Love Me Tender

My cousin (who is teaching English in South Korea) came back last week for a visit and she brought me some nifty trinkets. First off, she got me a portable kid’s chopstick and spoon set. It’s so cute! And because the chopsticks are made for kids, they are shorter and easier to use =D. Don’t ask me why there is a syringe on the case…I’ve noticed that Korean things tend to be random.

Secondly she got me a pen (actually, I think she gave this to my sister, but shh!) and a couple’s cellphone charm set. I got the boy and he got the girl. When I was looking at the pen though, I noticed the same figure of the man from my cellphone charm on the pen. Hmm…she either got it at the same store, which has a bunch of men with hearts cut out of their chest, or it is a popular item in Korea. Has anyone else seen this before?

I’ve been wondering what Shinhwa has been up to lately. I wasn’t sure if they were each doing individual projects until they each got drafted (minus Hye Sung since he won’t be going), but alas! They are going to be having a few concerts soon. First up is their 10th anniversary concert in Seoul (March 29 & 30) to celebrate their tenth year since debut. It will be Minwoo, Eric and Dong Wan’s last concert in Korea until they finish their military service. Can you believe that it’s been almost 10 years since that Usha Usha video? Oh goodness…they were all so small. Their second set of concerts will be held in Tokyo, Japan (April 18 & 19) and will be Shinhwa’s last concert together in Japan until all the members are back (except Hey Sung) from the army.

Ten years together and they still can’t come to Canada…*sigh*. For all you lucky LA people (yet again!), you can catch Minwoo and Hye Sung perform at the Peace Concert on April 5. For the rest of us, we can sit at home and watch youtube clips of them on variety shows and dramas.

References:
1. Asianbite: 10th anniversary concert info
2. Asianbite: Tokyo concert info
3. Contagious Melody: Peace Concert info

There was a fire at Namdaemun/Sungnyemun, which is a historic gate located in the heart of Seoul, South Korea. According to a witness taxicab driver, while he was waiting for a customer he saw a man in his fifties walk up the stairs to the gate and later saw sparks coming from the area. Soon after the man walked down the stairs and left the area. The taxi driver drove around the area trying to find the man, but was unsuccessful. Here is the editorial posted in the Korea Times.

Arson Suspected in Namdaemun Fire
By Lee Hyo-sik
Staff Reporter

A fire broke out at Sungnyemun _ more commonly known as Namdaemun, meaning South Gate in Korean _ a historic structure from the Joseon Kingdom located in the center of Seoul, Sunday night, causing a major problem for firefighters.

The fire occurred around 8:50 p.m., police said. About 30 fire trucks along with 90 firefighters rushed to the scene to bring the blaze under control. There were no reports of any casualties and the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, they said.

According to firefighters, Namdaemun did not seem to sustain major damage other than minor burning to the area underneath the roof.

Police suspect someone deliberately started the fire as a taxi driver, identified only by his surname Lee, said he saw a man in his 50s go up the stairs of the gate with a shopping bag, while he was waiting to pick up a customer in the nearby area.

(Read on …)

As you may already know, twelve out of the thirteen Super Junior members are co-hosts on a show called Exploring the Human Body. I didn’t know how entertaining they were until I watched some. I need to download them and burn them on a disk so I can watch them whenever I’m having a crappy day. For now I’ve been watching then on youtube. The quality for these clips aren’t that bad. Here are the links that are up (that I know of).

Episode 7 (Dec 23, 2007): Testing human flexibility
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Episode 8 (Dec 30, 2007): Learning about tears
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5

Episode 11 (Jan 20, 2008): Testing arrow scenes from historical dramas
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Episode 12 (Feb 3, 2008): Testing the skill of scent dogs
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

When I was watching episode 8, I was trying to cry along with them. It is hard to cry on the spot! And even harder: trying not to laugh when enacting a serious crying scene with a SUJU member while the rest of the goofballs are being loserfaces in the background. HAHA! That girl deserves a chocolate bar.

References:
1. Muishie: Uploading and subbing the videos

Seems like a lot more celebrities are going to head off to the army soon. Most of them have been avoiding it for years but it has finally come to bite them in the ass.

Enrolling in 2008:
Feb 11 - Haha
Mar 04 - Tony Ahn (H.O.T.)
Unknown - Eric Mun (Shinhwa)
Unknown - Eru
Unknown - Kim Dong Wan (Shinhwa)
Unknown - Wheesung

Currently serving:
Chun Jung Myung
Jang Woo Hyuk (H.O.T.)
Kim Jong Min (Koyote)
Lee Seung Jin (NRG)
No Yoo Min (NRG)
Psy
Skull

There are probably more that I don’t know about so I’ll add to the list when I find out. =P