2NE1: New Evolution of the 21st Century

I loved the name 2NE1 without knowing that the N and the E actually stood for something. I thought it was a purely stylistic decision to make the name look hip and cool, like the girls themselves. I figured it was a cute little wordplay, pronouncing twenty-one as two-any-one, because their music was for anyone to enjoy. Plus, at the time of their debut, the average age of the members was incidentally 21 years old. Although that is no longer the case, Papa YG still took the leap of faith and gave them a name with multiple layers of meaning that would fit them to a tee. After all, these girls really were a new evolution of the 21st century, breaking that girly-girl mold and showing that the females can be just as bad and fierce as the males.

AOA: Ace of Angels

FNC Entertainment is slowly getting back into my good graces after the CNBLUE naming incident with AOA. As the Ace of Angels, these girls are meant to be the cream of the crop, the very top of the angel hierarchy. Well, if many of us consider the girls of Girls’ Generation to be the poster angels of K-Pop, then AOA could, indeed be, the ace. Based on their concepts so far, I see them as a carbon copy of SNSD, but with instruments to give them that extra edge. Too bad the group has yet to prove that they really are the aces they say they are.

Block B: Blockbuster

Who are those cool kids on the block? Oh, you mean, Block B? Not only does the name have a nice little ring to it that fits their Hip-Hop bad boy image, it serves as a constant reminder to the members of what their goal is: to become major blockbusters in the music industry, selling out albums and concerts and winning awards left and right. It hasn’t been a smooth road for them thus far, but when your leader can write and spit mad rhymes while rocking some crazy dreadlocks, one would think that it’ll only be a matter of time and some good luck before Block B will reemerge from the bad press and bust out onto the K-Pop block as the next big thing.

BTOB: Born to Beat

What do you need to be successful in the music industry? How about some good beats? Well, these boys were born to beat, so they’ve already got that one in the bag. I’m loving the alliteration on this group name, as it has a beat of its own when it rolls off your tongue. In fact, say it fast enough successively, and it kinda sounds like your beatboxing. Granted that it’s rather poor beatboxing, but nonetheless, the name has a good ring to it, and it totally makes sense. Two thumbs up to Cube Entertainment for finally learning how to use the letter B appropriately.

EXID: EXceed In Dreaming

EXID is actually pronounced “ee-ex-i-dee” to give you the impression that it stands for something. I have to say, putting those four letters together was a good call on AB Entertainment‘s part, and most of me wishes they had just kept it that way for aesthetic reasons or capitalized more on the use of “ID” to lend them more of an identity amongst the slew of girl groups that have debuted so far. Nonetheless, I give them a pass here because “EXceed In Dreaming” isn’t so bad. It’s not really a phrase that we English speakers would use on a daily basis, but it’s technically grammatically correct. If dreaming were a subject in school, why not exceed in it so that even your wildest dreams would come true?

FT Island: Five Treasure Island

Let me just say that if Five Treasure Island were a real island, I would not mind being stranded there with the five treasured band members. Take a listen to any of their tracks, and you will find you’ve struck gold with Hongki‘s distinctive power vocals, Jonghoon‘s sexy guitar solos, Jaejin‘s cute soothing voice and bass skills, Seunghyun‘s rap-singing and guitar playing, and Minhyun‘s fierce drumming. FNC once again gets brownie points for not completely messing up their name because it would be a real shame if a bad name turned people away from such a talented group.

SNSD: Girls’ Generation

SNSD is an abbreviation for their Korean name, So Nyuh Shi Dae (소녀시대). So nyuh means “girl,” and shi dae means “generation.” Put it together, and you have Girls’ Generation. If you use Chinese characters or Hanja to write their name (少女時代), the meaning remains in both Chinese and Japanese. Snaps to SM Entertainment for keeping things simple with this one. Not only has the name SNSD stuck with us, but the nine girls have definitely lived up to their name and dominated the girl group market.

TVXQ: The Rising Gods of the East

Similar to their labelmates, SNSD, TVXQ is an abbreviation for their full name in Chinese characters, Tong Vfang Xien Qi (東方神起). The Korean reading of these Hanja is Dong Bang Shin Ki, thereby giving us another common acronym for the group’s name, DBSK. The Japanese reading of these same characters is Tohoshinki, which is why they are also known as THSK in Japan. The literal meaning that transcends all three languages is “The Rising Gods of the East.” I just love the way that SM took advantage of characters that could be used in multiple countries to help ensure that these gods really would rise from the East and conquer a large part of Asia. Plus, the careful choice of four characters is quite elegant, as Chinese and Korean students often have to study books of four character idioms in order to appear more educated.

ZE:A: Children of Empire

ZE:A is short for Zegukui Aideul (제국의 아이들). Zeguk or jeguk, as it is more commonly romanized, means empire; ui is a possessive particle; ai means child; and deul makes it plural. Put it all together, and you have “Children of Empire.” Okay, I admit, that sounds a bit stupid when translated, but I went ahead and added them to this list because at least ZE:A didn’t turn out to be Zealous Artists or Zipping EntertAiners. I’m giving Star Empire Entertainment a pat on the back for staying true to their Korean roots and creating a group to represent their company as their offspring, while getting a cool sounding acronym out of it.

Did we miss out on your favorite K-Pop acronyms? Let us know in the comments section below, and feel free to add your own commentary.

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The Man

Some dark spirits began circling around the web this week causing major disarray and transformation. What was once cuddly and sweet, was changed into dark and dangerous. And when we awoke in the morning to check our Twitter, we gasped at what was facing us: Wooyoung in a tracksuit, with heavy black eyeliner, his hair greased back under a black beanie with chain trim. This puppy-turned-vampire is scowling at the camera. And instead of his name in Hangul, his frightening new avatar is accompanied by a new, equally if not scarier, new title: “The Man.” So who exactly is this Man? Wooyoung tells us “we just showed him onstage,” making us think perhaps this is going to be his comeback persona. But just the thought of our adorable Woo going from “23, male, and single” to “24, m/f?, and angry” is heart-wrenching, and we implore his friends to start the intervention immediately. All that teen angst should have been left along with his actual teens. When you visit The Man’s Twitter profile, you are faced with capital letters reading “I DONT CARE.” And every tweet since May 12th has been a devastating blow to our delicate eyelids. Go away Man! Give us our Wooyoung back. We will even take the Wooyoung with platinum hair if that’s what it takes. Anything but THIS.

Perhaps it was all that spicy ramen midnight snacking that messed with his brain. Jun.K was making it for him and Wooyoung warned that he’s going to “go insane” from the spiciness. Well, too late, you have already gone off the deep end. Just don’t go crazy for too much longer. Now that 2PM has made their comeback, we’re expecting our daily dose of eye candy. Otherwise WE won’t be coming back after we hear your song.

Shadows

It seems Wooyoung’s not the only idol that’s gone a bit loopy these days. What is going on with M.I.B.’s Kangnam? We first showed you his strange floating selfie, where his back is facing the camera, and he looks like a mysterious creature coming down from space. Then he recently started posting selfies where his face actually does look like an alien. Now, Kangnam’s gone fully ethereal in his latest tweet, where we just see the shadow of a being with one arm raised and the text, “Fighting everybody!!” Is he trying to be mysterious or is he literally disappearing before our eyes? Following him on Twitter is like getting the X-files of K-Pop, and we are getting worried that his extraterrestrial behavior has gone out of our galactic control. We beg you to come back to Earth. We can’t be losing all our idols to dust and shadows or imminent stargazing. Flesh and blood will do!

California Love

And while the boys start getting really “out there,” the girls are doing their best to seem as “normal” as possible. At least that’s the case with T-ara N4, who are trying to comeback and show their fans that they aren’t bullies and are still the lovable Roly Poly disco dancers we remember. Using star power doesn’t hurt, and this week we heard all over the news about Chris Brown being a T-ara N4 fan, having grown up with new trainee Dani. After Chris Brown publicly declared his interest in the group, they promptly booked a trip to the U.S. and organized a Meet & Greet for fans in Los Angeles. When you can’t get them to love you back home, get them to love you in Hollywood. And it seems to be working. In the U.S., T-ara N4 can start fresh, with a blank slate, as we are sure Chris Brown knows nothing about their tarnished public image, nor would he really care since he’s never had to think twice about his bad boy behavior. And now that the girls have also met Ray J and gotten the seal of approval from him as well, they can begin carving a new path of normal in the U.S. as collaborators and Hip-Hop instigators. We can only imagine the hilarity of pairing “Countryside Diaries” with “Look At Me Now.” Even if the music part doesn’t work out, the girls at least know they can escape to Cali anytime they want and go back to being normal young women.

For once, being anonymous probably sounds really good to these celebs. So much so that they even braved a return to social media. After arriving in LA, Hyomin set up an Instagram account and tweeted a link to it, her first tweet in months since the scandals broke out. She chose some cute selfies to start her off on IG posting, and then included a little shoot of LA pics, with her hanging out by the ocean in Santa Monica. She is wearing cute sunglasses that say “love” in the lenses and posing with the palm trees. In one pic, she looks at the camera excitedly, surrounded by a huge crowd of people that are looking the other way and have no interest in her whatsoever. The extras are going about their business, completely oblivious to the fact that a K-Pop star is taking a selfie behind them and more wrapped up in the street performers they are watching. What a relief that must be to Hyomin. Finally she’s off the hot seat and is just an average girl, hanging out in the sun and watching some guys do acrobatics. We aren’t totally sure what will be the fate of T-ara N4, but we do know if they ever crash and burn again, they can consider a career at the Santa Monica Promenade, proving their talents from the ground up…literally.

f(rangers)

Last week, the world was abuzz about Iron Man. But this week, Amber from f(x) brought back to life our other favorite childhood superheroes: those colorful kids, the Power Rangers. She instagrammed a hilarious fanmade photo of the girls’ heads photoshopped (rather badly) onto the bodies of the Rangers. Amber is the blue Ranger and is making a funny face crouched in the front with Krystal in green, who looks ready to judo chop her head off. Victoria‘s head is way too big for her red body, and Luna has her eyes closed. Sulli looks the most ready for action as she cocks back a fist and smiles. This is definitely some of the best fan art we’ve seen in a while, or at least since the Jonghyun in hanbok meme that spread on Tumblr.

Seeing this photo made me think how many other K-Pop groups are like the Power Rangers and led me on an online downward spiral through the history of Ranger-pop hilarity. Like this SHINee photo with those Super Junior oppas, Donghae and Eunhyuk. Or MBLAQ cosplaying on Idol Army. Or my personal favorite K-Pop Rangers: Big Bang. We always knew our idols were superheroes, but we especially like it when we get to see them don the rainbow spandex and fight against evil. Go Go Mighty Morphin Hallyu!

Bangchan Bond

The boys of B.A.P continued to make their way around the country this week for their U.S. tour: Live on Earth. And after they relaxed and shopped in LA, they got dressed up for San Francisco and Washington D.C. Himchan, who recently got on Instagram and has been a hashtag master already, posed for the camera nearby Union Square in San Francisco, looking totally stylish in his blue shirt and jeans, a nice contrast to the huge red signs of the Target and AMC theatre behind him. Wonder what filter he used to get that saturation? And then Bang Yongguk decided to channel James Bond sexy sleekness in his selfie as they were leaving for Washington D.C. It seems the more time they spend here, the more they post on social media, so our conclusion is that they should just move to the U.S. and post away like crazy so that we can feature them every week in #BestWeekEver. Let’s make it happen, right guys?

Eunhyukkie

While f(x) was kicking butt as Power Rangers, the usually super Super Junior member Eunhyuk became a rat. Well, a friendly fun cuddly and world famous one, that is. This week, he went to Disneyland in Japan and got dressed up as Mickey Mouse, with a Mickey cosplay hat, and began to crouch and take photos of himself acting like a real mouse. Maybe Eunhyuk hasn’t watched too many Disney films; otherwise he’d know that Mickey doesn’t actually sneak around like a real rat and has feet and legs that he stands on (upright). He would also know that Mickey is a magical mouse who talks and waves his Disney wand to make everything beautiful and better. Somehow skirting around the bushes like a city rodent feels very UN-Disney. Is this like a lost in translation moment with cultural appropriation? Already his groupmate Yesung has been in the news making some really harsh judgement calls on his cosplay choice material, and we hope Eunhyukkie is not trying to undermine or insult the most magical place on Earth. Maybe he’s just looking for his Minnie Mouse. But keep in mind oppa, you’re not gonna find her by sniffing the ground, so stand tall and show us your proud black ears and grab yourself a princess!

Umoja

In the past few weeks, we haven’t seen much respect for different races coming out of the K-Pop world. But this week, we had a chance to redeem that when the amazing show of Africa Umoja toured to South Korea, getting the stars to come out and enjoy the story of South Africa, told in a musical celebration. The show opened on May 14th and will be touring the country all month long. ZE:A‘s Kwanghee made it out to the performance and tweeted a photo of himself with two of the Umoja performers and his parents, who seem totally excited. We are sure the performances were riveting and inspiring and thrilled that K-Pop came out to embrace the colorful South African drums and dances. It would be amazing if ZE:A could incorporate a bit of continental beats and gumboot dancing into their music too! We can’t wait to see the beadwork on those comeback outfits. And Mama and Papa Kwanghee can be even more proud that their son is not only a superstar, but one who knows how to appreciate other cultures and races without riffing on them in offensive ways.

Golden Girl

We really stopped in our tracks this week when we caught a glimpse of this puppy that Park Jimin from 15& tweeted. First of all, is that puppy hairdo FOR REAL?! This hilarious terrier looks like something out of Golden Girls with a teased up bouffant ‘do. There’s not much you can say about this doggy delight other than make it our desktop wallpaper (tiled, thank you very much!) and laugh all day long. It’s the only thing that could cheer us up when we heard the terrible news that Jang Woo Hyuk injured his leg this week and can’t do any promotions for at least 3 months. Seeing his leg propped up with all those creepy wires coming out and ice packs got us totally depressed. So thank you Jimin for cheering us up and giving us hope for the future. How can we be sad when we know the possibilities of how to torture our pets by dressing them up and giving them comical stylings just for our pleasure and amusement. Ahh…life is really hilarious, isn’t it?

Happy Birthday @youngbeezy

So we’ll leave you this week with a sentimental photo posted on G-Dragon’s Instagram of him and Taeyang as young pups. He posted the throwback kids shot for his best friend’s birthday and gave him a big birthday wish in all caps. They look like such adorable munchkins! Who could have anticipated that these two rascals would turn into the GDYB swag kings we now know and love? Happy Birthday Young Beezy and always stay young!! You don’t know it but you’re our best friend too. See you all next week!

What did you think? Was this the #BestWeekEver? Or did we miss something on all our travels from space to Earth, America to Africa? Share with us below, and check back next week for an even bigger and better #BestWeekEver.

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Ok, I take that back. I once waited 10 years for Dr. Dre‘s Detox album before I gave up. And I waited 8 seasons of How I Met Your Mother before actually meeting the mother. But nothing made me so antsy, so stir crazy as waiting for 2PM’s comeback. After the height of the boys’ Hands Up album and their hilarious 2PM Show (which someone should bring back as soon as possible, please), they jetted off to Japan and spent a good 2 years releasing marginally appealing songs, teaching Japanese viewers how to speak Korean, and releasing a bunch of music videos where they were doing the body wave and grinding on a bunch of innocent chairs.

That’s not to say that 2PM’s Japan venture was a failure: the boys charted consistently on the Oricon charts and gathered some fans overseas. But all that came at the expense of fans back home in Korea – fans who had only just finished cleaning up the last of the rubble the explosive Jay Park scandal had left on 2PM’s previously sturdy foundation.

Ah, the Jay Park scandal. Hottests and Jaywalkerz detest the very mention of the debacle, preferring instead, to put it behind them. But I’ll reserve the right to bring it up only because 2PM’s new album, Grown, represents a huge milestone in their career since Jay left the group. Let me explain.

When 2PM debuted, they were considered the beast idols; they performed powerful flips, practiced to raunchy rap music, and ripped shirts as if they were made of toilet paper. Yes, there was a time Junho was known solely for his singing and graceful acrobatics – not just his delectable backside. 2PM was part of a dominating class of idol groups that debuted in the years between 2006-2008, which included Big Bang, Wonder Girls, SHINee, and Girls’ Generation.

But following the Jay Park scandal, the boys lost one of their most versatile members. They lost their footing for some time, and in some respects, struggled to find and rediscover their identity. Were they the group that did the powerful acrobatics? Were they the party animals? Or were they the hypersexual guys who rolled their bodies ad naseum and resembled the sexy male version of Sistar?

After 2 years away from Korea, Grown would be the defining album and image for 2PM, and it would either solidify and strengthen Hottests’ faith, or make a large chunk of them, including me, lose interest. I was ready for 2PM to come home with a bang.

But after a ridiculously hot teaser, which I refuse to admit I spent 2 hours replaying, 2PM released “Come Back When You Hear This Song.” And it was everything I hoped it wouldn’t be.

The song was a total snoozefest. An utter disappointment. Repetitive, boring, and sounded like it came out of an even worse version of High School Musical. It was stock JYP production – the same kind of thing that made me almost vomit when 2PM teamed up with 2AM to release that one song for their documentary “Beyond the Oneday.” I’d expected them to come out with something more edgy and upbeat – something that said, “2PM’s back so move out of the way!” I was really angry that JYP would try to pass this song off as something new and exciting.

There’s a lot to be said about JYP’s mishandling of his artists, a flaw that has become more and more apparent since Jay Park’s departure: the travesty that was the Wonder Girls’ stint in the United States, JJ Project‘s confused debut, 15&‘s terrible name, and 2AM‘s increasing and undeserved obscurity.

After two years of waiting for 2PM to come back, perhaps it was time to throw in the towel and bust out my Big Bang VIP applications. That is, of course, until 2PM’s second release, ”All Day I Think of You” dropped. My lord.

If 2PM wanted to make the statement that they were finally “grown,” then by goodness, their statement was loud and undeniable. With all the making out with chicks, self-butt-caressing, and crotch grabbing (rewind, rewind, rewind!), their statement is that they are strong, confident, and in control of their identity. As a group, as well as individuals.

Take Nichkhun, for example, who, when he first started out in 2PM’s “10 out of 10,” was relegated to the juvenile lines, “La la la la la la la, pretty baby. La la la la la la la, be my baby.” But now, he’s attempting (and hitting!) falsettos that would give IU a run for her money! With a confidence that can only come from experience and certainty of his talent, Jun. K swaggers back in his chair and fixes his viewers into a hypnotizing gaze, while Junho offers some intense hip-butt action. Wooyoung, whose debut last year was a roller coaster of ups and downs, looks not only self-assured, but gloriously relaxed (I’m sure not having a shirt on helped with that, am I right?).

My point is, as much as some folks will dismiss “ADTOY” as predictable 2PM fodder, this song and music video are a testament to the notion that since the Jay Park scandal, 2PM has come into their own – despite their initial confusion. For lack of a better word, they’ve grown. The song is on point, the styling is perfect, and I can watch the video on repeat without getting bored (and that has nothing to do with the hot guys…I love the, uh…cinematography). We’ve waited 2 years for 2PM to come back. They faltered for a bit with their first song, and their second song, while not earth-shattering, is everything that I wanted it to be. Because it said more than just, “We’re back.” It said, “We’re back, we have an identity, and we’re going to be here for a very long time.”

So welcome back, 2PM. I’m looking forward to seeing more and more of the grown  you.

(JYP Nation, Ceci)

THE QUINTESSENTIAL FLOWER BOYS - You can’t have a conversation about flower boys without mentioning Boys Over Flowers. The Fabulous Flower 4 clique, which consists of the arrogant leader Goo Jun Pyo, the mysterious musician and second lead Yoon Ji Hoo, the adorable playboy So Yi Jung, and the street talking mafia son Woo Bin, rule their school with an iron fist and publicly punish anyone who defies them. Their weapons? Money, a horde of devoted school girls, and really, really good looks.

Boys Over Flowers
Goo Jun Pyo, Yoon Ji Hoo, So Yi Jung, Woo Bin

THE SAGEUKS – You thought the F4 only existed in this century? Think again. Even the Joseon Dynasty had their versions of F4 flower boys to drive the ladies crazy.

The Moon Embracing the Sun
King Lee Hwon, Prince Yang Myung, Heo Yeom, Jin Chae Woon

Sungkyunkwan Scandal
Kim Yoon Hee, Lee Sun Joon, Moon Jae Shin, Gu Yong Ha

THE AHJUSSIS – Who says you have to be young to be a flower boy? These forty-somethings have been flowers all their lives. Billed as the male “Sex in the City,” A Gentleman’s Dignity reminds us that ajhussis can be adorable cuties too.

A Gentleman’s Dignity
Kim Do Jin, Choi Yoon, Im Tae San, Lee Jung Rok

THE VAMPIRES – For some reason, we’ve come to think of creatures that live off of sucking our blood as sexy, but we guess it doesn’t help when these so-called vampires look like runway models. These aliens may have been considered ugly on their home planet, but on Earth, these flower boys are a huge hit.

Vampire Idol
Soo Hyuk, Jong Hyun, Woo Bin

THE BEAUTIFULS – From bad acting to major character flaws to a big case of SM trolling, we have our gripes with these dramas, but at the end of the day, when your cast is made up of beautiful boys and men, we suck it up and take in the beauty.

You’re Beautiful
A.N.Jell: Hwang Tae Kyung, Go Mi Nam, Kang Shin Woo, Jeremy

To the Beautiful You
Goo Jae Hee, Kang Tae Joon, Cha Eun Gyeol, Ha Seung Ri, Min Hyeon Jae

SCHOOL’S IN SESSION – We’re not sure about you, but our school’s top student was not the handsome and mysterious type. And all cases of bromance did not put me through any emotional distress. Then again, we’d probably fail all our classes if we went to a school with flower boys like these.

Playful Kiss
Baek Seung Jo

Real School!
Do Ji Han, Dong Ho, Ki Seop

School 2013
Go Nam Soon, Park Heung Soo

THE FLOWER BOY SERIES – Cute boys are so bankable that tvN even started an entire cable series about them. And they’re proving that flower boys can be just about everywhere: at your local ramyun shop, in your school’s misfit rock band, and even next door. All you have to do is look hard enough.

Flower Boy Ramyun Shop
Cha Chi Soo, Choi Kang Hyuk, Kim Ba Wool, Woo Hyun Woo

Shut Up Flower Boy Band
Eye Candy: Kwon Ji Hyuk, Lee Hyun Soo, Jang Do Il, Seo Kyung Jong, Kim Ha Jin, Joo Byung Hee

Flower Boys Next Door
Enrique Geum, Oh Jin Rak, Oh Dong Hoon, Han Tae Joon

FOOD SERVICE – One thing flower boys seem to love most: a nice, hearty meal. And cafes. Flower boys love them some cafes. Whether it’s grabbing a hot Americano, stopping in for toasty pastry, or spending the evening in a spaghetti restaurant, you are sure to find some boys of the flower variety.

Coffee Prince
Go Eun Chan, Choi Han Gyul, Hwang Min Yeop, Jin Ha Rim, Noh Sun Ki

Pasta
Choi Hyun Wook, Kim San

Baker King, Kim Tak Goo
Kim Tak Goo, Goo Ma Joon

And that’s our May flower boy K-drama playlist! Are there any other dramas you watch when you want to check out flower boys? Shoot us a holler below!

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It’s Monday night! And you know what that means: procrastinating on your homework! If you’re going to procrastinate, do it with us! We look at SHINee’s music through movie posters! Would you watch these flicks? DO NOT DISTRIBUTE THESE PHOTOS WITHOUT CREDIT TO THEONESHOTS.COM.

Which ones would you watch? Tell us below! Again, DO NOT DISTRIBUTE THESE PHOTOS WITHOUT CREDIT TO THEONESHOTS.COM.

Be sure to check out our other SHINee content, including a first-timer’s response to the “Dream Girl” MV, our conspiracy theories for the true whereabouts of Jonghyun, and our SHINee Compatibility Test!.

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Iron Man, Meet Rice Man

Even if you missed the first two Iron Man films, the third installment of the franchise has had such a splash opening in Asia and worldwide that pretty much everyone is in on the excitement. And as we’ve seen in the world of K-Pop, the superhero is one of the most popular characters lately, as a cosplay inspiration or as a conversation topic. This week, Chansung from 2PM tweeted that he enjoyed Iron Man 3 very much, but then got disappointed when he discovered it was a plagiary. The image that accompanied this shocking statement was a rice cooker that looks like Iron Man’s helmet. We were rolling on the floor laughing when we saw this tweet. We didn’t know you were such a joker, Chansung! Yes, the Iron Man rice cooker is definitely a new comic book accessory must-have. But as cute as it is, that poor little Rice Man has definitely limits to its special powers. The real hero is much better, and we are sure that when you see him, you won’t be so disappointed.

Sugar Coma

This week, we got a little surprise from the EXO Facebook page, a photo of EXO-M’s Tao and EXO-K’s Baekhyun celebrating their birthdays together with an avalanche of cakes and flowers. If we didn’t know any better (or already weren’t familiar with the crazy amount of birthday fan gift-giving that goes on), we would have thought this was a wedding with the absurd amount of lavish bouquets at the foot of a table strewn with wild double and triple-layer confectionaries. The boys look relaxed and composed, sitting on a couch and smiling for the camera, dwarfed by the colorful goods in front of them. We see panda cakes and polka-dotted cakes, figures and star-shapes in fondant. And then the flowers! So many flowers! We can’t even imagine what these guys would do with all those perishables. All those cakes could feed a small country. There must be a sugar feast that goes on annually, or a lot of food comas spreading around the SM Entertainment offices. And the guys seem almost unphased by it all. Probably because they barely even get enough time to celebrate and had to combine their birthday photo ops together since they had scheduled shootings. Too bad there’s no party, but good news for EXO fans because perhaps that means a comeback is finally in store? Please please please!

And we’re also happy to see Baekhyun recovering from last week’s “White Power” T-shirt disaster and giving us simple smiles and sweetness. Always stick to basics, and plaid is a no-fail!

From Bugatti to Segway

Ahhh Jang Geun Suk…what do we do with you? One moment, you’re our Asia Prince, and the next moment, you’re a crazy hobo with some truly questionable fashion decisions. This week, we have to break out the style police on you for a regrettable faux-pas of a photograph that you posted on your Twitter. First of all, what is UP with the Segway?! There’s a reason those wretched two wheelers never took off and got popular. As far as we know, they’re an embarrassing tourist trap for visitors of sleepy beach towns who think it’s fun to move while standing. We say ditch the ugly scooter as quick as you can because it’s ruining any possibility of street cred. And we know you’re not aiming at becoming the poster boy for nerdy teenage boys or Star Trek fans. Secondly, we need to have a sit-down conversation about what’s going on in your wardrobe recently. We know you have an affinity for the bad boy bohemian chic, like an Asian Johnny Depp, but cropped tribal-print jodhpurs should be left for ahjummas at home, not superstars. We will accept and appreciate the jewelry, long hair, and makeup. But those granny pants should never again be seen anywhere near your body, EVER AGAIN. We are going to send out this style editorial energy to the world of Team H and pray that the gods of Geun Suk are listening to our dedicated pleas. You have our hearts Geun Suk-ah, but sometimes we just need to look away. Caffe Bene better also look away if they don’t want to start having suspicions of their spokesmodel’s capabilities. SMH…May 7th will be a day to forget.

Gangnam Google

So we’ve been writing about some connections between K-Pop idols and mega technology brand Google (you will recall Tablo’s #tbt tweet of him on the Google campus). Well, this week, we revisited Google, but this time accompanied by Psy and CEO Eric Schmidt at the company’s New York office. The two are posing together like politicians in front of a photo of them doing Psy’s famous horse dance. From Gangnam to Gentleman, the men are now looking composed but stiff. Why doesn’t Psy show Eric the Abracadabra dance from “Gentleman”? Instead of acting like gentlemen, they could dance like gentlemen! Either way, we are pleased to see Psy continue to spread his humor and K-Pop ambassadorship around the world. He is currently spreading his love in the U.S. and promoting his new single. He was hanging out with Beyonce at the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute Ball (we wonder if he hung out with Siwon there or helped his dongsaeng meet some celebs considering they’re from different labels and all). He went to Boston and spoke at Harvard University and admitted to everyone that perhaps he “tried a bit too hard” with “Gentleman” because there was so much pressure on him after the success of “Gangnam Style.” We love how candid and honest with his fans Psy is. It’s okay oppa, even if you tried too hard. We still love you, and we love what you have done for Korean music and entertainment. Without you, the world would still be in the dark about the brilliance of K-Pop. So we salute you and all the hard work you’ve put in to get there. And we can’t wait for your 7th album to come out. You’re a natural hero to all aspiring singers and performers. Mother, Father, Psy!

Renaissance Gal

Seriously Jaekyung, is there ANYTHING you can’t do?!?! The Rainbow star is a singer, a dancer, a phenomenal baker who makes delicious looking tarts and macarons, and she also happens to be an amazing artist! This week, she tweeted some photos of her making drawings with “thank you” written in calligraphy amidst various bows and flowers. The drawings are done with intricate detail and show an incredible talent for draftsmanship. We couldn’t believe that she busted out another talent on us. It doesn’t help that she’s also gorgeous and has flawless skin and pretty, long hair. And is she making those Thank You notes for fans? So she’s also NICE and pretty and cares about her fans?!?! That’s just too much. We don’t think we can handle any more from this perfect Renaissance woman. We are just going to pretend that she is an alien from Venus because if she were actually human, we’d have to hang our heads in shame and wonder what we are doing with our lives. Following you Jaekyung is like following a goddess: unreal and devastatingly idyllic. It would be nice if you could make a mistake now and again, so we can raise our totally deflated self-esteems. But knowing you, that’s not going to ever happen, so we’ll just have to bow down to your high pedestal of creativity and curse the gods for not showering down a little bit of that grace on the dirt beneath our feet. Somewhere across the Rainbow is an army of angels chuckling with glee.

Live On Earth

Some more unearthly gods descended upon Earth this week. This time, they came in the form of six hunky guys and landed in the crazy LA LA land of Los Angeles. The boys of B.A.P launched their “Live On Earth” US tour, which started in downtown LA at Club Nokia. Fans all over the country have been anticipating this tour for months since it was announced, and it is only the second time the group has been to the US, the first time being last year at KCON in Irvine. So since they already tried In ‘n’ Out burger last year, what did they do this year on their visit? They went shopping!!! Himchan, who recently finally opened up an Instagram account, posted photos of himself and Yongguk the night of their arrival in the city, literally jumping on the hotel furniture with glee and showing off the gear they had already picked up in the shops around town. Himchan is wearing his new “Dope” hat from Chris Stamp, and Yongguk is caressing his leopard trim Jordans. Himchan even tagged the photo with a couple name of “Bangchan,” and we were giggling at the thought of these two raiding LA stores and trying items on for each other. This shopping ship carried over into the next couple days, as Himchan posted more of his LA buys.

We wonder if they did anything other than shopping on their Cali tour? Well, there isn’t that much to do in LA besides shopping and Starbucks, I guess. And well, that’s precisely what else they did: Starbucks. Youngjae tweeted a photo of himself just hours before their show, sitting outside a Starbucks patio, sucking on a Frappucino and looking rather relaxed while saying the “Pacific tour just got started.” That’s right, the Pacific tour of shops and cafes. One would think these guys aren’t even in a band. They’re actually just touring the Pacific for coffee and clothing! Good. We’re so happy they’re at least enjoying a bit of free time in the sun and buying themselves nice things to eat and wear. You guys deserve it for all the work you’ve put in to get you here! And maybe if the “tour” is more of a leisure vacay, more reason to come back and spend more money. We’ll get the Star Maps ready for you, and tag all Starbucks locations within stalking distance from your hotel. Have fun in New York!

Uncle Jae is the Best!

We are convinced Jaejoong is one of the most fun idols in K-Pop and probably one of the coolest guys to hang with. Not only is he sexy and sweet, but hilarious and goofy. And just when we had been missing his online presence, he’s back with some totally Jae style adorable tweets. We see “Uncle Jae” goofing around with his super cute niece, making fangs with his fingers and creeping up on her from the couch. We can just imagine the kinds of ghost stories Uncle Jae comes up with, and his love for the little girl makes our hearts swoon everytime. Next, we see Jae goofing off with a buddy in the supermarket, riding the carts like he’s racing in Supermarket Sweep. His cart is stacked high with plastic cups and what looks like a TV set making us wonder what kind of mischief the idol is up to and wishing we could be there with him, running down the aisles and acting as carefree and innocent as a kid. It’s no wonder his Twitter name is @bornfreeonekiss. We definitely know he’s a free spirit, and, well, the kiss part is self-explanatory. We’ll just pucker up in our dreams for now.

Meet Me In The Heavens

So, guess who got his first tattoo this week? Well, no need to guess because you probably already saw it plastered all over the Internet. U-KISS’s Eli got tatted on his foot with a text that reads “Meet Me In The Heavens.” Immediately, the responses started flooding in, with fans wondering what he had done, to questioning the grammar, freaking him out with the possibility of error, and pointing out his ugly feet (which he said was from all the martial arts he’s done). We think Eli is even sexier now, tattoos and ugly feet and all. The ink just gives him an edge, and we’ve been noticing him getting a bit snarkier in his tweets as well.

This week, he also told off all the haters, saying he wasn’t going to respond to fans who whine and complain about him not responding to them. We were impressed by his gall and definitely are thinking this new Eli and new tattoo are giving him a new no-BS attitude and sexy edge. Bring it on with your taekwondo feet and quick lip service. We’re watching and following now!

Tickle Me 2NE1

With the strange 2NE1 teaser videos that are floating around, we’ve been seeing a lot of sexy and mature stylings from CL, Dara, Bom and Minzy. But this week, the girls showed their playful side by getting ready for the rain at Universal Studios Japan in some hilarious ponchos with muppet faces. Dara tweeted the photo of the four acting totally goofy and posing for the camera with hair coming out of the Elmo poncho’s mouth or crouching down like a dwarf muppet. The only one showing her face and throwing up hand signs is Minzy, and her sunglass-wearing hipster cool is even funnier standing alongside the trio of goofballs. It’s so nice to see the girls relax and show a lighter side, and it just makes us want to be BFFs with them all over again. We hope they do have a comeback soon and take these outfits on tour with them. It could be Where the Wild Things Are featuring 2NE1, or maybe they could convince Snoop and will.i.am to dress up as Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street. What a crew that would be!

Jonghyun: The Man of Mystery

We’ve all been wondering for some time how Jonghyun from SHINee is doing since he’s been recovering from a fractured nose from a car accident and has not been promoting with the band for their new album. As the devastation sunk in during April, we slowly began to loosen up and realize that we just need to be patient in this situation and hope he gets better soon. And then, this week, the man of mystery was back online and posted a photo on Twitter that got us even more confused and gave us more questions than ever. We see him resting and lying down, with a mask on his face, and underneath the strange plastic face cover is a glowing light that’s radiating from within. His eyes are closed, and we can’t see much other than some strands of hair and his hoodie. Jonghyun writes that this is the “resurrection” and the “iron Jonghyun,” obviously making a joke and comparison to Iron Man. But the clue leaves us with some hope that if this really is his resurrection, that probably means his nose is looking better than ever, and he might soon come back and join his group mates for their promotions. Maybe this promo rest was a good thing after all, if what we get now is a superhero version of the already heroic and god-like idol. All that light radiating from his face is probably just a reflection of his awesomely good looks, that are even more awesome now that he’s Iron Jonghyun. Stop teasing us, and show us your nose already!!! We can’t bear to wait any longer and need you to come back. The mystery is weighing on our already exhausted patience, and we think it’s time you reveal yourself Iron Hyun!

Whoa! That got our blood boiling. We’re sure the Shawols know what we mean when we say we want to tear our hair out in anxiety over this Jonghyun business. We need to calm down now. So we’re going to go breathe in a paper bag and look at these photos of miss A‘s Jia’s cute kitten.

Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. Ahhhh, we just caught a glimpse of Davichi’s Kang Min Kyung’s first Instagram postings and had to see a photo of her at the ear nose throat clinic, breathing into some totally creepy bong-looking tubes!!!

The madness ensues!!! I think we’ll just go submerge ourselves in a bucket of ice water and cool off until next week. See you later!

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“The easiest thing we can do for the person we love is to throw ourselves away. The strength to do things that go against our nature — that is love.”  - Reply 1997

Lesson: Do everything you can, in the name of love

There is nothing more wretched than watching someone you love lose a little bit of themselves every day because of a dangerous disease. It’s a difficult situation that leaves one feeling helpless and useless. Of course, most of us would do just about anything – from catching the moon to giving up a liver – to make this person feel better again. Unfortunately, sometimes the moon is too big, and a liver may be rejected. But Shi Won’s mother teaches us a valuable lesson: sometimes a phone call matters more than the moon.

It’s the little things that matter most. Shi Won’s eomma spends hours calling a writer to ask her to change the script of a drama in which the protagonist dies of cancer, because it makes her husband, who is also fighting cancer, feel depressed and hopeless. Calling the writer is foolish, but it brings the extraordinary out of a very ordinary act. She is so adamant in calling; it’s the only thing she can do for her dying husband, and it becomes the biggest gift of love.

“People are like that. They’re so childish that once you start countering every word, there is no end or limit in sight. Weaknesses? Secrets? You start seeing them as ways to inflict pain and grab them at any chance. You forget WHY you were fighting in the first place, and can only think of how you can inflict the most pain, scar the deepest…You really are a trash.” - The King 2 Hearts

Lesson: Know when to humble yourself, especially for the things that matter

The funny thing about human nature is that we can’t help thinking so highly of ourselves sometimes. And who else but our mothers to push us off that pedestal and make us realize that we’re letting the good things pass us by because of our big egos? We grow up thinking that a mother’s love is unconditional, and that she will take our side against the world. But does she have to take our crap when we’re acting a fool?

After King Lee Jae Ha splits from Kim Hang Ah because he is too butt-hurt to realize that she’s hurting more than he is, his mother does not hesitate to rip him a new one and box his ears about all his flaws and misdeeds.  When your mother is the one that’s pointing out what the whole world already knows (that you’re a no-good-spoiled brat), then it’s time for a change.

The queen dowager teaches us that a person is never too mighty to be called out on the trashy things they’ve done. What is the point of hiding behind ego, status, and old hurt when your world is falling apart because you cannot muster the maturity and courage to fix the mistakes that you’ve made? People we love hurt us, but we should be mature enough to know how to discern the truth from what is being said in anger. Pride has no business in Love’s affair. The king, like the viewers, learns that when in love, you have to put yourself down for the people precious to your heart.

“Try living with a husband without any money for 10 years!” - When a Man Loves

Lesson: Sometimes financial security does matter

Lovers like to fool themselves into believing that love is enough to survive, when quite frankly it isn’t. In When a Man Loves, viewers get to witness first-hand how money, or the lack thereof, can destroy a happy family even when there is love and good intention. Money is not the foundation of happiness, because many rich people are not necessarily happy, but money is without a doubt a factor in securing a better, happier life.

Many mothers, like the one in this drama, may seem like they are very materialistic in trying to push their daughters towards richer men, but only the ones who have survived poverty can truly understand where these mothers are coming from. Every mother wants the best for their children, and if being married to money means that their child would live a freer and safer life, than they will move heaven and earth to find such a husband.

Mi Do’s mother points out that this isn’t foolish to dream, but dreaming can be done with feet firmly planted on the ground. This, of course, is relevant to all matters in life. You should always have secured means – from financial, academic, to whatever else there is – to guarantee a comfortable life. She is not saying that love is a bad thing or that you should let go of love in pursuit of money, but she wants her daughter to know the facts – especially given their situation – before throwing away a good prospect. When reality hits, you can hardly afford to be romantic. Love stories are good and all, but financial issues are one of the main reasons couple do get divorced. So we can all confer that, even in the best circumstances, love is not always enough.

“Jang Eun-a, let’s be mother and daughter…” - The Thorn Birds

Lesson: You make your own family, so love the people who love you

A lot of people never have the privilege to be raised in the bosom of a loving family because of diverse circumstances. But that shouldn’t mean that they should live their whole lives feeling like they have no family or no one to support them. Like the mother of Jung Eun and Yoo Kyung cleverly put it: “Family is the people who we let in our lives, who cherish us, support us and love us for who we are.” It does always seem ironic to a lot of K-drama fans how much value these Korean dramas put on blood ties, when those same people – for money, status or other materialistic things - would not hesitate to hurt, neglect, and backstab those they call family.

Human beings are really complicated creatures. We do the greatest and the worst things to the people that we call our own, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who treated you badly, or who made you feel worthless. What does matter is who was there to give you comfort when you needed it. So spend your time and energy on people who are willing to spend theirs on you. Know that you deserve to be loved, no matter what the circumstances, no matter what your background or what others say. One man’s trash is another’s treasure so find the people that treat you like a gem.

Share with us the lessons that you have learned from your own mothers and K-dramas’ mothers over the years. Let’s celebrate Mother’s Day!

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(Forbes)

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 5 years since SHINee first debuted with “Replay.” In those days, the boys were tailing after noonas – these days, the noonas are chasing after them. Now they’re all grown up…sort of. They’re old enough for us to at least fantasize about going on dates with. But how do you choose among five of the most appealing guys in K-Pop? No worries, just take our quiz – find out which SHINee member you’re most compatible with.

1. It’s almost summer vacation! What plans have you made with your oppa?

a. Checking out the local museums and abstract art exhibits. You’ll have so much to talk about during dinner.

b. Going to music shows, concerts and soccer games to cheer on your oppa.

c. Just chilling for now, until he decides to plan something.

d. Tutoring at the local orphanage, studying for your SATs and finding a cure for cancer. Hmm, looks like you don’t have much time for oppa.

e. Lots and lots of shopping.

2. You’re late for school! What’s your default last-minute outfit that you’re pulling out of your closet?

a. You’re a girly girl, so a simple dress and tights it is.

b. You grab a cardigan to dress up your simple t-shirt and jeans.

c. You’re the preppy, academic type who rocks the fitted blazer and skinny jeans.

d. You feel bold, so why not wear your colored denim to make a statement?

e. You could care less about what you’re wearing. It’s all about the shoes and the accessories.

3. Oppa messed up on his music show performance. What do you do?

a. “Wow oppa. You were just horrible today.”

b. Show him how it’s done yourself.

c. Monitor the performance together and provide constructive criticism.

d. Keep quiet and don’t even mention it to him.

e. Bake him cookies and get his endorphins flowing with chocolates and words of encouragement.

4. It’s movie night, and you get to pick the flick. What do you choose?

a. The Devil Wears Prada. You wish you could own half of their wardrobes.

b. The Hunger Games. There’s romance for you and action for him.

c. Inception. Stimulate those minds and get talking.

d. Paranormal Activity. You’re not a scaredy cat, but maybe he is. Time to watch him squirm.

e. You give up. Oppa, you choose.

5. What’s your SHINee theme song?

a. “Replay.” You don’t mind being called noona if it means being chased by some cute, shy boys.

b. “Juliette.” After all, you are dating Romeo.

c. “Lucifer.” You can be quite the devilish girlfriend. He needs to know his place.

d. “Sherlock.” Because you’re just so curious.

e. “Why So Serious?” You live in the moment and are always looking for your next adventure.

6. What high school superlative would you receive?

a. Most Likely to Become Miss Korea

b. Friendliest

c. Best Dressed

d. Most Likely to Succeed

e. Most Likely to Become President

7. What’s your best quality?

a. You know how to make people feel at ease around you.

b. You’re super smart and driven.

c. You’re super confident.

d. You’re encouraging and supportive.

e. You’re honest, sometimes a little too honest.

8. You hit up the noraebang with your besties. What song are you belting out?

a. You prefer doing the backup vocals. You’ll just pass the mic along, thank you very much.

b. 2NE1 – “I Am the Best.”

c. Girls’ Generation – “Gee.”

d. miss A – “I Don’t Need a Man.”

e. f(x) – “Electric Shock.”

SCORING
1. a-2, b-1, c-0, d-3, e-4
2. a-1, b-0, c-2, d-3, e-4
3. a-3, b-4, c-2, d-0, e-1
4. a-4, b-1, c-2, d-2, e-0
5. a-0, b-1, c-3, d-2, e-4
6. a-1, b-0, c-4, d-2, e-3
7. a-0, b-2, c-4, d-1, e-3
8. a-0, b-4, c-1, d-3, e-2

If you scored between:

0-4

You’re compatible with Taemin!

You’re on the shy, quiet side. Sort of like Taemin himself. And while two quiet people trying out a romantic relationship might sound duller than watching paint dry, with Taemin, it can only bring out his inner extrovert. Being surrounded by a gaggle of guys who overshadow him – mouthy Jonghyun, 4D Onew, sassy Key – Taemin gets relegated to the background. But obviously the guy has some fierceness – just look at him when he dances onstage! What he needs is someone who forces him to bring out that ferocity when he’s off stage. With someone quieter, he can shine. He can be encouraged to make decisions like where to eat and what dates to go on. So don’t fret about being shy – Taemin will just have to channel his romantic side.

5-11

You’re compatible with Minho!

Minho likes someone who is traditional, sweet, and who he can bring home to mom. That’s you! You’re the person who bakes him cupcakes after he comes back from Music Bank, cheers for him during all his soccer matches, and supports him when he can’t hit that high note. Since you’re so sweet, Minho will get to show off his more romantic side. Flowers for his sweetheart. A candlelight dinner for his beloved. A cute game of scrabble that he tries his absolute hardest not to get too competitive about. For you, he’ll do it because you’re his Juliette.

12-18

You’re compatible with Onew!

When it comes to romance, you’re level headed, reasonable, and a great conversationalist. And you’re going to need those qualities if you’re going to have a conversation with Onew. Because, seriously, how do you follow a conversation with someone who’s inflicted with a 4D condition? Onew’s counterpart is smart, witty, willing to let Onew be strange, and stops him when he’s being too strange. Sometimes you have to be a bit assertive. But while Minho and Taemin are taking their dates to dinner and the amusement park, Onew is taking you to a strange new museum about wildlife in the Amazon or spending a night in teaching you how to crack a walnut with your finger. And honestly, you’re quite happy with that.

19-25

You’re compatible with Jonghyun!

What does Jonghyun need after a long day of wowing a crowd of 50,000 with his powerhouse vocals? A significant other who’s going to bring him back down to earth. Sure, he’s got the looks and the talent that the gods would kill for, but you’re the person who’ll remind him he’s still a mortal. It’s no fun having a boyfriend who knows he’s a hottie. So you’re the one who doles out the tough love: being blunt, opinionated, and reminding him that one wrong move can land him in the SM dungeon singing the blues with Henry. But no worries, Jonghyun needs, and wants, a love like you.

26-32

You’re compatible with Key!

It gets tiring competing with your man about who is more fabulous. But when it’s you and Kim Kibum, it’s a match made in heaven. You’re confident, funny, and love to be in the spotlight. So while Onew takes his date to that weird exhibit about dinosaurs, you and Key are jetsetting to New York Fashion Week and side eye-ing Kim and Kanye who are not even half as fierce as you two. Like Key, you’re a diva – and you don’t shy away from speaking your mind. Although you may like being the center of attention at times, for Key, there’s always room for two in the spotlight.

Be sure to check out our other SHINee Week content, including a first-timer’s response to the “Dream Girl” MV and our conspiracy theories for the true whereabouts of Jonghyun.

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SHAME?

Huge controversy bubbled up this week over Yesung from Super Junior’s latest selca on Twitter: a picture of himself dressed up as the character Nick Fury from the Avengers, complete with bald head, eye patch, and….*gasp* blackface. Since the boys recently dressed up as superheroes for SS5, and Shindong even got green as the hulk, Yesung may have been feeling left out and wanted to really get into the cosplay spirit when he donned this outfit at Incheon airport. It’s a good thing he’s enlisting in the army soon because we are not even sure two years will be long enough to forget this shame of racist mockery. The photo has caused quite a stir online, and ELFs have been coming out to defend their band member, saying Yesung doesn’t know the implications of what this kind of costuming means. But is ignorance really an excuse?

We were reminded instantly of the controversy that blew up when Kikwang of BEAST put on blackface and ate watermelon in a TV skit, very obviously crossing the boundaries of humor and racism. When will the K-Pop world come to understand this is just something that is offensive? Period.

We know this isn’t new, coming from Korea, but we also want to know if this kind of negativity will ever have an endpoint. Granted, we have come to understand that our Yesung is a little “special,” given that weird pet turtle story that came out a while back, but just because the intention was not consciously malicious, the action shouldn’t go unnoticed. He thought it was OK to wear blackface, and that says something huge about the way our idols think and behave. So what do YOU think TOS peeps? Write in and let us know.

Bad PeePee

Uh oh. Does your bias smoke cigarettes? Well, chances are he has a bad peepee. Or so would claim this anti-smoking ad that was re-tweeted by Lee Hongki this week. Major Hongki and FT Island fan @bananasarahhh posted this National Health Service advert from the UK that says smoking damages the tissues in your penis and shows a burning cigarette butt whose ashes are curving down like a limp phallus. The fan told her favorite he has bad “PeePee,” and the star retweeted the poke with a perfect “…….” ending quotation. Because what more can you say when your people think you have a floppy john? But why on earth does the Hongstar think this national advert should be internationally advertised? Maybe he’s nulling the consequences of his wee wee getting compromised publicly by claiming he can inhale and still erect? We don’t think Primadonnas really care if you smoke or not, so why even suggest to them your maleness might be less than standard? Let’s just put this pic in the backburner, and forget all about it, shall we? This boy is becoming a man-ki, and no damages to his pee pee can be tolerated!

The Whites of His Eyes

Wow. The fans are really getting creepy on us this week. First, we got Ms. Hongki stalker talking about limp penises, and now we have fans posting scary photos of Electroboyz’ 1Kyne and calling them “cute.” There is nothing cute about this capture of the rapper in the studio with his eyes rolled back, only showing the whites and looking like a horror film monster. The star even retweeted the image commenting on how he has no eyes. Yup, that’s one way to look “hard”: scare the bejeezus out of your fans with your ghostly recording face. You’re a good-looking dude 1Kyne. We don’t think you need any scare tactics to get us to listen to the Boyz. Roll those eyes back down, and look at us straight-faced because we’re gonna have nightmares this week!

White Disaster

Cultural insensitivity has no place in entertainment, but for some reason we’ve been seeing a lot of ignorance running around K-Pop. This week, we saw images of Baekhyun from EXO wearing a T-shirt with the words “White Power” emblazoned in bold type on the front. Um, excuse me?!?! Judging from some Tumblr commentary, we can only assume that he has no idea what that means, and it was likely a fan gift punning on the meaning of his Chinese name (which literally translates to “white power”). Is this just a terrible mishap of some disreputable Engrish? If the tornado of netizen #smh’s isn’t enough to deter these bad habits, can someone at least give a little race relations lessoning to K-Pop band managers? Because frankly, it’s a little too often and a little too much. Maybe instead of translating your name, get a new fashion name like G-Dragon did with Giyongchy. What about Balenciekhyun? Yves Saint Baekhyun? Something, anything. Just not that. As we cover our eyes and wince, let’s just pray this goes into EXO history as a never-repeat. We want to hear about EXO only when it relates to a comeback and nothing else, thank you very much.

Tonight We’re Gonna Party Like It’s 1979

Phew, that was heavy! It’s always hard to digest major K-Pop controversy on a full stomach of #BestWeekEver hilarity, so let’s get back to what we love and what we love to troll. And to lighten the mood this week, we had a little “caught on film” dance number from those JYP boys that are soon to comeback: 2PM and their counterparts, 2AM. Dancing on stage like “ahjussis” on a mission, the boys are wigglin’ it, shakin’ it, and downright boogyin’. It feels like we got transported to a disco circa 1979, and the boys are learning how to “do a little dance, make a little love” and “get down tonight.” The best part of this photo is the source, seeing as how it was posted on Twitter by 2AM’s Im Seulong. He congratulates the four wedding crashers: his groupmates Changmin and Jinwoon, joined by 2PM’s Wooyoung and Minjun (Jun.K) and pokes fun at his friends. It’s always a pleasure to see an idol laugh at his friends and especially if it involves a One Day combo. What’s most impressive is Changmin’s incredibly flexible hips. They seem to be in an entirely different stratosphere than his torso, and with his hand raised, he looks ready to spank Jinwoon for being a bad, bad boy. Wooyoung responded to his friend’s tweet calling the group the “Fabulous Four.” That’s right Woo, congrats to the fab four for this beautiful freeze frame of jubilee. Just in time for your birthday too! Maybe a new subunit should be formed with this throwback F4 to perform at your party celebration, and perhaps a few bar mitzvahs. Play that funky music white boy!

And happy birthday to the Woo to the Young Boy who brings it all together.

We Come In Peace

This week, there’s been a lot of news traveling around about intergalactic conspiracy theories and aliens. In the K-Pop-osphere, we had some mysterious sightings ourselves: we had a Twitter vision of a young singer throwing his hands up in peace signs. It seems this alien from the land of M.I.B., or Most Incredible Busters, either wants to tell us he’s a friendly creature from the otherworld, or those are some serious UFO gang signs. We can’t quite tell if this alien, whose name is Kangnam is floating on white space, or if this fuzzy screen capture is just a trick of the eye and our cameras are messing with us. He looks like he could be a star, but we can’t see his face and we can only imagine he comes from a galaxy far, far away; a galaxy full of charisma and K-Pop swag. Show us your face, dear peaceful alien! We have no kryptonite in our timelines, and we just want to tell you we love you. We knew they had hot stuff in Mars, but this is a real treat.

Represent: America!

Want to know the right way to show your love for the states K-Poppers? Follow the lead of this week’s do-it-right idols Sandara Park of 2NE1 and Chansung of 2PM. In a hilarious Twitter post this week, Chansung shows us President Obama can be a K-Pop star too, posting an Internet meme of the world leader with some Mrs. Obama fringe and likening him to 2AM’s Seulong. Glance quickly, and you just might think the crown prince from “The Fugitive of Joseon” is actually the President of the United States. No face painting necessary. Just a touch of photoshop and a bit of digital Rogaine. We couldn’t stop laughing and staring at this weird Obamong suggested mashup and giggling at the two JYP-ers joking with each other on the web.

And Blackjacks can rejoice this week that their sweet and silly Dara did some awesome cosplaying with a collage of photos of her dressed up as Snoop Dogg, on the heels of the announcement that the girl group will be joining the rapper onstage at his concert in Seoul. SnoopDara has Snoop braids, a Snoop inspired red Adidas zip up jacket, and even dons a curly afro. You don’t need blackface to know who she’s imitating, and we are thrilled that she’ll get to perform alongside a hip-hop legend and bring two worlds together, from West to East. Bow wow wow yippee yo yippee yay, Dara has us cheering on and wishing this collaboration could be the beginnings of more US Pop / K-Pop meetups. If that Justin Bieber cover of Psy’s “Gentleman” ever hits our Beats By Dre’s, we’ll know will.i.am productions are old news, and it’ll be only minutes before Infinite starts singing “Call Me Maybe.” Well, maybe not. But can we at least get a little Tupac hologram thrown in for good measure? How about a guest appearance by JYJ at the TLC reunion tour? Ok, now we’re really daydreaming here, but it could happen. We’re just sayin’…..

Sunday Cat

We noticed it’s been some time since we awarded a cute pet with some #BestWeekEver accolades because it seems the idols are doing more selcas than pet-shots these days. But this week is an exception, with some adorableness hitting our screens from miss A‘s Jia. Her little Sunday kitten is looking up at the camera with the biggest pleading “love me” eyes, and we just want to wrap her up in our arms and cuddle with her cuteness. The striped cat on polka-dotted bed combo is killer for kitty-kawaii and we know she is working it with those whiskers. You may look innocent and meow at us, but you know we turn to puddy in front of K-Pop cute! Awwww…too much.

Seungri, Meet Bambi

This week, the man most ridiculed for his funny Engrish tweets and gossipy scandals revealed he has a softer side, giving us even more reason to laugh. Big Bang’s Seungri Instagrammed a photo of himself in a beautiful park, surrounded by this bevy of deer and looking positively freaked out, like he’s being attacked by mountain lions. Yes, the does and bucks do like you Seungri, but relax man, they only eat plants. They probably wouldn’t even touch your sandwich. But watching Mr. Victori squeal like a boy and run from these peaceful creatures is enough hilarity to carry us through the week. Thinking back on this Bambi encounter might inspire his next solo album to be titled Big Baby.

FINALLY! K-Pop Hits Vine

Remember how you felt when you noticed your bias finally got on Instagram? Well, now there’s even more reason to rejoice because we’re noticing K-Pop is getting hip to Vine, the new Twitter app that allows you to make short video clips that loop continuously in your timeline. This week we saw miss A’s Min make her first Vine clips, one being a quick snapshot of her in the studio, listening to some RnB. The second one shows a group of hip-hop dancers practicing some killer moves and then a couple cameos from the online world’s famous pets, including Sohyun Lim’s punk puppy Engdu. We hear Min in the background say “I don’t know what I’m doing,” as she struggles to figure out how to work the Vine app. It’s ok Min. We didn’t know what we were doing either, and we still don’t know how to use Vine. But we’re thrilled to have you join the crazy gif-like community. We hope this inspires all the other idols out there on the interweb to start Vining it up. We can’t wait to see all the weird and wonderful video worlds of our favorite stars. Granted, Min has always been super hip to social media phenomena, seeing as how she was the first K-Pop star to embrace the Harlem Shake. Now that she’s on Vine and showing all her followers and friends, we’re pretty sure we’ll see some major shift in Vining action. Amber? Jo Kwon? Who’s next? Already choreographer Lydia Paek is on there, as is rapper Dok2 (does this mean Jay Park will be starring too?). We’re almost dying with anticipation.

OMG!!! LIKE OMG!!!!!!!

We’ve all heard them. We’ve all watched them. And a lot of us make our own. I’m talking about reaction videos. That’s right, those tiny and hilarious gems of YouTube where fans watch K-Pop videos and film their own reactions to watching them. We also know that the idols themselves partake in watching reaction videos. A few weeks back, we talked about Teen Top filming their own reaction video to fans’ reaction videos to their videos (Confused yet? Yeah, me too, a little). Well, this week, we noticed Eli from U-KISS tweeting about a reaction video to the newest release from the subunit he’s in called uBEAT. He tweeted about a video that was done by user @heyitszaners and laughed at some of the quotes from the vid, including when Zaners says, “Eli should have treated her better cuz that bitch is possessed.” We were definitely rolling on the floor laughing with Eli on this one, and hats off to Zaners for giving us some much needed comic relief this week. We’re totally fanning out with you too on those pursed lips of AJ and the falling backwards girl with “subtle, but nice” eye makeup. And we’re thrilled and just a little nervous to know our idols troll us as much as we do them. Better start wiping the tears off the webcams, or soon, our biases will have to hand out the tissues.

Greedy Sichuan

K-Pop stars really love their food. That’s a fact we already know. But they don’t have to get greedy about it! This week, soloist and former H.O.T. member Jang Woohyuk was traveling and Instagrammed a pic of himself in a Chinese restaurant, thrilled to be feasting on this mega meal in front of him, making fists and exclaiming “Yes” as he sits at the head of the revolving table. We see a bag laid down on a seat next to him, but he’s alone and all the other seats at this large round table are empty, despite there being a ridiculous amount of food and boiling pots of broth all the way around. Is this a repeat of Woohyuk’s previous Lonely Planet escapades? Remember that trip to New Zealand we covered that showed the star galavanting around town alone and looking a bit friend-deprived?. You don’t have to be that excited about the meal Woohyukkie; it’s not like you need to share or anything. But when that low blood sugar hits and survival kicks in, watch out because Woohyuk is Woo-hyungry. We just hope he doesn’t have to dine alone (again), and the PD or camera carrier will at least share in his company. We can only provide some digital camaraderie here, and imagine that we’re tasting those Sichuan treats. We will hot pot with you any day Hammer Boy! Just say the word and the TOS crew will be there to give you some much-needed Instagram buddies to take photos with and travel with.

Speaking of which, just looking at those meats makes us a little famished ourselves. We think it’s time for some much-needed snacking, so while we cook up a little jjajangmyun over here in TOS world, take a break and relish in the #BestWeekEver. We’ll see you next week after we satiate these K-Pop taste buds.

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