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http://issuu.com/ohkorea/docs/ohkorea-issue002

We've finished Issue #2. This is a very strong issue. We worked hard to include a lot more variety of things in this one. There's some new writers who've joined up with us. And we just really, really like how this one turned out! 

And if you like it, simply spread the link to others! And that will make us very happy! :) Enjoy!

[kirinmc]

Here's a compiled list of Girls' Generation's singles including their Japanese singles (but excluding promo singles done for advertisements and Korean singles redone in Japanese). They've had quite a long list of releases since 2007. Which single is, in your opinion, the best? Which one is your least favorite?

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We made this sketch awhile back and decided to give it its own video! It's a total parody so don't take it seriously. Just enjoy our silliness! :)

[kirinmc]

http://issuu.com/ohkorea/docs/ohkorea-issue001

This is OhKorea, formerly Kirin Media Company, and we've just released the first issue of our monthly magazine! Please check it out and spread it around!

[kirinmc]

New contest for fans of B1A4!!! Leave a comment under the photo (please click through to our Facebook URL!!!) of a fake synopsis for a romance novel involving the B1A4 members as characters. Be as creative as you want. You can use yourself as a character OR other Kpop stars or anyone else!

WINNER RECEIVES "IN THE WIND" 3RD MINI-ALBUM

CONTEST ENDS 11/30

ENTER HERE

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Last chance to enter

CONTEST CLOSING IN 2 DAYS. Get your entries in to general@kirinmc.com or send a message to the Facebook page.

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[kirinmc]

BIGBANG fans are effing awesome. Needless to say the responses we got to our question "What would you do if T.O.P. walked into your bedroom naked?" were met with witty, awesome replies.

[kirinmc]

Simon D. rockin LA

http://kirinmc.com/2012/04/16/amoeba-culture-brings-out-ktown-hip-hop-pride/

[kirinmc]

Jin Akanishi Live in Los Angeles

As you may already know, Jin Akanishi is branching out from his J-pop boy band KAT-TUN days and is now touring the US with his brand new, all English album, Japonicana. Not sure what the big deal is about Jin Akanishi? It’s kind of like when Justin Timberlake left N*SYNC, but with much hotter people involved.

The setting? Los Angeles. March 9th. Jin fans both old and new were treated to a night of high energy dance songs and a new perspective of Jin that they hadn’t seen before. From an audience perspective, it’s hard to separate the Jin who is embarking on a separate US solo career from the Jin who was previously apart of the boy band but I feel he showed us a new side to him that would’ve been impossible to see several years back. The commitment he’s made to being a solo artist tied in to this show.

READ MORE!

[kirinmc]

Mongolia’s Treasure Trove of Music

After stumbling upon Mongolian VK band Visual Moon’s music video for “Neu” it got us curious… What other music artists are out there in Mongolia that deserve some recognition?

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Japonicana’s Appeal: Captivating, Tight Sound

We gotta give Jin some much deserved props. The prepared effort labored into this album shows on virtually every track. Japonicana is a strong contender for the US market and has a very mainstream sound that would suit just about anyone who enjoys a good Pop / R & B album. There are 9 tracks total. The runtime is a bit short but for this album, it’s quality over quantity and every single song adds something significant.

READ MORE!

[kirinmc]

“A” no longer stands for success.

In the past year there’s been an insane explosion of boy and girl groups making their debuts that I don’t even remember half of them, nor could I even name most of them. I think we all know by now who the most successful groups of the past year have been just by thinking.

And none of their group names start with the letter A.

That’s right I’m talking about the B’s. B1A4, Block B, Boyfriend, and B.A.P. (Since BTOB hasn’t debuted yet, I’m not going to include them here.) All four of those groups have been experiencing some huge popularity and love ever since their debuts, but I’m going to focus on two of those groups who are standing out the most.

B1A4 + B.A.P. This is not a ‘versus’. I’m not trying to pit the two against each because both of these groups are amazing and there’s absolutely no sense to do that. Instead I want to talk about their debuts and the aftereffects of it.

READ MORE!

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CNBLUE & FT Island Live in Los Angeles

The first thing that I loved about this concert is that it started on time (I’ve never been to a Kpop concert that started on time). When the lights went down at about 8:05, I thought it was going to be a tease, but nope. After a short intro of flashing lights and heavy electronic beats, pictures of the boys of CNBLUE flashed on screen member by member, and they paraded right on stage to the echoes of frazzled screams. The intro bit was exciting, just enough of a tease to really amp up the audience into a crazed frenzy.

The second thing I loved about this concert was CNBLUE. Everyone knows who they are and I know of them, but admittedly I hadn’t actively listened to their music. I only recognized one song they played at the concert (I’m a Loner) but I never stopped dancing. At all. Their music was so good, upbeat for one song and then hard enough of a rock song the next that I was almost head banging. Yonghwa has excellent stage presence. The way he practically makes love to his guitar and head rolls while gradually kneeling closer and closer to the ground is something you’d have to witness firsthand to understand how truly captivating it is. The band may be billed as an “idol” group to many, but they have the presence and rawness of a rock band. Nothing “idol” about them when they’re live.

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Being a Trainee: Jaedyn Park

Interestingly enough, the actual life of a Kpop trainee in a school environment is not too far removed from its depiction on the drama Dream High. Trainees on average spend 2-5 years in training before they debut. Add to that the pressure of knowing that they can be dropped at any time, and training can seem very extreme.

If trainees are going to school they typically spend most of the day in class like any other Korean student their age and then they head off to the actual training facility for four hours of training. That time is filled in by learning music, choreography, foreign lanuages and they are also given homework assignments such as the ones seen in Dream High (given a music composition and told to write sincere lyrics for it). Cube makes their trainees fill out diary entries in which they write about everything they learned from that day. If they decide to drop classes in exchange for full-time training, their days extend from morning until morning (night). Big Bang trained from 5 AM – 12 AM before they debuted and Core Contents group 5 Dolls trained from 7 AM – 1 AM. These numbers aren’t arbitrary. They’re a standard in this industry. 2AM’s Jo Kwon trained for 7 years before debuting as did Girls’ Generation’s Sooyoung, Jessica and Hyo Yeon. G-Dragon trained for 6 years. G.NA trained for 5 years. The list goes on… Then again there are short debuts. Yubin only trained 3 months before becoming a Wonder Girl.

The companies also have evaluation sessions where the trainees are tested before their superiors to see how much they’ve developed. This is where debuts are decided. Every member of every group you see has gone through rigorous training and come out on top not just above thousands of applicants hoping to get into the company (just getting in requires at the very least – three audition processes, each one more difficult to pass than the last) but they’ve also passed all the other trainees in their company, outdoing those who have actually made it in the door. And just to give you an idea how hard that is… In 2008, 12,000 people auditioned to be a JYP trainee and in the end 4 were accepted. 4!!! Out of 12,000!!! If those numbers don’t have you backing up into a corner rethinking your dream of being a trainee I don’t know what does.

But if you’re not shaken by that, then congratulations, you have something that all companies are looking for in their trainees – PASSION! And passion goes a long way. We spoke to a trainee at Nega Network, which is responsible for one of the biggest and most successful girl group acts of all time, Brown Eyed Girls. Everything we’ve learned about trainees has us a bit on edge. It’s time to learn from someone who actually knows what they’re talking about. So for that we turn to 20 year old trainee Jaedyn Park.

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[kirinmc]

Year of the Dragon: VK Optimism

Can you believe that it’s already March?!  January and February flew by; a third of the year almost pasted by without any commotion.  Time comes and goes so fast these days, just like many Japanese VK bands; an occurrence that remains all too familiar considering the past couple of years seemed like nothing but bad luck.  Although the chaos of short-lived introductions and quick dissolutions no longer seems as threatening as opposed to years’ past, for all we know this could just be the calm before the storm.  Some would say the worse time of year for musicians and their fans occurs within the spring-to-late-summertime interval.  Will the year of the Dragon maintain stability and strength and put an end to the madness; to guard the gold, or will our perilous predictability penetrate the scene yet again?

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Fast Track 101: ZE:A

More ZE:A info: Read More...