In the genre of anxiously commenting on women demonstrating physical prowess, we see that it’s staged, but have to admit that Yuhuan is incredibly impressive. Turns out, she’s a taekwondo champion, and her Instagram page allowed us better-angled looks at her elegant but brutal craft. … More When Your Favorite Instagram Star Lives in China
There are two hurdles for me and music, and maybe K-pop in particular: repetition, and “cool.” I may need to explain the latter. I don’t know if it was just the environment I grew up in, but I felt like the only thing worse than being uncool was trying to be cool. Even today, nothing is worse than cringe; nobody likes Elon Musk. For me, Blackpink skews too western, and while I respect their artistry – I love Jisoo’s voice – there can be something uncanny about the style. It’s like when anime music has too much broken English. Remember Black Lagoon? … More Selfish, by YooA
I feel like I wait months for any sort of news, or spend years buoyed by rumors and fan hopes (“Bring back Level Up Project!”), so when the big announcements come, I’m caught completely off-guard. In short, 2022 keeps on giving. … More September Round-Up: A Sudden Attack
After a phenomenal debut with one of the best seasons of television in the 21st century, the American Crime Story anthology slowly drifted off my radar. I got partway into the second season, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, but it didn’t grab me the same way as the original. Season three (or possibly two) was supposed to be about Hurricane Katrina, and that was delayed before being reworked into this year’s Five Days at Memorial. Finally, we have Impeachment: American Crime Story, and I haven’t seen it yet. In the meantime, I have The Dropout. … More Notes on The Dropout
This morning, a friend messaged me his list of ten favorite directors as part of a Twitter challenge, appending a note of concern that his picks were too bro-y. In retrospect, I’m not sure if that meant genre-wise or that they were all men. There are lists out there of female directors and I’ve certainly enjoyed many female-directed movies, but my own list is the same kind of bro-y. In no particular order (and because I’m not on Twitter) … More Ten Directors Challenge
It’s extraordinary, how quickly one ages. My appreciation of time itself has been warped lately, but think about it. We’ve decided that “your prime” is your 20s. If you’re fortunate (or bamboozled) enough to go to college, you graduate at, what, 21? A little delayed, time to celebrate? No, time to get a job. I hope you majored in web programming or graphic design, or have the connections to try business or law or film. You have four years to figure it out. … More Happy Birthday 2022
I recently visited New York City, and by “recently” I mean, like, three months ago. I was typing up this post as a kind of travelogue because it’s a special occasion — I really don’t travel anywhere — and then forgot about it. Apparently, I need to set the record straight, after Stella’s account of events, which make me out to be quite the fool! … More Koreatown NYC 2022
You’ve read right! The most precious duo in K-pop debuted as a unit yesterday, and props for taking on the fandom name. I can’t explain “Iseul” for Irene and Seulgi, who have been known in English-speaking circles as “Seulrene” forever, other than Irene is the senior and her name must come first. The music video for Chobom’s song “Copycat” is live, and it’s delightful. It’s more bubblegum than Apink’s been trending lately, with an easygoing style. I was wondering how this subunit would work musically, given how Apink music usually works, where Bomi plays off of Eunji and Namjoo, I feel like. … More The Barber of Jeonju
For the most part, I think it was a pretty crowd-pleasing Emmy nomination announcement today, between Abbott Elementary, Yellowjackets, and of course, Squid Game. Does the first-ever nominated Korean show have a chance to repeat the success of Parasite three years ago? Seems unlikely. I have to agree with the Washington Post assessment, because between perennial favorite Succession and two big departures, the smart pick here is Better Call Saul. I’m pretty sure Breaking Bad won only one Outstanding Drama award, and that was for its last season. The Academy, or whatever it is, sure loves pulling that stunt. … More Emmys 2022
I’m such an idiot. See, a major awards ceremony in Korean entertainment and an Asian movie blog unfairly preoccupied by Korean entertainment should go together like peanut butter and bread, but I see Yoona and Seohyun and just think, “My, isn’t that lovely? I love them.” … More 58th Baeksang Arts Awards
With Eyes East 