Korean pop music is great. Not in a “this is quality music” sort of way, but in a cheesy, feel-good pop sort of way, in the manner of Steps, S Club 7, Hanson, and that kind of thing. Clare absolutely hates it, and I think she may think less of me as a person since I accidentally started dancing when we walked past a shop that was blaring a typically cringeworthy yet chirpy number the other night.
The kids here have their crazes re: pop music just as they do back home. I remember the Saturday Night epidemic that spread around the country when a certain Whigfield topped the charts. I remember doing the Macarena time and time again with my friends. Gina G, Ooh, Ah, Just A Little Bit, anyone? And right now, in Korea, everybody’s talking about BEG’s Dirty.
The song is actually a piss-take of a fairly ordinary, standard pop song (you can watch the original by clicking on this link, if you wish). I didn’t realise that it was a parody the first time I saw the video, so I was slightly bemused by lyrics such as “I’ll clean my armpit hair”, initially believing this to be standard Korean songwriting. All children under the age of 10 are in love with this song. School corridors are filled with small girls doing very funny dance routines. I walk into a classroom and find them rehearsing the lyrics and practising their moves. They can’t get enough of it. And call me immature, but I’m loving it too!
Here’s a version with English subtitles so you can enjoy the (seriously ridiculous) lyrics:
And just so you can get a flavour of what this epidemic feels like in my daily life, here’s the reaction of a couple of my elementary students to finding that they’re being filmed. It’s like they just can’t control it…
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I actually still know all the moves to both Saturday Night and the Macarena. Now who’s sad?
I just tested myself. I can do Saturday Night, but my Macarena needs some relearning!
How about the dance to Tragedy, Steps version? Anyone?
Yes! We were crazy about that one. It still makes me smile when I hear it. Actually, I have a weakness for Steps. They are one of my guilty pleasures.
[...] just to have a few beers and wind down the evening. The barman saw us singing along to a current Korean pop classic, and promptly made it his mission to entertain the Westerners – even going so far as to bring [...]