Friday, July 27, 2007

Super Junior's Supper Happy Gay Video

Update:



Perhaps I was too quick to pronounce Dong Bang Shin Gi as the brightest flamers in the K-pop world. An alert reader made me aware of this you tube video. Watch it with someone you love.



Original Post



Since there doesn't seem to be much in the news these days over here in Korea, I thought it would be a good time to update my loyal viewers on the latest happenings in the Korean Pop world.



The new single from Super Junior that you all have been waiting for is finally out. It's called  행복. The obvious English translation for that word is 'happiness', but of all the English words that share that meaning, the word 'gay' might have been a better choice to capture all the major themes in the video.



Girlsdayout



This video (click here to see it) is great because it just shows the Super Juniors as real people, not some big shot egotistical music stars. Just like your normal Korean male teenagers, they wake up in the morning, put on their hot pink pants one leg at a time, spend several hours getting their hair primped  and their lipstick, eye-liner and rouge just right, go to the gym and play all sorts of giggly-fun games with each other and sneak in a little kiss on the cheek every now and then if they feel a bit saucy.  See here for more Super Junior fun.



Yeah, the kids are alright.



For those of you who read this blog who are not familiar with Korea, this is a very fair representation of the average male Korean teenager. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  Oh sure, they all wear their school uniforms in public, but when they get home they all head straight for their pink shirts and make up and take turns doing each other's hair. Every single one of them. No exceptions. Not one.





LuvyduvyIf by chance you think the Super Juniors have what it takes to replace Dong Bang Shin Gi as the Big Kahuna's of the Korean Gay Wave, I present this video from the Dong Bangers for your consideration. Warning: not work safe, nor is it particularly 'home safe' either (not the kind of video you want your family or friends to catch you watching).





The real entertainment begins when you read the comments below the clip and see their fans try to deny that there is anything gay about that video. Ah, got to love the cute little innocents.



A question for all of you to ponder. Why is that Asian girls get off on gay guy love while their western counterparts would vomit profusely if forced to watch these kinds of videos? What are the long term ramifications of a whole generation of young Asian girls attracted to boys who look more feminine than they do? Are these not questions that demand answers? 



Selected Comments from Previous Blog

Comments

Whackin' that gay hornet's nest again, I see.

Posted by: jag | July 27, 2007 at 04:50 AM

Ryan Seacrest just said "Holy shit that's gay!"

Posted by: iheartblueballs | July 29, 2007 at 02:29 AM

I wish SES made videos like that. I'd be all over Bada and Eugene touching each other and making goo-goo eyes at one another.

Posted by: Brian | July 30, 2007 at 01:51 AM

More Crudder! More Cru...oh wait. Wrong blog.

Posted by: Hugh | July 30, 2007 at 07:41 PM

Blueballs: Ryan Seacrest is not gay. It was Simon Cowell who sucked off Ryan, not the other way around, so stop with the slander.

PS. Get a blog already. I'm tired of having to scroll down for your comments over at Marmot's Hole. Otherwise, I'm considering cutting and pasting your comments over at Marmot's on to my blog and claiming them as my own.

Brian: Considering the levels of slutitude female Korean pop singers are already lowering themselves to, your wish may soon be granted.

Hugh: To be confused, even temporarily, with the great Ed Crudder is indeed an honor. The man is a model for all expats in Korea.

Posted by: partypooper | August 01, 2007 at 01:05 AM

I correctly predicted that the guy shaving would kiss the other guy and leave some shaving cream on his cheek. Do I get a prize?

Posted by: Brian | August 01, 2007 at 05:20 AM

That video is fag-tastic.

Bum-suk: "I'm going to shower"

So-hung: "You wanna me to wash your back?"

Bum-suk: "No, I wanna you to do a dirty sanchez, felch, teabag, and rusty trombone on me. Then we lucky pierre with Yu-suk."

Posted by: Yes, It's a Gigantic Panda | August 02, 2007 at 05:58 AM

Even the fat guy is gay-pretty now.

Posted by: Paul | August 02, 2007 at 08:49 AM

I often read your blog and am entertained by your hilarious exaagerations, but then I ran across this. You are not exaagerating one bit here nad it scares me.

Those guys do not qualify for penises. I want to find them and use a machete to do their transgender surgery. I would just be worried they would try to hit on me.

The danger of having an entire generation of girls grow up in love with guys gayer than them, is that they will enter college, realize that they want a real man and find someone outside of Asia. Sorry all you Korean men.

No wonder these male she-bands are so scared and try everything to get out of military duty. I can only imagine the ass-whipping they get from real men in the military. Imagine if one of these fags was your tae-kwon-do partner. You would bust him up.

I can only say amen to the commenter above who wrote: "I wish SES made videos like that. I'd be all over Bada and Eugene touching each other and making goo-goo eyes at one another." I loved SES before they broke up. This producer needs to get SES together and produce their videos again. I would go for a free hug from Eugene or Pada.

Posted by: Faggots Gather Here! | August 02, 2007 at 05:53 PM

"Imagine if one of these fags was your tae-kwon-do partner. You would bust him up."

Just so you know 2 members of Super Junior - Sungmin and Hankyung know martial arts. lol It'll be sad day when a gay man beats -your- ass.

Posted by: Huzzah | August 02, 2007 at 07:30 PM

OMFG !!!!
ARE YOU HUMANS ???
OH NO !!
YOU PEOPLE MUST
GO TO HELL !!!!
OMFG !!!!
ARE YOU HUMANS ???
OH NO !!
YOU PEOPLE MUST
GO TO HELL !!!!

[original comment repeats the same message about 50 times. That's just how angry little polly is]

Posted by: polly | August 03, 2007 at 05:06 AM

On a more serious note, I find this whole "jupki" gay-joke thing to be pretty offensive in light of the fact that if any one of those guys actually did come out and say he was gay the same fans who laugh and giggle at his gay-streak now would no doubt toss him aside like a bad piece of meat.

Just like Hong Suk-chon, it's OK to act gay for laughs... but hell comes down on anyone who actually is gay.

Posted by: Brian | August 03, 2007 at 06:06 PM

Polly, Polly, Polly. Although I'm not human (I'm a Giant Panda) I could still split you like cordwood and make you squeal for more. So don't swear at us if we make fun of fairy Korean guys with too much makeup.

Posted by: Ultra-Suave Panda | August 04, 2007 at 03:14 AM

I'm TVXQ and SuJu fan but I'm deeply amused with your writing :D ... Lol actually I'm one of the fan that ........really hopes that they're really gay ahahahaha~ XDDDDDDD

Please write more. Wanna see those immature fans react about this things... LOL

Posted by: Amused | August 07, 2007 at 08:32 AM

i think you have a death wish.

Posted by: sheesh | September 01, 2007 at 01:58 AM

First of all, Asia has a very different outlook on life than the West. They value delicacy and feminism in all genders. What is right and normal? It depends on the person who views it. Just because most people in America do not view it in the same way because of their upcoming does not mean this type of outlook is wrong. Is getting steroid-pumped muscles the right perspective? Why can't people respect each other's cultures? Why is there a need to force our opinions on others?

Posted by: Why? | September 04, 2007 at 06:11 PM

What you see in these videos is NOT how are Asian men and culture. These boy bands are simply gay. I don't know what's wrong with their fans that they can't see that.

Posted by: sentosa | September 05, 2007 at 09:41 PM

Don't you know? Gay guys are the new 'in' thing. Don't bash them just because they get more than you.

Posted by: lol | September 08, 2007 at 03:54 PM

These videos are parodies on their own fame. Artists like TVXQ and SuJu know how they're portrayed to the general public and play up to it because the fans like it.

Posted by: idek | September 08, 2007 at 04:00 PM

I am so glad I found this lol You are very very wise. That video was gay in so many ways...It seemed like the song didn't quite match up so I made this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I10GyYzawss

Posted by: Anrui | September 16, 2007 at 09:47 PM

Stop! Stop! You're making me horny........................

Posted by: Leone | October 02, 2007 at 02:02 PM

People, you're missing something extremely key here: these guys don't control their own images. They didn't form a band to express any kind of identity. They are treated like marketable products, trained and owned by their management companies. These groups are chosen when they are teenagers and their images are dictated to them by their management company, SM. Everything they do is overseen by their company, which is specifically packaging them for a female audience.

Now let's think of girls (and women) in Korea and the kinds of men they are used to seeing. Times may be changing, but there are still a lot of misogynist men in Korea. These "pretty boys" are the polar opposite of the militarized, soju-drinking, room-salon-frequenting men who spit all over the streets. Girls are drawn to them for this reason, and that is why SM portrays the boys this way. These guys may hate doing these things, for all we know. But they have no control over it. We need to recognize that their images may not reflect who they really are at all.

The DBSK video comes from a 1-hour drama in which part of the plot involves Jaejoong mistakenly thinking that Yunho likes him. Jaejoong freaks out every time Yunho touches him. And of course the writers put in lots of moments of them touching each other partly because it's funny to watch Jaejoong squirm and partly because the fans go crazy over it. At the end of the drama, it turns out that it's all a misunderstanding and everyone is straight. But this means that the fans get to watch the boys touch each other for an hour. It's called fanservice. So this video doesn't indicate anything about whether there are gay people in Korea. (Although I'm sure there are gay guys who enjoy it.) These boy bands are marketed to girls, so if it says anything, it is about what SM thinks will attract girls. And it seems to be working.

Now, about the difference between Asian girls' attraction to this gay image and Western girls' repulsion to it, I think it's because of the idea (from Japanese manga) that gay relationships are more "pure" because they are loving each other despite societal pressures, not because of them. Whereas in the West (and I think in actual Japanese gay culture), gay culture has developed to be overtly sexual, these portrayals of male-male relationships, which are marketed to women, focus more on love. That's a big difference from common Western portrayals of gay men.

Don't quote me on this; I'm not an expert yet. But this is my perception given what I know so far.

Posted by: huncamunca | November 19, 2007 at 09:40 PM

^ Yes, it's called "fan service" in short. The idea is that some gay time on screen gets the girls to go crazy, and it ought to be familiar to those who watch stuff like anime.

DBSK aren't gay. Some of them, in truth, are more muscular, and taller too, than the average expat calling them flamers.

Posted by: bluesblue | November 20, 2007 at 10:26 AM

So if being tall and muscular can be seen as evidence that a band isn't flamingly gay, then where does that leave the Village People?

Posted by: fanservice | November 20, 2007 at 12:30 PM

I'm a little upset about the insinuated gay-bashing present throughout both the youtube comments of the videos and in this discussion. What's wrong with acting gay? Or being gay? It doesn't make you any less of a man. And acting like a girl doesn't equal being gay. And being gay doesn't mean it's all about sex. I'm gay and I love emotional gay love stories.

I echo what Brian had to say, the real sad thing is that it's alright to pretend to be gay but not to be really gay. Thankfully those attitudes are changing though.

Posted by: Terhi | December 27, 2007 at 03:53 AM

Super Junior's Super Gay Video

Update:

Perhaps I was too quick to pronounce Dong Bang Shin Gi as the brightest flamers in the K-pop world. An alert reader made me aware of this you tube video. Watch it with someone you love.

Original Post

Since there doesn't seem to be much in the news these days over here in Korea, I thought it would be a good time to update my loyal viewers on the latest happenings in the Korean Pop world.

The new single from Super Junior that you all have been waiting for is finally out. It's called 행복. The obvious English translation for that word is 'happiness', but of all the English words that share that meaning, the word 'gay' might have been a better choice to capture all the major themes in the video.

Girlsdayout

This video (click here to see it) is great because it just shows the Super Juniors as real people, not some big shot egotistical music stars. Just like your normal Korean male teenagers, they wake up in the morning, put on their hot pink pants one leg at a time, spend several hours getting their hair primped and their lipstick, eye-liner and rouge just right, go to the gym and play all sorts of giggly-fun games with each other and sneak in a little kiss on the cheek every now and then if they feel a bit saucy. See here for more Super Junior fun.

Yeah, the kids are alright.

For those of you who read this blog who are not familiar with Korea, this is a very fair representation of the average male Korean teenager. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Oh sure, they all wear their school uniforms in public, but when they get home they all head straight for their pink shirts and make up and take turns doing each other's hair. Every single one of them. No exceptions. Not one.

LuvyduvyIf by chance you think the Super Juniors have what it takes to replace Dong Bang Shin Gi as the Big Kahuna's of the Korean Gay Wave, I present this video from the Dong Bangers for your consideration. Warning: not work safe, nor is it particularly 'home safe' either (not the kind of video you want your family or friends to catch you watching).

The real entertainment begins when you read the comments below the clip and see their fans try to deny that there is anything gay about that video. Ah, got to love the cute little innocents.

A question for all of you to ponder. Why is that Asian girls get off on gay guy love while their western counterparts would vomit profusely if forced to watch these kinds of videos? What are the long term ramifications of a whole generation of young Asian girls attracted to boys who look more feminine than they do? Are these not questions that demand answers?

Monday, July 2, 2007

Rain US Tour Cancelled

A bit of mysterious trouble for our favorite 'World Star' Rain. Several weeks ago his Honolulu concert was canceled just a few days before scheduled date. Rain didn't show up to a press meeting, which ended up being used by his promoters to announce that the concert was off. No reason was given for the cancellation and ticket holders were told they could get refunds for their tickets.



The final sentence in that article:


Promoters would not say how many tickets were sold. The venue would have been set up to hold a crowd of 20,000 to 25,000.




Oh what a mystery! The concert is abruptly canceled without any reason
and promoters are not willing to say how many tickets were sold. Local promoters have apparently filed a lawsuit.



A Rain concert in Toronto which was to be held a few months ago was also canceled, and promoters were unable to give refunds. This is from the first link above:

Jay
Lee, South Korean representative for the promoter of a Toronto concert
that was also canceled, said at the press conference that he has not
been able to refund money to Canadian ticket-buyers, since he has not
yet been reimbursed for his $250,000 deposit.







"And it's been 40 days since the cancellation," said Lee.



Translation: You've all been screwed. Thanks for participating in the Korean Wave.



And why was the Toronto show canceled so suddenly? Apparently there was no official explanation given. Five minutes of intensive Internet searching didn't come up with any solid information, but I did stumble on a blog which claims that Rain canceled the show because the stage was too small. I guess they didn't figure this out until after the venue had been booked and tickets were sold. That could happen...I guess...



The San Francisco, New York and Atlanta concerts were canceled because they faced a copyright challenge in Nevada (There is another band in the States called Rain). However, that was thrown out of court last month and there isn't any word on rescheduling those concerts.



And now the LA concert has been canceled as well just a few days before the scheduled event. The reason this time?

The Saturday night show at the Staples Center
was called off "due to issues related to the show's production,"
according to a statement from Rain's promoter, V2B Global, posted on
the Staples Center Web site.

'Issues related to the show's production'...what could that possibly mean? Why so vague?





So basically the entire North American tour has been canceled for various excuses reasons.





Hey, and didn't Rain's manager just quit suddenly about a month ago without giving any specific reasons?  Hmmm.......







That's just a bit too much coincidence. I've come up with several theories that could possibly explain this strange series of events.



A. Rain's management is profoundly incompetent.



B. 'World Star' Rain isn't even popular enough among Asian-Americans to sell enough tickets to have a concert outside of Asia. 



C. Rain injured his wrist in a jogging accident several months ago, but will be back to his full strength sometime...soon...



D. This is all a part of a greater conspiracy to keep the Korean super-mega star down.




I don't even have to check the Naver discussion boards for this, the answer is clearly D. What would happen to the North American music industry if it got out that there is an Asian singer who can imitate such legendary acts as Justin Timberlake and Usher? How could the West handle the painful truth that no matter what kinds of acts we produce, 1-3 years later Asians can come up with their own version that is kind of almost as good (sort of)?



Comments from previous blog


Comments

Hey! You wouldn't make fun of Bi if he was an American performer like Carrot Top or Wayne Newton, you racist! You ex-pat ESL burger flippers are just jealous of Bi's talents! Like wearing one glove and walking backward! Name one U.S. performer who ever did that!

Posted by: Pawi Komerican Super Han Man | July 02, 2007 at 10:20 PM

I wore one glove and walked backward many times. But I'm not going to tell you my name, because you might be a stalker.

Posted by: One U.S. Performer | July 03, 2007 at 12:52 AM

"Hey! You wouldn't make fun of Bi if he was an American performer like Carrot Top or Wayne Newton, you racist! You ex-pat ESL burger flippers are just jealous of Bi's talents! Like wearing one glove and walking backward! Name one U.S. performer who ever did that!"

LMAO!

Posted by: littlebrownasian | July 04, 2007 at 04:29 AM

Toronto promoter's statement of how they got ripped is here, Hawaii tells a similar story:
http://rainscoming.ca

In L.A. the concert was actually canceled just before show time with fans waiting outside the Staples Center.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-rain3jul03,1,317437.story?ctrack=3&cset=true

Lots of good reading here in the comments section:
http://popseoul.com/2007/07/01/rains-la-concert-cancelled/

Posted by: rainedout | July 05, 2007 at 03:34 PM

I live in Hawaii (leeward Oahu) and the local talk radio station covered this for a few minutes, er seconds. According to the station (AM830) only about 1,500 to 2,000 tickets were sold. Not sure how many were the $300 (for crying out loud!) variety.

Posted by: Matt | July 07, 2007 at 09:48 PM

I sat next to a guy on the plan last week who was one of the guys who picked Rain up from the airport in Los Angeles and had something to do with his entourage.
The fans were told that he was sick. Truth was that the venue was less than half sold-out, and he didn't want to perform to a small audience.

Posted by: joe | July 09, 2007 at 03:49 AM

The fans were told the L.A. Fire Marshal or some inspector shut down the show at the Staples Center because some of his stage equipment wasn't certified under U.S. safety standards.

Basically Rain's tour promoters from Korea have been running this schtick on the North American tour of getting paid the fee from the local promoters, then right before the concert they complain that the local promoters' are not doing an adequate job of getting the staging just right etc. Then they cancel out and refuse to refund the fee to the local promoter.

Posted by: rainedout | July 09, 2007 at 01:14 PM

Sweet. Bi will remain the thousands of miles away from me the way he should be.

Posted by: Angel Wings | July 09, 2007 at 04:57 PM

Carrot Top, Wayne Newton, and Rain: the Bi-list.

Posted by: Brat | July 12, 2007 at 07:54 AM

haha.
people remember,
just becuz you dont like them doesnt mean asia doesnt like him.
if you hate him so much then stop reading about him.
sheesh.

Posted by: park hae man | May 01, 2008 at 10:09 AM

FUCK RAIN! i bought 3 tickets for the toronto show, and its been more than a year now, i still havent got my money back!! he is nothing but a son of a bitch that robs money! i want my money back, my money doesnt fall outta the sky! fuck him!

Posted by: k | May 20, 2008 at 10:16 PM

I didn't get my refund back either! I'm so mad! And I cannot find the promoters anywhere. I'm sure they are lurking around somewhere in Toronto. They totally ditched their office and the site is down too. I would never buy from these promoters or from Rain again! It may not be his fault but I'm sure he should know how bad the concert management has been.

Posted by: A | June 01, 2008 at 09:19 AM