03.26.06
Bust out yer Boobi Boobi Dance
Club dancing in Korea has come a long way. Many many years ago, Korean songs were accompanied by their own choreographed dance that native clubbers would rehearse at home before taking their act to the dance floor. The result was that you'd see hundreds of people dancing in unison like performers in a Michael Jackson video. After a set of about five or six Korean hits the DJ would play an English-language dance song, which signaled dancers to sit down and sip their Cokes. They wouldn't dance to the music because, well, there wasn't a dance for it. A couple of years later Koreans finally gave up the choreography and started to dance freely to the rhythm of the music.
But that doesn't mean that there haven't been trends. Choreographed dancing evolved into free-style dancing. Free-style dancing was (unfortunately) interrupted by techno. (Those of you who've been in Korea for awhile surely remember seeing people turning their heads back and forth while waving their hand in front of their face. The "Look, I'm slapping myself" dance.) Then hip hop dancing squeezed its way onto the scene. And currently, Koreans are going gaga over the Boobi Boobi Dance (two boobis naturally being better than one).
What is the Boobi Boobi dance? I'm glad you asked. Though singer Yoon Eun-hye (Banana Girl, no joke) is often credited with introducing the dance to Korean culture, it's essentially an ass-grinding extension of hip hop inspired by performers like Beyonce or Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas. Or perhaps it was Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell.
So now that we've been introduced to the background of the dance, let's dive face-first into the Boobi Boobi scene. We'll start with the basic Boobi Boobi. Kudos to these two girls for cranking up their computer speakers to show us how to move. Moving on from there we can see Boobi Boobi has firmly established itself in the nightclubs. Once clubbers grabbed hold of the Boobi Boobi trend, it wasn't long before it bounced its way onto television, where amateurs either taught us how to make a Boobi Boobi sandwich or confused it with the Booty Booty. Of course, when the Boobi Boobi is exposed to television audiences, then celebrities want to get in on the act. Though this lovely lady wasn't exactly doing the Boobi Boobi, she deserves an "A" for effort. Later, the true professionals took over and put the boobi in the Boobi Boobi dance. Lastly the transgenders produced a somewhat artificial version of the Boobi Boobi. (Check out Harisu's man voice).
That's it. Your guided tour of the Boobi Boobi dance is over. Now get out there and show everyone your Boobi Boobi.
UPDATE: (The transgender link has changed.)
More Boobi Boobi
Yikes! Hallyu makes front page of Yahoo US
Yahoo US has run an AP story reporting that now middle-aged women in the U.S. are into Korean dramas. Don't believe me? Here it is.
Kimchi chosen one of world’s five healthiest foods
Scoff no more. Health Magazine listed Korean kimchi among its top-five healthiest foods.
Kimchi was chosen due to its possession of essential vitamins (A,B,C) and a healthy bacteria called lactobacilli - which helps with digestion.
However, no matter what any Korean might tell you, there is still no scientific evidence that kimchi prevents SARS. Read more on kimchi and SARS at The Party Pooper’s blog.
03.25.06
Speaking of Hyori
I know I’m stating the obvious, but Yeosu certainly cannot compete with Seoul when it comes to nightlife. Though I can’t say I’ve been out and about enough to start a travel guide, so far I’ve only come across two bars that wouldn’t fall under the category of “hof”. The same is true for nightclubs as well. There is no shortage of nightclubs, but the only ones I’ve seen are of the “booking” variety. That said, I visited one Friday night and discovered a performer doing a passable rendition of Hyori’s “Get Ya”. I apologize in advance for the excessive movement of the camera. I blame it on the alcohol.
03.24.06
Britney songwriters complain of Hyori “plagiarism”

from the Chosun Ilbo
“Representatives for the writers of the Britney Spears song “Do Something” have written to the producers of K-pop star Lee Hyo-lee saying “parts” of the title song in Lee’s latest album “Get ya” are plagiarized. While this is not the first time the Korean pop industry has been accused of pilfering, it is the first time the copyright holder has formally complained.”
Personally, I can’t understand why the “songwriters” would complain. I mean, Britney Spears’ music sucks! I would think they would be flattered that anyone would want to copy her music. To be fair, Hyori’s music sucks too. Let’s be honest. Excluding the teen-age girl market, the reason for Britney and Hyori’s popularity is not because of the quality of their music. It’s because of the way they shake it on stage. Take that away and you’ve got nothing. Lighten up Britney. Do you really want to deny us this? (Note: Turn the sound down.)
Korean men world’s most selfish in bed
An international survey conducted by Bayer found that Korean men are the world’s worst in caring for their partner’s sexual needs. According to the survey, only 30 percent of middle-aged Korean men “thought it decisive whether they made any great impression.” (Presumably in bed.) Seventy percent of the respondents cited stress as the most influential factor in their sex life. Read the rest of the Chosun Ilbo article here.
03.23.06
Choosy Men Choose Choo
I present to you…racing girl Choo Mi-young. (Her name is so inviting.)

Notorious ‘Staches
Over at The Marmot’s Hole a visitor posed the question, “What is it about evil white dictators and fastidiously-trimmed moustaches?” This aroused my curiousity and I decided to do a Google search. (Actually I was looking for a photo of a moustachioed Margaret Thatcher). Unfortunately no such photos of Margaret but I did come across an interesting quiz on this site. Go give it a shot.
03.21.06
Homer does Seoul
Did you know that much of the animation for the Simpsons is done in Korea? Okay, so maybe you did. Here's a nice Reuters article (via MSNBC) on South Korea's AKOM Production Co., the company that does the animation. Check it out.
Japan wins WBC!

Ichiro and Japan defeated Cuba 10-6. Let round two of media bitching commence.
