What's "AEGYO"? 애교? (KWOW #39)

In KWOW episode 39, we learned about AEGYO, being cute with child-like charm. Thanks to our specialist Billy Jin, we learned some helpful tips on how to exude such appeal. Watch the video below to increase your aegyo superpowers!

Aegyo is a common sight in Korean entertainment. From television shows to selcas, celebrities win your heart by strategically using their eyes and hands to make themselves look adorable.

Some say that Sunny from SNSD is the queen of aegyo. Check out this funny video:

Girls typically use aegyo to be cute. Others use it for pure comedy. Sooyoung from SNSD has her own unique and hilarious version of child-like charm:

Who's aegyo steals your heart the most? :D

---

---

K-POP, part 1: YG, SM, JYP Entertainment & their Founders

In KWOW episode 38 (below), we learned about Korea's top talent agencies: YG, SM, and JYP Entertainment. To fluently speak the language of K-POP, enthusiasts should familiarize themselves with the companies previously mentioned. It'll make you look intelligent amongst the K-POPPERs :)

Are you a fan of Girls' Generation? Super Junior? Shinee? BoA? DBSK? They're all from S.M. Entertainment. Did you know the company's founder Lee Soo Man was once a singer himself? Click here to hear his "Happy" song.

Lee Soo Man gives a brief tour of S.M. Entertainment:

Do you love 2NE1, Big Bang, and Tablo? They're artists currently signed with YG Entertainment. Its founder Yang Hyun Suk (a.k.a. Yang Goon and Papa YG) was once a member in the band Seo Taiji and Boys back in the 90s.

Check out Papa YG performing "Nan Arayo" (2:40). He's the one in orange top and overalls:

Are you crazy in love with the Wonder Girls, Miss A and 2PM? They're artists produced by JYP Entertainment. The company's founder Park Jin Young is also an entertainer, a judge on "K-POP Star" and the owner of upscale Korean restaurant Kristalbelli.

Check out JYP's music video "No Love No More":

Hope you enjoyed learning about the top K-POP talent agencies and their founders!

---

---

Korea's Traditional Folk Music (KWOW #37)

As we already learned in KWOW episode 37 (see below), pansori (판소리) is a genre of Korea's traditional music performed by one singer and one drummer. Think of pansori as "Korean opera."

The most famous pansori story is “Chunhyangga (춘향가).” Set in the city of Namwon, Chunhyangga is the legendary love story of Chunhyang and Mongryong (몽령). To make a long story short, Chunhyang was a gisaeng (기생), a female entertainer for the aristocrats and royals. Mongryong was a district magistrate. Despite their class difference, they fell in love and married illegally. While Mongryong was in Seoul, another man forced Chunhyang to be his concubine. She refused and was given the death sentence. Mongryong returned to Namwon just in time to save her.

Here’s some Chunhyangga for you to enjoy:

Another traditional Korean music genre is pungmul (풍물). Pungmul was once practiced by farmers for rural holidays and for shamanistic purposes. Nowadays pungmul are used as art and for political protest. Pungmul is commonly held outdoors and contains many performers, each dedicated to sing, dance, play drums, and more. The performers wear colorful costumes accompanied by hats with twirling ribbons.

Watch this pungmul performance:

Samul nori (사물놀이) is similar to pungmul as it uses the same traditional instruments: ggwaenggwari (꽹과리), janggu (장구), jing (징), and buk (북). The four instruments symbolize a weather condition. Janggu stands for rain. Ggwaenggwari symbolizes thunder. Buk represents clouds. Jing symbolizes the sounds of the wind. Compared to pungmul, samul nori songs tend to be faster and are performed while sitting down. Farmers would perform samul nori in hopes of good harvest.

Check out the performance by Kim Duk Soo, the most famous samul nori player:

Other Korean traditional music genres include sanjo (산조), shinawee (시나위), and jungak (정악).

Hope you enjoyed the music! :)

---

---