A Bowl for things I mix: May 2012

Friday, 25 May 2012

love, bliss, pleasant, misfortune, injustice, and resistance

Since early on this year, the issue of Koreans—both north and south—being caught and handed over to North Korean officials on Chinese territory has been a unsettling topic to my heart. For a long time, Chinese police force was used to capture any North Korean escapees passing Chinese territory. Although such an act is against the international treaty concerning international refugees and escapees, the act was never openly challenged in fear of diplomatic problems, until early on this year. This time, the South Korean government made a formal objection to China’s plan to transport of nearly thirty people that escaped from North Korea back to their dreaded home.

Having slept, played, and cooked together with those around my age that had to undergo the painful procedure of escaping from North Korea only a few months before, I was touched as I never would have before. The day I came upon the news, it was strangely easy to picture my friend desperately clinging to the South Korean embassy wall as Chinese police grabbed her foot. As a member of Amnesty International, I took part in this issue by promoting Amnesty’s efforts to sign petitions and send letters of condemnation to the Chinese embassy. Thanks to my efforts several school mates became aware of the problem and participated in helping the captured escapees. But, all went amiss as China again closed its damn ears to its neighbors and had its own way.

Despite the failure, the fire was not yet quenched in me and when news of a South Korean man caught in the same problem reached the news, I was eager to participate again in the protest. In this case, the person caught is a South Korean social activist that in his past afflicted himself with socialist ideals and actually visited the North a few times to see how communism was actually practiced. Thankfully, as Sartre did after Praga’s Spring, ideologists get a chance to revise their theories after witnessing sites where their theory was actually implemented, the person in this case also changed his mind after the visit. Therefore, he changed his view toward North Korea to a more acceptable one and focused on helping North Korean escapees reach Korea safely. North Korea saw this as a threat and the Chinese police force was called on to capture him.

So, with such knowledge, I visited a church located across the Chinese embassy where people were putting on a 102 protest against the problem—by the way I’m not religiously afflicted to church. There, I read several posters that recounted successful escapees’ accounts and what’s more, accounts of what happened if the attempt failed. If the escape failed, the people are either taken to this concentration center with conditions much resembling Auschwitz or shot dead in front of their family. Even for other family members that were left in North Korea, the result is catastrophic. The victim’s family are all taken to the concentration center and both tortures and put to hard labor under insane living conditions.

Waiting by the street for mom’s ride back home, this phrase resonated in my head, “I grew up not knowing the words, love, bliss, pleasant, misfortune, injustice, and resistance at the camp; I only learnt these concepts after I came here (South Korea)”. It wasn’t strange for them to describe themselves as dog turds, it seemed to me.

Friday, 18 May 2012

Words and Laughter (facepalm.. had read too much GRRM at the time)

Words are wind and laughter is but a mask.
Yet there is little doubt that such wind have power.

As instrument of power, everyone wielding it should take caution.
Nonetheless, too oft, we hear liars, cravens, and simple careless beings using the instrument in ways that hurt the innocent.
Everyday we meet friends in agony because someone was careless in creating false wind, ever careless of our friend for the mere merriment of the someone.

It is not much different with the mask we face in our daily lives.
Little truth is in but seldom is it powerless.

Vain, might people feel to know that such empty things hold power. But it seems to be the way of things in this life.

Wednesday, 16 May 2012

Axiz-Music Video:Hug Me &Clips from SBS,MBC

Axiz, a high school band
with skills enough to break to the 16elimination round for TopBand competition where hundreds of experienced bands participated,
have released their music video(though it's been some time..)

Anyways, they are really good and were called as the 'Enfant teribeul' of TopBand along with another high school band WMA, which had SonSeungYeon--winner of the famous Voice Korea audition--as it's vocal.

I think their spirit and passion is really admirable and was very surprised to
learn that they are from the same city as me and was in the same school as some of my friends in middle school!

Probably a fanmade MV of <Why Don't You Give It Up>

At first I doubted them a bit beacuse I read several comments on their videos which criticised them for overly concentrating on mere skills and other such frills when they should actually be trying to find and develope their own music. Being new to band music, I was swayed by such comments and thought them as too upbeat.

However, now as I have listened to band music for sometime and became to love it, I feel that they have a charm that make us flow into their thread of music. Kim-JongJin, judge of TopBand competition and nationwide recognized musician, even went so far as to state that their 1st stage performance was the best play ever throughout his 50years of life and that he wishes Axiz to play music until he dies.

Never knew they already got on air!!!

from SBS Famed Songs
+
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=Z6Zt_5z5hfE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iZwgGFqR5E&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7okRysG8ujc&feature=relmfu
from MBC Music Core

Here's a nice article on Axiz(though it's in Korean..)
http://media.daum.net/entertain/enews/view?newsid=20110726032409955
2 Clips from the actual TopBand competition(In Korean as well..)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYSQMVdPpn8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9vIheDLO-hk&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Tuesday, 15 May 2012

Broken Valentine- new album:Shade

OMG
I can't believe I have this album myself!!!
All the songs represent a part of the music that the Rock Grunge Band
Broken Valentine and I guarantee that there isn't one part here that can be called worthless of my enthusiasm!
So far it is the 3rd album we can purchase but according to the interview I linked below,
it's their 1st Regular album!

Just a tip-
Broken Valentine is the
Winner of the 2009 Yamaha Asian Grand Final
&among the 32bands out of several hundreds that got to the 4th stage of TopBand competition
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRcBb7DfYlc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wC4whC2bvxs&feature=related

Official Music Video of the Album:Down

An early production, MV of the song <The sea in my worn drawer>

MV of the song <Song of a Fossil>

http://music.daum.net/musicbar/musicbar/detail?menu_id=4&board_id=3067
(-nice article, but in Korean)

I actually made an album cover last year when their single:Calling You came out..
http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=9171040756349628827#editor/target=post;postID=4241967040840805230

WMA(We Make Arts)

WMA is a highschool band comprised of SonSeungYeon, it's vocal who recently won the Voice of Korea audition, and members of the group A Pair of Kings.

The group Pair of Kings was a band made by 2nd graders of Seoul Performance Art Highschool. They originally applied for TopBand competition without a vocal and passed the 1st stage with the premis that they find a vocal for their team.

Luckly, 3rd grader SonSeungYeon agreed and Formed the new team We Make Arts, in short WMA, and passed other stages onward until the 8elimination round, the video below.

I think SonSeungYeon's presence changed alot of things for this team. Although she had faileures earlier on with other competitions such as Glorious Birth, she got spotlights from this competition with her overwhelming aura and went on to win the Voice of Korea audition.
Furthermore, she also got admitted by Buckley Music school with full scholarship, she's very lucky I guess.

This is her own song she sang at Voice of Korea audition
&
Here are some links about WMA!
(It's from the actual competition and therefore in Korean)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=OAkeXNQlCkE&feature=endscreen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piyb3xDBi8k&feature=endscreen&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVl0YSClCDs&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Friday, 11 May 2012

Harp Ukulele

Into guitar and it's family currently.
Though do not and will not actually play it.
Banjo mandola are just as good as guitar.
Just as this harp ukulele is. Love this guy's music!!

http://www.youtube.com/user/banjoman22/featured
Banjo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gem-lUfiypM&feature=BFa&list=UUBpLn6E9LWsJpmYAUBQH8vQ
Mandola