Tuesday, April 10, 2012

My first book: Jalan-jalan Kpop is finally published!!

Hi blog, hi readers, long time no see...I miss writing here. Nowadays I'm super busy with thesis preparation, so it's really difficult to find time to do my hobby, which is blogging. Kinda sad, but that is life^^;

Luckily during these busy time, I still could manage to join a writing project, which was about Kpop concerts and Kpop stuffs in Korea, such as merchandise shops, how to buy concert tickets in Korea, how to visit Kpop celebs' shops, how to watch live broadcast of Kpop music shows, etc. With 4 of my friends (Widhi, Atri, Ramski & Anda), finally we got our first book published by Gagas Media, a famous publisher for teen books. This book was written in Indonesian and priced Rp 45.000. It's now available on bookstores in Indonesia^^ Please enjoy it!


In Indonesian:
Akhirnya saya & 4 teman saya berhasil menulis pengalaman kami berlima nonton konser demi konser di Korea. Walau artis Kpop sudah banyak yang ke Indonesia dan negara lain, menurut kami tetap saja menonton di Korea sangat menarik. Di buku ini kami berlima menuangkan pengalaman nonton konser tunggal dan konser borongan macam SM Town atau Dream Concert, cara2 membeli tiket konser di Korea, cara menonton acara musik seperti Music Bank, Mnet Countdown, Music Core & Inkigayo, serta panduan berkunjung ke toko2 milik artis seperti Handel & Gretel (Yesung), Page One (T-ara), Kona Beans, tak lupa cara berkunjung ke toko merchandise & CD seperti Everysing dan Hottracks. Buku ini sudah mulai beredar tanggal 7 April di toko-toko buku di Indonesia dengan harga Rp 45.000 saja. Selamat menikmati petualangan menonton konser di Korea ya^^ Sampai jumpa di Korea~~~

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

CN Blue – Feel the Blue concert report (Dec 18, 2010)

Okaaayy..Been way too long time of hiatus from blogging T__T I miss blogging! Anyway now I'm writing Korea-related articles in Asian Look magazine (published in Indonesia), and I'll share my articles here, using Indonesian language. Here is my first article, go go go!


I wanna feel, I wanna bleed, I wanna live like there’s no tomorrow… (CN Blue - Wanna Be Like U)

Sabtu 18 Desember 2010, CN Blue memulai rangkaian konser keduanya yang bertemakan Feel the Blue di Seoul, bertempat di Pyeonghwa Hall, Kyunghee University. Suhu udara saat itu yang mencapai 2°C tidak menyurutkan langkah para Boice (sebutan untuk fans CN Blue) untuk menyaksikan konser band ini. Penulis juga tidak menyia-nyiakan kesempatan ini dan bergabung dengan fans lain. Sesampainya di venue pukul 16:30 KST, rupanya goods konser sudah sold out dan antrian masuk ke hall sudah dimulai. Satu hal yang menarik, banyak sekali ahjumma dari Jepang yang datang ke konser ini! Penulis yang datang bersama teman dari Perancis juga sempat ngobrol dengan beberapa fans dari Korea dan Jepang. Terlihat juga fans cowok dan anak-anak yang ditemani orang tuanya.


Masuk ke venue, seperti biasa panitia mengumumkan peraturan konser seperti dilarang mengambil foto dan video. Petugas sekuriti juga disebar di berbagai tempat untuk mengamankan konser. Dalam konser ini, semua penonton duduk di kursi-kursi di hall yang terdiri atas 3 lantai. Beberapa penonton ada juga yang kebagian duduk di balkon hall berarsitektur Eropa itu.

Sekitar pukul 18:15, konser dimulai. Para personel CN Blue muncul dari bawah panggung lengkap dengan instrumennya. Mereka berpakaian kasual tapi tetap terlihat rapi. Sebelum mulai, Jung Yonghwa sang vokalis meminta para penonton untuk berdiri dan melompat bersama. Kemudian mereka memainkan lagu pertama, Ready N Go, disusul Voice. Setelah itu CN Blue menyapa penonton yang datang, mengucapkan terima kasih, lalu Black Flower mengalun disusul dengan One Time dan Just Please. Band ini dengan lancar membawakan lagu-lagu berbahasa Korea, Jepang, dan Inggris tanpa kesulitan. Salut banget!

Selepas 5 lagu up tempo, CN Blue membawakan Y, Why yang bertempo lambat. Sayangnya di sini suara Yonghwa sempat terdengar serak. Lagu berikutnya, Lie, dibawakan oleh Lee Jonghyun sang gitaris dalam bahasa Jepang. Sebelumnya, Lee Jungshin (bassist) juga membawakan bagian rap dalam lagu Just Please. Setelah Lie, mereka masuk ke sesi cover songs membawakan tiga lagu berbahasa Inggris:  Geek in the Pink dari Jason Mraz, Harder to Breathe dari Maroon 5, dan Let’s Get It Started milik Black Eyed Peas. Saat itu suasana benar-benar exciting dan fans ikut melompat, menyanyi sambil mengayunkan light stick. Lagu selanjutnya, eclipse disusul dengan I Will Forget You yang dinyanyikan oleh Jonghyun dengan gitar akustik. Sebelum lagu berakhir, lampu yang menyorot tiga personel CN Blue padam dan mereka meninggalkan panggung, sehingga tinggal Jonghyun yang masih ada di panggung. Setelah lagu selesai, penonton meneriakkan nama Lee Jonghyun berkali-kali dan dibalas dengan ucapan terima kasih oleh Jonghyun sambil tertawa kecil. Saat lampu menyala lagi, panggung bagian atas mulai berdiri dan Yonghwa muncul dengan peralatan DJ. Mereka membawakan lagu I Don’t Know Why dengan special DJ mix oleh Yonghwa. Lagu tersebut menjadi lagu terakhir di part pertama konser Feel the Blue.

Di paruh kedua, CN Blue menghadirkan suasana Natal dengan Yonghwa bermain piano dan menyanyikan White Christmas. Suasana Natal semakin terasa dengan confetti putih berjatuhan seperti salju. Ketiga member CN Blue pun masuk ke panggung dengan memakai jas seperti halnya Yonghwa. Kemudian mereka membawakan Feliz Navidad dan Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Sayangnya lagu tersebut dibawakan dalam bahasa Korea, jadi penulis tidak bisa ikutan nyanyi T_T. Oh iya, mereka juga dibantu oleh beberapa pemain terompet. Selesai membawakan lagu-lagu Natal, CN Blue membawakan I’m a Loner. Kemudian mereka bermain-main sejenak, Yonghwa menunjukkan keahliannya ber-beat box, dan Kang Minhyuk (drummer) menirukan melodinya dengan drum. Bagian ini sangat menghibur bagi penonton, terutama saat Yonghwa makin menantang Minhyuk dengan beat boxing melodi yang susah, tetapi Minhyuk malah menirukan dengan lucu. Selanjutnya lagu LOVE, Love Light, Sweet Holiday, dan Love Revolution dibawakan. CN Blue beberapa kali meminta penonton ikut bernyanyi dan bertepuk tangan mengikuti melodi.

Di lagu selanjutnya, Never Too Late, Yonghwa turun dari panggung dan berjalan di antara penonton. Bahkan kemudian dia bernyanyi di hadapan salah satu penonton cewek yang cuma bisa terkaget-kaget di tempat. Hebatnya ketika Yonghwa dan Jungshin berjalan di antara penonton, tidak ada satupun penonton yang berusaha menarik-narik atau memegang mereka. Salut dengan penonton yang tertib seperti ini! One of A Kind menjadi lagu terakhir di part kedua konser ini.

Setelah itu, lampu panggung dimatikan dan penonton mulai berteriak “Encore! Encore!”. Tak lama, di layar muncul instruksi tentang bagaimana meminta encore, termasuk berteriak 17 kali, kemudian 10 kali, dan mematikan light stick. Wah boleh juga nih cara mengulur waktunya^^ CN Blue memberikan encore dengan unik. Mereka tampil dalam gelap, tetapi di sekeliling baju dan instrumennya dipasangi lampu kecil-kecil sehingga hanya kelihatan garis berwarna membentuk siluet tubuh dan instrumen. Benar-benar menarik! Minhyuk menunjukkan kebolehannya ber-solo drum, lalu disusul I’m a Loner. Kemudian mereka melepas jas berlampu tersebut, lampu panggung dinyalakan, dan lagu Let’s Go Crazy mengalun. Selanjutnya mereka membawakan soundtrack Acoustic, Now or Never, dan konser ditutup dengan lagu baru, Gomawoyo yang merupakan versi bahasa Korea dari a.ri.ga.tou.

Selain penuh semangat, konser ini benar-benar terasa akrab dan hangat. Di sela-sela konser, para personel CN Blue selalu mengisi jeda dengan mengobrol ringan, yang kebanyakan berakhir dengan cela-celaan^^ Seperti misalnya ketika encore, Yonghwa berkata ke penonton, “Satu atau dua lagu saja ya!” dan disambut dengan, “Eeeehh??” dari penonton. Jungshin menyahut, “Sepuluh lagu juga bisa kok” dan penontonpun bersorak kegirangan. Lalu Jonghyun memotong, “Kalau gitu kamu lakukan saja sendiri”. Penonton kemudian “membela” Jungshin dengan meneriakkan namanya berkali-kali. Saat jeda di antara bagian pertama dan kedua, di layar ditampilkan video behind the scene saat mereka menghadiri Golden Disk Award dan foto-foto mereka di Jepang. Background song yang dipakai saat menayangkan video tersebut, Wanna Be Like You, sangat pas menggambarkan semangat para member dalam bermusik. Semangat mereka tersampaikan dengan baik lewat konser ini, dan penulis pun pulang dengan euforia yang masih terasa hingga berhari-hari. Feel the Blue benar-benar sebuah konser yang patut ditonton dan direkomendasikan! (Vie)
me with Mailys, a friend from France^^

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Watching SM Town Concert 2010 (Aug 21)

Uh-oh...I've been abandoning this blog for 2 months T_T
I was on my hometown for a month, and came back to Korea on August 12, but then everything came in a same time. Moving dorm, new campus, graduation day... I couldn't manage my time so this blog was kinda put on hibernate *bows*

Okaaay, now comes the talk!
Finally, this year I could watch SM Town 2010!
Last year I was anticipating for this event but suddenly it got canceled T_T
So this year, I was happy that they made it.

What I remembered the most was: the weather was very very HOT.
Summer oh summer...But it's better than raining, of course (the week before, I watched Super Junior's SS3 concert and the rain was terrible).
So, I went to Jamsil Stadium with Atri, Pampam (her brother), and Tommy. At the stadium we met Widhi and Qonita. What a happy day^^

Look, how crowded it was...

Being loyal fans (?), Atri and I straightly took a line to buy the merchandise. The line had already been long, but I thought they had a lot of stocks, so we didn't have to worry. Our picks were of course: the concert's photobook and Super Junior's merchandise ^^

At about 4 PM, we entered the venue. We got separate seats (I sat with Atri, Pampam with Qonit, Widhi and Tommy got other seats). It's because the seat-selecting system was based on luck, hahaha...

This is what I like from Kpop fans...They are all very dedicated to their idols. They made the banners and even sat together with fellow fans from the same group/singer, so they'd create a beautiful view when they waved the light sticks.
The example of the light stick "ocean"..Pink belongs to SNSD's fans.

The concert was, of course fun! Especially when the remaining members of DBSK (Changmin & Yunho) appeared. I've been wanting to watch them since I came to Korea, so even if I only watched the two of them, I felt happy. Apparently a lot of Japanese fans came for them, because the two of them now aren't active in Japan. Hmmm I hope someday they'll reunite and rock the world again~

Okay, because the show began late, it ended late too. We went home at almost 12 AM, so we couldn't catch the last train T_T
We took a taxi finally, and spent money 4 times than if we took the subway^^;
But it worthed, so yeah~

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

World Students in Korea (WSK) 3rd Batch Camp (Day 1)

Hi^^
This year the summer in Korea is as hot as last year! We, the WSK 3rd batch were having a 2 days camp in Gunsan and Jeonju, and fortunately the weather during our camp wasn't hot! It even rained, and according to the guide (Ms. Sujin), Korea has that kind of "rainy season" which lasts for several days during summer^^

So, on Friday July 2nd, we departed from Apgujeong, heading south to Gunsan which took about 3 hours. It was a long but fun trip.

Our huge bus^^

Arrived in Gunsan, an industrial estate, reminded me of Kawasan Industri MM2100 in Cibitung where I used to work before. We watched a short introductory movie of Hyundai Heavy Industries, and later we visited the ship-building factory. I was so impressed by the large size of the ships and the components. Since we couldn't take pictures, so I don't have the pics in that ship-building factory.

After that, we had lunch in a nice Korean restaurant. The menu were beef stew and tuna for those who don't eat beef. It was a nice lunch^^

Then, we continued to visit another Hyundai factory, which was Wind Turbine factory. Again, we were fascinated by the technology that Korea has. In the exhibition hall, we saw the samples of the wind turbine components, such as solar modules, solar inverters, generators, etc. After that, we had a chance to visit the wind turbine assembly factory. It's very huge compared to the assembly factory of electronics products *of course!*

Finishing our company visit, we headed to Jeonju Hanok Village, a very beautiful place with traditional nuance. We visited Jeonju Traditional Wine Museum where we tried to make makgolli (Korean traditional rice wine). The smell is like Indonesia's air tape, but I didn't try the taste^^
Beautiful, isn't it?

Me & Shwe from Myanmar tried to filter the fermented rice to make makgolli.

From the museum, we moved to our traditional inn named 부용헌 (Buyongheon). I liked it very much!! It was so soothing...
The inn

We were assigned to a group of 3, and my roommates were Dewi from Indonesia and Hu from China. Look!  The room was very cozy and the folded bed had a beautiful color^^

At night, we had a dinner of Jeonju's specialty, bibimbap. It was delicious^^
Then, we had a game in which we're divided into 3 groups, and we chose Sian, our magnae as the representative, hehehe...

Nice move, Sian XD

Ending the 1st day, we enjoyed pansori ( a kind of Korean traditional music) and also traditional music performances. Some of the music was so soothing that made me sleepy^^ but some were energetic and cheerful. I had a great time.

Gayageum and janggu performance

An ensemble of gayageum, janggu and sogeum (I don't know the name of one wind instrument)

Pansori. This lady was very attractive and she sang very well.

Quite a long day, wasn't it? That night, we Indonesian girls (Dewi, Sian, Widhi & I) took a long walk along the street to find some karaoke place, but we found none^^ So we went back to our inn. I watched soccer match between Netherlands vs Brazil in Sian/Widhi's room^^ Yeah, Indonesians love soccer!

That's all for the 1st day and I'll be back with the report of our 2nd day trip. Thanks for reading and commenting!

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Eat These 3 Fruits for Great Summer Skin

taken from RealAge


Slather on that SPF every chance you get this summer. But for extra sun protection points, eat plenty of these fruits as well: cherries, nectarines, and watermelon.

These juicy treats not only cool your mouth in warm weather but may shield your skin from warm weather, too. Compounds in the fruits may boost your skin's natural resilience against wrinkles and sun damage, according to Allison Tannis, author of Feed Your Skin, Starve Your Wrinkles.

In-Season Skin Savers
What's so special about this trio of fruits? Check out their unique protective benefits.

Cherries: Eat a daily handful and you may enjoy fresher, less puffy skin. It's all thanks to the inflammation-fighting anthocyanins and melatonin in cherries, writes Tannis. Melatonin may boost UV protection and cell growth as well -- two great ways to keep wrinkles at bay. Tart cherries tend to be highest in melatonin. (Find out how tart cherries help fight cancer, too.)


Nectarines: These smooth-skinned sisters of the peach provide a mini-spa's worth of nutrients that may help correct sun damage from the inside out, according to Tannis. They offer skin goodies like lycopene, lutein, niacin, copper, and vitamins A, C, and E. The A, C, and E trio also works to control inflammation and free radical damage in both the watery and the fatty layers of skin. (Add nectarines to dinner with this recipe: Tarragon-Rubbed Salmon with Nectarine Salsa.)


Watermelon: Nibbling on watermelon wedges has the power to refresh your face as much as your palate, thanks to the high water and lycopene content. Lycopene helps protect and preserve connections between skin cells so skin is tighter, smoother, and better able to retain moisture. (Store your watermelon this way to get the most lycopene from it.)

Happy summer^^

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Watching Dream Concert (May 22)

Okay, I feel so lame that I always post a long-gone event T_T
*blame all those assignments that made me crazy*

However, amidst those crazy weeks full of assignments, I still managed to entertain myself by watching concerts XD. Since last year, I always attend Dream Concert (DreamCon) in which many Korean popular singers performing, and also of which the ticket is cheap. Only 5,000 won (~ Rp 50.000). That's just freakin cheap, and me likes cheap things, hehehe... I also watch DreamCon especially to see my favorite K-pop group, Super Junior ^^. This May was their comeback and I really wanted to see them perform 미인아 (Bonamana) live.

Okay, so I went with my friend Atri and met two others at Sangam World Cup Stadium. It was raining, so we had to buy rain coats. I hate rain becoz it makes things look more difficult, but I knew I'd still enjoy the show^^
Me wearing the light blue.

At 7 PM, the show began. The MCs were Ok Taecyeon (2PM), Shin Saekyung (actress from K-drama High Kick), and Kim Heechul (Super Junior). IMO, both male MCs were very attractive but the female MC was still stiff, maybe because that was her first time doing MC.

Left-right: Kim Heechul - Shin Saekyung - Ok Taecyeon

There were 21 artists (solo singers and girl/boy groups) performing, named U-kiss, Rainbow, F.Cuz, Ze:a, f(x), davichi, MBLAQ, CN Blue, B2ST, SHINee, SS501, Rain, T-ara, 4minutes, After School, Kara, Wonder Girls, 2PM, SNSD, Lee Hyori, and Super Junior. They all performed with their own unique characteristics. The cute and energetic SHINee, the calm and mature SS501, the fresh CN Blue (and the only live band XD), the sexy Kara and After School, the cool Lee Hyori who brought a motorbike on the set, and of course the long awaited Wonder Girls and Super Junior! I was very entertained and I hope I can attend the next year's DreamCon.


CN Blue (but only Jungshin and Yonghwa in this picture)

SHINee

SS501

Rain (it seems his appearance was omitted in the televised version) T_T

Super Junior

The closing performance by all artists.

The crowd at the station after the show. Though we were all wet, but we're happy!! ^^

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Seoul Friendship Fair 2010 (9-10 May)

This is a very late post because I'm very busy with my graduation report ^^;

Usually in spring there's a special event called Hi Seoul Festival. But this year, the annual festival was postponed due to the national mourning. Instead, Seoul held an event called Seoul Friendship Fair during 2 days in Seoul Plaza. In there, we could see international traditional cultural performances and take a look at international booths that sold various souvenirs. When I got there at about 1 PM, the venue had already become crowded^^
I saw a lot of traditional dances including the performances from Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Azerbaijan, as well as other participating countries.

The gate. This fair took a whole street for its international food booths. It's very cool how we could walk through the street that's usually passed by cars, isn't it? ^^

 
I took a picture with Haechi, the mascot of Seoul city. Though it's cute, but in the legend Haechi is so fierce and is an ally of justice. Look at the children!^^ They playfully inserted their hands into Haechi's mouth^^

Indonesia's booth. Haha it stood out among the others because the booth used those Balinese ornaments.

Japan's traditional game and people wearing matsuri (festival) costume. Somehow I missed this view, because in Jakarta I often attended Japanese cultural events. Recently in Jakarta, Korean cultural events start to gain more popularity among youths thanks to Kpop and Kdrama.

People enjoying the foods at the gazebo built on a street. It was hot, but the event was so merry that we almost forgot the sunny weather.

Indonesia's food booth. Again the ornament made it stand out^^ 
The booth won the award for the Most Various Foods. Congrats!

The UK booth with lovely ladies wearing unique clothes. In other booths, we could also see the exhibitors wearing their own traditional clothes that are unique and exotic.

This Afghanistan's food was so delicious! No wonder that it became the winner for Best Food award.

Ah, the Friendship Fair was nice and enjoyable...I hope I can visit it again!
Thanks for reading ^_^