Sunday, 8 April 2012

March's MV review (Podcast)

March was an exciting month of 2012 in K-pop, flourished with comebacks of many popular groups. Among all, my friend and I decided to review three most popular comeback Music Videos!
  1. Big Bang's "Fantastic Baby"
  2. CNBlue's "Still in love" and
  3. SHINee's "Sherlock"




Listen to us discussing what we think about these MVs'
  • storyline
  • dancing/choreography
  • fashion and 
  • other bits (such as English and catchy lines) of the song.
Big Bang's "Fantastic Baby"



CNBlue's "Still in love"


SHINee's "Sherlock"




Be sure to visit our blog where we will post the official MVs and comment or request any MV to review.


Our blog: http://kobsession.blogspot.co.uk


Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kobsession.


Don't forget to like our facebook page and subscribe to our blog for additional content. Thank you for listening!

March's MV review (Podcast)

March was an exciting month of 2012 in K-pop, flourished with comebacks of many popular groups. Among all, my friend and I decided to review three most popular comeback Music Videos!
  1. Big Bang's "Fantastic Baby"
  2. CNBlue's "Still in love" and
  3. SHINee's "Sherlock"




Listen to us discussing what we think about these MVs'
  • storyline
  • dancing/choreography
  • fashion and 
  • other bits (such as English and catchy lines) of the song.
Big Bang's "Fantastic Baby"



CNBlue's "Still in love"


SHINee's "Sherlock"




Be sure to visit our blog where we will post the official MVs and comment or request any MV to review.


Our blog: http://kobsession.blogspot.co.uk


Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/kobsession.


Don't forget to like our facebook page and subscribe to our blog for additional content. Thank you for listening!

Strong Heart: Au revoir to Lee Seungi and Bonjour to Lee Dong Wook

Last Tuesday, Lee Seungi hosted his last ever Strong Heart episode with YG family. He concluded his MC's role on Strong Heart with a bang! 










If you are a VIP or Lee Seungi's fan (or both like me) and haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for? Here's the eng-subbed links on kshownow.net :


http://www.kshownow.net/2012/03/strong-heart-episode-123-english-subs.html

http://www.kshownow.net/2012/04/strong-heart-episode-124-english-subs.html

Since they want you to click through ads before watching the video, I can't embed the videos without violating their policy. For me, it was worth the ad clicking since I don't understand without their translation.

Ok, back to SH. Since the audience of SH are so accustomed to Lee Seungi, the new MC will have big shoes to fill. During last week's episode, the two new MCs of SH were revealed and I was a bit surprised to see Lee Dong Wook as one of the new MCs, along with the comedian Shin Dong Yup!  

Lee Dong Wook is one of the well-known and respected actors in korean drama-land but is rarely seen in variety shows! I think he's a good actor and his early drama, "My Girl", is my all-time favourite drama!!! Even though, he acts well in rom-com, it's hard for me to imagine him hosting a variety show, playing a pivotal role in delivering funny lines! I think it's very brave of him to take on this role since he has a lot to lose if he doesn't do well in this show. On the other hand, if he succeeds, he could be the next Korean's household name! May be that's why he has taken this role. 

Why does SBS chose Lee Dong Wook and Shin Dong Yup? Upon closer inspection, this pairing is a deja vu! They want the same characteristics as the paring of Lee Seungi and Kang Woo Dong, a young good-looking actor hoobae with an experienced sunbae comedian! After all, that pairing worked out exceptionally! In the still pictures released by SBS, Lee Dong Wook and Shin Dong Yup look harmonious and having fun hosting SH. I really hope they will do well for Lee Dong Wook's sake! I'm looking forward to watching the new era of Strong Heart with a lot of anticipation! I will let you know about my reaction once I've seen it. In the meantime, check out the SBS still pictures of the new SH below:










Source: SBS, koaplayground.com and Kshownow.net

Friday, 16 March 2012

'49 days' drama recommendation




Genre – ‘Fantasy’ n ‘Romance’.

I have to say this drama has one of the best plots, which will keep you on your toes with a load of unpredictable and surprising twists.

In fact, I prefer this drama more than 'Secret Garden', a very popular 'fantasy' drama; because, in my opinion, the plot of this drama simply made the viewers intrigued even though SG entertained its audience with many funny scenes.  

It started off light and fluffy yet interesting. Then it reeled you in gradually, before you know it, you are hooked to this drama (post-mid episodes)! It just gets better and better, more and more interesting, especially after episodes 8-9. These are the episodes where I normally lose my interest, for some dramas, and wonder off before coming back to endure through so that I can experience the good stuffs near the end. On contrary, this drama left me wanting more during those episodes to a point that I would start watching it without English subtitles! I was literally counting days for Wed and Thurs, when this drama was aired in Korea and raw videos uploaded at night, and Fri, when these videos were subbed. 

Having watched A LOT (and I meant A LOT) of k-dramas, I could normally, kind of, predict what will happen from the clues in the present drama or my gut feeling. But this drama, I could only do so for earlier episodes. My predictions and gut feelings of what will happen went out of the window in the last few episodes. For instance, I thought I knew how the ending will turn out after watching episode 18. Ohh boy, how wrong was I????

Despite being the ‘Fantasy’ genre drama, the whole drama flows and the plot makes sense. In addition, it has a lot of useful life messages that we can take home.

The romance part of the drama is also a total success as well! Daebak!!! The chemistry between the actors is amazing. If this drama were a science lab, the chemistry between the couples in the drama would be so reactive that it would explode with AWESOMENESS! Excuse my geeky lame joke!  The love portrayed between the couples was tender and so romantic while the friendship developed throughout the drama was touching. All the actors in this drama are so talented.

Eyecandy/ character you would fall for :p – Well well well, if I don’t start off with the scheduler (played by Jung Il Woo), it wouldn’t be fair. I thought he was cute and a bit cool in ‘Take care of the young Lady’, but he totally convinced me that he’s a COOL guy (with a capital C), who oozes with confidence with a hint of edginess in this drama. He is funky, quirky and stylish yet he can also be a ‘nice romantic guy’. Another guy that deserves the attention is K___ahhh (I can only use initial with suffix since I might spoil the beginning bits if I mentioned the full screen name). Although he seems a bit old for my taste at first, his character is a total prince charming, disguised by the cold-hearted guy image. His character becomes more and more likeable, episode after episode, since you get to see more and more of his caring and love for the heroine.

All the female actors in this drama are really beautiful, esp Ji Hyun (Nam Gyu Ri) and Yi Kyung (Lee Yo Won), whose characters are so loveable as well.

Overall, I felt all sorts of emotions along with the actors in this drama; I laughed, cried, felt touched, was sad, was happy,etc. It really was an adventurous roller coaster ride. I would totally recommend it to any k-drama lover! 

Tuesday, 13 March 2012

My favourite variety show: Running Man



Running Man(RM) is a South-Korean variety show, which has been airing since July 2010. The show has been sparking interest from domestic audience as well as international audience due to its unique genre, classified as "Urban Action Variety", which is a never-been-seen genre of variety shows. 

Most viewers, like myself, initially started watching this programme due to the guests appearance from popular Korean idols and Korean actors. What really reels the viewers into watching the whole episode and leaving positive impression about the show is the intriguing game plot with unexpected outcomes/results, which often leave viewers to be on the edge of their seats. The outcome of each episode is unpredictable since it is not scripted and it totally is the consequence of how the players, running man members and the guests, play the game/mission, which is cleverly and creatively designed by RM's production team. Hats off to them! 

The stage after being intrigued and entertained while watching the show is the after-effects of the show, which normally leave the viewers wanting more! This is where the running man members play their roles! Each of  the member has a unique game-character, which is the reflection of their own personality, that viewers can't help but has grown to love ! The members are hilarious and the group dynamic between them is priceless! The running man members definitely play an essential role in getting viewers hooked to the show and anticipating it every single week; at least they do in my case. 

Even though I started watching the RM episodes, guest-starred with the popular K-idols, I am currently at the stage where being more than happy to watch and fully entertained by RM members alone. Guest-starring of the K-idols and K-actors is just icing on an already-extremely-delicious cake!


Without further ado, I would like to introduce you to RM members below:



  • Yoo Jae Suk- MC of the RM. He is one of the most popular national MCs in South Korea. He is very funny and kind! He is also known as : Youce Willis, named after "Bruce Willis" after the episode where he was the main lead that saved the game; "Youce Bond", named after "James Bond" in the episode where he was the spy against other RM members and "Grasshopper" since he likes wearing green and his face resembling a grasshopper .

  •  Kim Joong Kook - is known to be the strongest member both physically and intelligence-wise. Aka - "Sparta" since he's the hunkiest and all the members are intimidated to come face-to-face with him during the game. During the games, they animate him with -- "this is sparta" sound and fire animation effects! Occasionally aka "Kookie ^-^" when he show his 'Aegyo side' ***. He becomes weak when a girl begs him during the game! What I find very surprising is that he has the softest vocal, opposite to his appearance, when he sings. He is an amazing singer!



  • Song Jihyo- known as ACE - because she's really good at games and very clever like Kim Joong Kook. The only girl of RM but one of the best RM members! She's my personal favourite! She's sometimes called "Mong(Blank) Jiyo" since she can't hide but show her blank facial expressions when she does not understand something and "Bad Jiyo" since she sometimes, accidentally, swears out of frustration and bullies Kwang Soo, who is younger than her. She wasn't a permanent RM member at the beginning. She appeared often as a guest initially but has become a permanent member due to her outstanding performance on the show! Despite being an actress, Jiyo-unnie*** has tom-boy personality and doesn't care about her image on the show at all. She gives her 110% during the game to win and she is committed to doing well in the show despite her extremely hectic schedules.

  • Kang Gary - known as Gary , who sometimes likes to burst out saying "stress" whenever he gets frustrated. Jihyo and him are known as "Monday Couple" since Gary seem to fancy her and often drops chessy love lines to Jihyo on the show. The show is filmed on Monday and some other day so these two are called Monday couple. This might change soon since Song Jihyo relationship with her CEO was recently revealed!











  • Ha Dong Hoon - Haha - sometimes called Haharo because he wears glasses which makes him look like a korean penguin cartoon character called "Pororo". He's quite witty and also good at games, especially the spy and deceptive games. He is often the wing man of Kim Jong Kook, who calls Haha "nae Dongsang/ my little brother". Haha in turn calls him "Wuri Hyung/my dear brother". 


  • Lee Kwang Soo- he's the maknae/youngest*** of RM and one of the weakest members since he's not that clever and he's often been pushed aside. He does try his hardest, but often he is associated with the phrase "Lee Kwang Soo's out" since he's one of the easitest member to be eliminated. But he's quite funny, especially his pitiful expression. Bless him ! He is also known as "Kwangvatar", named after "Avator"- due to his lanky height and posture. He's an rising actor in supporting role for many k-dramas.






  • Ji Suk Jin- he's the oldest member and also one of the weakest members like Kwang Soo. When they play games, he's often the first person to be eliminated and sent to jail! RM members often jokes that RM jail is his home on the show and they aren't really surprised when he gets eliminated. He's easily get flustered by pretty girls! Lately, he has been paried with Kwang Soo and they are known as "Dumb and Dumber" or "Easy Brother".




  • Old members
Song Jong Ki - flower boy (i.e korean nickname for pretty/good-looking guy). He is the same age as Kwang Soo and as bad in most games as Kwang Soo while he was on the show but he received more love due to his look! He is book-smart and was good at RM knowledge quizzes! He did try his best on other games but he failed most of the times. While he was on the show, he showed his interest towards Song Jihyo and attempted to create a love line but Jihyo only thought of him as her younger sibling. As a result, they were known as "Song-song couple or Song-song sibling". He left after episode 41 to concentrate on his acting career and came back for one day in episode 66 as a guest.



Lizzy- from "After School" girl group. Long-term guest stars for many episodes at the beginning.

Monday, 12 March 2012

Second week of Podcast-ing




My friend and I recorded our second weekly-update podcast the other day. Our Podcasts are about our opinions on a range of topics; from current K-entertainment news to reviews about k-dramas, MVs, songs, variety shows. We would love to make our Podcast based on your suggestions so please feel free to suggest any topic that you want us to include in our Podcast! 

In this episode, we discussed the most popular stories of the past week, including:
  • Big Bang news
  • SHINee and Infinite comeback teasers
  •  JYJ scandals with Saseung fans
  • Western and Korean artists collaboration news
  • News of EXO, BAP, Hyosung(Secret)and Jessica (SNSD) 
  • Variety shows and dramas update. 

And lastly, shout-outs and thank you notes to
  •         KLUE members who voted for the topics on our facebook poll
  •     Vicky – our first listener and first person to email the feedback to us 
  •         Steph – first person to comment on our blog and 
  •         All the other fans and people who have visited our blog and listened to our podcasts.

We did this week’s podcast based on the facebook poll so feel free to request for topic(s) that you would like us to discuss. We would love to receive feedback about our Podcast from you so don't be shy to comment! We also welcome the constructive criticism and suggestions.

P.s our podcasts can also be downloaded from “itunes” for free

Speakers: Minzi and Maybelline
Music By: Kevin MacLeod
 





Big Bang 'Fantastic Baby' MV Review




Big Bang have recently released a music video, called 'Fantastic Baby',  from their 5th mini album "ALIVE. Both of us have been totally addicted to this song as it defined what big bang does best!! We hope that our review did the MV and the song a little bit of justice because all the features; the storyline, the dance, the fashion, the synergy and the beat, in the MV completely blew us away!



Speakers: Minzi and Maybelline
Music By: Kevin MacLeod
 

K-Obsession's first Podcast


My friend and I recorded our very first podcast on 4th March. Depending on how well this one is received, we are planning to a podcast every week or every fortnight. Our Podcast will be about our opinions on a range of topics; from current K-entertainment news to reviews about k-dramas, MVs, songs, variety shows. We would love to make our Podcast based on your suggestions so please feel free to suggest any topic that you want us to include in our Podcast! 

In this Podcast, we mainly discussed about:

  • Big Bang comeback, including our reviews for "Blue" and "Bad Boy" MV.
  • Block B controversy
  • The Moon that Embraces the Sun (drama)
  • Dream High 2 (drama)
  • and a quick shout-out to "Seungho(MBLAQ) who has recently been hospitalized". 

We would love to receive feedback about our Podcast from you so don't be shy to comment. We also welcome the constructive criticism and suggestions. In addition, feel free to request for topics that you would like us to discuss.

P.s our podcasts can also be downloaded from “itunes” for free!

Speakers: Minzi and Maybelline
Music By: Kevin MacLeod