'n Radio kuier met Lena Park

Ek het vanaand vir Lena Park ontmoet. Sy is ’n Amerikaans-Koreaanse sangeres en liedjieskrywer wat veral gewild in die laat 90s en vroeë 2000s was, en het seker meer as tien albums vrygestel. Sy is huidiglik ’n omroeper by KBS World Radio en dit is waar ek haar ontmoet het. Sy het ’n program genaamd “One Fine Day”, elke weeksaand, en op Woensdagaande is daar ’n segment “Aliens in Seoul”. Die titel is ’n tong-in-die-kies verwysing na Sting se liedjie “Alien in New York”. Ek was genooi as gas vir die “Aliens in Seoul” segment vanaand om bietjie saam met Lena te gesels oor my lewe hier in Korea. Ons het gesels oor die redes hoekom ek Korea toe gekom het, en wat maak dat ek steeds hier woon en ander interesanthede. Byvoorbeeld, ek het onder andere genoem hoe bittersoet ironies dit vir my is om haar te ontmoet, omdat my blootstelling aan haar en haar musiek was via ’n eks van my wat ’n groot aanhanger was. ’n Liedjie wat ek aangeraai het om na te luister op die program was juis ’n song op Lena Park se laaste album Parallax, wat ek as ’n geskenk vir my eks gekoop het, toe ons nog saam was. Dit was ’n heerlike kuier, en Lena en die vervaardiger het genoem dat hulle eintlik weer met my op die lug sal wil gesels, omdat daar nog so baie was waarby ons nie uitgekom het nie. Alhoewel die krygskunste ’n groot rede is hoekom ek Korea toe gekom het, het ons skaars daaroor gepraat vanaand, met die gevolg dat dit moontlik ’n fokusonderwerp mag wees vir ’n toekomstige radiogesprek. Hoe ookal, dit was ’n lekker ervaring om weer op die radiogolwe te surf. Die program sal volgende Woensdag, 4 Oktober 2017, uitgesaai word en dan ook daarna aanlyn op die KBS World Radio webblad geluister kan word, en ek dink ook vanaf iTunes afgelaai kan word.

Some Things I Did in April

April... flower season in Korea:

I hosted a knife fighting seminar, presented by Thomas Locke.

I attended a traditional Korean music concert, which was very good.

I also went to a Korean musical, Seopyeonje, about pansori (Korean folk opera) with one of my Korean brothers:

I had my 5th degree black belt promotional testing with Grandmaster Park Jong Su, one of the pioneers of Taekwon-Do, and one of only a handful of people still alive from the time that Taekwon-Do just started in the 1950s.

Also spent some time with other great martial artists. 

Work-wise I prepared four exam papers for midterm -- still busy grading them. Taught William Blake and William Wordsworth in March and did Samuel Taylor Coleridge in April. Started with Lord (George) Byron in May -- next up is Percy Bysshe Shelley. Covered a number of essays, short stories and one-act plays by great writers, including George Orwell, H. G. Wells, and Pound. Also in April we covered West Side Story and Shakespeare in Love in my film class.

Study-wise I've prepared a presentation which I'll present next Monday on Guerrilla Marketing, and have been working on my dissertation outline, while reading some old books on the Samurai, interspersed with reading on Korean dance.

Oh, and I voted. Went to the embassy in Seoul to do so.



Had some interesting, if not cliched "it's complicated" love-life moments. (At least there has been some great kissing.)

Cannot say that my life is boring. Busy. Complicated. But not boring.

Kim Kwan Seok

Een van Suid-Korea se bekendste musikante is Kim Kwang Seok. Wat Johannes Kerkorrel vir ons was, is wat Kim Kwang Seok vir Korea was. Min mense weet regtig watse effek Johannes Kerkorrel op die Afrikaanse musiekbedryf gehad het, soortgelyk dink ek nie die jonger geslag Suid-Koreaners besef hoedat Kim Kwang Seok 'n ruimte geskep het vir die Koreaanse indie-sektor nie. Kleiner, intieme konserte soos wat tans in die Daehangro in Seoul beleef word is grootliks weens sy invloed. (Die alternatief is daardie ondraaglike monsteragtige K-Pop konserte met oorverdowende klank en verblindende ligte en sintetiese klanke.) Soortgelyk aan Kerkorrel het Kim ook selfmoord gepleeg deur homself te hang. Dit was 1996. Hy was slegs 32 jaar oud.

Kim Kwang Seok se balades is emosie belaai in die volk-rock / indie-rock genre en 'n mens kan maklik die musiek "voel", al verstaan jy nie die woorde nie. Nietemin, onderaan is een van Kim Kwang Seok se songs met onderskrifte.




Hier is 'n skakel na 'n aanhanger-webblad vir Kim Kwon Seok.

Korean Indie Band 10cm / 십센치

As I've mentioned on numerous occasions before, K-pop isn't my cup of tea; however I find Korea's independent / underground music scene to be full of wonderful discoveries. A recent such discovery is the indie band 10cm.



The title of the song in the video above is "Kingstar". It is a humerous song about someone with a stalking fetish. Here is a translation of the lyrics courtesy of xxsashaxxx:

Big moist eyes, scattered red lips, breast that looks like it's going to burst,
I turn my eyes away calmly, to your stockings
The scent I want to touch, the sound of scarlet high heels,
my eyes are turned on sensually exposed thighs and ripped stockings

The more the skin gets exposed, the more my fantasies thicken, my senses are sharp like a pin
When the lights flicker and the ceiling collapses, my body goes numb to the tip of the toes
Even I pull my skirts together and straighten up, thick orgasm doesn't calm down easily
Your stockings, stockings, stockings, stockings, stockings, stockings, stockings

The wind blows when I go up the stairs, oh, my little fantasy
Dancing Marilyn Monroe, oh her stockings
While my lips get dry and the cigarette gets wet,
tantalizingly thightening my waist, your stockings

The more the skin gets exposed, the more my fantasies thicken, my senses are sharp like a pin
When the lights flicker and the ceiling collapses, my body goes numb to the tip of the toes
Even I pull my skirts together and straighten up, thick orgasm doesn't calm down easily
Your stockings

The panty hose on my body, all my senses are electrifying
When I get home I'll look at me in the mirror
Stockings on my body, stockings, stockings, stockings, stockings, stockings, stockings

Such lighthearted lyrics are typical of 10cm. The following song, "Americano" tells of the coffee drink and how it is a good choice in different situations: it's uncomplicated, it's relatively cheap, it quinces thirst, and so on.



10cm is a two member band with only two main instruments -- drum and guitar, giving them a very light unplugged sound. While the instrumentation feels quite simple, the overall sound doesn't sound lacking. In fact, it is a wonderful break from synthesizers, voice tuners, and all the other pop music gimmicks we are forced to listen to. Even when they do covers of pop music, it is with a gentleness that soothes the ears, rather than artificial beat pumping. Listen for example to their cover of "Hit Me Baby One More Time":


Here are links to some more covers: "Viva la Vida"; "Geek in the Pink"; "Sunday Morning".

Korean Wave -- Korean Pop Culture

By now enough people have seen the "Gangnam Style" music video or at least heard the song, so that even those people that were not aware of the proliferation of Korean pop culture around the world are now also aware of South Korea's entertainment industry. (If you still don't know what I'm talking about, you must have been kidnapped by aliens or something. Read a synopsis the "Gangnam Style" phenomenon at The Telegraph, and see the music video here.)

I have traveled to a number of Asian countries and have always been surprised to see Korean pop: while sitting in a restaurant in Hong Kong I'd suddenly hear a K-pop song; while walking the streets of Bangkok (Thailand) there would be advertisements with an attractive Korean star; even while reclining in a hotel bed in Vientiane (communist Laos) I watched a Korean television broadcast (Arirang TV). Certain neighborhoods in Seoul are crawling with Japanese and Chinese tourists coming to buy fashionable clothes and memorabilia of Korean actors from Korean soap-operas (known as Korean dramas). Myeongdong in particular is such a touristy hot spot, and then, of course, for those who can afford it, there is Gangnam.

K-pop queen BoA
(Image Source)

Some of Korea's top musicians are superstars both locally and abroad. Psy with his silly "Gangnam Style" is just the latest of a long list of Korean entertainers to gain a fan base abroad. Examples are BoA (Kwon Bo-a), who is particularly popular in Japan and among the Asian community in the United States, but is also well applauded in Malaysia, China, Hong Kong, and Singapore. (Websites: Korea; USA; Japan.) Before, Psy, Rain (Jung Jihoon) was probably Korea's most famous male entertainer, known for both his hip-hop dance music and for his film career which included collaboration with the Wachowski Brothers (producers of the Matrix-films) on the film Ninja Assassin. South Korea is particularly known for their sexy gaggles of boy- and girl bands. The Koreans have mastered the pop industry. I'm not a fan of pop music, but that doesn't prevent me from noticing the high level of pop template mastery the Koreans have achieved. They have distilled the most prudent ingredients and follow the recipes to the tee. The songs are very catchy, with great hooks, awesome beats, and beautiful stars with knock-out bodies performing fantastically choreographed dance moves. K-pop is consumed throughout Asia and even in the rest of the world.

Rain: Singer / Actor / Model
(Image Source)

South Korea's extremely popular and boarder-hopping pop-culture is known as "Korean Wave" or "Hanlyu" (pronounced: hah-lyoo). You can download a small booklet on Korean Wave here. For anybody that is intrigued with Korean pop culture, I highly recommend it. I believe, as I suggested before, that Korean Wave is doing more towards destabilizing North Korea than all the political strategies, posturing and international sanctioning combined.

"Fight for Rainbow" by Eastern Sidekick

It is well known that I'm not a fan of Korean pop music; and surprising as it might sound, I only listened to Psy's "Gangnam Style" a few times. Once to see what the fuss was about, and other times by accident when it played in shops or wherever, and I happened to be there. But this doesn't mean that I don't enjoy Korean music. I quite often listen to Korean music. I regularly listen to Korean traditional music, but also to contemporary music, particularly Korean indie music.

Eastern Sidekick is an indie Korean band that I recently got introduced to. I haven't heard much of their stuff, but I have heard enough to know that I like them. Below is the imaginatively titled song "Fight for Rainbow".

Lena Park (feat eAeon) "You Don't Know Me"

A very close friend of mine loves Lena Park, so I bought her latest album "Parallax". I'm personally not a big fan of her genre of music, which is R&B-pop, although the album is generally good. However, there is one track on the album that just jumped out at me -- I loved it from the very first notes. The track is a collaboration with the indie-artist eAeon. Listen to "You Don't Know Me" in the YouTube-video below. I've pasted the lyrics in Korean and a translation below the video.

You Don't Know Me -- 박정현 (feat. 이이언)

내게 말해주지 않는 그 마음속에

그대 다른 누군가를 숨겨 뒀나요

내게 말이 없던 어느 하루의 끝에

그대 일기장엔 누구의 이름을 쓰나요

그댄 날 사랑하지 않아요

You don't know me

내게 아니라고 말해봐요

You just don't know me

그대가 원하는 건 내가 아니죠

You don't know me

내가 틀렸다고 말해봐요

You really don't

내게 보여주지 않는 그 마음속에

처음부터 이별을 키워왔던가요

이유 없이 슬퍼지는 그대 눈빛 뒤에

내 곁에서 누군가를 그리워하나요

그댄 날 사랑하지 않아요

You don't know me

내게 아니라고 말해봐요

You just don't know me

그대가 원하는 건 내가 아니죠

You don't know me

내가 틀렸다고 말해봐요

You really don't

그댄 날 사랑하지 않아요

내게 아니라고 말해봐요

그대가 원하는 건 내가 아니죠

내가 틀렸다고 말해봐요

You don't know me

날 사랑하지 않아요

You don't know me

날 사랑하지 않아요

You Don't Know Me by Lena Park (feat eAeon)

in your heart that you refuse to show me

have you hidden someone else

at the end of the day gone without a word between us

whose name do you write in your diary

you don't love me

you don't know me

tell me that it isn't so

you just don't know me

i'm not the one you want

you don't know me

tell me that I'm wrong

you really don't

in your heart that you didn't show me

were you planning a good bye from the beginning

behind your eyes that become sad without a reason

who do you miss when you're by my side

you don't love me

you don't know me

tell me that it isn't so

you just don't know me

I'm not the one you want

you don't know me

tell me that I'm wrong

you really don't

you don't know me

tell me that it isn't so

I'm not the one you want

tell me that I'm wrong

you don't know me

you don't love me

you don't know me

you don't love me

translated by: strangeseasons.tumblr.com

North Korea is Changing: USBs & K-Pop

Image Source

I have for a very long time believed that reunification between North Korea and South Korea is very unlikely and growing increasingly improbable as time goes by. My chief reason for thinking so is because the two countries have hardly any cross-pollination, causing them to drift further and further apart culturally. The results is that although North Koreans and South Koreans share genetics, otherwise they are becoming increasingly different. In only the number of years I have lived in South Korea I can see a difference in how Korea was in 2006 (the first time I came to Korea) and now six years later. If a culture can change so much in half a decade, imagine how much it can change in six decades, and just as South Korea has evolved in one direction, North Korea has evolved in a completely different direction.

The big difference between the separation of East Germany and West Germany with North Korea and South Korea, is that while Germany was split physically, there wasn't a complete cultural split. The East Germans were still able to receive radio and television broadcasts from West Germany, so that the East Germans were keeping up with the cultural development of their neighbours. The same is not the case for the Koreas. The North Korea regime blasts its airwaves with scrambling signals that prevents the North Korean citizens from receiving broadcasts from South Korea. So over the six decades North Koreans have had very little exposure to what is happening in South Korea. For a long time all that most of them knew about South Korea is the propaganda lies they received from the North Korean dictatorship.



Things are changing and the thing that is causing the change is USB-drives. The small data-sticks that are smuggled in from China are used to share South Korea pop-culture: K-pop, movies and dramas. If ever North Koreans thought that the South is an impoverished puppet of America, then K-pop and South Korean television are the cure. The American influence (in the form of hip-hop and other fashions) is undeniable, but if there is one thing that these South Korean mass media do not depict is that South Korea is an impoverished country. Far from it. The cars, the clothes, the technology, the recreations in South Korean mass media are dripping with affluences and excess.



And so I believe change in North Korea is inevitable. While millions of North Koreans go hungry, go cold, and are oppressed, they are becoming increasingly aware that their Southern neighbours are living the good life. (Many homeless and poor South Koreans may disagree, but that is besides the point.) The North Korean regime is based on the lies that the whole world is out to get them and that the South is a poor puppet state controlled by the American Imperialists. What the North Korean populace is slowly realising is that most of the world don't even think about North Korea, and that South Koreans are clearly better off, what ever else they may think about democracy and imperialism. And let's not for a moment forget the terrible power of greed and and lust for hedonistic decadence, that is so part of the human psyche. For North Korean men watching South Korean music videos, it must be like watching porn! K-pop videos just ooze sex and decadence.

Change is coming. If actual reunification will ever occur, I don't know. I still believe it is quite unlikely. But nevertheless, change is coming to North Korea—of that I have little doubt. It may not reunify, but the Hermit Kingdom will open up.

North Korean (Satirical) Artists

I once, in person, saw a large painting of white tigers basking in the winter sun on top of Baekdu Mountain, in North Korea. The exquisite painting was by a North Korean artist. I was struck at the talent and beauty that can be found in a country that is otherwise so terribly deprived.

There are two controversial Korean artists who had both defected from North Korea and now live in South Korea. Both were trained as North Korean propaganda artists and when the came to Korea they turned their propagandist style into dramatic satire against their former government.

The first is Seon Mu (Sun Mu), who uses a pseudonym lest North Korean spies should leak his identity to North Korea and his family (parents that are possibly still alive in the North) should be tortured on account of him. Sun Mu is known for his "Happy Children" series in which he depicted North Korean children in obvious displays of "conditioned" happy-acting, that is part of the daily life in Korea. You can visit his blog (in Korean) to see more of his work. An interesting aspect of his work is his use of nudity. All displays of nudity in North Korea are illegal as it is associated with American imperialist decadence. Showing nudity, therefore, not only celebrates his own freedom from the oppressive regime he grew up under, but also mocks the Pharisaic morals of the dictatorial North.

Another originally North Korean artist that defected to South Korea is Seong Byeok who attempted to escape from North Korea but was captured and put into work camps. He attempted again, fortunately succeeded and made his way to South Korea where he now works as an artist. He gained international recognition after his show early last year called "Forever Freedom", of which one painting displayed Kim Jong-Il is a cross-dressing Marilyn Monroe, mocking the late North Korean leader's love of cinema. Seong Byeok is set to exhibit in the USA this year. See his website here.

Aegyo: Korea's Cute Coquette

In Korea there is something called "aegyo". They translate it as charming, which is definitely not the best translation. Aegyo is basically when an adult acts childlike in order to come over as cute. It is usually done by women, but men sometimes do aeqyo too, particularly in the early stages of a romantic relationship. Aegyo is basically acting cute coquettishly. This is probably a good translation for aegyo: "cute coquette." Korean women usually do aegyo to break her male target's resistance as she manipulates him to do her will.



I get that aegyo is cute. I also like cute things -- a cute kitten can melt me in a second. What I don't get is why aegyo is sexy. Korean men actually thinks it is sexy when their girlfriends act like little girls. Personally I'm completely put off by it. I find the nagging-manipulation of aegyo, like any type of emotional manipulation, distasteful. Also, that men should find such childlike behaviour sexually exciting borders on paedophilia, I think. (I cannot help but wonder if there is a correlation between child sexual abuse and a culture that views childlikeness sexually attractive. I couldn't find much information on the topic; this post by The Grand Narrative may be a start.)

As I mentioned earlier, aegyo is not exclusively used by Korean women. Korean men also do aegyo, as the videos below demonstrate.





However, male aegyo sometimes works the other way. Instead of an adult trying to act cute, a young man could act more mature, self-confident or tough towards a female that is his senior. The following video illustrates this:



I've often been asked about my interest in Korean women and why I don't yet have a Korean girlfriend. There are different reasons, but one is that I really do not find aegyo sexually attractive. On some isolated occasions I thought it cute, and can appreciated it as an interesting cultural phenomenon. However, sexually it is a turn off for me. I definitely find mature women attractive, not little girls.

A bad aegyo moment. Sorry.

But, let me not be too hypocritical. I've done aegyo myself on occasion, because I know the results it gets in this culture. Also, apparently I speak Korean very cute. The reason is two fold. First, my Korean ability is quite elementary so I end up sounding a little like a toddler clumsily putting together sentences and we all know how cute that can be. Second, I used to learn much of my Korean from women, so I ended up speaking like the girls whose intonation I copied. Therefore, I'm often doing aegyo without it being my intention. I've started watching how Korean men act tough in Korean films and have tried that instead, but from the reactions of some of my students I think it came across as the reverse aegyo that men sometimes used, which I spoke about earlier. While I'm not a fan of aegyo, I catch myself sometimes being an aegyo culprit.

Rain Cast as Buddha

On Sunday I went to the concert venue for Rain's performance. Unfortunately I came down with a bad cold / flu a few days before and while waiting there for the concert to start I just felt increasingly awful. Eventually the prospect of all that loud noise and bright lights and many people got the better of me. These are not things you want to experience while feeling under the weather. In the end I decided to go back home. A friend of mine did go and she said it was a great concert; it's a pity that I missed it.

Now what's this about Rain and the Buddha, you may ask?

Have you noticed how much Rain looks like depictions of the Buddha? The same serene smile, the pleasant narrow eyes, the slight pudgy nose, even similar big ears. Rain has really big ears! I'm of course referring to the younger slimmer (Indian) Buddha, not the older fat (Chinese) Buddha. 

It's not that far fetched an idea that a Korean entertainer should depict the Buddha. After all, the Buddha have been depicted in many films before, including a Korean film from 1964 on the Seokgamoni Buddha (the Buddha at the moment of enlightenment).

Seokgamoni 석가모니 (1964)

Let us not forget that even Keanu Reeves played the Buddha once. In the 1993 film Little Buddha, directed by Bernardo Bertulucci, Reeves was casted as Siddhārtha Gautama, who became the Buddha -- the "Enlightened One".  

Keanu Reeves in "Little Buddha",
in the role of Gautama Buddha.

Surely an Asian actor would look more like the Buddha than an Hawaiian, albeit racially mixed, actor like Reeves.

If you had to put Reeves and Rain next to each other and compare their characteristics, including acting abilities, they would probably come to a tie. They have even both acted in Wachowski Brothers' movies: Reeves in The Matrix films and Rain in Ninja Assassin. However, Rain will definitely get bonus points for being Asian, his bigger ears, and more serene Buddha-like smile.

If ever I had the opportunity to make a film about the Buddha, I'd cast Rain in the leading role. 

See Rain for Free

Do you love K-pop? Would you like to see Korean superstar Rain 비 for free?

Question one doesn't really appeal to me, but as for the second question, yes I would. I don't like K-pop, to be honest, but I do like Rain. I've written about him a couple of times before on this blog (see for instance here and here), and would love to see his dance moves in action, and if I do not have to pay for it, even more so.

Well, this coming Sunday, October 9, Rain will be performing as part of the 2011 Gangnam Fashion Festival's "Korean Wave" concert. The concert will be held in front of the east gate of COEX Mall at Samseong Station, Subway Line 2. It starts at 7pm and continues until 9pm. Better be early if you hope to get a good spot. It is free, after all.

Some Korean Rock to Soothe the Soul

I finished grading papers and entering the final grades into the online system a short while ago -- just in time of the midnight deadline.

And now some good Korean Rock by KangSan-E to soothe the soul. The song's name is "Iguana". I've been listening to KangSan-E quite a lot since I was introduced to him by my dongsaeng. "Iguana" is one of my favourite songs at present. It makes me wanna sing-along, jump up and dance.

Kang-San Eh 강산에 / At Rivers and Mountains

After telling my dongsaeng earlier this week about how I enjoyed Broken Valentine's "The sea in my worn drawer", he suggested I look into Kang-San Eh. (Literally translated 강산에 means River-Mountain-At.) And indeed, I enjoyed Kang-San Eh's sound. It has that groovy rocky, jazzy, bluesy, funky feel that puts you in a good mood. I still need to listen to more of his music, but here is a small selection of songs I like so far. The one thing you quickly learn about Kang-San Eh is the wonderful diversity in his music.

A lil' K-pop fo' ya

Curious about how Korean pop music sounds these days? The following is typical of the genre at present: "Break Down" by Kim Hyun Joong, featuring Double K.



True, these K-pop guys can dance, but personally I prefer Korea's (alternative) rock scene better. Here's Broken Valentine with "내 낡은 서랍속의 바다" ("The sea in my worn drawer"). The song was originally performed by Panic.

Sora Lee 이소라 -- "No. 1"

(Or watch it at DaumTV.)

Sora Lee's recent performance of the song "No. 1" on the TV show I am a Singer 나는가수다 is absolutely riveting. Not only is the music itself such a wonderful evocative piece (listen to a solo piano rendition of it here to hear what I mean), but Sora Lee's ability to infuse it with emotion leaves me in awe. She completely adapted her normal singing voice to achieve this amazing heart-wrenching sound. You can enjoy a YouTube playlist of some of her music here; compare how she usually sounds, with how she performs "No. 1".

The show I am a Singer is currently airing in Korea and focusses on the actual singing ability of the participants, rather than on appearance, dancing ability and so on, as is often the case in the entertainment industry. Since the focus is on the participants singing almost exclusively, this naturally insures better music that is not diluted with other marketing effects. I am a Singer plays on MBC TV-channel. I do not own a television, but luckily the songs are also viewable online at DaumTV. It is nice to be able to hear some non-mainstream Korean music. (Although I think with the popularity of the show, these artists are becoming quite mainstream in their own right.)

Flippen goeie Koreaanse rock!

Het sopas op hierdie song (bo) van die Koreaanse groep Guckkasten (국카스텐) afgekom. Goeie oorryp piesangs, dis goed! Ek moet vir my hulle album in die hande kry. Miskien as ek tyd het more voor ek die bus neem lughawe toe kan ek in 'n musiek winkel 'n draai maak. Hier (onder) is nog een.

Top 10 Indie Korean Music for 2010

IndieROK's latest post reveals the 2010 Bugs Awards for Korean Indie Music. They are:

1. Lucid Fall - 고등어
2. 10cm - Good Night
3. Springloll - 허밍
4. Dalmoon - 옥상달빛
5. Kyu Won - 기찻길
6. Misty Blue - 하나
7. Daybreak - 팝콘
8. Dr.Core 911 - The Escape
9. Mono Diary - 추억이라 부르는 이름의 노래
10. cheezstereo - 화성 로맨스

You can watch the YouTube playlist of all the songs below:

Girls' Generation, Prostitutes and Pygmalian

This music video of Girls' Generation reminds me of the first time I ventured into a red light district in Korea. It was during my first few months in Korea. I was in the Yongsan area -- I went to the digital market to get some computer gadgets. I decided to take a short cut down one alley on my way to another subway line. I didn't really take much notice of the mannequins in the windows. Then suddenly, from the corner of my eye I noticed that the mannequins moved. It nearly freaked me out, but I soon realised that these were not well dressed mannequins displaying boutique clothes, but in fact prostitutes displaying another type of merchandise. I remember being shocked at how beautiful these model-like women were; hence me originally assuming them to be mannequins. I've seen some beautiful mannequins in my life and can sympathise with Pygmalion. I've often wondered who sculpts clothing store mannequins and if they are cast from real models.

"Life Goes On" -- Burning Hepburn

The title track from the Korean punk-rock band Burning Hepburn's latest album. I like Korea's indie music scene. They are not afraid to be different in a culture that prizes conformity.



Credos to Indieful ROK.