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Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: My Copycat
If Where’s Waldo? crossed with K-Pop sounds intriguing, this is for you. My Copycat is one of the most wildly creative and inventive K-Pop music videos I’ve had the pleasure to see. At brief points throughout the music video, it invites you to find the hidden differences between the two images on screen; the number…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Abing Abing
One of the more interesting quirks of K-Pop is the brand endorsements. Many of these deals between brands and artists go beyond mere commercial appearances and lip service at events, blossoming into full-fledged song releases—often touting some form of fried chicken or a cell phone. When done well, brand songs can join artists’ discographies with…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Bangkok City
Bangkok City is probably Orange Caramel’s least-known single, which is a crying shame; it’s one of their best, and definitely their most transformative. At this point in their careers, Orange Caramel had released Magic Girl and A-ing, two very addictive songs with an incredibly similar J-Pop style that garnered them a sizable, if very niche,…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Magic Girl
This is Orange Caramel week, an entire week dedicated to discussing one of the more fascinating girl groups to ever exist in K-Pop. (And, incidentally, one of my favorites.) This trio of Nana, Lizzy and Raina was an offshoot of After School, a girl group under Pledis Entertainment who were known for their powerful, no-fucks-given…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Rock Island
We’re doing something a little different today. Please enjoy this 1984 ballad while you continue to read the rest of this column. It’s a good backdrop. True democracy in South Korea is only about three decades old, having blossomed in the 1990s with the Kim Young Sam administration. One of the seminal moments leading to…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Into The New World
We’ve shared two songs from Girls’ Generation before, and if you’re internally complaining that I seem to have a bias, you’re god damn right I do. Into The New World, Girls’ Generation’s 2007 debut song, is hopeful, uplifting, and just a little bit naïve—everything the group sought to symbolize as the next wave of girl…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Shine
Last weekend, I visited KCON, one of the biggest Korean pop culture festivals in America. This song came over the speakers, and you bet I Shazam-ed that shit ASAP. I’m ashamed to admit that my knowledge of recent idol groups—and specifically, boy groups—are severely lacking. The pinnacle of my K-Pop fandom was in the late…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Saturday Night
Let’s disco, baby! Solo artist Son Dam Bi’s greatest hit came in the form of this instantly addictive 2009 ode to disco, Saturday Night. This song swept Korea upon its release; you couldn’t walk a block without this nostalgic melody blaring out of every InnisFree and Caffe Bene. Dam Bi would follow up Saturday Night…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Picks Of The Day: Wonder Boy & Into The Night Sky
After School Red and After School Blue were two short-lived and ill-fated experimental sub-groups of After School. The idea was to divide the group into two units on the opposite sides of the cute-sexy spectrum and have them promote at the same time to drum up some friendly competition. This idea crashed and burned for…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Lonely Night
Ever get the feeling that your job is just, like, slowly killing you from the inside? This music video is for you. Many foreign K-Pop fans were introduced to Gary through the variety show Running Man. Incidentally, the actress in this music video is Song Ji Hyo, one of his co-stars from the show; together,…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Playing With Fire
Blackpink recently came back from a very lengthy absence with Ddu-du Ddu-du. To be quite honest, I don’t think it’s their best, so here’s one of their previous tracks, which has earned its spot on my Favorites playlist ever since its release. As the newest girl group hailing from YG Entertainment — the label behind…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Ppo Ppo Ppo
There are iconic K-Pop groups, then there are popular ones, then a few that have cult fandoms. At the very bottom are groups that release one EP, or maybe a few digital singles, then fade into oblivion—leaving behind no trace at all. Harasora is one of those groups. The only things I know for certain…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: I Miss You
Ladies and gentlemen, perhaps the best male voice in Korean music. (There will be arguments. Bring them on, I say.) While most foreign fans first encountered this stirring ballad through Stairway To Heaven, the 2003 K-drama, I Miss You was originally released a year prior as part of Kim Bum Soo’s third full album. Once…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Lady
After Wonder Girls’ dissolution last year, distraught fans wondered if they would ever see the members again. It turns out they had little to fear; the majority of the girls went on to have their own solo careers, including Yubin, who just returned with Lady Lady’s aesthetic feels very much 80s, which — if you…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Superman
Pay close attention to this music video, and the lyrics. Notice anything funny? Norazo is a criminally under-appreciated comedic rock duo that takes irreverence to an art form. Superman’s a particularly great example; not only does the song poke fun at the Man Of Steel’s sillier traits, the music video is filmed as a serious…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Bingle Bangle
When a music video is themed to video games, you bet your behind I’m going to be featuring it. It being catchy AF is just a bonus. Bingle Bangle is AOA’s first comeback in one and a half years, and their first since they lost Choa, arguably their most charismatic and most well-known member behind…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Umbrella
One of my very first picks for this column was Umbrella by Epik High. Today, I’m featuring a cover of that song by Younha, because I love both her — and this song — so much. Younha, who was featured in the original Epik High track, is an accomplished solo artist in her own right,…
By Seung Park -
Kotaku EastK-Pop Pick Of The Day: Latata
(G)I-DLE only debuted less than a month ago, but they recently clutched their first music show win with Latata — becoming one of the fastest groups to reach that point in their careers. Unwieldy name aside, (G)I-DLE (the G is silent) actually comes with a bit of pedigree. All of the girls in the group…
By Seung Park
