Love Me Tender

So Wonder girls got a boost in exposure by being featured (and praised!) by none other than Perez Hilton himself. Talk about lucky! And they’re not even the most talented artists in the mainstream Korean music industry. This might actually have benefits for BoA since she’s planning to debut in the US in the near future. I was really ticked off by some of the ignorant comments made on the post though. There were so many comments perpetuating stereotypes of East Asians with broken English, exoticizing East Asian women as sex objects, and just references to East Asain restaurants (as if that’s all they can succeed in, in America). Honestly, it is disgusting how much racism there still is. Anyway, I hope this exposure helps Korean artists trying to break into the American music industry. I hope that with representations from East Asians who don’t fit the stereotype of idiotic jesters that ignorance against Koreans and other East Asians (who tend to be lumped into a huge category despite their vast diversity) can diminish.

You can read the Perez’s post on the Wonder Girls here.

From me and all these pretty (and mostly plastic) faces.

(Read on …)

I think I should clarify something, especially with regards to my last post. When I criticize a decision or action a person/ party makes it does not mean I hate them. I actually do like Wonder Girls and Ayumi. The South Korean army..well I don’t have any particular feelings for them. My last post wasn’t supposed to give the impression that I hate the parties. I just think that they made foolish decisions. It’s just my opinion and should be taken with a grain of salt. I’m obviously biased just like everyone else.

I have noticed that I have been posting more negative posts than happy ones. So here is a happy one. Coolsmurf subbed the second part of Wonder Girls (Ye Eun) on Happy Shares. I enjoyed watching the cuts. Here are the links to both episodes. =)

Episode 197: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Episode 198: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

References:
1. Coolsmurf: Cuts and subs
2. Coolsmurf’s Youtube account: Video links

Sometimes I am baffled at how stupid people/parties can be. First off the South Korean army is using the Wonder Girls and their popularity from their song Tell Me to promote the Army’s theme song in hopes to seem friendly to the public. WTF?! The only thing I take the army to be after this move is a joke. Who can really take a military organization seriously when they use five minor girls who shake their booty to stardom as their ‘friendly’ representatives. Especially when they are scared of soldiers because they all look the same. I bet the rest of the world’s militaries are laughing at South Korea’s army, because I certainly am.

Another piece of stupidity that I read about was Ayumi Hamasaki’s decision to continue performing despite completely losing her hearing in her left ear. She has known about her condition since last year and has stated that “Nevertheless, I would like to continue as a singer. That’s why I would like to continue singing until I reach the limit with my remaining right ear…I won’t stop. I won’t make excuses. As a professional, I would like to deliver the best performance for everyone” (source). At what point does being a profession equate to being a dumbass? As an individual if you want to be stupid and sacrifice your hearing completely then that is your decision. But as a role model, what kind of message are you sending to your fans and to the public? That it is acceptable to abuse your body for the sake of popularity, fame, and respect? I’m sorry, but that is nonsense. I would think that as an adult Ayu would be more intelligent. I don’t think it is a healthy message to send out and I do not see her as being loyal or selfless for her decision. To be selfless is to sacrifice any personal benefits from your actions, which she is not. She is being praised by mindless parties which results in increased respect, and is using her hearloss as publicity for her Asian tour. She is definately business oriented, which comes at the price of being a responsible human being.

References:
1. Asian Bites: Wonder Girls army song information
2. Wonder Girls Wonderland: So Hee scared of soldiers information
3. Asian Bites: Ayumi Hamasaki’s hearing loss information