HEARTC♡RE: asia

MAMA Japan 2017

asia Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Because I go too hard for the boys- Monsta X first, then the rest of my highlights 🌟

YA YA YA, Mnet Asian Music Awards had it's second installment last night (my morning). MAMA, like any other award show, is usually one evening, one city. This year they decided to do three different locations: Vietnam, Japan, and Hong Kong (in that order).

Monsta X was scheduled for the Japan location hosted at the Yokohama Arena. A piece of me was ~sad~ because the Hong Kong night is considered the "main one," but in the end I think MAMA Japan was appropriate as it gave Monsta X the opportunity to really shine (forever). (Also the little I watched of MAMA Hong Kong was like an SM party- and I am an nctzen. Seems like NCT performed for like 20 minutes)

MX has performed at the past two MAMAs, ever since they debuted, but each one has been a little less than three minutes. Of course monbebes think they deserve more, but I understand time constraints and they're not the most coveted boy group by the public. BUT, they got EIGHT minutes this year!!
When the boys came on my heart stopped since I didn't even expect it to be so soon at the beginning. I actually had 0 expectations. . . but I was so overwhelmed. When ~that~ part happened I swear my heart rate shot up.

My highlights:

the rap line at the beginning- I watch this part at least twice a day - AREMDAWO AREMDAWO AREMDAWO
the vocal line get their individual spotlight (literally)- yo there upcoming Japanese single is called spotlight- OKAY YES.
rap line's ad libs before the dance- JAPAN ARE YOU READY??? BRRRRRRRRRRRAH- DANCE BREAK
WONHO RIPPing off his shirt was so unexpected, if I paid attention I would have seen that little snip at the collar, seriously gorgeous. He would be part of the Korea vampire coven in the Twilight series lmao.
the screams when DRAMARAMA began & the fanchants- I think this is the only song where I always do the fanchat at least internally.
and when Shownu joins Wonho with the backs at the final beat? yes! I just wish his jacket came all the way off- less for the view, more for the symmetry

I will be dead honest and say that after MX & the girls I shut this down- way to sleepy. Since the event, in terms of celebrities attending, was so intimate, MX got a lot of screen time. OMG I ALSO FORGOT THEY GOT A MAMA AWARD- best concert performer. I am so happy for them ugh. I also feel like ~okay 👀I see👀👀👀 me~ since I attended their Atlanta stop and contributed to this win lol. They were so hype to receive and seventeen was there to hype them up even more 😩! The end of 2017 has really been good to Monsta X and I hope they continue to see more and more successes.

Some GIFS of them enjoying the show:

(I do wish Kihyun's hair was fluffy, not slicked. & Shownu was just trying to be hip with the kids, all photo credits to: FY! Monsta X)

I started watching the red carpet around 3am and it was around 5am when MX performed. They were the first performers after the opening medley- an ode to BoA, feat. Twice & Seventeen. BoA was awesome, and although I didn't know any of the songs one song stood out and it turns out to be her latest single- Camo. It's just my style. I wish she repeated the camo- FLAUUUGEE OOooooOOHHH more, but I respect her for not doing that lol. I would take an entire three minutes of that honestly.

Twice's rendition of BoA's my name had me -SHOOK- I didn't know they were capable. Super sexy, so 2000s.

After Monsta X I only stayed to watch the girl rookie group performances: "It's Showtime."
I think it may be one of my favorite KPOP performances, it made me feel warm and happy inside. I felt the energy through the screen. I love girl groups.

Oooh one last thing, Seventeen's fanbase in Japan is -no- joke. So. Many. Carats, it was great.
With the little I watched, I was really satisfied with MAMA Japan. It was the stage Monsta X deserved.

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Heian Era Realness

asia Friday, October 13, 2017

Hi!
I just read this short story from the Tsutsumi Chunagon Monogatari. It's a collection of short stories that were published in the late Heian period of Japan. This is right at the turn of the first millennium. The story is called "The Lady Who Loved Insects."

Here is the online link from where I read it and give the page number, but I will try to publish the excerpt here if possible. Click Here! It is page 160-167.
It is seriously a 10 minute read and it's really enjoyable. I think what I loved most about it is how the overall moral, as well as the events in the story are not that foreign. Japan in ~1000 ce is not all that different than Atlanta in 2017 (Which in the great scope of things what is 1000 years anyways, I guess for humanity it's something).

In short, there is a young noblewoman who has an interest in all types of insects and spends the majority of her time observing them, naming them, etc. As you can expect, her family, neighbors, and other members of the community find her odd and unattractive. Apart from her fascination with insects, she doesn't keep her appearance clean and to the contemporary standard of beauty. In this Heian period, the nobility are all about art, literature, poetry, beauty, and generally follow a certain aesthetic.

I really went out to look for a video to describe them more. The embedded link begins around minute eight, where he goes into the women of the era. I do recommend you start from minute one or six since it'll give you a more general idea about Heian culture.

But yeah! Some beauty norms we might find odd now are: hair as long as possible, shaved eyebrows replaced with high black smudges (hikimayo), white powder on the face (oshirio), and coloring their teeth black (ohaguro). Unfortunately it was banned in 1870 as Japan was exposed to more Western influences and it was deemed inappropriate.

Back to the story- some guy gets wind of her and as a joke writes her a poem and sends with it a toy snake he made. It was to make fun of her, but she wrote (a poem) back anyways. This poem was found by a certain Captain and he was fascinated enough that he went to look for her. At this time, women aren't really meant to be seen by men, but she was looking outside the window chatting with the boys who were picking insects for her. He watches her and decides she's not all that ugly, and would improve if she did the minimum to clean up her appearance.

His thoughts are as follow:

"She had pulled her mantle over her head, but her hair hung loose beneath it, and very lovely hair was it too, but rather untidy looking, and the captain thought it must have been a long time since she combed it. Her thick, very dark eyebrows gave her face a rather forbidding air. Her other features were by no means bad. But when she smiled her white teeth gleamed and flashed in a manner that rather disgusted him, for there was something wild and barbaric about it."

Isn't it amazing how beauty varies across time and cultures?

The story ends here, and although it says it will be continued in chapter two, there is no chapter two 😖.
But again, throughout the story although her parents accept her they let her know she will never be liked. Likewise, her servants are appalled and pity her for being the way she is. Her response to the remarks-

"And she (the maid) went on for some time lamenting over the girl's deplorable oddity. At last the insect-lover could bear it no longer and said, "If you looked a little more below the surface of things you would not mind so much what other people thought about you. The world in which we live has no reality, it is a mirage, a dream. Suppose someone is offended by what we do or, for the matter of that, is pleased by it, does his opinion make any difference to us in the end? Before long both he and we shall no longer even appear to exist." Several of the younger servants had by now fathered round. They found her argument hard to answer, but secretly felt that this was a very dismal view of life."

I guess it is a slightly depressing view of life (the end), but isn't life depressing?
Just kidding

Nonetheless, I found it like -wow- we are still saying this and will probably all say this. If a girl in medieval Japan can do it, surely can I. Then I thought this is the original modern woman. BUT, I'm sure that from the dawn of civilization there have been people rejecting society's expectations. Let's keep the train going- choo choo.

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Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims

asia Thursday, August 31, 2017

Hi guys!

Today I'm back with a tragic topic. I'm actually in class right now but feel so compelled to write a little something about it. I'm not totally familiar with the entire subject, but expertise is not necessary to acknowledge the current events. It is the persecution and genocide of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim population. According to a CNN article published yesterday morning- 18,500 Rohingya have fled Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) in the last FIVE days.

Basically, this population is a minority in majority Buddhist Myanmar. The common sentiment of the majority is that they are illegal immigrants from nearby Bangladesh. That is not the case as they have been in the region for generations. On top of just the general "sentiment" the Burmese government denies them citizenship rendering them stateless. All players are saying "no they are your people and don't belong here" back and forth. They have literally no one on their side. There is also brutal violence. The Rohingya people are immensely vulnerable- as we are seeing. And it's not a *now* thing, it has been going on for decades but it erupts and subdues.

My understanding of the latest escalation in the Rakhine state (Rohingya's home state in Western Myanmar, bordering Bangladesh) is that there is a Rohingya military insurgent group that committed an attack on Myanmar's military. In response, the military has gone into widespread frenzy trying to crack down on the insurgent group. But they are killing indiscriminately and they are committing grave acts against civilians and their homes. There is much much more than my three sentences on this conflict, but let's just say I'm more of a Malcom X kinda girl. . . .

But now, like what am I to do other than write a useless post a few people will read? I just really don't see anything about this ethnic cleansing (bc ok lets talk about it how it is) in my mainstream media. Even if I search on the Rohingya tag on Instagram, which I know doesn't say much but I do think it's a small indication of the general public's concerns, there is little to nothing written in English. There is no outrage, there is no knowledge.

I don't want to paint a false picture since I don't remember exactly if they were Rohingya or not, and I can't find it now, but there was a photo of literally a huge cage made out of wood, packed with men, and 3/4ths under water. I think I saw it a few months ago, but oh my god. I really want to cry, your dignity, your humanity just stripped away from you. When that's probably all you have left. It was truly disgusting. (and that's a nice photo I posted above... after a rescue, I will not publish the more gruesome)

And again, I don't want to insert my useless tears, but I just. . . where do you go? what do you do? there's not even a proper chance to a "normal" life. Living in fear of persecution where you consider home or make a dangerous attempt to flee to another country where you will be living undocumented and also in fear.

To donate: Islamic Relief USA
Petition: Stop Burmese Genocide

Washington Post:

Aid workers have told horror stories of desperate refugees staggering to safety despite bullet wounds and burn injuries. Others report rapes and beatings carried out by the Burmese army, which has reportedly set fire to thousands of Rohingya homes as it seeks to flush out the militants.

Analyzing satellite imagery, Human Rights Watch documented at least ten areas over a 100 km stretch of land in Rakhine where massive fires are blazing. It noted a similar phenomenon from October to November 2016, the last time major violence flared in the region, triggering an exodus of some 87,000 Rohingya refugees to Bangladesh. A U.N. official at the time described government reprisals as acts tantamount to ethnic cleansing.

Burmese authorities attribute the fires to the work of “extremist terrorists.” Others are less convinced. “Shuffling all the blame on insurgents doesn’t spare the Burmese government from its international obligations to stop abuses and investigate alleged violations,” said Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch’s Asia director, in a statement.
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*cries remembering the displacement of people globally* *cries thinking about the worldwide violations of human rights* *cries for all those suffering due to all the current natural disasters*

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B.A.P.🐰: Party Baby Tour (ATLANTA⚡️BOOM)

asia Thursday, April 06, 2017

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The Goblin & A Little On Hallyu

asia Wednesday, March 29, 2017

I was in my Asian Cultures class today reading a recap of my current soap opera, or in this case, K Drama. I had my laptop on the dimmest screen hoping no would one catch a glimpse. It's like I'm trying to say "I'm not one of y'all!" 😅 (As I explained in my probably unnecessary blog post a few weeks ago.) (also scroll all the way down for musicccc)

16 episodes, 4 days, 20+ hrs later, headaches and puffy eyes, I'm finally done with ~The Goblin~, or The Guardian: The Lonely and Great God which first aired last December and ended in January. I don't get into shows too easily, so I'm glad this one kept my attention long enough. The first episode was a little hard for me to grasp, but from then on it was nothing but laughs and good times (I'm lying). It's all about the supernatural here, 939 year old goblin, or dokkaebi, his young bride, a grim reaper, reincarnated characters, bromance, DEATH, TRAGEDY, HEARTBREAK. What more do you need?? Oh yes, a handsome chaebol (family-owned conglomerate) heir. . . but he's there and is the cutest.

I got lots of Twilight flashbacks, and you'll see why. But I guess it's only natural with the topics involved. I would classify it as a comedy too, and although I laughed a bunch, I'm sad a lot of the humor was probably lost in subtitle-translation.

Before I watched the first few episodes, I read it was quite controversial because of it's overwhelming product placement. I thought, eh, can't be too bad. Boy was I wrong. It's almost like the products were as integral to the story as the characters themselves ha. It was not subtle. For example, if a (probably) Samsung phone were to enter the screen and it was sponsored, you might expect a close up and quick flash of a logo. Not in this case, it was like a little mini commercial. The owner of the cellphone tried to "impress" the other character by listing all its specs (we see you 👀). There were so many more, but I actually didn't mind and found it a little cute and felt it added to the .. . yes I'm gonna say it! cinematography and they incorporate it to the story quite well, it doesn't feel out of place. They do so much of this because whatever is on screen, the viewers buy it (duh), but in these cases they (usually) sell it out immediately- $$$$$$$$$$$. I would love to read a little more on product placement trends, but I guess its pretty clear.

The protagonist also purchased a few plush toys at Miniso (Japanese/Chinese retailer). That were created SOLELY for this drama. . . . . . AND IF YOU THINK I WON'T GET MY HANDS ON MR. BUCKWHEAT SOONER OR LATER YOU ARE MISTAKEN! HE IS SO GOSH DARN CUTE. He's not expensive but shipping is a deal breaker. . soon Mr. Buckwheat, soon...

I'm not one for reviews and recaps, but overall I think it was worth the watch. I also forgot to mention it is the second highest rated Korean Drama in Korean cable history (it was good, but was it that good?).

If you're interested in watching- link

& the detailed show recaps & comments which helped- link

I was wondering if Hallyu, Korean culture trend, is up or down since it's rise in the late 1990's. I'm about 20 years too late to explain it, but I haven't explored it on my blog soooo. . . .

The numbers prove that it's continuing to rise (other graphs I didn't bother to post but you can read their respective articles by clicking the images). For Japan, China, and Southeast Asia, Korean popular culture has widely taken the place of Western popular culture. They look to Korean dramas, music, film, fashion, and video games. It has matched or surpassed Japan's influence of the mid 1990's (video games, consoles, anime, manga, etc).

The more serious side to Hallyu is what it offers S. Korea as a global player. It has some level of influence on its neighbors and especially N. Korea. In the past, China has threatened to limit the amount of dramas shown or concerts held. It's important considering China has censorship capabilities in order to maintain control over their population. So is China, in particular the CCP, threatened over the ideas Hallyu perpetuates? Or does it have more to do with trade deficits and the economy?

I remember I watched a video on a North Korean defector who, when she was still in N. Korea, would watch the dramas in a closed of room, under a blanket. The black market for S. Korean dramas is so widespread that they mobilized squads to execute dvd smugglers. North Korea never shows any stories related to life and love, the rare media is Kim family propaganda. I mean, other Asians that have prospered from the Asian economic growth of the last few decades still feel a longing to take the ritzy places of their favorite drama characters. Imagine being in North Korea with the same longing, but knowing there's not even a sliver of a chance, and who do you blame? No doubt the N. Korean government feels a threat and pressure from the fantasies and lifestyles that S. Korea culture perpetuates. I read that late, former S. Korean President, Roh Moo Hyun mentioned that Hallyu will someday reunify Korea. That's a tall order, but what do you think about that claim? Would it be more of a catalyst or what literally unifies the people? It's been so long that the cultural and language gap is only getting bigger (is K pop culture offsetting this gap?). It's been almost seven decades, those who lived under a single Korea are becoming less and the younger generations are more distant to the idea. It'll be interesting to see what role Hallyu will have on unification, if it is to happen.

I'll link two academic articles on Asian pop culture (South Korea & Japan) and it's soft power potential in case you're interested. (here & here) There's so much more to this of course but that's all the time we have folks.

Since we're on the Korea Train for this post, I linked two playlists 😜. The first is just current Korean hits, and the second is a Korean Drama official soundtrack playlist. The first two songs on the right playlist are from The Goblin.

I was going to finish it here, but I'm just going to let it all out now: some of my favorite KPOP music videos.

actively resisting the urge to analyze each MV,
Melissa

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Hong Kong 🇭🇰

asia Thursday, March 09, 2017

I have learned to not trust myself when it comes to "what I (currently) want" and always be open to change. The clashes are 100% internal. It goes a little something like this:

Me: "Melissa, I thought we wanted to do this"

Myself: "Sorry, I'm not really feeling it anymore I want this"

I: "#shookt #confused"

I remember once upon a time, I wanted to live an Atlanta suburban life . . . boi ✋🏾. I can't imagine myself in a white picket fence dream. For now, the idea makes me feel suffocated.

Another thing is having kids of my own, I know I'm only 22 (though I don't think the "only" is necessary since 22 is able enough) but at the moment I'm not sure I can see my future self having them. I think I'd be a pretty capable mom, but I have zero yearning for them and run away from the idea that kids are necessary or fulfill a women's life. I love taking care of children, but I also know that their entire lives don't depend on me.

But like I mentioned in my initial point, this all might change in a few years. My fear isn't that my ideas will change, but that they will when it's too late or too difficult.

I question my ability to be able to exist in such a permanent state.

This is what I love about youth, that there are little to no things holding you back. There is room for change, and big change at that. As you get older, you have less and less of that wiggle room. You're stuck with a mortgage, a marriage, children, loans, bills, unfortunate circumstances, fear. You can't bounce back as easy if you take a risky chance. 100% you can do it at anytime, but at the end of the day it'll be harder under those circumstances. Let's take last summer's trip to Oman as an example. Flight and boarding for two months was booked a couple weeks before we left, and if I had serious commitments it would have been entirely impossible. Then again, for some that might be a sign of irresponsibility and lack of independence. No one's really right. I just hope I do what makes me happy in the process of figuring myself out (or is it molding myself?).

I love to fling myself into existential crises (this is the tip of the freaking iceberg).

Luckily, my BFF is there to remind me I'm just going thru normal young adult angst.

But let's move on to a lighter topic.

I never really liked the idea of small living spaces with 0 green, but is a ridiculously expensive studio apartment on the 22th floor in my not-so-near future?

Something that's calling me right now is Hong Kong. The only things I really know about it are that they speak Cantonese and it's a financial hub. & I'm asking myself . . . why? But it is what it is. What's weird is that it's not that I want go on vacation there, I want to live(?) there for an extended period of time. But honestly, I know nothing about it.

Does my past life have a connection to Hong Kong?

11 Things About Hong Kong

Thinking about it, it might be because I saw ~~one~~ ~~three~~ five episodes of Monsta X's variety show in Hong Kong. But then again, I've seen plenty on Seoul and there's no calling there.

When things like this happen, I have like a little feeling it's fate. Same thing happened to me with Oman, so you never know. 😜

I have a friend that went to Hong Kong (& their Disney) and now I'm retrospectively jealous.

Also I'm not qualified to be a actual foodie yet, but OMG Hong Kong is probably paradise. Why don't I have a limitless (click the link, do it!) bank account?

🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴🍴

Now, I'm not 100% sure if it was Hong Kong, but I think so because it's in Cantonese cuisine where some restaurants wheel around a cart that just hold a multitude of dumplings (my freaking dream). Actually I think it is Hong Kong, a former British colony, since it would make sense that they adopted their tea time. (!! although, China made tea like 5,000 years ago, maybe the British cemented the transition from medicinal/spiritual tea uses to more social? but I'm sure the Chinese had already done that, so maybe just inspired the brunch, dainty snack thing. Or maybe the British are just irrelevant). Sooooo anyways, you sit with friends, sip your tea, and indulge on a variety of dim sum from a silver cart!

it's called Yum Cha! and traditionally brunch (peep the chicken feet on the bottom left)

Fun fact: Our Chinese American food is super deviated from traditional Chinese cuisine (duh). But there are (debated) major regional cuisines in China. Americans, & probably the Western hemisphere, are generally more familiar with Cantonese type of cuisine whose origin lies in the Southeastern Guangdong province. This is because many people from Guangdong immigrated overseas in the 19th century. I should probably also mention that the main language in Guangdong is Cantonese (surprise!) unlike the rest of mainland China who generally speak Mandarin (and other dialects of course). (autonomous) Hong Kong and Macau are also in the Cantonese sphere, and have it as their official language.

Cantonese speakers in red:

Went on Hong Kong's Lonely Planet for more info.

& if I'm already there, might as well stop in Macau right 😏 as they put it, the "Las Vegas of Asia". BTW Funny story about that, so when Portugal was democratizing (70's), it was ready to return (?) Macau to China after controlling it for the last few centuries. Unfortunately for China, they don't have their shit together, there is no rule of law, and subsequently asks Portugal to keep ruling and hold on to Macau until China could get back to them (late 90s).

This post was longer than intended, hope you weren't hungry, have the travel bug, or hate parentheses. 😉
Melissa

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State of the Union: I am not a Weeaboo

asia Monday, February 27, 2017

I'm in Atlanta these days, feeling the effects of global warming. Both yesterday and today were extremely hot. The sun was bright and you'd suffocate in a closed car. It's supposed to be about 15 degrees cooler tomorrow, but we'll see about that. I would say that's just Georgia weather for you, but I think it's all along the East Coast. (wrote this a coupled day ago, and today was FREEZING)

Anyways it's been a MINUTE. I miss yelling into the void.

Sometimes, and this is a problem, I can't differentiate what the public do and don't know about me. I'm always posting on Instagram so I feel like everyone knows my business (don't care bc I'm not really doing anything with my life). But from like mid-January to now I feel like my life has been constantly surrounded by East Asian STUFF. & I'm like are my followers hyper aware of that fact?
Reasons are as follows:

So I've only listened to my Korean playlist for more than a month (I'm too loyal rn) My sister has been into KPOP since last fall and I succumbed several weeks ago.
My food has been pho, curries, sushi and (high quality) instant ramen. My parents have been on vacation for a month, I can't cook so we've been eating out. & ya'll know my go to food is anything Asian (appreciation post HERE).
A bulk of what I'm learning/immersed in ATM is in Asian economic, social, political factors mostly Japan, Korea, & China. I'm in an Asian Cultures class as well as Politics of the Pacific Rim.
My brother is in a Chinese language class, is generally knowledgeable about East Asia so a lot of our conversation revolves around that.

So I can't even escape it if I wanted to, which I don't 😜. It's so exciting to learn about new countries and culture, especially when you're getting it from all sides. It's like a crash course.

I said I would never watch it again, but here's a video I made of my trip to my local Asian food market (warning cringy voiceover). Laugh at me.

I am also active on my Tumblr again so check it out.

meangrrrls.tumblr.com

melissa

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HEARTC♡RE

MAMA Japan 2017

Heian Era Realness

Myanmar's Rohingya Muslims

B.A.P.🐰: Party Baby Tour (ATLANTA⚡️BOOM)

The Goblin & A Little On Hallyu

Hong Kong 🇭🇰

State of the Union: I am not a Weeaboo

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