Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
Like I’ve been saying, every feature that I’ve added or revived this year has been with the goal of covering as much ground as possible while doing as little work as possible.
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Since Google has informed me that I will be penalized for reposting content (with consent or not) and I can’t do that anymore, here’s reviews from The Bias List in the year-end list range for him (8.75+) that I didn’t find review worthy.
The Bias List: YENA – “Smiley“
The Bias List: VICTON – “Chronograph“
The Bias List: Changmin (TVXQ) – “Maniac“
The Bias List: Jinjin & Rocky (Astro) – “Just Breathe“
The Bias List: Johnny’s West – “Reimei“
The Bias List: Kimura Takuya – “I’ll Be There“
The Bias List: Snow Man – “Brother Beat“
Yeah, a grand total of four Korean songs. Honestly, the more K-pop reviewers I read, the more I find that I’m not completely alone in thinking 2022 has been off to a slow start.
Tracking back a bit, the same goes for Korean Indie in terms of not being able to republish, unfortunately.
Korean Indie: The Poles – ‘The High Tide Club‘
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Pann Choa: I know the OP is supposedly in their 20s, but at least mentally, you get where their maturity level is from stuff like this. No idea why International netizens regurgitate so many of their takes.
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VICE: An article highlighting the work fan translators do, including the downsides to it.
“I don’t like it, to be honest,” Misa admitted. “I’d love to be seen as just a regular fan who’s able to fangirl over my favorite artists, but I feel like a lot of people take what I say as an official statement. I can’t even say that I love this member’s hair today without anyone being like, ‘Oh, what about the other members’ hair?’ I can’t be a personal account anymore, and it’s kind of sad. But it is what it is.”
Their role nowadays is both not as important due to more stuff being subbed by companies and more important because of the sheer demand, but especially in the first/second generation, these were the people that powered K-pop towards where it’s at now.
Billboard: Friend of the site Patrick St. Michel wrote about that The Wonder Girls movie. It was about as expected.
“Harris, meanwhile, had previously worked with Lader on music videos, and came on board initially as a cast director. First, though, everyone involved needed a first draft of the script to come in. ‘The script was … a bit offensive,’ Harris says. ‘We were putting Koreans into America, and the script was relying on stereotypical jokes.’ She stepped up and volunteered to take a look at it. She cleaned up the rough bits – which, beyond racist gags, also included the main American character and love interest of member Yenny being named ‘DJ Nuts, or something relating to a man’s parts.’ She changed his name to DJ Skillz, and tightened everything else up, all without losing the TeenNick vibe. ‘I didn’t have a huge background in anything Korean, but I know when something is a bit insensitive,’ she says.”
Oh yeah, baby, the original was even more stereotypical and racist.
‘DJ Nuts’ would’ve been welcome, tho.
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The Korea Herald: An article talking about politicians fueling the anti-feminist backlash against idols.
“When the target is branded as someone vulnerable who cannot protect themselves, they are more prone to attacks from male dominant online communities,” said culture critic Sohn Hee-jeong. “They feel they have the right to attack because they have spent so much money and attention and they almost feel betrayed.” Visiting professor Lee Jong-im in graduate studies in journalism and communication at Kyung Hee University said while it is already hard for celebrities to comment on politics and social issues in South Korea, it is even harder for idols. “Idols are expected to stick to this made-up image of pureness. When gender conflict is thrown into the mix, talking about their stories or values go beyond the realm of idols the public expect them to stay in,” Lee said. Professor Lee said the expectations placed on female idols and streamers by men are “narrow.”
In a recent interview with The Korea Herald, Rep. Jang Hye-young of the Justice Party said backlash against feminism surged in recent years in Korea as discussions over women’s safety and feminism grew. “Though there is widespread support for the idea that gender discrimination, the gender pay gap and violence against women need to stop, feminists have earned this label as a group of extremists, something to be disliked along the process,” Jang said.
With Yoon Suk Yeol‘s recent win, speaking out is going to be even harder for anybody to do, and the backlash against anybody even hinting at it is likely to be swifter.
Think it’s important to keep in mind how conservative-dominated the media in Korea is when reacting to issues like this, or any issue, really.
