much ado about chois

[elapses]

This weekend I got tongue-raped by some dude at Vivian's cabin party? I mean I could tell he was into me (everyone could tell, Vivian asked me if I was okay with being hit on and offered to make him stop and she was REALLY DRUNK, so the fact that she noticed is monumental, but like a fool I said no because he seemed pretty harmless and fly-like) but I really did not expect the night to end with him CLIMBING DOWN ONTO MY BUNK BED AND JAMMING HIS TONGUE DOWN MY THROAT WITH NO WARNING. Why would he think that was okay!?!!!?!? Why would anyone think that was okay? HE LEGITIMATELY DIDN'T SEEM DRUNK ENOUGH TO BE THAT STUPID. I was definitely, definitely not drunk enough for it not to be life-scarring, oh god I keep having these moments where I'll be like, at Starbucks or in the library and I will just THINK ABOUT IT and cringe. Ew ew ew ew.

I bought the most magnificent notebook at the school bookstore, it looks like this and it is everything I would ever want in a notebook, except that it's... $4.50. WHAT IS THAT, even. I was thinking I'd google and find it cheaply in bulk and live happily ever after but uh. NOT SO MUCH. I think I was posting this in hope that one of you is a secret office supply geek and knew a secret that I do not, but I also doubt anyone can help me. Luckily I often enjoy fruitless whining almost as much as fruitful whining.

Anyway maybe my weird ladyboner for office supplies is a more natural segue than I would've thought into... this. This which is actually the nerdiest thing I have ever posted on livejournal. Hands down. I think most of you can recognize how monumental a thing that is, I..... am pretty dweeby! This... is pretty dweeby.

I don't know that it's really difficult to figure out that every single SM Entertainment band has a commonality: members surnamed Choi who are really tall and really conventionally attractive. It's kind of hilariously coincidental that the members who were clearly valued for their ~*good looks*~ over their talent all have the same family name (especially since that name is not Lee or Park or Kim). But oh god at some point the amount of energy goldenmelisande and I have spent determining the rules of CHOINESS and how well the Chois fit them (RIGHT NOW WE'RE INVESTIGATING OBSESSIVE LOVE OF FOOD AS A POTENTIAL CHOI TRAIT) just got... really weird. There were sliding scales, pseudo-Chois and anti-Chois, all sorts of criterions that you must fulfill in order to be ~*qualified*~. And then... this post happened. See it kind of goes like this:

goldenmelisande: omg sulli
is pure choi
elapses: I KNOW OMG
she might actually be the purest specimen
goldenmelisande: yes
completely useless
prettiest girl in the entire world
a budding giantess
adorable eyebrows
dumb as shit
♥__________________________♥

Except sometimes it's about Minho or Siwon or Sooyoung or whoever, IT IS A THING, we revel in their towering talentless beauty. And then our bizarro obsession came to even more of a head a head when we saw one of the dudes from DBSK (the SM band we don't care about) in this video with his name written as "Choi Gang Chang Min". I DON'T THINK HIS NAME IS ACTUALLY CHOI, because apparently he has a lot of names for no reason, and the Choi Gang(/Kang, Korea doesn't like to distinguish between voiced and voiceless plosives, but aspiration and tenseness are contrastive which makes for two totally opposite sound systems which makes for really weird/constantly changing romanizations) part appears to be the least useful of all of them:

Name: 최강창민 / Choi Kang Chang Min
Japanese Name: チャンミン (Changmin)
Also known as: Max
Real name: 심창민 / Shim Chang Min

BUT IN THE END IT DOESN'T MATTER, because whether or not he was born a Choi the advent that he was in some way a Choi could only end in me googling every possible way I could think to phrase "least talented member of DBSK" to see where he fit on the other scales of Choiness. And as soon as I was there I was here, finding ways to express Choiness with scales and diagrams and mathematical algorithms. Why am I this way.

ANYWAY




Part I: ~*BEAUTY*~
THESE ARE OUR SUSPECTS:

Choi Sooyoung, SNSD


Sooyoung is in a really pretty band full of pretty girls, but they all think Sooyoung is the prettiest.


Choi Sulli, f(x)


Sulli's face is actually perfect (with or without makeup), and she knows no awkward phases. Although sometimes she looks exactly like Minho and that's a little awkward.


Choi Minho, SHINee



Choi Siwon, Super Junior


~BLUE STEEL~


Kind of a Choi Changmin, DBSK




BASICALLY THEY ARE ALL PRETTY PEOPLE, full Choi marks for everyone on this one.



Part II: Height
You would think height would be really, really simple. IT IS NOT AMONG KOREAN IDOLS. The heights on their official debut profiles are almost always fictional/exaggerated, so you can never quite tell how much taller everyone really is. Also sometimes they debut really young and keep growing. Not to mention heels for the girls and shoelifts for the dudes are constantly being made use of, it's especially complicated with the dudes because HOW CAN YOU EVEN TELL WHEN SHOELIFTS ARE BEING USED. And then you have photoshop and all of the sudden teeny tiny Ryeowook is BASICALLY THE SAME HEIGHT as Zhou Mi the friendly giant. (Super Junior M is the FUCKING WORST re: height shenanigans, this video still confuses me, WHY IS ZHOU MI SO SHORT AND WHY IS HENRY SO TALL?!?!) ANYWAY IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO VISUALLY SHOW HOW TALL THE CHOIS REALLY ARE, but I have done my best.

I also really like the verb to tower. I apologize in advance for that.

Choi Sooyoung, SNSD
You can fairly well tell, just by looking at Sooyoung, that she is a monstrous creature.


But if you're a doubting Thomas, here is further evidence:



The fact that they construct heels of varying heights for the girls TOTALLY CRACKS ME UP, I don't even know, these poor stylists, working overtime to make everyone look like a ~unit~. AND SOOYOUNG STILL APPEARS TO BE MUCH TALLER.

Even the fellow tallies have to augment a bit to catch up to her, here Seohyun (the second tallest) and Yuri (the third or fourth, I can't remember if she's taller than Yoona or not) are heeling it up, but hilariously the shorties aren't even making an effort.

She is definitely in heels here (so are the other two), because giant though she may be, Sooyoung is not taller than Choi Siwon (he's about six feet), BUT I REALLY LIKE THIS PICTURE, soooo.

Sooyoung is so tall it's pretty much an ongoing joke.




Choi Sulli, f(x)
In the beginning of f(x) (last September), Sulli was not a towering monster. But, since she is twelve sixteen, she shot up like a beanpole and now the f(x) stylists are going to spend their lives compensating for how much taller she is than the rest of them.


I love this fancam of Sulli at a Super Junior encore for many reasons, but partly because it compares her height to Suju and she is almost as tall as them (and taller than Ryeowook, but everyone is taller than Ryeowook). Furthermore they could have shoelift shenanigans going on, who knows, but Sulli was definitely not wearing heels during the Nu ABO performance that day.

Sulli is a Choi, towering over her bandmates with or without heels is pretty much her job, you know how it goes. There are legit articles about her "embarrassing" male idols with her height (although lol Korean entertainment reporters' idea of a "legit" article).




Choi Minho, SHINee
Minho's function in SHINee is basically making the others look eight so that they match him and his stupid faces.




According to ~*very reliable sources*~ he has grown over the course of their promotions and is possibly still growing. I uh, have no idea how old these pictures are and whether they're from 2008 or 2009 or 2010. These are pretty recent and he's way taller than Shindong, BUT I'M NOT SURE I CARE ENOUGH TO RESEARCH THIS PROPERLY. Here is a tardface for your time:

(IT IS POSSIBLY ONEW THAT HE IS TOWERING OVER THERE, JUDGING FROM THE OTHER PICTURES BUT I COULD NOT SAY FOR SURE.)

In any case he is very tall but not so much taller that his Choiometer is completely full for this.



Choi Siwon, Super Junior
Super Junior is a mass of secret shorties and falsely reported heights and shoelifts and it ends up being legitimately impossible to tell who is really taller than whom, but one thing is set in stone: Siwon is the tallest one.



Although for whatever reason in that picture Kyuhyun looks to be approximately the same height-- this is not the case. Siwon is definitely taller.





In the end though, he loses some points, because although he is taller than all the other twelve members of Super Junior, he is not taller than all the other members of Super Junior M. That honor would go to Zhou Mi:



So in the end,



Kind of a Choi Changmin, DBSK
Google claims Pseudochoi is the tallest member of DBSK. I am inclined to buy this:

He does not totally appear to be towering over anyone but BoA there, but I assure you sometimes he towers.


Pointy Chin is also really tall, but apparently Pseudochoi is still growing/was still growing in the last couple of years, so now Pointy Chin has to wear heels to be up there. I say "up there" because in this (really boring) video he's measured as being 190 cm, which is 6'2.8" for us plebians Americans. SO, Y, REALLY REALLY TALL.

Such a Choi :')

Also Donghae is deeeeefinitely wearing shoelifts here because no way he is that close to Minho's height but aw, Minho is jealous of Changmin's towerin' powerin'.





Part III: We Don't Like Talent Here

Choi Sooyoung, SNSD
I............. really don't want to talk about why I am a person who spent actual time coming up with math to determine how talented a person is within their band. I don't really want to think about it, actually. BUT THE FACT IS I DID, SO. This is a sketch of the talent math I did for SNSD, you can see it is based on a ~*scientifically determined*~ ranking of the members abilities to dance and sing that they get points from (the number of members being the number of "points possible", so Hyoyeon got 9 points for dancing, Yuri got 8, Sooyoung got 7, etc). Singing is weighted double because Yuri was way too high when it wasn't, and as much as I am a Yuri stan that... is not right. Also these bands make music! SO SINGING IS IMPORTANT. But then Hyoyeon and Seohyun were way too low, so we created the best bonus (5 extra points if you are the best singer or dancer in bands with 9-13 members, 2 extra in bands with 5-7) and the double threat bonus(2 extra points if you can sing and dance well in the bigger bands, 1 extra in the smaller bands). Then the total number of points is divided by the highest-scoring member's number of points and you have your talent rate! VOILA!

ANYWAY YOU CAN SKIP AHEAD NOW, I am done talking about the basis for my completely ridiculous and still mostly inaccurate mathematical formula. Basically Sooyoung was determined to be 50% talented, which is pretty high for a Choi but she is also fairly talented for a Choi. Girl can dance. And I actually really like her voice, even though she's somewhat weak/inconsistent live.




Choi Sulli, f(x)
Poor Sulli has the misfortune of being in a band with Luna, who is so teeny and talented that she represents anti-Chois on the Choiometer. If talent math was divided by the points possible (disregarding bonuses) rather than the highest points achieved, Luna would actually be more than 100% talented. LUNA IS FLAWLESS. I HEAR HER HAIR'S INSURED FOR $10000.

Anyway point being, in actual land Sulli isn't really any less talented than most of the other Chois, but her score is still the lowest because Luna exists. The other thing is that she actually isn't bad at dancing, it's just that all of f(x) is good at dancing. But sometimes that is the way the cookie crumbles, and my very scientific formula has determined Sulli to be 18% talented.




Choi Minho, SHINee
I am unfamiliar enough with the ways of SHINee that I had to ask omonatheydidnt to help me with the rankings, and uh... we all know omona can be a little crazy. I FEEL LIKE THEY ARE STILL RIGHT, BUT JUST PUTTING THAT OUT THERE. Anyway Minho is 28% talented.




Choi Siwon, Super Junior
I knew, going in, that the Super Junior math would get complicated. I thought we'd probably have to scale it, because Super Junior is kind of the most untalented band. WE WOULD SAY THAT THEY WERE A CHOI IN BAND FORM, except they are not nearly tall or pretty enough. Definitely dumb and untalented enough though! Even the members of Super Junior who are actually talented in either dancing or singing are usually hilariously inadequate at the other thing. IT'S FUNNY HEARING ABOUT THE BANDS THEY MEANT TO CREATE WITH SUPER JUNIOR MEMBERS AND DBSK MEMBERS, because it makes it seem like they scrapped those plans and made a ~*super talented*~ band of double threats and then put all the others in Super Junior. God bless Suju, they are so lame. But anyway because of that I did Suju M math first, where he ended up with a whopping 52% talent rate until Catherine helped me invent the Suju bonus for those that are the opposite of a double threat -- if you are neither particularly good at singing nor particularly good at dancing, MINUS 2 POINTS. This dragged him down to 42%. In regular Suju he was 36% talented. I... don't know. I guess I am okay with that number, Siwon is Mr. Average. It is rare that he sings or dances in a way that you notice him being bad at it, because he is super earnest and tries really really hard. HE'S JUST A LITTLE BIT LAME, YOU KNOW HOW IT GOES.



Also I wanted to note, re: the rankings, not that anyone aside from me cares, that Ryeowook and Kyuhyun are "tied" as best singer in both bands, and both according received full points and bonuses. Kyuhyun's dancing was especially complicated to rank, because he was awful, and then Bonamana happened and he was actually pretty good, but it's like as soon as he had proved that he could be DanceKyu, being good at dancing was way too much effort for him/cut into his gaming time time way too much, because in every performance of No Other you can see him the whole time, in the back, with very little idea of what he's doing. And then this weekend the bad dancing bled into Bonamana, so god who even knows. Maybe he really did sell his soul to the devil for dancing talent and ~*hotness*~ for duration of Bonamana performances and now he has bought it back, the evidence for that theory is mounting. In any case he has never proven himself as anything but a dancing black hole in Super Junior M, and his scores there reflected that. I... barely knew where to put him in regular Suju though.


Kind of a Choi Changmin, DBSK
My familiarity with DBSK is clearly off the charts, most of that information was googled for. And quite possibly biased, we didn't want him to be extremely talented :( The 52% feels a little false, BUT FUCK IT, I'll take it.





Part IV: The Choi Brow Wow Eyebrows-For-Emotion Acting School
Choi Sooyoung, SNSD
I like to think that the problem with Sooyoung is not that she is not achieving her duties as a Choi eyebrow-wise so much as it's that we can never properly see her eyebrows, because of the bangs. She is subtler than some Chois, but her brows can definitely be expressive.






Choi Sulli, f(x)

Our Sulli is a model student.




Choi Minho, SHINee


If Minho can graduate anything, it's the eyebrows for emotion school. He's got this covered, y'all.




Choi Siwon, Super Junior


Siwon's eyebrows are magnificent, ART IN ITS' PUREST FORM. He makes all the other Chois look like eyebrow amateurs. EYEBROW INFANTS, EVEN. Entire advertising campaigns have been based around their beauty. He cannot go two seconds without moving them in some delightful way or another. His eyebrows are more than the Choiometer can handle, tbqh.




Kind of a Choi Changmin, DBSK

I FIND HIM SO ADORABLE, I cannot even. And his eyebrows display surprising mobility!





Part V: Stupid and Earnest
It is pretty much impossible to quantify the intelligence levels of people you don't know, especially in a visible way. SO WE TURNED THIS INTO A STUPID FACE COMPETITION? BECAUSE THAT'S FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY?

Choi Sooyoung, SNSD
The thing about Sooyoung is that she is not dumb. By any stretch. It's hard to qualify calling anyone the "smartest" member of any group, but she is definitely the wittiest member of her group, which you can't do without brains. EGADS SOOYOUNG YOU ARE ALREADY PUSHING THE TALENTLESS THING, work with us a little here, what is wrong with you. Actually she totally does make dumb faces though, I suppose that is something one might consider as working with us.




Sort of.




Choi Sulli, f(x)


The problem with Sulli is that she is so completely pretty that most of her stupid faces faces are cancelled out by her perfect face. LUCKILY SHE IS A CHOI, SOMETIMES NOTHING CAN COMPENSATE.




Choi Minho, SHINee
You really don't have to do more than look at a couple of pictures of Minho to figure out he is a grade A dimwit. Cases in point:





GOD HE IS UNQUESTIONABLY THE BEST PART OF SHINEE, thinking clearly takes so much effort for him.




Choi Siwon, Super Junior
Because Siwon likes to make things easier for us, he keeps a twitter! That is basically entirely made up of stupid faces and hilarious but surprisingly adept attempts at English.


Jesus faces.


:D? :D? :D?


Omg I just, WHAT A DUMPKISS




Kind of a Choi Changmin, DBSK


Honestly, putting this whole thing together has fully convinced me that he is a pretty pure Choi speciment, talent or no talent. Although apparently he is more snarky than actually stupid? BUT HE TOTALLY KNOWS HOW TO TARDFACE LIKE A TRUE CHOI :')









T.O.P. of Big Bang may not be part of the same SM ~*family*~ and therefore could not go through the same extensive testing, but his real name is Choi Seung-hyun, and he is totally their cousin, by way of eyebrow overaction, slowness of thought, apparent conventional attractiveness (idk I find him weird looking but Korea says he's ~*beautiful*~). He also sucks at dancing! Not even his cousin Choiness could bring up the average height of Big Bang though.

Anyway that... is all. goldenmelisande helped with a lot of this, if you couldn't tell by all the pretty parts and the fact that I couldn't stop saying "we". I definitely take full responsibility for the really disgusting parts, though. Like... the math.

Comments

[cambridge.livejournal.com]

OMG I LOVE THIS POST. I AM ONLY HALF WAY READING THROUGH IT BUT MY REACTION IS ROFL LUVVVVVV!!!!!! I will give you a longer but still pretty incoherent comment once I finish reading!

[elapses.livejournal.com]

OMG GIRL I AM SO GLAD

[cambridge.livejournal.com]

HI, I AM BACK NOW. I got distracted and had the urge to make kpop icons, sorry!

TO REITERATE: LUV THIS POST. It is amazing and I've never thought about the ~Choi factor before. There is also one possible Choi (well, two but w/e) cousin in F.T. Island that may or may not fit your description. I know he fits the attractive (http://images.yume.vn/photo/pictures/20100121/shuoniaiwo/slideshow/0902-20choi-20junghoon-067096.jpg) part, at least. But he's only 5'10.

omg Sulli is SO PRETTY. I try not think about how young is she because I feel weird but how is she so cute?! Minho has always been my favourite SHINee member. His whole purpose is to look good and be tall! AMAZING. and yesss, Siwon makes the best faces. Always. Why don't you care about DBSK? I wasn't really into them at first but now I love them. Except that kind of broke up but I choose not to think about that too.

It's really funny how you mention the height thing because before this post was a post about Rain's ~real height on omtd. IT IS REALLY HARD TO TELL. I just assume everyone is tiny.

also, have I told you how happy I am to have you on my flist? BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY AWESOME. I love that you and goldenmelisande did this because GRAPHS + BEAUTIFUL KOREAN PEOPLE = ♥!!

[elapses.livejournal.com]

I HAVE NO PROBLEMS WITH THAT.

Oooh he is pretty! And his eyebrows have potential. ARE HIS BANDMEMBERS SHORTER THAN HIM?

What's really weird/uncomfortable is how Sulli is barely even young by kpop standards! EVERY BAND HAS TO DEBUT WITH AN UNCOMFORTABLY UNDERAGE MEMBER OR FOUR THESE DAYS, it's a rule or something. F(x) is the worst though, Krystal is like eight. AND MINHO IS THE BEST PART OF SHINEE, hands down, omg he is delightful. And I don't know, I'm not usually into boy bands I guess?! I mean somehow the Suju thing happened and I have various fondnesses for 2PM and 2AM members and a love/hate relationship with SHINee, but a lot of the boy bands kind of..... blend together for me. AND MOSTLY WHAT I WANT FROM THE BOY BANDS I DO LIKE IS RIDICULOUSNESS, and all DBSK seems to do is be... talented. HOW BORING.

Ahahaha I SAW THAT. And then the one a couple of days ago about the average heights of boy bands? THEY ARE ALL SO HILARIOUSLY VAIN, all reported heights appear to be blatant lies. Sometimes I think the taller members get rounded down on their profiles to make the others look better, but it's also possible I just have a really hard time dealing with the idea that Sooyoung is only an inch taller than me. NOT POSSIBLE!!!!!

[cambridge.livejournal.com]

yeah, even before F.T. Island he was an ulzzang. and he is the tallest/oldest member of his group! There was one band member that was taller than him but he left. I looked up their heights and oops, he is apparently 5'8 not 5'10. idk, idk. why so short?!

AH I FEEL OLD BECAUSE I AM NOT USED TO HOW YOUNG EVERYONE IS. I remember when SHINee (still can't get over how dumb this name is, whyyyy) and F.T. Island were the young ones!! MINHO IS THE BEST, NO WONDER WHY THEY CALL HIM FLAMING CHARISMA. ohh, I see. I'm different from you because I got into kpop through boy bands and just started appreciated girl groups like, last summer. hahah, I think every boyband is ridiculous though! Have you seen their Balloons (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdTVb64pfMs) MV? Except that's probably more embarrassing than ridiculous. I wish I could link you to videos to show how ~awesome they are but I am the worst at those kinds of things.

YES, IF KPOP IS ANYTHING, IT IS VAIN. omg Sooyoung is only one inch taller than you? CRAZY!

[ambiguousreason.livejournal.com]

1. That dude is disgusting/inappropriate/I hope you elbow-stabbed him in the gut or something, wow.

2. I LOVE THAT NOTEBOOK AS WELL. WOW. WAY TO FAIL LIFE.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

Oh my god I like, TOLD HIM TO GET OUT but thirty minutes later he tried to climb down again to spoon me. I AM NOT EVEN KIDDING, why would any person think that was an appropriate way to act?

I know right :(

[goldenmelisande.livejournal.com]

THEY ARE SUCH A WONDERFUL GIFT TO US OMFG. So beautiful! So tall! Such incredibly ridiculous faces! I AM SO GLAD WE HAVE FOUND DBSK CHOI, I can forgive DBSK for existing now. HE IS JUST SO INCREDIBLY DELIGHTFUL. I kind of want to watch the episode(s?) of EHB that have DBSK now, just for him. He is wonderful. :( And totally a better Choi than Sooyoung, his name situation may be questionable but his position as a full on Choi is most definitely not. LOOK AT THOSE EYEBROWS! AND THAT FACE! AND THAT RIDICULOUS HEIGHT omg he is a monster.

Also oh my god those pictures of Minho, the really hilarious thing is that like, EVERY SINGLE PICTURE OF HIM EVER TAKEN IS EVIDENCE OF HIS DUMBNESS. HE JUST DOES NOT EVER STOP LOOKING COMPLETELY DIMWITTED.

I am pretty sure this is my new favorite thing you/we have ever done, I CAN'T STOP STARING AT IT. IT'S JUST SO BEAUTIFUL ♥_____♥

[elapses.livejournal.com]

Oh god we totally have to watch those episodes. I WILL SUFFER THROUGH CREEPYFACE AND WHATEVER RIDICULOUS "SCIENCE" THEY HAD THAT WEEK FOR HIM. Do you remember if those episodes have Siwon too? UGH IT IS ALWAYS SOMETHING, why can't we

Everyone is a better Choi than Sooyoung, tbh. She needs to work harder at this talentless/dumb shtick. Also the fact that she knows how to make ugly faces without using her eyebrows at all is abhorrent to me, HOW DARE SHE BETRAY HER HERITAGE.

Yeah, it's really too bad about him being in SHINee.

I DON'T KNOW THOUGH WE'VE DONE A LOT OF AMAZING PROJECTS

[goldenmelisande.livejournal.com]

YEAH BASICALLY, I am really excited based on that comment about him, Cuddlewolf, and Kibum hanging out being socially awkward hermits together. I have a feeling he might be in the background though based on that. O WELL, at least Cuddlewolf will be there? FINALLY GETTING OUT OF THE HOUSE, FOR ONCE. :') And he will be there. And idk about Siwon, I think they changed the ridiculous Wikipedia page, I couldn't find the part that tells you who is in which episode. It is also possible I am just dumb. I don't know.

SERIOUSLY, SHE CAN DANCE AND SING PERFECTLY DECENTLY AND SHE IS ACTIVELY NOT A DUMBASS. AND SHE DOESN'T USE HER EYEBROWS. SOOYOUNG. Quit slacking on your Choi duties gdi >:(

It sucks that both SHINee and DBSK have to continue the Choi tradition (and that they both have one other person who we are also fond of, both of whom are leaders now that I think about it, HMMMMMM), I do not want to have to care about either band.

TRUE. I JUST REALLY LOVE CHOIS. ALSO I AM FICKLE, I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS MY #1 FAVORITE FOREVER HERE, work with me

[elapses.livejournal.com]

You know this is going to end in us watching for them the whole time except for when we're >:Ding at ......some people and their hermity trio only getting two seconds of screentime. ALSO THAT SUCKS, WHO WOULD MESS WITH THE RIDICULOUSLY DETAILED WIKIPEDIA PAGE, that information was clearly very important.

SHE'S LUCKY SHE'S TALL AND PRETTY >:(

Pointy Chin is the leader?

I SUPPOSE IT IS THE BEST THING WE'RE ALLOWED TO TALK ABOUT IN PUBLIC, MAYBE.

[goldenmelisande.livejournal.com]

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I ANTICIPATED, it is going to be us a) marveling/complaining at their idea of "science", b) us making gross >>>:) comments, c) us making "HOW DO THESE PEOPLE FUNCTION, WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM" comments, and d) us making "omg his face ♥__♥" comments. I am so excited tbh, HOPEFULLY I WILL NOT BE LET DOWN.

YES, HER TITLE AS SOOYOUNG THE FRIENDLY GIANT IS DEFINITELY HELPING HER OUT. And also her faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace.

YYY, I wonder if he's faily? Or adorable? Or prone to making incredibly endearing comments to counter the gross comments/blunders that the rest of kpop is constantly subjecting us to? I WANT TO KNOW BUT I DON'T WANT TO INVESTIGATE, ew dbsk. :|

IDK WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, WE DON'T TALK ABOUT FIGHT CLUB

[elapses.livejournal.com]

HM I WOULD SAY YOU KNOW US PRETTY WELL.

Ugh one Onew is bad enough, I JUST WANT TO DISLIKE ALL OF SHINEE/DBSK ASIDE FROM CHOIS, why is that so hard. (Speaking of things we need to watch, HE NEEDS TO ON WGM AND KICK YOOONG'S ASS, I feel like part of the reason we're so behind is because he was being such a fucking twerp last time.)

[goldenmelisande.livejournal.com]

WELL I WOULD HOPE SO, it would not make sense if I did not.

UGH I KNOW RIGHT, I'm always like "we should just take Minho out of SHINee and then I wouldn't give a fuck", but I am just SO FOND OF ONEW. I really like his voice. :( And his face. :( And his personality. :( And his complete failure as a human being, he's adorbs. And I am already inexplicably fond of Pointy Chin, he is not repulsive looking! And his rapping is good! Ugh why do both of them make life difficult like this. (OMFG THAT WOULD BE SO AMAZING, although lol like Onew is capable of kicking anyone's ass. He can just make this (http://i32.tinypic.com/28cgcvq.jpg) face a lot and piss Yooong off by talking about how good of friends he is with Seobb and how he visited the snsd dorm, etc etc. ONEW WOULD NEVER MAKE SUCH DISPLAYS OF TWERPINESS, YOOOONG, SO STOP IT AND GET OVER YOURSELF.)

[elapses.livejournal.com]

I CAN'T BELIEVE HE FELL LIKE, A DAY INTO LUCIFER PROMOTIONS, he is such a failure! It is amazing! And I know, Pointy Chin is stealth delightful. What are our lives :( (LOLOLOL WELL YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I MEANT. Send Yooong~ into his irritating jealous mode and then Seobb and Onew can be all aloof while he fumes.)

HELLO I HAVE HAD THIS COMMENT BOX OPEN FOR LIKE A DAY NOW, good job me.

Oh my god and I didn't even finish it I am as bad as Onew

[goldenmelisande.livejournal.com]

LOL I KNOW RIGHT, omg I love him so much. UGH ALEX THE POINTY CHIN WITH CHILDREN VIDEOS WERE REALLY DELIGHTFUL, I AM NOT A VERY STRONG PERSON, why is this my life. Also while I was looking at dbsk related stuff today (omg still cannot believe I am a person who looks at dbsk related stuff, even if I do it for very specific reasons) there was a fancam of Pseudochoi pulling a Leeteuk at some awards ceremony, it was really adorbs. :( (LOOOOOOOOOL, I BET SEOBB WILL LAUGH AT HIS LAME JOKES.)

THAT IS WHY I LOVE YOU, ALEX, il all failures.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

Wasn't that what was going on in that video of him and Minho? WHY WERE YOU CRYING CHANGMIN? BECAUSE CHOI MINHO IS SO HANDSOME! (OMG HYUUUUUUNG!!!!!!!! CHANGMIN HYUNG IS THE BEST!!!!!!!!) I wonder if that was the same day... was he an ugly crier like Leeteuk? (Lol nice molesting icon, btw.)

Lucky for me.

[goldenmelisande.livejournal.com]

I actually think it might have been? I just looked up that video and the outfit/hair looks the same so I'm going to say probably. And idk, he actually covers up his face when he cries, unlike Leeteuk (OR SOME OTHER PEOPLE IN SUPER JUNIOR, CUDDLEWOLF), so I couldn't tell. He was really adorbs about it, surprise. (tysm, omg that part will never not make me lol so hard, HANGENG ARE YOU WATCHING THIS??? GL IN CHINA ^^~)

[elapses.livejournal.com]

MY LIFE WOULD BE EMPTIER IF CUDDLEWOLF STARTED COVERING UP HIS FACE. (I'LL TAKE YOUR BITCH... omg I can't remember how it goes, why did I ever close that macro?)

[goldenmelisande.livejournal.com]

SEE IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE KIDDING BUT WE BOTH KNOW YOU ARE NOT, THAT WOULD BE SUCH A SERIOUS OFFENSE, WHAT WOULD WE EVEN DO WITH OURSELVES. (here u go (http://i30.tinypic.com/2cs9cic.jpg), omfg it's still fucking hilarious)

[mekosuchinae.livejournal.com]

1: Ugh, that guy, what the fuck! No one in the universe should ever think that okay, because it's not okay by any definition whatsoever. I'm so, so sorry. *internet hugs*

2: THE REST OF THIS POST IS SO AMAZING, I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO DEAL. Your findings seem pretty accurate to me, I gotta say. The evidence is compelling.

I am now overwhelmingly tempted to follow Siwon's twitter because holy crap, how is it even possible for one dude to be so adorable and ... unexpectedly charming?? APPARENTLY.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

And yet so many people do! Ugh when I mentioned it the next morning someone told me he's "usually pretty cool, he just really needs a girlfriend". THAT IS NOT HOW "USUALLY PRETTY COOL" WORKS, GOOD NIGHT.

I don't know!! He is so lame, I swear he outdoes himself with the lame faces accompanied by ridiculous english WEEKLY. "Choiminator.. hahahaha :D !!", ARE THERE REALLY REAL PEOPLE LIKE THAT?! There are entire segments on shows where his bandmates will just sit there, imitating him and his ridiculous hand gestures. He is my favorite.

[veils.livejournal.com]

omg i don't know how to feel about this post. it is simultaneously the most impressive and terrifying thing i think i have ever seen.

ps. i wish it had a meme.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

WE DON'T DO MEMES HERE

[veils.livejournal.com]

fuck you there are memes here all the time.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

I don't even remember what kind of meme you wanted, to be totally honest. ALL I REMEMBER IS I DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT, I WANTED TO MAKE INSANELY OVERINVESTED POSTS ABOUT KOREAN POP MUSIC INSTEAD, why won't you let me be me.

[fated-addiction.livejournal.com]

FIRST. That boy is stupid. He's gross. And I'm sorry that happened to you. >:(((( That is not okay.

BUT I WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR LOVELY NOTEBOOK. Not just 'cause it's happier, but because I understand the office supply obsession, sister friend, oh my god do I. It's like a weird kind of heaven for me, buying a lot of notebooks that I don't need. Particularly Moleskines, which come ready for a variety of uses, including PLANNERS. Which, anyways. I appreciate the notebook love!

[elapses.livejournal.com]

HE IS ALL OF THOSE THINGS, too true.

Oh my god Moleskins are HEAVEN, I love them, but they also serve a very specific purpose, you know? They're perfect for carry-around-in-your-bag for scribbles type notebooks or journals but I have never been able to integrate them into real work things.

[superskittles76.livejournal.com]

I read far more of this than I thought I would considering how I have absolutely no knowledge of the subject lol



That said, that Siwon guy is VERY attractive.

[elapses.livejournal.com]

LOL YOUR USE OF LOST GIFS, am I that convoluted and crazy :(?

Ahahah he is! I am 99% sure that is why he is in the band in the first place, his skillz are subpar but everyone else is... kind of weird looking, to be quite honest.

[adinfinitum.livejournal.com]

NGL, I didn't understand 95% of this post, but I...Kind of wish I did? YOU HAVE THIS POWER OVER ME, A.

Sorry you got tongue raped by a gross dude. :( AND 4.50 IS RIDONK. It actually hurts me that you can't get those, they look amazing. Also SURPRISE: I have a massive ladyboner for office supplies too. IDEK.

♥

[elapses.livejournal.com]

Ugh to be honest I am probably going to cave and buy them next semester, I've got these beautiful pens and this whole color coding thing plan and sometimes you just have to spend $20 on notebooks, you know? Ugh if only I were a person who could just covet Mead or something.

HEY FARAHBELLE I MISS YOU! What is with us and not caring about the same things anymore? I think fall should invent a new TV show that will SPECIFICALLY CATER TO THE TWO OF US.

[torigates.livejournal.com]

EW STUPID BOY. I'm sorry that happened to you :(

[aliice.livejournal.com]

I just stumbled upon this post (bc I was trying to show my friend your snsd intro~post, she's just getting into it!!) and lol omg this choi post is so amazing. yeah sooyoung is def not great at singing but her variety skills make up for it.. forrealsss and she is so gorgeous, sometimes I can't... understand it... she's just sooo beautiful. WAE.

choi siwon omg. have you seen - http://lolsiwon.tumblr.com/ my fave siwon tumblr of all time. ahaha this comment is a year late but i just had to say that this post is freaking hilarious ♥

[elapses.livejournal.com]

I'm always kind of impressed by how good SM at like -- picking the talentless ones though, idk. Like they have a really good eye for when someone has that ~it factor~ that will make it not matter. (Have you ever seen Heechul's audition? It's like the most terrible thing that has ever happened to auditions but I mean, choosing him was a good choice, he has a huge fan following.) BUT SHE REALLY IS SO PRETTY, never over her face.

I HADN'T SEEN THAT TUMBLR and it is amazing omg (there goes my Saturday), I DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW HE'S A REAL PERSON!! But I am so glad he is :(

[aliice.livejournal.com]

I HAVEN'T SEEN AUDITION VIDEOS BUT I CAN IMAGINE. Heechul is sooo average in terms of .. well everything but he's just so endearing! And I agree sfm that SM is really good at picking out people and making them stars. Why are they so genius?? So much love/hate with them sometimes.

I really hope Sooyoung gets some individual activities after their promotion so we can see her face more often hahaha and I'm so excited for Invincible Youth with Hyoyeon and Amber!!

There needs to be a SM-only drama. Where Sooyoung is the main lead and Minho/Yunho/Siwon are courting her. Everyone's faces will be illuminated to ridiculous, perfect proportions. This needs to happen.

Every time Siwon is on screen, I'm just like... WAYLT!!!!!!! Best tweet is still God's text message.. and his random good morning/good nights with Monet's water lilies. WHAT IS HE SERIOUSLY.

also can I just say I'm so sad that SJ is like probs gonna be on permanent-hiatus for awhile and I'm kind of sad about it bc everyone is going to go to the military soon and I just DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF. but honestly I just want SJ-M to be around...they are so relevant. And that really awful looking donghae/siwon drama needs to come out because ... I just need it to. It's going to be so awful but hilarious.

ok kpop feelings comment overrrrr I will leave you with one of my faves~

[elapses.livejournal.com]

SO MANY PEOPLE UNDER SM ARE JUST AVERAGE, but a lot of the time they are the popular ones. (Which just proves to me that they know what they are doing. Somehow. Magically. (So much love/hate!)

I hope so too!! It seems like they're going to be in Korea for awhile so they might as well use her. I AM TOO THO, I never watched old IY because I don't know... the countryside theme didn't appeal to me but I don't think I can resist Amber on variety bc her Korean is still so adorably weak and you know she's going to be unniewhoring ALL OVER THE PLACE. (The female Minho! Only not really.)

YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW HARD I WOULD WATCH THAT, omg when that news was released awhile ago about SME buying the rights to that one Japanese drama, everyone was like "this is going to be so bad!" and I was just like W/E THERE IS NO WAY THIS COULD END BADLY FOR ME. (I have yet to finish a kdrama that didn't feature a SME dude as the lead, lol my life)

Omg he is just... I DON'T EVEN KNOW. But that tumblr was so perfect, the God's text message thing and the tweet about the male hand drawing him legit had me crying with laughter. Also his desperate need to be touched o m g how does he exist in real life

My friend told me about the permanent hiatus thing last night!! I've really always thought that they intended to keep SJM going once the older members entered the army... I mean it can't be coincidence that they originally put all the young ones (+ Hangeng) in it, right? And even Sungmin and Eunhyuk are the younger ones of the older ones, aren't they?! I'd kind of be okay with the "permanent hiatus" if SJM stayed active, most/all of my favorites are in there (now that Sungmin's a member I think it's only Heechul that's not? And I haven't been able to enjoy Heechul that much since his 2010 nosejob... idol plastic surgery doesn't usually bother me but that nose is a TRAVESTY)... but at the same time the whole thing is kind of too weird to even contemplate. What is kpop without Super Junior?!

Omg Amber you are such a derp

[aliice.livejournal.com]

Average like... *coughYoonacough* but that is ok because I feel like, yeah she's popular but everyone is really loved too.. so no one really loses in kpop (do you know what I mean tho??! I feel like everyone is popular! But this is probably related to my tumblr tags and the crazy fans.. who knows..) Donghae too hahaha Donghae's face tho...

HAHAHA AMBER. there's going to be lots of lols for sure. So so so essited :) I was talking to my friend the other day about how I feel like f(x) is the one group where they give the most equal attention to each member. Idk what Victoria is going to do after WGM but I feel like they give equal attention to each of them, there is only 5 of them .. it also feels like it's hard to tell who is more popular than others? The kpop industry makes it easy to like their artists, regardless of how talentless they are... I feel like Western celebrities are SO DULL IN COMPARISON to them. I feel like while this is a stretch to say, the industry depersonalizes these celebrities differently because there is much less reality to Western media- like I feel like we see how hard kpop artists work/try to be where they are and America - they just exist but they never talk about and it's not transparent of what they do. I don't know.

SME BOUGHT RIGHTS TO A DRAMA?? They need to use it wisely dude, I don't want no newbies!! they need to utilize shit like this (http://super-sooyoung.tumblr.com/post/11910008351/yunho-sooyoung-interaction-at-smtown-concert-ny) omg the other day I tried to watch Paradise Ranch.. and goodness gracious, Changmin cannot act. I don't even know who watched that show other than Changmin stans but like I could not even finish the first episode and I watched ALL OF Oh! My Lady without even fast-forwarding.. lol (exactly.. what is liiiife....) THIS GUY - http://qorea.tumblr.com/post/12061241915

THe sad/funny thing is that SJ is even't that good... they're just a bunch of semi-talented, semi-goodlooking idiots prancing around our lives.. existing. Leeteuk/Shindong going to the military doesn't bother me much either... And you're right- SJ-M has the most relevant ones... sometimes I wish Yesung was around too... but I'm not too bothered because honestly, as long as kyuhyun and henli and eunhyuk and siwon are present.. I will never need anything elseeee. HAHAH HEECHUL'S SURGERY. Aish. Idk what he was thinking... kpop with super junior doesn't exist!! if it wasn't sjm, I wouldn't be this crazy. UGH. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN.

[aliice.livejournal.com]

kpop without suju not WITH **** omg I cannot coherently speak or write in english when I talk about this industry.

[aliice.livejournal.com]

isn't even that good (re: first sentence about suju).. good god... :) but I know you get the point..

[elapses.livejournal.com]

Lol Yoona, yeah. ILHER, but she's like... actually worse at singing than say... Sooyoung. I think it's weird that people always complain about how they put girls like her and Goo Hara and Sohee in bands because like... talented or not, no one would care half as much about their respective bands if they weren't in them. SAD BUT TRUE. But you're totally right, it works out and most of them get their due. Esp in SME bands, because they're generally so big.

I agree! I think SME has a slight bias for Krystal and Victoria (just guessing because they were the ones who popped up in MVs and such before they debuted) but in practice it hasn't really shown up that much. They've all gotten a lot of variety work, the singers get OST songs, they all have a lot of fans... idk, they've all pretty much gotten their due.

The kpop industry makes it easy to like their artists, regardless of how talentless they are
THEY DO!! And I think it's really interesting bc I think they sort of pick them for that (like the Heechul thing) but I also think SME/JYP especially are really good at like... training their artists to be really likable on variety. I mean it seems so effortless so you don't think about it, but I tried to watch 2NE1's first appearance on WinWin awhile ago and they were SO AWK except for Dara, who had experience because of her time in the Philippines. Meanwhile Super Junior is like... the least talented band in the world, ratio-wise (I say that with love), but they're SO GOOD on shows that it's not hard to see why they've built up such a fanbase.

the industry depersonalizes these celebrities differently because there is much less reality to Western media- like I feel like we see how hard kpop artists work/try to be where they are and America - they just exist but they never talk about and it's not transparent of what they do.
Omg I was just thinking about this but you put it into better words than I could!! I was watching the Boys encore from yesterday and just thinking to myself "yeah well Yoona and Taeyeon are still sick..." and it just occurred to me that it's so odd/different that I like, know that? And it's so universal in kpop -- most people who like SNSD know that Yoona and Taeyeon are sick right now and almost anyone who really stans any other band is generally aware when a member is sick or having trouble with their voice or even like, MOODY (wasn't Onew being weird/distant earlier this year? I remember hearing something about that...). You just aren't aware of that kind of thing as it happens with western celebrities. I mean I guess they could tweet it or something, but it's still... so different. Actors film movies and bands record and then tour, and as a fan you're just not aware of their daily lives.

UM yeah I totally forget what it was because it was awhile ago (I think they announced that Yoona and Minho and Siwon were starring but that might have been a false rumor since nothing has come out since)... it was a pretty popular jdrama (and I think manga?) that involved a girl who crossdressed. AND LOL I SOMEHOW SAT THROUGH ALL OF PARADISE RANCH, I D E K. My think with kdramas is that most/all of them involve the same relationship dynamic between the leads (basically the guy expressing his ~romantic feelings~ by being an asshole for no reason) and I hate that dynamic so I have a really hard time watching most of them. Oh My Lady was the first drama I watched so I was totally unaware of that/able to enjoy it because of Siwon's stupid face, but now that I do it's like every time I try to watch a "good" drama I end up not enjoying it because I hate the male lead so much!! Apparently that is way more important to me than bad acting because I loved Yunho's drama because his character was like... too stupid to ever be mean to anyone. I think I was excited for Paradise Ranch because of leftover feelings from that, although I still have no idea how I managed to get through the first six episodes... or any of it :|

IT'S FUNNY THOUGH, because Siwon like, is kind of a bad actor?? But all the other SME idol-actors make him look SO GOOD...

[elapses.livejournal.com]

Idk what it is about Yesung but I just have never been able to care about him! It's not like he ever did anything, I just... really don't care for him (in an apathy sense, not in a HE SUCKS sense).

UGH. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN.
YOUR DESCENT INTO KPOP IS KIND OF MY FAVORITE BC the way you talk about it is exactly the way I talked about it when I was getting into it. Just like, the way you kept saying "I'm having a little kpop phase!! It's weird but it's fun don't judge me!" in the beginning and then it was like "..........yeah, it's not a phase". Literally exactly how I felt about it.

(lol @ me exceeding the comment limit, YIKES! Sorry I'm so chatty.)

[aliice.livejournal.com]

AHAHAHA I am glad we have parallel descents.. like I knew that when I was getting into SJ-M.. I was like ok.. I can embrace this... and then after 500 clicks later.. I am watching ALL THIS STUFF AND THEY ARE STILL ON MY TV EVERYDAY. It's okay. Kpop makes life really fun :) We get to look forward to things that we know will not disappoint us TOO much. If that makes sense! I'm already excited about SNSD's next single, whatever it will be.. and stalking that soshi style blog (lol..) and possibly Shinee's comeback in Jan??? AND that siwon/donghae drama that will be awful because it was produced in taiwan. and the quality Taiwanese dramas are like the second to last worst in all of East Asian dramas.. so we get to look forward to that..

Don't worry I am chatty too!! My kpop twin Rachie has to go to a wedding for two weeks.. so I have to unleash this somewhere. LMAO. LIKE OMG you know how I love Arsenal/football.. and Eunhyuk and Kyu both went to games yesterday. Eunhyuk went to see Arsenal-Chelsea and Kyu saw Barcelona (BUT THE IMPORTANT PART IS THAT HE SAID HE'S NOT A BARCELONA FAN AND WENT THERE TO SEE CESC OMG WHO WAS THE ARSENAL CAPTAIN FOR LIKE THE PAST 3 YEARS SO HE MIGHT BE AN ARSENAL FAN??? ARE WE MEANT2B??). Like that was so much fandom collision for me yesterday and I could barely think... And then SNSD in all those equestrian outfits and I just want to buy all their boots. YUP. Just a regular Saturday in kpop..

(I EXCEEDED THE COMMENT LIMIT TOO)

[elapses.livejournal.com]

Omg it seriously starts off so casually and then it's just... not... anymore. I remember thinking it was strange that other people knew so much about bands they didn't stan at first, but the amount of info in my brain now about... idk, 2AM or After School is RIDICULOUS. In for a penny, in for a pound, I guess :| It all happens so fast!

I LOVE that if a SM band releases a single you can just EXPECT a repackage single, it's the greatest. I'm excited for it too! And oooh are Shinee really rumored to be coming back in January? I was wondering about them the other day, it's kind of weird that it's been way over a year since they've had a Korean release.

TWO WEEKS, yikes! I didn't know Kyuhyun was vacationing in Europe too, but omg that's pretty amazing that they BOTH went to see Arsenal-related games. I MEAN YOU NEVER KNOW, in a weird way the fact that Kyuhyun (I always call him Cuddlewolf omg, IT'S KIND OF WEIRD FOR ME TO CALL HIM BY HIS REAL NAME, is that weird :|) also saw Arsenal sort of makes it more likely that Eunhyuk is a fan! I mean it... would sort of make sense for them to be into the same teams. Maybe. Idk. And I love SNSD's equestrian outfits too omg, SNSD fandom was always crying out about wanting a masculine/suits concept, and it's seriously cracking me up that we did kind of get that... only they're like, 18th century dudes.

[aliice.livejournal.com]

I agreeee it's so true about how Goo Hara and Sohee get placed and their respective bands. I feel like there's always that one girl from each group that gets super popular like those two or Eunjung, Suzy (oh dear I LOOOVE SUZY) or Hyuna and Hyorin. And UEE.. I swear UEE is the least talented one too.. hahaha AND she is coming out with a solo album...

YEAH YG ARTISTS lack a bit in variety shows... In general, I think YG makes the best music, JYP has the best choreo and SM has the best image. I feel like YG doesn't feel the need to send them out to do variety as much, don't know why... maybe they have better contracts. But it's obvious there's a lot less of their appearances.. like did you watch King of Idols ... and poor Seungri was there by himself??? I still remember G-Dragon's first interview and I was like, is this kid okay? So I can imagine 2ne1 being super awk, I was watching their reality show (2ne1tv?) and their personalities come out a bit slower which is a shame because they are really cool and weird too hahaha

But it's seriously these shows where fans get to "know" their celebrities a lot more.. my biggest mistake was to watch Shinee's Hello Baby. And EVERYTHING WAS OVER. I can't. even. begin. to. tell. you. how. much. they. have. infiltrated. my. life. Yeah and I guess it's because the fans are in closer proximity to their artists too, esp. in Seoul where they can just follow them around.. and when they visit other cities, the fans are always following them. It's kind of scary but amazing. HAHA. Yeah and when Sooyoung got into the car accident, everyone knew within the hour. OR when jonghyun was sick in London. Oh gosh, we know a lot don't we? And I think the scary thing is that these artists still do everything when they're sick so when they don't show up, you know it's REALLY bad. I remember when Kyuhyun had to go to the hospital during Immortal Song for like a IV hookup. Seriously, that's really scary how that kind of behavior has become normalized. Ooh didn't know Onew was distant.. poor bb. Shinee's schedules are getting really ridiculous but they are young so I guess they can handle it for now. *SHRUG*

HAHAAHA PARADISE RANCH. I really want to watch Yunho's drama now!! Because I really like Yunho. I love his background and his story, he just seems so genuine. And plus he has to deal with Changmin who is like.. IDEK how to explain Changmin because THIS KID GETS AWAY WITH EVERYTHING. Oh DBSK...hahaha I know right. I was watching Dream High with my friend the other day and I found it to be really different than most.. which is a good thing. I think there's a new trend of the female character being much more feisty/emotionless but I agree, most korean drama dynamics are like that.. men being assholes but me still wanting to see the couple end up together. I HAVE SEEN SO MANY. It's awful. But I know winter break is coming up and I'll be back in Asia.. which means it's going to be ohsomuch worse. And i just checked the Skip Beat premiere date and it's 12/18. It's gonna be SOO BAD BUT WE WILL WATCH IT ANYWAY. Siwon's face makes you forget 90% of the time that he's JUST A FOOL. And yeah, he's not great at acting but he's just better than everyone else. I mean it used to be Kibum's thing right? Idek.

How you feel about Yesung is probably how I feel about Sungmin... like indifference... SJ-M just needs to stay in Taiwan forever, have you been watching the ones where they tour and speak chinese and eat? sigh...

[elapses.livejournal.com]

I LOVE SUZY TOO!! Hyuna is kind of an interesting case though because she's so not the typical front girl? The most popular one is usually like... cute and girly, and Hyuna's all sex appeal. AND POOR UEE, I feel like she was REALLY popular for a bit there (bc of You're Beautiful) and now no one cares anymore. But lol @ her coming out with a solo album, wow... Pledis is such a mess.

I agree! I actually don't personally like YG's music that much though, because it sort of walks the line between "shitty pop music" and "real music" and idk... it's just not what I listen to kpop for. I don't know, I really loved 2NE1's first mini album but I haven't liked anything they've put out since, and I've just never been that into a Big Bang song. But I mean I do think it's technically better music, it just doesn't really suit my taste. (I think part of the reason I ended up such a SME stan is that their producers seem to have the exact same taste in crappy pop music as me, it's really rare I don't like a single they put out. LAST.FM SAYS I LISTENED TO BONAMANA 97 TIMES, WHAT IS TASTE). I think 2NE1 is extra sheltered though, Big Bang doesn't do variety as much as other bands but they still definitely do it. Idk, it's weird.

and when they visit other cities, the fans are always following them.
That's part of what's so weird/kind of interesting to me about international kpop fandom, it's like... all this talk about entering Japan and entering europe and entering the US, but their international fans don't actually want them to be japanese/european/american celebrities, they want them to be korean celebrities closer to them. Does that even make sense? It really must be the difference in korean celeb culture that makes kpop appeal to them/us.

But omg I feel like SO MANY of them have had to do the IV thing... way too many. It's insane how busy they are and how little sleep they get and how hard they push themselves (because even though I'm sure the company has a lot to do with it I think a lot of the people who do become idols and make it past the trainee process are just the type to keep going no matter what).

I mean don't get me wrong that drama was like, INSANELY dumb at points but in this way where it was so ridiculous it was fun?! I seriously loved it so much, I wrote this post on it when I was watching it (http://elapses.livejournal.com/150576.html#cutid2) which might help you figure out if it's actually something you'd want to sit through. (It's about football!) But I totally forgot, I have watched Dream High and I did enjoy it!

I LOVE YUNHO TOO THOUGH!! Idk I was so virulently bored by DBSK for... forever, and then Catherine and I started looking into Changmin's... Pseudochoi-ness and I don't know how you could NOT love Yunho and... idk, I just really love two-membered DBSK. Changmin is such a brat (you're so right about him getting away with everything, but also his attitude towards fans CRACKS ME UP) and you can tell he thinks Yunho is really lame but he also really loves him, and Yunho is just so patient and sweet and EARNEST all the time and they're just really funny together. BROSEFS!

Sigh I am totally going to end up watching Skip Beat too, it is inevitable.

I've only seen one of them! It's weird, I'm so like, "eh" about actually sitting down and watching them, but every time someone mentions stuff that happened I'm like WHAT WHERE CAN I FIND THIS MUST FIND THIS. I'm just a lazy bum, I guess. Taiwan really is such a good place for them though! And it works out well for you too if they're there for awhile again, maybe you will get to go to a fanmeet :3

[aliice.livejournal.com]

So I didn't get an e-mail about this comment for some reason (idk why ..) but I was coming back here to tell you that I watched the first ep of Yunho's drama and HIS CHARACTER IS SO DUMB AND HE IS SO BAD AT ACTING THAT I CAN'T HELP BUT BE EXCITED FOR THE REST OF THE SERIES. Unfortunately, I have finals next week but I will update you later on my reactions.

re: It's insane how busy they are and how little sleep they get and how hard they push themselves
yeah seriously, and they get criticized so harshly when the exhibit/show any kind of exhaustion :( and I was watching/listening somewhere about how Luna would like run 2 hrs on the treadmill bc it helps her increase her stamina.

re: but their international fans don't actually want them to be japanese/european/american celebrities, they want them to be korean celebrities closer to them. Yes, I totally see that sense of ownership in terms of fandom. I think fan ownership/entitlement weighs a lot stronger in sports but I am starting to see it in kpop as well. Every time they travel, someone inevitably posts on tumblr something like "I wish they were back in Korea" "where is their korean comeback" (well, this is mainly SHINee I'm talking about rn...) And all my korean friends are ALWAYS like, I don't get why other people like kpop so much etc. I think my sister Soyub said was like, it's sad when non-Koreans are more into kpop than we are. And I totally get pissed about this for many reasons and one is the inability to believe that a person's interests can go beyond their nationality/language. The other is there sense of superiority/ownership of something that is essentially constructed by nothing else than nationality (WHICH IS CONSTRUCTED AS WELL..). And three, ok why is American pop music so prevalent in other countries? Attachment to certain mediated images as well as music is "universal" to many cultures. But this is kind of besides the point - the way promotion/celebrity culture is really different. Like the Wonder Girls is the best example for what you're saying - they had a couple of interviews about how the way popularity/trends operate are different and how they work hard to get where they want to be is going to be different too. And ofc every article posted about this is met with a bunch of comments like "OMG COME BACK TO KOREA WUT R U DOING THERE" but it's not xenophobic (like omg get out of this country!) but it's about not wanting to see them fail and the containment of that identification/idealization/image of their idols in the first place. Like you want them to be popular globally but stay the same. It's kind of a weird contradiction (like you know how indie bands get popular and people are like omg bandwagoners/SELL-OUTs hmph!). Fan reactions/opinions are so fun to read tbh.

Yeah DB2K is something I really love (like most SM things).. Changmin is just so endearingly snarky (Also have you listened/read that transcript of the Kyuline sounding incredibly silly/drunk on the radio? And Changmin sings part of Hug and it was so hilarious..http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mH9aJpHx2Fk, unfortunately Minho is incredibly unbratty compared to CuddleWolf lol and Changmin) Him and Yunho is like Key and everyone else. He is pretty sure everyone else in SHINee is so really lame but he can't help it but be a part of that (as Linna tried to explain minho/key's friendship: "key doesn't give a fuck about anyone really because he is a diva and minho is like :c about it because he's a big puppy, so key's like -_- you're an idiot minho and minho is like :c and key's like ugh i like u ok now shut up and minho's like c:" L M A O) And like Sulli's reaction to anything Luna does... it's crazy how distinct their projected personalities are to us. Was talking to my roommate about BSB/NSync and how we don't know what they are like as people. As if that is something inherently private.

Oh Skip Beat is drawing closer! Can't wait for the lols in dubbing and some really bad production value. And srsly Sooyoung's drama needs to cast the other ppl so it can start soonish!!

[elapses.livejournal.com]

HAHAHA OMG I HOPE YOU LOVE IT :3 Please do keep me updated!

I had no idea fan entitlement was a thing in sports too but now that I think about it that totally makes sense. And lol yeah I do think that happens with every group though! They're just way more accessible in Korea, I guess? You get so used to the 3-4 music show a week format as a kpop fan that it's hard to readjust. (It's actually weird that SHINee hasn't made a comeback though... like obv they've been in Japan this year but so were DBSK/SNSD...) And I totally agree with everything you said about the nationality/possessiveness, because that's exactly it. Kpop really is marketed in different/more accessible way than any other kind of pop music, and the type of people it's going to appeal to is going to include some Koreans but also a lot of non-Koreans. Your indie band comparison is perfect!

LOL I HADN'T SEEN THAT, but lol. For some reason it cracks me up that Changmin and Cuddlewolf (hehehe) hang out with Minho, idk, they're so sarcastic and bratty and Minho is just so... Minho (lol have you seen this fancam (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ix07ap_T0BU)? He's ridiculous, it's beautiful). But it's so cute that they do! Also crying @ that description of Minho and Key's relationship, BEAUTIFUL. It's so true though, it's insane how aware even casual fans are of their personalities.

I SAW A SKIPBEAT PREVIEW THE OTHER DAY, really excited tbh. It's going to be so lolzy. And I know it's ridiculous! The longer it takes to hear news about it the less real it feels.