Former f(x) member Sulli's Controversial Instagram Posts

Ever since Sulli departed from the girl group, f(x), it's as if she's been set free and she's been taking more explicit photos - both at photo shoots and on her own through her Instagram account. Finally Korean netizens have determined Sulli's Instagram posts symbolize sex.

I personally am still in the process of getting over Sulli leaving f(x), not necessarily because I am her fan but because I think f(x) is complete with five members. Generally speaking, I like the original versions. 

And this latest buzz about Sulli's posts on Instagram doesn't help either. 

I get that she's no longer a girl group member so she has less of a responsibility to uphold some kind of model image. And really, she's free to post whatever she wants. But the truth is - her past as a girl group member has not been completely erased as many of her fans have liked her since her f(x) days. She still has fans who remember the innocent maknae and that's just one 

reason I too look down upon her Instagram posts. 

I think this also brings out the "incarceration" of idol group members. K-pop stars, especially if they're a new idol group, rarely post explicit content because they have an image to uphold. And idol group members tend to garner younger fans. If Sulli was still part of f(x), she would have cleaner posts on Instagram.

I also believe that Sulli has a lot of potential for continual stardom without all this voluntary sex appeal on social media. She's a natural beauty with acting in her resume since she was just a child. 

There's a mix of responses in the comments sections of her controversial posts and from the Korean netizens online. I read one say (defensively, I think) that Sulli is still young and childish, while another, a fan, expresses her disappointment at Sulli. 

I am also disappointed and just regretful about all of this. Again, I wish she would've stayed in f(x). I wonder then if there would have been this problem even. 

The Korean War and Unity in the Koreas

I've spoken a few times on the unification of the two Koreas. I've been studying the Korean War lately and I think I can make more educated statements this time. The book I'm reading is Brothers at War: The Unending Conflict in Korea by Sheila Miyoshi Jager.

First off, I want to share my surprise about discovering that I really didn't know anything about "6.25" ("Yook-ee-oh", as the fateful day is called in Korea) or the Korean War. Growing up and going to school in America really has not taught me anything about this. I shamefully confess that prior to reading the book, even my notion on what "6.25" is was faint.

June 25, 1950 (hence 6.25) was the day the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), under Kim Il Sung and the support of the Soviet Union, invaded South Korea. The United States were suspicious about the North's military strength and didn't take hints of invasion seriously while Syngman Rhee, the first president of the Republic of Korea (the South) was more cautious. And the war began.

I've learned that a lot of the fate of the Koreas were determined by foreign powers, the United States and the Soviet Union. At the end of World War II, only these two nations were interested in the Korean peninsula. By then Korea was also divided by ideology and unification seemed impossible. This problem was solved by the creation of the 38th parallel, the DMZ, which was set by two Americans. It was also two United States army colonels who proposed that the Soviet Union take the north and the United States take the south (U.S. Department of State - Office of the Historian website). Even after Korea's liberation, fueled by President Truman, from Japan, Korea was still in the hands of foreign nations.

Generally speaking, the North was unified in their hatred for Japan and the United States (which had divided Korea with the DMZ line) and ruled in communism with the influence of Soviet Russia. As for the South, they slowly learned to be a republic nation under the influence of the United States. And Kim Il Sung wanted the rest of the Korean peninsula to share in their so-called "equality" and "prosperity" under communism and had invaded. In present day, perhaps the North still feel this way - that the South Koreans are pitiful. But they think because they don't know.

And we all know that the Korean War ended in an armistice, not a treaty, with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north and the Republic of Korea in the South.

In my previous blog post, I had ruled out that unity in Korea would be more difficult because of the clash of two very different ideologies. But now, I wonder why I thought that. The unification of the two Koreas itself is proof that there's no such thing as the clash of ideologies. If the clash of ideologies still persists then there was never unity to start with. And once the two Koreas unite and become one Republic of Korea, those who were brainwashed and uninformed in the North will find out all the truths. If there was a way to instigate unification, then the next step, which is the "de-brainwashing" of the North Koreans would be achieved in no time.

The book I'm reading goes into massive details of background events and the various causes and effects of the war. The big effect of the war remaining today is the Korean peninsula divided at the 38th parallel. I hope one more thing can be added to this Korean War history some day - that there's unity and peace in Korea at last...

Plastic Surgery and South Korea (2)

As I read an article about yet another alleged cosmic surgery accusation of a Korean celebrity, I just sigh in frustration.

There have been so many celebrities who have debuted with a natural face and then have gone under the knife who didn't need to. When it seems like nearly all celebrities have gotten plastic surgery and there’s that one newly-debuted singer with a slightly shorter nose, it delights me. That’s because that singer is still gorgeous and this is a declaration that there is such a thing as natural beauties in Korea. And there really are.

So it almost devastates me to come across articles raising questions of plastic surgery on a celeb and see the pictures myself and learn that he or she did. And most of the time, their “before” face was a lot better than their “after” face.

And it’s one thing when these people who didn’t need the operation are celebrities. It’s another when it’s just non-celebrity, ordinary people.

Celebrities live in an entirely different world where they are highly pressured to improve their looks with every new movie or music album. Some girl group or boy group members just never get the recognition they so deserve just because they’re not as good-looking as the rest. And there have been such highly talented idol group members who’ve been outshined by the “visuals” of the group who have gone under the knife and gained more fans afterwards. So I reiterate that celebrities feel every temptation to “fix” their faces.

But the frustrating thing, and I find it also to be annoying, is that this pressure is also in the South Korean society as a whole. An office-walker who works in front of the computer most of the day is not like the celebrity who makes an appearance on national television, yet she (and it’s mostly “she’s”) feels inferior to the pretty office-worker next door.

And I get it. I do. I’m a girl too. I know it may not just be feelings of inferiority. I get that you just want to look better and feel better.

However I challenge the Korean society with this question: Are looks everything?

I’ve also heard that looks do matter very well to the employers hiring secretaries for the company. So people get plastic surgery for that. I’m not blaming the fact that employers can’t help but notice the looks. We all notice the looks. But should looks be part of the standard for getting hired? I argue that that is rather extreme.

I also heard that when you walk the streets of Korea, all the faces you encounter are super gorgeous. But they also all look the same.

The last time I visited Korea was seven years ago. I don’t recall seeing identical faces all over the face back then. So this points out the changes to Korean society as well.

Plus I also don’t like South Korea’s reputation as the “plastic surgery nation”. I think that’s just humiliating.

It’s great to take some time on your looks. But it shouldn’t be everything. And I feel like to Koreans it’s everything. I’m calling out to all the natural faces in Korea: Don’t go to the clinic. Don’t “fix” your face. Natural is more beautiful. 

Expectation vs. Reality: Male Characters in Korean Dramas

I've been wanting to give my two cents on a topic that I'm not really an expert on: Korean men in Korean dramas versus Korean men in real life.

I'm not an expert on this because frankly, I haven't encountered many fully-blooded, Korean-raised Korean males in my life. I've encountered many Korean-American men, but we Korean-Americans are different anyway.

Then I got to meet one for the first time in years. And by "years", I mean about ten years. And ten years ago, I was too young to care about what Korean men are like. I haven't just met this Korean guy once, I see him every week. So again, I don't have substantial amount of information since it is just one guy, but I do have some information. Just keep in mind that this post is highly subjective :)

Song Joong Ki and Song Hye Kyo in "Descendants of the Sun"
Click here for picture source

The too-good-to-be-real male character in K-dramas who carry a girl's backpack for her, walks the girl home, and gets beaten up by gang members to protect his love interest is an overly-used stock character. This kind of male character is in virtually all K-dramas. I don't make this point to say that Korean men aren't like this in real life. Yes, apparently some actually do offer to carry your backpack (I don't know about getting beaten up for the girl, though...), but it's not that swoon-worthy as it is in K-dramas. I came to realize this through experience, and it was a very shattering experience for me.

That's because I can carry my own backpack myself. A part of me was flattered but another part me felt kind of insulted.

I'm sure it also depends on who the guy is. Just putting that out there.

Also, in K-dramas, we don't normally see much of the bad side of that too-good-to-be-real male character. There's no perfectly nice human-being after all. So for me, I just got the impression that he was making such offers not out of a genuine heart, but because he's done this a lot before. And when an action just feels like it's duplicated, it's not so special anymore. In K-drams, we don't see the bad side of that character but the character is also played by an extremely good-looking actor. I mean, who wouldn't fall for a guy that ties your shoelaces for you if that guy is Song Joong Ki?

Of course, guys can do nice things for a girl they like. In fact, they actually do. I'm not criticizing that. Why would I?

But if there's one thing I realized, it's that dramas are dramas. You think your life would be so much better if there are Song Joong Kis in your life. There are plenty of nice guys, but none of the perfect guys you see in K-dramas. I want to reiterate that there are plenty of nice guys. But don't expect someone like Park Hae Jin or Taecyeon from that real-life guy in your life. That's not fair to him nor to yourself.

My Opinion on the Korean Women in 100 Most Beautiful Faces

Twelve female celebrities in South Korea made the Independent Critics list of 100 Most Beautiful Faces of 2015, and you can read more about that here. In particular, NaNa of the Korean girl group After School snagged the number one spot for the second time in a row. The article I linked asks our opinion and I've got plenty to share. Please note that my opinions are only mine and I intend no harm.

First, I understand the standards of beauty in the eyes of Koreans and other Asians are very different from the eyes of the Western world. Consequently, this list of 100 Most Beautiful Women doesn't accurately reflect the way Koreans would order the most beautiful faces of their country. Koreans idealize big eyes, especially eyes with double-eyelids (쌍꺼풀: the crease in your eyelid), narrow chins, white skin, tall nose, full lips, all in a small-sized face. Western people typically favor Asians without the double-eyelids, and Americans in particular prefer tan skin.

To give you my personal opinions now, I agree that NaNa is pretty. She is. And she also has a nice personality as well, based on her performance on television and netizens' posts about her. And as a fellow Korean, I'm so proud that a Korean woman seized the number one spot on this list. Let me also point out that South Korea was the third country with the most women placed in this list.

But I think, in my Korean eyes, another Korean woman could've taken that spot. A lot of other Koreans say the same, some express their opinions rather more harshly that Nana's face isn't exactly number one worthy. But I personally appreciate her humble response to this - she even apologized in a recent airing of Radio Star.

What really puzzles me is that Song Hye Kyo was listed as 67. 67! I understand she's competing with beautiful women all over the world, and the fact that she made the list is a great accomplishment in and of it self. Actually, it only makes sense that she's on the list - she's one of the top most gorgeous Korean celebrities! So it doesn't make sense that she was the only top most gorgeous Korean woman to be on this list. What about Kim Tae Hee or Jeon Ji Hyun, whose names are up there along with Song Hye Kyo's? There are numerous more Korean women that I can think of but weren't on this list - Shin Min Ah, Lee Min Jung, Girls' Generation's YoonA (!!! Seriously.), Red Velvet's Irene, f(x)'s Krystal, Sulli... and more!

I personally think Song Hye Kyo is the most gorgeous celebrity in Korea, and again, she's competing with the rest of the world here. So if anything, I think she should beat the other Koreans. I mentioned that I think Irene of Red Velvet should've been on the list, she's considered prettier than fellow member Seulgi who made the list. Seulgi has big eyes without the double-eyelid, which I think may make her more gorgeous to western eyes than Irene. Although, Seulgi's crease-less eyes are enviously pretty! But I personally think Seulgi is gorgeous as well. And if all of these newer girl group members are going to make the list - then, YoonA has to be in it. She is the prettiest girl group member in Korea.

So far I gave you my personal opinion - I looked up what Koreans are saying about the list. A few have gone as far to investigate the credibility of the Independent Critics, and I learned something disappointing as well. As credible and important the Independent Critics sound, they're just a blog ran by an individual, ordinary person who enjoys listening to K-pop. So Koreans don't view this list as something incredible anymore and just see the list as kind of biased.

And the Koreans have gone as far as bashing poor NaNa. I find it a bit odd that Koreans are making their way to find out the credibility of the Independent Critics and then go on to bash NaNa for being on some biased list. Okay, I was curious about who the Independent Critics are too, but I don't think that gives reason to criticize NaNa. I'm not talking about stating that another Korean should've been number one, like I did, but downright trash-talking about her. Some of the comments I've seen are so severe I dare not rethink them even. Talk about Team-Kill. And I think that's really unnecessary.

Regarding Jessica, Former Member of Girls' Generation

If you follow K-pop at all, you must know that Jessica is no longer part of Girls' Generation as of September 2014. Around that time, she also left S.M. Entertainment. I didn't know about her leaving S.M. until very recently, and she finally signed with a new label not too long ago.

As a big fan of Girls' Generation, I'm not over Jessica's absence in the group. Girls' Generation just doesn't seem whole as just 8 members (though their recent albums slayed). I think it's like rubbing salt on the wound, or to use a Korean proverb it's like fanning the flame for her to have left S.M. Entertainment also. It's harder for her to go back to Girls' Generation then.

There's very little, if hardly any, of the truth about these K-pop stars' private lives that we get to know as outsiders. So I don't know what Jessica or the members of GG feel or think when they hear fans like me wanting for Jessica's return to the group. Of course one GG member indirectly said Jessica will be welcomed back on the radio. But I don't want to believe that nearly fifteen years of ongoing friendship can really be permanently broken. 

Along with this shocking news of Jessica no longer being part of Girls' Generation, there was a lot of scandal about Jessica's relationship with Tyler Kwon. Again, it's not like we know the whole story here. If there's one thing that was resolved about Jessica and Tyler Kwon is that they're not getting married anytime soon (or so that's how it was the last time I checked). If you click on the first hyperlink in this blog post, you'll see that Jessica actually signed a contract with Tyler Kwon's label. I'm not trying to judge or condemn here, but I just want to express my worry about this. If fifteen years of friendship could be shaken, what's there to say about a relationship with a man you certainly haven't known for fifteen years? If there's a negative change in their relationship, will Jessica leave that label too? 

Personally, I think the best option is for Jessica to just rejoin Girls' Generation.