Monday 29 July 2013

Essential Summer Playlist 2013


Read on UnitedKPop.
When asking someone who is not originally from the UK what they knew about Great Britain before coming here and one of their answers will undoubtedly involve bad weather of some kind. It is quite true though that Britain is often cold and very wet for the majority of the year. How else would we have such a flourishing countryside?

Recently however, we have been subjected to quite a heatwave and temperatures have reached highs that we have not seen in SEVEN years! Add to the particularly harsh winters we have had and it is easy to see why everyone has been going crazy over the summer weather.

      It seems that the Korean music scene is particularly passionate to spread the summer vibes this year, with many artists providing some great songs fit for playing on the beach. We thought we would compile a short ‘Essential Summer Playlist 2013’ for you to dance along to in this hot weather.

Friday 19 July 2013

[GET THE K-POP LOOK] 2NE1 - 'Falling in Love'.


Read on UnitedKpop
2NE1 made a big comeback recently with a surprisingly bouncy reggae-style track “Falling in Love”. While the girls’ usual themes exude sleek style and swag, they seem to be venturing into more feminine territory of late, especially when you consider the soft concept for their last single “I Love You”. In this music video, you can see the girls smiling and laughing while bobbing along to this happy track whilst still maintaining that classic hip hop flavour. It definitely gives Blackjacks a refreshing summer tune to dance along to on the beach. (Or, if you’re anything like me, to dance to inside your house away from the sunlight like some sort of vampire-esque creature).

Friday 12 July 2013

[EDITORIAL] 'The Greatest Shows on Earth': A Fair Representation?



Read on UnitedKpop
Channel 4 recently broadcast a series entitled ‘The Greatest Shows on Earth’. The programme was headed by British TV presenter Daisy Donovan, who is a self-confessed television addict that set out to test a theory that a nation’s television can serve as a window into its soul.
Each hour-long programme focused on one area of the globe: Brazil, India, Egypt and Abu Dhabi and lastly, South Korea. Donovan sets out to see how exactly each area’s wider culture links to their most popular programmes, often getting actively involved in productions.

It is typical of Channel 4 documentaries to tackle subjects that have not yet been covered, often because these topics are very niche or even controversial. Personally, I feel this makes for a more intriguing watch, it taps into a part of viewers curious about the taboo or simply quite strange and unusual. However, I am sure that I was not the only British K-Pop fan that was particularly excited to watch the episode that covered contemporary South Korean entertainment.