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)