If you’re South Korean and not watching soccer you better watch out, the Kimchi mob will come out and hunt you down. They had a close one with Nigeria coming out of Group A with a 2-2 draw and will be facing Uruguay on June 24th advancing into the round of 16 for the first time on foreign ground.
Like all other countries, South Korea is fervent about the soccer business and their celebrities are out in full force bringing even more publicity to the national media. The popular culture in South Korea is just as pervasive and influential as it is in America. South Koreans are obsessed with celebrity culture and we’ll give you a comparative look at their stars so we can relate at least a 101 on pop culture of the country. Surprisingly, hip hop culture is very popular in South Korean culture and has been appropriated in new ways to fit Asian societies. The popular music scene is overwhelmingly R&B and hip hop influenced which is definitely evidence of the globalization of hip-hop culture along with other social phenomenons that are facilitating the propagation of hip-hop. With such a massive Asian American population in America, their influence carries over the oceans and celebrities like ‘Rain’ sells out his weekend concerts at Madison Square Garden, New York.
NEXT PAGE: JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE OF SOUTH KOREA
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‘Rain’ is the biggest superstar in South Korea. His name is an exact translation which in Korean declares in one syllable that he is truly a force of nature. He has been making girls swoon in their school uniforms as an actor, singer, and a full time heartthrob. He was kept under the wing of a pop music mogul Park Jin Young who is legend in the country. Rain is well best known for his completely unstereotypically ripped and tanned body and for his amusing dance skills. Recently he starred in the Hollywood movie, ‘Ninja Assasin’ which he had to improve his English for.
Rain is currently trying to improve his Englilsh so that he can enter further into the Asian American in the states. He has appeared on stage with his inspiration, Usher and has been compared to the Justin Timberlake of South Korea and recently put out a single called ‘Man Up’ featuring Omarion. Below is one of his most popular epic music video highlighting his talents.
NEXT PAGE: KATY PERRY OF SOUTH KOREA
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Lee Hyo Ri was once in a group called Finkl and similar to the story of Destiny’s Child, she came out as a solo artist. Her direction changed once she did this and there were many accusations from mainstream culture that her new image was risque but it did not deter her from reaching an overwhelming fan base. Her now mainstream and even nation-wide popularity is also significant of the degrees of liberal media that South Korea is willing to tolerate culturally in terms of female sexuality.
Notoriously pigeonholed as sexua
