Masterly Master Lee‘s site is the Korea-blog you need to check out. I just ran across it the other night, in search of information about the “Two Sisters” video (the remake of “Venus”) a few posts back. Chock full of forgotten (and not-so-forgotten) Korean pulp goodness, and a wealth of reviews and information for anyone into popular culture! This one’s in the sidebar, and that doesn’t happen too often.
Tag: popculture
What in the World?!?
So I was looking around for Hwang Sin Hae videos on Youtube, and found this bizarre Korean remake of that song Venus, by Shocking Blue. (I think of it as “by Bananarama” but that just shows my age and ignorance.) What the hell is this from? Video pasted in below for you non-LJers.
Why Can’t Korean Pop Culture Be This Bizarre?
I like the guy, and his writing, but the_flea_king is evil. Not as evil as some people, but still evil, for having done this to me (LJers, just click here instead, and then, if you’re still note satisfied, here): UPDATE: slightly less odd, but still bizarre, video for the same song:
James on Wonder Girls
(START UPDATE #1 — 2:12 am same night): Well, Lime tells me that, no, it really is “boys and ajeoshis” who are the main consumers of Wonder Girls CDs. If this is the case, then this adds a more disturbing layer to my reading of the Tell Me video, since that would mean it’s a representation of a “girl’s fantasy” that’s constructed for the edification of male consumers. But the thing I have to wonder is, was the band aimed at male consumers from the beginning — from the release of “Tell Me”? And is it really true that the …
Thank You, Gim Hyung Tae
I don’t know whether he’d like or approve of any of my fictional depictions of Korea, but I find Gim Hyung Tae a great inspiration in that area. Whenever I’m writing anything trippy, weird, or odd about this country in my fiction, I turn to his music for inspiration. It’s a strange combination of trance, rock, folk, and 뽕짝 — in proportions that vary from song to song and album to album, but always in proportions that both work, and sound absolutely like Gim Hyung Tae. By the way, if you’re looking for his CDs, you’d be best to ask …