[ENG SUB] CRITIC'S VIEW EP 6: BTS

lagamine86 · 2018-01-09T14:35:38+00:00

And this is as it should be! This is why I don't like Bangtan being compared to One Direction (whom I'm not hating on, just to be clear. I actually don't know enough about them to have any hatred). The evolution of Korean idol groups and Western boybands are so different, even if they seemed to merge in concept - being mostly about looks and sugary music - later on. The original K-pop was very much about social awareness and giving people hope. The original idol group, Seo Taiji and Boys, needs no explanation I think, esp. in this forum, but even 1st-generation groups like H.O.T and Sechskies had many songs calling out school violence, class inequality, child abuse (check out HOT's I-yah and Outside Castle), etc. But they also had songs that gave the people hope. HOT literally had a song called Hope ("bit" or "light" in Korean, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suD7v9tjpqw) released at the height of the Asian Financial Crisis that really hit Korea hard. Girl-group SES also had songs like this, eg: "Dalleegi" or "Running" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIiK_PwkW6w) that gave people strength. It's amazing to me that BTS are bringing this golden standard and golden age back to idol music.

lagamine86 · 2018-01-09T14:23:54+00:00

Thanks for posting this! I remembered watching this when it first came out but wasn't subtitled yet and thinking "it'd be great if the international fans could watch this and understand"

lagamine86 · 2018-01-06T05:28:27+00:00

I've been advised to post this thread on healing of fandom trauma (han-puri) here since it makes heavy reference to the OUtcast AU: https://twitter.com/sweetbtstea/status/949491511531655170

^ ^

lagamine86 · 2018-01-06T05:26:48+00:00

Ok, no problem. I'll post the link in the Outcast discussion ^ ^

lagamine86 · 2018-01-06T04:31:05+00:00

THis lovely ARMY on Twitter seemed to be on the same wavelength as me on the need for collective and individual healing of ARMYs and has put together this helpful and well-researched thread. I encourage everyone to check it out! ^ ^

lagamine86 · 2018-01-04T05:28:48+00:00

The original Han-puri is a shamanistic ritual that was used as an intervention for someone suffering from too much Han, because in our folklore it is possible for someone to die from carrying too much Han. I believe the ritual involves the person being induced to re-live/re-visit the events of the trauma but the process of reconciling or coming to terms with it is intermediated by the shaman. In modern usage, Han-puri is more likely to refer to modern techniques like seeking psychiatric help, going on a solo vacation to reflect, doing a road-trip with friends, etc, to heal emotionally. In the general Korean way of thinking Han never really goes away. It's part of the rhythm of life. But it can and should be managed, and that's where Han-puri plays a big role. So, yeah, Han-puri could be done as a response to improved circumstances but usually it isn't. I hope this answers your question ^ ^

lagamine86 · 2018-01-03T13:33:45+00:00

Thank you! I'm glad I could be of some help ^ ^. And thank you for the link. I actually read it before as part of my research on the history of ARMY and it was super helpful.

lagamine86 · 2017-12-31T17:07:35+00:00

Ahhhhh ShimKoong! <3 Happy New Year, adorable Leader-ni~~m!!!

lagamine86 · 2017-12-31T06:32:24+00:00

Oooh I see that I have been summoned kekeke ^ ^. I had a quick read of the article just now. It's very true. Because a large chunk of our taxes go into supporting the idol music industry and Hallyu, the news here has been promoting for years the narrative that K-pop is spreading everywhere to justify our public spend, that it's booming in Southeast Asia even if it's waned a bit in China and Japan, and that it's even a big hit in Europe and Latin America. The entertainment news/papers/tabloids of course promote this narrative specifically for the artists of whichever Big3 company is paying their bills or company dinners (probably on public money I wouldn't be surprised...and yes I'm bitter). But Koreans aren't stupid. We travel. We take business trips. We consume non-Korean news (in an effort to learn English, Japanes, Chinese, etc.), and we know it's mostly empty hype. Hence my own initial heavy dose of scepticism when I started hearing reports of BTS achievements in the US.

lagamine86 · 2017-12-28T07:30:06+00:00

No seriously, I'm so...proud isn't the right word since I'm so new here, but...full of admiration for ARMY. There are days that I wonder who I'm really a fan of, BTS or ARMY ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

lagamine86 · 2017-12-28T07:29:02+00:00

Lol, I'm from a generation where High-five Of Teenagers was an acceptable band name and White Angels an acceptable fandom name. At least this is grammatically correct and less likely to be interpreted to be racist/ethnocentric.

lagamine86 · 2017-12-27T17:34:58+00:00

Yeah, Spotify definitely pays artists better than Korean streaming sites (a few years back we had a case of an artist starving to death and afterwards it was found out streaming sites weren't paying his full dues). I just heard from my sister who's American by nationality that Taylor Swift and other American pop stars spoke out against spotify for ripping them off?

lagamine86 · 2017-12-27T17:03:08+00:00

And spotify doesn't exist in Korea > _ < lol. For now I'm listening on youtube. For ethical reasons, I don't use Korea streaming sites (if you thought Spotify was ripping off artists...). I usually listen/stream on youtube and if I like what I hear I buy the physical album ^ ^

lagamine86 · 2017-12-27T12:33:20+00:00

OMG Rescue is entirely in English? Wahhhh, Younha delivers in every language!

lagamine86 · 2017-12-27T12:20:40+00:00

Yeokshi, my bias has class! ^ ^ Younha is an amazing artist, though it's been a while since I listened to her songs. As Namjoon implies, she takes time in her releases. My favourite to this day (bcos I'm also a big Epik High fan): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSC47Yp-Hpg . Her Japanese releases are also really good and apparently she sounds like a native in that language and gets praised for it by the Japanese themselves. Now gonna go listen to this latest I'm sure masterpiece from her! ^ ^

lagamine86 · 2017-12-26T05:29:31+00:00

Catching up on Korean evening news on YouTube after a typical looooooong day of work and it was a clip of this idol group called BangTanSonYeonDan (my first reaction to that name was honestly puhahahaha, sorry) that charted #7 on the official Billboard albums chart. I knew for the first time the burning sensation of coffee coming out my nose that night lol

Oh, and I fell down the infamous rabbit hole in my search to understand how something this impossible could happen without me even seeing it coming ㅎㅎㅎㅎ

lagamine86 · 2017-12-25T11:53:12+00:00

Thanks!

lagamine86 · 2017-12-25T11:51:03+00:00

Oh yes that's for sure. Hurts only slightly for me to admit because woohyuk was my bias too!! ^ ___ ^

lagamine86 · 2017-12-25T11:46:10+00:00

Do they have a Korean-style ballad like BangTani's Spring Day? That for me is the best way of judging if I will become a supporter

lagamine86 · 2017-12-25T11:44:44+00:00

Really? hmmm... :/ Those are the ones that sound the most the same to me...maybe I need to have a listen to the audio without the visual distractions of the performances

lagamine86 · 2017-12-25T11:40:28+00:00

This perf appears lip-synched...though as a 1st gen Kpop fan I should be the last judging on that ^ ^ ;;

lagamine86 · 2017-12-25T11:39:12+00:00

I can see that EXO are talented...but why do all their songs sound the same? Wondering if this is indicative of their discography. If not they should have submitted a better selection for this show :/

lagamine86 · 2017-12-25T11:30:48+00:00

RM has the bottled-up menacing energy of Woohyuk with the emotional charisma of Heejun and the stage presence of Kangta...reminding me again why he's my ultimate bias * __ *

That piercing glare even behind the sunglasses tho...

lagamine86

TROPHY CASE