Author: Denise Coley
Food has always played a crucial part in Korean culture. Bringing friends, families and communities together is one of the reasons that makes Korean food so special. Peoples’ tastes and expectations for food are changing rapidly as the world’s culture and ethics become more globalized. Experiencing diversity in order to learn and accept things that we are not necessarily used to is vital for our generation. For this month’s issue of Kcrush, I interviewed Joo Lee, the co-founder of Korean food brand, ‘Korrito’ to hear about how she is helping to bridge the cultural gap in London. Joo was born…
On March 14, 2015, Crayon Pop released teasers for the new song “FM” featuring their disco-esque, dance-pop sound. Of course, we also have the typical ..
Why do Koreans want to live/study in the US?
If you have visited or lived in Korea, this is a pretty straightforward question. A lot of foreigners admire Koreans for their outstanding academic achievements.
What’s in a Name?
In K-Pop, there are some groups that have sub-units with mysterious letters attached to the end of the group name? What do they mean? Here are some common ones to help you out!
One of the newest dramas to star an idol, Sweden Laundry, has developed a decent following online. It stars Song Ha-yoon as Bom, an adult tired of her mother’s favoritism towards her siblings and Teen Top’s Changjo as Soo Chul, a hard working artist with a soft spot for Bom.
EXO’s new album is supposed to drop sometime in March, but fangirl-anticipation continues to grow minutely. After hearing previews from the new album during EXO’s EXO’luXion Concert, and while I’m not the biggest EXO fan, even I have to admit the music sounds good based on first impressions.
When many think of Asian pop culture, music, manga, movies, anime, and dramas often come to mind. Since the early 2000s, this is what Asian pop culture fans became accustomed to, but a forgotten entity is books.
February brought about the emergence of a hopeful spring with the returns of 4Minute and Shinhwa and Niel and Amber’s solo activities. The K-Pop scene may be shaping up to be amazing this spring!
1Punch is a South Korean K-Pop duo, who was signed under the record labels, Brave Entertainment and D-Business Entertainment. The groups consists of one male rapper..
In 2013, more than 287 thousand college students chose to study abroad with a small fraction of those picking South Korea as a destination. For those interested, Seoul is a prime choice for a variety of reasons. Many want to experience Korean culture firsthand or experience KPOP at the source.
Seoul is the perfect city for tourists and travelers because the place is so efficient, easy and safe to travel in. Seoul offers a variety of sights and experiences, the trip can be completed within a week or couple of days; the least possible time can be spent on transportation.
There are a lot of beautiful and interesting places I love to visit in Vietnam. Let’s start from the South, go up to the Central and then the North. 1. Can Tho City. It’s in the down South of Vietnam. Can Tho City lies on one of the biggest rivers in Mekong Dalta, Hau River. The most interesting thing that you can’t miss when you come to Can Tho is experiencing floating market, “Cho noi”. Basically, the floating market is a market that takes place above the water. All vendors and customers sell and buy things on the boats. There…
Valentine’s Day is a day of love for many people, but for singles, it’s a painful reminder of how forever alone we are. All the candy, flowers, and romantic plans can get pretty annoying, but we shouldn’t let that get to us. Valentine’s Day should be a day of celebrating singledom! For Hallyu fans, think of the K-Drama and MV marathons we can have without having to be swallowed up by Axe spray fumes (the mating musk of high school hallways) and lovey-dovey proclamations of everlasting love. Let’s celebrate ourselves and enjoy Valentine’s Day, starting with a playlist. 2ne1 “Hate…
`Texas has been a steadily growing market for KPOP music, with many acts visiting Dallas on tours. That being said, it was only a matter of time before Houston received some of the KPOP love and 12 member boy group Topp Dogg was happy to spread it for the city’s first showcase, the first in a series of three US shows. Fans began lining up outside Bayou Music Center in downtown Houston well before the door opened at 6:30. You could definitely feel the excitement in the air, with fans displaying handmade banners and signs to photographers. Several fans also…
—–Joelle Halon
JJCC – pronounced as J-J-C-C, is the first K-pop group formed under the management of the world’s superstar, Jackie Chan. For many years, Jackie Chan has been a fan of Korean pop music, so Chan took up the challenge to launch a project for a K-pop band that will become the next big, successful group in Asia and the rest of the world. As to the name of the group, the ‘J. C’ comes from the initials of Jackie Chan and the second part of ‘J. C’ refers to ‘Joint cultures’ “Jackie Chan Joins Cultures” when translated. Before JJCC’s five…
1. Sekai no Owari Image: http://girlschannel.net/topics/227411/ They are a Japanese rock band coming into fashion in 2015, which consists of 4 members: Satoshi Fukase, Saori Fujisaki, Shinichi Nakajima, and DJ Love. Sekai no Owari (End of the World) was named by Satoshi Fukase, vocalist right after he experienced a hard time. “Once you’ve experienced the bottom, you have to find a way to go up. So I named my band End of the World to create the strength through the music.” In October 2014, they collaborated with Owl City on a new song, ‘Tokyo’. 2. Miwa Image: http://ticketcamp.net/live-blog/miwa-guitar/ She started…
Music trends shift often from decade-to-decade, and that’s what makes the music world fun. For example, twenty years ago, who would have predicted that J-Pop and K-Pop would have gained worldwide popularity? J-Pop’s popularity stood alone for about a decade before K-Pop rose to the top. K-Pop’s hold on audiences is now coming close to the decade mark—since many consider 2008 and beyond Hallyu’s Golden Era—which could indicate another genre may be waiting in the wings. Many think C-Pop could be waiting to take the throne, but China is still somewhat closed off to Western audiences. Enter the surprise…
In late January, will.i.am and CL hinted at a collaboration via Twitter. This led 2NE1 and Black-Eyed Peas (BEP) fans to speculate that CL will be filling in for Fergie on BEP’s 20th anniversary album. If true, this is another step Asia will take toward further international recognition. In honor of the potential collaboration, let’s look back at other East-meets-West collaborations over the years to celebrate (Snoop Dogg and PSY need not apply this time)! Pixie Lott ft. T.O.P and G-Dragon “Dancing on My Own” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DDpo7qQQDI YG artists tend to lead the charge with collaborations with Western artists. The 24-year-old…
Food is one of the most significant parts in each culture. It is just amazing to try different kinds of food from different countries around the world. Just like how people always think of sushi when they think of Japan, hamburger when they think of America, kimchi when they think of Korea, and so on…. They think of Pho when they talk about Vietnamese food. Pho is the famous Vietnamese beef broth noodle soup. But no, Vietnamese cuisine is not all about Pho. There are still many other delicious dishes. Even though the people from the North, the Central and…