King of the Idol Actors: A Suwon Post

Last year, Jang Suwon found some recognition in his "robotic" acting. Let's be real, it is kind of sad, but, I guess, it's also pretty awesome- Suwon is trendy now and is getting work just because he's awkward af.

It all started when Suwon appeared in an episode of the KBS drama Marriage Clinic: Love & War 2.

He was pretty bad- super stiff and just completely unemotional, much like a robot. It was just very, very awkward to watch. Poor Yura. But TBH, I did not hear a thing about netizens complaining about the dude from ZE:A so I guess he was saved from heavy criticism due to being overshadowed by Suwon.

From there, he took off. Idols are criticized whenever they go into acting, so maybe him being a trend is just buying into that idol-actor hate. He validates everyone's negative opinions. But there is something charming about it, which has allowed him to keep going with this new found fame for over a year. His bad acting is genuine. He actually tried; it wasn't like he just showed up and didn't care. He is just so painfully awkward that he couldn't do any better.

Along with the incessant rumors about a Sechskies reunion, his awkward acting also led to Suwon being invited on to a lot of different variety shows over the past several months. Of course, on these programs, he had opportunities to explain himself and his poor acting.

On Happy Together, his acting was the focus of his appearance. On the show, he explained himself, saying that when he is surrounded by cameras and strangers, he feels anxious and impatient so his acting comes off as hurried and therefore unemotional.

He said that he acted just as he did during rehearsals, but the director never really told him to do anything really differently. The director really couldn't complain since he had memorized his lines and did as he was told. The director of his drama episode suggested that he just tried too hard.

Until people actually started talking about how terrible he was, he thought he had done a fairly okay job. Obviously, he probably feels differently now.

Strangely enough though, Suwon did mention that the director had transferred to a different department since working with him, lol.

There is hope though.

Suwon can possibly find better work in comedy.

Back in October, Suwon was featured on the episode of Korean Saturday Night Live hosted by g.o.d's Joon. The sketches he appeared in, of course, referenced him being a robot, but they worked, and the sketches were actually pretty funny.

Most recently, he got what I feel is his biggest break- he was cast as the main character in the two episode parody (called 미생물) of popular drama Misaeng.

His director told him to only just watch the drama and not analyze it and to not change or improve his acting.

Surprisingly, he was genuinely pretty good and was able to bring the LOLs~

He was also super cute in the parody. Just saying.

Suwon needs to figure out how to translate this notoriety into something meaningful before his bubble pops. I hope he does stick with comedy since I think his robot persona and natural awkwardness could be played off of pretty well as some sort of straight man. But IDK what will happen, so let's wait and see.

ToToGa Concert Part 2

The second part of Infinity Challenge's ToToGa concert aired on Saturday night in Korea.

Cool were up first this episode.

They sang "Sorrow" and "Before Sadness Comes," and they had everyone dancing~ Despite missing Yuri, Cool put on a good little show. Lee Jaehoon was amazing and still looked so handsome; he's the soul of Cool so as long as he was there, it felt like Cool. Yewon blended in well- I love Cool, but I also like Yewon, so it all worked well for me.

Next So Chanwhee came out. She still looks super good, sounds super good.

She performed "A Wise Choice" and "Tears."

Old school powerful lady vocalists like her and Kim Hyunjung need more love; there aren't really any singers like them around nowadays. I'm not one of those Kpop fans who are assholes about voices and singing "talent," but I really love the ladies who could just scream it all out.

Jinusean were up after So Chanwhee. The two did "A-Yo" and "Phone Number."

Lastly, they performed "Tell Me," and that's when living goddess Uhm Junghwa came out for the first time~

Then Jo Sungmo was on. He started slow with ballad "To Heaven," but then the party atmosphere was back with "I Swear."

And then it was Lee Junghyun.

Since she is very serious about set design and costumes, her performances were very different from the others.

She did techno classic "Wa."

And "Give to You."

Uhm Junghwa was back again. And I was so crazy pumped.

Literally me too.

She graced us with performances of "Invitation" and "Poison."

During "Poison," Yoo Jaesuk came out filled in as backup dancer Kim Jongmin.

Amazing.

Finally, it was Kim Gunmo's turn.

He performed "Sleepless Rainy Night," "Love is Gone," and as some sort of encore, "Wrong Meeting."

The other 90s dudes were no longer content to sit in the back, and they rushed to the stage...

And they joined Gunmo for his last song.

But "Wrong Meeting" wasn't the end, Turbo got to do "Twist King" as the final encore~

Overall, it really was so good and so so fun. Hopefully, this isn't the last 90s special we'll see.

This was literally my reaction throughout the whole show.

Let's be real, it probably won't be. Both episodes had really good ratings and songs are charting again. Everyone loves the 90s. I love the 90s so flipping much too, you guys.

Also, I put together a mix of the songs performed over on 8tracks so go enjoy~

So I just saw this...

This article: http://www.allkpop.com/article/2015/01/boom-expresses-his-joy-of-being-back-on-major-broadcast-vows-not-to-gamble-again

Well, I guess Boom, who got in trouble in the same gambling scandal as Tony and Andy, has made his return to TV. I don't know how the Korean public are reacting to it, but to be honest, who the hell even wanted gross ass Boom back to begin with. The point I want to make is that I just hope it bodes well since Shinhwa announced their comeback is scheduled for this February.

As I said, Boom is super gross, but Andy is the most sincere, precious human being so if anyone legitimately reflected on getting into trouble it would be Andy. I swear to g.o.d if anyone gives him shit when he comes back, I will flip. They can all come fight me IRL. I will literally fly over to Korea and challenge everyone talking smack to fight me.

Also, I really miss Tony. Tony we need you back too~!

ToToGa Concert Part 1

Infinity Challenge's ToToGa concert aired Saturday night in Korea.

It all kicked off with the five Infinity Challenge members making an intro dressed as H.O.T but jumping around to Sechskies' "Pom Saeng Pom Sa."

Jeong Junha was Tony, Yoo Jaesuk was Woohyuk, Park Myungsoo was Kangta, HaHa was Jaewon, and Jung Hyungdon was Heejun.

TBH this is a very good look for Jaesuk.

Of course while there was talk about H.O.T, there were no clips of Tony...

A lot of the audience members showed up in very nifty 90s costumes and that was very cool.

The actual concert was hosted by Junha and Myungsoo, with the two dressed as Boom Boom, and they were joined by old school MC Yvonne.

The group first came out singing and dancing to one of the ultimate 90s classics, "Why Do You" by Chuli and Miae.

Turbo were up first. They performed "My Childhood Dream," "Love Is," and Christmas song "White Love."

MBC even broke out old school title cards.

And had a camera out there on the floor to do the annoying zooms and spins popular on 90s music programs.

Turbo still had it~

Next was one of my faves Kim Hyunjung, and she, as people say these days, slayed, though she only did two songs, the hits "Separation" and "Bruise."

She had everyone dancing~

Then it was much anticipated S.E.S' turn on the stage. They sang "I'm Your Girl" and "I Love You."

Obviously, it was sad that Eugene wasn't involved. Seohyun did the job fine, though, and fit in pretty well.

HaHa and Hyungdon also stepped up as RicDy for the "I'm Your Girl" performance.

They only showed a clip of Eric, so I imagine MBC still has a ban on Andy >.>

Bada was amazing... as usual. Seriously, Bada will never let you down. Bada is still better than all your faves. She will always be.

Part 2 will air next weekend~

Infinity Challenge's ToToGa concert

On the 18th, a year end special concert with a ridiculous array of popular 90s artists was filmed for Infinity Challenge. The episode will air next Saturday night, and it looks like it'll be an absolute celebration of the 90s.

Those who performed included:

Uhm Junghwa

Lee Junghyun

Kim Hyunjung

So Chanwhee

Kim Gunmo

Jo Sungmo

Jinusean

Turbo

S.E.S, with SNSD's Seohyun filling in for pregnant Eugene

Cool, with Jewelry's Yewon filling in for Yuri who just had a baby

Too many faves (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:・ﾟ✧

Of course, I am very, very excited.

Here's a preview:

2014, A Year in Review

Kpop fans have been harping on how this past year was so terrible nearly from the start. While it was definitely filled with scandal, for me, 2014 was fairly boring. Obviously, the defining moment of 2014 was the reunion and comeback of g.o.d. But apart from all the g.o.d goodness, it was mainly a 'meh' 12 months of Kpop, in my opinion. However, there were a few bright spots...

My Favorite Things About Kpop in 2014

I had started to compile a list of my favorite songs almost as soon as this past year began. At the end of June, I posted a list of my faves for the first half of the year on my Tumblr. Since then, I kept on it- continuing to label new releases as kickin' jamz that could end up on my year-end fave song list. It took a lot of thought, but I think I finally have a solid list that reflects what I was really jamming out to in 2014. Obviously this is just based upon my personal taste, which is fairly bad to begin with...

Top 35 Favorite Songs

1. g.o.d - the entire Chapter 8 album [in particular "The Lone Duckling," "Sky Blue Promise," "Stand Up," and "Saturday Night"]
2. Dal Shabet - “BBB”
3. Crayon Pop - "Hey Mister”/"C'mon C'mon"
4. T-ara - “Sugar Free”
5. Vixx - “Error”/“Eternity”
6. Kim Jongmin - “Sali Go Dali Go”
7. Kara - “Mamma Mia”
8. Orange Caramel - “Catallena”/”My Copycat”
9. Crayon Pop - “Uh-ee”
10. Girl’s Day - “Something”
11. K-Much - “What Should I Do”
12. Jiyeon - “1min 1 sec”
13. f(x) - “Red Light”
14. Exid - "Up & Down"
15. Tahiti - “Oppa You’re Mine”
16. Stellar - “Marionette”
17. Lim Changjung - “Shall We Dance”
18. Taemin - “Danger”
19. Koyote - “1999”
20. JYJ - “Backseat”
21. Strawberry Milk - “OK”
22. ZE:A - “Breathe”
23. M - "Taxi"
24. Akdong Musician - “200%”
25. Beast - "Good Luck"
26. Kim Dongwan - “He_Sunshine”
27. Infinite - "Back"
28. T-ara- “First Love”
29. 100% - "U Beauty"
30. Red Velvet - "Happiness"
31. Henry - "Fantastic"
32. Block B - "HER"

Edit: I should have tried to fit AOA's "Like a Cat" in here somewhere. The song really grew on me.

Top 5 Best MVs

1. g.o.d - "Saturday Night" 
2. Kim Jongmin - "Sali Go Dali Go" 
3. Vixx - "Error" 
4. Orange Caramel - "My Copycat” 
5. Block B - "HER"

Originally, I wanted to make a Top 10 list, but I found trying to organize that list beyond the top five was too much of a hassle.

"Saturday Night" is such a perfect music video. It's lulzy and fun and fits the song to a T. Similarly, Jongmin's MV for "Sali Go Dali Go" is funny and appropriate. It also features Cheon Myeonghun, so in my eyes, it's automatically amazing, and it was hard not to name it my #1 fave just because of Myeonghun, to be honest.

I have always been fond of Vixx's MVs, "Eternity" wasn't at all bad, but "Error" was terrific- well made with a crazy good concept. "My Copycat" also had an interesting concept and was executed well; "Catallena" even was a very memorable MV. I really like "HER" mainly for the aesthetics. Very nice on the eyes.

Best Groups

• Male: g.o.d with a special nod to Vixx 
• Female: T-ara 

g.o.d absolutely owned 2014. Literally the only thing I want to remember about the year 2014 is g.o.d. But 2014 was also the year I really got into Vixx. Vixx is a fun group that really can't let you down. Different concepts, impressive choreography, funky tunes, and they're all so adorable, and they match each other so well. Really looking forward to seeing them in 2015. Hopefully, I can catch them if they come back to the US next year, too.

T-ara had another good year. Jiyeon made a fantastic solo debut. Unfortunately, Hyomin's solo did not live up to expectations. But then T-ara came back with "Sugar Free" and all was right. Their rendition of "Little Apple" was pretty sweet too. I just wish netizens would let the bullying thing go. It's so hackneyed.

I'm also going to give a shout out to Crayon Pop, though it was too bad that we never got that full album this year. Hopefully, they come back out in full force and take Korea by storm as they did with "Bar Bar Bar."

Heejun and Kangta reunite on Immortal Song

Yesterday, KBS World finally uploaded the episode of Immortal Song with S as guests. To be honest, I did't remember the last time I saw Heejun and Kangta together, so that was basically the main reason I was excited to watch this episode.

If you were also thinking that yeah, I have no clue when the last time I saw them on a program together was, it's because it has been hella long...

Whoa, ten years with no JunTa...

It is kind of strange that both have not been on a show in so long. I always assumed that if Kangta was on the best terms with anyone in H.O.T it would be Heejun. But while Heejun is literally everywhere on TV, Kangta has not made many television appearances over the past several years, but I doubt there's any ill-will or what-not between the two. As a H.O.T fan, it's of course just really nice to see them back together again.

This Immortal Song special was a two-parter so there's even more interactions to be seen when that episode is out subbed next week. On top of that, Kangta and Lee Jihoon also appeared on the latest episode this weekend.

2014: Disappointments

For me there were two major disappoints in 2014- the lack of Shinhwa and W.I.S.H's Facebook failure.

I will not blame Andy for it being a quiet Shinhwa year, especially since I am an Andy stan, but it's hard not to acknowledge the fact that his gambling scandal prevented Shinhwa from having a proper comeback this year. Taking a break from Shinhwa promotions, though, would have allowed the other members to get involved in separate activities. But even with their individual efforts, it was a lackluster year for me as a Shinhwa fan.

Along with the excruciating absence of Andy in my life, first and foremost, I was very upset that we never got a solo comeback from Jun Jin. After Andy, I prefer Jun Jin's body of solo work over the other four's, and since Shinhwa is gearing up for their next comeback in January, I doubt we'll get any solo Jun Jin for another year.

M had his tenth anniversary since his solo debut, but personally, I wasn't really feeling the M+Ten release. Eric had his drama comeback with Discovery of Romance, and while it was a cute show and had its moments, I'm not a drama person. I love Hyesung with all my heart, and though his remake project was interesting in concept and it was nice to see S get back together, Hyesung's ballad/softer style of music is not my style, so I found it hard to get incredibly excited about what he was been up to. Dongwan was away in Canada for what seemed like most of the year, but when he came back he at least offered up some pretty neat stuff; it was great to see him return to the Hedwig musical and "He_Sunshine" is a very enjoyable song.

2012 and 2013 were amazing years for Shinhwa, but 2014 really didn't do them justice. I hope they come back and totally own 2015.

As with last year's Christmas concert that never was, HOTSechgodRG's failed attempt on Where Is my Super Hero to gather enough Facebook likes to hold a large scale concert absolutely broke my heart.

To be honest, HOTSechgodRG's return was not as satisfying as it should have been. W.I.S.H lasted only for four episodes and obviously it did not feel complete without Tony. But also, the fact that g.o.d were reuniting, I think, really had an effect on the project group and how the FB experiment fared- their comeback distracted from the project.

This year was pretty much a crap year for me as a Myeonghun fan. I'm worried, especially after he went on Family's Dignity: Full House and talked about how he was broke. He barely did anything this year; I hope he's doing okay. Myeonghun really does not get the respect he deserves as a former idol and musician, and it would have been nice to have him back on stage as a performer in front of a large audience regardless of whether or not they were NRG fans.

We haven't seen HOTSechgodRG since their appearance on Running Man back in August. I really hope this is not the last of them, so I'm anxious to see what happens with the team in 2015~

Sechskies reunion rumors

A month or so ago Sechskies reunion rumors started popping up, again. They were shot down almost immediately. Over the last couple of days these rumors resurfaced once more.

Claims of the group finishing off a new album came out of seemingly nowhere. Oddly, this time, it was Kang Sunghoon who apparently fueled these rumors, but the other members were quick to respond.

Suwon was just as surprised as everyone else, and on Twitter, he assured that he had not been in the studio for quite a while.

I'm still confused as to how a reunion would work. Kang Sunghoon is still banned by broadcast stations, Ko Jiyong seems to be pretty adamant about distancing himself from the entertainment world, and I'm not very sure how favorably the public looks upon Lee Jaejin after his military service.

Sechskies haven't made music together for nearly fifteen years, and they had a very distinctive style that may not have aged that well. Their solo/duo endeavors are pretty disparate; I don't even know what style they'd go for if they did decide to make new music. What would their comeback even sound like?

But let's be real, regardless, I'd flip my shit over a Sechskies comeback and take whatever junk they gave me and would be happy.

However, there is something Sechkies related to look forward to- Jiwon is preparing for a solo comeback~

Upcoming

I'll be posting a series of 2014 retrospective articles in the coming weeks~