Art
The Energy of Korean Pop
I just recovered three Korean pop songs I used to like about 10 years ago when I lived there. Not a big fan of pop, but you adapt to what’s available. 
돌아와-클론 (Clon, “Come Back”): I like the energy when the woman in this one starts to sing, and the underlying spirit of it, the warm communal singing, is very Korean. The video is bizarre, but not silly. This one is my favorite of the lot. [also: live version]
유승준-열정 (Yu Soong Jun, “Passion”): I’m not a fan of hip hop culture, and I think these boys in “osh kosh” look ridiculous, but there’s a point where the song rises in a ballad format and then breaks that I like.
Park Ji Yoon – Sky Blue Dream: The video itself is horribly lame. If you can turn away from it, do. But the ballad is still good and, in my defense, I would hear it on the radio and in the nori-bong (karaoke shop). I like it, because the chorus lends a feeling of being in motion, wind, unbounded, and free.
What I sense about all of these that must have interested me in a sea of otherwise annoying pop songs, is the energy, adventure, and sense of liberty. I guess I’d forgotten how like a lion I was back then.
In an early post, I mentioned other favorites. Superstar Lee Jung Hyun is perhaps one of the most original and creative of pop stars in Korea – e.g. Wa (“Come”), Nuh (“You”), and Bakkwa (“Change”). Also 1tym performing 1tym or Ghae Ji Na Ching Ching (the showmanship and sense of humor is what’s so appealing) and Jinusean performing Mal Hae Joe live (mainly because Um Jung Hwa joins them for this and just makes men swoon with her obvious but still very effective antics). Even Baby VOX is just too fun with Get Up (outtakes built in) despite all the poutiness. It’s hard to separate them vocally, but the bad one (you’ll see who I mean) is the most interesting for attitude.
What takes it all is when you put all these people together in one live concert to celebrate a common purpose, as in [Hana Dweh Uh] (“Now and New”) which commemorates the peace talks between North and South Korea. This [studio montage] version is nice, too. What you get from it is a sense of the feeling of national responsibility of the participants. Here too is Hand in Hand (from the 88 Olympics)
My Hero
He calls men Susie and Barbara. He always has a comeback. He tells it like it is, and doesn’t stick around for the chips. He’s Dr. Cox from Scrubs, and he is magnificent.
TV’s closest ally to the Book
I’m a fan of roughly a half dozen TV programs (only three of which are still on), and top of my list would have to be BookTV on C-Span2. It’s one of the rare places of intelligent speech in a medium that epitomizes free speech.
Tonight is Jim Hightower, “Swim Against the Current“. Of course, the title either sells itself or causes disinterest, depending upon your inclinations, so I like that about it up front. Of course, you also get dill weeds like David Horowitz, who rant and seem to have no scruples about passing off as reasonable ideas that are merely popular.
So at any given moment, BookTV is a crap shoot. But odds are better at any moment than the other channels, where it’s 90% “murder TV”, “police/soldier TV”, and “reality TV” punctuated by so-called ‘news’.
Lee Jung Hyun
Lee Jung Hyun is one of the most unique and creative pop artists in Korea. She developed her own style and made the already interesting pop culture there even more interesting. If Michael Jackson, Elvis, and Madonna became one person, they might start to measure up to Jung Hyun.
The embedded videos don’t carry over from the old blog, but are easily found in Youtube.
