• Hey Kurumi

    I recently completed a Korean drama called 이웃집 꽃미남 (The Flower Boy Next Door). I am so so attracted to this lead actor 윤시윤 (Yoon Shi Yoon). I simply love his single eyelids and boyish smile. He also recently appeared in the Gag Concert. KBS Entertainment doesn’t allow embed sharing of video, so please watch it on Youtube. He is sooooooo cute in there! No matter how you read his name forward or backward, it is still 윤시윤 (Yoon Shi Yoon)! XD

    This is not exactly what I wanna talk about. (Clears Throat) There is another character in the drama who is a webtoon artist. I was doing a search online and realised that in Korea, webtoon is actually very popular and there are massive readers. There is a daily schedule for when these webtoon is updated. If anyone is interested in the webtoon, there is link here.

    I was reading a very short webtoon series that only has 8 chapters the other day, called 꿈의 카페 Young 다방. I came across this conversation.


    This is briefly translated to: Do not give up hope. There is no reason to cry because you cannot solve your problem right now. Even if it is hard and you feel like giving up, as long as you still have hope, it is not over. Pull at it little by little, once you have constantly pulled at it, there will be something within you smiling at you.

    Isn’t that very motivational? Sometimes we get so lost and restless, but there’s always someone reminding us not to give up hope. I wasn’t expecting to get this encouragement through a webtoon. Reading this already gives me smiles.

    Speaking of dreams, I do have some friends who went through so much to pursue their dreams. They had to face families and friends who didn’t support them initially, they took to the streets to share their dreams. I’m talking about a popular group called Katncandix2 here, and I’m very glad their hard work paid off. They were nominated best group in very well known music award ceremonies such as Golden Melody Awards. Some time last year, they visited Singapore to perform again.



    I don’t know why my face look so big beside them. Grrrrr~

    Sharing another song I love putting on repeat mode, Kurumi by Mr. Children. Hope everyone of you don’t lose hope and continue pursuing your dreams with every effort!

  • Taiwan Indie Pop

    Right before I opened myself up to KPOP, I was very much into Taiwan Indie Pop. Not that I’m not into them anymore, the number of artists I’m looking out for has decreased over time. Some of the artists I still pin very high hopes on their music are 1976, Katncandix2, Mayday.

    I used to be so head over heels with Wonfu and Cosmos People too. I even flew all the way to Kaohsiung for a 3D2N trip just to attend one of their concerts. Technically it was less than 3D2N if you add in the travelling time, 4 hours flight from SG to TPE and 2 hours on train from Taoyuan Airport to Kaohsiung.

    My group photo with Wonfu, Cosmos People and Taiwan friends.

    Over these years, these two groups have somehow evolved. Wonfu came up with album catering to children age group. Though I still bought their album and got autographs for them, I can’t really say I love their music as much anymore. For one, I don’t put their latest album on repeat mode now.

    Cosmos People on the other hand had, half of their members (2 out of 4) went to army. Not that I couldn’t survive the short army wait, the band themselves couldn’t survive the army years. The band returned with only 2 remaining members out of the original 4.

    I still recalled I had my first album signed and written with my name by Chen Wei Da, the bassist when they came Singapore to perform. He was my favorite member then. After which, he bid farewell to the band saying he wanted to focus on studies. Like I’d believe that. I did get a copy of note later, which he wrote to my Taiwan friends on his explanation. I can’t share the contents of the lengthy note though.

    I moved on and accepted the band for what it is. The 1.5 album, as they called it, was signed by my second favorite member, drummer Wei Hong Bo. After releasing this 1.5 albums, 2 of the members went into army. And when they finally returned, the drummer too bid farewell. This time it gets even more absurd because no reason was given. He’s now acting in drama catered for children, by the way.

    The Cosmos People is now made up of 3 members, of which I can’t remember the third member’s name. They got their 2nd album out and I haven’t placed order for them yet. I always joked that if I get another member to sign on my 2nd album, I’m afraid he’d leave the band too.

    Anyway my friend went Taiwan for a trip earlier this year. She brought me gifts from my Taiwan friends whom I haven’t seen in two years.

    A Kaohsiung magazine with many pages featuring Mayday.

    The front cover of the magazine in case you wonder. Edition 9 of Kaohsiung Pictorial. I’m not sure if it’s still available on the shelves. Probably not?

    Gogo Rock fan and postcard, a card from Katncandix2 concert in TICC. A very memorable concert as it marks their milestone. I’m still feeling sore from not being able to see my friends perform in TICC.

    Wonfu concert stickers. I do have a lot of them in stock actually. ㅋㅋㅋ

    Cosmos People stickers. This is very hard to collect because the band only scatters them to the crowds during concerts and autograph sessions. It is so hard to get a full set!

    I hereby conclude, I love my Taiwan friends so much! It’s been so so so long since I visited Taiwan. I need to save money and make a trip soon… … …