Happy Halloween!

Happy Witch Son Naeun!

  Celebrating a Halloween here on the zdorama blogsite K-pop Style with APink's very own Witch-Idol Son Naeun to give us a celebratory "fly-by" to get the festivities going! AHAHA, ever since she professed her love of all things black, including her wardrobe, accessories, bags, purses and wallets, Naeun's been officially dubbed the Mystical Witch of the group, and she's got out the jack o'lanterns, haunted houses and magic wands to ring in the spooky autumn season!

Tales From Big APink

It’s been awhile since I last talked to my friend Shanomac, the individual largely responsible for getting me wholly into K-pop, and as you may or may not recall, he was (and is) a HUGE Apink fan, and has always been trying to get me “into” them. I decided to drop him a line to let him know about my happy conversion to the new APink religion, but MAN, how can I properly relay the awesome APINK experience I’ve been going through the past few weeks in one email? Why, by utilizing that trusty internet phenomenon, the RAGEMEME!!! In just two simple strips, I think I’ve conveyed how much Chorong, Bomi, Eunji, Naeun, Namjoo, Yookyung and Hayoung mean to me! Check it out, yo!

Hmmmm, Yep, that's just about how it happened, alright!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Sunny SeungAh

Probably one of the most underrated of all the Rainbow Members, I think this live fancam (by the fancam master drighk) of the girls performing their classic song "A" shows just how sexy and charismatic SeungAh really is!!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Touch of Okada Yukiko

Okada Yukiko CDs

  As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been a fan of 80’s Idol Yukiko Okada ever since falling in love with her single “Kuchibiru Network” on an 80’s Collection back in the mid-90’s, and through the wonderful  classic J-pop site “Oldies But Goodies”, I was able to get MP3 copies of most of her albums.
 This was really great because though Yukiko Okada is still one of Japan's more popular idols, none of her original CDs are still in print, and the closest Pony Canyon got to fixing this situation was to release a box set of all her songs, sadly, even THIS is out of print now, so the MP3s were just about the only way I could enjoy her music!
   Enjoy them I DID, to the point where I began loving the albums SO MUCH that I REALLY wanted to have the real CD copies of these releases. I’d gone online looking for Okada Yukiko CDs before, but since they are all out of print and very rare, the high prices folks were selling them for always put me off! So you can guess how happy I was to see a dealer delling two of Yukiko’s albums at a sale price on ebay, each for about $25, and as you know, that’s practically the regular price I had to pay for all my Pony Canyon Idol stuff back in the day!!!
 So I jumped on that deal and quickly ordered it, and in only a few weeks , I’ve got them in my possession, Yukiko’s albums Okurimono II, and one of my very favorite albums from her, the awesome Venus Tanjou CD (the album that originally featured Kuchibiru Network, the song that first made me love her!)! Awwww, so sweeeeeeeet!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Much Coveted APink Treasure: Autographed Snow Pink!

The APink Girls Autographing Snow Pink CDs

 Back when I was watching Season Two of Apink’s totally awesome reality show Apink News, there was this interesting episode where they showed the girls spending time in the Dance Practice room, exhaustingly signing cases and CASES of their new album “Snow Pink” to be distributed to their fanbase...

Bomi removes the Shrink-Wrap

Bomi was the one assigned to remove the troublesome shrinkwrap on each CD, and it was strangely hypnotic watching her use the scissors to deftly slit the tops of the albums while still in the cardboard shipping boxes and then rip each wrapper off. She really had her work cut out for her because the girls had ONE THOUSAND copies to sign!

Hayoung gets to business while Bomi continues to remove Wrapping

 At that time besides Bomi, the autographing relay team consisted of Hayoung, Yookyung, Naeun and Namjoo, and they all took turns passing around the stacks of albums to endorse! I guess Eunji and Chorong did theirs at some later date (and in fact, later in the episode, I DID see boxes of the CD left in the back corner of the studio). Love when they did close-ups and you could actually SEE the girls signing it...

Namjoo: "We are really doing it!"

:)

In any case, watching that clip of the girls happily chatting away as they all took turns scribbling their names on the inside booklet, I came away wanting a copy of one of those signed albums so BADLY, and then, when later on, SNOW PINK became my FAVORITE ALBUM from Apink, I wanted it even MORE! In fact, I NEEDED it! But while I was able to get ahold of their more recent promotion for SECRET GARDEN, would I be able to find this older disc of theirs?
   Going online I was led to a dealer in Korea who dealt only with Autographed K-pop paraphernalia, and what do you know- they had a copy of the aforementioned HOLY GRAIL of Apink Autographs for me, the same SNOW PINK promotion from the Fanclub! I HAD to have it! A small (but tidy sum) transaction later, and my long-desired Apink CD was on its way! Crossed my fingers and bode my time, and JUST TODAY, my treasured CD arrived!!!

My Autographed Snow Pink CD arrives!

Kyaaaaa!!! 

Absolutely BEAUTIFUL Signatures!!!

So beautiful and SWEET, and such a THRILL to re-watch that episode of Apink News and speculate that the CD you see them signing may very well be the one you received! Also an added bonus is the fact that this album is signed by the original Seven Member group- the recent autographed Secret Garden album I acquired was (naturally) signed by the current six-member Apink, but since watching APink News, I’ve come to love Yookyung so much that I feel especially grateful to have her signature in my collection as well!

Yookyung

PS: Another THRILLING discovery I noticed was that while signing the CDs, someone had smudged their fingerprint on the book, and though I can’t say for sure who it was, I DID notice that dear leader Chorong had in fact smudged her signature and gotten ink on the opposite page, so I like to THINK that the culprit was my beloved Ronggie, anyway!! LOL Awww, that’s one of the GREAT things about collectibles like this- you feel really close to the idols when you know that the girls themselves have handled the CDs!

Wheee! Authentic Apink Fingerprint Smudges! Chorong's?

You can best believe this CD has found its way to become part of my most precious K-pop Collectible Items!!!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Sustaining My APink Habit With “We Got Married”

Taemin meets the Sister-in-Laws in WGM

 Ever since I finished watching all the Apink News Seasons, I have been going through a bit of withdrawal from not having the girls as part of my evening programming- when you consider that APink News Season One started before their debut, it seems like through both Apink News and Birth of a Family, I’ve been watching their everyday lives since the beginning, and to suddenly not know what they’re doing on a day-to-day basis has been heartbreaking!

Naeun and Taemin in We Got Married

   I’ve been consoling myself on the loss of Apink Goodness in my life  by watching Naeun on We Got Married along with SHINee’s Taemin, and was BLOWN away when, beginning with episode 182, I got to see my beloved girls once again when, first, Taemin got the EXO boys to deliver Naeun and the gals a birthday present and some fine beef cooking! 

EXO grillin' up the Meat for the Birthday Girl!

Funny that the performance Apink did of "NoNoNo" (which Taemin studiously checked to see if she was wearing the rosary bracelet he got her) was actually one of my very favorite perfs! And after, was hilarious to watch Apink checking out the latest episode of We Got Married on TV in the dressing room, to a bemused and embarrassed Naeun! Was even MORE funny to see the girls reactions when Taemin admitted to lying to Naeun about ever having a girlfriend, LOL

APink watching the latest telecast of We Got Married

"Whoa!" So He DID have girlfriends before!"

Then in following episodes 183-184, Taemin had once said that he missed Naeun so much he'd come visit her some day, and so delivered himself to their doorstep in a big cardboard box. Upon seeing Apink back in their living quarters, it was like I was back watching Apink News all over again! So cool to see Taemin meeting Naeun’s “Sisters” Chorong, Bomi, Namjoo and Hayoung, playing with them, eating pizza with them and pranking them all- just having a good time!

Apink and Food, always a good combination

And then the show got even BETTER, when, in the following episodes (185-186), they got EUNJI to join Naeun and Taemin on a double date with Taemin’s Shinee partner Key! 

Gotta be a Special Lady: Jung Eunji

...Here Comes Happiness!!!

Taemin, Naeun and Eunji Bemused, KEY very Nervous!

Man, did Key and Eunji have amazing chemistry and made the show so much FUN! Made me remember why I love Eunji so much, the brash Busan girl really is the “Happy Virus” she’s famed for- so full of life and warmth, a hearty laugh and an eye-smile to die for!

We are the Fun-Makers!

Awwww YEAHHHH! Energetic Eunji

Ahhhn, So COOL that I’m able to still “see” my beloved Apink Girls this way, because right now I’m still on a major high with them and I REALLY need my FIX every day!!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Spica and Ladies' Code Arrivals

Ladies' Code and SPICA Autographed Editions!

 Got a couple of CDs today from the folks over at Yesasia as part of their awesome Autographed Specials, Ladies' Code's new Mini-Album "Pretty Pretty" and SPICA's single for their new song Tonight". Though I've liked both groups enough, this is the first time I've ever purchased anything from them. I'd actually really REALLY liked SPICA's song "I'll Be There" from last year, and couldn't WAIT to purchase the album, alas, it was one of their "digital release only" songs, and when their new mini-album "Lonely" came out, "I'll be There" was not to be seen on it.
  I like SPICA's song "Tonight" well enough, and I TOTALLY LOVED Ladies' Code "Pretty Pretty", but naturally, the thing that pushed me into quickly ordering these CDs was that they were autographed! And sure enough, both albums came with the members pretty signatures adorning the jackets...
  SPICA's signatures were particularly neat and legible and I love that they signed under the images of themselves. Ladies Code, on the other hand,  was signed on the cover which made it sort of hard to make out since the cover was so crazy and LOUD, LOL! I wish they could have flipped the book over and signed the BACK of the CD since their cute pictures were right there!

Ladies Code "Pretty Pretty" Front and Back Covers

SPICA's album also came with a set of Buttons (how's THAT for 80's nostalgia?) as well as a SPICA earcap, which, of course, made me go online to research "Just What the HECK is an Earcap?" 

SPICA CD, Button Set and EarCap

Turns out it's a designer plug used to cover your earphone jack so dust doesn't get in it, and there are TONS of different kinds out there! Ahahaha, I guess I'm just not tuned into these newfangled Iphone-y Accesories (was even recently amazed when my friend's girlfriend showed me the rubber "octopus" stand she got to prop up her phone while watching movies) but I was quite interested seeing all the collectible earcaps available online when I DID find out what it was!

Assorted Earcaps

OK, Time to start ripping these Bad Boys to MP3...
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Trying Out A New K-Pop Dealer

With the Amount of Damaged Product I've been getting lately, I've been really researching different avenues to get my K-pop stuff (keeping packaging and pricing of both product and shipment in mind).   Most of the dealers I use only ship out the CDs in bubble wrapped envelopes, and I've been finding that this DOESN'T protect the items too well, as my recent APink Une Annee CD will show, (and even my Rainbow CD from Soompi came to me dinged and scuffed, which broke my heart a little!) since most K-pop goods are made up of paper boxes instead of Jewel Cases, they are quite fragile and VERY susceptible to getting crushed under loads of packages. I don't know if it's just that Korea is so faaaaaaar away from Hawaii or I have particularly vengeful mailmen (this is probably true), but so many of the packages come beat-up, and since the MAIN reason I purchase K-pop goods is for its collectible/visual element, getting stuff that's banged up is really the pits!!!
   My friend Car has always ordered her K-pop goods from K-Poptown, a dealer I'd never purchased items from, but she swears it's the way to go, not only is the pricing for the time itself cheap, but the speed of the arrival is pretty fast, too! She DID, however, admit that their shipping prices were a little, well, pricey, and even THEY send their stuff in bubble-wrapped envelopes, so even THERE, that might be a problem. In any case, when I was looking for a dealer to purchase the new T-ARA album "Again", Car once again suggested Kpoptown to me, so I thought I'd give it a try! We'll see how the package arrives in few weeks....

Fave K-Pop Groups, By The Month

I remember back when I was first totally getting into that awesome SM outfit f(x) and announcing to my friend Car that they were my new *favorite group*, Car dismissively saying, "Awww, you like a new K-pop group every month!" And while I have to admit that it WAS pretty much true when I first got into K-pop, there was just SO MUCH awesome goodness to discover for the first time! As you can see by the chart below though, it seems like since the new year, my new "Favorite Group Discoveries" have leveled off somewhat, and have been averaging about once every three months or so! My Faves By the Month (More or Less):

2012.04: KARA
2012.05: GIRLS' GENERATION
2012.06: T-ARA
2012.07: RAINBOW
2012.08: SECRET
2012.09: F(X)
2012.10: AFTERSCHOOL
2012.11: 4MINUTE
2012.12:  
2013.01: 2NE1
2013.02:
2013.03:
2013.04: SISTAR
2013.05:
2013.06: DAL SHABET
2013.07:
2013.08:
2013.09: APINK
2013.10:

Of course, in between, there've been a whole lot of other artists and groups that I've liked as well, but these are the ones that really affected me in a BIG way...Gosh, who will be the NEXT BIG fave I’ll get into? Only time will tell!  
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Hyomin Is Hot as Hell

Good Gravy, When I first saw T-ara coming out with their incredible new song "Number 9", I'd already acknowledged that Hyomin was still the hottest idol out there, and here we have a Hyomin fan-shot video taking my lust love of her to even GREATER heights! Damn, is this chick HOT or WHAT!

Man, it seems like just yesterday I was falling in love with Hyomin's adorable antics on Invincible Youth, in such a short time, she's turned into this K-pop goddess!
PS: Yeah, I know, Hyominnie doesn't really sing too much in this song, does she. Oh well, when ya look that good....
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

It's PARK to the CHO to the RONG!

Well, it was a hard-fought battle between Eunji, Bomi and Chorong as to who'd end up my favorite member of APink , but after watching weeks and hours of videoclips, shows and specials featuring those Apink Girls and all their adorable antics, I have to say that the one who stole my heart and made me SMILE  was the group’s cute mumbling leader, Ms. Park Chorong!

Kind of funny when you consider that Chorong was among the very last members I really noticed and I'd initially thought of her as mostly a “supporting character” type in Apink. Ahhh, but once I started watching the APINK NEWS program, I really got to know her funny and quirky style, and before you knew it, I was watching all the scenes just WAITING to see what she would say or what she would do! Yep, she went from “backup” member to “most cuddly” in mere weeks!

  I was recently on an APink forum explaining the virtues of why Chorong had somehow become my Numero Uno Apink member, and I cited four major reasons that the adorable kid-leader had stolen my heart:

1. Her hilarious SASSINESS, especially when it comes to getting attention and her way, and the way she would balance complete apathy in one second and spazzily stress out in the next! I got my first taste of what I would dub the “flustered Chorong” effect when Rong and Bomi (who’d been forced to come along as a support) went down to the DMV so she could get her Driver Test forms filled out, and I got to hear her famous "Park to the Cho to the rong!”

(Subs by PinkPanda Subs)

2. Her mischievous and hearty laugh- In one episode, Eunji is seen using Han River Park’s exercise equipment to work out, and a little later we see Chorong happily torturing Bomi on one of them. Little does she know that soon Eunji and Bomi would gang up on her and make HER hang upside down, and her maniacally happy peals of laughter just melted my heart!!!

(Subs by APINK.NET)

3. Her adorable “nasally” way of mumbling when she knows she's being naughty or coy, usually when trying to gain favors out of the staff or delegating chores to the other members, like this episode where APink are having a Café Benefit for fans to purchase snacks and drinks for charity, and while assigning the positions to her dongsaengs, she uses her disarming nasal voice to FULL EFFECT, sounding both bossy and hopelessly lost at the same time! I was in love!

(Subs by PinkPanda Subs)

And reason number 4: Her enthusiastic attention to EATING, which is simply no joke!!! From Pasta to Pork Cutlet bento plates to her beloved Chicken Feet, it's always Chorong's mission to eat as much as she can, and usually at the Director's expense! 

So I was watching an episode of APINK NEWS3 where the girls had gone down to a “Wedding Café” for a photoshoot, and there was this simply ADORABLE short scene where Chorong showed ALL FOUR of the charms that make me LOVE her so much, the laugh, the nasal voice, the sassiness and the EATING, LOL! 
In this scene, the girls are seated at a table loaded with pastries and cake, but are told that the goodies are “Photography props” and not to be eaten. Chorong, however, has her own agenda, and while Bomi and Hayoung are videotaping each individual member, she does what comes naturally…

(subs by FeelChokCross Subs)

As I spend my evenings watching the last few precious episodes of APink News Season Three, I'm only finding myself more and more enthralled and dazzled by her energetic (and yet wholly lazy) approach to everything- When Naeun worries that she has no comedic talent or personality on the show, Chorong sagely advises, "I don't EITHER- I just BLURT things out!" LOLOL, that's the truth and that's her charm! Good ol' Rong Unnie- there's no one like her!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

T-ara's "Number 9" Inferno

Ooooh, MAN, T-ara is BACK with their new song "Number9", and it looks like this time they intend to take no prisoners! Coming on with an all-out attack, the girls look so damn FINE and the songs are so kick-BUTT- this is clearly the return of the original "fierce" T-ara I first got into with songs like 'Cry Cry" and 'I'm Really Hurt"...so full of BAD-GIRL ATTITUDE!

 

 

 

Been awhile since I've seen them doing the "Sultry Leather" thing, everyone looks hella killer, especially my main girl Hyomin, who continues to rock my socks off even now- this gal is one of the HOTTEST k-pop idols out there, PERIOD!!! I'd been talking to a friend not-so-long-ago about how Hyominnie was still one of my VERY favorite girls even after all this time, and WOW here she comes along and re-confirms it once AGAIN!

Besides the shredding "Number 9" , T-ara's comeback also consists of the svelte crooner "I Know The Feeling", showing the girls all done up in satin and lace- such a great contrast to the former song! Aw Yeah, the Girls are back in town! Can't WAIT to order this one (when the HECK are they going to put it up for sale, anyway?! It's already the 10th!)

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com