#dmukcs

[dmukcs]

Korean BBQ

In this, I won’t be talking about how to cook meat because I’ve already done the recipes for bulgogi and galbi, I will be giving the recipes for common KBBQ side dishes (반찬 - banchan)

There isn’t really a word for K-BBQ in Korean, they usually say “Let’s go eat *whatever the main meat is* (e.g. bulgogi)”

The other commonly eaten KBBQ meat is samgyupsal (삼겹살) also known as pork belly. This is usually eaten with just salt and pepper seasoning and grilled. Afterward, you could choose to dip it in ssamjang (recipe below or you can buy it in stores). This is a Korean barbeque dipping sauce. 

In most places, KBBQ is served with lettuce leaves to make lettuce wraps (상추쌈 - sangchussam). In Korea, a lot of free food is given to you when ordering BBQ, for instance kimchi and rice (밥 - bap) and maybe some of the banchan mentioned here. Onions, mushrooms, eggs and garlic in sesame oil could also be included and is a good addition to your BBQ. Sadly, in England, we don’t get this privilege of free food.

Equipment

Gloves (optional) 

Grater (optional) 

Saucepan 

Ingredients and instructions 

Radish salad (무생채 - musaengchae)

½ Daikon radish 

1 tbsp salt 

1 tsp gochugaru (optional)

4 tbsp granulated sugar 

4 tbsp white vinegar

Cut the radish into 1-2 inch pieces and thinly slice the radish lengthways (or grate the radish) 

Add the rest of the ingredients and toss using your hands 

Let sit for 30 minutes to marinate 

Green onion salad (파무침 / 파절이 - pamuchim / pajeori)

10 stalks of green onion

4 tbsp light soy sauce 

1 tbsp gochugaru

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp sesame seed oil 

1 tbsp honey 

½ tbsp minced garlic 

½ tbsp sugar 

Chop the green onions into 2-inch pieces and slice thinly vertically 

Add the rest of the ingredients and toss using your hands 

Soybeans sprout salad (숙주나물무침 - sugjunamulmuchim) 

1 cup green onion 

1 cup soybean sprout 

1 cup lettuce 

3 tsp light soy sauce

4 tsp white vinegar 

1.5 tsp granulated sugar 

1 tsp honey 

2 tsp water 

½ tsp sesame oil 

Chop the green onions into 2-inch pieces and slice thinly vertically. Put it in a bowl with cold water and leave for 10 minutes

In a saucepan, add soybean sprouts to water and bring to a boil. As soon as the water is boiled, take it off the heat and drain the water. 

Roughly chop the lettuce 

Add them all in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and toss with your hands

Ssamjang (쌈장)

1 clove garlic 

1 stalk of green onion 

½ bulb of onion 

¼ cup doenjang (Korean soybean paste) 

1-2 tbsp gochujang 

2 tsp toasted sesame oil 

½ tbsp honey 

2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Mince garlic, onion and green onions 

Add to bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix 

Bibliography:

Icon in heading: https://absolutely.london/best-korean-bbq-in-london/ 

https://www.tasteatlas.com/ssam 

https://ph.phonebooky.com/blog/samgyupsal-restaurants-makati/ 

https://futuredish.com/korean-bbq-salad-3-types/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nR-n2vRM4OU&ab_channel=AngelaMinjiKim 

[dampf-acrobat]

Nun ist es bald soweit, Weihnachten steht vor der Tür. Und das Jahr 2021 neigt sich auch langsam dem Ende. Und deshalb wünsche ich auf diesem Wege euch, und eurer Familie ein besinnliches Weihnachtsfest und ein duten Rutsch ins Jahr 2022. Bleibt gesund und munter 😉 #dampfacrobat #weihnachtszeit #winter #silvester #jahresrückblick #jahresende https://www.instagram.com/dampfacrobat/p/CXypc-DMukc/?utm_medium=tumblr

[dmukcs]

Super Junior (슈퍼주니어) - SORRY, SORRY (쏘리 쏘리)

This week’s rec is one of my absolute favourites: Super Junior’s SORRY, SORRY! 

Quick ramble before we get into this: when this song released back in 2009, it was the first time I ever listened to a ‘kpop’ song. I’m not even kidding when I say that this song and entire album was a game changer for me. This was my stepping stone into kpop and, consequently, Korean culture and it really does mean a lot for me! Like, bruh can you even believe that March 2021 will mark me down for being a fan of Korean music for over 12 YEARS. This is honestly such a classic kpop song, as well as being one of the most well known in my opinion.

Anyhow! Back to the point:

watch the MV here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6QA3m58DQw&ab_channel=SMTOWN

SORRY, SORRY was released March 3rd, 2009 as a digital single before coming the title track of their 3rd studio album of the same name. The song was their comeback as a complete group since their activities as subgroup in Mainland China and South Korea in 2008. It was Super Junior’s most successful single on the music charts and won them a sum total of 10 recognitions throughout their promoting period.

SORRY, SORRY was a new style for Super Junior, a dance song stimulated with heavy electronic beats in the genre known as ‘urban minimal funky’, and unlike their previous releases. It’s a ‘polished and trendy’ dance song, with an exciting beat and earworm chorus, with influences of American funk and contemporary R&B.

This song was an international hit, though not as we may know it today. Rather, it became the best selling k-pop album in Taiwan, Thailand, China and the Philippines, where they credited Sorry, Sorry to have been the first k-pop album to reach number one in the music charts from the country. It was an instant hit, and stayed number one in Taiwan for an astounding 37-weeks in their k-pop singles chart. Sorry, Sorry achieved both national and international success and this has been their best-selling single in South Korea since.

For fans too, who had been waiting for a return of all 13 members, this was an exciting (if not bittersweet) moment for them, as this marked the last time they came together as a full group again before two members, Hangeng and Kibum, left the group.

Outside of South Korea, SORRY, SORRY, was heavily promoted in other Asian communities. Over 51 subway trains in Taipei were covered in Sorry, Sorry advertisements from April 17th through to May 7th, to promote the Taiwanese release which came out on April 17th. Among these trains was one called the Super Junior Train, which was entirely covered with Super Junior posters.

Not only that, but this song had a big cultural impact, the dance having been covered many times not just by idols, but professional sports players as well. In April 2009, volleyball player Kim Yeonkoung from Heungdeuk Life stated if her team won the 2008-09 NH Nonghyup professional volleyball championship, they would perform the routine. They won and performed this at the award ceremony. Football player Kim Seungyong danced to Sorry, Sorry after scoring a goal against Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in the 2009 K League. Basketball players have danced to it at the Dongbu Promy Professional Basketball season awards ceremony too, an event which marked the end of the season in professional basketball league.

The honour guard of the South Korean Air Force has danced to Sorry, Sorry (alongside Gee by SNSD) ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony of Airforce Museum at Sanjicheon, Jeju City. Employees of Korean Air created a parody group called 직장인 슈퍼주니어 (jikjjangin super junior) which literally translates to Office Workers Super Juniors, and performed the choreography at an in-house concert held at the Korean Air HQ.

Finally, in the Philippines, a video of inmates known as the CPDRC Dancing Inmates, from the Cebu Provinvial Detention and Rehabilitation Centre, dancing to the song went viral after being uploaded to YouTube.

members, left to right. back row: Ryeowook, Eunhyuk, Kangin, Donghae, Yesung. middle row: Heechul, Sungmin, Kibum, Shindong. front row: Hangeng, Leeteuk, Siwon, Kyuhyun.

Super Junior was originally a 12-member group formed under SM Entertainment in November 2005. They debuted with their single Twins (Knock Out). They later became a 13-member group when their youngest, Cho Kyuhyun, was added in May 2006, in line with their release U. Known by other nicknames such as SJ or SuJu, Super Junior have been dubbed by the media and the Korean Music Awards as the Kings of the Hallyu Wave due to their prominent contributions in the Korean wave.

With the release of Sorry, Sorry, their best-selling single, they launched into international recognition. Throughout the years of their career, they have been divided into smaller groups, being able to target different music industries and audiences at the same time. The members have all individually branched out into other Entertainment Industry roles such as hosting, presenting and acting. Due to their success and popularity as all-rounded entertainers, they have led other Korean entertainment companies to begin training their groups in other aspects of the entertainment industry, rather than just singing, dancing and rapping.

These other groups included: Super Junior-M, their Chinese sub-unit. Super Junior-T, their Trot sub-unit, Super Junior-H, their ‘Happy’ sub-unit. Two other more recent sub-units are Super Junior K.R.Y - Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and Yesung, their ballad sub-unit, and finally - my personal favourite - Super Junior D&E, comprised of Donghae & Eunhyuk, main dancers and best friends within the group, who cover a myriad of genres in comparison. 

Super Junior was the best-selling k-pop artist for four years in a row. They have earned 13 music awards from MAMA, 19 from the Golden Disc Awards, are the second singing group to win Favourite Artist Korea at the 2008 MTV Asia Awards after jtL in 2003. 2012: they were nominated ‘Best Asian Act’ in MTV Europe Music Awards. 2015: they won the ‘International Artist’ and ‘Best Fandom’ awards at the Teen Choice Awards. March 2020, Super Junior broke their own record topping the Korean Album Chart of Taiwan’s KKBOX for a jaw-dropping 122 consecutive weeks since 2017, with their 8th album Play, the 8th album repackage REPLAY in 2018, the 9th album Time_Slip from 2019 and the 9th album repackage Timeless, 2020.

As it stands right now, Super Junior have only 9 active members left in their group. In 2009, Hangeng filed a lawsuit against SM, which saw him stop promoting until he finally left the company in 2011. Kibum also took a step back from the group in 2009, opting to focus more on his acting career through a temporary hiatus. Though he appeared in the MV for Sorry, Sorry, and was featured in promotional adverts for their upcoming concert Super Show 2, he did not attend. His contract ended with SM in 2015. Kangin left in 2019, following another DUI incident.

Though Sungmin has not been classified as left and his contract with SM is still active, he has been on hiatus since 2015.

Super Junior’s fandom name is E.L.F, standing for Everlasting Friend and their fandom colour is Pearl Sapphire Blue.

Other songs I would recommend are (it’s long): the entire SORRY, SORRY album, It’s You, Bonamana, Boom, 2YA2YAO!, the entire Sexy, Free & Single album/repackage, A-CHA, Oops!! ft f(x), 라라라라 Be My Girl, Opera, Lo Siento, Black Suit, SUPER Clap, Scene Stealer, Good Day for a Good Day, Magic, Devil, This is Love, MAMACITA, Evanesce, SUPERMAN, Mr. Simple, Twins (Knock Out) and honestly so so so SO much more than I can remember right now!

I don’t listen to their sub-units as often, considering M, T & H are pretty much disbanded at this point.

But recs for D&E are as followed: OPPA OPPA, Danger, ‘Bout You, 너는 나만큼 (Growing Pains), I Wanna Dance (사네), 촉이 와 (Can You Feel It?), 아직도 난 (Still You), B.A.D, Skeleton.

members left to right: Shindong, Kyuhyun, Leeteuk, Donghae, Heechul, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Ryeowook and Yesung.

photo references:

https://www.hellokpop.com/kpop/super-junior-sorry-sorry-ten-years/ https://www.last.fm/music/Super+Junior/SORRY,+SORRY/+images/2549839ddfec45aa8e928b374cf3df2d https://kprofiles.com/super-junior-profile/

references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorry,_Sorry_(Super_Junior_song) https://n.news.naver.com/entertain/article/117/0002009158 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Junior https://kprofiles.com/super-junior-profile/

[dmukcs]

한복 - Hanbok

Although the term hanbok literally means “korean clothing”, now it is typically used to refer specifically to the clothing worn as daily attire during the Joseon dynasty period. Nowadays it is only usually worn for special occasions such as weddings, lunar new year, ancestral rites and children’s first birthday celebrations. 

Fundamental Design

Elements of a hanbok are :

Baji (바지) - trousers

Jeogori (저고리) - upper garment

Chima (치마) - skirt made up of multiple layers

Po (포) - overcoat, a specific variety of the overcoat s the durumagi (두루마기)

The design is focused on balance and ease of movement as well as the Confucian style dress code.

For example the chima hides the movement of the lower body to give women the appearance of moving with grace and baji are loose to allow for ease when standing and sitting.

Hanbok that we know take their fundamental structure from Goguryeo (고구려) period where both men and women would wear a baji and a waist-length jeogori.

Later, with influences from other cultures, led to the noticeable changes of women having a shorter jeogori and longer chima that cinched at the waist, and men wearing looser baji with a jeogori that is bound at the waist.

Social class, colour and pattern

Upper classes would wear patterned silk or ramie cloth whereas those of lower classes were restricted to cotton hanbok.

Patterns typically represented the desires of the wearer - lotus flowers meant a hope for nobility, bats and pomegranates a desire for children.

Dragons, phoenixes, cranes and tigers could only be worn by royalty or high ranking officials.

Hanboks are known for their vibrant colours though the bright colours are mostly worn by children and young women, with men and middle aged women typically wearing more muted hues.

Commoners often wore white though pale colours and charcoal could be worn on special occasions. 

Traditionally unmarried women would wear yellow jeogori and red chima while married women would wear green and red. Women with sons would often wear navy.

In the Baekje kingdom and Goryeo dynasty, violet was used to denote royalty.

Unmarried women would also wear their hair in a single braid with a daenggi (댕기) whereas married women would have two braids that was then secured to the crown of their head.

Please note that this is a very small summary of hanbok - in reality there are many more colours and meanings that can be worn, and in many cases the accessories also denote someone's status and social class.

Researched and written by Leo ^.^

Bibliography

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/south-korea/articles/hanbok-an-introduction-to-south-koreas-national-dress/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanbok 

https://www.koreatravelpost.com/introduction-to-south-koreas-traditional-dress-hanbok/ 

Pictures: https://www.habkorea.net/2019-korea-hanbok-model-contest/ https://thegrandnarrative.com/2020/10/08/portrait-of-a-beauty/ http://limemomo.com/product/male-and-female-hanbok-korea-traditional-costumes/

[dmukcs]

김밥 (kimbap/gimbap) - Kimbap

(Serves 5)

(literally translates to seaweed rice)

Equipment 

Measuring cup or scales

Rice cooker (or saucepan)

Saucepan 

Frying pan 

(optional) gloves 

Sushi mat (or cling film, baking paper or silicone mat)

Brush (or just use your fingers)

Ingredients 

Amounts haven’t been added because you only need enough to fill the kimbap 

2 cup (450g) short-grain rice 

Spinach 

Carrot 

Cucumber 

Danmuji (yellow pickled radish)

2 eggs

1 tbsp sesame oil 

Salt (to taste) 

5 sheets of seaweed 

Add fillings of your choice (burdock root, spam, crabstick, beef, bacon, etc) but not too much as the kimbap may not contain it all

Instructions 

Cook rice with a little less water than the instructions requires. 

Cook the spinach by putting it in salted boiling water for 30 secs - 1 minute then immediately placing it in cold water. 

Cut the carrot by cutting it into 1-2 inches and then thinly slicing it lengthways

Cook the carrot by stir-frying over medium-high heat with a pinch of salt until they’re soften 

Cut the cucumber into thin slices by cutting into 1-2 inches and then thinly slicing it lengthways 

Cut danmuji into 1 cm thick strips lengthways  

Whisk the eggs together with salt and fry it over medium heat until cooked. 

Cut the egg into 1 cm thick strips lengthways 

Cut any fillings into 1 cm thick strips (Season and cook if needed)

Add sesame oil and salt to the rice. Mix and allow to cool

Assembly 

Place the seaweed sheet shiny side down on the sushi mat (the bamboo should be horizontal). The longer side of the seaweed should be the closest to you 

Spread the rice evenly over the seaweed in a thin layer about 1 cm thick (no thicker than 1 cm). The rice should not go over the edges, leave ½ inch gap from all sides. On the side furthest from you, leave a 1.5-inch gap so that the rice doesn’t overflow when rolling. 

Lay all the fillings horizontally from you about ½ inch away from the edge of the rice that is the closest to you.

Start rolling the kimbap using the mat and both hands. Remember to apply a bit of pressure while rolling. 

Brush with sesame oil and cut into 2 cm thick pieces 

It is best eaten on the day it’s made but can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Bibliography:

Icon in heading: https://www.thespruceeats.com/kimbap-korean-sushi-rolls-2118795

https://erasmusu.com/en/erasmus-hanoi/erasmus-experiences/kimbap-korean-seaweed-curry-rice-543694

https://www.koreanbapsang.com/gimbapkimbap-korean-dried-seaweed-rolls/ 

https://mykoreankitchen.com/easy-kimbap/ 

https://kimchimari.com/kimbap/ 

[dmukcs]

miss A (미쓰에이) - Good-bye Baby

This week’s recommendation is Good-bye Baby by miss A!

watch the MV here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYKO1za5mX0&ab_channel=missA

Good-bye Baby is a song by miss A, released July 18th 2011. It is the lead single on their debut studio album A Class, released the same day, and was produced by Park Jinyoung (or as he’s credited on the album, J.Y. Park “TheAsiansoul”). 

The producer behind this song uploaded a video of himself recording the song with Manny Marroquin, a Grammy-winning mixing engineer who has worked alongside powerhouses like Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, Kanye West and Bruno Mars. 

Good-bye Baby is a dance-pop, pop song which details how a girl has confidently dumped her ‘playboy’ boyfriend who likes to cheat. The lyrics in the first verse reference one of the members, reading: “I figured it out when you called me Suzy by accident, when my name isn’t Suzy. I don’t know why I tried so hard to trust you (I knew what kind of guy you were). Don’t cry in vain. (I took out all of your things). The acting stops now.” and this garnered a lot of attention for their impactful statement, despite their playful nature. 

The song is described as having a strong hip-hop rhythm, with acoustic shuffle elements. 

This song peaked at number 1 on the Gaon Digital Chart in 2011. 

A Class was miss A’s debut studio album, released July 18th 2011. It featured six singles, one being the award winning Bad Girl, Good Girl. 

There’s quite a bit of background this album, so bear with me for a second. July 1 2010, miss A released a four-song EP Bad But Good, which included Love Again (다시 사랑) and Bad Girl Good Girl, which were their first and second singles, released June 30th and July 1st respectively. These two tracks, plus their album track Break It were later included on A Class. 

Their second four-song EP Step Up was released 27th September 2010 and its song Breathe was used as the promotional single. All other tracks were later included on A Class. 

The lead single for A Class was Good-bye Baby, but their next single from this album Love Alone was specially created for Kim Yuna’s Ice Show; she is South Korea’s figure skating champion. The group performed the song as special guests on her show as Yuna and other figure skaters danced to the song. This song was also their first song sung in English, and was released May 2011.

A Class reached number 9 on the Gaon Weekly Album Chart, but finished at number 5 for the month, and 44 for the year of 2011. Their other single, Love Alone, reached number 6 on Gaon’s Digital Charts.

members left to right: Min (민) , Fei (Korean: 페이, Chinese: 王霏霏 ), Suzy (수지), Jia (Korean: 지아, Chinese: 孟佳 )

miss A was a South Korean-Chinese girl group under JYP Entertainment. They debuted in 2010 with their song Bad Girl Good Girl as a four member group, made up of Fei, Jia, Min and Suzy. Their debut song reached number 1 on the Gaon Digital Charts, making them the first to ever have a debut song reach the top of the chart. It also went on to become the best-performing single of 2010. Originally, miss A consisted of five trainees formed in 2010. Three of them appeared on Chinese variety shows performing dance routines and songs as “The Chinese Wonder Girls”, with Woo Hyerim as a member, who eventually was placed in Wonder Girls soon before miss A’s debut in order to replace Sunmi (ex-member of Wonder Girls). 

March 2010, Suzy Bae (15 at the time) joined the group, which then became a trio known as miss A. They signed with the Samsung Electronics in China and released a song used for the commercial called Love Again for the Samsung Beat Fetsival. Lee Min Young, a solo artist and a long time trainee in America, made a cameo appearance in the MV. She later joined the group for their South Korean debut in April 2010.

A Class (2011) produced two more number 1 songs, and their follow-up EPs Touch and Independent Women Part III (both released 2012) proved more success. Their second studio album Hush (2013) was well-received by critics and its title track has been covered numerous times by girl groups and on survival shows. 

After this, there was a year long hiatus, until they released their 3rd EP Colors (2015), which was their last release before disbandment. 

In 2017, Billboard ranked miss A at number 10 on their “Top 10 K-pop Girl Groups of the Decade” list. 

Jia left the group in May 2016, where management said that the group was working on individual activities and focusing on their solo careers. In November 2017, Min left the group after her contract expired with the company. Cue December 2017, where JYP officially announced that the group had disbanded.

Currently only Suzy and Fei remain in the company from miss A. 

Their fandom name was Say A, but they never had an official fandom colour. 

Songs I would recommend by them are: Breathe, Touch, Only You (다른 남자 말고 너), Hush, Bad Girl Good Girl, 남자 없이 잘 살아 (I don’t need a man), Stuck, Love Song (personal favourite!), 녹아 Melting, 한걸음 One Step, I Caught Ya, Lips, No Mercy, Step Up, 멍하니, 그 음악을 틀어줘요 DJ, Break It, Love Alone, If I Were a Boy, Time’s Up

(notes: did not realise i was that big of a miss a fan wow)

photo reference: my screenshot of the mv https://www.discogs.com/Miss-A-A-Class/release/3431492 https://kprofiles.com/miss-a-profile/ reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Class_(album)#Track_listing https://www.allkpop.com/article/2011/07/miss-as-good-bye-baby-lyrics-generates-attention https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Class_(album) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_A https://www.allkpop.com/article/2010/01/chinese-wonder-girls-show-off-their-dance-skills#axzz2jpmSO8uI https://entertain.v.daum.net/v/20100717080329329 https://www.soompi.com/article/360555wpp/jyps-new-4member-girl-group-miss-a-set-to-debut-early-july https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/7865168/best-k-pop-girl-groups-decade

[dmukcs]

B.A.P (비에이피 / Best Absolute Perfect) - ONE SHOT

This week’s recommendation is One Shot by TS Entertainment’s boy group B.A.P.

watch the mv here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zRzl1d5vNU

One Shot was released on the 12th February 2013 as the lead single on their EP of the same name. On the Gaon charts it peaked at 17 and at 20 on the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100. The album itself however hit top spot on the Billboard World Albums Chart and made the top 10 iTunes hip hop chart in various countries. To this date  29,190,342 

The hip hop and pop blend that utilises the talents of the rappers and vocalists in the group is consistent with earlier releases, and what they late went on to release in the following years. This song really does some up the essence of the group 

The music video itself was a one billion won investment (almost $1million) that actually uses 3 of the tracks from the EP to create a seven minute video that is more of a short film than simply a video to go alongside their title track. All this effort of 100 filming hours across 10 sets in 2 countries was part of an effort to set B.A.P apart from an increasingly saturated market.

Fun fact: the Matoki (rabbit looking mascot of the group) statue used in the video weighed over 500kgs!

members left to right: Jongup, Himchan, Yongguk (leader), Daehyun, Zelo, Youngjae (the dog is Kanji and is Daehyun’s)

B.A.P was formed under TS Entertainment with Yongguk being announced as the first member through being featured on Song Jieun’s “Going Crazy”. Himchan was revealed as a member as an MC on MTV’s the Show, and Zelo was revealed through a collaboration song with Yongguk. The remaining members were introduced through the reality program “Ta-Dah, It’s B.A.P!” where they acted as aliens from planet Mato who planned to invade earth through music.

They officially debuted with the single Warrior on January 26th 2012 and this was followed up by the Warrior EP in February 2012. They were noted for being powerful and charismatic, as well as differentiating themselves from the “pretty-boy” image that had been the standard for idols.

In 2014 the members filed a lawsuit against TS for unfair working conditions, disregrding members health and unequal distribution of profits, stating that of the $9million made since debut each member had only been paid $18,000, and as such they wished to nullify their contracts. TS refuted the claims and a lengthy processes followed. Eventually however they settled and B.A.P resumed working under TS with their comeback album Matrix being released on 1st August 2015.

In December 2018 both Yongguk and Zelo left TS and B.A.P as their contracts had expired. In February 2019 the remaining members also did not renew their contracts, and B.A.P was therefore disbanded.

Since disbanding: Yongguk has released solo music. Himchan was arrested for alleged sexual assault (trial is ongoing) and has been making plans to release a solo album. Daehyun has released a solo album and been cast for roles in musical theatre, he is now signed under STX LION-HEART. Youngjae initially established an independent label to produce solo music and acted in an app drama series. After a brief stint signed under DMost Entertainment where he landed a leading role in a television drama and produced part of an OST, he returned to his independent label to release a second album and has been cast in another acting role. Jongup was cast in a theatre production and released a musical single. Zelo joined A Entertainment to release a mini album and has since left.

Other songs I recommend: 1004 (Angel), Fly High, Wake Me Up, Feel so Good,  Ribbon in the Sky, Bang X2, Skydive, Excuse Me, Stop It, Unbreakable, What the Hell, Carnival, Honeymoon, Think Hole, Hands Up, Dystopia

pictures - screenshot from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zRzl1d5vNU - https://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/293942/20200716/male-k-pop-idol-groups-who-were-mistreated-and-ruined-by-their-companies.htm - https://www.soompi.com/article/1066693wpp/b-p-absolutely-perfectly-slays-2017-world-tour-party-baby-climax-seoul 

info - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.A.P_(South_Korean_band) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Shot_(EP) - https://kprofiles.com/b-a-p-members-profile/ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bang_Yong-guk - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jung_Dae-hyun - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoo_Young-jae - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Jong-up - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelo - https://dramarambles.com/2016/01/13/1-bap-one-shot-mvsong-review/ - https://kpoponmymind.wordpress.com/2013/03/14/b-a-p-one-shot-music-video-review/ - https://seoulbeats.com/2013/02/b-a-p-gets-one-shot/

[dmukcs]

f(x) (에프엑스) - Electric Shock

This week’s recommendation is Electric Shock by SM’s girl group f(x) (pronounced effects).

watch the mv here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8I8QGFA1oM&ab_channel=SMTOWN Electric Shock was released June 10th 2012 and (music video following on the 11th) is their lead single in their second EP of the same title. It debuted at number one on the Gaon Chart’s single, as well as the digital download chart and sold over 630,510 copies in its first week. By 3 weeks, it surpassed 1 million at a total of 1,121,472.

The song is described as being electropop and dance-pop, with electro house inspired elements. It details how falling in love is like getting an electric shock and the confused, but excited feelings that come with it.

Electric Shock was voted as number 4 on a top 10 list of domestic songs of 2012 by professionals in the Korean music industry.

For sure, this is one of f(x)’s most well known songs and for good reason! 

Electric Shock is f(x)’s 2nd mini album/EP, and is made up of 6 tracks. It released on the 10th of June digitally, following up with a physical version on June 13th. This EP, along with their title track Electric Shock, topped the charts on its release. It even came in at 2 in the US World Albums chart via the Billboards and sold more than 70,000 copies in South Korea. 

Like the title track, the EP follows an electropop, dance-pop genre, and earned themselves in 8th place in a list of the top 10 domestic albums of the year by professionals in the Korean music industry.

Furthermore, Electric Shock and Jet (another song from this EP) were both nominated for Best Dance and Electronic Song at the 10th Annual Korean Music Awards (January 2013). When asked about these nominations at the press conference, a representative said “This is due to the corresponding songs having excellent music reviews and rather than disregarding them because they are from the same artist, we chose to recognize their excellence". Electric Shock won the award.

members left to right: Krystal, Victoria, Amber, Sulli, Luna

f(x) was a multi-national girl group under SM Entertainment, formed in 2009. They were formed of five members: Krystal (Korean-American), Victoria (Chinese), Amber (Taiwanese-American), Sulli (Korean) and Luna (Korean). 

They debuted with their song La Cha Ta in September 2009. Their debut studio album Pinocchio (2011) and two EPs Nu ABO and Electric Shock gave them three number one singles on the Gaon Digital Chart. 

Pink Tape, their 2013 studio album, was the only kpop album on Fuse’s “41 Best Albums of 2013″ and was titled the “Greatest Kpop Album of the 2010s” by Billboard. Fuse is a US music channel. Their later albums Red Light (2014) and 4 Walls (2015) were successful and well-received by the music critics.

In 2014, Sulli took a break from the entertainment industry due to health issues. After a year without promoting with f(x), she left the group in August 2015. Following this, between 2015-17 she went on to a number of modelling campaigns. She was known for her outspoken personality. In 2018 she returned to music, featuring on Dayfly by DEAN and releasing her solo song Goblin in June 2019. This was her last musical before her death in October 2019.

From 2016 onwards, f(x) were on a hiatus as they branched our their careers individually. They reunited in 2019 for a 3 day tour during SM Town Live’s concert as a 3-piece (without Victoria). 

However, in 2019/2020 the remaining members did not renew their contracts for SM Entertainment, thus disbanding the group. 

Other songs I would recommend by f(x): Chu, 4 Walls, Papi, Goodbye Summer, 미행 (그림자: Shadow), 제트별 (Jet), NU ABO, Mr. Boogie, and more :) They were a super fun group with really colourful MVs and I found (in my opinion) they always experimented with fun genres.

references: photos: - my screen cap - https://kwallpaper.wordpress.com/2013/01/11/fx-electric-shock/#jp-carousel-1694 - https://www.reddit.com/r/kpop/comments/imhl05/happy_11th_anniversary_to_fx/ - https://kprofiles.com/fx-members-profile-updated/

info: - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8I8QGFA1oM&ab_channel=SMTOWN - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Shock_(song) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Shock_(EP) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F(x)_(group) - https://web.archive.org/web/20170604025412/http://m.mwave.interest.me/en/mobileweb/kpop-news/article/54101/fx-selected-as-fuse-tv-the-41-best-albums-of-2013 - https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8546586/greatest-k-pop-albums-2010s-top-25 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulli - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F(x)_(group)#2015%E2%80%932016:_Sulli's_departure,_4_Walls,_first_concert_tour,_and_hiatus

[dmukcs]

생일 & 나이 - Birthday & Age

Age in Korea

While in KCS or enjoying media from Korea, you may have heard of “korean age” and “international age”. But what exactly is this?

International age is how we calculate age - you are zero when you are born, and each year on your birthday your age increases by one year.

International age is also referred to as legal age since this is used in courts, hospitals and public offices.

Korean age starts at one on the day you are born, then on the 1st of January every year your age increases by one year. 

While Koreans still celebrate their birthday on the day they were born their age does not change until new year. 

This means a baby can be born on the 31st of December and turn two the next day despite only being two days old in reality.

In 2019 a change was considered to drop the Korean age system in order to match the rest of the world.

So why does Korea have a different age system to the rest of the world?

The method of Korean age has its origins in China and was at one point used across Asia. However, today South Korea is the only country to use this system.

One theory is that the time a baby spends within their mother's womb is taken into consideration into their overall age and nine months rounds to one year.

Another theory is that some ancient Asian numerical systems did not have a concept of zero and therefore had to start at one.

The concept of everyone aging up at new year is thought to originate from ancient Koreans using the Chinese 60-year calendar cycle but because regular calendars did not exist the exact day of their birth was ignored and one year was added on the first day of the lunar calendar.

This then shifted to January 1st as Korea began to observe the western calendar.

How to ask about age

It’s funny that you have to guess someone’s age in order to have to ask them their age.

Age in Korea is spoken about using native Korean numbers (하나, 둘, 셋 /  hana, dul, set…).

Asking how old someone is:

Formal : 연세가 어떻게 되십니까? (yeonsega eotteoke doeshimnikka). 

Standard (from most formal to least) : 연세가 어떻게 되세요? (yeonsega eotteoke doeseyo), 나이가 어떻게 되세요? (naiga eotteoke doeseyo), 몇 살이에요? (myeot sarieyo).

Informal : 몇 살이야? (myeot sariya).

Replying with your age - in this example I have put the person as being 20 (스무 / seumu) : 

Formal : 저는 스무 살입니다 (choneun seumu sarimnida)

Standard : 저는 스무 살이에요. (choneun seumu sarieyo)

Informal : 나는 스무 살이야 (naneun seumu sariya) 

Korean Birthday Celebrations 

General birthdays

Nowadays birthdays are heavily influenced by the western tradition of cake and a party.

However eating seaweed soup (miyeokguk - 미역국) is a tradition that has remained.

Mothers ate seaweed soup after giving birth as it is rich in nutrients believed to heal and boost milk production and so to eat it on your birthday is a reminder and an appreciation of your mother’s pain and care for you.

돌잔치 - Doljanchi

A celebration of a baby's first birthday.

Historically important since many babies would die before they reached their birthday and therefore to do so was a cause for celebration

For the celebration babies will wear a hanbok with a traditional hat - jobawi (조바위) or gulle (굴레) for girls and fujin (복건) or hogeon (호건) for boys.

Family members pray and give thanks to the gods Sanshin (mountains) and Samshin (birth) for the child having been born and for the child to have a prosperous life.

Rice, seaweed soup (miyeokguk - 미역국), fruit and rice cakes are placed on a table, stacked high to symbolise a life of prosperity for the baby.

The main part of the celebration is the doljabi (돌자비) ceremony where a variety of objects are placed before the baby and the one they choose foretells their future. There are no set rules for what items are presented, though many parents choose to keep them traditional.

Examples of these items include:

Pencil or book - education

Money - wealth

Food - won’t go hungry

Thread - long life

Needle - talent with the hands

This is followed with singing and playing, and often gift giving.

환갑 - Hwangap

The celebration of someone’s 60th birthday.

A tradition from when life expectancy was much lower makes this a celebration of longevity and it also marks someone entering their second cycle of the Chinese 60-year calendar cycle.

Children of the person celebrating, starting from the eldest, bow and offer wine to their parent.

Gifts and poems may also be presented to them.

It used to be common for the sons/daughters of the person celebrating to dress in children's clothing in order to help them feel younger, though this is rare now.

The celebration itself is also becoming less popular due to medical advances and the widespread use of the western calendar

How to say Happy Birthday!

The basic word for birthday is 생일 (saengil) but if you are referring to the birthday of someone older than yourself you should use 생신 (saengsin).

The word for celebrate or congratulate is 축하하다 (chukahada).

So happy birthday as a whole phrase is:

Formal : 생신을 축하드립니다 (saengsineul chukadeurimnida).

Standard : 생일 축하합니다 (saengil chukahamnida) or 생일 축하해 (saengil chukahaeyo). The first one is slightly more formal although they are very similar. This is also the phrase that best fits the happy birthday song.

Informal : 생일 축하해 (saengil chukahae).

Researched and posted by Leo :)

Please note some of the formal and informal sayings may be inaccurate, the committee only know basic Korean and this is the best we could figure out. If you do know the correct versions please message us and they will be corrected!

Bibliography

https://www.90daykorean.com/korean-age-all-about-age-in-korea/#:~:text=It%20is%20always%20one%20or,age%20on%20New%20Year's%20Day.&text=Your%20Korean%20age%20will%20change,Day%2C%20not%20on%20your%20birthday.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/02/south-korea-mulls-ending-arcane-age-system-to-match-rest-of-world

https://qz.com/745825/korean-age-explained-why-a-baby-born-on-dec-31-turns-two-years-old-the-next-day/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_birthday_celebrations

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doljanchi

https://thesoulofseoul.net/2016/01/04/a-babys-first-birthday-korean-style-vs-american-style/

https://koreancultureblog.com/2017/07/02/korean-birthday-celebrations/

https://www.hostelsclub.com/en/magazine/korean-birthday-celebrations#commento-login-box-container 

https://www.90daykorean.com/happy-birthday-in-korean/ 

https://www.90daykorean.com/how-old-are-you-in-korean/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zTQkH5mJfA

[dmukcs]

호박죽 (hobakjuk) - Pumpkin Porridge

(serves 2) 

This pumpkin porridge is a popular late autumn and winter food though it is sometimes given as a get well gift as pumpkin is thought to reduce swelling after surgery.

Many recipes call for the soup to be blended, however in the interest of students not having kitchen appliances we’ve used a recipe that simply mashes the pumpkin! If you do want to blend it, simply put the pumpkin and water into a blender before boiling.

Equipment 

Scales

Bowls

Masher

Spoon

Cooking pot

Ingredients 

1 pound pumpkin (typically uses a pumpkin variety that may be called Kent,  japanese or kabocha pictured here but you can use any)

½ cup fresh beans (not specified in this recipe but others say red mung beans, or dont include them)

1 ¼ cup glutinous rice flour

2 tablespoons pine nuts

Sugar

Salt

½ cup hot water

(Optional) garnish

Pumpkin seeds - shelled

Instructions 

Prepare Pumpkin

Put whole pumpkin into a pot and cover with water

Cook for 15 minutes over a medium high heat

Add beans and cover

Cook another 15 minutes, or longer, until the pumpkin is scoopable and the beans are cooked (may need to add more water) 

Drain and allow to cool

Prepare Dough

Get two bowls

In one mix 1 cup glutinous rice flour and ¼ teaspoon of salt - this is for dough

In the other add ¼ cup glutinous rice flour and a pinch of salt - this is for dusting and thickening soup

Into the first bowl (most flour) add hot water and mix with a wooden spoon to make a dough

When it has cooled enough to handle, knead it in the bowl until smooth

Cover in plastic wrap and set aside

Make rice cake balls

Use dusting mix to lightly coat a cutting board

 Divide dough into 2 portions (while you work with one half, keep the other covered)

Tear off a ½ inch piece of dough, press two pine nuts into the centre and roll into a ball

Continue until dough is used up

Use the other half of dough to make plain rice cake balls that are the same size

Cover in plastic wrap to prevent drying

Make porridge

Scoop flesh from the cooked pumpkin and place into pot

Mash until smooth

Add 3 cups of water, cover and boil for 7-8 minutes

Add the rice cake balls and beans and stir a few times

Add ¼ cup of water to the leftover dusting mixture and mix until smooth

Add that to the pot and continue to cook

Once all the rice cake balls are floating add sugar and salt to taste then only cook for another 5 minutes

Ladle into bowls and serve

This can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Can be eaten cold or reheated and served hot.

Written and researched by Leo, Posted by Vicki <3 

Bibliography: 

Main recipe : https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/hobakjuk 

https://www.koreanbapsang.com/hobakjuk-kabocha-porridge-and-winners/ 

[dmukcs]

불고기 (bulgogi) - BBQ meat

(serves 4-6)

Literally translates to fire meat 

It’s usually beef however it can be pork. 

Equipment 

Scales

(optional) Grater 

Ziploc bag or Tupperware 

Grill or frying pan 

Ingredients 

5 tbsp light soy sauce 

2.5 tbsp light brown sugar 

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil 

3 cloves of garlic - finely grated or minced

1 tbsp ginger - finely grated or minced

1 Asian pear or red apple - peeled and grated (this helps tenderise the meat)

Ground black pepper (to taste)

1.5-pound (680g) steak - sliced thinly

Cooking oil 

2 stalks of green onion (garnish) - thinly sliced diagonally

Toasted sesame seeds (garnish)  

Instructions 

In a bowl, mix soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, Asian pear or apple, and black pepper. 

Add the steak and marinate it for at least 2 hours (although preferable marinate overnight)  in a ziploc bag in a refrigerator 

Once marinated, cook on an oiled grill or frying pan and serve with sesame seeds and green onion

Bulgogi can be stored for a 3-4 days in a fridge

Bibliography:

Icon in heading: https://damndelicious.net/2019/04/21/korean-beef-bulgogi/ 

https://mykoreankitchen.com/bulgogi-korean-bbq-beef/  

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/100606/beef-bulgogi/ 

[dmukcs]

양념(통)닭 (yangnyeom (tong)dak) - Sweet-spicy Fried Chicken

(Serves 4)

Yangnyeom means seasoned or marinated

Tongdak means whole chicken however some people just use it to just mean chicken (not necessarily whole chicken). Dak means chicken 

The overall word for Korean fried chicken is actually called chikin (치킨). Basic fried chicken without sauce is huraideu-chikin (후라이드치킨 - pronounced similar to fried chicken). Ganjang-chikin (간장치킨) is soy sauce chicken (ganjang means soy sauce). Banban (반반) means half-half (half huraideu, half yangnyeom) 

Equipment 

Measuring cups or scales 

Fine grater

Ziploc bag 

Saucepan 

Fryer or saucepan with about 1-2 inches of oil 

Tongs (or anything to get the chicken out of boiling oil)

Paper towels 

Ingredients 

24 wings or 8-10 boneless thighs - cut thighs into bitesize pieces 

(optional) 1 tbsp rice wine 

½ tsp Ginger - grated 

½ clove Garlic - grated 

Salt (to taste)

Ground black pepper (to taste)

Oil for frying 

Green onions (garnish) - sliced thinly diagonally 

Sesame seeds (garnish)

Batter

⅓ cup (45g) potato starch - sieved 

⅓ cup (45g) all-purpose flour - sieved 

⅓ cup (45g) sweet rice flour / glutinous rice flour - sieved 

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 egg - beaten

Salt (to taste) 

Sauce 

5 tbsp ketchup 

2 tbsp honey 

1.5 tbsp gochujang 

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp granulated sugar 

1 tsp sesame oil

½ cloves of garlic - grated

Instructions 

Marinate chicken in rice wine, ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper 

Preheat the fryer to about 170℃ 

Beat the egg and season with salt

Mix all the dry batter ingredients together 

Completely cover the marinated chicken in the egg and then the dry batter mixture 

Drop the chicken in the fryer in small batches

Fry until it’s completely cooked and looks golden brown (5-10 minutes) 

Remove the chicken from the fryer and place on a paper towel to dry

Fry it a second time for another (5-10 minutes) then remove and place it on some paper towel. 

In a saucepan, add all the ingredients for the sauce and stir. Simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Cover the fried chicken in the sauce and serve with green onions and sesame seeds 

It can be stored for a day in a fridge then reheated in an oven for 190℃ for 10-15 minutes

Bibliography:

Icon in heading: https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/korean-fried-chicken/ 

https://www.kitchensanctuary.com/korean-fried-chicken/ 

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/korean-fried-chicken 

https://tasty.co/recipe/spicy-korean-chicken 

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1012801-korean-fried-chicken 

[dmukcs]

old school music corner • snsd (소녀시대) - gee

Hello everyone!

To start this corner off, I want to recommend what’s been titled as the most popular song from the 2000s decade: GEE by SNSD (or more popularly known: Girls’ Generation).

watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7mPqycQ0tQ

Gee was released on the 5th of January 2009 and remains, what I feel, to be one of SNSD’s most iconic songs to date. With a bubblegum pop and electropop genre, the song details the girls’ affections when in love. It’s a super catchy song with a similarly fun choreography that every fan of kpop should know! In fact, Gee is one of the first songs I ever listened to from a girl group when I first got into kpop.

From left to right: Taeyeon, Tiffany, Sooyoung, Jessica, Yuri, Yoona, Sunny, Hyoyeon, Seohyun.

It was released as single from their EP of the same title (Gee - The First Mini Album, pictured above), earning a 9-week consecutive number one spot on Music Bank, with a 3-week number one spot on Inkigayo, making it the best selling single of 2009. This song also let them take home their first Daesung at the 24th Golden Disc Awards, followed by their second at the Melon Music Awards a few days after.

If you’re not sure on who these girls are, not to worry! 

Girls’ Generation were a girl group who debuted in 2007 under the label SM Entertainment, one of the biggest entertainment companies in South Korea. Originally a nine piece, Jessica Jung departed from the group in 2014.

Throughout their career they have released 9 studio albums, 2 live albums, 4 EPs and 28 singles. From 2017, they have been on indefinite hiatus following the news that three members did not renew their contracts. Currently they are working on solo endeavours. Written and posted by Tarner c:

• • • • • • • • • •

photo references: 

https://www.soompi.com/article/1119597wpp/girls-generations-gee-becomes-2nd-mv-reach-200-million-views https://genius.com/albums/Girls-generation/Gee-ep

references: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gee_(Girls%27_Generation_song) https://web.archive.org/web/20140518023040/http://www.avclub.com/article/navigating-through-excessive-world-k-pop-204421 https://newsen.com/news_view.php?uid=200901061334371002 https://www.soompi.com/article/1119597wpp/girls-generations-gee-becomes-2nd-mv-reach-200-million-views https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls%27_Generation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls%27_Generation_discography

[dmukcs]

Lucifer - SHINee (샤이니)

watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dww9UjJ4Dt8&ab_channel=SMTOWN

This week’s old school kpop recommendation is Lucifer by SHINee (prounced shiny). Lucifer is definitely a classic and one of SHINee’s iconic songs (but really, most title tracks by SHINee are iconic in their own right).

"Lucifer" was written by Bebe Rexha and Yoo Young-jin and is described as a ‘game-changing tune’ propelled by electro-pop and futuristic synth effects. This song showed a new edgier side to the group. I really believe that this song, paired with exciting choreography, changed the game for kpop and pushed a lot of new challenging choreo in the industry. 

For their outstanding choreography for Lucifer, they were nominated for Best Dance Performance Award at the 2010 MAMA.

Fun fact: SM included ‘slicing through the air’ sound effects for their choreo in the beginning which still to this day I find really funny. 

Released July 19th, 2010, this comes from their second full album of the same title, being re-released on their repackaged album, Hello, October 1st 2010.

The album Lucifer won the Disk Bonsang Award at the 25th Golden Disk Awards, as well as the Popularity Award. 

Their second album Lucifer (2010) produced two singles, "Lucifer" and "Hello".  Lucifer also won the Disk Bonsang Award at the 25th Golden Disk Awards as well as the Popularity Award. 

Members left to right: Onew (leader, orange jacket), Taemin (maknae, yellow jacket), Jonghyun, Key, Minho

SHINee is a group formed under SM Entertainment in 2008. They have won numerous amount of accolades and are known as the “Princes of Kpop” in South Korea. Originally a five-member group, vocalist Kim Jonghyun died in December 2017. Currently they are still active.

They debuted in May 2008, with their debut song Replay (which I’m really hoping you all know as it’s truly a bop even to this day). They gained attention for starting a fashion trend amongst students, which was dubbed “The SHINee trend”. 

SHINee are considered to be one of the best live vocal groups in kpop and are known for their intricate but synchronised choreographies, earning them Best Dance Performance three times in a row from MAMA. Their signature style of music is known to be R&B, but they’ve experimented with a lot of genres over their years of being a group.

Their fandom name is SHINee World, most popularly known Shawols, and their fandom colour is pearl aqua. They also have fandom names for individual members which are as followed:

ONEW - MVPs (based from one of his lines in their debut song Replay)

JONGHYUN - Blingers 

MINHO - Flames

KEY - Lockets

TAEMIN - Taemints

• • • • • • • • • •

photo references: https://www.soompi.com/article/1282253wpp/shinees-lucifer-2nd-mv-surpass-100-million-views?fbclid=IwAR2fRQL4uQp7OOa7UiNKBzZOJQMyyMA_C2N1SxFNEfaz9ScYLfRh6kcLEXY https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer_(Shinee_album)#/media/File:Shinee_Lucifer_cover.jpg https://www.soompi.com/article/1105241wpp/shinee-posts-handwritten-letters-announcing-decision-japanese-concerts

references:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucifer_(Shinee_album) https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/list/8544710/best-k-pop-songs-2010s-top-100 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_awards_and_nominations_received_by_Shinee#:~:text=Their%20second%20album%20Lucifer%20(2010,well%20as%20the%20Popularity%20Award. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinee

[dmukcs]

송편  (Songpyeon) - Pine cake / Half-moon shape rice cake

They are made and eaten during Chuseok. Some say that if you make pretty songpyeon you’ll have a beautiful daughter. (although other rumors are you’ll have a good spouse or a beautiful baby)

Songpyeon is traditionally steamed on pine needles. This gave them a woody aroma and stopped them from sticking to the steamer. 

Different regions have different types of songpyeon. 

Chungcheon province = pumpkin in the dough and shaped like a pumpkin 

Gangwon province = potato starch and acorn powder in the dough, people from Gangneung leave their handprints on their songpyeon; 

Gyeongsang = ramie in the dough. This makes it healthier

Jeju = sweetened pea filling that has a concave center. Are often pan-fried after steaming 

Jeolla = arrowroot starch used in the dough. Often shaped like a flower 

Seoul = five-coloured (오색) songpyeon (white, brown, pink, green and yellow) 

Equipment

Bowls 

Measuring cups or scales 

Cling film 

Saucepan 

Strainer/sieve

Mortar & pestle (or the student method: Ziploc bag and the flat side of a knife) 

Gloves 

Steamer 

Ingredients

All dough contains 2 cups (235g) rice powder each. This can be found in the frozen section in Asian stores but needs to be thawed before using. This is different to sweet (/glutinous)  rice flour 

White dough

4 tbsp + 1-2 tsp boiling water

Green dough

1.5 - 2.5 tsp matcha tea powder 

4-5 tbsp + 1-2 tsp boiling water 

Yellow dough

50g Kabocha squash (cooked) 

1-4 tbsp boiling water 

Red dough

1-3 beetroots 

Water (enough to cover beetroot in a saucepan) 

Pink dough 

½ cup of raspberries

½ cup of water

Purple dough

½ cup blueberries

½ cup of water

Filling

There are many types of fillings:

Roasted Sesame seeds

Mung beans

Sliced Dates 

Crushed pine nuts

Canned chestnuts in syrup

Each filling contains ½ cup of the bean/seed/nuts with 2 tbsp of honey, 1 tbsp brown sugar (optional) and a pinch of salt. (If you’re using canned chestnut in syrup, you don’t have to add anything) 

Instructions

All Doughs 

Boiling water should always be the last thing added to the rice powder  

Straight after adding the boiling water, mix with a spoon constantly until it cools down 

Then knead with your hands for 5 minutes and cover the dough with a wet towel or cling film for a few minutes 

White dough

Add boiling water to rice powder and mix

Green dough

Add matcha powder to the rice powder and then add the boiling water and mix

Yellow dough

Peel the kabocha and cut into small chunks 

Microwave the kabocha squash for 40 seconds (or until it’s soft) 

Add the squash to the rice powder by pushing it through a strainer/sieve and add the boiling water and mix

Red dough

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat and add the beetroots

Remove the beetroots once the water looks red enough and add 4 tbsp of the boiled water to the rice powder and mix

Pink dough

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat and add the raspberries and water and mash them

Let it bubble for a few minutes while stirring 

Remove from heat and pour through a strainer/sieve

Add 4 tbsp of this raspberry juice to the rice powder and mix

Purple dough

Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat and add the blueberries and water and mash them

Let it bubble for a few minutes while stirring 

Remove from heat and pour through a strainer/sieve

Add 4 tbsp and 1-2 tsp of this blueberry juice to the rice powder and mix 

Fillings

Honey sesame seeds

Grind the sesame seeds using a food processor or mortar and pestle (or using a Ziploc bag and the flat side of the knife)

Add honey, sugar and salt and mix

Mung beans 

Soak mung beans for 2-3 hours

Remove the skin of the mung bean by rubbing them. 

Steam the mung beans for 15 minutes 

Coarsely chop the beans 

Add honey, sugar and salt and mix

Dates 

Thinly slice the dates 

Add the honey, sugar and salt and mix

Pine nuts 

Crush the pine nuts and add a tbsp of honey, sugar, and salt 

Chestnuts 

Good to eat as is if using canned chestnut in syrup or you can chop or crush them.  

Construction 

Tear off a piece of dough and roll into a ball of the dough about 1-inch diameter

Press your thumb in the middle of the ball to make a well and press the sides to make the dough an even width.

Fill the well halfway with the filling 

Fold in half and seal the open edge by pinching together. 

Decorate them

Place them in a tray (don’t let them touch each other) and keep them covered 

Repeat until all the filling and dough is done

Cooking

Add water to the steamer and boil over high heat 

Traditionally, pine needles are placed at the bottom of the steam basket however a damp kitchen cloth will work too. Place the songpyeon on top and place the lid on the steamer. (btw “song” means pine tree)

 Steam for 12-20 minutes 

Remove from the heat and take the lid off and place it in a bowl of cold water. 

Take the songpyeon out and coat them with a thin layer of sesame oil 

Songpyeons are traditionally shaped the way pictured above but there are different types nowadays that usually include looking like fruit, vegetable or flowers but I found some more unique ones pictured below.

Written and uploaded by Vicki xx

Bibliography: 

Icon in heading: http://www.popflock.com/learn?s=Songpyeon 

https://kimchimari.com/how-to-make-songpyeon-for-chuseok/ 

https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/songpyeon 

https://www.koreanbapsang.com/songpyeon-half-moon-shaped-rice-cake/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songpyeon 

Images: http://www.theindependentbd.com/arcprint/details/17607/2015-10-02 

https://www.alamy.com/korean-food-songpyeon-honey-filledrice-cake-image212329678.html 

http://mymariamargareta.blogspot.com/2011/09/chuseok-food-songpyeon.html 

https://www.reddit.com/r/food/comments/7efwaz/prochef_korean_traditional_rice_cake_songpyeon/ 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KE0zCW63MI&ab_channel=HMart 

https://www.deviantart.com/inyuji/art/Fun-Songpyeon-of-Chuseok-2011-258159330 

[dmukcs]

Uhm Junghwa (엄정화) - Rose of Betrayal (배반의 장미)

This week’s reccomedation is Rose of Betrayal/Betrayal of the Rose by Uhm Junghwa.

watch the MV here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lo85dzoSc0&ab_channel=handrickson1 Rose of Betrayal was released in 1997, and is one of Uhm Junghwa’s iconic and signature songs from her music career. It came from her 3rd studio album, After Love, but was featured again on her 4th studio album Invitation. 

This song had unexpected success, despite its shocking MV at the time, and marked a stylistic transformation in her career.

Unlike many other dance songs, this song gave its significant impact in the beginning, not the chorus. There are strong feelings throughout the song, and from this it caught her own style. This song is about how an abandoned woman allowed her heart to be caught by a Casanova. 

Uhm Junghwa is a singer, actress and dancer from South Korea. She is considered to be one of the most influential women in the Korean entertainment industry and such is nicknamed the “evergreen”. Many female artists recognise her as a role model.

Uhm began her career in 1987, as a chorus member for MBC. She then made her film debut in the 1992 film Marriage Story and released her first studio album Sorrowful Secret in 1993. The lead single "Pupil" (눈동자) helped to establish her unique image.

Her 4th studio album Invitation, which I’ve mentioned above, was a massive success, bolstered by “Poison” and “Chodae”, singles from the album. These songs, alongside “Rose of Betrayal” (배반의 장미), "Molla" (몰라), "Festival" and "Dagara" (다가라) have become her signature, iconic songs. 

Following a nearly 10 year long hiatus from music, Uhm Junghwa released her tenth studio album The Cloud Dream of the Nine in 2017.

In the summer of 2020, Uhm Junghwa joined singers Lee Hyori, Jessi and Hwasa to form the “supergroup” Refund Sisters. They debuted with their first single “Don’t Touch Me” in October 2020 and reached number 1 on the Gaon chart.

references: http://xenudo.blogspot.com/2012/06/betrayal-of-rose-songed-by-ehm-jung.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invitation_(Uhm_Jung-hwa_album) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uhm_Jung-hwa#2000s%E2%80%93present https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uhm_Jung-hwa