Author: Denise Coley
The Philippines is a country in South East Asia. Historically called the Pearl of the Orient, the country has a rich culture that resulted from a fusion of many different foreign influences. Seven thousand and a hundred islands compose the Philippines. With these many islands to explore, travel would definitely be at the top of the list of “Fun Things to Do in the Philippines.” Beaches abound in all the three major geographic divisions of the country, namely Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Some of the most famous ones being El Nido in Luzon, Boracay in Visayas, and Siargao in Mindanao.…
Hwang Chi Yeul is a South Korean singer who was born in 1982, the third of December in Gumi, North Gyeongsang province of South Korea. In his teenage years Hwang Chi Yeul was obsessed with dance especially B-boying; however, he always wanted to be a singer. In the ninth month of 2004, he moved to Seoul where he started singing. He did spend his twenties as a part time worker and a teacher in music schools where he taught vocals and idol bands like Hello Venus and Infinite among others. Hwang Chi Yeul competed in the fourth season of “I…
Aliife is the first French pop band that draws its identity from Asian pop which is characterized by dynamic sounds. Nonetheless, the band gathers influence from worldwide pop music as well. Regardless of the fact that Aliife might enjoy presenting their music of the South Korean origin, popular K-pop, or Japanese J-pop which has a more colorful flavor, the band’s inspiration is drawn from the jolly morning electro or R&B rhythms. The Aliife band has four members consisting of one girl named Dorelie, and three boys named Bkey, Kyyron and Murphy. The four members met in 2010 to cooperatively realize…
Born with the name, Juan Carlos Ozuna Rosado, from Puerto Rico, Ozuna is a Reggaeton and Trap singer. The name Ozuna is a common Spanish surname, which this singer chose as his stage name. His launch to fame took place via Youtube with the music video, No Quiere Enamorarse Remix. Of Dominican descent, Ozuna was born on March 13, 1992 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Signing his first recording contract in 2014, Ozuna has been in the music industry for quite some time. He has been writing songs since he was 12 years old. His first hit song, Si No Te Quiere (If He Doesn’t Love…
SNUPER (which means “Higher than Super”) is a Korean boy band formed by Widmay Entertainment in the year of 2015, as the first pop group from the label. The six members of SNUPER who are called Suhyun, Sang-il, Taewoong, Woosung, Sangho and Sebin made their officially debut on November 16, 2015 with their first single, “Shall We Dance.” All the members are born and raised in Korea, except Taewoong who was born in Japan. He’s also worked as a child actor, prior to joining SNUPER. Since debut, the group enjoyed a moderate success as a band; they were especially well…
GBoySWAG, also known as DJ Goo Goo, is a Taiwanese artist. A former member of bands before launching his solo career in 2016, he depicts the Taiwanese electronic pop-music. Aside from being a drummer to his former bands, Da Bones, 88balaz, he was most popularly known for being the DJ of Magic Power, a band whose other members included Gaga, Tingting, LeiBao, Kaikai, and AXiang. Magic Power was known for showcasing music that are upbeat and dance-worthy. Announcing the band’s break from the music industry back in 2016, allowed GBoySWAG to try a solo career with his first album, Make…
The Year of the Ox is a rap duo which has Korean roots; it is made up of two hip hop artists whose origin is Virginia, U.S.A; these artists are Lyricks and JL. Both John Lee whose stage name is ‘JL’ and Rick Lee whose stage name is ‘Lyricks’ are Korean-American rappers. These two artists personify the Ox traits which include strong observance of traditions, strength, and family loyalty. Lyricks and JL are popular for their diligence, dependability, strength and determination. These essential traits emanate from their music sound, which combines hardcore with an even flow of lyrics. Lyricks…
Tem5ive, a shortened name for Five System, is an all-Filipina K-pop group. Though all of the girls are Filipinos and originate from the Philippines, they have decided to break into the Korean music industry and internationally. The group is made up of 5 girls, who made their career debut in November 2016. Sarah, Rayna, Robie, Jyrrah and Katy make up Tem5ive. The group debuted with their music video, “Miracle.” Let’s get to know the members of the group, beginning with their team leader, Sarah. She is a 24-year old graduate of Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Manager. Her…
In 2003, Park Shin Hye stared in her first K-Drama titled “Stairway to Heaven” where she played the teen version of the lead roll, which catapulted her on to becoming a household name. Her first movie roll was a horror film “Evil Twin” in 2007, then “Cyrano Agency” in 2010, believed to be a slow starter, became her movie role that garnered her a “Most Popular Actress” nomination from Baeksang Arts Awards. Although we do not know much, if anything about her off-screen life as she is a private person, Shin Hye truly blossomed with fans during her K-Drama roll…
Lotte World Tower is a 123-floored skyscraper located in Seoul, Korea. This tower opened to the public on April 3rd of 2017 and is the tallest building – not just in Asia – but out of all the OECD countries. It currently holds the title of being the 5th tallest building in the world. It took approximately 13 years to plan the site, it gained final approval to start construction by the Korean government in 2010 and the frame assembly was observed at the construction site just a year later. On March 17, 2016, prior to the final phase of the…
How Seo Taji and Boys changed the World of Korean pop during the 90s Seo Taiji and Boys (서태지와 아이들) is an extremely successful Korean pop/rock group, active from 1992 to 1996. I prepared this article especially because this year would mark their 25th anniversary. Seo Taiji and Boys are very much credited for changing the Korean pop music industry as they came across MIDI technology by incorporating rap, rock and techno into their music to create art and sounds that was never heard before. Their first three albums sold over 1.6 million copies; the fourth album selling close to two million…
France is probably the country in Europe which has the most K-pop fans. Last month, BTS was named the most popular K-Pop group in France. La Monde reported that several French students missed their graduation test, the Baccalauréat, just to see the group. We got in touch with Paris is our Seoul, which is a rapidly growing YouTube channel for French people which covers the diverse topic of Kpop. Hope our readers will enjoy this interview and a big thank you goes to the crew at Paris is our Seoul! *Could you introduce yourself and your website? Paris…
As my plane took off from LAX, I felt a wave of emotions. What was I thinking? Did I just make the biggest mistake of my life? I had just quit my job and sold most of my possessions. I was now heading to the other side of the world. Next stop: Seoul, South Korea. I had no experience as a teacher. My only qualification was a shiny visa sticker in my passport that claimed I was an “English Teacher”. After all, English was my mother tongue. How hard could it be to teach others about it? Obviously Korean Immigration…
Becoming the “Bests” Dalian Wanda Group (Wanda), built in 1988, is now one of the biggest companies in China. This 29-year old group ranked No.385 on Fortune Global 500 and No.42 on Chinese Companies 500 in 2016 with a total asset of $116.8 billion. In 2016, Wanda had a yearly turnover of $37.4 billion. Its four core industries: Commercial Property, Cultural Industry, Internet Technology and Financial Industry, contributed each 56%, 25%, 1.6% and 8.4% to the group’s yearly income. When Wanda was first built, it gained its first success being one of Dalian’s biggest real estate dealers in the early…
SISTAR – We Will Miss The Summer Queens The last 7 years seems to have gone too fast for Sistar. With every comeback making the top music charts, they became one of Korea’s best girl groups. The group itself was very well kept together, and all four members were on good terms, so disbanding was a huge shock to the fans. Usually when a group goes their separate ways, it has to do with a member not getting along with the others but that was not the case for Sistar. The fans could truly see how close they were and…
Did you know that Koreans are the only race in Asia that has a long history of using metal chopsticks? Here, you will find out why Koreans use metal chopsticks rather than chopsticks made of bamboo or other kinds of wood like other Asian countries. The practice of using utensils is said to go back as far as the Baekje Period (18 B.C~660 A.D) when royalty used bronze implements for their utensils. During this period, the royal family used silver chopsticks to detect poison in their food. The upper class would also use gold, silver or brass chopsticks for events.…
We are excited to introduce Dreamcatcher, a Korean girl group signed under Happy Face Entertainment, based in Seoul, Korea. The group consists of seven females: JiU, SuA, Siyeon, Handong, Yoohyeon, Dami and Gahyeon. The members officially debuted as Dreamcatcher on January 13, 2017 with an album that goes extremely well with their single title: Nightmare. In case you were not informed, we’re letting you know that five of the Dreamcatcher members are not newbies to the music scene. JiU, SuA, Siyeon, Yoohyeon and Dami were active under the name – “Minx” from back in September 2014 – when they released their debut single…
When an idol group debuts there are many things a company must handle such as fashion and KPOP fashion has definitely changed over the past few years. If you look back as far as 1990, there will be a huge difference than from today’s fashion forward looks. Let’s start out with one of the first groups that started the Hallyu Wave we know today: Seo Taiji and Boys. Seo Taiji and Boys broke onto the scene in 1992 with”Nan Arayo” (난 알아요), bringing with them some interesting looks. The group took the popular American sounds of rap, rock, techno, and R&B,…
ASTRO are aiming for fans hearts in their newest title track ‘Baby’. The music video starts out with Astro opening up a shop called ‘D. Store’ with a visible sign that says Astro x Aroha. The music starts with a light and fresh beat, perfect for summer. The colors in the video are also very refreshing and bright, with the boys wearing white collared shirts and simple black pants. The choreography is simple but enjoyable and even non-fans can admit the boys of Astro are adorable in this video. My favorite part is getting to ‘choose’ which drink you would…