2009 Seoul International Book Fair

The Seoul International Book Fair is this weekend at the COEX, May 13 - 17.
This is my first time hearing about SIBF, but from the looks of the website both international and domestic books will be featured. The "guest of honor" for this year's fair is Japan. That should be interesting. I am particularly interested in checking out the Children's Literature section.

The Book Fair opens today, but it's only open to professionals. The fairs is open to the public May 14 -17 Check out the website for more details.

Seoul International Book Fair
May 13 - 17
http://www.sibf.or.kr
Hall A(Pacific Hall) & Hall B(Indian Hall), COEX, Seoul

- Korean Publishers
- International Publishers
- Rights Center
- Seoul International Book Arts Fair
- E-books
- Special Exhibitions
- Events
- Seminars

Look,이모. It's Alex!

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Last year (just a couple of weeks ago) I attended "Sweet December" a joint concert between ballad singers Park Jung Hyun and Alex. Though I am a fan of both singers, I hadn't intended to go to the concert, especially since we were in the midst of winter intensive classes. But then, my cousin N's close friend and incidentally, mother of one of my students, Mrs. K. graciously invited me to the concert after hearing that I was a fan of Alex' music. It was an offer I couldn't refuse. Truly. It would have been rude.

Plus, she offered to take me back stage to meet Alex. How could I refuse?

Before the concert, thanks to Mrs. K's contact, we went backstage to meet Alex, and, by "meet" I mean say hello and then take a quick photo. He was scheduled to go on stage in 30 minutes, so our meet and greet was understandably rushed.

The only thing I can say after meeting Alex is that he's WAY smaller in person. I know that the camera adds ten pounds, but the WGM cameras must have added at least thirty, because I never would have guessed that he was so slim. Maybe the concert schedule had him running ragged, but Alex definitely needs some kim bap, STAT. His face was not much bigger than mine.

(This only leads me to wonder how small some of the really tiny actresses are in real life.)

The photo below does not adequately convey how small Alex is.















I quite enjoyed the concert. As typical of ballad concerts in Korea, the show was a little sappy, (The overarching theme of Sweet December, if I understood correctly, was about how relationships can be sweeter after a couple has broken up, and then gotten back together) but both artists performed some of my favorite songs.

The concert took place in the Olympic Fencing Stadium. I would have enjoyed the music in a more intimate setting, but I shouldn't complain. We had some pretty awesome seats. We were quite close to the stage. We could have rushed Alex if we wanted -- not that we would. Ballad fans don't really get out of hand. They usually just wave their glow sticks to the music. The only fan that got out of hand was an ajumma who ran up to the stage to get a photo of Alex in action. The security girls had to tackle her, and drag the woman back to her seat. Oh, that Alex. He makes the ajummas go crazy.



Though I like Alex's music, the highlight of the evening was probably Park Jung Hyun's aka Lena Park's performances. She has a very peculiar, almost nasal, singing voice, but it's also surprisingly powerful. One of those voices you either hate or love. I, for one, am a fan of her voice. She even sang one of my favorites. It brought me back to my sophomore year in college.




Thanks to my cousin N. and Mrs. K for inviting me to the concert, and gracias to my other cousin, VP for accompanying me.

He sings. He dances. Apparently, he steals things.

Cyndi and I went to see "Jason Mraz Live in Seoul" at the Melon AX Concert Hall. I think Cyndi would agree with me when I say that the concert was grrrrrrrrrrrreaaaaaaaat! I've been wanting to see Jason Mraz live in concert for awhile now. I never expected to see him in Seoul.

The Melon AX is a great little venue. It's medium sized, so you can get a pretty nice view no matter where you're seated. For this particular concert, the bottom floor was standing room only, while the second floor balcony were all seats. We sat in the third row! Early bird gets the worm, people. The standing section looked pretty fun, but I didn't want to risk being stuck behind some tall people.

(To get to the Melon AX. Take the subway to Kwangnaru. Take exit 2. Cross the street. Walk towards the large metal sphere. You should be able to spot the Melon AX from there.)

I could only snap a single picture of Jason Mraz before one of the concert nazis told me to turn my camera off. They were quite vigilant throughout the whole night. I'm sure there's a good reason why they want me to refrain from non-flash photography, but I just can't think of any. Why are they so harsh with personal photography? Anything I manage to capture would only be adequate for youtube or my blog. I even turned off my flash. Sheesh.














Koreans love Jason Mraz. The concert hall was packed. I've only been to two other concerts in Korea (Lovefesta & Sung Si Kyung), but from what I've observed, Koreans make a very responsive audience. They hooted and hollered at practically everything Jason Mraz did. Bantered about the rain. Hahahahaha! Tuned his guitar. Wooohooooooo! Did a little shuffle. Awwwwwwwww! Drank a sip of water. Yaaaaaaaaaay!

Someone needs to calculate coefficients and what-not, because there seems to be a high correlation between the level of Jason Mraz love and English proficiency amongst Koreans. I know that there were a number of North American folks, but the predominantly Korean crowd all seemed to respond appropriately to Jason Mraz's jokes and asides, as if they understood every word he said. The only part that seemed to confuse them was his bit in Espanol.

The crowd was also surprisingly vocal. They kept shouting his name and saying "I love you." My favorite comment had to be the burly male voice from the back that shouted "Sarang hae!" Boys love Jason Mraz too!

Jason Mraz is so darn charming. He is truly even more winning live in concert. I bet he'd make a perfect road trip buddy. Either that or I wish I could shrink him, stick him on my dashboard, and have him sing for me as I drive along the 101. I think both Cyndi and I now intend to purchase more of his music-- um, not that I didn't purchase the Mraz songs currently on my iPod...



















This concert was actually my gift to my favorite cousin Cyndi (Her birthday's on 08/08/08. Take note, people!). It's actually a pretty selfish gift given the fact that Jason Mraz is one of my favorite singers and Cyndi was only familiar with a handful of singles. I think Cyndi enjoyed the concert nonetheless. (Right, Cyndi? Don't worry. I will make you seaweed soup on your birthday too!)














I couldn't get any decent footage from the concert, but I hope you'll enjoy my Jason Mraz playlist on Imeem.

North Korea vs South Korea

Yesterday evening we attended a preliminary World Cup soccer, I mean, football match between Korea DPR (North Korea) and South Korea. This was my first ever live FIFA game, but more importantly, an opportunity to observe a friendly confrontation between the Motherland and its slightly estranged brother.

Football is a big deal in Korea. I knew this before my journey to the Motherland, but when I entered the packed stadium, the stands seemed to be brimming with an overwhelming sense of emotion and excitement that I had not expected. Despite what recent protests may suggest, Koreans seem to possess a strong sense of nationalism that I have yet to experience in the Homeland. Americans can be very patriotic, but we don't seem to rally behind our country in quite the same way as they do in the Motherland. It was an interesting experience to partake in a soccer game as if the fate of the country depended on the game's outcome.

Of course, this showdown was particularly exciting and emotional because it was North Korea versus South Korea; nothing spices up competition more than a little sibling strife! I did not observe any animosity towards the North Korean team, only an intense support for the South Korean team. I can't speak to the political or social ramifications of this soccer showdown, but in my opinion, this game seemed like the opportunity for big brother South Korea, the better looking, more successful brother, to best the family black sheep. Interestingly, the game was a draw: zero to zilch. I can't help but wonder what if would have meant if the North Korean team had won. It felt rather poignant that neither team had bested the other. Sadly, just like the match, there is still no clear move towards resolution between the two countries.

There were a number of young people waving around large flags that read, "Fair Korea, Peace Asia." I was a bit bewildered by the meaning of their flags, but I later learned that they were promoting reunification between the two Koreas. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a photo, but a large section to my left were clad in white T-shirts bearing a graphic of the entire Korean peninsula colored in blue. The emblem was a call for a unified Korea. They later waved a gigantic banner with the same image. I think it would have been interesting to observe the cheering and comments in the pro-reunification section. Instead, I had to settle for the loud commentary of some very vocal ajusshis.

Here are a few more random thoughts on the match:

• The North Korean players were beefier and tanner than their S. Korean counterparts. I guess we know who's enjoying the Hanu beef.
  
• The N. Korean players all had a similar buzz cut, while the S. Korean players seemed to boast stylish perms or strategically layered hair styles.
  
• The typeface on the N. Korean jerseys were distractingly non-sporty. It looked like Times New Roman. Who uses serif-fonts on sports jerseys?
• The FIFA people seemed to be particularly sensitive to avoiding outright conflict between the two teams. For example, at one point in the game, a N. Korean collided into a S. Korean player. The media people began to replay the collision on the jumbo screen, but then, abruptly cut to a shot of some inactive fans in the stands. Was that a case of shoddy directing or a pointed effort to avoid images promoting confrontation? Let the conspiracy theories begin...
• My eemo was right. Most of the S. Korean players aren't all that good looking. Or, as she joked, "They're all country (시골) boys. Not very good looking." (No offense to country boys. My eemo was just kidding).
  

Okay, enough of my rambling. Here are some pics.

These folks in red are part of the specially designated cheering section. These seats go fast, so you have to get your tickets early. The cheering section also feature variations of the taeguki, the emblem on the S. Korean flag. I'm not sure about their significance, but I found the banners quite curious.














The stadium was packed. There would have been more people, but I'm sure that a bunch of them were still driving around looking for parking. I think we drove around for over an hour and a half before Joon Oppa miraculously found some illegal street parking! (수고했어요, 준오빠)














Of course we had to show our support for the Motherland with some red devil horns.




























I tried to get some footage of the game, but honestly, my little Luminix snap-n-shoot can only do so much. I did, however, catch a bit of the massive wave in the stands so that you can experience a bit of the fervor for yourself.

Love Festa 2007

This weekend, Cyndi & I attended Love Festa 2007 at the swanky W Seoul - Walkerhill Hotel. Love Festa featured a hip lineup of Japanese and Korean artists and djs, including headliners, Soul'd Out, m-flo, and Clazziquai. Tickets were priced at 70,ooo won and 55,000 won. Of course, I opted for the less expensive ticket, but it turned out to be a great bargain -- even though we had to stand the WHOLE TIME.

In order to promote a club atmosphere (or maybe chairs were just more expensive), Love Festa was a standing-only concert. The event was scheduled to run from 9 pm to 4 am and featured several DJs. I think the setup was designed to encourage some major clubbing action, but not much of that actually happened. Most of the concert-goers just jumped up and down or swayed side to side.

The event started off with an hour of party music courtesy of DJ Schedule 1. Schedule's set was very DJ Osvaldo 2005 - 2006. He even played the Lumidee/Crazy in Love remix. The song list seemed like it came straight off the Wild 94.9 playlist -- just a couple of months to a year behind. Though his mixing and scratching was a little rough, I enjoyed DJ Schedule's selection of hip hop and pop hits. I'm not sure if the rest of the crowd was feeling him though. People just stood around and chatted for the most part. They did go a little crazy when he played "Sexy Back", but who can resist the powers of JT and Timbaland combined?

DJ Schedule 1 was accompanied by a pair of gyopo hype boys, who diligently hey-ed and ho-ed along with all of the songs, trying to rouse the crowd. I can't say they were very successful, but I appreciated the effort. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the next performer was running behind schedule, so we had to listen to more of those heys and hos for another forty five minutes.

That's when I decided to do a little sudoku and Cyndi traded in her free drink coupon for an orange juice and vodka. That's right. I said "free drink!" Our tickets came with a complementary drink. You don't really get that kind of freebie in the States.

Get this lady some vodka. Stat!














Cyndi is happy.














As you can see, we were far from the stage, but it wasn't too bad. I've paid much more for a worse view.

The concert finally started with a Korean band called w & whale. I don't think they've hit the big time yet, but they were quite talented. I would describe their sound as electronica with a dash of pop rock. The band's front woman not only rocked a cute black mini dress, but she also possessed a soulful rock-pop voice.

w & whale rocking the keyboard guitar. Sweet.














w & whale were followed by a Japanese dance troupe (I think?) called House Rulez. I'm not entirely sure what they were about, but I think this group is about dancing to hip hop and house music. I wasn't very impressed by their dance moves. I think they were trying to bring it with some break dance and hip hop moves, but it just looked like a lot of shoulder movement and spinning. If you ask me, the star of House Rulez is their soprano saxophone player. He was like Kenny G, but cooler because he was Japanese and wearing a top hat.

Can you spot the sax player?














House Rulez also brought out a couple of female vocalists, but I didn't catch their names.














House Rulez was followed by Soul'd Out a rap duo from Japan. The crowd went wild, so I'm assuming they have a bit of a following. One of the rappers was a pretty decent beat boxer and the other spoke English very well. Yup. That's all I can really say. These boys can flow, but I was not very impressed by their music, so let's move on.














Sould'd Out was followed by a fairly well-known Korean rap group called Dynamic Duo. (These are the guys featured on the photo wall of fame at 99 Chicken). I've heard a couple of their songs before, so I was looking forward to their set. They were quite engaging and really energized the crowd. I was disappointed that they only performed a couple of songs.














One of the highlights of the evening was the next act, m-Flo, a popular hip hop group in Japan, consisting of DJ Taku Takahashi and emcee Verbal. Similar to the previous acts, m-Flo's music is a fusion of house and hip hop. My knowledge of m-Flo's music is rather limited, but I'm a big fan of the few songs that I've come across. m-Flo's set also featured a few guests artists: LISA, Ryohei, and Emi Hinouchi. Many of the Love Festa artists, particularly the emcee, Verbal, spoke in fluent English that I momentarily forgot I was in Korea. I definitely recommend that you check out m-Flo if they happen to have a concert in your neck of the woods.

DJ Taku.














The charismatic emcee Verbal.














Cutie guest artist Ryohei.














Guest artist Emi Hinouchi. I love her voice.














The crowd loved M-Flo. Dare I say that they were getting a little hyphy?















The final act of the night and the primary reason I was interested in this event was Clazziquai, another multi-genre group that combines electronica, house, and jazz. The band consists of writer/producer DJ Clazzi, female vocalist, Horan, and male vocalist, Alex. Unfortunately, before we could hear Clazziquai, we had to stand through a forty-five minute set featuring the beats of DJ Clazzi. Don't get me wrong. He's quite talented, but I'm just not a huge fan of house music. I love the driving beats in house music, but can only take the genre in moderation. Thus, I was very excited, but also very weary by the time all three members of Clazziquai hit the stage. They performed some of my favorite songs, including an all-English version of Love Mode!

Clazziquai was worth the wait. I'm a big fan of Clazziquai's music, but am now a bigger fan now that I've realized that their male vocalist, Alex is pretty hot. :) Both Alex and Horan posses great voicals and stage presence. If Horan worked on her English pronunciation, I almost-think that Clazziquai has a moderate chance at success in the States -- almost. Christina, Alex's sister, and featured vocalist on some of Clazziquai's earlier music, also made a guest appearance.

The security guards started to enforce the no-picture-taking rule, so I wasn't able to get a decent photo of Clazziquai. Bummer.

DJ Clazzi doing his thing.














Alex's back.














After Clazziquai, around 2:00 am, Cyndi and I called it a night. Unfortunately, so did most of the other concert-goers. The subway trains and buses were no longer running, so the line for a taxi cab was extremely long. Cyndi and I managed to take a nap on some lounge chairs and wait out the crowd. We finally left the hotel around 4:00 am. In retrospect, we should have just hung out at Love Festa until the very end, but given the state of our feet and backs at 2:00 am, there was no way that our bodies would let us stand upright for another two hours.

Check out my music box to the right for a sampling of music from Clazziquai, m-flo, and Dynamic Duo.