DISRESPECTFUL Bill Gates? Casual style raises eyebrows in S. Korea.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates casual style was the subject of criticism in some South Korean media Tuesday after he shook hands with South Korean President Park Geun-Hye, with one hand in his pocket. The picture above taken April 22, 2013 shows  President Geun-hye (L) shaking hands with Bill Gates before their meeting at the presidential Blue House in Seoul. The picture of the meet-and-greet between Gates and Park on April 23 was splashed on the front page of every national daily, some of which cropped out the offending pocketed hand while most chose to highlight it. 

Seoul Korea Blue House (Cheongwadae) Reception Center

Gates was in South Korea as chairman of the nuclear start-up TerraPower, promoting its project to develop a next-generation nuclear reactor. Park, meanwhile, was seeking the Microsoft founder’s advice on her plans to build a “creative economy” that moves beyond South Korea’s traditional manufacturing base.

While the presidential Blue House declined to comment, social networking sites were clogged with opinion on this "issue". You be the judge.....

Tags: Microsoft , Bill Gates, South Korea, President Park Geun-Hye, Park Geun-Hye, Blue House in Seoul, TerraPower

8 ODD THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PSY's "GENTLEMAN"!

South Korean pop star Psy is back with the follow-up to‘Gangnam Style’! He finally unveiled  the hip-swinging dance and music video for his new song "Gentleman," aimed at replicating the global success of "Gangnam Style" and its famed horse-riding dance. 

Built around a basic chorus,  "Gentleman" is another foot-stomping, frenetic dance groove with a video which delivers more cheeky irreverence from the pop star. 

The video shows Psy, wearing his signature sunglasses, dancing at various locations (high-end clothing store, restaurant, swimming pool, etc.) in and around the capital Seoul. The story line featured the "obnoxious" singer teasing and pulling off an array of rather juvenile practical jokes like pulling chairs away from women, preventing a man from going to the restroom, kicking a soccer ball away from kids, etc. Since release, the video is on its way to approaching 100 million views -- no surprise given "Gangnam Style" exceeding 1 billion views.

Below are 8 things you need to know about Psy's "Gentleman" video: (selected from latimes.com and berbicemarket.com)1. The song contains more English lyrics this time than "Gangnam Style"- a clear nod to the singer's new found global audience."Let me tell you about myself. I'm such a charmer with guts, vigour and humour," Psy sings in Korean before launching into the song's English catch-line: "I'm a mother-father gentleman." "Gonna make you sweat. Gonna make you wet. You know who I am? Wet Psy!" he sings in English, calling himself a "party mafia."

2. The dance.

The dance is borrowed from K Pop girl group Brown Eyed Girls from a song/video called “Abracadabra”. 

With more swagger than "Gangnam Style", the new move has you rest your hand on your chin, or raised above your head, and sexily swaying your hips back and forth to the beat with a pretty fabulous side-to-side gait.

3. The pranks. Psy has a wicked sense of comedic absurdity and toilet humor which can be initially off- putting but can be gotten used to if you view it again- more subjective than anything else I guess..

4. The mobile game in the video.

The video game in the video is called Candy Crush Saga,  available on iPhone and Android phones. Its blatant product placement but so is most hip-hop.

5. The hot girl.

The hot girl in the gym scene is a member of Brown Eyed Girls, Ga-In and who also has a solo career in K Pop.

6. Those "MC Hammer" Harem pants.

Harem pants or drop crotch pants were seen a lot last fall and in Psy’s “Gangnam” video and years back with MC Hammer. Hammer is often credited with the look but his look was baggier and flouncy while Psy’s is less dramatic with the waist high and inseam lower. As part of a suit or tux, its kinda interesting when paired with loafers or a leather jacket.

7. The blazer fashion. Psy’s haute couture looks in his latest video stepped up his fashion game. Check out the blazers alone: there’s a sparkle-encrusted one, a hot pink and a fierce hounds tooth with exaggerated shoulder pads.

8. Well.....The LYRICS. (In English) from Lyrics Translate.

GENTLEMAN

[Ah~]
I don’t know if you know
why it needs to be hot
I don’t know if you know
why it needs to be clean
I don’t know if you know,
it’ll be a problem if you’re confused
I don’t know if you know but we like,
we we we like to party

Hey there
If I’m going to introduce myself
I’m a cool guy with courage,
spirit and craziness
What you wanna hear,
what you wanna do is me
Damn! Girl! You so freakin sexy!

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a…
Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a…
Ah Ah Ah Ah
I’m a mother father gentleman

I’m a
Ah I’m a
I’m a mother father gentleman
I’m a
Ah I’m a
I’m a mother father gentleman

I don’t know if you know
why it needs to be smooth
I don’t know if you know
why it needs to be sexy
I don’t know if you know darling,
hurry and come be crazy
I don’t know if you know,
it’s crazy, crazy, hurry up

Hey there
Your head, waist, legs, calves
Good! Feeling feeling?
Good! It’s soft
I’ll make you gasp and
I’ll make you scream
Damn! Girl! I’m a party mafia!

Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a…
Ah Ah Ah Ah I’m a…
Ah Ah Ah Ah
I’m a mother father gentleman

I’m a
Ah I’m a
I’m a mother father gentleman
I’m a
Ah I’m a
I’m a mother father gentleman

Gonna make you sweat.
Gonna make you wet
You know who I am Wet PSY

Gonna make you sweat.
Gonna make you wet.
You know who I am
Wet PSY! Wet PSY! Wet PSY!
Wet PSY! PSY! PSY! PSY!
Ah I’m a mother father gentleman

I’m a
Ah I’m a
I’m a mother father gentleman
I’m a
Ah I’m a
I’m a mother father gentleman

Mother father gentleman

Mother father gentleman

Tags: South Korea, Korea, Psy, Gangnam Style, Gentleman, Seoul, K Pop , Brown Eyed Girls, Abracadabra, Candy Crush Saga, iPhone, Android phones, Android , Ga-In, MC Hammer, Harem pants, haute couture

7 ODD Things You Might Not Know About North Korea

With the whole world all on edge with the nuclear saber-rattling of North Korea , let's take a moment to learn more about the country itself  as led now by the young and inexperienced North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un who is threatening to nuke America. adapted from mentalfloss.com and other sources.

1. Military Might.

from news.com.au

North Korea has a massive military force estimated to have 1.1 million males on active duty military status (fourth largest army in the world) with a reserve force of 8 million (the world’s largest)! This is mainly due to the country's  universal conscription with a constitution which states: "Defending the fatherland is the supreme duty and honor of citizens. Citizens shall defend the fatherland and serve in the armed forces as prescribed by law." 

2. Stunted Growth- North Koreans 1 to 3 inches Shorter than  South Koreans.

from iransnews.wordpress.com

Based on a study  of North Korean refugees by Professor Daniel Schwekendiek from Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul, compared with those who live in South Korea, there is a difference in height of 1 to 3 inches- most striking in  children. "The height gap is approximately 4 cm (1.6 in) among pre-school boys and 3 cm (1.2 in) among pre-school girls with the South Koreans being taller." The head of nutrition at the World Food Programme, attributed the difference to the poor diet of North Koreans. 

3. Ruling Family Titles and Propaganda.

from news10.net

“Dear Leader”, Kim Jong-Il was called more creatively by the North Korean journalists as :“Brilliant Leader,” “Guiding Sun Ray,” “Ever-Victorious, Iron-Willed Commander,” and “Dear Leader, who is a perfect incarnation of the appearance that a leader should have.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Now, the Supreme Leader of North Korea is Kim Jong-un, who also holds the positions of Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army, First Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea, among other titles. He’s the youngest head of state in the world, holds a physics degree, and loves long-range rockets and nuclear weapons. Upon his father’s death, he was declared the "party, military, and country’s supreme leader who inherits great comrade Kim Jong-il’s ideology, leadership, character, virtues, grit and courage." 

4. Necrocracy- sitting President is DEAD.

Kim Il-sung
Eternal President of the Republic

North Korea is the world’s only necrocracy. The incumbent president of North Korea is Kim Il-Sung who assumed the office of the Eternal Presidency on July 8, 1994- power which he steadfastly holds on to even though he’s been dead for 18 years.

5. Ruling Family's Edifice Complex AND Lavish Lifestyle a midst POVERTY.

Statues of North Korea's founding president Kim Il-sung and his son
Kim Jong-il are unveiled during a ceremony in Pyongyang
Picture: PEDRO UGARTE/AFP/Getty Images

The ruling family has the 'Edifice Complex'- to the extreme! Educated North Koreans would surely have gone to Kim Il-Sung University and might have read the hundred volume Complete Collection of Kim Il Sung's Works. Sports fans can cross the Kim Il-Sung Bridge which will get them to the Kim Il-Sung Stadium. Not to forget are the 34,000 statues of Kim Il-Sung in North Korea not including the Towers of Eternal Life in each town and the Immortal Statue of Kim Il-Sung! Kim Jong-Il  also had 32 residences ranging from ornate beach houses to  massive mountaintop palaces.  

6. Control and Subjugation.

This camp is located in Hwasong in the North Hamkyong Province. (Image: Daily Mail)

Satellite imagery reveals a lot about the terrifying subjugation of the North Korean people through prison camps scattered throughout the country where torture, executions (public and secret), starvation, disease, and infanticide are a common fare. Photographs of the Hwasong Concentration Camp (Camp 16) reveals one of the country’s most notorious prisons occupying roughly 300 square miles, housing 20,000 political prisoners and located near a facility for testing nuclear bombs!

7. North Korea's Internet "Presence".

Kwangmyong (translated as "brilliant")
THE GLORIOUS NORTH KOREAN INTERNET

Kwangmyong is North Korea’s intranet, available for the browsing of Kim fan pages by the North Korean people. It is not connected to the Internet BUT has email, news, an electronic library, and scrubbed science material from the world media. The official Internet presence of North Korea wants you to know that “The Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a genuine workers' state in which all the people are completely liberated from exploitation and oppression. The workers, peasants, soldiers and intellectuals are the true masters of their destiny and are in a unique position to defend their interests.”

See Related post:

Kim Jong Un: 10 ODD Things About North Korea’s New Leader

North Korea Kim Jong Un's War Threats.....and other Jokes and Memes...

Tags: North Korea, Korea, Kim Jong Un, America, mentalfloss.com , mentalfloss, Daniel Schwekendiek, Sungkyunkwan University , Sungkyunkwan, Seoul, South Korea, World Food Programme, Kim Jong-un, Kim Jong-Il , Kim Il-Sung, Towers of Eternal Life, Hwasong Concentration Camp (Camp 16), Camp 16, Kwangmyong

Kim Jong Un: 10 ODD Things About North Korea’s New Leader

With the whole world all a buzzed with the nuclear saber-rattling of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, let's take a moment to learn more about the country’s mysterious “Great Successor”, the third son to the departed Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s self-styled “Dear Leader”. Meet Kim Jong Un  the young and inexperienced North Korea dictator who is threatening to nuke America. 

from newsfeed.time.com  and politico.com.

1. Kim Jong Un's (KJU) is the son of the late-North Korean dictator of  Kim Jong Il  and the dead dictator’s late-third wife Ko Yong-hui. His name is written as both Kim Jong-un and Kim Jong Un, with news outlets using both iterations.
2. His mother reportedly called him the “Morning Star King” when he was growing up for reasons that remain unclear.
3. Little is known about his childhood, including his actual birth date  Though North Korea recognizes Jan. 8 as Kim’s official birthday and a national holiday, it remains unclear whether he was born in 1983 or 1984. Efforts to transform KJU into a North Korean demigod in the same style as his father, have led to his birthday  being made a national holiday.
4. During KJU's formative years,  he briefly attended Switzerland’s German-speaking Liebefeld-Steinhölzli School. Under a pseudonym “Pak Un”so as not to be recognized, KJU was shy and awkward around girls but became fiercely competitive on the basketball court where he was described by peers as “explosive” and  a “playmaker”. He wasn’t the smartest kid, failing some math and science classes, according to The Daily Telegraph. His highest marks were in music and technical studies.

   

   Kim Jong-un posing with schoolmates during his school days in Switzerland
   from mirror.co.uk

5.  He’s not just a fan of former NBA player Dennis Rodman, who he met with earlier this year, but he also likes Michael Jordan. 
   
   Like his father, Kim is a huge basketball fan — so much so that some reports have suggested it borders on obsession. His father even invited Jordan to North Korea in 2001, a visit which the retired superstar declined.
6. During his school years, despite his father’s anti-American stance, KJU had an extensive collection of Nike sneakers, according to former classmate Nikola Kovacevic, who estimated each pair to cost around $200.
7. His buzz-style haircut has made him an unlikely style-icon in North Korea, where young men are queuing at barber shops for what has been dubbed the “youth” or “ambition” haircut.
8. South Korean media widely speculated that KJU underwent a number of cosmetic procedures last year in order to look more like his grandfather and founder of North Korea, Kim Il Sung.

   

   founder of North Korea, Kim Il Sung

9. Inner circle includes his trusted aunt Kim Kyong-Hui and her husband, Jang Sung-Taek, who are each 66, according to ABC News. The North Korean power couple reportedly help advise him, even meeting with Chinese diplomats at times.
10. In his inaugural days in power, the U.S. and allies were closely monitoring KJU  concerned that the transition could prove dangerous if he seeks to assert his leadership credentials through provocative military actions- as evident now.
    

See Related post:

North Korea Kim Jong Un's War Threats.....and other Jokes and Memes...

Tags: North Korea, Korea, Kim Jong Un, Kim Jong Il, America, Ko Yong-hui, Morning Star King, Switzerland, Liebefeld-Steinhölzli School, The Daily Telegraph, NBA, Dennis Rodman, Rodman, Michael Jordan, Jordan, Nike, Nikola Kovacevic, Kim Il Sung, ABC News