Korea Observer

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines – The list of nominees for the MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2012 is out and six K-pop groups are included. 2NE1, KARA, Girls Generation, 2PM, CNBlue and SHINee got nominated along with music heavyweights like Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Bruno Mars. (Clockwise from top left) KARA, Girls Generation, SHINee &2NE1 (www.newsen.com

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - The power of social media, including Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, is propelling Korean Wave, or hallyu, to new heights and helping the spread of its popularity to North America and other regions. Super Junior (www.newsen.com)

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)

By JONATHAN M. HICAP Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - K-pop music has been enjoying huge popularity in the Philippines in the past few years. Since 2009, popular idol groups have visited the country including SHINee, Super Junior, 4Minute and BEAST.

Fresh off the MuchMusic Awards, which she  opened  and  closed  in Canada last Sunday,  Lady Gaga  kicked off the MTV Video Music Aid Japan benefit show as part of a two-hour event that was expressly devised to benefit the Japanese Red Cross. The event was broadcast live from Makuhari Messe and aired to more than 30 million households on MTV Japan, MTV Korea, MTV SEA and MTV China.

By JONATHAN M. HICAP  Manila Bulletin MANILA, Philippines - K-pop boy band SHINee’s lead vocalist Jonghyun and actress Shin Se Kyung have ended their eight-month relationship because of their demanding schedule. Shin’s agency was quoted as saying that the Jonghyun and Se Kyung’s busy schedule prevented them from seeing each other regularly that led to their breakup although they decided to remain friends, according to Korean media.

MESSAGE FROM SHINee:  We are SHINee :) We will finally debut in Japan on June 22nd and will get to meet more fans in Japan! What a good news! right?

JONATHAN M. HICAP Manila Bulletin  MANILA, Philippines -- A decade ago, Korean dramas were the main driver of hallyu, or the Korean wave, with such hits “Winter Sonata,” “Jewel in the Palace,” “My Name is Kim Sam Soon” and “Coffee Prince." But with the explosion of the internet and social networking sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter in the past few years, Korean pop music, or K-pop, has overtaken Korean dramas to become the  top purveyor of the Korean wave worldwide.

News from the Manila Bulletin newspaper: By JONATHAN M. HICAP MANILA, PHILIPPINES - Gaon Chart, South Korea’s version of the Billboard charts, has named K-pop boy band Super Junior the bestselling artist in South Korea for 2010. [caption id="attachment_95" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Super Junior receiving the Gaon award from Minister Choung Byoung-gug of Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. (Photo courtesy of www.newsen.com)"] [/caption]