Korean music
-
It’s been a while…
It’s been almost two months since my last post. Ever since I started writing this blog over five years ago, this is probably the longest I’ve ever gone without updating it. So why haven’t I? The short answer is that I simply didn’t feel like it. I do enjoy writing this blog, but for the…
-
A night out in Seoul
When being in a city like Seoul one must take advantage of some of the cultural offers that a big city has to offer. There are always a ton of plays, concerts, and musicals and it can be hard to pick which one to go to. Last Friday I went with my friend Nicky to…
-
Making progress
I’m starting to regain my energy and concentration. I’m slowly starting to recognize my reflection in the mirror. I’m sleeping better with fewer nightmares. I feel stronger. Physically and mentally. I feel healthier. I even sometimes feel happy. Although it only comes in glimpses – yet. I’ve completed all my sessions with my therapist. I’ve…
-
The Korean national anthem
Wow, it apparently took me almost two weeks of 2018 before I finally got around to updating my blog. Happy (very belated) new year. I also just realized that I can celebrate my 3-year anniversary with my blog this January. I feel like so much has happened in that time. So, with the arrival of…
-
This week in Kpop-land
I have a confession to make: I’ve actually liked Kpop for a looong time. Since 2008 to be precise. Obviously back then, I had no idea about what they were singing, but man I just loved Big Bang, Rain, and Wondergirls, and I still get super nostalgic when I hear the song “Haru Haru.” Even…
-
Big Bang is back!
This week, Korean boy band Big Bang released their new album, and two singles have already reached several million views on youtube. I’m a big fan of learning Korean through songs since there are often so many cool expressions to learn from pop songs. I love learning slang (신조어) and cool expressions, although I’m under strict…
-
Kpop Friday, November edition
It’s been such a long time since I’ve done a “Kpop Friday” post. The song I’ll be introducing today is called “Blood, sweat and tears”, or in Korean “피 땀 눈물” (pi ttam nunmul). It’s perfomed by the Korean boy band BTS, whose members are famous for rocking their signature look of “fifty shades of…
-
The Korean concept of “han”
“Korea has a lot of han.” This is usually the explanation, when foreigners wonder why Koreans seem to have a particular preference for movies and dramas with tragic endings over the Hollywood sugar-coated happy ending. This is probably also the reason why the classic movie “Love Story” from 1970 was such a big hit in Korea.…
-
Cheer up, baby
This is the title of a K-pop song which, apart from the soundtrack to “Descendants of the sun”, is playing EVERYWHERE in Seoul this summer. It’s annoyingly catchy, although it can be debated if the girl group TWICE is really pronouncing the three-word English chorus correctly. This video is the epitome of Korean girly cuteness, a…
-
New Korean books, new motivation
I haven’t been updating the blog for a while, but don’t take this as a sign that I haven’t been studying Korean. In fact, I’m probably studying harder than ever. I recently received books 9 and 10 in the Integrated Korean series. Being the “high advanced” level, they complete the whole series. There are 10…
Sofie to Korea 