In 2007, mega band Radiohead embarked on a little music experimentation, where they released their album, In Rainbows, through their own website and "sold" the album as a digital download for as much or as little as customers wanted to pay for the songs. A few months later the album was eventually sold as a physical record, but this experimentation drew lots of attention for Radiohead's attempt to shake up the way music is sold and distributed.
You may have never heard of the Korean hip hop band Epik High, but they're taking a chapter from Radiohead's book, and hoping to revolutionize the Korean music industry. Without being signed to a label, and thus not having to take orders from the powers that be, they've decided to sell their latest album (slash book), Map the Soul, exclusively through their website and iTunes. It's a big step for a Korean music act, as no one in that industry has undertaken anything like this.
In addition to their independence being a big "Eff You!" to an industry that is becoming increasingly market driven and less creativity driven, it is also Epik High's attempt at globalization, by making their music more accessible for a wider audience. Their website is in both Korean and English (there's a lot of good stuff on it). You can also follow them on Twitter, or look them up on their own YouTube channel. Whether their experimentation is successful or not, I think Epik High can give themselves a pat on the back for continuing to move the Korean music industry forward, and being a voice for all those artists who don't belong in the cookie cutter mold that Kpop has become. Map the Soul is available now.
I'm personally a huge fan. I first got into them in 2005, when I was in Korea. A group of us had stumbled into a Jägermeister party (it was the first time the liquor was being sold in Korea, so naturally they had a party celebrating it), and lo and behold, Epik High was the celeb host. IT WAS SO EXCITING- this picture is from that night (ignore the fruity guy on the left, he was like the MC or something). I listened to them so much that my friends in Korea think of me when they think of them. Epik High is the one group who has consistently put out quality music, and they really get what it means to serve the fans. I really hope that this brings them a new boatload of fans who will appreciate their sound. The buzz is building, over 300,000 people visited the website when it launched earlier this month, causing it to crash, so I think they're in good shape.
Below is their new music video for the single, Map the Soul.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Epik High is the new Radiohead
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Korean Moms are Funny
Throughout the past 23ish years of my life, I've received my fair share of little notes of reminders and such from my mom. Honestly, I wonder what goes through her 파마 머리 (permed head) when she's rushing in the morning, and stopping to write out a quick little note to me. "Hm, should I write it in Korean? Nah, she can barely understand Korean (true to some degree -_-) .. let me show off my English skillz and leave her a note in English!"
From notes telling me "Putting them in the bank" (depositing checks for her), my mom's English isn't as bad as others.
For more convincing, check out My Mom is a Fob, a site in which kids across the Internet can submit their very own proof as to why their mom is a fob.
My favorite of these sites that focus on the weirdisms of moms? Definitely Stuff Korean Moms Like. So true, that it's scary.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Shocker: There are Korean Restaurants in Palisades Park
(Oh, heck yes.)If I had to recommend a perfect second course for this article, I would suggest visiting Off the Broiler. He also read the Record article and then compiled a list of his favorite Korean eateries in the area. What makes his post special is that he has tons of pictures of what the restaurants and food look like. Just scrolling through his post makes me hungry!
So if you need some Korean restaurant guidance, hit up these two links and prepare to drool!
Monday, May 12, 2008
[Feature] Korean High Schools: The Korean Parents' Guide to Avoid Spending Time with Their Teenage Children
“It’s 10PM. Do you know where your children are?” I think all of us know this pop culture reference, yeah? The interesting thing is, if you were to ask parents of American high schoolers, you’re probably going to get a lot of varied answers. But I can guarantee that you’ll get an across-the-board, single answer from the parents of Korean high-schoolers: “My child is at school.” In a country where 15-hour (minimum) school days are the norm for all students, there is little to wonder about what your 16 year-old is doing on a Monday, Thursday, Saturday, or any other night for that matter.
Everything in the Korean society caters to this idea of education and going to college- parents spending large proportions of their salaries on their kids' private tutoring, recreational facilities closing early on nights before exams to encourage studying, and even the Korean Air Force suspending flights on exam days to prevent disturbance. And add the growing number of Korean students applying to and attending American colleges (103,000 Korean students study at American schools, more than from any other country), and you get no relief from the intense academic pressures the country has instilled in its young citizens.
In my quest to get into college, I was told to be a well-rounded student. That meant participating in extracurricular activities and volunteering in addition to getting good grades and scoring high on college entrance exams. In other words, life didn’t have to revolve around studies in order for me to get into the schools of my choice. That is not the case in
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Today in Korean Entrepreneurship
No offense to our Korean readers, but I think we all need to admit that we don't always have the best business sense. Today, I bring you a tragedy of Korean entrapreunership in two acts..
Pinkberry, Pinkberry Everywhere, Let's All Have a Drink.
View Larger Map
I think I discovered the super top secret formula Koreans use when creating their own businesses:
1. See a Korean make money off of a business
2. Copy business idea
3. Open a store in the same area
4. Repeat
It happened with PC bangs, and it's happening with plain frozen yogurt stores:
On Thursday, New York City’s first Red Mango is scheduled to open, within a mochi’s throw of a rival Pinkberry on Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village (183 Bleecker and 177 Bleecker, respectively), and around the corner from a Yolato.
Another in-your-yogurt face-off will come to a head in Flushing, Queens, where a Red Mango will soon open a mere 40 steps from a Pinkberry on Roosevelt Avenue.
It's like these people don't realize that it's not a good business move to open a store right across the street from a place that already sells the exact same thing. Where is long-term sustainability in that?
I think these Koreans need a history lesson. At one point, in Palisades Park (a single square mile town), there were 4 PC Bangs in operation. Now? Not one is still around.
Shady Samsung
Koreans always feel like they're above the law. Turns out this applies to all levels of Korean entrapreunuers:
Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee was indicted on charges of tax evasion and breach of trust on Thursday.
What makes this story worse? Lee's probably not going to serve any jail time because Korean judges are generally leinient towards corporate leaders.
Way to make us look good, Lee.
