Tag: South Korea

Go Away With … Charli XCX

Jae-Ha Kim

Singer-songwriter Charli XCX (“5 in the Morning”) is earning rave reviews as Taylor Swift’s opening act. The English star also is a headliner at W Hollywood’s Wake Up Call music festival. Born Charlotte Emma Aitchison, she spends so much of her life on the road that she has a fool-proof plan for dealing with dateline changes: “Party through the jet lag. Or, if you’re not up to that, enjoy a spa day as soon as you get there and really let your body bounce back so you can make the most out of your trip.”

Go Away With … San E

Jae-Ha Kim

“I didn’t really know what hip hop and rap was when I was in (South) Korea,” San E says. “And then I moved to Atlanta when I was in middle school and just naturally started paying attention to it, because it was everywhere. I was lucky, even though I didn’t think so as a kid. Atlanta has a lot of great musicians. The music scene is pretty diverse and I was just going with it.”

Go Away With … Alex and Maia Shibutani

Jae-Ha Kim

After winning two bronze medals at the PyeongChang Olympics this year, Alex and Maia Shibutani made history by becoming the first skaters of Asian heritage to medal in ice dancing. “It was really special, because there hadn’t been a tradition of ice dance success for Asians,” says Alex, 26. “Whenever we compete anywhere in Asia, we always feel adopted and embraced by the locals.”

Go Away With … Steve Aoki

Jae-Ha Kim

Steve Aoki — a world-famous, Grammy-nominated DJ and producer — has collaborated with artists such as will.i.am, Linkin Park and Fall Out Boy. Most recently, he worked on the remix of BTS’ hit single, “MIC Drop,” which was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Known to foodies as the son of Benihana founder Rocky Aoki, he does philanthropic work through his Aoki Foundation, which supports brain science and research areas.

Go Away With … Julia Marino

Jae-Ha Kim

The PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics will mark Julia Marino’s debut as an Olympian. A gold medalist at the 2017 X Games, the 20-year-old snowboarder specializes in Slopestyle and Big Air. A resident of Westport, Connecticut, Marino says that the best souvenir she hopes to bring home from Korea is a medal for Team USA.

Go Away With … Martin Garrix

Jae-Ha Kim

Voted by fans as DJ Mag’s No. 1 DJ in the world, Martin Garrix was also handpicked last summer to be the face of Armani Exchange. Some of his collaborations include “Scared to Be Lonely” with Dua Lipa and “So Far Away” with David Guetta. Asked what he enjoys most about working with other artists, Garrix, 21, said, “I love to see how everyone works with music in a different way. I think for every artist, it’s interesting to see how someone else is working. Lana Del Rey is still on my wish list for collaborations and I would love to go into the studio with Shawn Mendes.”

Rap Monster Article & “Friends” Giveaway

Jae-Ha Kim

This is for the A.R.M.Y! I wanted to do something fun and special for you… and this is my (small) way of thanking you: I am giving away some copies of my newspaper article and a copy of my book about the TV show, “Friends.”

Go Away With … Rap Monster (of BTS)

Jae-Ha Kim

BTS’ Rap Monster remembers being blown away by the opulence of Las Vegas during his first trip there: “I was last here in 2009 when I was 15. What I remember the most was the inside of the Bellagio. It was amazing. I had never seen a hotel like that before, where there was a whole world inside the hotel. It was beautiful. I got to see Cirque du Soleil’s “O” show. It was so nice. I remember the night view of Vegas, which was tremendous. I remember all the lights and people having fun. I saw a lot of people drinking, which was shocking to me then (since I was so young).”

Go Away With … DJ White Shadow

Jae-Ha Kim

“If I’m to be completely honest, I picked the northern suburbs (to live in) because of John Hughes’ movies,” says DJ White Shadow. “I tried to buy the ‘Ferris Bueller’ house. It was listed at $1.5 million, which doesn’t seem like a lot for the Ferris Bueller house. But it was a teeny, tiny house in a state of disrepair. It would’ve cost a lot to fix it up.”

“Ode to My Father” (국제시장)

Jae-Ha Kim

In a review that ran in the New York Times, film critic Jeannette Catsoulis gave “Ode to My Father” a big thumbs down for being “syrupy” and for having “packaged pain … likely to leave Western audiences cold.” While there is no doubt that director Yoo Je-Kyoon would’ve loved for American audiences to embrace his movie, it’s also undeniable that this film was not made with Western moviegoers in mind. It was made for Koreans.

Go Away With … George Foreman

Jae-Ha Kim

George Foreman has many impressive achievements on his resume — world heavyweight boxing champion, gold medalist at the 1968 Olympic Games and entrepreneur (more than 100 million units of his George Foreman grills have sold worldwide). Now the fan favorite is starring in NBC’s new reality series, “Better Late Than Never,” which is a remake of the Korean series, “Grandpas Over Flowers.” Along with Henry Winkler, William Shatner, Terry Bradshaw and Jeff Dye, Foreman travels the world in the fish-out-of-water concept.

Family bonds locked in time at Seoul tower

Jae-Ha Kim

The main characters in K-dramas often demonstrate their love by attaching personalized padlocks on a fence on the tower’s observation deck. Tens of thousands of “love locks” can be found here. It’s a trend well established in cities such as Paris and Prague, but the tradition has taken on an added dimension in Seoul. While couples still attach locks to declare their love for one another, the fence has become a popular spot for adoptees and their adoptive parents to leave padlocks honoring the day they became a family.

Go Away With … Suk Park

Jae-Ha Kim

“I strongly believe that traveling allows you to discover new opportunities, not only professionally, but also at a more personal level,” says DramaFever co-founder Suk Park. “Previous to starting DramaFever, I worked for an American media company that allowed me to travel extensively, mainly throughout Asia. It was then that I discovered the popularity of Korean dramas throughout the entire continent. I could be in Taipei, Tokyo, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur and at least one broadcaster dedicated their primetime television to a Korean drama.”

Go Away With … Carla Renata

Jae-Ha Kim

“I didn’t make it to Perth, but I went all over Australia,” says actress Carla Renata. “I was working over there long enough that I could take vacations. If I could figure out a way to make a living there, I would move there. The food is to die for. Everything is fresh and prepared spectacularly and the people are really loving and warm. The theater and arts scene is wonderful.”

Korean cuisine beyond barbecue and kimchi

Jae-Ha Kim

When I was young, I went through a phase where I hated Korean food. My mother would make fresh, home-cooked meals from scratch. And instead of realizing what a treat that was, I would ask why we couldn’t just eat TV dinners like all my friends. But these days, there’s no cuisine I enjoy more than Korean. And if someone else is willing to cook it for me, all the better! So when my family and I traveled to South Korea this fall, eating well was a top priority.

Go Away With … Sasha Goodlett

Jae-Ha Kim

WNBA center Sasha Goodlett currently plays for South Korea’s Woori Bank Hansae. “Adjusting to the culture and the language barrier was challenging,” says the 24-year-old basketball star. “It’s hard trying to understand someone when they don’t know English and you don’t know Korean. But, I am learning Korean! So, hopefully by the end of the year I will be relatively fluent in it.”