#dmukcs

In this, I won’t be talking about how to cook meat because I’ve already done the recipes for bulgogi and galbi, I will be giving the recipes for common KBBQ side dishes (반찬 - banchan)

There isn’t really a word for K-BBQ in Korean, they usually say “Let’s go eat *whatever the main meat is* (e.g. bulgogi)”

The other commonly eaten KBBQ meat is samgyupsal (삼겹살) also known as pork belly. This is usually eaten with just salt and pepper seasoning and grilled. Afterward, you could choose to dip it in ssamjang (recipe below or you can buy it in stores). This is a Korean barbeque dipping sauce. 

In most places, KBBQ is served with lettuce leaves to make lettuce wraps (상추쌈 - sangchussam). In Korea, a lot of free food is given to you when ordering BBQ, for instance kimchi and rice (밥 - bap) and maybe some of the banchan mentioned here. Onions, mushrooms, eggs and garlic in sesame oil could also be included and is a good addition to your BBQ. Sadly, in England, we don’t get this privilege of free food.

Equipment

Gloves (optional) 

Grater (optional) 

Saucepan 

Ingredients and instructions 

Radish salad (무생채 - musaengchae)

½ Daikon radish 

1 tbsp salt 

1 tsp gochugaru (optional)

4 tbsp granulated sugar 

4 tbsp white vinegar

Cut the radish into 1-2 inch pieces and thinly slice the radish lengthways (or grate the radish) 

Add the rest of the ingredients and toss using your hands 

Let sit for 30 minutes to marinate 

Green onion salad (파무침 / 파절이 - pamuchim / pajeori)

10 stalks of green onion

4 tbsp light soy sauce 

1 tbsp gochugaru

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp sesame seed oil 

1 tbsp honey 

½ tbsp minced garlic 

½ tbsp sugar 

Chop the green onions into 2-inch pieces and slice thinly vertically 

Add the rest of the ingredients and toss using your hands 

Soybeans sprout salad (숙주나물무침 - sugjunamulmuchim) 

1 cup green onion 

1 cup soybean sprout 

1 cup lettuce 

3 tsp light soy sauce

4 tsp white vinegar 

1.5 tsp granulated sugar 

1 tsp honey 

2 tsp water 

½ tsp sesame oil 

Chop the green onions into 2-inch pieces and slice thinly vertically. Put it in a bowl with cold water and leave for 10 minutes

In a saucepan, add soybean sprouts to water and bring to a boil. As soon as the water is boiled, take it off the heat and drain the water. 

Roughly chop the lettuce 

Add them all in a bowl with the rest of the ingredients and toss with your hands

Ssamjang (쌈장)

1 clove garlic 

1 stalk of green onion 

½ bulb of onion 

¼ cup doenjang (Korean soybean paste) 

1-2 tbsp gochujang 

2 tsp toasted sesame oil 

½ tbsp honey 

2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Mince garlic, onion and green onions 

Add to bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix 

Bibliography:

Icon in heading: https://absolutely.london/best-korean-bbq-in-london/ 

https://www.tasteatlas.com/ssam 

https://ph.phonebooky.com/blog/samgyupsal-restaurants-makati/ 

https://futuredish.com/korean-bbq-salad-3-types/ 

This week’s rec is one of my absolute favourites: Super Junior’s SORRY, SORRY! 

Quick ramble before we get into this: when this song released back in 2009, it was the first time I ever listened to a ‘kpop’ song. I’m not even kidding when I say that this song and entire album was a game changer for me. This was my stepping stone into kpop and, consequently, Korean culture and it really does mean a lot for me! Like, bruh can you even believe that March 2021 will mark me down for being a fan of Korean music for over 12 YEARS. This is honestly such a classic kpop song, as well as being one of the most well known in my opinion.

Anyhow! Back to the point:

watch the MV here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6QA3m58DQw&ab_channel=SMTOWN

SORRY, SORRY was released March 3rd, 2009 as a digital single before coming the title track of their 3rd studio album of the same name. The song was their comeback as a complete group since their activities as subgroup in Mainland China and South Korea in 2008. It was Super Junior’s most successful single on the music charts and won them a sum total of 10 recognitions throughout their promoting period.

SORRY, SORRY was a new style for Super Junior, a dance song stimulated with heavy electronic beats in the genre known as ‘urban minimal funky’, and unlike their previous releases. It’s a ‘polished and trendy’ dance song, with an exciting beat and earworm chorus, with influences of American funk and contemporary R&B.

This song was an international hit, though not as we may know it today. Rather, it became the best selling k-pop album in Taiwan, Thailand, China and the Philippines, where they credited Sorry, Sorry to have been the first k-pop album to reach number one in the music charts from the country. It was an instant hit, and stayed number one in Taiwan for an astounding 37-weeks in their k-pop singles chart. Sorry, Sorry achieved both national and international success and this has been their best-selling single in South Korea since.

For fans too, who had been waiting for a return of all 13 members, this was an exciting (if not bittersweet) moment for them, as this marked the last time they came together as a full group again before two members, Hangeng and Kibum, left the group.

Outside of South Korea, SORRY, SORRY, was heavily promoted in other Asian communities. Over 51 subway trains in Taipei were covered in Sorry, Sorry advertisements from April 17th through to May 7th, to promote the Taiwanese release which came out on April 17th. Among these trains was one called the Super Junior Train, which was entirely covered with Super Junior posters.

Not only that, but this song had a big cultural impact, the dance having been covered many times not just by idols, but professional sports players as well. In April 2009, volleyball player Kim Yeonkoung from Heungdeuk Life stated if her team won the 2008-09 NH Nonghyup professional volleyball championship, they would perform the routine. They won and performed this at the award ceremony. Football player Kim Seungyong danced to Sorry, Sorry after scoring a goal against Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma in the 2009 K League. Basketball players have danced to it at the Dongbu Promy Professional Basketball season awards ceremony too, an event which marked the end of the season in professional basketball league.

The honour guard of the South Korean Air Force has danced to Sorry, Sorry (alongside Gee by SNSD) ahead of the groundbreaking ceremony of Airforce Museum at Sanjicheon, Jeju City. Employees of Korean Air created a parody group called 직장인 슈퍼주니어 (jikjjangin super junior) which literally translates to Office Workers Super Juniors, and performed the choreography at an in-house concert held at the Korean Air HQ.

Finally, in the Philippines, a video of inmates known as the CPDRC Dancing Inmates, from the Cebu Provinvial Detention and Rehabilitation Centre, dancing to the song went viral after being uploaded to YouTube.

members, left to right. back row: Ryeowook, Eunhyuk, Kangin, Donghae, Yesung. middle row: Heechul, Sungmin, Kibum, Shindong. front row: Hangeng, Leeteuk, Siwon, Kyuhyun.

Super Junior was originally a 12-member group formed under SM Entertainment in November 2005. They debuted with their single Twins (Knock Out). They later became a 13-member group when their youngest, Cho Kyuhyun, was added in May 2006, in line with their release U. Known by other nicknames such as SJ or SuJu, Super Junior have been dubbed by the media and the Korean Music Awards as the Kings of the Hallyu Wave due to their prominent contributions in the Korean wave.

With the release of Sorry, Sorry, their best-selling single, they launched into international recognition. Throughout the years of their career, they have been divided into smaller groups, being able to target different music industries and audiences at the same time. The members have all individually branched out into other Entertainment Industry roles such as hosting, presenting and acting. Due to their success and popularity as all-rounded entertainers, they have led other Korean entertainment companies to begin training their groups in other aspects of the entertainment industry, rather than just singing, dancing and rapping.

These other groups included: Super Junior-M, their Chinese sub-unit. Super Junior-T, their Trot sub-unit, Super Junior-H, their ‘Happy’ sub-unit. Two other more recent sub-units are Super Junior K.R.Y - Kyuhyun, Ryeowook and Yesung, their ballad sub-unit, and finally - my personal favourite - Super Junior D&E, comprised of Donghae & Eunhyuk, main dancers and best friends within the group, who cover a myriad of genres in comparison. 

Super Junior was the best-selling k-pop artist for four years in a row. They have earned 13 music awards from MAMA, 19 from the Golden Disc Awards, are the second singing group to win Favourite Artist Korea at the 2008 MTV Asia Awards after jtL in 2003. 2012: they were nominated ‘Best Asian Act’ in MTV Europe Music Awards. 2015: they won the ‘International Artist’ and ‘Best Fandom’ awards at the Teen Choice Awards. March 2020, Super Junior broke their own record topping the Korean Album Chart of Taiwan’s KKBOX for a jaw-dropping 122 consecutive weeks since 2017, with their 8th album Play, the 8th album repackage REPLAY in 2018, the 9th album Time_Slip from 2019 and the 9th album repackage Timeless, 2020.

As it stands right now, Super Junior have only 9 active members left in their group. In 2009, Hangeng filed a lawsuit against SM, which saw him stop promoting until he finally left the company in 2011. Kibum also took a step back from the group in 2009, opting to focus more on his acting career through a temporary hiatus. Though he appeared in the MV for Sorry, Sorry, and was featured in promotional adverts for their upcoming concert Super Show 2, he did not attend. His contract ended with SM in 2015. Kangin left in 2019, following another DUI incident.

Though Sungmin has not been classified as left and his contract with SM is still active, he has been on hiatus since 2015.

Super Junior’s fandom name is E.L.F, standing for Everlasting Friend and their fandom colour is Pearl Sapphire Blue.

Other songs I would recommend are (it’s long): the entire SORRY, SORRY album, It’s You, Bonamana, Boom, 2YA2YAO!, the entire Sexy, Free & Single album/repackage, A-CHA, Oops!! ft f(x), 라라라라 Be My Girl, Opera, Lo Siento, Black Suit, SUPER Clap, Scene Stealer, Good Day for a Good Day, Magic, Devil, This is Love, MAMACITA, Evanesce, SUPERMAN, Mr. Simple, Twins (Knock Out) and honestly so so so SO much more than I can remember right now!

I don’t listen to their sub-units as often, considering M, T & H are pretty much disbanded at this point.

But recs for D&E are as followed: OPPA OPPA, Danger, ‘Bout You, 너는 나만큼 (Growing Pains), I Wanna Dance (사네), 촉이 와 (Can You Feel It?), 아직도 난 (Still You), B.A.D, Skeleton.

members left to right: Shindong, Kyuhyun, Leeteuk, Donghae, Heechul, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Ryeowook and Yesung.

photo references:

https://www.hellokpop.com/kpop/super-junior-sorry-sorry-ten-years/ https://www.last.fm/music/Super+Junior/SORRY,+SORRY/+images/2549839ddfec45aa8e928b374cf3df2d https://kprofiles.com/super-junior-profile/

Although the term hanbok literally means “korean clothing”, now it is typically used to refer specifically to the clothing worn as daily attire during the Joseon dynasty period. Nowadays it is only usually worn for special occasions such as weddings, lunar new year, ancestral rites and children’s first birthday celebrations. 

Fundamental Design

Elements of a hanbok are :

Baji (바지) - trousers

Jeogori (저고리) - upper garment

Chima (치마) - skirt made up of multiple layers

Po (포) - overcoat, a specific variety of the overcoat s the durumagi (두루마기)

The design is focused on balance and ease of movement as well as the Confucian style dress code.

For example the chima hides the movement of the lower body to give women the appearance of moving with grace and baji are loose to allow for ease when standing and sitting.

Hanbok that we know take their fundamental structure from Goguryeo (고구려) period where both men and women would wear a baji and a waist-length jeogori.

Later, with influences from other cultures, led to the noticeable changes of women having a shorter jeogori and longer chima that cinched at the waist, and men wearing looser baji with a jeogori that is bound at the waist.

Social class, colour and pattern

Upper classes would wear patterned silk or ramie cloth whereas those of lower classes were restricted to cotton hanbok.

Patterns typically represented the desires of the wearer - lotus flowers meant a hope for nobility, bats and pomegranates a desire for children.

Dragons, phoenixes, cranes and tigers could only be worn by royalty or high ranking officials.

Hanboks are known for their vibrant colours though the bright colours are mostly worn by children and young women, with men and middle aged women typically wearing more muted hues.

Commoners often wore white though pale colours and charcoal could be worn on special occasions. 

Traditionally unmarried women would wear yellow jeogori and red chima while married women would wear green and red. Women with sons would often wear navy.

In the Baekje kingdom and Goryeo dynasty, violet was used to denote royalty.

Unmarried women would also wear their hair in a single braid with a daenggi (댕기) whereas married women would have two braids that was then secured to the crown of their head.

Please note that this is a very small summary of hanbok - in reality there are many more colours and meanings that can be worn, and in many cases the accessories also denote someone's status and social class.

Researched and written by Leo ^.^

Bibliography

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/south-korea/articles/hanbok-an-introduction-to-south-koreas-national-dress/ 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanbok 

https://www.koreatravelpost.com/introduction-to-south-koreas-traditional-dress-hanbok/ 

(Serves 5)

(literally translates to seaweed rice)

Equipment 

Measuring cup or scales

Rice cooker (or saucepan)

Saucepan 

Frying pan 

(optional) gloves 

Sushi mat (or cling film, baking paper or silicone mat)

Brush (or just use your fingers)

Ingredients 

Amounts haven’t been added because you only need enough to fill the kimbap 

2 cup (450g) short-grain rice 

Spinach 

Carrot 

Cucumber 

Danmuji (yellow pickled radish)

2 eggs

1 tbsp sesame oil 

Salt (to taste) 

5 sheets of seaweed 

Add fillings of your choice (burdock root, spam, crabstick, beef, bacon, etc) but not too much as the kimbap may not contain it all

Instructions 

Cook rice with a little less water than the instructions requires. 

Cook the spinach by putting it in salted boiling water for 30 secs - 1 minute then immediately placing it in cold water. 

Cut the carrot by cutting it into 1-2 inches and then thinly slicing it lengthways

Cook the carrot by stir-frying over medium-high heat with a pinch of salt until they’re soften 

Cut the cucumber into thin slices by cutting into 1-2 inches and then thinly slicing it lengthways 

Cut danmuji into 1 cm thick strips lengthways  

Whisk the eggs together with salt and fry it over medium heat until cooked. 

Cut the egg into 1 cm thick strips lengthways 

Cut any fillings into 1 cm thick strips (Season and cook if needed)

Add sesame oil and salt to the rice. Mix and allow to cool

Assembly 

Place the seaweed sheet shiny side down on the sushi mat (the bamboo should be horizontal). The longer side of the seaweed should be the closest to you 

Spread the rice evenly over the seaweed in a thin layer about 1 cm thick (no thicker than 1 cm). The rice should not go over the edges, leave ½ inch gap from all sides. On the side furthest from you, leave a 1.5-inch gap so that the rice doesn’t overflow when rolling. 

Lay all the fillings horizontally from you about ½ inch away from the edge of the rice that is the closest to you.

Start rolling the kimbap using the mat and both hands. Remember to apply a bit of pressure while rolling. 

Brush with sesame oil and cut into 2 cm thick pieces 

It is best eaten on the day it’s made but can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Bibliography:

Icon in heading: https://www.thespruceeats.com/kimbap-korean-sushi-rolls-2118795

https://erasmusu.com/en/erasmus-hanoi/erasmus-experiences/kimbap-korean-seaweed-curry-rice-543694

https://www.koreanbapsang.com/gimbapkimbap-korean-dried-seaweed-rolls/ 

https://mykoreankitchen.com/easy-kimbap/ 

This week’s reccomedation is Rose of Betrayal/Betrayal of the Rose by Uhm Junghwa.

watch the MV here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Lo85dzoSc0&ab_channel=handrickson1 Rose of Betrayal was released in 1997, and is one of Uhm Junghwa’s iconic and signature songs from her music career. It came from her 3rd studio album, After Love, but was featured again on her 4th studio album Invitation. 

This song had unexpected success, despite its shocking MV at the time, and marked a stylistic transformation in her career.

Unlike many other dance songs, this song gave its significant impact in the beginning, not the chorus. There are strong feelings throughout the song, and from this it caught her own style. This song is about how an abandoned woman allowed her heart to be caught by a Casanova. 

Uhm Junghwa is a singer, actress and dancer from South Korea. She is considered to be one of the most influential women in the Korean entertainment industry and such is nicknamed the “evergreen”. Many female artists recognise her as a role model.

Uhm began her career in 1987, as a chorus member for MBC. She then made her film debut in the 1992 film Marriage Story and released her first studio album Sorrowful Secret in 1993. The lead single "Pupil" (눈동자) helped to establish her unique image.

Her 4th studio album Invitation, which I’ve mentioned above, was a massive success, bolstered by “Poison” and “Chodae”, singles from the album. These songs, alongside “Rose of Betrayal” (배반의 장미), "Molla" (몰라), "Festival" and "Dagara" (다가라) have become her signature, iconic songs. 

Following a nearly 10 year long hiatus from music, Uhm Junghwa released her tenth studio album The Cloud Dream of the Nine in 2017.

In the summer of 2020, Uhm Junghwa joined singers Lee Hyori, Jessi and Hwasa to form the “supergroup” Refund Sisters. They debuted with their first single “Don’t Touch Me” in October 2020 and reached number 1 on the Gaon chart.

This weeks recommendation is Fly by Epik High (에픽하이).

listen to the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHqLlyBlmQI

This is the song that really gained Epik High their popularity though a lot of you probably know it as “the song that inspired Suga from BTS”. However, as such a popular release, it deserves to be recognised in its own right having topped the domestic charts and taking five wins for hip hop awards at music shows. Fly was also featured on Fifa 07 and the Korean arcade game Pump It Up.

The song has an upbeat and inspirational tone that fans say represents hope to them .

members left to to right: Mithra Jin, Tablo, DJ Tukutz

Epik High are a three person alternative hip hop who have been known for combining multiple styles and lyrical themes since their debut in 2003. They are still active as a group now and have recently announced that a new album will be released on the 18th of this month.

The group began in 2001 in Seoul’s underground music scene, performing with groups such as CB Mass as part of the ‘Movement Crew’ which was once of South Korea’s largest hip hop crews at the time. They were relatively unknown early on in their career as the music genre itself wasn’t popular with mainstream audiences and critics argued there as no place for lyrically complex music that did not match the currently rising popularity of K-Pop. 

Regardless, they released a debut album under Woollim Entertainment titled Map of the Human Soul in 2003 which gained them some success and later in 2004 they released their second album High Society in 2004. The release of their album Swan Songs in 2005 was supposed to be their last after the poor reception to their previous releases. Instead, the album became a mainstream hit and rocketed Epik High into fame as one of the most popular hip hop groups in Korea. The following year they released an album featuring remixed versions of the songs from Swan Songs, titled Black Swan Songs.

Their 2007 album Remapping the Human Soul became third best seller in Korea and won Album of the Year despite being censored by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism for its diverse themes of sexual crime, war, religion and education. Then in 2008 Pieces, Part One had 50,000 preorders. Their EP 1 Minute 1 Second went on to top charts later that year and the group won awards for, Best Hip Hop Performance and Hip Hop Musician of the Year (Netizen vote).

In 2009 they Woollim Entertainment and founded the independent record label Map The Soul which consisted of  Epik High, MYK, Planet Shiver and Dok2. That same year they released 魂: Map the Soul which Tablo stated was not an official but a “special project” and as such the album was exclusively available through their website. To commemorate this release they also toured Japan and performed at Melon Ax in Seoul as well as several cities in the US. Later that year they released a second album [e] with the electronic pop title track Wannabe which criticised K-Pop trends and, following their continued success, they had a South Korean tour beginning shortly after.

From late 2009-2012 DJ Tukutz and Mithra Jin served their mandatory military service. During this time the album Epilogue was released under Woollim Entertainment featuring several members of the boy group Infinite prior to their own debut. Tablo also signed a four-year contract with YG entertainment where he was able to release a solo album though he indicated many times that Epik High had not disbanded and was simply on hiatus.

After a three year hiatus it was announced that Epik High would return under YG Entertainment. They remained with the company until 2018 where they then signed with William Morris Endeavor , releasing the albums 99, Shoebox and We’ve Done Something Wonderful, as well as several singles and remixes where they collaborated with various artists to much acclaim. They were also the first Korean act to perform at Coachella with their set in 2016. 

Chart popularity of Epik High has faded in recent years, their 2019 EP Sleepless in ________ peaked at only 8 on the Gaon Album Chart and 6 on Billboard US World Album Chart. Despite this they have remained popular among the public, winning 2018 Gaon Chart Awards song of the year with Love Song (feat. IU) and receiving several nominations for 2018 MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards.

Other songs I recommend: Love Story, One, Map The Soul, 혼자라도 (Although I’m Alone), Don’t Hate Me, Born Hater, Home is Far Away, Lovedrunk, Happen Ending, Fan, Yesterday, Let It Rain, Get High, I Remember, The Basics,  피해망상 (Paranoia) Pt. 3

pictures https://www.makestar.co/artists/2369 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swan_Songs_(Epik_High_album) https://twitter.com/coachella/status/721812846703616000?s=20

This week’s recommendation is Good-bye Baby by miss A!

watch the MV here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYKO1za5mX0&ab_channel=missA

Good-bye Baby is a song by miss A, released July 18th 2011. It is the lead single on their debut studio album A Class, released the same day, and was produced by Park Jinyoung (or as he’s credited on the album, J.Y. Park “TheAsiansoul”). 

The producer behind this song uploaded a video of himself recording the song with Manny Marroquin, a Grammy-winning mixing engineer who has worked alongside powerhouses like Whitney Houston, Alicia Keys, Kanye West and Bruno Mars. 

Good-bye Baby is a dance-pop, pop song which details how a girl has confidently dumped her ‘playboy’ boyfriend who likes to cheat. The lyrics in the first verse reference one of the members, reading: “I figured it out when you called me Suzy by accident, when my name isn’t Suzy. I don’t know why I tried so hard to trust you (I knew what kind of guy you were). Don’t cry in vain. (I took out all of your things). The acting stops now.” and this garnered a lot of attention for their impactful statement, despite their playful nature. 

The song is described as having a strong hip-hop rhythm, with acoustic shuffle elements. 

This song peaked at number 1 on the Gaon Digital Chart in 2011. 

A Class was miss A’s debut studio album, released July 18th 2011. It featured six singles, one being the award winning Bad Girl, Good Girl. 

There’s quite a bit of background this album, so bear with me for a second. July 1 2010, miss A released a four-song EP Bad But Good, which included Love Again (다시 사랑) and Bad Girl Good Girl, which were their first and second singles, released June 30th and July 1st respectively. These two tracks, plus their album track Break It were later included on A Class. 

Their second four-song EP Step Up was released 27th September 2010 and its song Breathe was used as the promotional single. All other tracks were later included on A Class. 

The lead single for A Class was Good-bye Baby, but their next single from this album Love Alone was specially created for Kim Yuna’s Ice Show; she is South Korea’s figure skating champion. The group performed the song as special guests on her show as Yuna and other figure skaters danced to the song. This song was also their first song sung in English, and was released May 2011.

A Class reached number 9 on the Gaon Weekly Album Chart, but finished at number 5 for the month, and 44 for the year of 2011. Their other single, Love Alone, reached number 6 on Gaon’s Digital Charts.

members left to right: Min (민) , Fei (Korean: 페이, Chinese: 王霏霏 ), Suzy (수지), Jia (Korean: 지아, Chinese: 孟佳 )

miss A was a South Korean-Chinese girl group under JYP Entertainment. They debuted in 2010 with their song Bad Girl Good Girl as a four member group, made up of Fei, Jia, Min and Suzy. Their debut song reached number 1 on the Gaon Digital Charts, making them the first to ever have a debut song reach the top of the chart. It also went on to become the best-performing single of 2010. Originally, miss A consisted of five trainees formed in 2010. Three of them appeared on Chinese variety shows performing dance routines and songs as “The Chinese Wonder Girls”, with Woo Hyerim as a member, who eventually was placed in Wonder Girls soon before miss A’s debut in order to replace Sunmi (ex-member of Wonder Girls). 

March 2010, Suzy Bae (15 at the time) joined the group, which then became a trio known as miss A. They signed with the Samsung Electronics in China and released a song used for the commercial called Love Again for the Samsung Beat Fetsival. Lee Min Young, a solo artist and a long time trainee in America, made a cameo appearance in the MV. She later joined the group for their South Korean debut in April 2010.

A Class (2011) produced two more number 1 songs, and their follow-up EPs Touch and Independent Women Part III (both released 2012) proved more success. Their second studio album Hush (2013) was well-received by critics and its title track has been covered numerous times by girl groups and on survival shows. 

After this, there was a year long hiatus, until they released their 3rd EP Colors (2015), which was their last release before disbandment. 

In 2017, Billboard ranked miss A at number 10 on their “Top 10 K-pop Girl Groups of the Decade” list. 

Jia left the group in May 2016, where management said that the group was working on individual activities and focusing on their solo careers. In November 2017, Min left the group after her contract expired with the company. Cue December 2017, where JYP officially announced that the group had disbanded.

Currently only Suzy and Fei remain in the company from miss A. 

Their fandom name was Say A, but they never had an official fandom colour. 

Songs I would recommend by them are: Breathe, Touch, Only You (다른 남자 말고 너), Hush, Bad Girl Good Girl, 남자 없이 잘 살아 (I don’t need a man), Stuck, Love Song (personal favourite!), 녹아 Melting, 한걸음 One Step, I Caught Ya, Lips, No Mercy, Step Up, 멍하니, 그 음악을 틀어줘요 DJ, Break It, Love Alone, If I Were a Boy, Time’s Up

(notes: did not realise i was that big of a miss a fan wow)

This week’s recommendation is One Shot by TS Entertainment’s boy group B.A.P.

watch the mv here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zRzl1d5vNU

One Shot was released on the 12th February 2013 as the lead single on their EP of the same name. On the Gaon charts it peaked at 17 and at 20 on the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100. The album itself however hit top spot on the Billboard World Albums Chart and made the top 10 iTunes hip hop chart in various countries. To this date  29,190,342 

The hip hop and pop blend that utilises the talents of the rappers and vocalists in the group is consistent with earlier releases, and what they late went on to release in the following years. This song really does some up the essence of the group 

The music video itself was a one billion won investment (almost $1million) that actually uses 3 of the tracks from the EP to create a seven minute video that is more of a short film than simply a video to go alongside their title track. All this effort of 100 filming hours across 10 sets in 2 countries was part of an effort to set B.A.P apart from an increasingly saturated market.

Fun fact: the Matoki (rabbit looking mascot of the group) statue used in the video weighed over 500kgs!

members left to right: Jongup, Himchan, Yongguk (leader), Daehyun, Zelo, Youngjae (the dog is Kanji and is Daehyun’s)

B.A.P was formed under TS Entertainment with Yongguk being announced as the first member through being featured on Song Jieun’s “Going Crazy”. Himchan was revealed as a member as an MC on MTV’s the Show, and Zelo was revealed through a collaboration song with Yongguk. The remaining members were introduced through the reality program “Ta-Dah, It’s B.A.P!” where they acted as aliens from planet Mato who planned to invade earth through music.

They officially debuted with the single Warrior on January 26th 2012 and this was followed up by the Warrior EP in February 2012. They were noted for being powerful and charismatic, as well as differentiating themselves from the “pretty-boy” image that had been the standard for idols.

In 2014 the members filed a lawsuit against TS for unfair working conditions, disregrding members health and unequal distribution of profits, stating that of the $9million made since debut each member had only been paid $18,000, and as such they wished to nullify their contracts. TS refuted the claims and a lengthy processes followed. Eventually however they settled and B.A.P resumed working under TS with their comeback album Matrix being released on 1st August 2015.

In December 2018 both Yongguk and Zelo left TS and B.A.P as their contracts had expired. In February 2019 the remaining members also did not renew their contracts, and B.A.P was therefore disbanded.

Since disbanding: Yongguk has released solo music. Himchan was arrested for alleged sexual assault (trial is ongoing) and has been making plans to release a solo album. Daehyun has released a solo album and been cast for roles in musical theatre, he is now signed under STX LION-HEART. Youngjae initially established an independent label to produce solo music and acted in an app drama series. After a brief stint signed under DMost Entertainment where he landed a leading role in a television drama and produced part of an OST, he returned to his independent label to release a second album and has been cast in another acting role. Jongup was cast in a theatre production and released a musical single. Zelo joined A Entertainment to release a mini album and has since left.

Other songs I recommend: 1004 (Angel), Fly High, Wake Me Up, Feel so Good,  Ribbon in the Sky, Bang X2, Skydive, Excuse Me, Stop It, Unbreakable, What the Hell, Carnival, Honeymoon, Think Hole, Hands Up, Dystopia

pictures - screenshot from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zRzl1d5vNU - https://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/293942/20200716/male-k-pop-idol-groups-who-were-mistreated-and-ruined-by-their-companies.htm - https://www.soompi.com/article/1066693wpp/b-p-absolutely-perfectly-slays-2017-world-tour-party-baby-climax-seoul