a certain mysterious Running Man fangirl, and Running man's job is to find her! I am curious about what the real mission is for next week, since probably every Running Man fan would be able to relate with that fangirl who gave the mission. So excited! I'm also curious who Kwang Soo's "real father" is, if it is his real life father or just an famous person who looks like him. Haha!