A Pop Culture Moment: 동방신기 vs. 개그 Concert

Every Sunday night, folks here gather 'round the set at 9:00 to watch a one-hour sketch comedy show called Gag Concert. We're guessing it's pretty popular, since it seems to be on in every bar and restaurant... and even in store window TVs of trendy cosmetics and clothing shops. Most of the time, we (obviously) can't follow the dialogue - but the physical comedy is enough to make us interested enough to watch, most weeks.

A few weeks ago, we saw this skit playing on a store's TV, and a crowd gathered to watch. This skit featured a guest appearance by one of Korea's biggest boybands, "Dongbangshingi" (often called "DBSK" or "TVXQ" in English). The premise of the sketch was a recurring one, where fashion trends are sent up by two of the regular actors, usually dressed in outlandish things.



I teach a "tutor" class with three fifteen year-old girls, using an English-language, Korean-produced newspaper geared toward teenagers. We've been studying an article about this particular pop group together recently. Apparently, Dongbangshingi has just released their third album in Korea, and is trying to be taken more seriously by being influenced by "a Hegelian dialectic." Uh, yeah.

(PS: Katrina, this one goes out to you!)