KKonnect & Barnard Asian Pacific Language School Presents
Hangul Day in San Diego Saturday, Oct 12, 2013, 10am – 1:30pm At Barnard Asian Pacific Language School (2445 Fogg St, San Diego, CA 92109) Sponsored by IKEN (Int’l Korean Educators Network)
Introduce and inspire interest in the Korean language to people of all ages in San Diego through various workshops, academic lectures, and cultural activities. Cultivate relationships between the various area communities while providing a gateway to all things Korean in the San Diego metro area and beyond.
www.kkonnect.net/hangulday
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Bekah Kim, the former After School member, was one of the many guest panelists for the weekend K-Pop Convention in LA, K-Con 2013. On August 24th, she attended an interview (moderated by her close friend Ae-young), answered fan questions and signed autographs for the huge crowd that came to see her. I was lucky enough to be able to attend this panel, and with my press access, be closer to the stage. For those who weren’t able to attend, I’m here to re-tell Bekah’s story and her experiences of being a celebrity and K-pop Idol. How Did You Become a K-pop Star? Bekah was playing at a volleyball game, when afterwards an “unnie” came and asked her if she wanted to audition. Bekah was very excited for this opportunity; however, when she was told she would have to sing and dance at the audition, she almost decided not to do it. She said she was confident about dancing (since she was taking lessons and practicing at the time) but not singing. In the end, she did decide to go and audition, and sang a Christian song she knew from her childhood. “Most people don’t realize this since I was a rapper for After School, but I love to sing, a lot!” Bekah passed and got accepted to be a trainee. However, she didn’t start her training until a few years later. “I didn’t want to go to Korea until I finished high school; that’s where all your memories are at. I didn’t want to miss that kind of experience”. When she began her training in Seoul, Bekah was only a trainee for six months before she debuted with the K-pop girl group, After School, in January 2009. The Good and the Bad of being a K-pop Idol: Bekah’s least favorite part of being an idol was the lack of sleep. “Often we would get last minute events that were only a day or two away. So after our schedules, let’s say a schedule ended at 10 p.m., we would go straight to the practice room and rehearse until 5 or 6 in the morning, sleep for an hour or two, and then wake up to go to the following day’s schedule. One time I got as little as 30
Millie’s
Motoongee
Korea Connection
All Things Korean for International Fans: Bekah at K-Con 2013
minutes of sleep. Enjoy your sleep while you can!” Her favorite part of being an idol were the fans. “You guys are what make it worth it!” Moderator Ae-young asked if fans ever got too personal, and invaded her privacy. Bekah answered that luckily she has had very kind and polite fans over the years. She says that she treasure all the gifts she receive from fans, keeping them in boxes so they stay safe. Graduating After School, What Next? Bekah was the first girl to officially “graduate” from After School on July 1, 2011 and has been living back in her home town in Honolulu, Hawaii with her family. There she started her own online store, “I Crave You”, on October 26th, 2012, where she sells her handmade jewelry (and donates a portion of her profit to charity). A fan asked Bekah the question that had been on most people’s minds - “Did you regret leaving After School?” Bekah was very quick and confident to answer “No, not at all. I thought about it for a long time, and I made sure to leave with no regrets. I was at a crossroad. At that time After School was getting ready to debut in Japan. And I thought to myself, if I don’t leave now then I’ll never be able to leave. I thought it was a good time when I left, and it also was a good time for the other girls to start over in Japan”. But Bekah reassured her fans that leaving After School wasn’t the end of her singing career. Bekah is planning on a making an American debut! So far she cannot confirm any details of when she will be making her debut, but she hopes her fans will be patient and wait for her. Camila Kcomt (aka. Millie) considers herself the “Eternal Maknae” of the K-Konnect staff writers, and confesses to being a complete K-Pop Fan Girl and obsessed with Korean Dramas. With dreams of being a writer and an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher in South Korea, Millie is currently trying to learn as many languages as she can (of course Korean being one of them), while working on her fantasy novels.
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Maknae Millie’s Interview with
Dance Winners of K-Con Got Talent K-Con 2013 hosted their very own dance competition, “K-Con Got Talent” where fans could sing and show off their idol dance moves. This year’s competition was heated, and not just because of the suffocating weather but with amazing talent and unique performances. San Diego was represented because of the two groups placing in the Top 3 of the dance section. SDKFM (San Diego K-Pop Flash Mob) sent out a representative group of seven dancers who performed a dance cover to rookie boy group BTS. The “Bangtan Boys”, 21-year-old Karl Baclea-an, 17-year-old Maisia Fang and 21-year-old Sam Vongsay were excited to share their experience. Millie: Why did you guys decide to pick "We Are Bulletproof" by BTS as your dance cover? Karl: We chose “We are Bulletproof” as our cover because it’s a powerful dance with super-fast and visually appealing dance moves. We figured that we would be the only group who would perform it at K-Con because of its level of difficulty. Millie: How long did you practice for this competition? And did you guys do anything else that was special to prepare? Maisia: We practiced really hard for about a month and a half. We held several rehearsals every week. Something special we did was practicing our facials! Our teacher/instructor/manager (as we call him) made us go through the song over and over again until we were able to correctly display the right facials that were needed to
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complete the choreography. Karl: Something special we did to perform was mostly performing it in front of our friends to help us perform in front of an audience and the occasional trip to Tapioca Express for a “good job” boba. When the workers asked for our names, we would use our BTS names and wait for them to call them out loud. Millie: How was the dynamic of the group? Sam: We are all weird, borderline crazy. I'm surprised we actually got things done. Karl: We had really good group dynamics with each other since we have performed with each other before. We all performed as the San Diego K-Pop Flash Mob but this was the first time that certain people had to perform together as a group that we were not as familiar with. Millie: What were the advantages and disadvantages of entering in as a group instead of a solo act? Maisia: One advantage of entering as a group was that we filled up the stage, making it look fuller and better. However, more people means less room on the stage to dance, and that stage was pretty small! Millie: How did you feel right before it was your turn to go up on stage? And how did you feel after when SDKFM placed in the Top 3?
Korea Connection
Sam: When we were chosen as the top three, I was in a shock of disbelief. It took me awhile to realize, but snapped out of it as soon as I saw members of the SDKFM walk up to the stage again. Karl: When the first name was called I was thinking “Don’t worry, we still have a chance”. Then when Ryan Hsu was called I jokingly said “AH Ryan!” Of course. We can’t beat him.” Finally when SDKFM was called, I was completely ecstatic. I felt so proud that my friends and I had our hard pay off in the end. What I thought in the end was “Is the shirt the only thing we get?” Millie: Were you surprised by the crowd's reaction? Did you gain any fans? Sam: I was completely caught off guard by the cheering from the crowd. I want to express my gratitude to the crowd and all of those who supported us. I think there might be some fans, but we aren't as good as the original BTS. Maisia: I actually was surprised! It was surprising to know that crowd knew about BTS. I really didn't expect it since BTS is a new group. But it was nice hearing the crowd screaming and singing along to "We Are Bulletproof". We did gain fans as well. After we got off stage, many fans came up to us and asked for pictures. To be honest, I was actually quite overwhelmed! I didn't expect anyone to come up to us to ask for pictures~ I really felt like a K-pop idol! It was a great experience! Our other San Diego winner was 18-year-old Ryan Hsu who had a solo performance of Exo’s “Mama” and “History” Interview with Ryan Hsu Millie: How long did you practice for this event? Ryan: I have been practicing for my dance performance at
KCON since the moment that KCON 2012 was over. I wish that I could have participated in a group, but many of my friends were busy working on other covers at the time. I tried my best and my efforts pulled through in the end. I worked tirelessly; day and night. Millie: Why did you choose to perform as a solo act for this competition? What are the advantages and disadvantages of performing as a solo act vs. being in a group? Ryan: I felt like there was a lot more pressure on me since I didn’t have other members to draw attention away from me. The only advantage is that I didn’t have to worry about being in sync with anyone or cleaning up choreography. Millie: How did it feel like performing for the second time at K-Con? Was there more pressure or did you feel more comfortable? Ryan: My first dance experience at KCON was an amazing experience for me. After seeing my performance, I made a promised myself that I would become a better dancer/performer. By the time that I had performed on stage at KCON 2013, I had become more comfortable with dancing in for larger crowds. Despite my experience, I was still extremely nervous. Millie: How were the fans this year? Ryan: I love meeting fans and talking to them. K-Pop fans are always such amazing people and I wish I could be best friends with every single one of them. Personally, I don’t see them as fans. I see them as more than the average fan or admirer. . I was also very surprised at the amount of support that I had from the exotics at KCON.
by Millie
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KCon
KKonnect Kritique
2013 More isn’t always better, but when it comes to K-Pop and “All Things Hallyu”, I think most fans would opt to follow to adage. KCON 2013 upped the ante this year, extending its event from a one-day conference and concert event to a two-day weekend of entertainment overload for fans of Korean culture. Sponsored by entertainment giant CJ E&M and produced by Mnet America, KCON expanded both its timestamp and its footprint. This year’s event filled the grounds of the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena grounds for two full days, August 24-25, culminating in a star-studded concert taped for Korea’s weekly music chart show, M Countdown, titled “What’s Up LA”. The relatively well-organized event included three panel tents, an outdoor stage, a workshop tent, a “Dance All Day” tent, as well as shopping, food, artist engagements and a fan club area. If there was a complaint, it was in the slow process of checking in the thousands of guests, especially on day one. The process was systematic, but slow, and waiting fans melted in the mid-morning heat. Once inside, however, the pace was less frenzied, for the most part, as fans meandered from one booth to another, from one tent to the next, or sat relaxing in the shade, drinking plenty of fluids and chowing down on the goodies brought in by local gourmet food trucks and restaurants. The heat, long lines, and high prices combined to make tempers flare in some cases. Not everyone was pleased with his or her KCON experience, but one has to see it for what it is.
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K-
Co
on
Korea Connection
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• Could the event have been held indoors, or could they have provided more shade? Possibly, but the venue would have been much more expensive and ticket prices would have been much higher. • Could they have shortened the lines? Perhaps the check-in process can (and should) be improved. Multiple access points with extra staffing on the first day might be in order, especially given how long it took to check people in. Water! Give me water! Free, poteble water for an outdoor event is probably a good idea. Especially • when food prices are so high. And the temperature is so high. Heat stroke is not a pretty sight. • Commercialism: Event sponsors will want their products hawked – there are no two ways about this. That said, a better balance could easily be found by inviting more culturally oriented organizations to participate so that there are less commercial, and more educational presenters at KCON. • Security and staffing: Overall, the police on hand found KCON attendees to be well-mannered and polite. But, cheaters will find a way to cheat, no matter what you do. Stalker fans will stalk. Miscommunications between event staff, artist management and venue staff are going to occur and trying to handle it all gracefully is the name of the game. There were actually very few problems compared to other venues. That said, KCON is still in its infancy. There’s still room to improve. Should I go again? Oh, yeah. Read the full article online: kkonnect.net
Cheryl Dawley is a Korean drama critic for K-Konnect. Read her drama reviews on kkonnect.net
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Dani's
BIBIMBEATS Music Review
Why We're Obsessed:
BIBIMBEATS Editor Dani dishes on what's to love about YG survival showdown
"WIN: Who Is Next?" I’ve never been a fan of Korean talent shows. Sure, watching JY Park’s all-too-enthusiastic reactions on KPop Star is entertaining. And the fact that The Voice Korea got big names like Kangta and Leessang’s Gil in judges’ chairs is impressive. But the reality is you can only listen to stiff covers of 2NE1’s “Lonely” so many times before it loses its luster, and the one-per-episode elimination pattern gets redundant after a while. Despite producing many more star singers than their American counterparts, Korean talent programs have become something of a dime a dozen. But then YG Entertainment CEO Yang Hyun-suk announced the premise of new boyband competition “WIN: Who Is Next?” and things started looking a little more cutthroat. “WIN” introduces viewers to two groups of boy trainees – Team A, a group of five with the average age of 20, and Team B, six trainees averaging at around 17 years of age. Some trainees are familiar faces recruited from previous talent programs, while others have trained under YG for years, living apart from their families with the
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motivation that one day they would finally debut. Both teams had no idea about the competition until CEO Yang revealed it to them in the first episode. At the end of the year, one team will be chosen by viewers to debut under the name ‘WIN’. The other team will be disbanded, some returning to training and others losing their contracts entirely. The trainees that had once practiced alongside each other are now teams put against one another. The stakes are high, and knowing that the YG is preparing to pull the plug on some hard-working trainees’ dreams is as torturous to watch as it is addictive. What initially drew me into the competition was the sheer talent of YG’s rapping trainees. Surely if you’re sharing a label with the likes of GD&TOP and Epik High, being able to rap and rap well is something of a prerequisite. The most buzzworthy rapper is Team B’s 18 year-old leader B.I. Far before being recruited as a trainee, B.I first got a taste of fame collaborating with MC Mong for the 2009 single “Indian Boy”. Now a teenager, his experience and confidence have given him wisdom enough to lead Team B, both producing tracks and choreographing for the group. Team A leader Song Mino is also a rapper worth watching. At 21 years old, he grew up in the underground hip-hop scene with idol rapper Zico. Like Zico, Mino was originally going to debut with Block B before alleged contract issues. Seeing B.I and Mino battle it out as both talented rappers and disciplined leaders is such a huge element of the show, as it seems like the moment you prefer one, the other does something that resets the bar.
Korea Connection of “WIN” an all-too-familiar scenario for him; something CEO Yang reminds him of throughout the program. In fact, having such past experiences is a constant theme for both trainees, a source of both anxiety and motivation during team challenges. The changing themes keep the program varied and interesting. In addition to learning about the different trainees’ talents and backgrounds, the show begins each episode with a new challenge for both groups to work on. In one, Yang Hyun-suk brings in Taeyang and G-Dragon as coaches for each team, working with the trainees directly and teaching them a routine to present in competition at the end of the episode. In another, the teams meet with trainees from JYP Entertainment, battling it out through vocal, rap, and dance performances in something of a ‘label war’. The challenges in “WIN” take the otherwise well-honed trainees out of their comfort zone, often resulting in both new highs and new lows for the competing teams.
The presence of former talent competition contestants also makes the show exciting. Over the summer, Superstar K2 semifinalist Kang Seung-yoon already enjoyed a solo debut through the company. However, on “WIN”, he trades his acoustic guitar in for a studded snapback and performs as a member of Team A, creating quite the juxtaposition. Seung-yoon could start off an episode preparing for a solo stage on M Countdown only to end it completely failing CEO Yang’s expectations for the month’s group assessment. Team B’s Koo Jun Hoe started off as just another contestant on the first season of KPop Star before being picked up by YG after the ending of the show. Having already faced public rejection on a previous program makes being a part
Personally, I love Team A’s mature image as much as I love Team B’s wild image. When watching an episode, I always envision how great it would be if YG just debuted them as one giant partB.A.P, part-EXO supergroup. The response so far from viewers seems pretty split down the middle, but with good reason. It’s hard to see such promising talents and know that some of them won’t get a chance to debut. The optimist in me won’t rule out a twist ending, but of course, only time will tell. In the meantime, stay strong, fellow “WIN” viewers. As for Teams A and B, we’ll see you at the finish line.
Dani is the former DJ/radio show host of Remix Reuse Resample on KUCI 88.9 FM in Irvine. She is currently a Korean language student and the proud owner of a BIGBANG lightstick.
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An Exclusive Interview with Actor Kwon sang and Director Jae Soh from
Hyun-
Cheryl: What was the best part of filming this movie? Kwon Hyun-sang: The type of film this was – being about film students – was fun, because I have been a film student so it was a concept I knew. Cheryl: What are your hopes for “Let Me Out” – especially with respect to U.S. audiences? Jae Soh: I really hope US audiences enjoy this movie. American audiences see to receive indie films better than Korean audiences do. Plus Americans like Zombies! Cheryl: Anything funny or interesting happen during filming that you want to share? Kwon Hyun-sang: We were actually trying to film, (being film students) but the film crew were actors, so no one really knew what they were doing, so it was interesting trying to get the scenes done! Cheryl: Do you plan on doing movies in the US? Kwon Hyun-sang: Yes, I’d like to make films in Hollywood.
“Let Me Out” is the first Korean indie film to be released in the U.S. and South Korea simultaneously. KKonnect's Cheryl and Jini sat down for an hourlong Skype interview with the director of the film, Jae Soh, and film's protagonist Kwon Hyun-Sang (King 2 Hearts and The Princess Man). Here’s what they had to say about their upcoming movie, “Let Me Out”: Cheryl: Hyun-sang, congratulations on your first leading role! How was it being the main focus of a movie? Kwon Hyun-sang: This was the first film where I was in over 90% of the scenes and dialog. It was a big responsibility, but it was a great experience.
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Cheryl: You’ve now been in horror, comedy, historical, drama. What is your favorite genre? Kwon Hyun-sang: I don’t have a favorite genre. Since I haven’t had that much experience yet, I am still learning and enjoying all the genres. I can’t really choose. It’s all acting, they’re all good. Cheryl: “Let Me Out” seems to be a movie about making movies. What makes this one stand out? Jae Soh: Although this type of movie is more common in the U.S. it is quite uncommon in Korea. Also, Zombie movies are not really done in Korea, so this is really unusual. Zombies are pretty popular in the US, so this movie should appeal to American audiences as well, especially since it’s a comedy. Cheryl: You’ve gone from American cinematographer to Korean writer/director/producer! Big changes. What was the impetus for the change? Jae Soh: I worked in the US doing a cinematography and working on short films. There were plenty of opportunities to do more work in those areas, but I really wanted to direct. I
Korea Connection
moved to Korea, thinking that would put me on the fast track, (laughs) and 18 years later I’ve directed a movie. It’s been good, though, reconnecting with my Korean history. I didn’t know much Korean when I moved back here! Cheryl: What was the inspiration for “Let Me Out”? Jae Soh: We were kind of under the gun to produce something fast when the money came through, but I believe that being ready when opportunity knocks is important. The script was easier to write because I have been a film student and professor and have worked in the film industry. Cheryl: What do you plan to do next? What’s the next project? Movies in Korea? Movies in the U.S.? Jae Soh: I’m working on documentary about the changing landscape of Seoul. How the historical Seoul is disappearing. I’ve also got another feature film in the works. It will be more commercial. I would like to direct movies in the US, too. All too soon, the questions were over, the evening was running late and it was time to bid our farewell. We thanked Hyun-sang and Jae for their time and for sharing a few laughs with us. Next – we see them at the movies! by Cheryl Dawley
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with Gary Routh
Why Korea is called Korea Did you know? The name “Korea” comes from a building and some deer antlers. Koreans call their country ‘Han Gook’ (한국 - 韓 國) which means “Nation of Han people”. So why do we call it ‘Korea’? Where does this word come from anyway? Korea has a long history that can be traced back thousands of years. Over the course of those millennia, different kingdoms rose and fell. In 918, the Koryo (고려 - 高麗) dynasty (sometimes spelled Goryeo) was established by King Taejo, and this dynasty lasted until 1392. The name Koryo itself was derived from Koguryo (고구려 -高句麗), one of the ancient Three Kingdoms of Korea. The kingdom of Koryo 고려 became known in the west as ‘Corea’, and eventually ‘Korea’. The name 고려 is formed from two Han Chinese characters: 高 – 고 – High, tall 麗 – 려 - Beautiful, elegant, fine The influence of China on Korea was such that Korean clans adopted Chinese names (like “Kim” and “Lee”) and even the kingdoms of Korea were 104 | SAN DIEGO KOREAN-AMERICAN COMMUNITY MAGAZINE . October 2013
written with Chinese characters (this was before Korea had invented its own alphabet). With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the two characters behind the name ‘Korea’. The idea of “high” or “tall” was originally represented by the ancient Chinese characters through a carving or a picture of a tall building.
It is still easy to imagine a tall building when you look at the character in its current form: 高 Now, let’s take a look at some common vocabulary words that use this character for the meaning “high”: 고등학교 - 高等學校 (‘Go-deung Hak-gyo’): High School 고속 - 高速 (‘Go-sok’): High Speed 고급 - 高級 (‘Go-geup’):
Korea Connection
Gary Routh is an engineer at The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR). He began learning Korean in 1994 using various methods, including the study of Hanja as a helpful tool in building vocabulary. Email him at newhanja@gmail.com
high rank, seniority, high level 고층 - 高層 (‘Go-cheung’): High-rise (building) 최고 - 最高 (‘Chweh-go’): The best You can see how each of these words relates to something “high” in them, and each has the 고 (‘go’) sound in them. For what it’s worth, 고 -高 is the 22nd most common last name in Korea (which isn’t saying much, but at least if you meet a Korean with the last name of 고 or ‘Ko’ you will know what it means!) So the ‘Ko’ in ‘Korea’ means ‘high’. Now let’s look at the ‘-rea’ part of ‘Korea’. The ‘-rea’ part comes from 려- 麗 which is actually pronounced something like “ryuh”. It means ‘beautiful’, ‘fine’, and ‘elegant’. This character evolved from ancient Chinese inscriptions of deer with beautiful antlers:
It’s a little hard to visualize, isn’t it? In each picture there are 2 deer, shown from the side, their legs pointing to the left. Above the deer are the antlers. These carvings evolved over time to the modern form we use today: 麗 Unlike 고 (高), the character for 려 (麗) isn’t used in very many common Korean words. The one you are most likely to encounter is: 화려(하다) - 華麗 (‘Hwa-ryuh Hada’): Fancy, showy, colorful There are less common words that use this character, and they all have similar meanings: 미려 - 美麗 (‘Mi-ryuh’): Beauty, elegance, gracefulness 수려(하다) - 秀麗 (‘Su-ryuh Hada’): graceful, beautiful, handsome. 장려(하다) - 壯麗 (‘Jang-ryuh’): splendid, magnificent, grand, imposing So as it turns out, Korea really does come from a tall building and some deer antlers… in a manner of speaking anyways.
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