Rin's World - August 2012 - 1.8 by Rin Sanada

Volume 1, Issue 8

August 2012

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2NE1 Global Tour EYK: Kpop Music Mondays—July

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Learn Korean

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News spotlight: G-Dragon Learn Japanese K-Pop Spotlight: Nu’est

Of Note:

The Knight in the Area Chihayafuru 15

Bring the Drama

To the Beautiful You 16

Credits

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2ne1, the female Korean pop quartet that has become an overseas sensation in their three years together, have plotted their first international tour -- the New Evolution trek -- that will include the group's debut stops in the United States. CL, Dara, Bom and Minzy will head to 10 cities in seven countries this summer, including Newark, NJ on Aug. 17 and Los Angeles on Aug. 24. A 49-second tour trailer released earlier this month demonstrates the glittery fashion and eye-popping theatrics of a 2NE1 concert. "We feel very blessed for this opportunity to tour worldwide. We've been working with an awesome team and can't wait to hit the road and rock out with our fans," says CL in a statement. "We're especially looking forward to coming back to the states for our first official US shows." 2NE1 gained momentum last year when they were crowned "Best New Band In The World" in an international vote held by MTV Iggy. The group's hits include the international smash "I Am The Best," "Ugly" and "I Love You," the latter of which received an official music video earlier this month that has already racked up 7.3 million YouTube views. The song is currently No. 1 on Billboard's K-Pop Hot 100 chart. Along with the two U.S. shows, 2NE1 will also perform in Korea and Japan on the tour; the full itinerary is below. July 28: Seoul, Korea (Olympic Gymnastics Stadium) July 29: Seoul, Korea (Olympic Gymnastics Stadium) Aug. 17: Newark, N.J. (Prudential Center) Aug. 24: Los Angeles, Calif. (Nokia Theatre) Sept. 1: Osaka, Japan Sept. 2: Osaka, Japan Sept. 7: Nagoya, Japan Sept. 8: Nagoya, Japan Sept. 11: Yokohama, Japan Sept. 12: Yokohama, Japan Credit/Source: Billboard

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At Boulevardier, we are fascinated with the Kpop phenomenon that is starting to radiate on large Europeans communities. We asked Claire Solery, passionate follower of Korean culture, to tell us about current star G-Dragon. Claire is the author of Out of Korea, where she shares visual and artistic observations from Korea, especially if they have a link with France. Contemporary art, photos, cinema and Kpop are her main interests. She currently is in Seoul and you can follow her tumblr “One month in Seoul” and on Twitter (Out_Of_Korea). On June 28th during the men's fashion week in Paris, a mini hunt happened on Twitter. Photos of GDragon (aka GD), leader of South Korean boy band Big Bang, attending fashion shows of Rick Owens, J. Juun and Yohji Yamamoto were posted on social networks. These attracted a handful of young girls and very young women, motivated to get a glimpse of his pink hair in Paris. G-Dragon, whose real name Kwon Jiyong, 23, is not known to 'people' authorities and fashion experts but he has attracted the attention of a few online publications with his style. In Asia, he is one of the most famous male personalities, one of the headliners in Kpop or Korean Pop, the current worldwide purveyor of boy and girl bands that is slowly but surely penetrating the tweens market. An idol for teens who are in search of a stature in haute couture. Paris is a trophy for any respectable fashionista. Music will wait, make way for fashion. G-Dragon is a fashionista, which is more likely to be approached as a diva in the Korean pop world. Kpop systematically establishes in each group an “idol”, backed with a concept, hair color, looks, and fits them into predetermined boxes [stereotypes]. A narrow world, where the body no longer belongs to the owner. G-Dragon was only 8 years old when he became a "trainee" at SM Entertainment, the largest idol agency in the kingdom of Kpop. He left at 13 to join YG Entertainment whose image promotes its artists' individualities. He was made leader of a team of 5 boys "with strong personalities," among which he is the most flamboyant. He logically becomes the group’s dynamo. He composes, writes and even released a solo album.

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G-Dragon also rolls in style: partnerships between YG and creators, who have well understood the importance of positioning in an environment where idols are overexposed to the media and imitated by their fans, have granted him an opened closet to Givenchy, Balmain or Comme des Garçons. He's a brand with his own trademark. He controls his aesthetics as much as possible and refines his connections in the West. His sexual ambiguity can trouble us, Europeans, for we are not accustomed to the homoerotism climate of Kpop, in a society where the stigma over homosexual celebrities is quite irreversible. G-Dragon is not a drag, not a second Lady Gaga or a Daphne Guiness. Other idols can fall under this label, but he is the perfect embodiment of the triumphant androgyne. His cat’s eyes, his slender silhouette which naturally fits women’s clothes, and his brat voice effortlessly places him at the gender crossroads. G-Dragon has been able to navigate in a world of restrictions to build himself an image of an icon. An idol is a work on which everything can be projected, and that sends you its light back; the perfect recipe to overheat the sexuality of young debutants. On the eve of the release of his next album on August 20, GDragon truly is the Kpop icon for he is full of potentials: man-woman, blond, brown, pink, individual, group member. He is at the image of Kpop, very aggressive in his visual impact, all the more forthright, protean and experimental, like Kpop itself, in a sort of glorious and eccentric adolescence. Thanks to Ouley_Soleil @ Twitter for the translation! Source/Credit: Big Bang Updates & France's L'Express

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By Christine P Two months ago, South Korean band Big Bang’s charming leader, G-Dragon was in Paris, France. G-Dragon was reported to have been attending fashion shows for American designer Rick Owens, Japanese designer Junya Watanabe, and Korean designer Juun.J. Harper’s Bazaar Korea accompanied G-Dragon on the trip for an 18-page editorial photo shoot, featuring him. The issue had officially hit store shelves in Korea on the 1st of August. Ahead of the August issue’s release, online retail site Interpark shared some photos from the leader’s spread. More recently, G-Dragon has kept a mass of fans excited with his second solo album, rumoured to be released on the 18th of August 2012, his own birthday. According to various sources and industry officials, G-Dragon has entered the final stages of his new album. This will be the leader’s first return after his immensely popular first solo, ‘Heartbreaker’, released in 2008, in August. It has been predicted that G-Dragon will take the same approach this year, on the 18th of August, like his first solo album release date. However, another source revealed, “G-Dragon will release a teaser on his birthday on August 18th and then take the following steps for the comeback. I believe that the release of the album will be around the end of August.” YG Entertainment had also informed OSEN through a phone conversation on August 9th, “Big Bang’s leader G-Dragon is currently in Seoul filming a MV for his solo album.” Unfortunate for followers everywhere, recent reports have shown that G-Dragon’s new album release is expecting a holding as a result of some unexpected contingencies. G-Dragon’s album will be delayed in its release date because of the new video rating law implemented by the Korea Media Rating Board (KMRB). From August the 18th, G-Dragon’s birthday, all music videos and teasers produced by any entertainment company (with the exception of the making-of clips and photos) must be first deliberately screened by the Korean Media Rating Board before being uploaded onto YouTube or any other portal sites on the internet. YG Entertainment’s head, Yang Hyun Suk has expressed his opinion on the matter “Every minute and every second is important when it comes to the production of the MV as well as promotions,” he continued. “We were planning on promoting G-Dragon‘s new album starting in midAugust, but it looks like we may have to rearrange our plans due to the new implementation.” Because of KMRB’s new law, all expected videos released and uploaded after August 18 th are required for a classified ranking prior to worldwide release. KMRB had begun accepting new video requests from August 13 th, one week before the first enforcement date. G-Dragon’s new music video is expected out by August 20th, earliest. On the 11th of August, G-Dragon had updated his Twitter with a link to a mysterious countdown timer. The time had commenced ticking off every second, and the countdown will most probably hit 0:00 on August 18th at 12am (Korean Standard Time), which happens to be his birthday. Nothing has actually been revealed, but despite rumours of a possible delay, fans have been assuming the countdown to be the release date of his 2nd solo album. Numerous sources also indicate some physical body improvements, transforming G-Dragon for his impending comeback. Big Bang’s trendsetting leader is known to not have much interest in building his body, but he has been frequently spotted making daily visits to the YG Entertainment gym, sometimes for workouts lasting some several hours. An associate shared, “It’s not for a sudden image transformation, but he’s managing his health for his solo activities. He’s consistently working out for several hours a day.” G-Dragon’s first solo album ‘Heartbreaker’, and the image he had portrayed was one of an eccentric fashion scene and attentiongrabbing music, and recently, the leader’s new workout has increased fans’ curiosity and yearning for his comeback. Other recent news about G-Dragon include his endorsement for the Korean BSX “Victory or Nothing” shirts and collection, viewable here, CF viewable here,. Source(s): allkpop, bigbangupdates, forever-gdragon. Image(s): allkpop, Twitter, Instagram, bigbangupdates.

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By Rin Sanada One of the newest groups in Kpop is Nu’est which means New Established Style and Tempo, and boy does it show. Compared to the other new groups such as BAP, which is mainly a rap style group and EXO-K and EXO-M which is a dance pop style of Kpop, Nu’est brings something different to the genre. Not only are their dance styles different than normal kpop but so are the style of the songs which feature more about life lessons than the lovey dovey or breakup type of music kpop is known for. I can truly say that I am a fan of this group, not only because of good looks, but because of good music, great dances, fantastic style and awesome vidoegraphy in the music videos. NU’EST stands for New Established Style and Tempo. A boy group under Pledis Entertainment. There are five members JR, Aron, Minhyun, Baekho and Ren. Fan Club Name: CHAMP’EST

JR Birth Name: Kim Jong Hyun Stage Name: JR Position: Leader, Main Rapper, Main Dancer Birth Date: 8 June 1995 Extra: A powerful charisma behind a pure innocent boy image REN Birth Name: Choi Min Ki Stage Name: Ren Position: Vocalist, Dancer Birth Date: 3 November 1995 Extra: Unpredictable cute guy with metro sexual charm BAEKHO Birth Name: Kang Dong Ho Stage Name: Baekho Position: Main Vocalist, Dancer Birth Date: 21 July 1995 Extra: Sexy and masculine with true loyalty. Also After School‘s Uee gave him is stage name MINHYUN Birth Name: Hwang Min Hyun Stage Name: Minhyun Position: Main Vocalist, Dancer Birth Date: 9 August 1995 Extra: Conservative man with sharp and intellectual charm ARON Birth Name: Aaron Kwak Stage Name: Aron Position: Vocalist, Dancer Birth Date: 21 May 1993 Extra: The romantic guy, ladies’ lover, Aaron knows how to handle his smooth and natural charm

Source/Credit: http://kpopconcerts.com/kpop-profiles/nuest/

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By Rin Sanada I must say that I love sports anime. I started with the Prince of Tennis and wanted to find something else, so I ended up watching Whistle and so that brings me to Kuroko’s Basketball, which I featured a little while ago and now to The Knight in the Area, which I had been meaning to check out much sooner, But I’m glad I didn’t because I was instantly hooked to this series and now I have over 30 episodes to catch up on unlike Kuroko’s Basketball which is newly airing. I really do loving watching soccer and tennis series so TKITA because perfect. It’s so thrilling and heartwarming. But, I wanted to find another series to feature this month and I came across Dear Boys which is another basketball anime, but I couldn’t get into it and on the side there was Chihaya furu and it was about a girl starting a Karuta club, it’s labeled sports anime, so I decided to check it out and I am again amazed on how I go hooked. I really enjoy this series because it teaches a little about Japanese poetry. So over all character personalities are awesome in both series, anime style is awesome even the not so normal eye style in Chihayafuru and the storyline is getting better with each episode.

Plot Summary: Believing himself to be useless at soccer, Aizawa Kakeru instead becomes the manager of his school's soccer team, while his brother Suguru is its ace, and is even good enough to represent Japan in the championships. However, Kakeru may have a yet unknown strong talent within himself that only his brother Suguru can see, and they often get into arguments over Kakeru's denial of his skills. Things are made more complicated with the return of Nana, an old friend of theirs that http://www.crunchyroll.com/the-knight-in-the-area Kakeru has a crush on. Plot Summary: Chihaya Ayase is a frank and ebullient girl who becomes fascinated by the obscure world of competitive karuta, a card game based on Japanese poetry. Introduced to the aggressive style of the game by a quiet and thoughtful elementary school classmate named Arata Wataya, the two quickly become close friends. They start playing as a group with Taichi Mashima, Chihaya's smart and athletic childhood friend, until they have to part ways during their middle school years due to several circumstances. As their high school life begins, they http://www.crunchyroll.com/chihayafuru meet once again.

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SYNOPSIS The series centers on Goo Joo Hee, a Korean girl who lives in the United States. One day, she sees a track and field competition on TV, and becomes attracted to one of the high jump competitors, Kang Tae Joon. She begins to idolize the young athlete and eventually transfers to Korea to attend the same school that Tae Joon attends after he suffers an accident that could potentially end his career. There is a catch, however: Tae Joon attends an all-boys high school and Jae Hee must disguise herself as a boy to enter.

CAST Min Ho as Kang Tae Joon Choi Seol Ri as Goo Jae Hee Suh Joon Young as Ha Seung Ri Kim Ji Won as Seol Ha Na Lee Hyun Woo as Cha Eun Kyul Kang Ha Neul as Joo Ji Chul Ko So Young as President Lee Lee Ah Hyun Ki Tae Young as Jang Min Woo Lee Young Eun as Lee So Jung

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TV Show: To The Beautiful You Revised romanization: Areumdawoon Geodaeege Hangul: 아름다운 그대에게

Yoo Min Kyu as Young Mahn

Director: Jeon Ki-Sang Writer: Hisaya Nakajo (manga)

PRODUCTION CREDITS

Network: SBS

Original Work: Manga Hana-Kimi by Hisaya Nakajo Production Company: SM Entertainment Director: Jun Ki Sang Screenwriter: Lee Young Chul (이영철)

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Episodes: 16 Release Date: August 15, 2012 -Runtime: Wednesday & Thursday 21:55 Language: Korean Country: South Korea

Journalists Wanted We would like to let everyone know that the newsletter will continue, however it would be a lot easier with help. We will add this incentive: anyone willing to help contribute will receive a free poster or wall scroll of their favorite anime (selective), actor, actress or k-pop group. This will only apply if your article is chosen to be included in the newsletter. With that said, break out the pen and paper and join the newsletter team!

Cover Art:

Rin’s World

editor-in-chief Rin Sanada Printed by Copy Craft www.copycraft.com

Source: http://www.eatyourkimchi.com Page 8,9,11

Note: Posters, wallscrolls are made after the newsletter will be published and shipped directly to journalist. Please email Rin Sanada at rinsanada@yahoo.com for de-

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Nu’est Group Picture © Pledis Entertainment Source: Unknown Page 14 The Knight in the Area © Credit as Tagged Source: Crunchyroll

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