In preparation for my sojourn to the land of Kpop and Kdrama, I find myself browsing through countless blogs, travel sites, and OTAs (online travel agencies). Though I've yet to look for must-visit attractions and must-buy items, there are certain things I want to do when I'm in South Korea, particularly in Seoul.

1. Eat bibimbap and samgyeopsal

Bibimbap @ Bibimbob

I've had the pleasure of tasting bibimbap here in Manila at a fast food joint called, Bibimbob, which is located at the food court of SM North EDSA in Quezon City. This signature Korean dish literally means mixed rice, and that's really what you do with it, mix the rice with vegetables and beef (usually it's beef, but at Bibimbob they also have pork and chicken). It's surprisingly delicious and tasty, and I'm all for having as many vegetables in my rice as possible, well, except kimchi as it is spicy. Not a fan of spicy anything. Needless to say, I fell in like with it and now must have this when I visit Seoul soon.

Samgyeopsal, on the other had, I have been curious to try ever since I saw it in a Kdrama. Savory grilled meat with garlic, bean paste, bean sprouts--even rice--wrapped in crisp lettuce and dipped in sauce. I'd be willing to forgo my hate relationship with anything spicy for this, and still try to enjoy it.

2. Stay in a Hanok guesthouse

image from kimchicrew

Even for just a night, I would like to experience a stay in a hanok, a traditional Korean house with wooden floors, columns, doors, and sometimes tiled, sometimes straw roofing. If you watch Korean dramas, I'm sure you'd have seen one. Most would have an ondol, or floor heating to keep you warm during the winter months. Sure, I might have to endure a trip outside to the bathroom if I feel to urge to pee in the middle of the night, as hanoks will commonly have a shared bathroom that's located in a separate structure. But all this will just add to the whole South Korean experience that I'm planning to savor on my trip. On the plus side, most hanok guesthouses are affordable and located within city limits.

3. Watch a Korean pop music show

SBS Inkigayo

Yeah, I'd queue up for this one, maybe even get up early. I don't actually mind who will perform (it would be great though if SHINee, Infinite, SuJu, FTIsland, or SNSD will be there), I just want to experience watching a live show instead of on cable or on YouTube. Plus, I'm really all for Kpop.

Mnet Countdown

There are different ways of getting in, one is by joining a Daum or a fan club, and you'd have to show you are a fan by producing a copy of the band/ singer's album to the fan club president/ representative. But you can also take a chance by signing up as a studio audience in any of the 4 music show's website: SBS Ingkigayo (Sundays), KBS Music Bank (Fridays), Mnet Countdown (Thursdays), and MBC Music Core (Saturdays). The audience would be selected randomly from those who signed up at the site.

4. Eat in a Pojangmacha

Again, as seen from countless Korean dramas, I'm curious about trying a meal in a Pojangmacha. These tented street stalls are a common sight in South Korea and, I'm thinking, might be a great place to sample Korean street food and see how the locals are like. Basically, people watch. it's not something I do very often, as I think it's rude, but then I'm a tourist so, maybe, certain liberties could be granted and taken. :D

5. Try the Jjimjilbang

South Korea's public bathhouse cum sauna. As a first-time tourist in SK and a regular spa visitor, I would like to try this very Korean form or relaxation. I believe it has become some sort of tourist attraction, if not for the unique experience you'll get. For a few thousand wons you can spend hours inside the jimjilbang lounging by the common area while watching on a big-ass TV or having a meal. You can even head to the saunas and start your jimjilbang adventure (but you have to be butt naked in these areas. Not to worry, it's separated by gender.) Some budget travelers even bunk for the night in jimjilbangs, saving them thousands of wons in the process. It's a fantastic idea, if you're not too picky about where you sleep. I would do this for the experience, but only when I'm not traveling alone.

I'm quite excited about this trip that hopefully will come into fruition as scheduled. However, there are so many things to do first before this happens...and that's my cue to start moving my ass and get started.

PS

Thanks to SHINee, EXO, Infinite, Spica, Super Junior, and Henry for getting me in the mood to write this long post.

After rediscovering K-pop this year (I say 'rediscovering' because I've known Kpop for a while, but didn't really care for it as much before), I have to say I pretty much like songs from boy groups. I find their songs are better suited to my tastes, plus their voices are not pitch-y (meaning, it doesn't irritate the hell out of me) like the girl groups. I admit it's also because I'm female. But that doesn't mean I can't appreciate girl groups. Proof of that is Spica. I love their new song so much I'm posting it here. The only other Kpop video I blogged about was SHINee's Why So Serious, and I LOVE that group. Seriously.


Tonight by Spica

Tonight. Tonight is the night
geutorok gidaryeotdeon urimanui sigan oh yeah
Tonight. Tonight is the night
kkumcheoreom neowa naega hanadoeneun i bam oh yeah

mam gatji anheun sesange dapdaphaetji
deungdwiro neukkineun siseoni chagawotji
geurae nan andwae motae pogihal ttaejjeum
nae ape jjan hago niga natanangeoya

jeo meolli barkge bitnaneun jeo byeolbit
eokkaereul dudeurineun baram
modu nareul bichwo dasi kkumeul kkune
naeil achim tteooreuneun taeyangdo
seororeul wihae kkok jabeun son
dasi nal ireukyeo naneun noraehane

Tonight. We feelin so high
jeo nopi haneullo Fly fly fly kkeuteobsi naraolla oh yeah oh

hanbeon deo Hi-five urineun jukji anha
seonban wi motnani inhyeongcheoreom ulji anha
dagachi Get up. Stand up. bukkeureoma
urin da juingong iljjik jibe gajima

jeo meolli barkge bitnaneun jeo byeolbit
eokkaereul dudeurineun baram
modu nareul bichwo dasi kkumeul kkune
naeil achim tteooreuneun taeyangdo
seororeul wihae kkok jabeun son
dasi nal ireukyeo naneun noraehane

Feels good nuneul gama
Feels good mwoga boyeo?
Feels good geuge baro neoya It alright~ Oh~

Turn it up. Burn it up
modu nareul bichwo dasi kkumeul kkune

jeo meolli barkge bitnaneun jeo byeolbit
eokkaereul dudeurineun baram
modu nareul bichwo dasi kkumeul kkune
naeil achim tteooreuneun taeyangdo
seororeul wihae kkok jabeun son
dasi nal ireukyeo naneun noraehane

modeun geosi dallajyeosseo
neowa hamkkehaneun i bam
nunbusige areumdaun Tonight is the night.

You won't hear teeny-weeny, cutesy, pitch-y voices here. Goes to show that what they're saying about the group's talent is true. I hope they do make it big, especially now with the support of Lee Hyori.

After recently watching the KPop Republic concert featuring SHINee--OMG. OMG. OMG. In the flesh!!!--EXO K, and Dal Shabet, I've been thinking about how lucky some fans were who got to meet the boys, and girls, backstage. Or even how I, as a fan, feel like a loser for not knowing what time and day SHINee arrived in Manila. Or where they were staying. It even got me thinking where would I get such information, and who should I know to get it.

Then I came across the term Sasaeng Fan, which Wikipedia describes as: an excessively obsessed Hallyu fan. Crazy enough to invade the lives of their idols and go to unimaginable lengths to get close to them. Stories about these fans are an interesting read, and also a little creepy. Makes me wonder why I even call myself a fan if all I've ever done was amass a collection of music videos, video clips, mp3s, articles, images, and watch concerts and got myself hoarse from shouting waaaaayyyy too much.

I've been an avid supporter of many music groups/ stars (Boyzone, The Corrs, Mandy Moore, and 30 Seconds to Mars), some of which have come and gone. I have yet to get close to any of my favorite groups. Close enough to shake their hand or get an autograph or have a photo taken with them. I wish one day I would be able to do that. But I'm sure I'll never do something crazy to achieve that goal.

I hate to do this to Abbi Glines but I'm rating this book with 2 disappointing stars out of 5.

I guess I should've seen this coming because of the not-so-happy-good reviews about the book in Goodreads. But I still wanted to read it as I TOTALLY LOVED the Too Far series. So, it couldn't be that bad, right? Oh boy...

It had a great start. Definitely reels you in. The premise of being able to see ghosts and haunted by a dark, mysterious, and handsome soul...to me was really interesting. I was hooked. I wanted more. Until I didn't.

First of all, I really hated their names. And no. I didn't get used to it. Seriously, of all the names available on God's green earth Ms. Glines chose 2 of the most terrible ones for her characters(read more name rants below). Every time I read "Pagan" it reminds me of its meaning, one who has no religion. Yet here we are reading about heaven and hell and death and deities. And then there's Dank. Every time I see that name I imagine a dark, damp, humid place that I'd rather stay away from. I think for just a little bit I get why the author used these names. But honestly, they don't fit the characters. I just don't see these names on the characters she created. Ok, nuff said about the names. I. JUST. HATE. THEM.

Second, Pagan is one clingy, super needy girl! I swear I never hated a protagonist as much as her. Geez Louise! I was so close to not finishing the book. She used Leif. She used her friends. For someone who has a great life, great friends, a loving mother, good grades and standing in school, she was undeserving and lacking. Her will to live hangs on one person-thing she'd known for like, what, a week? Like all the other good things in her life MEANT NOTHING. Even her sacrifice at the end didn't redeem her. Arrrgghh! She was weak. We need a strong heroine here and not a wimp. She's dealing with death for chrissakes!

Third, Dank was a good character. But he wasn't a standout. He could've been more. I really don't know what to say about him. I'm kind of torn. Do I like him? Do I not like him? *shrugs*

Last, the cliffhanger. What the hell was that? Nowhere in the book did Leif appear to be anything more than human. He was as normal as they come. And then suddenly the one-sentence cliffhanger?! I almost pulled my hair out for that one. It doesn't even entice me to read the second book. But I will anyway because I'm hoping that Abbi Glines redeems herself and all her characters in the sequel.

I've been on a book slump for about a month now, so I'm already 1 book behind my Goodreads Book Challenge of 40 books for 2013. This is still after reading 2 books in a row: James Rollins' Black Order and Nyrae Dawn's Charade. At this rate, I think I'll go blind before reaching my goal. Sheesh. Makes me want to give awards to those who challenged themselves to reading at least 80 books in a year. I think I even saw one with 100.

To try to catch up, I breezed through The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro. It was a short read, though a bit slow for my taste. There were pages and pages about art techniques, artists, and materials used for painting that had me going "huh?" every few paragraphs. And the "love story", if you can even call it that, sounded forced. There wasn't substantial scenes or even thoughts from the characters before getting together that would make the love story believable. It just sorta happened. WTH? Oh well, it was my way of diversifying my reading genre list. Can't say I'll read another one just like it. Maybe if it was something like The Thomas Crown Affair...now that would be interesting to me.


I've also just finished, barely, Crash by Nicole Williams. What can I say? It was a so-so book. I had a few cringe moments and many times I've questioned the heroine's logic (or the lack thereof) and even sanity. Oh, to be 17...I don't think I'll even try to read the 2nd book of the series, Clash. Or maybe after a year? Hehe.

So, now I'm back to reading what I love most, adventure-suspense-action stories. And I'm picking up on the 4th installment of James Rollins' Sigma Force series, The Judas Strain. It's already gripping and I'm only in the first chapter! Ah...this is more like it.


With this, Goodreads said, I'm a book ahead of my 40-book challenge! Weee-hooo!

I'm not a drama addict (ok, not totally true). Alright, I'm an Asian drama fan. I've watched a lot of it over the years, albeit on and off, since Meteor Garden came out in the Philippines. But not that much to call me an addict. And about a year ago I discovered DramaCrazy.net (MySoju before that), an online site that hosts streaming Asian dramas (K-drama, J-drama, and Taiwanese dramas) and movies. IMHO, it was the best site of its kind out there. Hosting hundreds of English subbed dramas and movies for the whole world to enjoy

Here, in the Philippines, to get your drama fix, you'd have to endure a "tagalized" (dubbed in Tagalog) version of the drama. You'd have to contend with watching just 15 minutes of a 45-minute long episode, meaning 1 episode will take you at least 3 days to finish. And if that's not a pain in the butt, I don't know what is. Plus, I'm not the kind of person who can tolerate such obvious torture.

But now that DramaCrazy is gone, I need to find somewhere else to satisfy my drama cravings.

Ok, it's been a while since I've written anything. Lately, or just late last week, I've been fangirling on SHINee--a 5-man boyband from South Korea. I'm not new to K-pop, but I wasn't a fan either. I like J-pop more, which is probably because of the animes I watch. :D