Funny Video - K-Idols speaking English

This is a clip from a Korean variety show where some Korean celebrities had to translate a Korean phrase into English.

Might be something that you can show to your class for fun - see if they can do better than the stars.

Music Monday #23

Last week I totally forgot about Music Monday, I remembered on Wednesday so by then it was a bit late and I decided to just skip it for that week. We are back this week however with some more Korean music.  I just did a post about a gig that I went to in Seoul on the weekend and unfortunately I had to leave early so I did not get to see 'The Rock Tigers'.

This week I thought I would introduce them for Music Monday instead, I still still hope to be able to check them out live sometime. The Rock Tigers (더 락타이거즈) are a rock and roll band with an old school Rockabilly sound, the band includes a double bass which adds to that swinging kind of rhythm. They have had a few line up changes over the years but the lead singer has stayed the same. They have released some albums and EP's and have garnered a considerable following although they are still far from what we would consider mainstream. They regularly play live shows in Seoul so if you are living in or around Seoul keep an eye out and you might get to see them.

The Rock Tigers - Cry Baby

 

You can also check out an interview with the band and find out more information over at The Silk Road.tv. They have a great video all about the band in their 'Koreans in the Spotlight' series so be sure to check it out.



Music Monday #21

I have posted a few Music Mondays about punk in Korea, this week I thought I would show that Ska is also alive and well and here in Korea.  Ska is one of those love it/hate it genres - especially in the punk culture.  Many punks feel it's boring or lame for various reasons, there is also many who associate 'selling out' with ska - such bands as Reel Big Fish and Goldfinger often have the finger pointed at them for this. There is also a lot of kidding around between bands, Propaghandi produced a song called 'Ska Sucks' and NOFX have one called 'We don't play Ska anymore' which goes on to say "because it sucks". None of which should be taken too seriously.

FYI - Ska if you don't know is a music style that has it's basis in Reggie and Jazz.  It's know for it's fast up-beat tempo.  Ska punk is just that fast, furious and fun, they usually have some kind of brass instrument in the band, commonly a trumpet.

I really like Ska punk, I'm a big fan on Less than Jake and Mad Caddies.  I always think of summer, the beach and having a fun time when I listen to it.

One Korean band that I have heard talked about on some other websites and that I found on YouTube is called - Skasucks - I am guessing it's tongue-in-cheek as they seem to be one of the leading ska bands on the Korean scene. They have been around for over five years now, they do a lot of covers and apparently a really great high energy live show.  I have not seen them live, but if I get the chance I think it would be a great one to go to.

Skasucks - Swimming in the Dream

Website Highlight #3 - The Silk Road

Another awesome website that I just found and really wanted to share.  This one is called The Silk Road and is relatively new.  It's a series of short videos about Korea, lots of different topics from shopping and bars to culture and places to visit.

Great videos and what looks to be the start of a really interesting and informative site - be sure to check them out.  The website address is http://www.thesilkroad.tv/ and as always I have put a permanent link in the list of useful sites on the side of the blog.

Sneak Peek at The Silk Road:

Learning Korean #1 - Counting (Sino-Korean)

One of the first things that I did when I got here was to learn how to count to 10, there are two ways of counting in Korea. Sino-Korean (because it came from Chinese) and Native (sometimes called Pure) Korean which are the traditional numbers.  Korean uses both so if you are learning Korean you will at some stage need to learn both however the reason that I wanted to learn was for money and money uses the Sino-Korean counting system. 

It's pretty easy to learn and I memorised it in an afternoon with the help of this video so I have shared it here for you to take advantage of too.  It's from Mahalo.com and they do lots of Korean Language Videos on You Tube so check them out.



The Korean system uses the same Arabic Numbers that English does but they have their own words for the numbers and so also have the Hangul (Korean Language) written word for each number.

Sino-Korean Numbers 1-10

1 = il/일

2 = ee/이

3 = sam/삼

4 = sa/사

5 = oh/오

6 = yuk/육 (륙 sometimes ryuk)

7 = chil/칠

8 = pal/팔

9 = gu/구

10 = ship/십

To make the higher numbers it's pretty easy, 11-19 you just say (10 + number) so for example to say 15 is ship-oh.

When you get to 20-99 you just switch it around (number + ship) so for example 20 is ee-ship and 60 is yuk-ship.  The in-between numbers you just add another number on the end for example 23 is ee-ship-sam and 79 is chil-ship-gu and so on.

When you get even higher each place marker has its own new word:

100 = baek/백

1000 = cheon/천

10,000 = man/만

The rules for forming the numbers remain the same so to say 312 you say Three + Hundred + Ten + Two sam-baek-ship-ee and to say 1475 you say cheon-sa-baek-chil-ship-oh.

Seoul Metro - Music Video by Michael Aronson

Michael Aronson is a guy who makes music videos about Korea - you can visit his website here at Time to Rock the World and you can also subscribe to his channel on You Tube here.

This video is a follow up to my earlier post about the Seoul Metropolitan Subway, it's a great way to see what the subway is like and is really well done.  Enjoy.

Funny Video - Trying To Get By in Yeosu

A funny music video made by some foreigners living in Yeosu, South Korea.  Learn some Korean and have fun doing it. Enjoy.

Music Monday #2

Welcome to the second installment of Music Monday.  This time I thought that seen as though this is a blog about living in Korea I would show you just a taste of K-Pop.  If you don't know what K-pop is - well then what rock have you been hiding under :)

K-pop is apparently taking over the world, well especially if you talk to a Korean person,  it is in fact the most popular music in Asia at the moment and most of the K-pop groups have large followings in Japan for example.  The are also trying to move into the American market and some groups have released songs in English just for this.  Girls Generation arguably the most famous girl group recently made an appearance on 'The Late Show with David Letterman'.

It's pretty much just what it says - Korean Popular music.  However its a bit different than pop in the west, first off - well it's pretty much a religion over here, the majority of your average everyday Korean is going to love K-pop.  Secondly they do not do things half-arsed - its bigger, flashier and more put together than what you are used to. Third they like groups better than solo acts, also the bigger the group the better (I guess they figure if it is big you will be able to relate to at least one member) and finally these groups are made by big companies - they recruit the talent, put them in groups, train them for years and finally release them to the world as a brand new act, they work very hard and don't get much time off.

Also as a side note - my personal opinion - some of the boys in the boy groups are almost indistinguishable from the girls.  Often you see a picture of one of the 'famous stars' promoting a beauty product and not knowing who they are you have to ask yourself - hmmm is that a girl or a boy (case and point in this video today - guy with the long hair could totally pass for a girl especially with the makeup).

This video is a new one from what I would say is the most popular K-pop band (you may disagree).  They are called Big Bang and have been around for a while now.  This is one of the popular new singles of their new album.  Lots of my students at school are all quoting it and making references to it.  I did not know it was what they were quoting until I saw the video a couple of weeks ago after making a music lesson for one of my classes.  Anyway here it is and I think its a great one to show just what K-pop is all about.

Big Bang - Fantastic Baby

Welcome to my Neighborhood - Ingye-dong, Suwon

A short video I took on my new smartphone, it's the first time I used it so its not that great. I had the phone up the wrong way. I think it would be better on it's side next time.

Anyway this is my neighborhood, just after my apartment building and walking along the street for a little way. You can see the big Cinepark building toward the end of the video, it's a big building that houses lots of shops and restaurants along with a cinema.

Also at the very end you can see a great example of 'couple culture'. Korea is very focused on couples, they like to advertise the fact that they are in a relationship. This can be something simple like having the same phone or things like having matching phone charms or other accessories. Or you can get the 'Couple T'shirts' like in this video, the couple at the very end are wearing matching T's.

Only in Korea!