T-ara Releases Cry Cry Music Video

The wait is finally over, Cry Cry is here! This is a very powerful, and long music video, so perhaps go make some popcorn before you watch it. It's not just a music video, it's a movie.



Published on Nov 8, 2011 by LOENENT

This video is only half of the story, T-ara will be releasing part 2, Lovey-dovey, at some point in the future. I hope soon!

This video was much more mature than their previous works. It is the tale of a girl who sees her father shot and killed. Ten years later, a shocking truth is revealed to her when a man who escaped from her house on the night of her father's murder is brought back into her life. It's hard for me to understand all of what's going on with my very, very, limited grasp Korean, but the story still stands on it's own even if you don't know any Korean at all.

The song in and of itself is amazing, it sends chills down my spine just listening to it. I can't wait for the next part to released!

-stormoftara :3

T-ara Releases Photos for Cry Cry, F(x)'s Victoria pre-debut photo, and Aziatix News!

Are you ready for a mega update?

T-ara released the jacket art for their new album, Black Eyes. I'm looking forward to their new album, and them releasing the video for Cry Cry, which looks to be epic!

Source and more pictures: Allkpop

f(x)'s Victoria revealed her pre-debut photo, and wasn't she ADORABLE?

Source: Allkpop

Aziatix started out their US tour today in Los Angeles.

They even had a meet and greet with fans!



-stormoftara :3
(I'd like the apologize for the lack of updates from me lately, you see November is National Write a Novel Month, and I've been so busy with that. Please forgive me!)

T-ara Releases Teaser for Cry Cry

T-ara is coming out with a new music video for their single Cry Cry. They released a trailer for it today! It looks awesome.


Uploaded by taraworldtv on Oct 30, 2011

In this dark clip, Jiyeon is seen holding a gun while crying out, “It was you. Why did it have to be you, mister. WHY?” She then fires, and the MV cuts to a scene of actor Cha Seung Won lying lifeless on the ground.

The teaser moves quickly to several intense action shots of the actors fighting, while T-ara huddles and cries with fear. At the end of the teaser, a voice is heard saying, “Mister, do you regret meeting me? If I fall too deep in happiness… it might just kill me.”

Source: Allkpop

I can't wait to see more!
-stormoftara :3

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 >.<

Korean versus Japanese Music Videos

There is something I've been noticing as more and more Korean stars are releasing their tracks in Japanese. This may be an older song, but it shows what I am talking about.


Uploaded by iPinkSugarX on May 27, 2011

Do you see the differences? Here are some stills from the first few seconds of both videos.

Korean Version

Japanese Version

The Japanese version is much more colorful, lively, and energetic.

Now let's take a more recent release, 2NE1's Go Away.

Korean

Uploaded by 2NE1 on Sep 9, 2010

I really like this video, even if it's a bit dark. Now are you ready for this?

Japanese

Uploaded by soh0712 on Oct 29, 2011

Do you see the difference? It's amazing really. I liked the original Korean version a lot more but of course that's a matter of opinion. The Japanese version is much more upbeat and colorful, but it lacks the story and emotional connect the Korean version gives us.

Now for one last comparison, T-ara's yayaya

Korean

Uploaded by CJENMMUSIC on Apr 22, 2011

Japanese

Uploaded by OrangeAmberSky on Oct 26, 2011

Again, the Korean version is telling a story, while the Japanese version is much more colorful. I think this has to do with the vast differences between Japanese and Korean cultures. Korea is more reserved, while Japan is more free.

In the end though, which music video you enjoy the most is really up to your own personal opinion, whether you like the fun colorfulness of the Japanese music videos, or the more emotional and story driven Korean music videos. Whatever you like, it's always fun to sit back and watch these music videos!

-stormoftara :3