Culture

20121204_seoulbeats_jyj

The Book Finally Closes on the JYJ/SM Conflict

Perhaps one of the biggest controversies ever to grip the K-pop scene came to an end just a few days ago. On November 28, 2012, JYJ withdrew ...

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20121201_seoulbeats_bap_yongguk

Confessions of a Fangirl: When Fandoms Attack

Dear Seoulmates, For just a moment or two, I’d like to talk about the 2012 MAMA’s, the very first of many award shows to happen ...

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20121201_seoulbeats_oreilly1

The O’Reilly Factor Goes Gangnam Style

Recently Bill O’Reilly, the host of talk show The O’Reilly Factor on the FOX News Channel, discussed PSY and “Gangnam Style” in his Back of ...

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20121201_seoulbeats_psy

Authenticity, K-pop and the West: Part 1

Fake! It’s a word inundating the comment section of English articles on K-pop, if not heavily insinuated by the authors themselves. To most Western fans, ...

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20121129_seoulbeats_wondergirls_sunye

Here Comes the (Idol) Bride: Sunye, Marriage, and Fan Reactions

Wedding bells are ringing in the K-popiverse! As many of our readers will have heard, Wonder Girls‘ leader Sunye will be tying the knot with one James Park, ...

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20121125_seoulbeats_exom_tao

Confessions of a Fangirl: Let’s Talk About Smut

Dear Seoulmates, Let’s not pretend like K-pop, beneath all the powdery white precious innocence, isn’t a complex commodification of sex. We can sit here and ...

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20121128_seoulbeats_sistar_boyfriend

Brothers and Sisters: Sibling Pairs as a Marker of Success

During the course of the year we’ve witnessed female groups do their thing, an expansion in the numbers and popularity of male groups, an unexpected ...

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20121122_seoulbeats_yunho_go ara

Dating in K-pop? No, I (Am Brainwashed To) Believe Oppa Is Mine

Dating in mainstream K-pop is, to say the least, complicated. It seems as though we are to expect our favorite oppars and unnies to sing ...

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20121123_seoulbeats_mchammer_psy.jpg

Psy and the Faceless Asian

Where are all the white tears flowing this time of the year? At the American Music Awards, apparently. On the 18th of November, the ceremony ...

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