Our Top 10 K-Dramas
This Tuesday’s list is brought to you buy our love of what helped create this website. K-DRAMAS! Hopefully all you BL-er’s aren’t disappointed, we promise to have more BL goodness in the future so please look forward to it. But back to the list that is this list. During this stay-at-home, don’t leave EVER, quarantine, you may be wondering, “What can I binge today?” Solid question. And in a large, very general way, we will respond, “K-dramas DUH.”
But there are wayyyyy too many K-drama’s out there and if you’re new to the scene, you might feel that the sheer amount of decisions can be discouraging you from even starting. Well fear not! We are here to provide our top 10 k-dramas. Think of it as the entry into finding what you like, and from here you can venture out into the vast k-drama world and not feel so frustrated.
10. Healer (힐러)
Coming in at #10 is a show that has everything someone could want from a show. Hilarity, action, murder, mystery, and romance. Oh, it also has Ji Chang Wook. So that’s a thing. He is a super-secret ‘deliveryman’ who gets paid bookoo bucks to make special deliveries to people. He is known as ‘Healer’. He doesn’t know what he’s delivering but, he knows that it most likely isn’t the most legit business dealings. People begin hunting him down as he’s been delivering very important blackmail information. His badass self goes undercover as a nerdy, socially awkward journalist and meets a woman who is determined to make name for herself in the world of news. They team up to find out who Healer is, obviously he knows who he is, and suddenly a dark underbelly is uncovered that threatens to tear apart corrupt businessmen and politicians alike. This really is a drama to get you into all sorts of dramas.
9. Save Me (구해줘)
If romance isn’t your thing…then why the hell are you getting into k-dramas? WE KID! WE KID! But also, think about it. Almost every k-drama has some sort of love plot line. No matter how big or small. But this drama has probably the SMALLEST amount of romance. This drama is dark AF and revolves around a religious cult that takes a small farming town by storm. Brain washing citizens into believing in some higher being that will bring them enlightenment. But only if they buy what the cult is producing and work for no pay because it’s what the higher person says is a good thing to do. A girl moves into town with her family and her brother is instantly the boy bullies choose to make miserable. She is not about to let it slide and while trying to fight them off meets a group of four best friends, two of which form a crush on her. But while trying to save the brother from the bullies, the brother chooses to end his life. Fraught with grief the father tries to find solace and ends up finding it in the cult. Crazy shiz goes down for the rest of the show and you will never be bored. We were on the edge of our seats every episode.
8. My Love From Another Star (별에서 온 그대)
We always have to put what started it all on our lists. And this drama is just that. This drama started off strong, got a little boring in the middle, and had a stellar finish. It’s about an alien- hold up, hold up, let us finish. It’s about an alien, who had been stuck on Earth for hundreds of years, unable to get home, when an obnoxious, and very annoying k-drama actress moves in next door to him in his luxury apartment building. Since he is an alien he has super sonic hearing (obviously) and can hear through the walls as she constantly complains and just all around of her jackassery which pushes him to a breaking point. But then weirdly they form a friendship, which inevitably grows into love, and well you’ll have to watch the show to see how everything transpires.
7. Circle (써클: 이어진 두 세계)
Another drama where romance was not the focus and also our introduction to actor Yeo Jin Goo and the acting abilities of Gikwang of Highlight. Two men who inspired characters in our K-drama book Seoul Searching. This is a sci-fi drama that takes place in two different time periods but focuses on the same people throughout. One world is the one we all know as present day while the other is this bizarre future where everyone is implanted with this weird chip that erases bits of your memory. Not that people realize that’s what they paid for. And throughout you are unsure of who exactly the story is following. It is full of suspense, mystery, and aliens. The plot is so out of the ordinary we were sucked in by the first episode and couldn’t escape. You will never see major plot twists coming, and you will most likely scream at the end, but that’s life my dudes.
6. Tempted (The Great Seducer) (위대한 유혹자)
If we are being 100% honest, this show is not the best show there is out there. BUT we will say Woo Do Hwan, the inspiration for Hwan Soo in Seoul Searching, is the sexy lead of this show who was the reason we watched until the bitter end. He is a bad boy, with major daddy issues, and two friends, who are not the greatest of people. In fact, his best girl friend is the absolute worst and loves to destroy people’s lives since her mom destroyed hers. This show is straight drama. ALL DRAMA. ALL. THE. TIME. Just when you think something good is happening, a car hits a bish, parents have affairs, and people come to kill your love. But we have to say Woo Do Hwan’s sensually deep, slow, voice makes everything ok. The lead girl is played by Joy, of k-pop girl group Red Velvet. We aren’t the biggest fans of her acting, but we have to say we saw major improvements in this drama from previous ones. This is a drama for people who who love to say “I am not someone who likes drama in my life. I like to be drama free.” Because we know you’re lying through your teeth, so grab some popcorn and much to your hearts content.
5. Extraordinary You (어쩌다 발견한 하루)
This drama was one that took us totally by surprise. We tend to avoid high school dramas. They are sometimes too dramatic, cliché, and don’t target at people our age. Hence why we don’t watch them. But when we saw Rowoon from SF9 and one of our newest k-drama actor obsessions, Lee Jae Wook, were the male leads, we threw our previous conceptions aside and watched a high school drama. But this truly wasn’t like any other high school drama we had ever seen. In fact, the reason we love it so much is because it thrives off making fun of high school plot lines while also creating a totally insane, romantic, heart wrenching, funny, and life altering show that had us praying for the next episode to come out. Lucky for you guys it’s binge-able. All shows on this list, minus one, are completed so during this quarantine you can go ham and binge to your hearts content. This story focuses around a girl who seemingly looks to have a good life. She’s pretty, her family has money, she is well liked in school, but she does have a heart condition that causes some minor issues here or there. Suddenly she starts to notice odd things happen around her. Time passes but she doesn’t remember what happened, her friends constantly repeat themselves but don’t realize it, she thinks her heart is causing issues in her life. FUN FACT: It’s not her heart. She is a character in a 만화! Once finding out she is determined to change her plot line, but it comes with some costs. Find out when you watch. You won’t be disappointed. (PS we told our friend at Forbes about this article and she binged the whole show and wrote and article about it. #justsaying)
4. Love Alarm (좋아하면 울리는)
And now for the only show that has yet to be completed. And with this whole coronavirus craziness we don’t know when it actually will. This drama is when Netflix tried to make k-dramas like all other shows in the world and create multiple seasons out of a show that could’ve easily been one. We’ve noticed, for now at least, they’ve realized the error in their ways and have been providing a normal season length. Anywho, this six episode ‘season’ revolves around a girl, fairly normal school life, but an ugly step sister (actually her cousin) and an evil step mother (her aunt) who are making her pay for the debt of her dead parents. Trust us, the shiz is messed up and her aunt is a piece of crap, but that isn’t the main focus of the show. The main focus is the fact a new app comes on the market that shows you if someone within 10 meters of you is in love with you. ‘JoAlarm’ aka Love Alarm. She refuses to download it and it catches the attention of the sexy new boy in school. He chases her, and falls in love. Too bad his best friend has been in love with her for ages. Oh well the Love Alarm sounds off when the Love Alarm sounds off.
3. Crash Landing On You (사랑의 불시착)
A show that we have been able to convince even non interested parties in is Crash Landing On You. Yep. People who didn’t want to even start k-dramas have binged and fell in love with Captain Ri and his band of merry men as they navigate the worlds of North and South Korea. This drama is in the top three for so many reasons. The love story is one for the flipping ages, the friendships that are created between all the characters sends us, and well the plot line is refreshing, fun, filled with love and action and tear jerking scenes that everyone can love this drama. A well-known CEO decides to be the test subject of a new paragliding suit. Too bad a freak storm sends her whirling around and landing in a tree stuck until someone can find her. Luckily someone does. A North Korean soldier. She landed in North Korea! Trying to escape proves fruitless and the soldier does what he can to help her escape not only to keep her safe, but to keep him and his team out of fire for failing to do their jobs. But since North Korea doesn’t come to play, other officers start to get involved and things start to take a turn for the worst. Corruption, murder, and the CEO and soldiers past all come to light and well…we really don’t want to spoil this story for you guys. Just trust us, this is one that you will not soon forget.
2. Reply 1988 (응답하라 1988)
The first drama we got Sammie’s mother to watch is this beautiful masterpiece of a semi-historical drama. When you think historical you think anything before the 1900’s so let’s call this a throwback masterpiece. A story of four neighborhood friends growing up in half block radius, whose parents are just as close, and how they navigate life in South Korea during the late 80’s and early 90’s. While the teenagers were filled with comedy, love and heartbreak, the parents were really an amazing plot line as well that left Sammie’s mom sobbing, both laughing and heartfelt, along with us. We also learned some crazy laws like, did you know that people with the same last names couldn’t marry? We sure as heck didn’t.
We couldn’t find a trailer but we decided to share one of the funny scenes that legit had us rolling at how embarrassing it was.
1. W: Two Worlds (더블유)
If you follow us on Instagram (@koreanfromcontext) or Twitter (@koreanfrmcntxt) we have mentioned our love for this show. Not even just this show but a very specific episode. If you remember, wow, you’ve been here awhile! Thanks for staying with us! This show wasn’t initially a favorite of ours. In fact, we didn’t watch it when it came out because we, don’t come for us yet, didn’t find Lee Jong Suk all that attractive. We have since taken that back and are very loyal to our boy. We aren’t even sure why we chose to finally watch but now it’s here at the number one spot so clearly it was good. We have a love for 만화 , obviously since two of the titles here revolve around the concept as well as our last list was all about BL 만화. This story is even crazier than Extraordinary You. What if you liked a story so much, but didn’t like the plot so you got sucked into the story so you could change it? And then the lead of the story falls in love with you, and the story begins to change, and characters begin to disappear and people in the story and outside are trying to kill you both? And then you have to constantly change the story so that it can fix itself and your 만화 love ends up in the real world? Yeah, this drama is all of that and a bag of chips and we can re-watch until the cows come home. (We mean that literally we live in farm country lol) Also the orchestral scores are so epic. OST solid but the ORCHESTRAL SCORES ARE THE MOST AMAZING!
So what do you think? Have you watched any of these dramas? Are you going to? What are some of your favorite dramas? We want to know!
Travel NYC like Seungmin and Hyunjin of Stray Kids
Stray Kids went a lot of different places while being here in New York. And since they’re coming back NEXT WEEK, we decided to do one more before they arrive. Some of the spots we loved (Like when they visited The Roxy hotel, and DUMBO) and some we legitimately try to stay as far away from as possible (like Penn Station and now this new spot).
This spot is actually somewhere we had talked about and been to when ASTRO came to town. Yes, that’s correct. We went back to Times Square. JUST. FOR. YOU! To a section we actually have never even been close to if we’re being honest. We had seen it in videos, pictures, and we knew where it was but since it was in Times Square we avoided it like the plague.
Famous from the Alicia Keys and Jay-Z music video for “Empire State of Mind” those bright red stairs actually hold TKTS, an infamous Broadway ticket selling broker. We say infamous because they say they sell tickets cheap, when really they are the same, if not more than face value for the tickets. Fun fact if you come to NY and want to see a show…don’t go there.
The spot has now become an Instagram mecca for the tourists who come to see Times Square. And the boys of Stray Kids hopped on that bandwagon. And what they do, we do. And we have to admit…
It was pretty cool. Actually really cool. Yes, we will admit that something in Times Square was worth going to see. Between Broadway and 7TH Ave, on 47th St. you will find these large red stairs to climb up and see the enormity of Times Square. And you can snap your shot and check another location off your list as you have now travelled like Seungmin and Hyunjin of Stray Kids.
PLT make fans Go Holic in NJ
White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, NJ was once again packed with K-pop fans. This time, it was for PLT. A group consisting of five solo artists ranging in different genres of music, like R&B, rap, and pop made NJ their kick off stop in their US tour. Fans lined up around the block, even in the chilled windy air, to wait to get in and get the best spot to see, Gaho, Moti, Jung Jinwoo, Villain, and June perform not only their solo songs, but also their combined music as PLT.
A little background on PLT. The five members, like stated above, are all solo artists under the label Planetarium Records. They have mixtapes, solo albums, singles, etc. singularly and then together to mix their genres to make music as a group, named PLT (a play on their record label name).
As we entered the venue, which we have been to many times, it never ceases to amaze us how gorgeous the place is with it’s stained glass ceiling windows, the large open space for fans to clamor into and the stage in the far back awaiting the presence of the artists who are waiting in the wings to perform.
The lights cut out, a screen dropped to promote the company that was able to make the concert possible, My Music Taste, and as the screen raised, the curtain opened and out walked Gaho. Dressed in a sleek black suit that, when he turned around, had pieces of printed cloth on the back, Gaho grabbed the mic and kicked off his set. He nervously explained her was jet lagged, but hearing the fans cheers gave him all the energy he needed to perform. The fans swooned as he sang his dulcet tracks like, “Going On”, followed by the soul crushing, heart breaking, ‘WHO HURT YOU?!’ song called, “있어줘 (eessojyo- stay here)”, and his most recent single, “Pink Walk,” which we still have stuck in our heads.
Gaho After thanking the crowd for coming, and letting him perform his music, Gaho walked off the stage to make way for the next artist. Jung Jinwoo, with his fluffy curls, oversized suit jacket and pants, stepped out to kick off his set with “위성 –weeseong – satellite) He was so nervous and excited, and the crowd was so happy he was on stage he missed his cue and asked for them to restart, letting the crowd enjoy his melodic entrance once more. He was sweet as he grabbed the hands of the fans as he walked across stage singing “She’s Got Everything,” a yet to be released song, and also “문제 (munjae – problem)” Jung Jinwoo had everyone begging for more and when he walked off stage, it was June’s turn to make the crowd lose their minds.
Jung Jinwoo June kicked of his set rather calmly. Sitting relaxed on a stool, dressed in a green and black flannel, with the new version of UFO pants (which we didn’t think would ever make a come back and have and we’re here for it), and a voice like Jay Park, he slayed the R&B game with his songs, “Gas Station,” and “Serenade.” The chill vibes of his set didn’t stop the fans from screaming for him to continue. When he wrapped up a few songs he spoke about how excited he was to be there and how he wanted to share some new unreleased music. Honestly, most of the members announced and performed an unreleased song and mentioned that new music was coming soon. It not only was exciting for them, but it made the fans crave more. After “오늘 밤은 (onul bamun- tonight)” he concluded his set and asked the crowd if they were ready for the next performer.
June We don’t believe they were and neither were we. As the music started, the fans went absolutely bat sh*t crazy and Villain, in his white denim jacket, spray painted jeans, blue hair with a center part and round Harry Potter like lenses, took the stage to start singing “Fairy.” Now we have never seen PLT perform live, we had heard that all their stages are amazing and we had seen some videos from previous shows but Villain came to kill. His overtly sexual motions as his hands ran up and down the mic stand caused us to hear squeals and even some straight moans from the crowd as he continued. He knew what he was doing and it fueled his entire performance. He finished the song and went into a personal story about how people are essentially shitty, and realized as he went to start his next song he had forgotten his set list. With a laugh and a smile he continued on and performed his hits “마니또 (Manitto),” and “Luhvin It” before also announcing he would be coming out with new music soon.
Villain It was then time for the final solo act. Moti. Once again, a man rocking a black suit, white shirt, but this time he added his own flare by having some pretty sick diamond chains. He kicked his set off with, “겸손 (kyeom seon- humble/modesty)” and when he moved away from his mic stand all hell broke loose. We’ve been crushed by fans before while taking photos. ASTRO at K-expo was probably the most insane. That was until this show. While we were crowded and pressed against the stage for all the other performers, when Moti came out is was a whole different ball game. The dude was running from side to side and seemed to always stop right in front of us. See crotch shot below for proof. He had the crowd who had already been at a 10 shoot up to a damn 20 as he performed, “Blue,” “GO,” and a new track set to hit the rest of the worlds ears next month.
Moti (crotch shot lol) Did you think after he performed it was over? Oh no. They still had their group act to perform. Remember how the crowd had bounced up to a 20? Yeah at the point they were over 100 and climbing to flipping infinity fast. PLT came out and it was like we entered Coachella with how loud and chaotic the crowd went. As they sang their group tracks like, “Igoholic,” “Blah,” and “Hocus Pocus,” they began showering the fans in water. As we were crushed in the front we got a solid shot to the face a few times. And while we were hype on how excited it made the fans we weren’t hype on it getting our camera wet. But such is the life of a concert photographer.
PLT Chaos All in all this concert over shot our expectations. We knew PLT were coming for us but not as savagely as they did. Every solo performance brought new waves of excitement, and when PLT came together there was no stopping the tsunami of hype. If you’re interested in seeing them and are in the US. Their up coming stops are Dallas, Los Angeles and Chicago so hopefully you can make your way over to any of those locations. We highly suggest experiencing “We Go Holic” for yourselves.
#WAFFLEDEBACLE
Sammie here. Thanks for reading our blogs about the recent concerts we’ve been to and even our book Seoul Searching. This post is a little different than what we’ve done in the past. This is my account of what we here at K.F.C, as well as my coworkers and friends, have now deemed the IMFACT #waffledebacle.
Enjoy.
The day started like any other concert going day. I picked out an outfit, proceeded to change it fifteen times, until I ended up going shopping and finding the cutest dress to wear (on clearance too! I love me a sale J). I put on my most basic of make-up as I have zero skills in that department. And I spent an hour fixing my hair only to throw it up in my usual bun because I hate my hair any other way. My normal concert routine.
I arrived at the venue, waited in line, met up with friends, got into the building to meet the members of IMFACT as they signed an album to me, even some of them wished me a happy birthday. I fangirled a bit as we took group photos, and then the concert began. I rocked out, screamed, danced, and went crazy when they played my favorite songs. Again, my normal concert routine.
Then the show concluded, and it was time for the Pick-a-poses. This has always been one of my favorite moments of concerts run by Studio PAV. While most other companies have a hi-touch and a quick group photo after the show, Studio PAV delivers a once in a lifetime experience. A short, but intimate time with idols one on one. I have been to close to ten shows that Studio PAV has put on and usually I tend to say very little to the idols during these Pick-a-pose sessions. They say, “Thank you for coming.” I quickly respond with a smile and maybe a, “You’re show was great.” Click! The photo is taken, I walk away to get on the next line and repeat the same steps. MY NORMAL CONCERT ROUTINE!
WELL NOT THIS TIME!
I stood in line, waiting patiently, talking to the people around me about how amazing the show was and how hard IMFACT had gone during both their group and solo performances. I had no order to whom I wanted to see. As much as Jian was my bias, after the show they put on I was ready to make them all my biases. So, I chose the shortest line and asked who I was in line for as I couldn’t see the members ahead.
Main vocalist, visual, aka: perfection in an idol, Lee Sang.
A name I know I will now never forget. Nor will any of my friends, coworkers, or even my fiancé.
I was internally practicing what I wanted to say, like always, knowing the second, I was in front of him I would say absolutely nothing of what I had planned.
I heard the click of the woman ahead of me as her final photo was being taken and braced myself. It was my turn. My heart was racing, I told the woman with the camera in her hand the two photos I wanted and walked up to Lee Sang, his smirk could’ve knocked me off my feet if I wasn’t too preoccupied in my head. Thinking about it now, it was probably one of the sexiest things ever directed my way and I was too stupid to register it in the moment. I walked over and proudly, in Korean, told him the two numbers I wanted. The smirk suddenly became a full out smile as he asked if I spoke Korean. I responded quickly that I was learning and looked toward the camera for the poses.
And then, something I never planned for, happened. Something I never in a million years thought would ever be spoken to me from anyone apart from maybe my fiancé, left this idol’s lips.
“You’re very pretty.”
I’m not even joking I could feel his eyes on me. They were on me, and nowhere else.
My response? I laughed. I hadn’t looked at him. I couldn’t. Surely, he couldn’t be serious. And when he said nothing and the woman taking the photo still hadn’t taken the photo, I looked over to him. His eyes surprised at my response. Finally, my brain came to the conclusion, “Beesh he’s serious.”
I bowed my head and said thank you.
He followed up by asking me my name.
THIS WAS MORE INTERACTION THAN I’VE HAD WITH ANY OF THE OTHER IDOLS I HAVE MET!
I was simply staring at him for a little too long and his eyebrows raised while in my head I’m screaming, “Answer the damn question!”
I respond with my name. Mind you, we still have not taken the first photo. The woman was simply watching us. I’m pretty sure she had been in the middle of changing the film. It’s the only way the conversation was able to continue.
I will say again, I’ve done these Pick-a-poses multiple times. I have been there when the film needed to be reloaded and I stood awkwardly next to the members who simply waited for the film to be filled and the photo to be taken. We say nothing to each other. And I acknowledged it as, this is there job, they are being paid for this, they are tired and they want to go home so they want these pictures done and done quickly. I don’t blame them for that at all and I always forget to wish them a nice rest, but as you can all clearly see, talking to the idols is not my forte.
Lee Sang was different from all of them. Even from the rest of his members. He spoke confidently, but nervously. He was worried he had something incorrectly but also knew that he wanted to get out what he had to say.
I had again looked back to the woman ready for the photo, only to once again be asked a question, “Are you from around here?”
Snapping my neck in surprise that this conversation was continuing, I nodded my head and said, “Born and raised.”
That’s when the woman finally put the view finder up to her eye and we made the first pose.
Click.
One photo down. I looked to the poses as at that point I had totally forgotten what the second one I chose was and that’s when another thing fell from this man’s lips I never thought I would ever hear someone of his magnitude say to me.
He leaned in a bit and spoke slowly to make sure what he said was perfectly clear, “What should I do after the show? What should I see?”
My body felt like it had gone limp. My soul had left my body. No way. This god of a man was most definitely not asking me to hang out. No way. He just wanted to know what he should go and do before he had to hop on a plane back to South Korea.
I shrugged and responded, “hmm. I don’t know. What is it you want to see?” while internally I was saying “DO ME! SEE ME!” (disclaimer: I love my fiancé. With all my heart. But a damn sexy idol was potentially hitting on me. I’m still a woman. I have urges. And by the end of this, you’ll all see why my fiancé has nothing to worry about.)
The woman had begun to rush us to take the second picture. I was sad that moment had finally arrived but as she was trying to take the picture he kept talking saying, “We can still talk.”
WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU WANT TO KEEP TALKING TO ME!?!?
He then mumbled something while smiling that I couldn’t understand, and I simply nodded my head thinking he had asked a yes or no question.
When I went to pull away he grabbed my hand and kept repeating a word that at first I was unable to understand and finally he spoke louder and I realized he was saying, “Waffle.”
I nodded to say I understood and repeated, “Waffle?”
He nodded excited and said, “I really want to try them.”
And here is where you will all see why my fiancé has nothing to worry about.
I responded, “Oh yeah! I love waffles.”
He smiled brightly and the hand that was holding onto mine went to my neck. I was dreaming. It had to be a sick vivid dream that wanted nothing more than to torture me. And then he gently squeezed and massaged, confirming I in fact was not dreaming, and suddenly 18+ thoughts were running in my mind begging for me to let them live their fantasy.
He let go and all I could think to do was walk away with a small “맛있어 (Masheeso- it’s delicious)”
You read that right. I WALKED AWAY! Instead of taking the bold move of saying something like, “I know I great waffle place!” for him to ask where and me to offer to take him…my dumb nervous ass walked away.
I could’ve gone back. I could’ve bought another Pick-a-pose, stood on his line, walked back up and said, “So about those waffles…”
So many scenarios I could’ve done, that I have now since played out in my head, all ending with me potentially EATING WAFFLES WITH LEE SANG OF IMFACT!
But alas, I didn’t do any of these things. I walked away never to see him again. Not knowing if he got those waffles he seemed so eager to devour. I walked away from an unfinished fan fiction moment. The romance writer inside of me died and has been laid to rest. She no longer resides in this body because she can’t believe what an idiot I was.
I told my friends and coworkers and all they could do was shake their heads in shame and say what an epic fail I had pulled. And that is how the IMFACT #waffledebacle ended.
But did it have to end like that? I could write a better ending, saying we found the typical New Jersey twenty-four-hour diner and got those waffles. I could say we talked about our lives, our likes and dislikes, and had some deep conversation over a large plate of warm fluffy squares topped with butter and syrup with a side of strong coffee to keep ourselves awake to enjoy each others company. I possibly could’ve said we drove around finding the perfect spot to wait for the sun to rise over New York City knowing I had to bring him back and we had to face reality.
And yet, none of that would be true and I am sat here left simply to wonder if Lee Sang got his waffles or not.
#waffledebacle
IMFACT Makes Impact on NJ IF’s
Studio PAV did it again. They brought one of K.F.C’s favorite groups to a town near us and made an unforgettable night for hundreds of IF’s. If you’re not sure what an IF is, read on to not only learn what they are, but also become one!
The date? August 17th. The time? 4pm. The place? White Eagle Hall in Jersey City, New Jersey. Fans of the band Imfact, lovingly known as IF’s, waited excitedly to get into the venue to not only watch one of their favorite five membered bands perform but also meet and take group photos with them. And we were there to enjoy the party.
Imfact debuted in January of 2016 under Star Empire Entertainment. Consisting of five members, Jian, Ungjae, Lee Sang, Taeho, and Jeup, the group has pumped out solid single after solid single since their debut. Mixing up their styles from bubblegum pop, to hard rap pop, to their most recent style of build-to-a-sick-beat drop pop. We know these are not professional music terms but they make sense and describe perfectly IMFACT’s many era’s of music.
If readers are unfamiliar with Studio PAV, the company has brought bands that we would consider ‘underrated’ to the US to give their North American fans a shot to see their favorite small groups close to home. Bringing groups like VAV, Up10tion, Teep Top, and JJCC who would’ve most likely never made their way over here with any other company. What we love most about Studio PAV is what they offer to fans. Not only do VVIP/VIP fans get hi-touches and group photos, but after the show, fans can get one-on-one photos with their biases.
So kicking off in standard Studio PAV fashion, before the concert, fans were lined up, very well organized we might add, and brought into the venue to await receiving the album for the group members to sign. Once all the VIP fans received their signed albums, it was time for the hi-touch. Walking past all the members as we gave them high fives and they smiled and grabbed our hands just a little while longer than a simple high five to walk around behind them for a group photo where we posed, making our best finger hearts, grew the anticipation within us for what was next to come.
The concert.
The organized lines were then funneled calm, cool, and collected-ly in front of the stage for their special general admission spots. The actual general admission were placed a little further back behind the barricades. The excitement was building throughout the hall. Chants began and suddenly the lights went down and a small video began implying the show was about to begin.
The screams got louder as shadows moved around on stage. The stage lights came up and five amazingly talented men stood on stage. As they pumped out their hits like “The Light” and “Only U” they danced, some rather provocatively (looking at you Lee Sang), their hearts out and we could feel the energy radiating from them. They were as excited to be there as we were. We surmised they were giving it their absolute all since we were the last stop of the tour. Go big, and then go home. Lol. Following their latest songs they dove into some of the slower songs like, “In the club”.
After slowing it down, essentially giving themselves some time to calm their racing hearts and ours, they then went into their solo stages. Kicking it off was Lee Sang. Walking out onto the stage , guitar in his hand, he explained the song was for people who are struggling and how they need to hold on for the better days. It was so moving it even made members of the audience cry.
Ungjae was ready to make that stage his b*tch, for lack of a better phrase. Rapping over the backtrack of “Closer” by Chainsmokers, he rapped his deep voice out getting the audience to jump and dance to the beat.
What could possibly follow that up? Maybe a duet with Ungjae and Lee Sang? Yep. They. Did. THAT.
And then it was Jian’s turn. The opening beat of BTS’s “Mic Drop” flooded the speakers and the volume of the crowd strengthened. the boy not only rapped he danced so freakin hard we were astonished he had any sort of energy to continue the show after that.
The next two soloists were Taeho and Jeup, whose vocals made the whole room melt, and then probably the most iconic thing we’ve seen in K-pop concerts happened they both hit the stage for duet and what was it they started to sing?
QUEEN!!! FREAKIN QUEEN!!
How could it get more iconic? Oh, we know. Jian walking out in a white t-shirt and jeans with a half mic stand like Freddy Mercury to get the crowd to repeat his aye-o’s just like Freddy freakin Mercury. They did an entire medley of Queen songs! We will never forget that.
ICONIC!!
They all came back out dressed in sexy black suits to sing a cover of “Gangnam Style”, and then back to their original songs, performing their debut song “Lollipop”, and they finished the concert off with “Tension Up,” the song that got us into IMFACT.
This concert experience was a highlight of our summer concerts this year. In fact, we would positively say it was the BEST concert we have been to in quite some time. It could be because ever since we found out they existed, we had been dying for them to come to the US since we don’t know when we will make it to South Korea.
IMFACT delivered in both fan service and performances and we were sad the night had to end. But is almost didn’t end. At least for Sammie.
What are we talking about? Stay tuned for what is sure to be the saddest funniest thing you’ve ever read in your life. #waffledebacle
K-CON NY 2019: Convention
A convention that continuously has one-uped itself, not only one-uped for this year, but it made us die to know what they have in store for 2020.
K-Con NY, had two new venues this year. The convention was held in the Javits Center, and the concerts were held in Madison Square Garden (MSG). We, at first, were a little nervous of how that scenario would work out. Thousands, if not tens of thousands, of fans leaving one venue to walk to the next? All we could think was chaos. We were proven dead wrong. There was no issue at all. Fans filed out when they felt like it, and walked to and from the venues with ease. And while the sweltering heat and nearly suffocating humidity would’ve been a problem at the previous convention location, the refreshing air conditioned Javits Center made for an amazingly enjoyable experience.
And with the new indoor location, came fun and creative booths from both vendors and K-con themselves. As we walked around we found so many Instagram worthy sets, including the new trend of a ball pit filled with inflatable flamingos and donuts.
(check out the ball pit in the back of the photo) The K Food Fair within the convention offered K-con goers a one of a kind food experience. We got to sample Korean melons, pears, crunchy ramen snacks, and even a meal worm burger (which was shockingly delicious). Bibimgo offered samples of their 만두(mandu- dumplings), Melona had people spin a wheel to pick from a multitude of flavored ice cream pops, and for sale was Kung Fu Tea, who sold out by mid day both days.
The entrance to all the amazing free and tasty Korean food. After eating our way through the convention, it was time to shop the convention. The dominating force was Korean skin care. As Korean drama and K-pop fans all know, Korea takes their skincare very seriously and that prestige showed. There were several k-beauty, skincare, and makeup booths that came to show both their new and tried and true products. While we received a handful of samples, we also ended up purchasing some goodies as well. (Hint: we will be doing a skin care blog soon.)
The freebies we gave out and some of the stuff we bought! Albums stalls had lines wrapped around them twice if not three times of eager fans waiting to get their hands on exclusive merchandise, posters, and above all else, albums. There was even a small amount of clothing booths (we had actually hoped for a few more) that not only promoted k-pop, but Korea in general.
To put it simply, our bank accounts were heavily depleted.
The other aspect of the convention was panels. There seemed to be a lot more panels then previoulsy, which we have the larger venue of Javits Center to thank. These panels covered creative things like create your own fansign, and making your own embroidered patch, to educational like Women in Hallyu media, and how to start your own YouTube channel. Fans got to sit in and listen to some of their favorite YouTubers, artists, and industry professionals and left feeling inspired.
While we couldn’t cover the fan engagements, we did hear from several of the fans in the audience as well as ones who got to meet their idols that it was a once in a lifetime experience. Fans were shown so much love and appreciation from their favorite groups.
This two day experience was one to remember. We ate a lot, we saw a ton of bands, we learned a lot and we simply loved meeting all the amazing fans who love the same things we do! We have already begun to countdown until next K-con!
Hangul 한글
Hangul is the Korean alphabet. It’s the letters that form the gorgeous puzzle pieces that are Korean words. Sadly there is no way to put this into a story without having an extremely lengthy scene that would bore you and having you scream, “WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO MAKE OUT?!”
Don’t worry! Throughout the story you will receive both the hangul as well as a romanization. It will be at the bottom of every chapter so you can sound it out as you read.
Here is my breakdown of the letters and how you sound them out:
A real first chapter will be posted next week. Until then practice sounding out these letters as well as continue listening to K-pop and K-dramas and see if you can figure out how to spell some of the words they say!! (YES I ASSIGNED YOU SOME HOMEWORK…but tbh, you were gonna do that stuff anyway.)
