Author: Denise Coley

Cute and quirky games are just one of the reasons people love Japan. Their latest game import by Hitpoint, Neko Atsume, available on iTunes and Google Play, recently became an obsession for many even though it was released October 20, 2014. In 2015 and 2016, Facebook groups, Reddit, and Twitter feeds dedicated to the adorably addictive game emerged, and the app became one of the top-rated games by GameSpot despite the game’s simplicity. The creator, Yutaka Takasaki, even admitted he doesn’t understand the game’s popularity, but that he created it with children in mind so they could operate the game…

2015 gifted the K-Pop world with well over 100 group debuts. Of course, it’s safe to assume many of these groups will fade into obscurity if their names aren’t GFriend, OMG, iKON, Day6, or Seventeen among others. However, there were some under-promoted gems that also debuted this year that need attention. Here are a handful of the best rookie debuts you may have missed! A-Daily | “If You Don’t Tell Me” (January), “Spotlight” (October) | DK Entertainment Even though they’ve already had member changes between “If You Don’t Tell Me” and “Spotlight,” A-Daily are a strong group with impressive vocals.…

Ducky One of the first successful International B-Boys from Korea. He was a former member of the dance crew, Expressions, and won the international Battle of the Year in 2002. In 2003, he earned the second spot of that same competition. Now, he has become the leader of Drifterz crew, where he stayed as an active member. With Drifterz, he won a lot of international titles. The last battle they won was the 2013 Red Bull BC One World Final, South Korea. WING Heon Woo Kim aka Wing, saw b-boying, for the first time, in his junior high school and on…

Mokbang is an abbreviation of Muk (from Mok-Dah, which means, ”to eat”) and Bang (from ”Bang-Song”, which means, TV broadcast). If you add Bang to Mok, you get Mokbang, which literally means, eating broadcast. It’s as simple as that, celebrities that show themselves eating large amounts of food, on-screen, for an hour or more. Not only celebrities but regular people started doing it, on Youtube, becoming stars themselves. The start of this trend is unknown but it’s noticiable that the korean pop culture has a big influence on it. The speculation is that Mokbang started to become famous after reality…

Yujin Chang is a Korean artist who is beginning to flourish as one of the most innovative and inspirational young craft artists in South Korea. Chang is a recent graduate from Hongik University, which is one of the most prestigious schools for art in Korea; she completed her master’s degree in Textile Art. She has been known for winning art awards in Korea and Japan during the past several years, as well as participating in numerous team exhibitions and private exhibitions successfully each year. She emanates her love for art by producing work influenced by Korean traditions as well as creating…

Cosmic Girls/WJSN (Korean: 우주소녀, Chinese: 宇宙少女) is the first binational girlgroup, which means they will be managed under two agencies: the Korean company, Starship Entertainment (Sistar, Monsta X, K.Will, among others), and the Chinese company, Yuehua Entertainment (Hangeng, Zhou Bichang, Zhang Yao, and others). This collaboration represents a symbol of cooperation between these two countries. The name WJSN stands for Wu Ju So Nyeo (Cosmic Girls translated to Korean). The girls are going to debut “early” this year. Some teaser pictures are already out. Cosmic Girls will have twelve members and they will also be divided in four units: Wonder…

Great news for Day6 US fans! The 6-member rock group will be holding 3 fan meetings in America this April, organized by Jazzy Group. Day6 debuted September 7th, 2015 under JYP Entertainment. Their first release, a mini album called The Day, was well received peaking at number 2 on the Billboard World Music chart. Their single “Congratulations” sold over 38,000 times. Day6 began their first solo concerts November 20th and 21st, less than 3 months after their debut, selling out the venue where they took place. Since then the group has traveled to Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan. Dates and ticketing…

It seems North American EXO-Ls wishes are finally being granted: EXO will be embarking on a 5 date tour, visting Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Vancouver and New York. EXO has been on their ‘The EXO’luxion’ tour series since January of last year, visiting China, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan. The dates and venues are as follows: February 10th: Dallas (Verizon Theater) February 12th: Vancouver (Thunderbird Arena) February 14th : Los Angeles (Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena) February 19th: Chicago (Rosemont Theater) February 21st : New York (Prudential Center) Unfortunately, it was also announced that LAY would not be attending these dates…

2015 was a strong year with many considering it one of the best since 2009. There were many great songs this year, so it was hard to narrow down this list to just 50 songs. Some may be surprising additions, but with any list, it comes down to opinion. Our top 50 may be different from your top 50, and that’s okay! Let’s take a look at we have as the best of 2015! Ladies’ Code “I Smile Even Though It Hurts” | September 7, 2015 The remaining members of Ladies’ Code released “I Smile Even Though It Hurts” in…

2015 has come and gone, so that means it’s time to start looking back on the events, stories, and media that made 2015 worthwhile. To kick off our look back, here are some of our favorite MVs from the year (of course, in no particular order). Xia Junsu “Flower” | March 2, 2015 Set in a post-apocalyptic world, “Flower” tells the story of Kronos in artistic fashion. The beauty of the MV shows stark contrasts between destruction and luxury complete with references to The Terminator and the Four Horseman as well as the beginning of humanity. Junsu’s ability to tell…

Skincare is important. A good skincare regimen and plenty of water can keep your skin glowing, healthy, and youthful for years to come. As we age, sometimes we need to add or eliminate different products to keep skin dewy and fresh. We tried different products over a period of a few weeks to months in order to come up with fair, honest recommendations to share with you. If you’re looking for some new products to add to your skincare regime, here are some suggestions! Goodal Waterest Lasting Water Oil For ridiculously soft, glowing skin, the Waterest serum does the trick.…

Holiday season 2015 is upon us, and that means it’s time to think about gifts for those who celebrate. If you need a little help looking for gifts for the Japanese culture and pop culture enthusiast, here are some of Kcrush’s suggestions to get you started! Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX for the Nintendo 3DS For fans of the famous vocaloid, Project Mirai DX is a fun edition to the Nintendo 3DS lineup. The game is set to Hatsune Miku’s music as players tap their way through in order to match the beats and rhythm. Players can play as different…

On December 2, 2015, Hong Kong hosted the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMAs) for the third year in a row. This year, the show was held at the AsiaWorld-Expo Center. Like with past years, the show was a bit on the predictable side with only a handful of surprise winners. The evening had some highlights, but it also had plenty of lowlights and awkward moments. Highlights 2NE1 Returns- The moment many Blackjacks hoped for finally occurred at MAMA: 2NE1 is back together! Following months of speculation regarding whether they disbanded or if Park Bom would ever return, the girls are…

In recent years, V-pop has been influenced by so many young singers. And among them, the top 4 prominent names are: Son Tung M-TP, Dong Nhi, Tuan Hung, Ho Ngoc Ha, whose many popular songs and fan clubs with millions of people. Son Tung M-TP, a young singer, songwriter and actor. Born in 1994, he is considerably the most favorite singer of teenagers. He can combine the fusion of Vietnamese traditional music, K-pop and US-UK pop in his songs to create a unique style himself. He has 8 million followers on his Facebook Fanpage (M-TP), and each of his new…

Do U Wanna B? Block B! In early October, it was announced that Block B would be coming to America for a special, three date tour. Block B’s last appearance in America was at KCON 2015 in Los Angeles. BBCs in Chicago were treated to a 22 song long setlist including “Nice Day”, “Her” and “Very Good” and several special stages. Zico performed “Okey, Dokey” while Bastarz(B-Bomb, U-Kwon and P.O) performed “ (Conduct for Zero)” from their Bastarz special album. Fans from many different states and even countries all travelled to see the group. “BLOCK B are so…

B.A.P made their triumphant return to the K-Pop scene November 15, 2015. For the Baby fandom, it was the moment we’ve all been waiting for since the lawsuit announcement last November. While the wait was long—perhaps too long for some fans—B.A.P did their best to remind their fans why they’re one of the strongest male groups in the industry due to their power and unique color. International fans had an opportunity to watch the comeback showcase at Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Art Hall 2 on V-App. While watching on V-App didn’t provide the same rush as being in the actual crowd,…

Timed perfectly with a ‘UFO’ sighting in the US, B1A4 landed in Dallas on their B1A4 Great Adventure Tour for a special one-night-only performance November 8th. This special concert took place just one year after their last visit to Dallas and gave BANAs a good night to remember. Before the show, 50 lucky BANAs were chosen for a special Meet & Greet with the group. There was a special Q&A session where fans were able to have their questions answered directly by B1A4 and got to take a photo with them as well! B1A4 performed a 20 song setlist including…

On October 30, 2015, Mnet unveiled the nominees for the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMAs) which are to be held December 2 in Hong Kong. Like with past years, fans can vote for their favorite artists on Mnet’s designated voting page. So who are you voting for this year? Here is the list of nominees! Best New Male Artist iKON Monsta X Flying Seventeen Up10tion Best New Female Artist CLC GFriend Oh My Girl TWICE Lovelyz Best Male Artist (Soloist) Y Park T Kyuhyun (Super Junior) Jonghyun (SHINee) Jung Yonghwa (CNBLUE) Best Female Artist (Soloist) Taeyeon (Girls’ Generation) Ailee…

For many visiting the Chicago area, especially fans of Asian culture, Chinatown is often on the list of must-sees. The welcoming Chinatown gate that reads “Tian zia, wei gong”—“Everything under the heaven, for the people”—is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Chicago area. Located between Wentworth Avenue and Cermak Road, Chicago’s Chinatwon has been around for 103 years as of 2015. The 30-block town has plenty to see and do, and it’s easy to spend a full day here… it’s also easy to drop a lot of cash! If you choose to visit, here are some recommendations for…

As we head into the fourth quarter of the K-Pop season, it’s time to look back on the third quarter and its highlight songs. The third quarter (July-September) gave us comebacks from BIGBANG, HyunA, 9Muses, Girls’ Generation, Infinite, Girl’s Day, APINK, Ailee, Got7, SHINee, Wonder Girls, and Red Velvet among others, as well as debuts from LoveUs, Unicorn, April, Up10tion, iKON, and Day6. However, were their songs good enough to make our top 30 for the third quarter? Read on to find out! GD&T.O.P “Zutter” | August 5 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8t8A8E_Tqc “Zutter” was a nice return for the GD&T.O.P pair many love.…