My Favourite Korean Music Artists: 4th April' 08', 2 AM

My Favourite Korean Music Artists:
Korea is a land of talents in the field of entertainment. The Hallyu wave (k-wave) has swept all over Asia and even touched the remote village of mine, Basar. As I don’t speak Korean and Korean music is hard to come by as compared to K-movies/Dramas, I am not much exposed to the music industry of Korea. But whatever little I know I would like to share in my blog with everyone…


Se7en
I love se7en’s voice! He churns just my kind of music; R&B, Hip-Hop/Pop, Soul, Ballads in a soft tenor voice. Earlier I wasn’t much aware of his presence, and then I saw few of his videos online and heard his songs and fell in love with his voice. Now that I am aware of him, I have fallen in love with his persona. He’s cute, sings so well, dances so coolly (again my kind of free style dancing) and has a sweet-lovable persona. I am yet to see his Drama. I am not aware of his acting talent but I can recon with all my heart that he sings beautifully…I am looking forward to find a copy of his drama “Goong S- princes' hours” to only watch him act…



Rain
I love Rain more than any Hallyu(Korean) stars put together, but when it comes to music Se7en won hands down. Rain is a superb singer-dancer no doubt but sometimes his high note can be irritating to the ears. His songs are basically good for hip-hopping and dancing. He has yet to come up with a classic ballad.
I love Rain’s personality, his hard working nature and sincerely towards his work, be it singing, dancing or acting. One can obviously see that he puts in a lot of effort in his tasks but sometimes trying for perfection, the essence can go missing. That’s what I feel he lacks in his music: Soul.
He is still too young, so he should relax a bit and not over exert himself in order to be No.1. I’ll always support him no matter what and looking forward to watch his first English film Speed Racer directed by Wachowshki Brothers.



Shin Hye-Sung
An ex member and lead vocalist of the most popular boy band in the history of Korea, Shinhwa, he has proved his mettle in his solos. I love his soulful voice and strong ballads. I believe he is an extremely talented and gifted singer whose songs will go on to become classics…



Lee Ji Hoon
I loved him in the drama “Hello! Miss” and did a Google search on him and learnt that he has been a solo singer since 1996 and a member of S with Shin Hye-Sung of Shinhwa and Kang Ta of H.O.T. I tried finding more information on him as my curiosity grew and did a lot of You Tube and Google search. The more I learnt about him, the more I liked him. He is cute! Now that I have heard his songs, I really like his voice! Soulful, R&B and ballads…just my choice!

My favourite Korean Movies and Dramas:

My all time favourite Korean films (not necessarily in the below order):
1. Bungee jumping of their own
2. Il Mare (Siworae – 시월애)
3. Traces of Love (Gaeulro-가을로)
4. Wind struck (Nae yeojachingureul sogae hamnida -내 여자친구를 소개합니다)
5. Daddy long legs (Kidari ajeossi)
6. Daisy (Deiji – 데이지)
7. …ing
8. My girl and I (Parang-juuibo)
9. Solace (Salanghal ddae iyagihaneun geotdeul-사랑할 때 이야기하는 것들)
10. Lover'sConcertos

My all time favourite Korean dramas (not necessarily in the below order):

*. Winter Ballad
1. A love to kill
2. Full House
3. Stairway to heaven
4. My Girl
5. Hello! Miss
6. Romance
7. Lovers in Paris
8. Spring Waltz (though it was a disappointment, I loved the concept and the music. The Director did a poor work)

9. The 1st Coffeeshop Prince

10. Princess Hours (Goong)

My favourite Korean actors:

I have listed few of the Korean actors whom I love:

(Not necessary in the below order because I love Kang Dong Won a lot!)


1. Rain/비/Bi/ Jeong Ji Hoon
I love 비 a lot. Being an established Singer, dancer and model, he has created a name for himself in the world of acting too. In "Full House" I fell in love with his cute-boyish charm that he portrayed apart from his regular hip-hop/manly stage image. But it was his role in "A Love to Kill" as K-1 fighter, Kang Bok-Gu that took my breath away. I have watched "A Love to Kill" more times than any film or series in my life. His role as a troubled man was just so convincing. He showed the pain and love in his eyes so well. His eyes are so expressive! He acted so well and was perfect to the core. He is so cute in “I am cyborg, but it’s OK”. He is a superstar of the era to look out for. I hope to watch his new film “Speed racer” soon.


2. Lee Byung-Hun
He is an actor whom I admire and respect. His acting talent is awesome. He has the most expressive eyes and body language, at least for me. I like watching him emote on screen. He has got a huge screen presence. I have seen few of his films where he played different shades of characters and each time he made a mark and touched my heart with his sincere acting. My all time favourite film “Bungee jumping of their own” starring him will always remain close to my heart, though I credit the script writer and the director for the film more. I like his fight scenes and those silent portrayals of love in “A bittersweet life”. He’s got this mysterious look about him. In “Addicted” I loved his silent and obsessive role. A good actor is known by the way he emotes through his eyes and body language and Lee Byung-Hun exactly does that!


3. Kwon Sang-Woo
Girls love him all over Asia! Why not? He has the most gorgeous body and can act so well! Personally I like him more for his roles rather than for his physical features. I used to think he has ‘done’ his face but once I saw a teenage photo of his on internet and realised his face is naturally pulled back(sorry). I loved all his films and the drama “Stairway to heaven”. In “Stairway to heaven” I felt he could have done a better job. I like his chemistry with a favourite actress of mine Kim Ha-Neul in “My Tutor friend” and “Almost love”, they look good together…


4. Kim Rae-Won
Kim Rae-Won is a sweet actor who has the boy next door image. There is a ‘feel good factor’ about him. Though I haven’t seen much range of acting from him in “…ing”, “My Love Patzzi”, “Love story in Harvard”, “My little Bride” I still love him because there’s something about him which is very lovable. He reminds me of Rain when I see his films.


5. Hyun Bin
I first saw him in “Millionaire’s first love” and liked him instantly and then very recently I saw "Snow Queen" and was smitten, big time! I have yet to see more of his work…


6. Kang Dong-Won
He was my first crush on any Korean actor. A scene from “Temptations of the Wolf” where he runs with an umbrella holding the girl’s hand in the rain is a classic scene. That scene will remain as one of my all time favourite romantic scene. He is really cool! He has unique movie choice which I really like and appreciate. I love his recent films- Maundy Thursday, Dualist, M, Voice of a murderer and his first film- Too beautiful to lie, starring my favourite acrtess Kim Na Neul. he was over shadowed by her in the later because he was a newcomer then. :)

Apart from the above there are many I like such as- Lee Dong-Wook and Lee Joon-Ki from the drama “My Girl”, Lee Ji-Hoon and Brian from “Hello! Miss”, Daniel Henney, Won Bin, etc…

My Favourite Korean Actresses

My favourite Korean actresses-
(Not necessarily in the below order)

1. Shin Min-Ah
She has the perfect face and height. She’s also very cute and her dimple is simply captivating. She can express well and has a strong screen presence. I like her a lot personally and want her to succeed more in her career.

2. Song Hye-Gyo
She’s got the sweetest, prettiest and the most charming face. I laughed and laughed watching her in “Full House”. It was after having a glimpse of her in “Autumn Fairytale” and had watched “My Girl/ Parang-juuibo” I learnt she is not only versatile but also a very talented actress. I believe she has the most photogenic face…

3. Lee Da-Hae
She looks very much like Song Hye-Gyo, but taller and younger. When I first saw her in “My Girl”, I thought she copies Song Hye-Gyo but gradually more I saw of her more I started liking her. She is talented, beautiful and acts very well. I loved both her dramas, “My Girl” and “Hello! Miss”, they made me giggle and smile all the way…

4. Kim Ha-Neul
I instantly liked her when I first saw her in “Romance”, and then I watched “Too Beautiful to Lie”, “My Tutor friend” and “Almost love” and fell for her charm completely. I like her pairing with Kwon Sang-Woo in the last two films, they share good chemistry…

5. Jun Ji-hyun
She is an extremely beautiful and talented actress. She’s one of the most well known Korean faces all over Asia. She’s acted in my all time favourite films, “Il mare, daisy and Wind struck”.

6. Im Su-jeong
Her film “Sad Movie” made me cry and cry. She played another of my favourite actress Shin Min-Ah’s elder sister in “Sad Movie”. I find her very cute and a fine actress. Her films “…ing, Sad movie, and I am Cyborg, but it’s OK” are few of my favourite films.