My Dinner With Jiyeon

Can't believe I just watched 20 minutes of T-ARA's Jiyeon and Eunjung doing nothing but eating and watching television, but i'll be darned if it wasn't entertaining as heck! Lots of fun watching the girls as a sort of "fly on the wall" as the two barely acknowledge the camera at all! Jiyeon in particular is fun to watch as she meticulously prepares her instant ramen...

and when the delivery comes, it is quite impressive to see the girls put away so much FOOD! Very soothing listening to them chatter casually while they mix and match their dishes, alternating spoonfuls of the various dishes as they laugh at the show on TV!

But before you know it, it's time to wrap things up, and Jiyeon walks up to the camera to call it a day!

Nighty Nite, girls! See You in the morning!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Vindication For T-ara

If you were around for the great T-ara fiasco back in 2012, you’ll remember that T-ara were at the time riding high on their brand new video “Day By Day” when member Hwayoung was suddenly cut from the group. CCM leader Kim Kwang Soo officially stated that she was let go for un-cooperation and general stubbornness about performing with the group, citing an injured leg.
Days later, Hwayoung would release her own statement saying that the reason for her departure was because she was being bullied by the senior members of T-ara, and overnight it seemed the entire T-ara community (and Korean netizens in general) turned on T-ara. I’m not kidding. i rememebr watching as people I’d chatted to every day on T-ara forums changed their tune and began saying things like  “They should be punished!” and even my friend whom I knew in real life and thought would back up T-ara to the end shrugged and said, “I don’t know who to believe!”
My initial feelings were stted here with a quick note simply saying how worried I was for them!
I was stunned that so few T-ara fans stood by them and defended them, and of how many so easily believed the accusations. Over the next coming months, T-ara fell out of the graces of the K-pop world til they were practically also-rans even though they were part of the great Hallyu Wave.
Of course, a small but soon to grow community was always there to step up for T-ara, and if you’ve followed any of my posts on K-pop sites know that I have always ever defended them, I NEVER believed the rumours of bullying no matter how many times it was brought up.
And brought up it was. It seemed that every couple of years, when animosity towards T-ara seemed to be waning, Hwayoung would appear on a show and cry about how traumatized she was being bullied, and the ball would start rolling all over again.
As you may know, in recent years, T-ara have again and again showed what fighters they are, never giving up, even if it meant starting over from scratch. they worked fastidiously and, though still shunned in Korea, have bgun making a name for themselves in China. Little by little, they began to get back TV drama roles and CM endorsements and even won a recent international fan battle.
And then Hwayoung and her sister appeared on a new show and brought up the bullying again. Finally, staff and management, who had been silent for 5 years, couldn’t stand by any more and finally released statements saying that all the bullying allegations were absolutely UNFOUNDED! They talked about her playing pretend victim, they talked about her faking her leg injuries to get out of performing. ALL of it came out, and now, FINALLY, T-ara have been proven INNOCENT!

As Captain_Fantasy Summed Up:
"For further clarity, today sisters Ryu Hwayoung (ex-T-ARA) and Ryu Hyoyoung (ex- F-ve Dolls) appeared on a Taxi themed talk show. Hwayoung spoke about her time after she was fired from CCM and she said "I hid in my room and cried for days".
Shortly afterward, an article on Instiz appeared from an ex-manager of T-ARA with screenshots from a KKT conversation saying that Hyoyoung and Hwayoung were threatening to beat Areum and cut her face.
He also goes on to say that Hwayoung never injured her leg at all when she claimed to be injured going so far as to get a cast at the hospital despite no diagnosis or any injury whatsoever.
Some skepticism was the initial response from netizens but then Hyoyoung admitted the texts were true when she said what she did to protect her sister.
Netizens are angry because they played the victims for the past 4 years at great expense to T-ARA who has been forced to endure the label of "bullies" after the infamous witch hunt of 2012.
Areum posted on instagram today thanking the ex manager for passing along the message to the media and sharing his story with the public."

Aw man, it is SUCH a good feeling to know that my girls have finally been cleared of the horrible labels laid upon them. Of course, nothing can bring back the lost time and missed opportunities, but our girls have proved they have the stuff the beat all the odds!
T-ARA HWAITING!!!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

What K-Pop Acts From My Golden Era are Still Intact?

With the news of Rainbow's dissolution, I thought it was time to double check to see which (if any) of the original groups I loved from the first few years of my K-pop Fandom were still around and intact!

1. Girls' Generation

The biggest hit of them all for me was when Jessica was removed from Girls Generation. This group, while still a big favorite of mine, will NEVER be the same without her. She was just that darn important to me.

 2. f(x)

I was shocked when Sulli departed from f(x), thankfully this is one group that has managed to remain just as great as they ever were, thanks to the strengths of the remaining members Luna, Krystal, Amber and Victoria! With their latest album 4Walls reminding me just why I love K-pop so much,  at this moment, f(x) are at the top of my favorite K-pop artists!

3. APink

★★★STILL TOGETHER!!!★★★

Though technically even this group has lost a member, I didn't discover the wonder of these girls until Yookyung had already left the group, and so, for, me, APink are the lineup of  Chorong, Bomi, Naeun, Eunji, Namjoo and Hayoung, and I'm gonna call this one  "Unchanged"!!!

4. Dal Shabet

Another big blow for me as not only my bias Jiyul left the group, but my second favorite member Kaeun as well! I admit to having a hard time dealing with this loss and my fandom of Dal Shabet has never really recovered, sad to say.

5. 4Minute

Another of one my vey FIRST K-pop acts I fell in love with (I My Me Mine may be the very FIRST k-pop song I ever heard!), It's hard to believe 4Minute are gone.

But with HyunA still up and about and a Jiyoon solo project on the horizon it looks like I'll still be able to see these girls in some capacity!

6. 2NE1

I don't know WHAT YG has on his mind lately, but shame on him for letting this seemingly indestructible unit fall apart. People blame Bom for the group's status but in my opinion it was just plain old neglect. How could he just let a group this powerful fester on the sidelines?! Minzy was wise to leave when she did.

7.Kara

Kara, the group that unlocked the door to my K-pop passion. Their first few albums are still some of the best albums out there, ones that I listen to all the time. Gone, but their impact (on me) cannot be measured! Plus, I can still hear Jiyoung grooving it up in the J-pop world! That's reassuring.

 8. T-ara

★★★STILL TOGETHER!!!★★★

Unbelievably, even with all the add-on members, fired members and dropped members and a HELL of a lot of controversy, T-ara have managed to come out (so far) unscathed with ALL SIX of their ORIGINAL members intact! This is the line-up I fell in love with, the ones that did "Bo Peep Bo Peep" and "I'm Really Hurt", and it's amazing they're still together and functioning as well-oiled as ever!

 9. Rainbow

Don't feel right labeling them as disbanded when their contracts don't expire for another couple of weeks, but let's be honest, there's no real chance of anything new coming out from them soon, is there? Good luck, girls, you stuck it out as long as you could!

10. Sistar

★★★STILL TOGETHER!!!★★★

Now HERE'S something to marvel at- Sistar may be the sole group here that are not only still around and knocking the hits outta the ballpark as regular as clockwork, but they're one of the few that have NEVER had any changes done to their line-up. Hyolyn, Bora, Dasom and Soyou were the first and ONLY members of this terrific outfit!

11. Secret

Though Hyosung is my bias in Secret and I think Jiyeon is the voice that holds the group together, I just don't know if I can appreciate Secret without Sunhwa, who was and will always be the "heart" of the group. 

 12. AOA

While it's true that AOA's lineup  of Jimin, ChoA, Yuna, Mina, Seolhyun, Hyejeong and Chanmi can technically be considered "Still Together", it was their harder-rocking Musician side "AOA Black" that I first fell in love with, and with the recent departure of Drummer Youkyung, it looks like that avenue is closed for them. That's a Damn shame, the five member unit was so darn talented. But of course, their sexy, idol side was the one that won out in the end, and I guess it was the right path as they're finally getting the recognition they deserve.

13. Nine Muses

Man, what a mess this group has become. Granted, their  history of rotating members out has always led to a rather tumultuous roster, but the loss of the "heavyweights" of the group: Lee Sem, Euaerin, Eunji, HyunA, Minha and my beloved Sera have rocked this group so much that I can scarcely call the new group with their new members "Nine Muses"anymore.

14. Afterschool

Because of their silly "Graduation" system, Jooyeon and Jungah's departure from Afterschool was expected, but after that, what the heck happened? We have not heard a PEEP out of this group ever since, and it frustrates me to no end thinking that they're just SITTING on the group and letting them fade away!!!! COME ON PLEDIS!!!!

15. Brown Eyed Girls

★★★STILL TOGETHER!!!★★★

 Well, at least I can end this list on a positive note: Jea, Miryo, Narsha, and Ga-In are THE quintessential K-pop Diva act, and they've happily JUST celebrated their 10th annniversary!!!

Congrats for staying around so long, girls!!!! Hope to continue to hear from you in the future as well!!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

T-ara's New Album "And & End": I Wasted A Good Worry

My T-ara "And & End" Album and Poster arrives!!!

 Though it may not look like it with all the new releases I’ve been getting I’ve actually been trying to cut back on my K-pop purchases ever since that Hyosung fiasco with KpopMart. I had such a headache with it that I vowed that unless I really wanted it, I was going to hold off buying any more K-pop stuff “just because”. So when the new T-ara album was announced, I initially decided to wait for awhile…that is, until I HEARD the song! The girls new single “Sugar-Free” was such a Club-Thumping burner, I HAD to have it, and not only ordered the album “And & End”, but the bonus poster besides!
  After I made my purchase order, two days later, forums began uploading images of what appeared to be the cover of the album, and I was taken back because what I saw had to be the most boring freaking K-pop Album Cover of ALL TIME:

  I was to later learn that it was paying homage (or outright ripping-off, depending on whose blog you read) of some Electronic Dance Music artist,(and perhaps in THAT category the minimalistic cover fits), but SERIOUSLY? 6 beautiful girls in T-ara and THIS was the cover? And GADS, I’d even ordered a POSTER of this? I prayed, “PLEASE don’t let THIS be the COVER!”
  My only glimmer of hope was the fact that some forums referred to the cover as the “Dance Edit” single, and in fact, it even said EDM on the cover. Not only that, the album title “And & End” was nowhere to be found on the cover. I know that the cover SAID "Dance Version", but K-pop covers regularly use nonsensical english "catch phrases"to jazz up the design, so it was of little reassurance. I could only cross my fingers and wait.
   Well, today my package FINALLY came in, and as you can see by the top picture, both the album AND the poster were as beautiful as befitting a T-ARA release! 

T-ara "And & End" Front Cover

T-ara "And & End" Back Cover

Jumping Jesus HALLELUJAH, was I RELIEVED! I Guess that original cover WAS an EDM version only, because THIS beautiful cover features those pretty T-ara girls in all their Gorgeous Glory! WHEW!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Autographed T-ara!!!

 Out of all the K-pop groups I love, I've managed to get coveted autographed CD copies from just about all of them, but one that I'd never come across was anything for CCM's turbulent flagship group T-ARA, so I was excited to find that K-Pop Dealer Soompi was offering an autographed special for member Jiyeon's first solo venture "Never Ever".
 I jumped on THAT offer, and as I waited impatiently for that special to wrap up so I could get my copy, a fellow T-ara fan on a forum I frequent announced he was selling some of his K-pop collection, and right there in the middle of it all was an autographed copy of T-ara's repackage album "FUNKY-TOWN"! To have a signed album was cool enough, but Funkytown was if fact my very FAVORITE album from T-ara! I just HAD to get it!!!
  Well, that transaction went through smoothly, and whaddaya know- the VERY WEEK that I got my Autographed copy of Funkytown was the SAME WEEK that my autographed Jiyeon CD came in! Whooot, it was a real United States of T-ara time over here!!!

Jiyeon's Never Ever contents

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Awesome "Stars Of K-Pop" Book

 Visiting the local Barnes and Nobles the other day, and came across a K-pop related book called “Stars Of K-Pop”, one version featuring guys (showing Gangnam Style sensation PSY on the cover) and another with the Girls (with, naturally, 4Minute’s HyunA on that cover). I immediately grabbed it up and WOW, was it just FILLED with gorgeous photos and information, and all in English, to boot! Flipping through its pages and seeing all the beautiful photos inside, it occurred to me that though I had folders full of pictures of my favorite idols on my computer desktop, I actually didn’t have much when it came to physical books to hold!

Girls Generation

 The book (well, the Girls’ Version, anyway, I’m sorry to say I didn’t even bother to pick up the guy version) focused on what are generally regarded as the top K-pop acts, and I was happy to note that for the most part, every single one of my favorite K-artists were listed there! From Girls Generation to 2NE1 all the way down through to Crayon Pop, it showed colorful pictures accompanied by information regarding group stats and album releases:

...as well as individual member bios-

 WOW! This was JUST what an English speaking K-pop Fan NEEDS!

My first thought was how amazing it was that a domestic publisher in Hawaii got everything so right, but looking at the credits on the inside, I think this might have originally been a Korean Released book that got translated into English, or complied from Korean sources. In fact, they credit Kpop Stars News, but I'm really not sure. Whoever it is. they sure researched their subjects well! Look at all of these awesome groups this book covered- and what incredible pics, too!

2NE1

4Minute

Kara

f(x)

f(x) 2

Secret

Sistar

Afterschool

Afterschool2

Apink

Apink2

Brown Eyed Girls

Girl's Day

T-ara

MissA

Rainbow

Crayon Pop

  Just about the only K-pop Group I love that DIDN’T get covered in this fine, fine book is Dal Shabet, happily, that is the ONE group that I actually DO have physical photo books from (the incredible “For Darling” picture book that came with the Have, Don’t Have album) so at least I won’t be lacking for pics in THAT department!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com