Category Archives: Aftermath

Lemme tell you what happened…

Wow, fantastic, baby!

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Aftermath Report: Big Bang “Alive Galaxy Tour” in Manila – October 24, 2012

Some three months ago, the Philippine leg of Big Bang’s “Alive” tour was announced. People raised hell over the expensive ticket prices. K-pop fans – not to be confused with actual Big Bang fans – eventually compared it with another K-pop event which would have more than one Korean act in the line-up. For a moment there it sounded like the probability of the concert being a success was iffy.

October 24, 2012 happened. Mall of Asia Arena was packed to the rafters. :thumbup:
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It’s a very showbiz day.

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Voltes In Korea 2012, Day 1

For the past two years that me and my Voltes friends have gone to Korea, we’ve never been ‘zero’ on the celebrity sighting. This edition of Voltes in Korea is no exception. In fact, we’ve already exceeded the quota right on the first day. :thumbup:

We decided to try something new on this trip. Instead of staying at a hostel or hotel, we booked a homestay through airbnb.com. In this scheme, private apartment owners rent out their own homes to short- or long-term travelers. We later on learned from our host that homestay is the current thrust of the Korea Tourism Organization. Anyway, we particularly chose this place that we’re staying in now for one major reason: her ad copy at airbnb says that she can help book her guests to Korean music shows. The location might not be ideal for newbies in Seoul, though, because it’s nowhere near the usual tourist places, but if you wanna go Gangnam Style, this place is highly recommended.

Our host had difficulty booking KBS Music Bank tickets for all of us because we’re too many in the group (incidentally, I’ve read somewhere that among the music shows, KBS MuBank is the most difficult to gain access to if one is not a member of a local official fan club). She only managed to score four tickets (we are six in the group for Day 1; Pre’ will be joining us on Day 2). However, to make up for it, she managed to pull some strings and was able to give us all of us access to the rehearsals and pre-show recording. :cheer: That’s not bad, right?

So on Friday, October 12, 2012, with little to no sleep at all since we arrived in Korea at 6am that same morning, and no decent meals for the entire day aside from bagels, jam, apples and brewed coffee, we spent practically the entire day being holed up inside the KBS Music Bank studios. :smile:
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More reasons to love Ji Hyun Woo.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Ji Hyun Woo has just joined the ranks of Korean male entertainers that I love and respect because of his ability to Man Up. :clap:

Source: as tagged; Click on the image to read/see more photos and the accompanying article (in Korean)

(Yup, unfortunately, it’s from Sports Seoul. But what can I do?)

Edited to add: English version of the news from Soompi.com

You know what I love more about this? After the initial confession, both Ji Hyun Woo and Yoo In Na’s agencies were literally punishing him for ‘acting harshly’. He disappeared from the public eye for a few days – a genius decision because it made his confession sink in more and gave his fans an opportunity to mull things over – and when he came back, his statement was epic: “If I were to be in the same situation (back that night) again, I would still do the same thing!”. :arrow: Guess what: it’s the unusual case of Korean artist winning over his agency! I want to give Ji Hyun Woo a Jennifer Lopez/Randy Jackson Standing Ovation right now. :clap:

Ji Hyun Woo now joins my list that includes Kwon Sang Woo, Eric Mun, Tablo and Se7en.

Update: YG Entertainment and Paramount Music – Yoo In Na and Ji Hyun Woo’s agencies, respectively – have stated that they will not be releasing official statements regarding this topic as it is a personal matter that the artists themselves should be dealing with. As it should be. *cough* I don’t know why in some cases it always has to be the agencies who are telling the story. *cough* Hence, I really find it laughable when fans say, “I won’t believe it until I hear the official word from [insert agency name here]” even if the artist him/herself has said it and/or photo/video evidence has already been leaked. :rolleyes:

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Meanwhile… what’s up with you, Jeong Ji Hoon? :phew:

OC attack.

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I’ve been monitoring the publicity materials for the PH airing of Runaway/Fugitive Plan B and I’m having an extreme OC attack. :aargh: I dunno, I just find it annoying when PR people would place the wrong info on their publicity materials. Publicity materials are supposed to inform; therefore, wrong information is a definite NO-NO. :nono:

Exhibit A:


credits: TV5Philippines

The TV teaser said that scenes were filmed in Thailand. Well, there were scenes that were set in Thailand, but the actual filming location was in Macau. Specifically, A-ma Temple.

Exhibit B:

In this press release, it was mentioned that filming in the Philippines took place in Manila and Cebu. Eeep! Wrong. :nono: Rain did pass by Cebu before going to Manila from Macau but only to take a short break. No filming took place there. This thing bothers me because quite a number of PH fans had the impression that Rain stopped by Cebu for filming and now that TV5′s press release said so, they will totally believe it to be correct (you know, the usual, “that’s what the article said, so that’s what we will believe” as if the press never makes mistakes :rolleyes: ). Also, I’m in OC mode and these itsy-bitsy non-issues bother me.

You know what’s more bothersome? TV5 said that they co-produced the Philippine episodes and yet they are getting their facts mixed up. BTW, I was also scratching my head at this because as far as I know, it was Unitel that was behind the Philippine production and TV5 basically had nothing to do with filming; then again, maybe MVP financed it, so in effect they are correct. But then again, maybe that’s precisely why they’re getting their facts mixed up: it’s because TV5 really had nothing to do with the filming of this drama, so they didn’t have any first-hand info about it.

I can tell you with certainty that the errors I pointed out in their press releases are valid, though.

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Update

Random Thoughts on the first episode of Runaway (Fugitive Plan B) in the Philippines:

1. I love how the drama is rated “SPG” (Strong Parental Guidance) in my country. :hihihi: It’s rated as such because of the theme and the scenes depicting violence. I think they should add ‘sex’ on the list. Rain’s abs blown up on the big screen are awfully sinful, I tell yah.

2. Speaking of abs: my brother-in-law walked in as the motorcycle chase scene along Jones Bridge was on. Those who have seen this drama would know how that scene ended: Rain walking away from the scene with his shirt unbuttoned, showing his abs. When my brother-in-law saw that he was like, “sabi na nga ba, sa abs mauuwi yan eh. Biglang natanggal ang mga butones!” :lol: (I knew it would end up with [him flashing] his abs. For some reason the buttons popped out! :lol: )

3. The dubbing was… :ayaw: I mean, REALLY. The Tagalog screenplay is good, though.

4. Lastly: it’s quite tragic that this drama had no commercials. :hopeless: I mean, there were commercial breaks, but they were just station plugs. No corporate sponsors, not even PLDT/Smart. It’s so much worse than all other Rain dramas shown locally. At least A Love To Kill had one or two corporate sponsors (don’t get me started on Full House). No wonder it felt like the episode ended in about 10 minutes.

5. Even more tragic: the unauthorized internet streams had sponsors (courtesy of Google ads and such). The legal TV broadcast had none. :sad: