It began as another typical Saturday night in New York City. I was hanging out in Koreatown with my friends, fellow Korean Studies graduate students, downing shots of soju (a strong, distilled beverage that tastes either like sweet vodka or Drano, depending on who you talk to), when we began

The Not So Outsiders is a segment in our K-Pop Uncovered special, which takes an in-depth look into the history of Korean pop music, the making of K-pop idols and the state of the industry today.

Making Bubblegum Part 1 is a segment in our K-Pop Uncovered special, which takes an in-depth look into the history of Korean pop music, the making of K-pop idols and the state of the industry today.

Making Bubblegum Part 2 is a segment in our K-Pop Uncovered special, which takes an in-depth look into the history of Korean pop music, the making of K-pop idols and the state of the industry today.

Coming to America is the last segment in our K-Pop Uncovered special, an in-depth look into the history of K-pop, the making of K-pop idols and the state of the industry.

The intro to our K-Pop Uncovered special, which will take an in-depth look into the history of Korean pop music and the state of the industry today.

The Golden Age of Korean Rock excerpted from Pop Goes Korea by Mark James Russell (permission courtesy of Stone Bridge Press) is a segment in our K-Pop Uncovered special, which takes an in-depth look into the Korean pop music industry.

“I fell through the cracks,” said the attractive brunette sitting across from me with her characteristic bluntness. I first met Isak (real name: Ida Simmons) when I worked at Arirang TV and Radio, an English-language broadcasting station. The daughter of a Caucasian father and a Korean mother, Isak

Perhaps one of the most revealing insights into Korea’s self-image is contained in the Korean proverb: “When whales fight, the backs of the shrimp explode.” Many Koreans see their people and culture as remarkably resilient “shrimp.” After all, both North and South Korea survived into the modern age

Summer – Seoul, 2007: It’s Friday night and I’m in the entertainment district near Hongik University, a school well-known for its thriving arts scene. This isn’t just any Friday night – it’s the last Friday of the month, which means that it’s Club Day. Club Day offers a great deal: buy admission to

Spring - Seoul, 2003: I start watching Korean music channels and get my first real exposure to K-pop music: hot girls, pretty boys, and a lot of dancing. “It’s like a fourth generation Xerox copy of American bubblegum pop,” I tell a friend. Six years later, I can’t get the Wonder Girls’ “Nobody”

The Reign of Rain excerpted from Pop Goes Korea by Mark James Russell (permission courtesy of Stone Bridge Press) is a segment in our K-Pop Uncovered special, which takes an in-depth look into the Korean music industry.

“An Interview with Shinee” is a section of MTV Iggy's comprehensive special report K-Pop Uncovered.

In this special report, Korean-American writer Edward Chun takes us behind the scenes of the K-Pop music industry in Korean.

K-pop music, as one of the Korean waveâ s most successful products, also deserves a lot of credit for creating a solid bridge between South Korea and the rest of the world. And although K-pop may be, somewhat unfairly, defined as merely bubblegum, even its harshest critics must admit â bubblegum is

And what was that next step? Dong Ho, a baby-faced 15-year old, said that while heâ d like to continue in entertainment, he saw himself managing his own artists someday. Eli, who had once trained in the martial arts to be a star in China, wanted to pursue an acting career. Kevin wanted to

More revealing was when Russell told me that, “ the late 90s, Koreans spent, depending on the exchange rate, somewhere in the neighborhood of four to five hundred million dollars a year on CDs and tapes. Last year, they spent 60 million. We’re talking about an 80% decline.” The steep fall in music

For all the positive changes that have happened in the industry, however, Isak had a warning for those who were dreaming of becoming an idol star: long contracts and hidden fees had not disappeared. “They promise before you debut, ‘we’re going to house you, we’re going to feed you, we’re going to...

I asked the group to describe a typical day, and Kevin (a San Francisco native whose somewhat feminine features marked him as the bandâ s requisite â pretty boyâ ) filled me in: two hours of exercise in the morning, four hours of dance and choreography classes, two hours of vocal training, and two

Ten to 12-hour work days, seven days a week – that is the life of a K-pop star-in-training. Of course, the honor of even getting to this level is afforded only to a select few. The six members of U-kiss, a boy band that debuted about a year ago, are among the lucky ones. U-Kiss...

Celebrity Fashion & Beauty News, Photos, Video, Tour Outfits, Trends, Shopping

Celebrity Fashion & Beauty News, Photos, Video, Tour Outfits, Trends, Shopping

Celebrity Fashion & Beauty News, Photos, Video, Tour Outfits, Trends, Shopping