Omaha actually had a horrible rainstorm last night.... I hate storms... It was all hot and humid and this random downpour of rain started coming and then the sky turned yellow... Yet I could still see the sun across the street. That is Nebraska weather for you. :) I had to work last night too.... I went to go clean the girls bathroom and when I came out our front doors were open and massive amounts of water were creeping into the store. :)
1-2 more posts before I leave. 1 will discuss my host city and the other will probably just tie up some last minute things before departure!
To kick off the start of my weekend (though I work tonight at 5 and tomorrow morning) I spent the day with one of my best friends, Carly!
Carly and I at our school
We went to a noodle place that I absolutely adore and then just creeped at borders for like, an hour before coming back to my casa and just hanging out. I finally set her up on skype so she could talk to me over there. I'm kind of sad because I know this will be the last time I see her until I get back. :( It's times like these that I'm glad I'm not gone for a year.. I'm honestly not sure I can handle a year right now. Next year, sure!
Now onto my main discussion: Music programs
I started ranting about this last night but I held myself back. ;) But let me continue.
Like I said last night, it's really hard to describe Korean music programs to an American. Koreans take their music very seriously.
Here's the deal. Every week they have music programs- there are 4. Thursday night is M-Net, Friday night is Music Core (MBC), Music Bank on Saturday Nights (KBS), and Sunday nights have Inkygayo (SBS). All the "promoting" artists show up on these network shows to perform to their fanclub with the hopes of winning the weeks number one sales. It's pretty confusing and hard to get unless you've seen it.
Which brings me to point number one. The main difference between Korean bands and American bands. The volume of noise their fans emit. Korean fans are well known for making up chants with the song. It seems odd but trust me, it sounds perfect if done properly. Established groups with well known fanclubs such as Super Junior (ELFS) and DBSK (Casseopia) and SNSD (SONES) have amazing chants that flow with the song. They also often sit and listen to the song or sing along- in perfect unison. It's almost eerie how amazing it sounds.
This topic basically introduces me to my next post on Fanclubs among Idol groups. They all have them. But these fanclubs are named and you actually have to apply to become an official member of the fanclub. Since Korea holds a lot of joint concerts it can be hard to tell who belongs to which fanclub. Thus they have specific colors assigned to them. Super Junior for instance, is pearl sapphire blue. Other idol groups can't have that same color as another active group. However, they can have, for instance, pearl sky blue. Get it? They are all just shades of the same color. Two colors are currently off limits for any group. Orange and White- in recognition for the two most legendary idol groups of all time, Shinhwa and HOT. Those are renowed for gaining recognition of Kpop to the world.
Do I love kpop? Yes. :) Think....Boy bands without the drugs. I just...love Korean music in general. Donghwa is supposedly in love with music over there so I hope I can go with him to see some live concerts!
Do I officially belong to a specific fanclub? Nope. I am an "unofficial member" in 4 fanclubs though!
This is my only post on music I'll have. I just wanted to share it with you because I think that music shows a lot about a country and especially since Korea is the leader of the Hallyu wave, Kpop is seeing an increasingly popular growth in other countries.
Remember Rain in the American movie, Ninja Assassin? Guess what! He's one of the most popular singers in South Korea. Wonder Girls has also recently entered the American Market. It's only a matter of time before the rest of America is introduced into the Korean music realm.
Saranghae.
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