Entries in the 'Pop Culture & Society' Category

Passing the Miss Korea torch studded tiara

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

RELATED POSTS

 

No tags for this post.

Miss Korea hopefuls walk the runway

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

RELATED POSTS


Tags:

Modernizing the hanbok

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 >>


Tags: , ,

Is celebrity education really education?

(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? >>


Tags: , , , , ,

Korea just got a little pornier

Newsen reports that Penthouse is coming to Korea. Porn lovers rejoice!

Penthouse Media Group has made a contract to enter into an exclusive license with Korea’s own adult media corporation, N Tree Media. This new media enterprise between the two groups marks a first step in advancing into the large potential Asian adult entertainment market, as a stepping stone to advancing into China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and Malaysia.

The licensing agreement will span both on- and offline spheres, joining with Penthouse Group to franchise its merchandising, which includes broadcast entertainment, lingerie, jewelry and other items, in addition to adult movies and photos.

Personally, I’d thought Korea was doing just fine manufacturing its own pornography without the Americans lending a hand (insert immature snicker here), but apparently that’s not the case. What good is it being the world’s most wired society and the “bandwidth capital of the world” if you can’t get your porn the new old-fashioned way — through the interwebs?

SONG OF THE DAY

Tim - “사랑한 만큼” (as much as I love you), from his latest (fourth) album. The title comes from the lyrics, which say, “Please don’t worry about me… I’ll forget about you… It’ll just hurt me as much as I love you” (meaning the intensity of his pain is equal to his love). [ zShare download ]

 
RELATED POST:


Tags: