다채로운 겨울

4:15pm at Seoul Grand Park

5:15pm at Han River.

5:30pm at Aiins World (Bucheon)

빙하

During winter, there are two things I like to see. One of them is snow. When it snowed, it was like the world had turned into a magical wonderland. The other is frozen river. I have always dreamed of skating on a frozen river. I attribute these likings of mine to my childhood fantasy.

Han River froze when cold wave lasted for a week

A frozen stream at Cheongpyeong. I forgot to bring the skates.

짧은 순간

순간은 짧을 수록 더욱 소중하지 않을까?

Night falling at Myeongdong

Sun setting at Ansan

여름, 겨울방학

There is no winter or summer holiday for language students. When most of the students left for their holiday we only had the stone lion in the courtyard to keep us company. The lion must be quite 'lonely' every winter and summer.

In Summer

In Winter

케이팝의 미래

There are so many girl groups in Korea these days that you will be forgiven if you do not know many of them. It is not an accidental occurrence. There is a well-oiled machinery behind that is constantly discovering, training and debuting star-wannabes. The queue is probably very long for people wanting a share of fame. But I not so sure about fortune because it is known that Korean entertainment company takes a big cut of their artistes' earnings.

Anyways, I saw this very young girl group called "Sweety". The youngest looks like she has just started elementary school and there she was singing and dancing. I was asking what was I doing when I was her age. As they are all very young, I was tempted not to take them seriously but they could really sing, rap and dance like any entertainers older than them and they are not singing children songs for that matter. Through them, you can probably see the future of Kpop.

Girls' Generation

Jewelry S

Kara

Sweety

섹시한 이웃집 언니 - 이효리

Lee Hyori wants people to know her as the sexy elder sister who lives next door. She knows quite well the basis of her vast popularity in Korea and perhaps China. She 'alternates' with ease what may seem as two incompatible images - a sexy stage image and a girl-next-door image in "Family Outing" (a popular reality show in Korea). She probably has all grounds covered - the youngs or olds, trendy or retro, men or women, singles or married, liberals or conservatives.

She was at the KHU's 60th Anniversary Concert. According to her, it was the first time she performed in a school concert. She is currently a Masters student with KHU so her appearance came as no big surprise.

국민요정 - 손담비

"국민요정" (國民妖精) is a term previously used to describe Lee Hyori. To deserve the prefix "국민" (national), one has to be first a national icon with widespread popularity. "요정" means someone who is capable of casting magic and making people spellbound. Son Dambi might just have what it takes to be the next "국민요정".

걸 그룹 - 애프터 스쿨

Immediately after "After School" finished singing "Ah", the stadium ruptured into a deafening chanting of "Diva, Diva, Diva..." (Diva was their new song then). They obliged with the request and everyone joined in the singing of "오늘 밤 매일 밤..." or something like that. They won the audience over with their fast tracks and energetic dance moves.

One of their members, Uee, is all the rage now for her "honey thigh" (꿀허벅지). I think it means fleshy and well-toned thigh. No picture of her honey thigh though because she wore pants during the concert.

할리우드 스타 - 비

When Rain showed up at the KHU's 60th Anniversary Concert, he brought along 'lightning' and 'thunder' - the atmosphere was electrifying and the fans' screaming thunderous. More than 50,000 people were on their feet as he sang. It was one unforgettable concert.

Rain is back again. Many people would be eager to see his unsalted chicken meat and vegetables diet-sculpted body in "Ninja Assassin".

힙헙 그룹 - 마이티 마우스

"Mighty Mouth", a Korean hip hop group, is associated with "bright and sunny" songs. I like their songs personally. They are filled with energy, love and happiness. Anyone who is down should listen to them. They will brighten up your day.

보이 밴드 - FT 아일랜드

I did say that it is very easy to see 'stars' in Seoul. There I was, in the Incheon Global Fair & Festival and FT Island was having their fan-signing. Majority of the fans who queued up were high school girls in uniform.

Besides high school girls, 'noonas' and 'ajummas' are equally crazy over them. They are going to perform in Singapore at the Seoul'd Out Concert on Dec 12. Nobody can be more happy than their Singapore's fans.

Below are some of their pictures. They have already been 'licensed' to Primanoona (Singapore's FT Island fansite) for their exclusive use.

보이 밴드 - 유키스

Below are photos of the Korean boy band - 'U-Kiss'. You can either say that they are "잘 생긴다" or "귀업다".