Sunday, November 24, 2013

K-Pop: The Biggest Thing in Music the U.S. Doesn't Know About

K-Pop.  It's short for Korean Pop Music.  It's also the biggest sensation in the world (yes, the WORLD) that America doesn't know about yet.  I had no idea what K-Pop was before I came to Korea, but I quickly found out.  

In the United States, we have Beyonce, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus taking up the majority of the time on the pop radio stations.  We also have a wide variety of music that people like: pop, rock, oldies, country, etc.  Well, in Korea, they have K-Pop music and K-Pop bands: Big Bang, G-Dragon, Crayon Pop, Girl's Generation, JYJ, etc.  It's all that the younger generations listen to. Pop music is literally all that I have heard since being here.  It's HUGELY popular.  At school, I constantly hear student's singing K-Pop music; the band Crayon Pop and G-Dragon seem to be the most popular among them right now.  While I can't understand what the songs are saying, a lot of the K-Pop music I've heard has a really catchy beat.  Many songs also contain a few phrases of English! 

Some U.S. artists are popular in Korea as well.  For example, Justin Bieber's tour came to S. Korea recently.  But, from what I've noticed, Korea doesn't need any help from the American music industry, because K-Pop seems to be doing just fine.  It's even gaining popularity worldwide, but hasn't quite reached U.S. mainstream audiences just yet.  To introduce you to some K-Pop music, I've put a couple links below, so have a listen!

 
Crayon Pop.  They're biggest hit is "Bar Bar Bar".  It has a catchy dance to it and even some English phrases you'll be able to sing along to! Here's a link to it:
http://youtu.be/2eZHdYWhd-E 


 G-Dragon

Geeks

One of my favorite K-Pop songs I've heard since being here is "Officially Missing You" by the Geeks.  You can check it out here:
http://youtu.be/0TPCc-sTL_4


Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Paragliding in Danyang

A couple weekends ago, I traveled to Danyang, a city about 35 minutes away from Jecheon, with my friend Megan.  I have visited Seoul numerous times now, so Megan decided to make the trip to Jecheon to see my life outside of Seoul.  Megan and I decided to go paragliding because I had a group of friends go recently and it sounded amazing.  If you know me well, you won't be surprised that I wanted to do this because I'm always up for anything that involves a thrill (roller coasters, skydiving, scuba diving, bungee jumping, etc).

What we thought was going to be a nice, relaxing day turned into quite the ordeal...

Once we took a bus to Danyang, I had to go to an ATM because the paragliding was cash-only.  Well, the ATM wouldn't allow me to take cash out because I entered the wrong pin number too many times.  Luckily, Megan was nice enough to pay for me (thanks, girl!).  We then had to take a taxi to the bottom of the paragliding mountain, and then we were picked up by the company van which took us to the top.  At the top of the mountain was a shack covered with plexi-glass and a huge blue tarp.  My first reaction was, "What the hell is this?", because this cannot be the paragliding place.  I definitely thought it would look a bit more professional, but it wasn't...(picture is below)

To make up for the appearance of the shack was the beautiful view from the top of the mountain.  We went when the leaves were still beautiful shades of orange, yellow, red and green.  Along with the river that runs through Danyang, it was a very picturesque sight!

After paying, we had to suit up for our big flight.  We each had a paragliding professional with us that suited up us with shin guards, a helmet, gloves, and a backpack thing that pops into a seat once you're in flight.  Once we were suited up, it started to rain.  Go figure.  The one day we picked to go because the forecast predicted clear, warm(ish) weather, it rains.  We didn't have anything better to do than to go sit in the shack and hang out with the paragliding staff (which consisted of a few men in their 50s and a couple other random people).  This unexpected lull in our plans turned into a karaoke party!  Koreans love karaoke and have businesses called "Norae-bongs" that you can rent rooms and just sing karaoke.  So while it was raining outside, all of us in the paragliding shack were singing karaoke.  Megan was given the microphone and she asked my advice on what song to sing.  The only song I knew that I knew would definitely be a hit with everyone was "Dancing Queen" by Abba.  So here we were hanging out at the top of a mountain, in a shack, with a bunch of Koreans, singing karoake... It was so random, but so much fun!

45 minutes later...

It eventually quit raining, and we were again cleared to take the leap.  Once again, we put on all of the necessary equipment and then had to wait about 10 minutes for the wind to blow the right direction.  In order to take off, you have to sprint down the cliff (with the professional attached to you, of course!) until the parachute catches enough wind to lift you up.  Some people that went before us had to take off 2 or 3 times because their initial sprint wasn't good enough.  I must've been good enough, because I ran down the cliff with no hesitations and was soon seated into my make-shift seat/backpack enjoying the ride.  It was simply amazing!! The professional steers the parachute, but at one point he left me grab the reigns and steer.  He also did some tricks like tipping us sideways and such.  I figured I could trust him because he said he had been paragliding for 17 years (with only 1 accident on his track record..).  We were in flight for about 12 minutes or so.  The landing was surprisingly smooth.  I had to put my legs directly straight out in front of me and land on my butt.  It really was an amazing time and I already want to do it again!  (There's a video of the landing below)



The sketchy shack that is the home of the paragliding business.

View from the top of the cliff

Just after we landed!  We started at the top of the mountain in the background.



The Landing



Monday, November 11, 2013

Seoul Adventures and the DMZ

November 18th will mark my 3-month mark in  South Korea.  Time has been flying by!  My job has obviously been keeping me busy, but I've also been busy on the weekends traveling to Seoul, exploring Jecheon, hiking mountains, or doing other various activities.  Korea has so much to see and do that I don't want to waste any time!  

Seoul: 
I have been to Seoul quite a few times since I've been here.  It's extremely easy to get to Seoul from Jecheon by train or bus, and really cheap as well (like $18-25 roundtrip!).  Getting to Seoul takes a little under two hours from Jecheon, and the route there is quite scenic so it makes for a relaxing ride.  It also helps that I have a friend who lives and teaches English in Seoul that lets me crash at her apartment whenever I need to!  Her name is Megan, she's from Ohio, and we happened to be roommates during orientation.  

My first trip to Seoul was during Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving.  I had a 5-day holiday, and Megan and I spent it doing all the typical touristy things in Seoul.  Some of the sites we saw included: 

  • Seoul/Namsan Tower (it resembles the Seattle Space Needle), 
  • Insadong (the most traditional Korean street market in Seoul), 
  • a trick-eye and ice museum, 
  • Seoul Land (an amusement park, and those that know me well know that I never say no to a roller coaster!), 
  • Banpo Bridge (it has fountain and lights show each night), 
  • tandem bike riding along the Han River

Insadong: man making rice cakes

Banpo Bridge light/fountain show

tandem bike riding along the Han River

Seoul Land amusement park
Seoul/Namsan Tower
At the top of Seoul Tower looking out towards Missouri! 

It was a holiday packed full of exploring Seoul, Korea's largest city and home to 10 million people. 


DMZ:
One weekend in October, I went with three friends to tour the Koream DMZ, or demilitarized zone.  This is better known as the border of North and South Korea, and is the most heavily armed border in the world.  Both Korean and American troops guard the border of S. Korea.  Before you freak out (or you might've already..), if it wasn't safe to tour, then the military would obviously not be giving tours in the first place.  To get to the border, we had to take an hour long bus ride from Seoul to Camp Barnafas military base.  Once on the base, we were shown a short powerpoint and video regarding the long and uneasy history between North Korea and South Korea.  Then, our tour group was escorted by a soldier to the building where North and South Korea meet to discuss relations.  Technically, one half of the building is N. Korean territory and one half is S. Korean territory.  There are always two guards inside the building that do not move (they reminded me of the Buckingham Palace guards).  Outside of the that building, the group was heavily monitored and we were told that we could not make any sudden movements, such as raising our hands, because it could be seen as propaganda towards N. Korea.  Directly in front of us was a N. Korean building with a N. Korean guard that kept looking at us through his binoculars.  

We then took a bus ride to another point of the DMZ to walk through one the tunnels that N. Korea had dug to surprise attack S. Korea in the 1970s.  The tunnel was very narrow and short, and I had to duck my head several times while walking through it.  After the tunnel, we were again escorted to a look-out point where we could see into N. Korea.  When looking over into N. Korea, one the first things you notice is that all the mountains are completely bare.  No trees, bushes, or grass in sight.  I was also able to get a glimpse of Propaganda Village.  Propaganda Village is a town built by N. Korea in the 1950s to lure/trick S. Koreans into defecting into N. Korea.  It is made up of schools, apartment buildings, restaurants and other buildings common to a regular town; but, Propaganda Village has never been inhabited, instead, the buildings sit empty.  It was used to make S. Koreans believe that they could have a good life in N. Korea.

Also on the DMZ tour, my group went to Dorasan Station.  Dorasan Station was set up as a railway system to connect South Korea with North Korea.  Dorasan Station was built at a time when both countries were getting along, but before the station could officially open and start running, the countries fell back into their tension-filled relationship.  Dorasan Station sits empty, except for the tours that come through.  

The room where North and South Korean officials meet to discuss affairs.  The left side is the S. Korean side.

The gray building directly in front is N. Korean territory, and a N. Korean soldier was watching our group  from his binoculars.  The blue building on the left is the outside of the meeting room.

Dorasan Station

The best view of N. Korea that I was able to get.  Picture-taking was really restricted.   The buildings in the distance make up Propaganda Village.