sergel

Balanced overall because they can improve like #2. The biggest thing for me is at least on member needs to be really good at singing. Otherwise I feel like they end up focusing too much on dancing.

Still waiting for Jinyoung from Got7.

I don’t live in Korea, but is there any significant political change in SK right now other than a new president? I am not sure how much that change alone will influence people only because President Yoon has one of the lowest approval ratings, and one of the fastest declining ones. His approval rating is only 24%, which is lower than Moon’s ever was. https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20220805000545

Kind of wondering how there’s a discussion of the video yet no one has posted the actual video here. Around the 1 hour mark though some subs are missing. He does say man and man and that’s about all my Korean can get me. He also kind of backtracks/clarifies that it doesn’t mean he doesn’t like it. Watching that segment, I don’t know if the other members stopping him really accounts for much either way, since it could have been they just didn’t want him talking about male male romances in general. Some are saying it’s him not being comfortable with it personally, and some are saying it’s clearly he thinks male and male romances are not okay, and the truth might be something in between. Someone did point out Korean isn’t Haruto’s first language, so maybe he could have worded it better, but also his Korean is good enough to discuss the topic further. In any case, personally I’m not going to lose sleep or think much more about what an 18-year old Japanese guy speaking Korean in a group I don’t follow said, but it will probably be something in my mind if he says or does something in the future. I guess we’ll see if this is a one-time thing or if it happens again.

I wonder if that’s all or they’ll continue onto music banks and music core after.

Other than interactions like BtoBPink, two of my favorite moments are from the recent one.

I can’t believe we actually got a comeback. I was sure their last comeback would be their final one and I’m happy they proved us wrong.

Lol I wondered if we’d ever get a plot line like that. Might subtlety expose too many people though so not sure if we would see that. After Semantic Error and Blueming I think I read about Korea enjoying the campus romances. Still there’s quite a few shows in the pipeline. I’d like more Korean BLs though to reference actually being not heterosexual and some issues, like even subtlety mentioning parents or what others think. Though I also like how they treat it as no big deal and normalize it, just seeing some variety would be nice. I am happy we’re at a place where we can discuss topics like Korean BLs. A few years ago this wouldn’t be possible.

That’s probably true, though I wish it was easier to watch for international fans. Thailand seems to be going towards darker BLs which also deal with other issues outside of romance, like how a lot of romance kdramas are doing it these days.

Oh dang I didn’t even know she was dating! Super happy for her. Makes her the 2nd Rainbow member to get married after Jisook.

Thailand has a bunch of new ones but I can’t really keep up unless there’s a major one. I think KinnPorche was the last one but I haven’t seen it. Korea had some big ones this year with Semantic Error, Cherry Blossom After Winter, Blueming, and To My Star 2 and I’d recommend all of them if you haven’t watched them. I need to rewatch Blueming but I liked all 4. I watched Old Fashioned Cupcake on Viki and it was nice. It was nice to see an older gay relationship. It’s only 5 episodes and didn’t develop a ton but most people really liked it. The one currently airing I’m excited for is Minato’s Coin Laundry/Minato’s Laundromat. It’s on GagaOOla and 6 out of 12 episodes have aired. It’s nice to have a lead who actually says he’s gay and it’s not just assumed. The premise of the story is a 27-year old office worker who moves back to his hometown to take over his grandpa’s laundromat. In the same town is a 17-year old high school boy who falls in love with him. It’s interesting with how the lead keeps turning the kid down for obvious reasons but the show deals with topics relating to why younger guys sometimes fall for older guys, why that can be a problem, and the issues the lead had with coming out and how it still seems to affect him 10 years later. Might want to wait until it’s finished but the seaside setting and young love make it a fun summer show to watch.

I wonder what this is.

Also there’s the fact that Chanwon specified those details of introducing him to his parents. He didn’t need to share that but wanted to. In another video of making the banchan for Bunny, Chanwon was making one with lots of chives. He also mentioned a saying that says eating chives ensures a happy couple…which I found intriguing he felt the desire to mention it if he’s just making food for a good friend. Something I also liked is none of the cast or production team seemed to pull the hyung card. Like, in similar situations in the past I’ve heard people say “they care for each other like siblings” or “he’s a very good hyung.” After Bunny was revealed to be a dude no one said anything like that but kept saying things like precious friend. Actor Ryu Jin there mentioned how the people you meet through struggles and hardships you end up being closer to than family even. Speaking of Ryu Jin, I think it was nice he was one of the cast who never assumed Bunny was Chanwon’s girlfriend (as far as we know, it could be edited out). He was the lead in “Be My Dream Family” and Ok Jin Uk played his son. Ok Jin Uk (who I sometimes wondered about) also acted in the BL “Cherry Blossoms After Winter” and Ryu Jin has shown support of him, including liking some of his posts (can’t seem to get it to embed for some reason). https://www.instagram.com/p/CcVbskHv-bU/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Just saying it’s nice to see a veteran actor about to be 50 not assuming things, and showing support for his costar playing a gay character. It’s small but still good to see.

This essay doesn’t regard KPOP idols so feel free to ignore but I found this series of videos while watching the KBS show’ Fun-Staurant really interesting. I have nowhere to really to discuss my musings so this is the only place I feel comfortable sharing this with. A tiny bit of context. So Chanwon (a 25-year old trot singer. I think he got 3rd place on Mr. Trot) was making banchan for “Bunny” who everyone kind of assumed was his girlfriend. The editors kept it kind of vague but there were bits about him being bringing flowers like he was going to propose, the cast wondering who his girlfriend was, how there are hints of Chanwon at Bunny’s house, how precious Bunny must be to Chanwon and how much Bunny must love him, how they should get married, etc. And then when they find out who Bunny actually is they can’t really suggest they’re boyfriends or they get married (since this is Korean national TV) but I found the shift to they’re “good friends” funny and an example of the heteronormativity that is present in society. They could very well be friends and that’s great and fine, but if Yunsung (from ROMEO) was a woman people would probably assume they were a couple (which also feeds into the idea that men and women can’t be just friends). Some of the things Chanwon does for him are things the average person would think a boyfriend might do like: - Knows the passcode to his apartment. - Brings over banchan he made including some of Yunsung’s favorites. - Cooks him a meal. - Brings him a bouquet of flowers. - Visits Yunsung’s parents over visiting his own brother. - Yunsung was the first friend from Seoul Chanwon introduced to his parents. - Writes Yunsung a handwritten letter when he visits saying he loves him. I mean, just finding someone who will bring you food and flowers is hard enough. Or maybe this is normal and my guy friends are the unique ones. This isn’t to assume they’re necessarily a couple or be shippy, but rather poke fun at the heteronormativity shown (all the comments about being a couple kind of faded once it’s revealed they’re both guys), and also to highlight the positives of showing good male relationships. Whatever the underlying relationship (secret couple, good friends, brothers) I think it is still good to show guys doing things like cooking for another guy and openly caring for each other in a positive light and not making a joke about it. oh and Fun fact: in an recent video a bit earlier than these Chanwon was shown to be friends with DKZ Jaechan since they were talking on the phone together. Obviously doesn’t mean much on its own but people here do like to talk about the social circles guys keep. Of course it’s a show so some stuff is probably scripted but I did find all the videos interesting to watch. Since it isn’t an idol specific thing I thought people may not have seen it here so I thought I’d share. Now back to the regularly schedule BTS and “Taeyong might actually like women” posts.

It’s really cool how it was like a mini concert for them.

I didn’t see these videos posted (may have missed them) but they’re about the Seoul Pride Parade recently. Some interesting points: - It’s cool how it’s grown every year, this year having around 135,000 participants compared to like a thousand when it started. - The 2nd video brings up the topic, but I have read elsewhere how one of the most vital aspects for lgbtqa people in Korea is the passage of anti discrimination law. Not sure when that will happen, but when it does it seems like it will be one of the largest leaps forward. - Around the 13:00 minute mark in the 2nd video the journalist talks about how a lot of portrayals of lgbtqa people in Korea media still treat it as an issue rather than just a fact of life and why it’s important for it to be shown as a non-issue, but I don’t necessarily see that. I see it sometimes, but many also kind of ignore the queer aspect and just have the characters live their life or romance. I think both have merits and are both important to showcase (the fact that lgbtqa people aren’t that different than heterosexual people, but also that they have struggles unique to them).

Yuju’s solo is very relaxing and soothing.

How did I not see this until now?

This felt like such a gut punch. Fromis was doing really well lately and I didn’t know about the new contract so I thought they had some time left anyway. I really liked Gyuri so I’m sad to see her go.

For the curious here are the clips I find it funny how the part being discussed here is also the most replayed part of the video lol.

Ooh it sounds good already.

I’m happy the album is a full album. Curious how the title track will be. I found the references to ITNW and Mr. Taxi intriguing, though they are 2 of their best songs.

While we’re on the topic Arirang posted a video about the shows a few days ago (along with some other cultural information) The segue from the shows to the other topics gave me whiplash though haha

Ooh I’m excited to hear how Brave sounds like now.

The Rainbow Stan in me is absolutely living for this!