Your Two Cents: Best Actor/Actress in Korea???

Let's shift our focus from the music realm in Korea, and take a look at the acting realm.

C'mon, let's be real. There are certain actors/actresses that aren't all that good at their craft compared to other actors/actresses. However, they're so good looking that they still get cast for major parts anyway.

From your experience of watching Korean dramas or movies, which actor/actress do you think is the best at their job? If that's too difficult, which actor/actress do you think is horrible at their job?

Answer away and don't forget to tune into KPI next week to hear all of the interesting responses!!

Your Two Cents: Song You Can't Get Enough Of These Days???

Happy New Week Everyone! ^^

For this week, we're going to keep things simple. I think I asked this before...but I'm gonna ask it again because it's been a while and answers for this particular question change every month...week....maybe even day!

What k-pop song can you just NOT get enough of these days??? I'll take them as song requests and play 'em for this week's KPI!

Answer away~

Your Two Cents: If there were a natural disaster, I would save my...???

This week's two cents will actually have nothing to do with kpop. As we all know, a huge disastrous earthquake struck Japan on March 11th. There were after tremors, not to mention horrifying tsunamis that swept away homes. The consequences even reached my hometown of Hawaii. Though the government evacuated the coasts and warned people to be prepared for a tsunami, luckily it ended up being nothing too major.

We have a lot of Japanese listeners and listeners that know someone in Japan. Sure it's K(orean)-pop, but this shared passion has linked us all together as one. I think I can speak for everyone when I say our hearts go out to those affected by the natural disasters. :(

This is actually where this week's question comes into play...
If you were lucky enough to have time to prep for natural disaster and could save ONE thing, what would it be???
Perhaps photos, a dog, a piece of jewelry (i.e. wedding ring, etc.), a book, journal, etc. etc.
Also, if you want to make any shout outs to anyone affected by this particular recent earthquake, or any tragic disaster, this is also an opportunity to do that. :)
LASTLY, if you have any song requests that you feel is fitting for the situation in Japan, please send them out through the blog so that I can play it for our JAPAN SPECIAL on KPI this week (March 20th).

Thanks guys! Times like this, it really makes you realize we have a lot to be thankful for!! Let's all be THANKFUL and POSITIVE!!!

Your Two Cents: Best Kiss Scene???

It's the week before ANOTHER romantic day...WHITE DAY!!!

In Korea, girls have to do the chocolate giving to the guys. However, we get our turn to get pampered exactly a month later on March 14th, WHITE DAY!. This is when guys buy US candy (not so much chocolates but hard candy...). If you guys watched the drama IRIS, you may recall Kim Tae-hee getting mad at Lee Byung-hun for not remembering to get her candy on White Day. He thinks she's joking, because White Day is typically more celebrated among younger couples. However, when he sees she's seriously sad, he disappears, only to come back and give Kim Tae-hee a tender kiss. Right then, POP! He slips a hard candy from his mouth into hers. She's surprised, and then her anger melts away. It was a very popular scene that made girls all over Korea long for a "candy kiss". I'm not kidding! One of the top search topics the day after that episode aired was "candy kiss". LOL!

Since then, you may remember other unique kiss scenes. The most recent one being the "latte kiss" when Hyunbin kisses off the foam mustache from Ha Ji-won's upper lip after she drinks her latte (I'm thinking the writers were inspired by the Sex And The City Movie when Miranda has a foam mustache...).

So this week's Y2C question is gonna stay along the lines of White Day and all that romantic stuff being that the next KPI episode will air right before it:

What is the most memorable kiss scene from a drama or movie? It could me that it was unique like the "candy kiss" or "latte kiss". It could be memorable because the two actors just had GREAT chemistry. Perhaps the kiss was just very natural and touching. Whatever the reason it was memorable for you, let us know! Who did the kissing and from what drama or movie? If you can't think of any Korean movies or dramas, other country dramas or movies are fine too. Just describe the scene please!

Thanks and have a great week! ^^

Your Two Cents: Most Overrated Kpop Star???

Uh oh...I have a feeling this question may open up a can of worms, but I'm gonna throw it out there anyway!!!! *cue evil laughter*

It's time to get a little bit negative. I mean c'mon! Let's be REAL. We don't ALL love ALL the kpop stars out there right? And there are some where we're like, "Um...why is this person/group SO famous?!" That's where this week's Y2C question comes into play

Which Kpop star/group (actor, singer, model, MC, comedian, etc) do you think is overrated? You don't think they're THAT good looking, THAT funny, THAT talented in singing or dancing, THAT stylish, THAT whatever!

Let's all respect each other's opinions! It's just an opinion that NOT something we all agree with. I think it would be interesting to see if some of the answers overlap or perhaps we all have different choices. Either way, it'll be a great way to get to know the listeners' tastes a little better!

Thanks guys and have a GREAT week!

Star Chat: Post-Interview With G.na!!!

As many of you may have already heard on our February 20th edition of Kpop Interactive, we had an English interview with G.na. She was seriously the cutest thing ever! Not to mention, a godsend for me because she spoke English. Here's a post-interview report on how it went.

First off, she was ON TIME. I LOVE artists who are on time! LOL In fact, she was there in the studio even before I got there! This was because I had to take a quick bathroom break in between recordings (sorry was that TMI?? ^^;;). She was just so at ease, down-to-earth, and friendly. I could tell she was close with her manager and they got along very well. It was like they were good friends or sisters. I explained to her how the interview was going to go and we went straight into the studio. While my producer and engineer were setting up the cameras and what not, me and G.na got to chatting a bit.

I asked her about adjusting to Korea. She was very honest with her answers and just so...humble and real. I was immediately taken to her in the first five minutes of her conversation. She did mention that she had a lot of Korean friends, but sometimes it was hard because it's not QUITE the same as having a friend that can speak your native language. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to divulge this information, but she did mention that she had written the English lyrics for all her songs. She seemed pretty proud of herself for that so I could tell she took pride in her lyrical skills as well. She mentioned that she hadn't released those songs yet, but they are on standby! I can't wait to take a listen to them when they come out. I'm sure it'll be a totally different feel from her Korean version songs.

While doing the interview, I noticed that she had some pauses where a certain English word or expression wasn't coming to mind. I kept trying to fill in the blanks for her but most of the time, my suggestions were wrong! LOL I made a note to myself that that really showed how much effort she must have been putting into learning Korean. You see, even native English speakers start to see a deterioration in their English skills when living in Korea. This is because there are so many "konglish" (English phrases that Koreans use, but that are different from the actual English definition) phrases and we just use English a lot less when living here. I give her props for doing so well in a foreign country!

After the interview, we took pictures in front of the KBS World sign together and (I LOVE her for this...) she said to me, "how do you keep in shape in Korea?" I was like, "Uh...are u kidding me Miss Skinny Pants?? I'm not in shape!" She said, "Yes you are. You're skinny!" *sigh* I love G.na. LOL!! I told her, " I go to the gym." And she seemed surprised by that. I guess not as many girls she knows go to the gym..?? I dunno... Not all of us are blessed like her with skinny genes though. She was TINY! But TALL. Small face, skinny body, tall height. *Sigh* God's not fair sometimes...

She thanked us and asked us to invite her again in the future, and then had to hurry off to her next scheduling. All in all, a GREAT interview and just such a SWEET girl. It's rare to find people who just love what they do and are so driven yet humble, It's safe to say that she's really making a place for herself in the kpop scene and that this is only the beginning!

Good luck G.na!!

Your Two Cents: Spring Is What To You???

It's already the last week of February!! Can you guys believe that?! That is INSANELY fast...2011 is truly like a rabbit, just hopping and zipping on by.

Well, being that after this week it will officially be March which I classify as the first real Spring month (although the weather still feels like winter right now in Korea...), we'll keep the Y2C question related to that.

What reminds you of Spring? What is Spring to you?

Perhaps it's the cherry blossoms. If your country isn't a four season country, maybe it's just what you see in Korean dramas. Perhaps there's a specific song that reminds you of spring (i.e. "You Are My Spring" by Sung Shi-kyung). Perhaps it's a certain outfit that you can now wear. Maybe it's an annual trip you and your loved ones take. Maybe a type of food? Perhaps something school related (i.e. Spring Fling dance?) Whatever the season represents to you...let me know!!!

See you guys on air!!
Thanks :)