You're Beautiful Jang Geun Suk Special Edition OST Review

Since You're Beautiful was the drama that brought me into this world, I figured I had to complete that OST collection and buy this Jang Keun Suk Special Edition.

Despite being a thin cardboard album, it still cost 12,000₩. The tracklist is printed on the back cover:

1. 어떡하죠 (What Should I Do) - 장근석 (Jang Geun Suk)
2. Good bye - 장근석 (Jang Geun Suk)
3. 말도 없이 (Without Saying) - 장근석 (Jang Geun Suk)
4. 약속 (Promise) - ANJell
5. 여전히 (Still As Ever) - ANJell

The second and third tracks are on the You're Beautiful OST 2 while the last two are on the You're Beautiful OST 1, so the only new song is the first track, which is already in the original OST but sang by the original singer. Oddly enough, the lyrics book lists the artist of "Good bye" as ANJell, though it actually is Jang Geun Suk, as printed on the back cover.

Inside the album, the left has credits while the right has information on Jang Geun Suk's character from the drama. Tucked tightly inside the left flap is the lyrics booklet and the CD is in the right.

One side has five photos of Jang Geun Suk from the drama's main photoshoot, and the other side has the lyrics and song credits, along with more closeups of Jang Geun Suk. All of these photos show his many disgusted facial expressions reminiscent of the drama.

Here's the CD. In the end, I probably didn't have to buy this CD as I basically have all the songs already and the photos are obviously only of Jang Geun Suk. But I'm happy to add to my You're Beautiful collection.

Los Angeles' Madang Plaza: Korean Shopping

Located in Los Angeles' Koreatown, Madang Plaza is an outdoor, multi-story mall that surrounds a small courtyard.  This cozy mall has a variety of Korean businesses, including eateries, a hanbok shop, a gym, a movie theater, and more.  I visited Madang Plaza at around 8AM, so most businesses weren't opened yet. Here are the places I saw:

The Face Shop

The Face Shop is located on the street, before walking into the actual courtyard.  Interestingly enough, this branch shares the same space as Chocolate Chair, with no barrier dividing the two businesses once inside.  I peaked in through the glass doors, and saw The Face Shop products are neatly displayed on shelves and tables on the left half of the space.  You can also see Kim Hyun Joong in the front display!

Caffe Bene

Two doors to the right of The Face Shop is Caffe Bene, a popular Korean coffee shop chain.  My Korean friend said this place is overrated, like Starbucks, and had more negative views of this chain.

What drew my eye, however, was the cutout of Jang Geun Suk peaking behind the glass paneled walls!

Cosmetic World

Inside the actual mall is a fairly large cosmetic shop that carries high end Korean, Japanese and Western brands.  Also there are photos of Nichkhun around the store, enticing potential shoppers!

Doni Burger

I didn't know Doni, entertaining MC of the variety show Weekly Idol, had his own chain restaurant!  One branch is located in this very mall, with an advertising banner just out front. This restaurant offers Korean burgers, with patties like bulgogi and pork katsu.

Paris Baguette

Paris Baguette is a Korean bakery chain with a defined presence is the US.  This branch opens at 7AM, and by the time I arrived at 8:30AM, all the tables were full.  I guess people, mostly Korean, stop by here before going to work.

The theme appears to be like a classy, Parisian cafe, which can be seen by the logo.  The workers even wear French inspired outfits like berets and black and white striped shirts.

This theme can also be seen by the decor.  Inside does look classy, with a dark gray color scheme on the walls and diamond pattern cushioned benches, elegant mirrors and chandeliers hanging overhead.  It's a bit hard to see, but the right half of the bakery is the sit down area, with the mirrored walls and upscale looking atmosphere.

The set up is like a typical Asian bakery, with tongs, trays and paper place mats neatly displayed at the front and rows of clear containers filled with different baked goods. Here is the view of most items on display, with individual buns inside the displays and prepackaged sets above the center displays.

Here is what I bought!  I honestly forgot what these are or how they taste...but the quality is pretty good and I definitely had a satisfying breakfast.

The cups are so adorable!  They are made to look like faces (there are two black dots as eyes and a smile towards the bottom).  I bought a green tea latte and a smoothie, both of which were very tasty.  As for my entire experience at Paris Baguette, it could have been better.   I was waiting patiently in line and was about to order, when the cashier interrupted me and said that I had cut in line, and then served a Korean man who was definitely not before me.  Then when she finally let me pay, she wasn't very friendly.  Despite this mishap, I didn't let it ruin the rest of my Korean bakery experience.

Overall, this mall is quite small but has a variety of shops.  I came too early to actually go into any shops besides Paris Baguette, but it was still fun to experience a mall centered around a courtyard!

F to F Magazine Jan 2013 Vol.01 Review

F to F World Wide Entertainment Magazine is a monthly Japanese magazine focusing on the Hallyu wave, including Kpop, Korean dramas and advertisements for Korean brands.  The physical magazine is rather minimal, with just two staples at the side instead of a real spine.  This easily causes creases across the covers.  Each issue is 980 Yen, but of course buying overseas makes the sales price much higher.  I bought the F to F January 2013 issue in Singapore's Kinokuniya bookstore for $29.30 SGD (roughly $22.99 USD).

Anything to do with Kim Myungsoo, and I'm all over it.  Instantly when I saw the cast of Shut Up Flower Boy Band as the cover of F to F, I shrieked with joy.  All of the magazines at Kinokuniya were wrapped, so sadly I was unable to look at the contents before purchasing.  I decided to take a gamble and buy the magazine, despite knowing how much of Myungsoo I'd actually see inside.  I didn't know that the SUFBB cast was featured in a magazine, let alone one from eight months ago, so I was really happy to add this magazine to my Kpop collection.

The individual photoshoots of the five current members of Eye Candy were beautifully laid out at the beginning of the Shut Up Flower Boy Band spread.  Unfortunately this article was only 10 pages long, but they're filled of gorgeous photos of the flower boy cast.

The next six pages covered the five main actors.  The first two pages were dedicated to Myungsoo (top photo).  These photos alone were worth the price of the magazine!  I love that he's first in the list of characters, despite not being the lead.  The next two pages were of Sung Joon, the main character of the drama.  The following two pages were for the remaining three flower boys.

The last two pages of the spread continued its focus on the remaining three band members of Eye Candy, as well as showed screenshots from the drama.  In total, there were nine stunning photos of Myungsoo, making this magazine a treasure.

The bulk of this magazine has 10 different interviews about two to four pages long each of Hallyu stars, from Korean actors to dramas to boybands.  These interviews include actors John Hoon and Yoo Seung Ho (shortly before entering the military!), drama King Two Hearts, and boybands Boyfriend, Code-V, Shu-I, and more.

There were a few pages of advertisements that caught my eye.  On the back cover (left picture) is an ad for perfume by Korean beauty brand Missha.  On the inside cover (right picture) was an ad for Lotte Duty Free shopping with endorser Jang Geun Suk.  There was also another ad for Jang Geuk Suk's cookbook, showing the singer-actor-(and now chef?) having fun while preparing food.

Overall, I wish that this issue had a larger spread on Shut Up Flower Boy Band.  While the photos from this shoot were nice, it probably wasn't worth the price (but the photos of Myungsoo made up for it).  But I am glad to have a magazine with the lovely Myungsoo on the cover!