Korean Class Massive

The Actresses, a 40% Review

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 23:09:00 +0000

Just thinking back to the movie makes me feel a bit nauseous. More about that later but first: as part of a "The Year of the 12 Directors" organised by the Korean Culture Centre, director E J-Yong came to answer a few questions about his 2009 movie. E J-Yong is the 2nd director of this series and you can read about the first director here. As part of the E J-Yong month, the KCC screened his earlier movies such as Dasepo Naughty Girls and Untold Scandal. Having seen Dasepo Naughty girls before I somehow expected something very bizarre, colourful and quirky. Before the movie started, the director came to greet us and say a few words about the movie. He explained that the actresses in this movie are very well known in Korea and people know a lot about their personal lives. So the effect it would have on us would be different. I imagine it would be like if Angelina Jolie, Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez and Judy Dench were in a room together, actresses who are very present in the public eye and whom we feel we know personally.

The Actresses is advertised on the concept that it is a docudrama. The program states that E J-yong "mixes reality with fiction by bringing together top actresses to play themselves on screen." It played on the idea that it was mostly improvisation and what we are about to witness is a kind of documentary on the gossips and tales told during a delayed photoshoot. We expect up front and very intimate feelings to be revealed, to see a very different side to all these well known actresses.

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M-Live's Stand Up tour

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 12:42:00 +0000

The FNC Family in Osaka with their Golden Disc Awards last month

You may or may not remember our post from November when it was announced that FT Island and CN Blue were looking to expand into Europe (UK and France in particular) in 2012. Now that 2012 is upon us, FT Island and CN Blue are preparing for their LA gig in 2 weeks time. This LA gig is the first date on their 'Stand Up' tour and was brought to us by M-live, created by CJ E&M. We have spoken about CJ E&M before and M-live which is a "branded concert" project, where CJ E&M help Korean artists promote and engage into the international market. The Manager Ahn Seck Jun even left us with a little teaser: “we plan to introduce not only idol bands but also various genre bands to Europe and other countries”. You can read more about this company and their amazing plans in our previous post .

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Text Book Give Away

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:01:00 +0000

The Sejong course has been going for about a month now, how are all the new successful applicants finding it? For us its been an intense few weeks, lots of homework done! We are now in intermediate classes, and we have a new Korean teacher and a new text book. We hope new and old students alike are all enjoying the class!

But for those unlucky ones who didn't get a place in the course, never fear, the MASSIVE are here! The wonderful Romeo from The East has given us a few text books to give away to help all those who are home schooling themselves in Korean.

We have four copies of The National Institute of the Korean Language: Reading Korean for Beginners and two copies of The National Institute of the Korean Language: Speaking Korean for Beginners to give away.

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Pancake Day, Korean style!

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:52:00 +0000

Pajeon. Credit for pic here

I'm sure we all know it's Pancake Day tomorrow, but instead of the traditional English staple of pancakes with lemon and sugar, why not try to mix it up a little this year, and try out some Korean pancakes! This Shrove Tuesday, make it not Pancake Day, but Jeon/전 and Hotteok/호떡 Day! We promise that you won't regret it, and will have some delicious savoury and sweet snacks to share around your family and friends.

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HMV Feb update

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 11:05:00 +0000

Since the HMV Flashmob which resulted in a number of Kpop albums being sold out in store at HMV Oxford Circus, there has been a restock!!! Mr HMV has recently tweeted that they were looking to expand in March and asked for suggestions of any new artists he should invest in (you can see our post about it HERE or make sure you follow Mr HMV @pauljn77hmv). Quite a few bands were suggested and seeing as we know Mr HMV is a bit of a Ahjusshi fan, a number of female idols/groups were suggested such as Rainbow, IU and F(x), as well as some MBLAQ and more Shinee albums. But it seems that Mr HMV already had some tricks up his sleeve as during our latest visit to HMV we spotted F(x)'s latest album and indeed more Shinee albums!!!

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Exhibitions - Preview: SASAPARI:4482 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 12:34:00 +0000

Returning for its 5th year, 4482 [SASAPARI] returns and promises to showcase some of the best and most innovative Korean graduate artists in the UK at the moment.

Blond Ambition

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:43:00 +0000

How many ears do bunnys have?! :D

Happy Friday everyone! Heres something silly to help start your weekend! We are well into the new year of the Dragon now but let us go back to 2011, the year of the Golden Bunny. Last year saw a lot of idols in Kpopdom go blond. Coincidence? We think not. And now EPIC new group B.A.P (Best. Absolute. Perfect.) seems adamant to continue the golden streak into 2012...
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HMV expanding Kpop

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:46:00 +0000

Continuing on from our previous post about the importance of making sure we all purchase our music legally, HMV, the UK's first major retailer of Kpop music merchandise, has decided to expand their Kpop collection!!!

As tweeted by Mr Ahjusshi fan:

Exhibitions - A New Space Around the Body (1st - 28th February 2012)

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:24:00 +0000

The Korean Cultural Centre's latest exhibition, "A New Space Around the Body: Emerging Korean Fashion Designers" is running from the 1st of this month until the 28th, and showcases pieces from upcoming Korean fashion designers whose works are "characterised by humour, hypothetical worlds and highly sculptural creations".

London Anime Con J/K Pop Party

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 10:44:00 +0000

On Saturday night, the MASSIVE got their dancing shoes on and headed to the London Anime Con for the mini J/K Pop party. We were promised a 2 hour set of an equal share of Japanese and Korean pop. There were some technical difficulties at first and the clubbing event began with just JPop being played. But after help from a very beautiful Kpop fan and lots of techy stuff by the crew, us Kpop fans got what we came for, a FULL SOLID HOUR of the stuff!!!

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LoKo London Kpop Dance Workshop (February)

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 19:32:00 +0000

You may remember we reported on the LoKo crew and went to their Kpop workshop that happened last December. Well, we didn't get enough of them last time, so headed off to the first LoKo workshop of the year to get our boogie on!

Profitable Hallyu Wave

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:37:00 +0000

Korean Album productions are EPIC!

The UK Kpop fandom welcomed in 2012 with the expectation of being hit by a MASSIVE Hallyu wave. Whispers of a big concert in summer time, CN Blue, FT Island and many other exciting things were spinning the UK Kpop rumour mill. But we start February with the sad news that Beast has postponed their return and many Jay Walkers are still waiting for Mr Park. Why is it taking so long for the Kpop Hallyu wave to really hit our shores?

Korean Red Day ❤

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 11:19:00 +0000

Whether you love it or hate it 발렌타인 일 or Valentines Day to you and me, is just around the corner and ready to pounce. In fact, all the shops have been hounding us with images of red hearts and chubby flying babies since Christmas finished and they are really pushing the heart shaped boxes of chocolates and teddy bears so that they can start shelving all the Easter eggs...

So whats the norm for our friends on the other side of the world on this commercial holiday? Well, to all the female readers, you might want to hide this from all your guys in your life. 14th February is Red Day and girls are supposed to give out chocolates to all the men in their lives as Wiki has wonderfully put it: as an expression of love, courtesy or social obligation. Normal male friends get standard supermarket chocolates, but extra effort is put into the chocolates for your crush/partner. It's very common in Asia to even make your own chocolate candy as seen here by GaIn.

Spicing up London's streets - Kimchi Cult!

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Picture belongs to Kimchi Cult

Ever wondered if there was anyone out there serving fast, accessible, and most importantly delicious Korean style fast food on London's streets? Well wonder no longer! Kimchi Cult has been offering up a slice of Korean fast food heaven since April 2011. If you don't know about them already, prepare to want to eat their food!

HMV Kpop Flash Mob

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:27:00 +0000

The HMV Flash Mob to promote Kpop at HMV (which we first told you about here) took place last Saturday, much to the confusion of many people who were casually browsing the isles. Despite a bit of a panic earlier on in the morning if anyone would end up turning up, we were all really pleased how the day turned out.

The Flash Mob also gave us at Korean Class MASSIVE a chance to finally meet the other people we'd been planning the day with. It was great to meet up with Hallyu UK and some of the people from UnitedKpop!

Kpop Academy from the Korean Cultural Centre, London

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 22:39:00 +0000

With the success of Kpop in the UK booming recently, the Korean Cultural Centre in London has just announced that it will now run a "Kpop Academy". And what is a Kpop academy you ask? Let me reveal all for you!

Korean Film Reviews: The Front Line (고지전)

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 00:19:00 +0000

Name: The Front Line (고지전)
Running time: 133 minutes
Director: Jang Hun
Actors: Go Soo, Shin Ha Kyun, Ko Chang Seok, Lee Je Hoon
Genre: War, Historical, Action
Notes: Images of war and everything that goes with that
Where can I get it? Available to buy from Cine Asia on the 27th February

Year of the 12 Directors: Lee Myung Se

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:34:00 +0000

Due to the success of the last 'London Korean Film Festival', the Korean Cultural Centre in London is bringing over a Korean director each month for this year in what's being called the 'Year of the 12 Directors'.

Over the past four years, the Korean Cultural Centre has hosted Korean film nights, but have decided to shake up their programme by having four film screenings a month with all the films being from the same director- three at the Korean Cultural Centre's building, and the last of the month at the Apollo Cinema, Piccadilly. At the last screening of the month, at the Apollo cinema, the director will attend and stay for a Q&A session at the end of the film. This will be a great opportunity for Korean film buffs and fans alike out there to get to see, and even question, some of the leading Korean directors out there.

In total, the 12 directors visiting this year are: Jan - Lee Myung Se, Feb - E J Yong, March - Park Kwang Su, April - Song Il Gon, May - Jeon Kye Soo, June - Lee Jun Ik, July - Lee Hyun Seung, Aug - Lee Yoon Ki, Sept - Jeon Kyu Hwan, Oct - Im Kwon Taek, Nov - Song Hae Song, Dec - Lim Soon Rye.

Korean Film Reviews: The Duelist (형사)

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:51:00 +0000

Film Poster (picture source)

Name: The Duelist (형사)
Running time: 111 minutes
Director: Lee Myung Se
Genre: Thriller, Historical, Mystery, Comedy (A little bit of everything?)
Certificate: 12
Notes: Violence, but not of a disturbing nature. If you're expecting a serious and historically accurate film, you've got the wrong DVD!

As part of the Korean Cultural Centre's new 'The Year of the 12 Directors' campaign, "The Duelist" was shown as the last film of the month, and was followed by a Q&A with the lovely director, Lee Myung Se (interview post to come later).

NB: This trailer makes the film look a lot more 'serious' than it actually is

Jang-gu Performance at UKFC New Malden Meeting

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 00:51:00 +0000

Korean Class MASSIVE has been to a couple of London Kpop Lovers nights in New Malden now, but last Wednesday's party had an extra bonus for all who went. These nights, hosted by United Korean Fan Club at the Han restaurant in New Malden, usually involve free noraebang for two hours (great deal!) then having a good old chat. Introduced this week were some new things. No, I'm not talking about the name tags, but a great jang-gu performance and new DJ!

For those of you who might not know much about this musical instrument (like us before we saw it), the jang-gu (장구) is a traditional hour-glass shaped drum, usually played with the buk (북) which is a barrel drum, a large gong called a jing (징), and a small gong called a kkwaenggwari (꽹과리). When played together, they form a musical genre which is called Samulnori (사물놀이). Samulnori can be broken down into samul, which means "four objects" (사물) and nori, which means "play" (놀이). There's lots to learn about these traditional instruments, for instance, each one represents a different type of weather (jang-gu = rain, kkwaenggwari = thunder, jing = wind, buk = clouds).

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Siwon's London Adventure Continues

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:41:00 +0000

It seems as though Siwon is still loving the thrill of the chase. Usually when idols and celebrities go on holiday, they go out of their way to keep their anonymity, but not Siwon! Not content with tweeting pictures of landmarks and places he'd gone to in London, he has now revealed where he is staying and for how long. Great for the fans, but such a sensible idea for him.....not so sure on that one.

UK fans over the past week have discovered that Siwon is a bit of a cheeky lad. He has continually tweeted pictures of where he is and asking people to find him, but will have disappeared by the time fans get to his last known location. Is revealing his hotel the latest move in his game to see how many fans will try to find him? Only a lucky few have so far found him, and got their promised kisses (on the hand mind you). But with at least three more days of Siwon in the UK, there's still plenty of time for his fun cat and mouse game to continue.

We hope that Siwon's having a great time checking out the sights in London. However we hope he doesn't tease his fans too much, I'm not sure how much more walking around London ELFs' legs can take!

London is the place to be over Seollal! Kang Gary makes an appearance!

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:42:00 +0000

While everyone is still playing Siwon's cat and mouse/hide and seek game, it seems there's another Korean celebrity who's revealed they're in London today. None other than Running Man's Kang Gary tweeted a photo earlier, showing him outside London's Hilton by Hyde Park!

I'm a huge fan of Running Man, and would love to meet him. I wonder if he'll run into any fans while here? Now all we need is the rest of the Running Man crew and you'd have an amazing episode! Can you imagine Running Man in The Natural History Museum or The Royal Albert Hall? The possibilities.....

Stay in London a while Gary and have fun!

Korean New Year (Seolnal/설날) - Let's Celebrate Everyone!

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:03:00 +0000

Happy Lunar New Year Everyone! 새해 복 많이 받으세요!

But what actually happens during the New Year celebrations and what can we do at home to celebrate? This great video from Korea.net will help you learn about the Lunar New Year festivities.

To anyone celebrating this New Year, have a great time!

Hide and Seek with Siwon in London? - UPDATE 23/01/12

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:04:00 +0000

Super Junior's Siwon has been teasing fans today over his twitter account. Earlier on this morning, he tweeted a mystery picture of a street, and asked his fans to "guess where I am".

Quick to respond to his fun game, fans soon discovered that the picture he posted is in our very own London! In fact, some clever people used the buildings to narrow down the location to Saint Christopher's Place near to Oxford and Bond Street. There were even some rumours that Siwon would be appearing on tonight's "Songs of Praise", which have caused much hilarity.

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4th Feb HMV Flash Mob

noreply@blogger.com (Korean Class MASSIVE) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 14:21:00 +0000

We've been reporting on the new Kpop section at for quite a while now (our latest outing to HMV revealed that Kpop was now on the ground floor there), and it seems that HMV has enjoyed much success with selling this music genre. Now that HMV knows they have a market for Kpop, they want to let everyone else know about this great section, and what better way to do this than a flash mob!

Korean Class MASSIVE, along with UnitedKpop (who initially suggested to HMV how lucrative Kpop could be) and Hallyu UK have come together to organise an in store flash mob with the permission of the HMV management. This flash mob will be to help promote Kpop to a wider audience, and if successful may even help Kpop begin to be stocked in more HMV shops, and help for fan meets to happen there in the future.