Oh, SS501. How do you explain to people who don't already know? How do you describe the 6 years of kind acts? How do you tell people they probably haven't heard of SS501's many humble gestures that only their fans would know because they do so many little things so often?
They are the same boys as when they debuted, so well-mannered (90 degree bow to everyone, sunbae and hoobae), caring, gracious, and humble. <3
Not only did SS501 do the traditional bow of upmost respect when they won on TV, they also gave it at the end of their Persona Asia Tour, where they also cried because they were so thankful for the fans' love and support and so sorry that they couldn't repay it enough. <3
They say that all the time, "Thank you so much" and "Sorry that all we can give you is 'thank you'". Every time they do or say anything, it's for their fans. To SS501, Triple S isn't just their livelihood, it's their family, one they swear to grow old with.
They have shown care and concern for fans on multiple occasions.
-They ask fans to please be orderly because their safety is first, always stopping to make sure any fans who trip/fall are alright, worrying about the fans they leave at chaotic airports. (Just recently, a Taiwan fan tripped, and Jung Min personally reached out to steady her and said "Be careful" in Mandarin and made sure she was okay before he continued to his van.)
-They give the best fanservice! They smile and wave and give eye contact to as many fans as possible, no matter where they are or how busy they are! (You can see in fancams, when a whole bunch of idols were gathered in Thailand for the Idol King special, Jung Min was like the only idol to look around and smile and wave every time fans called. <3) They try their best (even bypassing their own bodyguards!) to accept letters and small gifts, encouraging fans to not buy them expensive gifts.
-They send warm drinks to their fans waiting in the cold (They still do this! Hyun Joong did this just last year!), sending greetings and gifts when they hear of fans who are very sick, constantly telling everyone to be careful of cold and dress warmly and stay healthy, and always wishing their fans happy days only. ^^
-Other examples: asking staff to give a pregnant fan a VIP seat so she wouldn't have to stand, helping to pay a student fan's tuition, multiple charity events, & Leader's greatest wish is to hold a free concert for all their fans. ^^
-(Other idols get attention when they show such consideration, but SS501 has been doing it for so long and so often, that it's just not reported. lol)
tl;dr
There are only a handful of truly humble idol groups (U-Kiss, Wonder Girls, Kara, etc.), but only one senior, majorly popular, Hallyu/Asia Star idol group that remains so humble, and that's SS501.
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Old Angry AKP Profile
I decided to take down my ridiculously long "About Me" rant. AllKPop has improved vastly over the past few months, so some of my points are not as relevant (and my rage not as proportionate) today. But a year ago, AKP's EVIL brought out my inner raging activist, and although it's embarrassing to reveal how intensely I defended pop idols of all things, I have to admit that it produced some good writing. o_0 Truth be told, I became rather infamous for my long-winded rants of righteous indignation and angry protest. >_>; My only defense is that SS501 inspires such devotion and the strong need to protect them. :P
(before AKP's major improvement in late 2010)
I consider it my personal mission to battle AKP's blatant bias, more specifically, their particular dislike for SS501, arguably the sweetest, humblest, and one of the most talented and lovable idol groups ever. Whether it is a sad lack of coverage or an unnecessarily negative tone, my fellow TripleS and I will be there to fight the corrupt system with a bombardment of tips and comments of judicious outrage.
But this goes way beyond just indignation as a fan. This is about principles, which AKP obviously knows nothing about because it is a biased, unprofessional, unreliable, sorry-excuse-for-a-"news"-site. Although there are many, many K-Pop sites that are better than AKP, the sad fact of the matter is that AKP is, unfortunately, the most frequented one. And because they use their vast influence, not to share news on all K-Pop as their name suggests, but to breed contempt for artistes they consider losers while shoving their favorites down the readers' throats, I am forced to endure their form of "journalism" just to try to right their oh-so-wrongs.
If you also think that AKP treats some artists unfairly, I encourage you to comment about it in their articles. (But please watch what you say. Hostility only lowers the credibility of our complaints. Civil and logical attitudes are key to a peaceful protest.) Once in awhile, AKP writers do seem to listen to us and improve a little, so the more Comment Crusaders, the better!
(in response to AKP's denial of bias)
AKP has improved so much in the past 2 months that it’s like a completely different site. I really, really appreciate the faster articles, wider coverage, direct translations of articles, and fewer personal remarks.
Bias is human nature and thus unavoidable, but there's no need to add personal comments. AKP already expresses their leanings the same way all news sources do--in the way they report (all) the news. AKP writers get to decide which Korean articles to use as a source, and their views will inevitably influence the way they translate them into English, perhaps with a positive/negative spin or including/omitting certain information. So their views are still noticed, but by sticking to direct translations only, AKP can maintain professionalism, like a real news site.
AKP can post more frivolous stuff on their favorites, just as long as they keep reporting all the important stuff on all artists. Just please continue the progress of the past 2 months, AKP!
That said, it is kind of insulting that AKP is trying to make it seem like their prior biased behavior from the past 3 years is just a figment of the reader’s imagination, even though no one, I mean, no one, no matter how much they love AKP, can deny that AKP used to be extremely biased. (For the most part, I agree with their defense, that even when they make a conscious effort to be unbiased, they can't please all fans because fans can be somewhat sensitive. Honestly, though, AKP is only able to say that now, after 2 months of respectability. Of course fans will still call AKP biased even after they've tried to improve, because AKP has a long history of being biased!)
I understand that more popularity demands more coverage, but that really doesn’t justify AKP’s bias against SS501. (It’s been awhile since I’ve had to rant about this, but AKP calling us paranoid conspiracy theorists was just too much.)
SS501 is one of the most popular idol groups in Korea, and now Asia. There’s no way you can use the excuse that less popular artists get less coverage; that doesn’t, or shouldn’t, apply to them. In fact, AKP used to give rookie groups more articles than 5-year SS501. >_>; It's not just that Triple S are unhappy with the content of the news (although it did seem to be only negative SS501 stuff on AKP). The problem is that AKP neglected to report on SS501 at all most of the time.
Despite reporting on similar (or lesser) news for other groups, AKP missed SS501’s Fifth Year Anniversary, DSP’s statements about the members’ status during the contract issues, Hyun Joong’s fashion endorsements, Young Saeng and Kyu Jong’s vacationing in USA, Jung Min’s expansion of his business Royal Avenue to other Asian countries, Hyung Jun’s big birthday fanmeeting (mini-concert with comedians, 4MEN, U-Kiss, and SS501 members), and Hyung Jun’s Singapore showcase and fanmeeting. Those were just the major news missing in June-August 2010. There were many other SS501-related news in the past few years that never got posted on AKP.
Thankfully, SS501 (finally) started getting fair coverage 2 months ago, when AKP (finally) started acting like a respectable news site. But no matter what they claim, there’s no denying that AKP had serious bias before. Even non-fans acknowledge the particularly negative treatment of SS501. Since AKP is not just one entity but a whole staff with differing views, I’d like to know how it’s possible that not one writer liked them. What’s there to dislike from one of the kindest, most humble, talented, gracious, adorkable, and charismatic groups? But I don’t think we’ll ever get an answer for that. *sigh*
(before AKP's major improvement in late 2010)
I consider it my personal mission to battle AKP's blatant bias, more specifically, their particular dislike for SS501, arguably the sweetest, humblest, and one of the most talented and lovable idol groups ever. Whether it is a sad lack of coverage or an unnecessarily negative tone, my fellow TripleS and I will be there to fight the corrupt system with a bombardment of tips and comments of judicious outrage.
But this goes way beyond just indignation as a fan. This is about principles, which AKP obviously knows nothing about because it is a biased, unprofessional, unreliable, sorry-excuse-for-a-"news"-site. Although there are many, many K-Pop sites that are better than AKP, the sad fact of the matter is that AKP is, unfortunately, the most frequented one. And because they use their vast influence, not to share news on all K-Pop as their name suggests, but to breed contempt for artistes they consider losers while shoving their favorites down the readers' throats, I am forced to endure their form of "journalism" just to try to right their oh-so-wrongs.
If you also think that AKP treats some artists unfairly, I encourage you to comment about it in their articles. (But please watch what you say. Hostility only lowers the credibility of our complaints. Civil and logical attitudes are key to a peaceful protest.) Once in awhile, AKP writers do seem to listen to us and improve a little, so the more Comment Crusaders, the better!
(in response to AKP's denial of bias)
AKP has improved so much in the past 2 months that it’s like a completely different site. I really, really appreciate the faster articles, wider coverage, direct translations of articles, and fewer personal remarks.
Bias is human nature and thus unavoidable, but there's no need to add personal comments. AKP already expresses their leanings the same way all news sources do--in the way they report (all) the news. AKP writers get to decide which Korean articles to use as a source, and their views will inevitably influence the way they translate them into English, perhaps with a positive/negative spin or including/omitting certain information. So their views are still noticed, but by sticking to direct translations only, AKP can maintain professionalism, like a real news site.
AKP can post more frivolous stuff on their favorites, just as long as they keep reporting all the important stuff on all artists. Just please continue the progress of the past 2 months, AKP!
That said, it is kind of insulting that AKP is trying to make it seem like their prior biased behavior from the past 3 years is just a figment of the reader’s imagination, even though no one, I mean, no one, no matter how much they love AKP, can deny that AKP used to be extremely biased. (For the most part, I agree with their defense, that even when they make a conscious effort to be unbiased, they can't please all fans because fans can be somewhat sensitive. Honestly, though, AKP is only able to say that now, after 2 months of respectability. Of course fans will still call AKP biased even after they've tried to improve, because AKP has a long history of being biased!)
I understand that more popularity demands more coverage, but that really doesn’t justify AKP’s bias against SS501. (It’s been awhile since I’ve had to rant about this, but AKP calling us paranoid conspiracy theorists was just too much.)
SS501 is one of the most popular idol groups in Korea, and now Asia. There’s no way you can use the excuse that less popular artists get less coverage; that doesn’t, or shouldn’t, apply to them. In fact, AKP used to give rookie groups more articles than 5-year SS501. >_>; It's not just that Triple S are unhappy with the content of the news (although it did seem to be only negative SS501 stuff on AKP). The problem is that AKP neglected to report on SS501 at all most of the time.
Despite reporting on similar (or lesser) news for other groups, AKP missed SS501’s Fifth Year Anniversary, DSP’s statements about the members’ status during the contract issues, Hyun Joong’s fashion endorsements, Young Saeng and Kyu Jong’s vacationing in USA, Jung Min’s expansion of his business Royal Avenue to other Asian countries, Hyung Jun’s big birthday fanmeeting (mini-concert with comedians, 4MEN, U-Kiss, and SS501 members), and Hyung Jun’s Singapore showcase and fanmeeting. Those were just the major news missing in June-August 2010. There were many other SS501-related news in the past few years that never got posted on AKP.
Thankfully, SS501 (finally) started getting fair coverage 2 months ago, when AKP (finally) started acting like a respectable news site. But no matter what they claim, there’s no denying that AKP had serious bias before. Even non-fans acknowledge the particularly negative treatment of SS501. Since AKP is not just one entity but a whole staff with differing views, I’d like to know how it’s possible that not one writer liked them. What’s there to dislike from one of the kindest, most humble, talented, gracious, adorkable, and charismatic groups? But I don’t think we’ll ever get an answer for that. *sigh*
Friday, April 22, 2011
But... You're the one that made me love carrots...
Jung Min doesn't like carrots anymore & asks fans not to give. this kinda saddens me. ^^; they're just so iconic for JM. if you see a fan with a carrot, you know they're showing their love for Park Jung Min only. we're his PEAS&CARROTS♥!
i know JM wants to get away from the horse nickname (understandably), but the carrots aren't just for SS501's Mal. it's also for our favorite Tokki, which JM doesn't mind being called. more than that, carrots are BRIGHT, CUTE, and HEALTHY, like JM. ^_^
i really liked that he and his fans had a symbol that was just for him, a pet name only for us. (like tetsuya and his banana! ;) it seems like a waste of a cute, clever trademark and sign of affection. :P
i know JM wants to get away from the horse nickname (understandably), but the carrots aren't just for SS501's Mal. it's also for our favorite Tokki, which JM doesn't mind being called. more than that, carrots are BRIGHT, CUTE, and HEALTHY, like JM. ^_^
i really liked that he and his fans had a symbol that was just for him, a pet name only for us. (like tetsuya and his banana! ;) it seems like a waste of a cute, clever trademark and sign of affection. :P
Friday, March 18, 2011
To allkpop, you suck. No love, me.
Sent a tip to AKP a couple of days ago, and big surprise, they ignored it even though it's definitely news-worthy. -_-; So instead of my originally positive tone (though still highly doubtful that AKP would post about SS501 so I freakin' wrote the entire article for them), today I tried a more.. passive-aggressive tactic. XD;
Tip 1: SS501 Kim Hyung Jun's Arabic Interview
Having already appeared on American, Turkish, and Peruvian TV, SS501 members once again prove their global star power with an interview on Arab TV!
After receiving numerous messages, KBS World discovered that there were many, many Arab SS501 fans and arranged an exclusive interview with magnae Kim Hyung Jun in Arabic for them.
During the interview, which aired March 25th, Hyung Jun called and chatted with Arab Triple S from Egypt, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia, learning that Arab countries had several SS501 fanclubs, some of which had more than 10,000 members. He talked about his solo album "My Girl", SS501, his brother KiBum, his ideal girl, other Kpop idols, and more, and promised to visit Arab fans someday.
Here is the interview with English subs:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waBJIOiyRFU
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4kMMG7XVdY
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsDPbAZEKjk
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf727VRCX4c
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YRRA-sTA9A
credit: TheBlueStar501
Tip 2: SS501 Kim Hyung Jun on Arabic TVToo much? XD;
On March 25th, KBS World aired its Arabic interview with SS501 Kim Hyung Jun after the numerous requests from the thousands of Arab Triple S.
Here is the interview with English subs:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waBJIOiyRFU
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4kMMG7XVdY
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsDPbAZEKjk
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf727VRCX4c
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YRRA-sTA9A
credit: TheBlueStar501
Is that so hard?
AKP, remember when you wrote about Super Junior's popularity in Arab and Latin American countries but didn't for SS501? How about being fair and doing it now? It's a pretty distinct honor and big Hallyu news whenever a Korean artist appears on foreign media (outside Asia), isn't it? ^^
Perhaps there's been a lot of kpop news lately? But since I already provided a written article and links 2 days ago, posting this significant news doesn't even require any more work from AKP. So either you have fulfilled some sort of SS501 quota for the month, or it costs you something (money? pain?) to do this easy part of your job. XD
Please post. Thanks! ^^v
Oh my goodness~ Oh my soul~!
http://www.allkpop.com/2011/03/park-jung-m
I still can't believe Jung Min agreed to it (not that I'm complaining! XD). He said he was more confident in his lower half (what does that mean?? lol). And he only showed his shoulders and parts of his sexy back. Maybe because he said he can't bulk up like other Korean stars. But whatever, I really prefer him like this, very healthy looking. I'm so not into chocolate abs *eyeroll*, and they'd probably look awkward on him (like JoKwon ^^;).
*sigh* Jung Min is the perfect combination of Japanese and Korean aesthetic. He's long and lean like a jpop idol (without looking like an adolescent boy), and he has a tall, manly stature like a kpop idol (without looking like a body-builder). His lean and fit body is my ideal type. And of course, his looks and personality are my ideal types, too. ;D That's why I love this shoot; it shows his overflowing sexy charisma (look at hisbody eyes!), natural beauty (i swear, he glows~), and cute charm (his smiles!), all at once. ♥
"You might show up in my dreams tonight." Jung Min~!♥
I still can't believe Jung Min agreed to it (not that I'm complaining! XD). He said he was more confident in his lower half (what does that mean?? lol). And he only showed his shoulders and parts of his sexy back. Maybe because he said he can't bulk up like other Korean stars. But whatever, I really prefer him like this, very healthy looking. I'm so not into chocolate abs *eyeroll*, and they'd probably look awkward on him (like JoKwon ^^;).
*sigh* Jung Min is the perfect combination of Japanese and Korean aesthetic. He's long and lean like a jpop idol (without looking like an adolescent boy), and he has a tall, manly stature like a kpop idol (without looking like a body-builder). His lean and fit body is my ideal type. And of course, his looks and personality are my ideal types, too. ;D That's why I love this shoot; it shows his overflowing sexy charisma (look at his
"You might show up in my dreams tonight." Jung Min~!♥
Saturday, February 12, 2011
The Green Pea Monster Strikes Again
I love this fancam of Jung Min being scared by a fan in a mask at one of his fansigning events. I absolutely adore Jung Min for his cuteness and humor. <3
Hyun Joong: "uh!" jump back, wide eyes, hands on his chest, then nervous laughter, "scared me!", hand rubbing chest, embarrassed smile, sign, nod "thanks", neck crick, "oh~", 4D comment, laugh
Young Saeng: little jump, "omo!", then laugh, "what the?", shakes head, signs, smiles
Kyu Jong: wide eyed "oh!", then "haha" ^^, asks to see the mask, takes it "wah~", puts it up to his face "heehee", gives it back, chuckles, signs, thumbs up
Hyung Jun: "AH!" nearly falling off chair, then high-pitched laugh, gets up and walks around in circles, "ah, crazy~" "oh my god" (in english XD) "why??", sits down, laughs some more, chats while signing, smile, hug, wave
This is kinda fanfic, right? lol
So then, being the obsessed Triple S that I am, I started imagining what would happen if the other SS501 members met a fan like this...
It might go something like this:Hyun Joong: "uh!" jump back, wide eyes, hands on his chest, then nervous laughter, "scared me!", hand rubbing chest, embarrassed smile, sign, nod "thanks", neck crick, "oh~", 4D comment, laugh
Young Saeng: little jump, "omo!", then laugh, "what the?", shakes head, signs, smiles
Kyu Jong: wide eyed "oh!", then "haha" ^^, asks to see the mask, takes it "wah~", puts it up to his face "heehee", gives it back, chuckles, signs, thumbs up
Hyung Jun: "AH!" nearly falling off chair, then high-pitched laugh, gets up and walks around in circles, "ah, crazy~" "oh my god" (in english XD) "why??", sits down, laughs some more, chats while signing, smile, hug, wave
This is kinda fanfic, right? lol
Dammit, HJL!
HJL, i love you, but you keep annoying me! and your fans who defend you, even if they have to insult others, and insist on calling you "perfect" just irk me even more! -_-
honestly, yeah, it hurts to see him attend Junsu's musical but not HJB's. but i admit we don't know the whole situation. although unlikely, i suppose it's possible HJL attended in secret or stayed away to not attract too much attention from HJB (kind of presumptuous, no?), or perhaps he meant to go but was too busy at first and then didn't realize the musical was ending already and missed his chance (he's kinda scatter-brained).
in and of itself, his non-attendance isn't that big of a deal. but HJL fans who think others are "attacking" (who's the one over-reacting?) should realize it's not just this one minor "slight". it's the past several months of barely being linked to SS501. =/
i understand wanting to avoid the media and its rumors, and i love that he confirmed SS501 is not disbanded (like... twice?), but he rarely says anything else about his members. in fact, if it weren't for KJ mentioning that he grabbed drinks with HJL, we would have never known that HJL even sees his members, because all we know is that they keep in contact with each other (but apparently not often with him since he's hard to reach, according to many).
what's annoying is that HJL fans counter with "well, the other members don't show support for him either. they didn't promote his drama." for one, i seem to remember KJ mentioning it, or at least Steven Lee shared their feelings and told people to watch PK because they (other members) still support him, too. it's true they never visited his filming site like in BOF, but they had their own solo activities to start, and they did mention they were proud of HJL singing in the Asian Games. okay, not much support for HJL's drama, i get it, but that's one solo activity they didn't promote, while HJL neglected many more.
think of it this way: the other 4 members missed HJL's drama and fanmeet (which was mainly for the cast & crew), while the leader missed YS & KJ's fanmeets (which JM visited), HJB's musical and fanmeets (which JM, YS, & KJ watched and participated in), and JM's fanmeet (which HJB attended) and 1st solo album (which YS, KJ, & HJB congratulated him on and cheered for).
you can complain that that's a double standard for HJL, but you know what? there SHOULD be a double standard; he's the LEADER. how can the other members be (much) more vocal and supportive of SS501 and its members than its own leader? he's not just a member who happens to be reticent, he's known as SS501's Leader.
look, i'm not questioning HJL's relationship with his members. but isn't it natural to question his actions and his fans who continue to call him the best leader when he hasn't done much "leading" for awhile?
i still love him as an important part of SS501. and i still think he's a really good man (especially after his charity & community service event helping to distribute coal to the needy ^^). but i'm allowed to be annoyed with him for publicly showing support for and playing with his JYJ friends but not showing up for his SS501 members.
i just want to see a little more Leadership. and that includes ships with Leader: where's the HyunSaeng, HyunKyu, GaeMal, & DoubleHJ love? ;)
honestly, yeah, it hurts to see him attend Junsu's musical but not HJB's. but i admit we don't know the whole situation. although unlikely, i suppose it's possible HJL attended in secret or stayed away to not attract too much attention from HJB (kind of presumptuous, no?), or perhaps he meant to go but was too busy at first and then didn't realize the musical was ending already and missed his chance (he's kinda scatter-brained).
in and of itself, his non-attendance isn't that big of a deal. but HJL fans who think others are "attacking" (who's the one over-reacting?) should realize it's not just this one minor "slight". it's the past several months of barely being linked to SS501. =/
i understand wanting to avoid the media and its rumors, and i love that he confirmed SS501 is not disbanded (like... twice?), but he rarely says anything else about his members. in fact, if it weren't for KJ mentioning that he grabbed drinks with HJL, we would have never known that HJL even sees his members, because all we know is that they keep in contact with each other (but apparently not often with him since he's hard to reach, according to many).
what's annoying is that HJL fans counter with "well, the other members don't show support for him either. they didn't promote his drama." for one, i seem to remember KJ mentioning it, or at least Steven Lee shared their feelings and told people to watch PK because they (other members) still support him, too. it's true they never visited his filming site like in BOF, but they had their own solo activities to start, and they did mention they were proud of HJL singing in the Asian Games. okay, not much support for HJL's drama, i get it, but that's one solo activity they didn't promote, while HJL neglected many more.
think of it this way: the other 4 members missed HJL's drama and fanmeet (which was mainly for the cast & crew), while the leader missed YS & KJ's fanmeets (which JM visited), HJB's musical and fanmeets (which JM, YS, & KJ watched and participated in), and JM's fanmeet (which HJB attended) and 1st solo album (which YS, KJ, & HJB congratulated him on and cheered for).
you can complain that that's a double standard for HJL, but you know what? there SHOULD be a double standard; he's the LEADER. how can the other members be (much) more vocal and supportive of SS501 and its members than its own leader? he's not just a member who happens to be reticent, he's known as SS501's Leader.
look, i'm not questioning HJL's relationship with his members. but isn't it natural to question his actions and his fans who continue to call him the best leader when he hasn't done much "leading" for awhile?
i still love him as an important part of SS501. and i still think he's a really good man (especially after his charity & community service event helping to distribute coal to the needy ^^). but i'm allowed to be annoyed with him for publicly showing support for and playing with his JYJ friends but not showing up for his SS501 members.
i just want to see a little more Leadership. and that includes ships with Leader: where's the HyunSaeng, HyunKyu, GaeMal, & DoubleHJ love? ;)
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