K-Pop: Korean Pop Music. Guaranteed to get stuck in your head.

RECIPE for the latest hit by Super Junior or Girl's Generation? Find a catchy beat, a catchier chorus, and stick a few random English words in the lyrics. Honestly, they don't have to make sense, just put them in there. Then finish the song off with a themed music video that simultaneously carries a mini-drama storyline, the latest dyed hair style, and memorable dance moves your kids will perform in class for months to come.
Important English lines my students have learned from K-Pop:

"Shut up, boy. Shut up, boy. Shut up. Shut up." - Miss A
"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry." - Super Junior
"Trouble, trouble, trouble." - Girl's Generation
"I'll be back." – 2pm
“Fantastic elastic.” –SHINee

And of course there are certain dance gestures that accompany these lines. Click the links below to watch, courtesy of youtube posters:
1. Miss A: “Bad Girl, Good Girl.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TeeJv...
2. Super Junior: “Sorry, Sorry.”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAWqnA8PdcY
3. Girl's Generation: “Hoot.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4-SxcCO5d0
4. 2pm: “I’ll be back.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMdofh...

I mentioned that music videos must have some dramatic back story going on. The same can be said of music videos in any country, but K-Pop especially excels at this. There's a reason Korean tv dramas are so addicting. Here's the longest storyline I've found in a music video so far, so convoluted and intense that it requires a "Part 2" to complete the tale:
4. Beast: “Beautiful.”  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ur7mtO...
Now you're hooked, so I'll give you a couple other K-Pop groups I've encountered here: 
1. SHINee: “Ring Ding Dong.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rought...
2. Taeyang: “Where U At.”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0OA5pM...
3. Rain: “It’s Raining.”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om1d2B...
4. Big Bang: “What Can I Do.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x70ayn...
Anyone have any other favorites? New teachers to Korea, this is a surefire way to get your students motivated if you can quote these groups, OR even better, pull the dance moves.
Note: The above is presented as fiction, not fact.
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Published on January 23, 2011 17:20
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