Sucked into a deciphering vortex
So, in a thread on Omona re: 2AM's upcoming comeback/new release, someone posted the following video. For one, I enjoy the boys of 2AM, they are adorable. For two, I enjoy any and all excuses South Korea can come up with for idols to cross-dress (and trust me, there is no shortage of these situations). For three, I've had Bad Girl Good Girl stuck in my head for the past 24 hours, so this seemed fortuitous timing.
It's hilarious even if you don't know what's going on. But, as with much Korean entertainment programming I've seen, the use of text is intriguing and often complementary to the action, so I thought, what the hell, let's try figuring out what it means. Gave me a chance to practice reading hangul (which I am FRIGHTFULLY slow at), and though I only know the stray word here and there (utgyeo, dashi, modu, Chuseok), plugging everything into Google Translate also gave me an excuse to practice typing out hangul (at which I am only marginally faster than at reading). Needless to say, it took way, WAY longer than I anticipated. Hahaha. I won't repost my efforts here, it'd be useless, just enjoy the video. And the food prep business can be filed under Chuseok, as this was aired during the harvest season (our Thanksgiving is kind of like Chuseok, the harvest festival, but the latter is way, way more of a big deal/important holiday).
2AM are a ballad group signed to JYP Entertainment. Here, for the purposes of a televised dance-off [yes, Korea has televised dance-offs; this does in fact contribute to my love of kpop and Korean pop culture in general], they are acting out the song Bad Girl, Good Girl by their label-mates miss A. They have accordingly called themselves miss AM (witty), and rejigged the song. This isn't uncommon; I think at least 50% of the video clips I've seen of Korean pop idols cross-dressing also involved them re-recording the song in question to tweak the lyrics to suit the appropriate gender reversal, in spite of the fact that, in cross-dressing, they are actually UPHOLDING in a way the initial gender relationships. [I would love to read a sociology paper on all of this.]
A quick introduction (from left to right, based on the beginning of the video):
1) SeulOng, in lieu of Fei: watch as Ong pretends to not be as good at this as he in fact is.
2) ChangMin, in lieu of Jia: never thought I'd see this delectable bundle of muscles and stunning vocals in a pink wig, but I do love how, although he is the least natural at imitating girl dances, he is oh-so-seriously enjoying himself (cf., faces he makes).
3) JoKwon, in lieu of Min: JoKwon is a diva; JoKwon is better at being a girl than being a guy, honestly. He also vibrates on occasion, which is either disconcerting or amusing depending on how you're feeling on any given day.
4) JinWoon, in lieu of Suzy: oh JinWoon, why the hell are you so pretty. Even your arm muscles are somehow pretty. It's like your eye-smile is contagious.
And because I believe in equality, here is an oldie-but-goodie from last year's Idol Dance Battle. SNSD doing Smooth Criminal. Nothing like ladies in suits. ;)
Click to viewIt's hilarious even if you don't know what's going on. But, as with much Korean entertainment programming I've seen, the use of text is intriguing and often complementary to the action, so I thought, what the hell, let's try figuring out what it means. Gave me a chance to practice reading hangul (which I am FRIGHTFULLY slow at), and though I only know the stray word here and there (utgyeo, dashi, modu, Chuseok), plugging everything into Google Translate also gave me an excuse to practice typing out hangul (at which I am only marginally faster than at reading). Needless to say, it took way, WAY longer than I anticipated. Hahaha. I won't repost my efforts here, it'd be useless, just enjoy the video. And the food prep business can be filed under Chuseok, as this was aired during the harvest season (our Thanksgiving is kind of like Chuseok, the harvest festival, but the latter is way, way more of a big deal/important holiday).
2AM are a ballad group signed to JYP Entertainment. Here, for the purposes of a televised dance-off [yes, Korea has televised dance-offs; this does in fact contribute to my love of kpop and Korean pop culture in general], they are acting out the song Bad Girl, Good Girl by their label-mates miss A. They have accordingly called themselves miss AM (witty), and rejigged the song. This isn't uncommon; I think at least 50% of the video clips I've seen of Korean pop idols cross-dressing also involved them re-recording the song in question to tweak the lyrics to suit the appropriate gender reversal, in spite of the fact that, in cross-dressing, they are actually UPHOLDING in a way the initial gender relationships. [I would love to read a sociology paper on all of this.]
A quick introduction (from left to right, based on the beginning of the video):
1) SeulOng, in lieu of Fei: watch as Ong pretends to not be as good at this as he in fact is.
2) ChangMin, in lieu of Jia: never thought I'd see this delectable bundle of muscles and stunning vocals in a pink wig, but I do love how, although he is the least natural at imitating girl dances, he is oh-so-seriously enjoying himself (cf., faces he makes).
3) JoKwon, in lieu of Min: JoKwon is a diva; JoKwon is better at being a girl than being a guy, honestly. He also vibrates on occasion, which is either disconcerting or amusing depending on how you're feeling on any given day.
4) JinWoon, in lieu of Suzy: oh JinWoon, why the hell are you so pretty. Even your arm muscles are somehow pretty. It's like your eye-smile is contagious.
And because I believe in equality, here is an oldie-but-goodie from last year's Idol Dance Battle. SNSD doing Smooth Criminal. Nothing like ladies in suits. ;)