Korea Observer

K-pop boy band Big Bang released their fifth mini-album "Alive" last night and also the music video for the song "Bad Boy." 

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines – K-pop group Girls Generation topped Forbes Korea’s “Power Celebrity 40” ranking for the second straight year. The list is based on the celebrities’ income, influence and reputation. Photos courtesy of www.newsen.com

The Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Film Commission have selected 100 places that are highly popular as movie and drama shooting locations, and published a book titled The Places in Seoul Cinema Fell in Love With. The book singles out and introduces 100 attractions that showcase the many faces of Seoul and presents rich images associated with them from among the numerous sites that feature frequently in Korean movies and dramas. 

2011 was an exciting year for K-Pop fans and the Korean music industry. In August, Billboard opened a new chart for K-Pop music, Billboard K-Pop Chart. Following the J-pop Chart, this is the second release of a country based music chart from Asia. And only a few months later, Google operated webcast provider YouTube launched its K-Pop Channel online.  The news created a buzz among fans and industry experts alike as it was the first time that YouTube had created an exclusive channel for any one country. The main reason for the decision was based on the fact that there are over 5 million K-Pop related webcasts on YouTube, but only 600,000 of these can be found using the search word ‘K-Pop’. A separate K-Pop channel was in demand to facilitate the search for Korean music for K-Pop fans worldwide. 

The KOREA Council of Sports for All and the Korea Sports Promotion, together wit h the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines, donated 100 soccer balls and 100 shirts last February 21 in the hopes of promoting Korea's major sports to the Filipinos. The formal turnover of donations was held at the Korean Cultural Center in Taguig.   Photo courtesy of the Korean Cultural Center in the Philippines

By JONATHAN  HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines – Boy band Block B issued another apology to Thailand for their actions during a TV interview that people interpreted as being insensitive to the recent flooding in the Southeast Asian country. Block B became a victim of cyber-bullying

Korean boy band 2PM member Nichkhun is getting the heat from Korean citizens because of a controversial Thai TV commercial that depicts the Rising Sun Flag, the military flag of Japan used during World War II.  Nichkhun (center) performing on stage while the Rising Sun Flag is depicted on the LED screen at the back

Here's another tempting recipe from Maangchi.com: Chapssalddeok (Korean-style mochi)  According to Maangchi.com, " Chapssalddeok   used to be called “mochi” among Koreans, but these days everybody calls this particular kind of rice cake “chapssalddeok.” The word   mochi  is a Japanese word that simply means “rice cake.”

After Korean-American songwriter Jenny Hyun ranted and posted anti-black tweets , a post was uploaded on her blog , claiming that she was admitted to the hospital and she is a  paranoid schizophrenic.  Here's the post: 

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines – Rookie boy band Block B learned a painful lesson about sensitivity following a public outrage against their behavior in a TV interview where they were accused of making fun of flood victims in Thailand and showing immature behavior. Block B issued an apology on their official website for their behavior during the interview, with leader Zico shaving his head to show remorse. Block B (Photo courtesy of www.newsen.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - A New York City-based Korean-American songwriter, who co-wrote one of the songs for Girls’ Generation’s “The Boys” album, is getting so much flack for tweeting comments against African-Americans/blacks. Jenny Hyun, who was born and raised in the US, got criticized for her posts on Twitter that targeted blacks. Jenny Hyun (Photos courtesy of www.onlinejenny.com)

By JONATHAN M. HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - International star Charice and Korean group Wonder Girls bagged nominations in the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards 2012, both of whom are nominated in the Favorite Asian Act category along with singers Agnes Monica of Indonesia and Yuna of Malaysia.

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines – Jay Park's new album has entered two Billboard charts on the day he made his comeback on Korean TV. Jay Park on KBS Music Bank (Photo courtesy of www.newsen.com)

MANILA, Philippines – Filipino fans belonging to   Cassiopeia   Philippines will celebrate the career and music of boy bands TVXQ/JYJ with the holding of their ninth gathering dubbed as “9G: The Red Room Exhibit.” The event will be held on Feb. 25, from 12 noon to 10PM, at the Top Shelf of Fully Booked at Bonifacio High Street in Taguig City. Cassiopeia Philippines, which was named as the 2011 Fanclub of the Year at the 3rd Philippine K-pop Awards last Dec. 30, has been in existence since 2006 to support and promote TVXQ and JYJ. The “9G: The Red Room Exhibit” will be held on Feb. 25. (Photos courtesy of Cassiopeia Philippines’ Facebook page)

By JONATHAN M. HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines – Korean stars have not only helped in boosting the popularity of Korean music and dramas but have driven up the sales of Korean cosmetics. SHINee for Etude House, Kim Hyun Joong for The Face Shop and Song Joong Ki for Tony Moly (Photos by Jonathan Hicap)

http://event.redcomm.co.kr:8080/event/index.jsp

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - As the world mourns the death of legendary diva Whitney Houston, K-pop stars also offered their condolences. Whitney Houston (Photo courtesy of www.whitneyhouston.com)

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - Last month, Cube Entertainment, the agency of K-pop artists BEAST, 4Minute and G.NA, announced that it would appoint official fan sites in various countries “in order for all Cube artists to build a strong global fan community, communication routes and faster local feedbacks.”

MANILA, Philippines – Was it a ghost? Korean girl group 2NE1 spent five days in the Philippines last week for a vacation and photo shoot. Throughout their stay, Sandara Park kept 2NE1 fans updated by posting photos of their activities in Manila and Albay. The two photos posted by Sandara Park on her me2day account

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin  SEOUL, South Korea – Every night, hundreds of visitors at the famous Lotte World theme park in Seoul gather at the Garden Stage to watch an all-Filipino band perform and sing Korean and English songs.

By JONATHAN M. HICAP, MANILA BULLETIN MANILA, Philippines – K-pop artist Jay Park’s first studio album is a smash hit, zooming to the No. 1 position on iTunes charts in the US, Canada and Australia, and topping real-time charts in South Korea on the first day of its release.

By JONATHAN M. HICAP, MANILA BULLETIN MANILA, Philippines – Korean dramas “Sungkyunkwan Scandal” and “The Greatest Love,” which aired in 2010 and 2011 respectively made it as finalists in the mini-series category of the 2012 New York Festivals International Television and Film Awards.

By JONATHAN M. HICAP, MANILA BULLETIN MANILA, Philippines – Korean girl group 2NE1 left Manila for Seoul  on Feb. 5, bringing with them lots of fun memories from their vacation and photoshoot in Manila and Albay in the Bicol region.

By JONATHAN M. HICAP MANILA, Philippines - Korean pop group Girls Generation made their successful debut TV performances on two popular talk shows in the US. Girls Generation with Kelly Ripa (Photo courtesy of @livekelly on Twitter)