Music Monday: "If You Come Into My Heart"

Ever have a bad day?  Today was a doozy.  I keep thinking that things at work will start calming down...but they don't.  Anyway, when I've had a really lousy day I start listening to all my favorite music and rewatching my favorite tv shows.  In my attempt to make myself feel better and relax, I came across this song...and it made me feel happy.  It's not a great recording, since it's live--on the tv show anyway--but it's so pretty!  This song is a cover of the song "If You Come Into My Heart," sung by Lee Jong Hyuk from "A Gentleman's Dignity," one of my many favorite Korean dramas.  I hope it brightens up your day like it did mine!

Photo courtesy of www.kdramastars.com

Music Monday: Jung Yong Hwa, "Comfort Song"

It's been a hard week, and all I need is someone to sing a song to make me feel better.  I love this song, because it is exactly meant to make someone feel better.  "Comfort Song" is from the Korean tv show "Heartstrings," my favorite, if you've been following along.  I hope you like it and feel a little better about life.

Music Monday: Jung Yong Hwa, "One Fine Day"

I was intending to be a more consistent, faithful blogger, and yet here it is May, and a month and a half has passed since I last posted anything.  In the whirlwind of testing, school activities, and winding down the schoolyear, it seems like any chance of me having a personal life has been put on hold until summer.  I have even been thinking of some school-related posts, just in the hopes that I keep blogging during this busy time! 

Be that as it may, it is past time for another Music Monday.  This one is dear to my heart.  At long last, one of my favorite singer/songwriter/actors, Jung Yong Hwa, has released his first solo album!  It is a mix of different styles, guest musicians, and Yong Hwa's compositions.  After watching this artist grow since his debut as the leader of the Kpop/rock group CNBlue (which I love), I kind of feel like a friend or family member has made their first album.  I'm so excited about it!  

(Okay, okay, so I've been a fangirl for all of about 6 months.  I'm making up for lost time with extra enthusiasm.)

Anyway, here is the title song of the album, "One Fine Day."  I listened to it about 50 times straight as soon as it came out, so I'm sure you'll like it too :)

Tips for Getting into K-drama

If you're one of those unfortunate people who have not discovered the charms of Korean drama (outside of my blog, that is), let me give you a few tips.  Kdrama is different than what we are used to here in America.  You probably won't see tons of violence, sex, or bad language. There may be some plot developments that have you rolling your eyes at the cheesiness of the writing--evil step-mothers, amnesia, and people who were supposedly long dead suddenly being discovered alive and well. However, there will be lots of romance--Kdrama is all about the love story, which is why I love it!  So take a risk, jump in, and visit an exotic locale with beautiful people.  You'll find the drama that makes you glad you did.

1.  Give the drama time.
Like the first season of an American sitcom, often the first episode or two of a Korean drama isn't very good.  Because the series are so short (usually 16-20 episodes in total), the dramas have to develop a lot of back story and introduce characters in a short amount of time.  This sometimes doesn't work very well.  Give it time and let the story unfold.  If you still aren't into the show by the third episode, move on to something else.

2.  Never get attached to the second lead actor.
Sorry, but he just ISN'T going to get the girl.  No matter how amazing and wonderful and perfect the supporting guy is, he will get his heart broken.  It's not fair, and sometimes it will make you really mad, because no one that nice should get shafted, but it will happen.  He will get dumped, rejected, used, abused, friend-zoned, and that's just the reality of Korean dramas.  I hope someday I discover one where the main girl falls in love with the second guy, but so far it hasn't happened, so I just plan on feeling sorry for him but not getting emotionally involved.  It's a lot safer that way.  Believe me, when, in my first drama, the "right" guy did not end up with the girl, I thought my heart was going to break into a million pieces.  Now I know that's just how it goes.

3.  Don't expect tons of PDA.
One aspect of Korean culture seems to be that they aren't very touchy-feely as a rule, at least in public.  In contrast, Americans hug people they barely know and sleep with people they completely don't know (at least on TV), so be ready to be a little surprised by the lack of physical affection.  This doesn't mean that Koreans are prudes or unemotional--their culture is just different.  If you give it time, you will find that, because the physical aspect of relationships is not exaggerated, it actually means a lot more emotionally. Take hand-holding, for instance.  When the main couple hold hands for the first time, it's seriously exciting, because of the investment that you've put in to the development of their characters and their relationship.

4.  Don't compare Kdrama to American TV.
Ok, I know that I was just comparing, but seriously, don't do it.  We just don't really have the same genre here in the States, so it's better not to compare.

5.  Do some research before you start a show.
I've found that it's better to have an idea what the show is about before I start it.  There are a few series out there that had seriously bad endings, which made even die-hard fans really angry.  If you've ever watched a show here where the main character gets "killed" in a season finale, and then over the summer the show gets cancelled, you'll understand how important it is to know that a show ends well--it can make a big difference!

Also, there is the mood of the series.  Some shows are light and fluffy, and not too serious at all.
Some are made targeting teenagers--they're still lots of fun, but if you aren't into that kind of thing, you may hate it.  There are also melodramas, where bad things happen and everyone dies in the most beautiful, heartrending way possible.  You may want to know that a show is a tear-jerker before you start.

I also have found my favorite actors and so I tend to start with watching the shows they have been in.  It gives a good place to start, because there just are so many dramas out there.  It can get pretty overwhelming just knowing where to start.

Maybe that's a future post--Best Dramas for Beginners--hmm...

Anyway, I hope you take the plunge and give Kdrama a try.  It's worth it, believe me!

Music Monday: Jung Eun Ji, "If I Leave"

One of the great things about my obsession with Kdrama is that I've discovered many songs and artists that I love--ones I probably would have never heard in other circumstances.  

Take Jung Eun Ji, for instance.  One of the members of the South Korean girl group A Pink, she has a phenomenal singing ability.  However, I probably would not have noticed if I had heard one of A Pink's songs on the radio.  From what I can tell, like many Korean pop bands, the group seems to focus more on dancing and lip-syncing rather than vocals, instrumentation, and composition.  Which is a big shame, because Eun Ji is amazing.  She has a huge vocal range, and an unusually powerful voice for such a young singer.   

Lucky for me, I discovered Eun Ji in the TV series Trot Lovers, where she plays a girl who is trying to become a professional trot singer.  The show itself is cute and satisfying, but I was held spellbound by Eun Ji's singing.  In nearly every episode, she sang a capella, which is quite an extraordinary feat. Her capacity for evoking an emotional response in her audience is also notable.

The video below is of Jung Eun Ji's performance of a well-known Korean song, "If I Leave." I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

from youtube.com