Apple Girl

It's the singing and iPhone playing sensation AppleGirl!  Watch her sing and play the iPhone to Lady Gaga's Poker Face and Beyonce's Irreplaceable.  Thanks to Yoonmee for letting us know about AppleGirl!  Yoonmee suspects this might be a viral marketing ploy.  Hmmm...

Watch the videos after the jump.

Rodarte inspired by Asian horror genre

source

I guess I was living under a rock or something, but I had no idea that Rodarte drew inspiration from Asian horror flicks.  Specifically Japanese AND Korean flicks!  Watch the following video to learn a bit more about Rodarte and see if you can spot the poster for the Korean movie, "Tale of Two Sisters."  Very cool!  I definitely like their translation of horror to fashion.



바나나

H&M Opens in Myeong-dong (명동), Seoul (서울)!

After a long awaited debut, the Seoul H&M opens in Myeong-Dong (명동).  Myeong-Dong is similar to NYC's Soho.  Recent imports to this trendy shopping district have included Uniqlo, Forever 21, and Mango.  SPAO was another addition, which is purely Korean operated.  Surprisingly, H&M decided not to partner with Lotte.

FYI, Lotte pretty much runs the block in Korea.  It's a huge Korean and Japanese conglomerate.  The umbrella of operations includes everything imaginable:  amusement parks, finance, candy, shopping, food, hotels, etc.  A quick google search and you can get this or research on your own.  Point being, H&M has balls for passing up on the partnership.  It could be bad business or not.  I'm not familiar enough with Lotte to say anything, but most companies chose to partner with Lotte.

As you can see there was quite a long line.  Waits were reported as long as 2 to 3 hours.  The overall space looks quite chic as opposed to other H&M stores I've seen.  I'm still trying to figure out the price point.  Hopefully, H&M will still be cheap and inexpensive for Korean shoppers.  Since it is an international company, I'm hopeful.  Yet, I'm told that shopping in Korea is really inexpensive due to wholesale retailers which would be competition in itself..  Honestly, from what Korean friends have told me, and what I've seen on online Korean retailers- H&M might not have much to offer.  Although, American Apparel has been pretty successful.

 

source

Plastic Surgery in Korea: Before and After

While I don't endorse plastic surgery, I think the before and after pictures are fun to look at.  Here are a few magazine scans of ads from a Korean magazine.

 

Mother - South Korean Film

I just saw that a South Korean movie, "Mother," will be coming to the big screen in the States.  You can watch it on youtube, but I suggest waiting to see it in the theaters.  If you like Korean movies, the more viewers they get in the States, the more likely you will get to see more on the big screen.  You can see it March 12, 2010.  Mother is a thriller movie by the same guy (Bong Joon-ho) who directed "Memories of Murder" and "The Host."

Synopsis

"Hye-ja is a single mom to 27-year-old Do-joon. Her son is her raison d’être. Though an adult in years, Do-joon is naïve and dependent on his mother, and a constant source of anxiety, often behaving in ways that are foolish or simply dangerous. Walking home alone one night down a nearly empty city street, he encounters a young girl who he follows for a while before she disappears into a dark alley. The next morning, she is found dead in an abandoned building and Do-joon is accused of her murder. Thanks to an inefficient lawyer and an apathetic police force, Do-joon’s case is quickly closed, but his mother refuses to let this be the end of the story. Trusting no one, Hye-ja’s maternal instincts kick into overdrive, and she sets out to find the girl’s killer and prove her son’s innocence."

 







바나나

Mahru! The S. Korean A.I. robot. Available sometime in the next ten years?

If you haven't seen this before, I'm proud to inform you that in S. Korea they have developed an A.I. robot named Mahru. It can dance, say hello, and do the dishes (see video one).  More so it is supposed to be for sale within a decade or so.  Needless to say this is pretty amazing.  It was developed here, and I hope it really will be for sale soon enough. I feel like we are well closer to the Jetsons as a planet (video two), and should be properly creeped out by what this may imply when we're old foagies (video three).  After the following videos I threw up a couple of young Mahru just for fun..  Enjoy.

Video one:  This gives the basic details

Yourboyhood

I'm very excited to present our first interview with Hong Sukwoo of yourboyhood. As time progresses we will interview various interesting people asking them 5 random questions. Sukwoo is a street fashion photographer in Seoul, Korea. But he is more then that. For one, he's super talented and very active in the whole Seoul fashion/ culture movement.

You can read more about him and see his photos mostly at yourboyhood.  But also visit:

Daily Projects

ByeBoy
Westwoodman / Yourboyhood

The interview:

2010

Happy New Year's from 바나나!

Koreans celebrate the New Year as well as the Lunar New Year (설날).  I find it interesting how consumption of different foods for NYE varies culture by culture.  Growing up- since I'm not "completely" Korean, my mother's family ate sauerkraut.  Although, traditionally it is good luck for Koreans to eat rice cakes.  What do you eat for the New Year?

Also, in Japan there is a concept called osechi ryori.  I had the privilege to try a few things while working at a Japanese restaurant on NYE.  Here is a picture I found:

Oishii!

 

Moving on...since it is a little bit into the New Year and you may have surpassed the acceptable good luck/ New Year eat-by-date I've included a picture of a puppy.

바나나

Korean drama fever

Do you like Korean soap operas?  I love them!  Right now Schmootzie and I are watching 찬란한 유산 aka Shining Inheritance.  It is a modern Cinderalla story that starts with a spunky lil lady whose  가방 (bag) gets switched up with a spoiled rich kid's.

But alas, things get kind of nuts!  The Cinderella character's father mysteriously "dies" and her evil stepmother kicks out her and her autistic brother. : ( Wretched! Like all good KDramas, the heroine perserveres.  (Her hairstyle looks like mine with a wrinkle in the middle).  I don't know what else happens because I'm only on episode 2.  But you can watch this drama with me at Drama Fever.  There are a few commercials, but you can buy a premium membership, watch on youtube or try to buy it online or at a Korean video store.  Anyhoo, for anyone interested in Korea or Korean culture definitely watch Kdramas.  I will be talking more about all things Korean later on.  Okay bye bye now.

바나나

Oh sweet Jesus...

Source

I've always been slightly been disturbed by Asian teenagers, but this goes beyond disturbing. Obsessed teen fans in Korea are starting to write to their favorite Kpop artists in their own blood. While some fans are pricking fingers and even slicing their own wrists, one fan wrote in menstrual blood. If this fascinates you, google away. In the meantime, contain yourself while you watch this Kpop star's music video:

*Not safe for Korean teenage girls

바나나