While the “Hairstyle Demonstration” went on, in JoongAng features kiddies that scored higher on the weird scale:
Students punch their fists in the air as a sign of determination to revive the ailing economy in front of a 21-meter jeans-shaped bundle of balloon at the FUBU Creative Festival at Olympic Park, southeast Seoul, yesterday. Around 20,000 balloons were used by FUBU, an American clothes maker.
Er, lets leave out the question how punching your fist in the air is supposed to revive the economy, and some of the protectionist issues some wags would like to add. Just tell me why did they have to make that pair of jeans as if it was intended to remind people of a Buzzcocks song?
{ 35 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks like Letterman’s worldwide pants have made it to Korea.
Some of them look pretty hot you have to admit. Perhaps you should have interviewed a few and asked them what the plan is to revive the economy. Myself, I hope it continues to tank that way maybe many stores will have major sales.
Singles Going Steady was their best work, IMHO. All the other albums have 2 or 3 good tunes but, SGS are all hits.
1-7 pick one. 2 looks acceptable, plus the mini-skirt in winter is always a good sign.
FUBU isn’t exactly the type of American brand that the kids might think it is — FUBU is basically a Samsung company.
Didn’t know they were bought by Samsung. So I guess now they are truly neither FU nor BU.
You should really not post quotes which answer the questions you ask *after* having posted the reason why they are punching the air with their fist. Maybe you need to take more time with your posts because they often have some problem with logic or coherency.
Are you asking why giant FUBU pants floating in the air are going to help float the economy?
“Granfalloon” makes an amusing point. Maybe the pants should be BUFU instead or — considering the look — just BOO-HOO.
Didn’t know they were bought by Samsung. So I guess now they are truly neither FU nor BU.
More than that it looks like Samsung got them off the ground. But if the original creators have a high level of control over the product then I think the BU part might be correct. FU is more FE as in for everyone (for every urban wannabe).
Don’t look now but the KOSPI is once again in huge slide, below 900 now. Currency is now trading 1450W to one dollar, and getting higher and higher toward the 1500W range. It could reach that today.
Clearly, the market has lost confidence in the administration and the government. I think the best thing that the president Lee can do for the country is to step down to try and save the economy and the country.
I think the best thing that the president Lee can do for the country is to step down to try and save the economy and the country.
The president resigning is always a confidence builder.
Maybe Lee should sack the same finance minister who oversaw Korea’s collapse in 1997. But then we couldn’t make LeeMan Brothers jokes.
Lee’s insistence on keeping on Kang Man Soo (and I’ve no ideal how this man was allowed to be the finance minister second time around) is just facet of his mismanagement of the economy. Lee has to take responsibility that South Korea, despite having the world’s sixth largest reserves and 13th largest economy, is grouped with premium high risk countries like Khazakstan and Romania, and is actually even rated higher risk than Hungary and Turkey. That picture is something very wrong there, and it’s obvious that the government has done a very poor providing timely information to the foreign investors, until it was too late.
Lee has to take responsibility that South Korea, despite having the world’s sixth largest reserves and 13th largest economy, is grouped with premium high risk countries like Khazakstan and Romania, and is actually even rated higher risk than Hungary and Turkey.
cm, other than what South Korean has already done with the reserves and stuff maybe there is nothing any Korean leader can do to fight the M*A*S*H image.
@3 And that is why I called them wags.
. . . and just *who* would step in to provide a remedy?? There are no competent political leaders (with the exception of Moon Kook-hyun) and instead of this country’s politicians getting behind one leader and supporting the country, they would be too busy promoting their own amateur plans. Such is why when Korea has a problem, it is a big problem.
You said it, brother. The larger issue surrounding LMB’s team of “business-friendly” advisors is that they are all old-school “Korea Inc.” men. The continued exodus of foreign investors, and the currency-market collapse (isn’t Kang Man Soo the genius who wasted all of Korea’s foreign reserves fighting the market the last time around?), can be seen as the world’s vote of no confidence in Korea Inc.
Also, to Dram_man — I’d like to point out the word is juxtapositioning. Although, I have no idea why you use it in this context.
“The larger issue surrounding LMB’s team of “business-friendly” advisors is that they are all old-school “Korea Inc.” men.”
True.
“The continued exodus of foreign investors, and the currency-market collapse can be seen as the world’s vote of no confidence in Korea Inc.”
Not completely true, or somewhat true. Lots of countries considered “developing” have been hammered as the worldwide economy slows down, not just Korea. But the won has performed probably worse than most other currencies vs. the dollar this past year. Saying it’s a vote of no confidence in Korea per say is too simplistic and more importantly, not true. As the Korean economy gets closer to big trouble (if it ever does) expect Japan, the U.S. and the IMF to play a more active role in helping to avoid any further economic instability in Korea. Thus, if that happens, it will in essence be a vote OF confidence in Korea, Inc.
I guess a lot of them didn’t get the memo about wearing jeans.
true ‘dat. it never ceases to crack me up. the same samsung guys that did the marketing and distribution for FUBU are the guys that’ve been trying to do the same for beanpole in nyc. they’re about as far from hip-hop cool as one could get.
Speaking of Buzzcocks, punk, Korea, and what-not…
How many Korean punk fans would know that No Brain were probably influenced by the legendary Bad Brains (probably one of the most influential and talented punk bands you might have never heard of…because they are black)? They’ve also practically invented what’s now called nu-metal in the late 80’s early 90’s…so they’ve also had some influence, directly or indirectly, on Seo Taiji.
http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=aWWI2rGdda4
http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=UN6uVosQrY4
I disagree with Wangkon that this isn’t about crisis of confidence on South Korea’s government. Korea has a much smaller short term foreign debt and higher foreign reserves than Hong Kong. Yet no major currency has taken this kind of hit. If that isn’t vote of no confidence and trust, then what is it? As it turned out, Korea picked the wrong man for the presidency. Foreign investors probably got tired of all the promises of liberalizations that were never going to be made. Also another factor is that the rooster is now coming home to roost, with the foreign investors exacting their revenge on Korea – for all those Lone Star debacles. It’s not all Lee’s fault either. At least half the blame should also go to the previous administration which royally fucked up Korea’s image in foreign countries. You don’t think some of the foreign reporters at Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, etc don’t have recent unpleasant memories of how shabbily foreign investors were treated in Korea prior to the crisis?
Talking about Leeman Brothers..
http://www.reuters.com/article.....dChannel=0
18
Well isn’t most pop music in Korea influenced by American black invented music? R&B, Hip-hop, Rap.
“instead of this country’s politicians getting behind one leader and supporting the country, they would be too busy promoting their own amateur plans.”
Agreed. But you’re expecting too much from the likes of DLP leader Kang Gi-Gap who put out a disgusting display of showmanship during the president’s speech, when he and his party held out a picket sign thus getting rejected from the assembly.
I’m talking about this nutcase and his party.
http://img.hani.co.kr/imgdb/re.....080411.JPG
“How many Korean punk fans would know that No Brain were probably influenced by the legendary Bad Brains (probably one of the most influential and talented punk bands you might have never heard of…because they are black)?”
Most Korean university students I teach seem not to have heard of U2, REM, or Pearl Jam, let alone The Clash, Sex Pistols, Bad Religion, DOA, etc. (Sadly, they many of them seem all too familiar with classic artists such as Mr. Big, Yanni, and Kenny G.) The punk fans might know of the major bands in punk history, including Bad Brains, but you could put all of Korea’s real punk fans into a city bus and still have standing room left over.
The history of modern music since Jazz and rockabilly has been the theft of American black music. The only original white musical artist in the last one hundred years is Weird Al Yankovic.
“expect Japan, the U.S. and the IMF to play a more active role in helping to avoid any further economic instability in Korea. Thus, if that happens, it will in essence be a vote OF confidence in Korea, Inc.”
Bullshit. Weakest link.
@18 – I’m from DC, I know Bad Brains very well.
One time, I saw a kid walking through HongDae with ripped plaid pants held together with safety pins, died blonde hair, and an anarchy symbol tattooed on his throat. I wonder about that kid sometimes.
cm is spot on. The rooster of past and present xenophobia is indeed coming home to roost. You can’t punish foreign investors for the “crime” of making a killing without expecting some backlash from the foreign press — especially from the likes of the Financial Times which never was too friendly towards Korea to begin with.
You can’t punish foreign investors for the “crime” of making a killing without expecting some backlash from the foreign press — especially from the likes of the Financial Times which never was too friendly towards Korea to begin with.
In the Korea blogs I always read that Lone Star’s crime was making money or they were punished for making money but in news reports the crime seems to be tax evasion and embezzlement. Lone Star’s activity in Korea had nothing to do with Belgium but the sale was made there to avoid taxes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03.....1lone.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04.....ref=slogin
If Lone Star had paid taxes in Korea would it have had these problems? Sincere question and I’m not saying Lone Star got what it deserved.
Although a bunch of kids pumping their fists in the air will do nothing to immediately help the nation’s economy, the show of unity and civic virtue is encouraging.
When was the last time you saw American kids give a shit about anything beyond their High School Musical and whatever is in their iPods?
# 24,
The Korean economy is much bigger and more important than it was in 1997-98. If Korea shows more signs of impending economic collapes, I do expect the Japanese, IMF and Americans to intervene in a more positive way then they did in 1997-98. Case in point, an economic collapse in Korea is not in Japan’s best interest. Korea is a BIG trading partner of Japan’s. Also, the Japanese are not too happy with the fact that the won is as low as it is. Korean products compete much more directly with Japan’s than in 97-98. A ridiculously cheap won makes Sony and Toyota nervous. A ridiculously cheap won making Japanese machine presses and instruments ridiculously expensive makes Mitsubishi and Tokyo Electron nervous.
KrZ,
Those girls look like HS kids you damn pediphile…
Go back to ooogling girls passed out drunk in Hongdae.
When was the last time you saw American kids give a shit about anything beyond their High School Musical and whatever is in their iPods?
They go all out for Obama.
“The only original white musical artist in the last one hundred years is Weird Al Yankovic.”
Have a listen to some Harry Partch, Terry Riley, Phillip Glass, Kraftwerk, and Kurt Weill (particularly Alabama Song).
*Looks like it isn’t loading because I had too many links to Youtube, so sorry if this is a repost.
31/ Phillip Glass can go to a (boring) hell. Kraftwerk? Terry Riley? That’s the best you can do? When it comes to music of the century no one will remember any of these… you might as well have mentioned Henry Rollins or Sid Vicious. Bleh.
23
“The history of modern music since Jazz and rockabilly has been the theft of American black music.”
Isn’t calling it theft a little extreme. People are quick to adopt black music because it is so enjoyable. They seemed to have a real knack for inventing trendy music.
28.
“Although a bunch of kids pumping their fists in the air will do nothing to immediately help the nation’s economy, the show of unity and civic virtue is encouraging.”
I don’t know. It seems to me they are doing it simply because the photographer asked them to. Though, maybe I’m being too pessimistic.
“When it comes to music of the century no one will remember any of these… you might as well have mentioned Henry Rollins or Sid Vicious. Bleh.”
Just because you don’t listen to it doesn’t mean that I didn’t disprove that Weird Al isn’t the only original white guy around.
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