Park Sang Min, also known as, Lee Eon died during a motorcycle accident on the morning of August 21 after the wrap-up party for Strongest Chil Woo, which just finished airing today. The model turned actor’s acting career consisted of roles in When Spring Comes, The 1st Shop Coffee Prince, Who Are You, and Strongest Chil Woo. We hope that even though he died in such an abrupt and horrible incident that Lee Eon may be able to rest in peace and that as an audience, we will be able to cherish the talent that he was able to share with us within his short lifetime.
I’m not a huge fan of Big Bang, but I found Last Farewell and Lies to be pretty impressive songs attached with impressive music videos. Many people may not agree with me, but I incorporate and attach the music video with the song and added together to form my impression of a song. So if the music video is really bad the song is good, then I’ll probably listen to it occasionally, but probably not download it onto my iPod and vice versa. So back to Big Bang, I’ve been trying to find time to watch their new music video and I finally got the chance to. My first reaction to it was, What Happened to Park Min Young?! It’s not that she got uglier or anything, it’s just the heavy eyeliner and excessive make-up kind of suprised me because I always thought of her as the cute innocent actress from I Am Sam. I turn around a year later and she’s gone totally emo? I wasn’t exactly totally taken by surprise though, because of her recent involvement in the drama series Hometown Legend where she turns into the legendary Gumiho or nine-tailed fox. That was scary. But maybe it’s a change for her and for her acting career. ehh…
The “Oh My Gosh, What Happened?!” reaction happened again once I saw Big Bang, especially G-Dragon, who was playing as Park Min Young’s lover. Basic plot line: G-Dragon and Park Min Young are lovers, but she gets a fatal illness and in order to remove herself as a burden, she lies to him that she is actually dating or in love with T.O.P. First off, the plot line was a little cliche, but I could see how the music video could have turned out a little better with the same plot line. The rapping the beginning by T.O.P. and G-Dragon is very impressive and makes up for the wierd fighting or shoving battle between the two. As for the rest of the MV, the flashbacks were probably my favorite because everyone wasn’t leaking eyeliner out of their eyes! especially when G-Dragon was crying, which I can see how it fits, but all I could see was streaks of eyeliner rolling down, instead of tears. Maybe Big Bang should have found a different makeup artist for this one…. But as always there was superb singing so I hope to see a lot of live performances in the future!
Girls’ Generation – Into the New World @ Dream Concert 2008
SM Entertainment’s newly released girl korean pop band SNSD aka Girls’ Generation has had some bumpy obstacles since their debut in the summer of 2007. Originally thought of as the girl counterpart of Super Junior, Girls’ Generation has 9 members, raging in age from 17 to 19 years old. The members are: Im Yoo Ah, Sunny, Taeyeon, Yuri, Tiffany, Jessica, Hyoyeon, Sooyung, and Seohyun. As the leader of the, Taeyeon has already shown her singing abilities by singing the popular song “If” in the Hong Gil Dong OST. Im Yoon Ah has been seen acting in dramas such as 9 End 2 Outs, a cameo in The Woman of Matchless Beauty, Park Jung Kum (2008), and is currently the main actress in KBS’s hit drama You Are My Destiny. You may also recognize her from the countless music videos and CF’s that she has starred in, such as Super Junior’s “U”, DBSK’s “Enchanted Castle”, CSJH The Grace’s “My Everything” with Kim Ki Bum. Tiffany and Jessica were both raised in California, the latter in Diamond Bar for those of you that live in Southern California.
Recent controversy was sparked during the Dream Concert in June 2008 when supposedly the fanboy’s of SNSD ripped Super Junior’s banners before the concert. In retaliation, E.L.F. (Super Junior’s fan club, and Casseopia (DBSK’s fanclub) decided to use the silent treatment during SNSD’s performance by not cheering or light up their glowstick during the performances. As to the true condition of the rumors, I have tried to reveal the true side of the story rather than the biased or rumored versions that have been going around. It seems that there was some misunderstanding about the security guards moving the banners before the concert began to provide more seating because of the large audience. As for the ripping and the tearing of the banners by SNSD’s fans, that side of the story still has no complete evidence except for some ambiguous pictures from youtube. It is believed that SNSD has one of the largest anti-fan groups especially emphasized by this incident.
As for my personal opinion of the band, I find that they have been working hard to solidify their status as a korean pop band and their singing abilities and dancing abilities overall seem to improve with every performance. I try to make my posts impartial and unbiased so hopefully my personal opinion has not the effected the quality of my reports. Personally, I admire Yoon A the most because of her young age and her ability to take on the pressures of acting and singing at the same time. As for those who are now anti-fans because of the rumors that are spreading around such as that all the SNSD members but one have had plastic surgery, or the Dream Concert incident, you have the right to dislike a band because you feel that they don’t have the quality talent. As for the plastic surgery issue, I am not one to argue against it, but in today’s society, how many stars haven’t had any kind plastic surgery. No one should dislike a band because of the way that the fans act because that is not taking in any consideration of the hard work that the artists themselves have put in. Another complication that many find about Girls’ Generation is their disregard for fan mail and the event involving the throwing away of tons of fan mail. It has been cleared that the cleaning service maid accidentally threw away the mail. When we all look for our favorite bands, we say that we are always looking for talents under the surface and that beauty isn’t the only factors. But I have come to realize that many people base their judgments on… again… plastic surgery, and personalities. I have to say that I do not know the attitudes that SNSD have with their fans, but you can never really tell the true characteristics of a celebrity under the eye of the camera. Everything is scripted and planned ahead and you can’t just take a split second snapshot of something happening and determine your opinion of a celebrity forever. Sometimes, sitting with headphones in your ears and blocking out everything but the music can help one understand and interpret music the most.
So this has been a pretty opinion-based and emotional (-_-) post, but I felt that there was a need to address the problem and the conflicts… Hope that some of you will check out Girls’ Generation, but if you’re still an anti-fan, you have your rights, just don’t push the limits. To check out Yoon Ah in her KBS drama You Are My Destiny co-starring with Lee Ji Hoon, check out soshified forums, the number leading SNSD fan website @ http://soshified.com/forums/index.php?showforum=4. (Remeber that you must create an account to access the forum topics!) Have a fun summer (or whatever is left of it!)
As many Girls’ Generation fans know, Im Yoon Ah has been staring in a KBS1 drama “You Are My Destiny” since May of this year alongside Park Jae Jung (I Am Sam). So far the drama is up to about episode 69 and I just have some comments about this drama in comparison to other dramas that I have seen especially previous KBS daily dramas since I have watched Pure 19, As Much as Heaven and Earth, and I Hate You But It’s Fine; the three preceding dramas.
First off, the casting is pretty solid, about 60% veterans and 40% new faces. Despite the strong casting the drama still hasn’t been able to live up to its predecessor’s ratings, with an average about 25% so far. Park Jae Jung’s acting as Im Yoon Ah’s lover has been convincing so far, but I feel that there is some rigidness with his acting, maybe because the only difference in his emotions is his facial expression, and by that I mean the shifting of his eyes. I think that the supporting role that he played in I Am Sam helped to give him some experience in the acting field, but I think that he is a little too much Mr. Kim from I Am Sam than being a totally different character. I hope that this starting rigidness will slowly because more and more compassionate as the drama moves on and even though I am searching for his “love” for Jang Saebyuk (Im Yoon Ah) in the drama, I feel that he is really trying. This kind of stern character helps his image as high class CEO, but I’m not quite sure what personality he is supposed to be having: the cold-hearted CEO whose heart of ice is slowly melted by an unexpected love, or a soft and kind gentleman who is searching for his love. Of course, going against traditional is always a plus, but I don’t really know what kind of transformation and contrast I am going to see from the beginning of the drama in comparison to the ending. I know that many people are going to lash at me for this next comment, but Im Yoon Ah has some points of critique as well…hehe. Considering the fact that she is still eighteen and has her singing career with Girls’ Generation has recently skyrocketed (Happy 1st Anniversary SNSD and Happy Belated B-Day Tiffany!); I admire her courage to take on a 160+ drama since her supporting role in 9 End 2 Outs. I get the feeling that she has kind of the same problem as her co-star, except for she is a little better. The difference in emotions is not as contrasted as I expected. except maybe the crying scenes. Another point that has nothing to do with the acting, is just the plot line that seems to be in the danger of going around in circles. For those of you who are currently watching the drama, I get the point that Saebyuk doesn’t want to be with Hose (Park Jae Jung) because she feels guilty about Dr.Kim and her family and is using Hose’s engagement as a surface cover up and sort of a second point. But by the 68th episode, and after about the 5th rejection, I get the feeling that the drama is starting to drag its feet. The disadvantage is that the conversation is the same everytime: Hose always wants to talk to Saebyuk and everytime she has nothing say, and Taepoong is always in the back after the conversation is finished. The same scenerio, the same words, the same people is getting kind of redundant. I’m hoping the next episode will provide some change, although I watched the preview and it looked like a Stairway to Heaven preview to me, but it’s just a preview so technically there is nothing to go off of.
So now for the good points, because I know that the last paragraph was pretty mean and demeaning and I hope that no one takes it too strongly. Gong Hyun Joo (Golden Bride), who plays Soo Bin, has truly put her 110% acting effort into this drama. Why? Because everytime she does or says something, I want to punch her. In her position, I feel that’s what makes a good actress. Not the fact that she is beautiful, but how the audience responds to her reactions. When she gets caughts (such as the particular incident in episode 62-64), I feel so happy. Hence, I feel that her anger and stubborness is creating a very tense atmosphere, almost like you can wait for her to do something evil. The other supporting actor Lee Ji Hoon (Hello Miss!) as Kim Tae Poong is also doing an excellent job, especially his unconditional love for Saebyuk. You can tell the subtleness in his love, but also the bluntness at the same time. The parents of all three family have created a perfect atmosphere as to who is on whose side and who is marrying who for what reasons and the personalities of each. Another brownie point goes to the chemistry between Hose and Saebyuk, even though not much chemistry has happened except for the the beginning, and I am really curious how they will look together as a couple (but it just increases the tension!). Im Yoon Ah and Park Jae Jung are doing an amazing job and even though it seems like I am really critial on their acting, I really do think that both have potential and will have success in the acting industry. Hopefully the ratings wil rise and SaeHose will finally be together!!! (The combination name was kind of impulsive ) And as a treat, here is episode 68 from youngmank0re without subtitles.p
I just wanted to dedicate a short post to the fans of my blog and who have contributed to the increasing number of blog hits, now almost to 11,000!!! Even though I started out with only a couple hundred, the numbers just seem to be going through the roof. I went on vacation for a week and the blog hits increased by about 2,000 hits!
Thanks to all of you who have consistently been supporting me and those of you who are new to the site, thanks for stopping by! I hope to do my best in the future and not let you guys down!
) And as a treat, here is episode 68 from youngmank0re without subtitles.p
