As we know, Koreans sure have a fierce sense of cultural pride (sometimes to uncomfortably myopic degrees). So it’s no big surprise that all are elated with Olympic gold medalist Park Tae-hwan’s win in the 400m freestyle on August 10. In about the half-day since he’s won the medal, his cyworld mini-homepage has amassed over 80,000 congratulatory messages.

Actually, currently there are 82,204 82,357 82,505 messages (that’s how fast the numbers climbed in the time it took me to write this post), although only the last 75,000 or so have come post-win. It’s kind of cute, actually, there are some messages reading, “I’m watching you on TV now,” and then, just a few messages later, “Just… a little… farther…” to be followed with, “Congrats on the gold medal!”

Of particular note are congratulatory messages left by members of girl groups Wonder Girls, Girls Generation (SoShi), and even figure skater Kim Yuna.

Kim Yuna’s message read:

“오빠 대박 ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 추카해!!”
“Oppa, jackpot! Kekekeke Congratulations!!”

His site’s background music was the boy band 2AM song “아니라기에” (”To say it’s not”), to which 2AM’s Im Seul-woong wrote:

“(배경음악 선택에) 너무나 감사하고 올림픽 금메달을 석권한 박태환 선수처럼, 저희도 열심히 해서 가요계의 금메달을 따겠다”
“Thanks so much for choosing our song. Like you’ve won the gold medal at the Olympics, we’ll work hard and do our best to win the gold medal in the music industry.” (Whatever THAT means!)

Another 2AM-er, leader Jo Kwon-do, wrote:

“금메달 소식에 홈페이지에 와 봤는데 ‘아니라기에’가 흘러나와 깜짝 놀랐다. 금메달 따길 2AM모두 기도했는데 너무 축하 드린다”
“I came to the site after hearing the news that you’d won the gold medal, but I was startled to hear ‘To Say It’s Not’ playing. Everyone in 2AM had prayed you’d win the gold. Congratulations.”

Park Tae-hwan sure wasn’t shy about his gold-medal hopes; his cyworld address is http://www.cyworld.com/freestylewin.

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Ooh, more Miss Korea drama. (There’s always drama surrounding a Miss Korea pageant, isn’t there? Or, I suppose, any pageant.)

First there was all that shrewish chatter that winner Na Ri wasn’t pretty enough. Now, Kim Hee-kyung, one of the recent finalists (Miss Korea mi, or 미), is facing some swift and harsh criticism now that nude photos of her have surfaced. There’s a mobile-content photo spread and an “adult music video” apparently shot in 2006 in Malaysia, following her debut as a model. (According to one article, she even gave an interview after the shoot, where she said, “My body is a God-given blessing. My body is so beautiful, I want to show it off to others, which is why I’ve done the nude shots.”)

The pageant sponsors said they were aware she had some photos but were under the impression they were “merely modeling” pictures. They defended their own misconception, asking, “Do you think we would have been okay with them if we’d heard they were nudes?” It is expected that the investigation into the nude photo charge will conclude and be revealed next week. Kim Hee-kyung is unavailable for comment.

It’s possible she’ll be stripped of her tiara, like last year’s Kim Joo-yeon (2007 Miss Korea mi). This incident doesn’t seem nearly as sensational as that “abortion scandal,” but the public mud-slinging will always be a constant. (Currently, Kim Joo-yeon is studying in New York; her image has been erased from the official Miss Korea website.)

Normally, I might feel inclined to cut the girl some slack. However, how stupid must you be in this age to take a bunch of nude photos, lie about it for an event televised on a national scale, and expect not to get caught?

Via Star News

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2007 Miss Korea Lee Ji-sun crowns the new Miss Korea, Na Ri.

The 52nd Miss Korea Pageant took place on August 5 in Seoul, at which Na Ri was awarded the top prize. Additionally, the two Miss Korea sun (선) finalists were Choi Bo-in and Kim Min-jung. The four Miss Korea mi (미) finalists were Kim Hee-kyung, Lee Yoon-ah, Jang Yoon-hee, and Seo Seol-hee.

It’s been noted that the winner is not as pretty as some of the other finalists, but as we know, prettiest doesn’t always mean everything. I do think that she’s been unfortunately styled, however — the hair, the dress, the makeup all make her look like an ’80s pageant queen, and she looks at least a decade younger in her non-pageant photo. But it must really suck to have won the crown and then have the press comment with headlines like “An ordinary-looking Miss Korea?” Many expected Jang Yoon-hee or Kim Min-jung to win instead, no doubt by virtue of their lovely faces.

(Then again, some of the other “prettier” girls have remarkably plasticized, too-perfect looks. For instance, Jang Yoon-hee is being singled out as the prettiest face, and I do think she looks remarkably like Kim Hee-sun, and perhaps a couple other actresses — but in a sort of replicated, unnatural way.)

Na Ri is a 22-year-old third-year student at one of Korea’s top universities, Yonsei University, studying applied statistics. She entered the pageant as Miss Seoul sun.

Some former Miss Koreas include: Honey Lee (2007), Choi Yoon-jung (2003), Kim Sarang (2000). As for others, actress Go Hyun-jung was Miss Korea sun in 1989, and Kwon Sang-woo’s wife-to-be Son Tae-young was a 2000 Miss Korea mi. Yeom Jung-ah was a 1992 Miss Korea mi, as was Lee Seung-yeon. Other former pageant participants who are now acting include 2000’s Lee Bo-young and Park Shi-yeon.

TOP ROW: Miss Korea winner (진) and the two Miss Korea sun(s) (선): Na Ri, Na Ri out of pageant gear, Choi Bo-in, and Kim Min-jung.
BOTTOM ROW: The Miss Korea mi(s) (미): Jang Yoon-hee, Jang close-up, Kim Hee-kyung, Lee Yoon-ah, Seo Seol-hee

Via JK News

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Prospective Miss Koreas lined up on August 1 to participate in the 2008 Miss Korea Hanbok Fashion Show & Cultural Performance. The event, which took place in the Grand Ballroom of Seoul’s Namsan Hyatt Hotel, precedes the the 52nd Miss Korea Pageant, which kicks off on August 6.

The reigning Miss Korea 2007, Lee Ji-sun, recently competed (but failed to make the cut, alas) at the Miss Universe Pageant in Vietnam last month. She was, however, a key part of the fashion show, dressing in a royal hanbok with formal headdress, partnered with actor Go Joo-won (below, they are the first two in the top row).

Via Hankook Ilbo

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I don’t really care about fashion much, and I don’t blog about it, but I saw various mentions on the interwebs of Canadian actress Sandra Oh’s above tribute to the hanbok, or traditional Korean dress, which she wore to the SAG awards earlier this week. The look was deemed worthy fodder for fugging on Go Fug Yourself (here it is again on Chosun daily).

The Fug Girls did backpedal from their scorn when they realized her dress was a take on a national costume; they were probably afraid of seeming culturally insensitive or ignorant or whatever. I don’t think the dress is ugly, but it’s not really all that interesting either — neither as a gown in and of itself, nor as an innovative new take on the hanbok. It’s just so LITERAL. There are ways to modernize the hanbok more cleverly. Making the bow really really big isn’t the only way to make something seem fashion-forward. And there are Korean designers doing it better. See what I mean after the jump.

SONG OF THE DAY

Sorea - “사랑바라기” (wishing for love), from the soundtrack for drama series Goong S.
[ zShare download ]

Modernized hanboks, ooh pretty >>

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(Singer-actor Eugene)

Shortly after posting this entry about Tim’s educational background, I saw the following (edited) transcription of the “Star News report” (you can watch the video clip of the segment at that link as well), which discusses celebrities and the way in which they gain admissions to universities in Korea.

It’s a topic that comes around every year, around the time that school starts, when once more national ire flares over the unequal treatment of universities in how they admit students, favoring entertainers and pandering to them in order to woo them to their respective institutions.

On top of the easy admissions, there’s resentment from bona fide students, because the celebrities hardly carry on a normal student lifestyle once enrolled. Even the more distinguished institutions (which are generally more strict in admitting students based on merit) get their fair share of accusations of unfair treatment for stars.

The segment is pretty toned-down in its criticism — the issue provokes much more heated commentary in real life, as it’s a lightning rod for critique and debate. But you can read between the lines and get the general idea.

 
SONG OF THE DAY

Vinyls - “환각” (hallucination) [ zShare download ]

Who’s enrolling in college this year? >>

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