Archive for the ‘Korean Music’ Category

Insooni Concert in Los Angeles

Monday, February 8th, 2010

Photo taken inside Koreatown Plaza on Western Avenue


Insooni Concert Poster in Koreatown

Insooni Concert Poster in Koreatown

Insooni (Hangul: 인순이; born Kim In-Soon (김인순) in 1957) is a famous South Korean singer who made her debut in 1978. She is an acclaimed R&B diva who has performed at Carnegie Hall in New York.  Born to a Korean mother and an African American father, who served in the US military, she was brought up by her mother alone.

The concert will be on February 12, Friday, 8 pm, at Nokia Theater.  To check for tickets, call Powerhouse at 323-692-0303 or visit Ticketmaster.

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BboBboBbo (PpoPpoPpo): Korean Children’s Song

Monday, January 18th, 2010

Perhaps the catchiest Korean children’s song: PpoPpoPpo or Bbo-Bbo-Bbo (“Kiss, kiss, kiss..”)

아빠가 출근할 때 뽀뽀뽀
엄마가 안아줘도 뽀뽀뽀
만나면 반갑다고 뽀뽀뽀
헤어질 땐 또 만나요 뽀뽀뽀
우리는 귀염둥이 뽀뽀뽀 친구
뽀뽀뽀 뽀뽀뽀 뽀뽀뽀 친구

It’s onomatopoeic — it’s the kissing sound that children make in Korean, though adults use it too. The other word for ‘kiss’ in Korean is a transliteration of the English: 키스 (ki-suh). Does that mean there was no kissing on the peninsula before the Western concept arrived? Sort of like the missionary position, I guess…

The reason I’ve suddenly become interested in kids songs is because I found this CD that contains 30 Korean children songs, and I found that the only song I was immediately familiar with was Bbo-bbo-bbo.

“When Dad goes to work, kiss, kiss, kiss. When Mom gives a hug, kiss, kiss, kiss. When you meet and you’re glad you do, kiss, kiss, kiss….”

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2009 Korean Festival Parade in Los Angeles

Sunday, September 20th, 2009

I’ve been poring over the video clips I took yesterday from the parade in Koreatown along Olympic Boulevard. So many good ones but it will take awhile to process them. Here’s one:

Traditional Korean costumes are so colorful. Such a shame that my old Flip camcorder was not up to the task of capturing the sights and sounds of the event. Oh, well. My luck will turn someday and then I’ll be able to afford a Flip UltraHD… I hope in time before next year’s Korean parade…

Sunday is the final day of the 2009 Korean Festival in Los Angeles. Till around 9 or 10 pm.

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The Most Famous Korean Song

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

아리랑 아리랑 아라리요
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다.

The classic folk song Arirang ~

아리랑, 아리랑, 아라리요…
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다.
나를 버리고 가시는 님은
십리도 못가서 발병난다.

Arirang, Arirang, A-ra-ri-yo ~
Arirang gogae-ro neomeoganda.
Na-reul beorigo gasineun nimeun
Simni-do motgaseo balbyeong-nanda.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION

Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo…
Crossing over Arirang Pass.
Dear who left me here
Will not walk even ten li before his feet start to hurt.

The word li in “ten li” refers to a unit of distance that’s about 500 meters or 550 yards. You can find it in an English dictionary now, having been entered via Chinese.

The singer is metaphorically lamenting the conditional love of a person. If the person singing is a woman, then she is referring to a man. Arirang is the name of a mountain pass. Arariyo doesn’t mean anything — they’re just syllables to make the song beautiful.The Korean word arirang connotes something beautiful.

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