SUPER JUNIOR!!! (Life Ruiners)

When I started my journey into Kdrama obsession, I knew it wasn't long until I would have to delve at least a little bit into the Kpop world. It was only a matter of time.

I had heard of Kpop before and knew that the fangirls of Kpop were quite passionate about it (my type of peeps), but I wasn't sure I could really get into it. I love music and all, but could I really get into pop music I couldn't sing along with, or understand???

YES! YES I COULD!!!!

HOLY MOLY!

SUPER JUNIOR OBSESSION

So how did this happen?! Well you know how I LOVE my Kdramas... and as expressed in the last post, She Was Pretty is currently at the top of my LOVE list. And the main reason I love it is because of REPORTER KIM!!!!! Oh my heavens, he is so funny, kind, playful, sweet, adorable, and all together lovable. Like this character is exactly the kind of guy I would love to date!!! AH!!! Love him!!!

Anyway, this lovable character was brought to life by Choi Siwon. So thus was born my new bias. (Bias = Korean term essentially meaning #1 celebrity crush) (See it really is all about the character if you want my love.) So with this new bias, I delve into who Siwon is and what else he is in... he had done a few things but I also found out he was in a group called Super Junior... like a boy band? Certainly he isn't anymore, because isn't he a bit old for that now? I mean boy bands only last like 3 years tops, right? (At least American ones)

Well, I told my friend that introduced me to Kdramas about this discovery, and her sister may have gotten extremely excited about this! This news somehow made Siwon even better!!! Really? How would I know that.... unless I learned about Super Junior...

So I looked them up on Spotify. (I love Spotify!) And I not really knowing where to start in this massive list of songs, I just let it play randomly. A few songs go by... meh... nothing was really striking a chord with me... UNTIL ... SPY came on... I loved... it was so fun! And then SUPERMAN came on... this one is quite a bit different than their usual sound, but again I LOVED IT. Soon to follow were Mr Simple, Sorry Sorry, Mamacita, Devil, Shirt, Swing, Sexy Free and Single, No Other, and pretty much everything else they do!!!!




And then the Music Video Binge began!!! Thankfully at this point, (maybe a day later) Suey was fully ensnared with me in this new obsessive behavior! (Have I ever mentioned how much I love my sister and how much we are alike in our tastes, and behaviors?!!!! I love it. We really are twins separated by twenty years!) OH MY GOODNESS PEOPLE! There are 11 of them! One boy band! Eleven members (used to be 13), been together for 10 years, so half of them are in their 30s!!!! SO THEY ARE MY AGE!!! (Totally legit to crush on them! Yes!!!) AND!!!!! These guys can dance! It looks like so much fun!!! I am a bit jealous having grown up performing in a singing and dancing group as a little girl... they actually get to do it for a living!!! HOW FUN!!!! (I miss performing! And dancing! And audiences, and the excitement right before you go on stage!) And then as I watched more I started to recognize faces and I wanted to get to know all of the members of this group... So I started to look up the individual members, and more videos of interviews so I could get to know their personalities. (Why are their personalities important to me? Especially since I can't understand them??? Who knows... but a body wants to know... and wants what it can't have I suppose...)



I was like a sponge, soaking in as much information about this group as possible... Shocking myself by learning all the members' names (and how to spell them, because if I can't pronounce them correctly it's the least I can do to learn how to spell them) and being able to recognize them within days. It has now been 14 days... and I'm fairly certain I can recognize individual voices. (I go all in when it comes to fangirling.) And the obsession doesn't seem to be dying down... My Kdrama watching has been put on the back burner, Super Junior now stolen my main focus.




 My goal now is to learn all of their dances, because they look like such fun and when a song comes on I want to be able to dance "with them". Suey and I have already discussed going to their next world tour concert, which will probably be in LA. But it probably won't be for awhile since 5 of their members are fulfilling their required military service for the next two years... :(  And even if a sub group comes to perform I want to wait until Siwon, Eunhyuk, and Donghae are done because they are my favorites...

Speaking of Favorites... Suey wanted me to do my Top 5 Super Junior Members... So here we go!!!!

#1 Siwon
Siwon will always be my number One because of Reporter Kim... the end. But he has the most expressive face! I love it... There is a trend in all Super Junior music videos, a lot of them start with a close up of Siwon's face... It's kinda funny. He seems to always be there for his fellow members whether it is to comfort or break up a fight, or cheer up, or entertain. He seems like an incredible friend. (Which, can I say, comes across in She Was Pretty!) He is handsome and adorable, there is a difference and he is both! He's my fav!

I am not going to give the rest of my top 5 numbers because... well because it is quite fluid at this point... (and I'm indecisive)

Eunhyuk
Oh Eunhyuk! My favorite dancer! I just LOVE this guy! The members of Super Junior always tease him about being the ugliest member... I just want to say NO WAY!!! This GUY!!! UGH! He is such an amazing performer! He might not be classically handsome the way Siwon is, but there are moments when he performs that he just takes my breath away because I find him so attractive! I think it comes from his confidence, his skill, and his charming personality. When he dances he has this punk attitude and style that I love to watch. Eunhyuk also seems so sincere and sweet, I just can't help but love him! So if anyone says you're ugly, I'll fight them for you Eunhyuk Oppa!

Donghae
This one kinda snuck up on me. Yes... he is very attractive, but he is kind of a quiet one, and because I am cursed, I tend to like the outgoing charming ones.  The vibe I got from Donghae was just quiet, and maybe even a little cockiness... OH MY NO! He is quiet, yes. The strong silent type, but he is just a big ol' softy, and is quite sensitive and humble. I am so glad to be wrong again! Ah! He is so endearing with strong sincerity. And then with the members he is so fun! I can see him being a contender for Siwon's number 1 spot if Siwon wasn't locked in.

Leeteuk
Oh Leeteuk! Leader of Super Junior... because he is the oldest. He is 32... He doesn't look 32... Gosh... I wish I looked half as good as he does! This guy is super charming, which you know I have a weakness for... Ugh! He has my favorite smile! That dimple! He has one of the best smiles! Oh man, I love smiles.

Kyuhyun
The first time I heard him sing A cappella I was floored! He has my favorite voice in the group! He is also the evil maknae (meaning the youngest in the group) and loves to give the other members a hard time and pranks them. I love it!

Here are the rest of the members I love them too! I'd love to meet anyone of them. But I would probably just stare awkwardly and tell them thank you over and over again since that is pretty much the extent of my Korean at this point.

Thank you for enduring my gushing! Isn't it amazing that because of the internet in two weeks I can go from not being able to tell them apart to knowing their names, what their personalities are like, who is singing, and who is missing... Crazy! Hopefully I will soon be able to say I know their dances! I am loving this new group!!! Do you have Kpop groups I should love as well??? Or should I just love on these guys some more??? ;) I think I shall!!! :) PROUD TO BE AN ELF!!!!

Kdramas... I am Eating Crow

A little less than a year ago a friend told me she was really into Kdramas (Korean Dramas)... I began to worry about her sanity. She recommended that I should try them out and insisted that I would love them. With eyebrows doubting and slight eye rolls, I tried my best to politely say, "Yeah, no way, but thanks." I imagined anime, I imagined really bad acting Korean soap operas, I imagined it being extremely lame!

Then this same friend came to stay with me for Thanksgiving. (Maybe I should mention that we are kindred spirits, bosom buddies, and best friends... essentially, I would do anything for this chica.) So when asked if I would give Kdramas a try... just three episodes... I reluctantly said yes....


 A little over a month has now passed and I am utterly and irrevocably obsessed with Kdramas. I have consumed eight dramas. I've put away my foolish Kdrama prejudice, eaten crow, and doing penance for my harsh judgements by trying to K-onvert any and all that are willing to give it a try...

So WHY do I LOVE Kdramas SO much? Oh my... let's see if I can illuminate the addictiveness of them...

1. Maybe this one is not a huge reason for you, but it is for me. For the most part they are very "clean" entertainment. There aren't overly graphic sex scenes, which seems to be so rare nowadays. (If you have seen some the "teen" dramas nowadays I am shocked at what they show on TV, and especially direct at teenagers... it drives me a little crazy.) And girls are dressed fairly modestly, ok granted they wear some pretty short skirts, but I would rather have that than bosoms fairly overflowing out of blouses.

She Was Pretty

2. They usually have a very engaging plots with cliffhangers at the end of each episode. Some of the plot lines are a little outrageous, but at least they are fun. And this also adds to their addictiveness.

Lie To Me

3. THE ROMANTIC TENSION. This might seem weird if I also were to say that in 20 episodes you might only get 3 kisses, maybe 5 mutual hugs, a handful of wrist grabs that you just wish were hand holds. And I LOVE IT. The romantic interactions are so sweet and innocent, it just kills me. These little dramas are more romantic than those shows that have a sex scene once every episode. Every much a lesson in less is more! And when the couple finally kisses it's pure ecstasy.

Secret Garden 

4. You get to see your couple really grow... as individuals and as a couple. Over the time I watch a drama, I notice the characters become stronger, they mature, they grow. And the greatest thing is that when the couple gets together the show isn't over! They get to struggle together some. It makes me happy... It isn't, "oh, she got the guy and now life is hunky dory!" It's "Oh they are together, now let's see them work as a team... or not work as a team and struggle some... or lots." It's great!

Coffee Prince

5. This last reason is probably a very individual experience, pertaining only to me. These dramas restored some of my belief in the love story again. With the beautiful innocence that surround these kdramas, I could feel some of acidic cynicism being sucked out of my bitter and single soul. I couldn't help it. The repugnant stench of pure lustfulness and selfish wanton disguised as romance has abounded in American shows and movies, being slyly and gradually slipped into my life and tainting my expectations of love. I'm fairly certain that no one would ever want to rip off my clothes and devour me. But suddenly, watching these cute little shows I could feel my heart lighten in the simple expressions of affection. A kiss to the forehead. A piggy back ride. Getting medicine for someone who is sick. A brush of a hand. Making them lunch. UGH! IT WAS JUST SO DARN CUTE!!!! I COULDN'T HANDLE IT!!!!! The innocence and the sweetness... that is what I long for.... *sigh...

Therefore, a new obsession was born. And in the words of my family, my friend created a monster. It has taken over my life... leading me to a new Kpop obsession (more on that later) and beginning a study in the Korean language. (So really it has become a cultural study.)

Another reason I love this new obsession... If you find someone who is also into Kdramas, you are instantaneously best friends. Seriously... instantaneously. It's great. I love fandoms.

SO if you are willing to give it a try, I recommend starting with She Was Pretty. It is my current favorite. It's adorable, funny, frustrating, and wonderful. Give it at least three episodes... and after you are done we can talk about how much we love Reporter Kim! Man I wish he was real... really in my life...(I use dramafever.com and viki.com, they are like hulu)


Here are the Kdramas I have watched... If you have seen these, let's chat... or if you have recommendations, I am all ears!
Lie to Me (Loved... but it was also my first drama so it has a special place in my heart)
Faith/ The Great Doctor (Loved! Only one kiss but so many other great moments!)
Secret Garden (Loved! So funny! Very quirky)
Boys Over Flowers (This one just made me mad! But lots of people love it, it's like a rite of passage, but if you watch I will definitely have lots to talk about with you!)
Coffee Prince (Frustrating, in like a good way, but after the12th episode, one of my favorite couples!)
She Was Pretty (LOVED!!!! Favorite!)
Heirs (Another Lee Min Ho one... it was good, but I wasn't like WOW... I can't love them all)
Birth of a Beauty (Not done with this one, but this one has a bit of a dark plot... but I am enjoying)