2012 Olympics: Korea House - From Korean Class Massive

Please enjoy this great article from my fellow bloggers Korean Class Massive

Re-posted with permission.

2012 Olympics: Korea House

During the Olympics, many nations have taken the chance to build their own 'houses' during the two weeks of the games. These houses give the public a chance to experience a little of the culture that all the different countries have to offer, and South Korea has set up their own house in Knightsbridge at the Royal Thames Yacht Club. Korea House, which is open each day from 10am - 6pm during the Olympics, has a range of cultural activities happening all day, with special shows scheduled at certain times in the day. Entry is free, which is always good, and there are chances to pick up lots of interesting information and guides to Korea while you're there.

Korean Class MASSIVE went out to check out what was on offer....
When we arrived there was quite a queue outside to get in. There are strict security checks in place, so depending on the time and day, you might have to wait a while to get in. We timed our arrival to coincide with the first special show of the day. As we hadn't checked ahead what the show would be, we were quite surprised to find out that we were about to watch a magic show!

After a short yet epic introduction (by the man himself), we were greeted by the magician, JK! JK is probably the cheesiest but funniest magician out there. He started his show by purposefully messing up his tricks for laughs, or revealing his cheats which was hilarious. He had some really original ideas and lines, engaging the audience the whole way through his performance. Some choice lines he came out with were things like "I can do any magic you want, what magic do you want to see? *a difficult trick was suggested* Sorry, I don't understand what you are saying because I am Korean. Levitation you say? There's always technical difficulties with that one - something I call gravity". As usual, there was the 'eyes to the floor' moment when he asked for volunteers, but some brave people came forward. One girl who volunteered possibly later regretted her decision as she ended up pulling a trail of tissue from JK's mouth and told to keep it as a souvenir... The magic routine wasn't the most amazing we've ever seen, but mesmerising nonetheless and the charming charisma and comedy of JK made up for it. The show is definitely worth catching for the amount of cheese and giggles we got out of it, and we're sure anyone who goes along with get a good chuckle out of it too.

When this finished, we rushed down to see the dancing robot show! These cute, lit-up robots were dancing in-sync to many Kpop hits starting with the iconic 'Abracadabra', 'Sorry sorry' and ending with a  'Fantastic Baby' (of course). The robots' dancing was so energetic, one of the people working at Korea House had to keep a close eye on them to make sure they don't fall over. This display was really popular with kids and adults alike!
Korea House London - Dancing Robots

Published on Aug 7, 2012 by KoreanClassMassive

Apart from the scheduled shows, there are activities on offer throughout the day. There is a crafts area, where people were learning how to write their name in Hangul and decorating their own fans. There was also a very popular hand massage area, where you could try out these high tech massaging machines. And if that wasn't pampering enough, there was a lady giving out beauty and skin care advice. You could also take photos in Hanboks with a nice little scenic backdrop and take home a polaroid souvenir! There were several different outfits available for men and women, and was very popular with couples. There was also a touch screen computer where you could select some Kpop tunes to play. We're pretty sure everyone was impressed with our choice of Girls' Day and Dal Shabet.

If you're planning to go to Korea any time soon, Korea house is really worth a visit as there were some great information packs available to take home with you. These included a tourist map of Korea, a Korean Travel Guide, as well as more general booklets about Korean food and culture. One area of Korea House was set aside to help promote the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. There was some great displays and lots of information for you if you're planning to travel to this event!

If you want to head over to Korea House, and we recommend you do, the location is the Royal Thames Yacht Club, 60 Knightsbridge. It's just near Knightsbridge tube, and is super easy to locate. If you want to see a show, make sure you get there a bit earlier to secure your ticket.

Shows this week are:

Magic Show 'Be Mesmerised' 12:00 and 16:00 - everyday

Pansori & Gyobangmu dances 15:30 - 7,8,10,11 August

Robot dance performance 11:00, 12:30, 17:00 - everyday

Performance Art Painting 14:00 and 15:30 - up to 9 August

Source: Korean Class Massive

Many thanks to my friends over at Korean Class Massive for granting me permission to re-post this wonderfully  informative article!

They always make me feel like I've been there in person.

Be sure to pop over and visit them ^^

SM Entertainment Chairman Lee Soo Man invited to a screening of ‘The Lady’ by Hillary Clinton

by leesa86 

SM Entertainment Chairman Lee Soo Man attended a special screening of ‘The Lady‘, after being invited by US Secretary of State and former first lady Hillary Clinton.
Lee Soo Man attended a screening of ‘The Lady’ which was hosted by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) in Washington, DC on April 9th.
‘The Lady’ tells the story of Myanmar democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, and was directed by Luc Besson.
Michelle Yeoh who plays the role of Aung San Suu Kyi was also in attendance at the screening event, as well as United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, professional figure skater Michelle Kwan, as well as other noteworthy figures within political, cultural, and sports circles.
Lee Soo Man was able to attend the event, as he has developed a friendship with Michelle Yeoh. When Hillary Clinton visited Korea last November, Hillary had asked Michelle for a copy of the ‘The Lady’ DVD before she left for Myanmar from Korea. Michelle Yeoh then asked Lee Soo Man to arrange for Hillary to receive the DVD in Korea, and Lee Soo Man got it to Hillary ten minutes before her flight to Myanmar.
Source & Image: StarToday via Nate

 Source:allkpop
Appa Soo Man news....

SNSD and the Dangerous Boys Episode 4 HD - Subbed - 120108

For me this entire episode had me in tears.

The dance choreographer is just daebak, so motivational and so needed by these boys.

[en] Girls' Generation and the Dangerous Boys EP 04 [1/5] (120108)

Uploaded by taenacity on Jan 10, 2012

http://www.twitter.com/taenacity
Thanks to @yang1911

[en] Girls' Generation and the Dangerous Boys EP 04 [2/5] (120108)

Uploaded by taenacity on Jan 10, 2012
[en] Girls' Generation and the Dangerous Boys EP 04 [3/5] (120108)

Uploaded by taenacity on Jan 11, 2012
[en] Girls' Generation and the Dangerous Boys EP 04 [4/5] (120108)

Uploaded by taenacity on Jan 12, 2012
[en] Girls' Generation and the Dangerous Boys EP 04 [5/5] (120108)

Uploaded by taenacity on Jan 13, 2012

Well there you have it friends and fans.

A pretty interesting episode right?

If you missed any episodes please visit Korean Updates

Korean Comedian Sends Kimchi Box to U.S. President Barack Obama

by: thunderstix on Jan 9, 2012

Park Sung Kwang, the comedian-turned-Kimchi-business-owner, has sent a specially designed Kimchi box to the U.S. President Barack Obama.
On January 9, Park Sung Kwang sent out a press release with the following picture of the Kimchi box he sent to President Obama. On the box it says, “Kimuchi NO, Kimchi YES,” showing the proper spelling of Korea’s most common traditional dish.

He said, “Since Kim Jang Hoon has been publicizing the Dokdo Island as Korea’s territory, I decided to spend my time promoting Kimchi around the world. I’ll make sure people get to experience the true taste of Kimchi, and I’ll fix the wrong spelling of Kimchi that’s often spelled as Kimuchi.”
Netizens who saw the picture commented, “We hope Barack Obama will buy it again,” “What if the CIA comes after him?” and “I had no idea Park Sung Kwang’s been selling Kimchi.”
Meanwhile, Park Sung Kwang launched his own Kimchi brand, “Umma Umma Kimchi,” last year, joining other celebrities, including Hong Jin Kyung and Oh Ji Ho, in the Kimchi sales market.

Source:SOOMPI

Now I don't delve into politics much,

but this is fun!

I hope he tries it!

Somehow I don't it though ^^

The importance of the 90-degree bow in K-pop

Written by Bo Kyung On October 24, 2011
Bowing as part of the traditional Korean greeting, 인사 (in-sa), is customary and one of the first things you learn about Asian, and specifically Korean, culture. More importantly, it’s a gesture of respect. In addition to the bowing is the idea of hierarchy, where there are things like “선배” (sunbae/seniors) and “후배” (hubae/juniors) in the industry. So when a young  junior idol group fails to bow to the senior artist, it becomes tricky, and almost always newsworthy.
Recently in the K-pop community, the manners of idols has become quite an issue. What really started all this was the group T-ara. They were first accused of their poor performance, but now the issue has moved onto their manners. On October 17th 2011, a senior musician Mo-Se tweeted,

“There is a girl group whose attitude at a certain event became an issue. I knew it. They are also famous for not greeting others. I’ve met the girl who posted an explanation about their poor performance, and not once did she greet me. What’s worse, when we met a few times at the recording studio before their debut, and even then she didn’t do anything. Particularly, when we meet at events, it’s only manners to say ‘thank you’ and greet each other lightheartedly. Let’s not even mention the fact that they don’t greet — all they do is watch me. Wow. They must be big stars. I don’t normally say things like this, but what kind of celebrities or adults are they to behave like this.”

But, T-ara wasn’t the only group with this problem. On October 18th 2011, Goo Hara, a member of Kara, appeared in a variety program Strong Heart and announced that,

“Even though we Kara are all young, it’s already been 5 years since our debut. We’re considered seniors among the idol groups now. But there’s this junior idol group of members who are older than us, and even though we, Kara, bow to them in 90-degree angle, they just nod in return.”

Hearing this news, netizens became sensitive towards these issues because “in-sa” is not only an action everybody needs to adhere to, but it’s even more important for idols to adhere to. To show the good side of K-pop manners, SNSD and Kim Hyun Joong became the “good” examples of those showing good behavior. It is known that on the 21st, SNSD came back on Music Bank, and all the members went around the waiting rooms showing their respect toward all the senior and junior artists. Also on the same day, a photo of Kim Hyun-joong bowing in the full 90-degree position became a highlight, especially because he is more senior than most of those he was performing with, and doesn’t necessarily have to bow so deeply, but did so anyway out of respect.

So why is it that some idols tend to ignore others and fail to greet or “insa” properly? Well, I think it’s all about fame, age, and the debut day. First, fame brings arrogance. No matter what anyone says and thinks, when everyone knows your name and everyone is going crazy over you, there are those who become arrogant, and maybe arrogant enough to believe that you are number one and will always be number one. Second, age is very complicated in Korea. And third, the day of a debut is also very important. Regardless of how old you are, the day of your debut determines who is considered senior or junior in the industry.
Now, going back to Kara: it’s been 5 years since their debut, which makes everyone who debuted after them their juniors and everyone who debuted before them their seniors, regardless of the age of the members in those senior/junior groups. It’s totally understandable not wanting to bow to a younger person like Goo Hara when you’re much older than her, but it’s Korea’s tradition and it’s really not something you ignore as a Korean person, and especially as a Korean entertainer.
What do you guys think? Too much political correctness, or merely being polite?
(kukinews)

Source:seoulbeats

This can be very confusing! Learning someones age (if in doubt) is so important! Add to that a debut date? THIS would be why we see SHINee's Onew bowing to everyone!

^.^

Yes I'm still on an Onew kick >.<