Business relationships. You know the whole "It's nothing personal - it's just business" saying that we have in English? Yeah, not true in Korea. Cold calling? Door-to-door? Directory assistance? Are you kidding me? This is the land of social networks and personal relationships. Korea is a never-ending web of social connections. And you're just trying to close a sale? Move along. Korea's looking for a long-term business relationship. One that requires someone to navigate the and nurture the relationship from within Korea. A lifer. Korea is a place of great economic clout. The little country that could is carrying a big stick and should not be overlooked or doubted. Like Taiwan and Singapore, Korea is one of the few Asian... Show more

Clazziquai (클래지콰이) are a fusion group, blending together aspects of acid jazz, electronic, house and groove to create something very unique and very catchy. They have the sort of sound that's very easy to love or hate, but whether you love it or hate it or are feeling pretty neutral about it it is still quite a breath of fresh air when compared to all the standard pop/dance/R&B styles floating around. I find that Clazziquai is pretty good "chill out music". It's the sort of stuff you can have on in the background while you're doing other things, and it won't be in your face and distracting you. That's not to say it'll put you to sleep - it won't, because it's definitely very upbeat music. Clazziquai was formed by DJ Clazzi, who... Show more

Saying hello. Okay okay, everyone knows it by now. I'm about as country as they come. I open doors for women, I tip my hat to old people, and I say "howdy" to everyone I meet. Laugh it up and move on, city boy. Where I come from, saying "hello" to everyone is considered normal, if not polite. If I'm in line at the grocery store and I see my friend and his family, it's normal for him to say hello to me and then perhaps introduce my relationship to his family. "Hey Matthew. Good to see you. Dad, you remember Matthew? We went to junior high together. Don't you remember? He was the one who cried in his sleep...you remember taking him back home during that sleepover in sixth grade? The one who was apologizing the whole way home?" Yeah.... Show more

Woah. Did I just go there? It's true. I know it's a sensitive subject. I may not be able to do this delicate matter complete justice but I do want to resume dialogue about this matter. I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way. However, like always, I pledge to be open-minded and sensitive. But, I will have to at least recognize some differences between American and Korean ideas of healthy body types. Please take this entry as my own opinion sprinkled with a generous serving of sarcasm. Eat up. It's good for you. It's safe to conclude that neither country has a single, uniform opinion about what a healthy body looks like. For some, it's being dangerous skinny enough to shop for summertime bikinis in the toddler section. For... Show more

I mentioned pop-rock group FT 아일랜드 (FT Island) back in January (check out that post if you want to know a little bit more about them!), when it was announced that guitarist 원빈 (Wonbin) was leaving them and that his spot would be filled by 승현 (Seunghyun). I was curious to see how things would go with the new member, as well as being quite sad, since I'd followed FT Island since they were preparing to debut and 원빈 had always been there. It was definitely going to be a change. But it's turned out to be a change that I really, really like. 승현 fits in with the rest of the group really well, and he even looks like he belongs there. The change also didn't see FT Island's music changing in any ways that it wasn't already - I feel that it... Show more