Why have you deserted Korea?

Although there's not much big event for T-ara in Korea recently...

T-ara's first Japanese full album - Jewelry Box - is going to be released this coming June, and together with the release, there are many wonderful pictures, and here are three of them:

The official Japanese site is http://www.t-ara-official.com/

To be honest, I don't really like T-ara's Japanese style - I just can't shake off the feeling that they are trying to sell sex, by wearing really short and/or tight performance outfits. That said, I do like T-ara wearing tiaras (just like in T-araDotCom).

Also, due to the language barrier, T-ara's appearances on Japanese broadcasts tend to be repetitive and thus boring; most of the time, it'll be some talking, some T-ara demonstrating dance moves/ doing simple challenges and finally performance of 2 songs on average.

(the photos above reminds me of kara)

Rejected Definition of T-ara

Some time ago, on my old blog, there was this post about my trying to define T-ara on Urban Dictionary.

In gist, I realized T-ara is not defined on UD while snsd has lots and lots of definition,

so I wanted to try adding my own:

Unfortunately, here's the reply:

Thanks for your definition of T-ara!
Editors reviewed your entry and have decided to not publish it.

I wonder how all those random definition got onto Urban Dictionary when my definition is so accurate.

[New Project] T-ara's Debut Show

I'll be subbing this:

This video will be my raw source; if you know of a higher res version, do tell me.
If it's already subbed, tell me too.

And by the way, I'm trying out a new comments system - Disqus; it's importing the old comments right now. Hopefully it solves the problem of me not getting notified properly and accurately when there are new comments.

Hard Subs... and more words

Hard subs are up. Click through to enjoy the final episode of Pretty Boys for T-ara with hard coded subtitles.

But if you don't mind reading words by me that aren't subtitles, do read on for what I have to say.

- Don't ever think that translator plays the most important role in a sub group (I did). Other roles are tough as well.

- Timers have to listen for when the person starts speaking, and if you watched the cooking episodes, you'll realized how difficult that can be with all 7 members of T-ara speaking at the same time. (Although it may not be that bad of a thing watching the same parts over and over again to synchronize the timing if you really like T-ara)

- Encoders and uploaders, by virtue of their being in the later stages of production, are expected to be as speedy as can be. While many may think that all encoders and uploaders have to do is to click the "encode" or "upload" buttons and wait for their mega powerful computer or breakneck lightning speed broadband to do the work, that is simply not true. Programs tend to crash and internet intermittent, and once any of these happens, a full re-encode or re-upload is needed. Consequently, while encoding and uploading, a periodic check is needed; And until the job is done, no one can feel safe.

The End

Finally, the last episode is subbed too (soft is done, hard is still being encoded).

But before you enjoy the subs, here's some words from T-ARACHINA at the end of their last video. Do read through it for without them, there won't be this English subs.

still thinking of when we just started on this production journey of Pretty Boys for T-ara
but time flies
and it's time for us to bid Pretty Boys farewell

unknowingly, in these 4 months that we've been with Pretty Boys
there's too much to express, the words may not be eloquent
a heartfelt thanks go out to those of you reading this
thanks for being with us all this while
is it because of your anticipation that we penned those words

thanks go out to all the eager members from the T-ARACHINA sub group
the responsible translator zhu-er, humorous translator serit1989
speedy linlin
overpowering Juan
Fally and dqm912 who are always around unconditionally
BgChen who spent countless sleepless nights encoding
and also everyone from Tai-T-ARA fan group who has been helping out

we've come to the moment we have to wave each other goodbye with a smile
do treasure all the times spent with T-ARA
continue loving... loving fiercely
this file is ending, we'll meet in the next....

Here's the link:
[English Subtitles] Pretty Boys for T-ara

Pretty Boy Episode 11 [Final]

The episode numbers from the Korean sites are confusing, but more importantly, this is the last episode.
And even more importantly, read what T-ARACHINA has to say here.

if you were too busy to keep up with T-ara news

Here's a summary of all T-ara's recent news on the addition of members.

14th March - Kim Kwang Soo (KKS) announced that T-ara will undergo huge changes with regards to the member. And the purpose is to allow T-ara to continue growing.

16th March - KKS mentioned that T-ara will become a 8 to 9 member group, through addition and/ or replacement of members. This is help reduce complacency of current members.

5th April - During an phone interview with newen, KKS revealed that the 2 new members will be able to share the singing burden of the current main vocalist - So Yeon, and thus allow T-ara to have a wider genre of songs.

6th April - KKS - via a hand written message - asked the fans to be understanding and to show more love and concern to T-ara. Also, he said that compared to those who are trying to catch up, the ones in front must work even harder to maintain their positions. He hopes for T-ara to not be complacent, and to work not just for a Korea's T-ara, but a Asia's T-ara.

The 2 new members will be joining T-ara's activities in July.

Pretty Boys Special Episode 4

Not surprisingly, another "special" episode.
(seems like part4 got my account another copyright hit, I'll be uploading future episodes on another YouTube account)

Pretty Boys Special Episode 3

(if you can't see part 1, go here)
Another "episode" of Pretty Boys

Ghost Play, No Subs, Only Good Pics n Clips

I have been trying to find the subs for T-ara Ghost Play, unfortunately all I can find are pictures. Anyway, there isn't much talking in the show, and I've picked out some interesting parts that you may want to watch.

Davichi's appearance; it's funny how T-ara is visited by Kang Min Kyung (around 19 years old then), who is younger than all but one T-ara member. (or 2 including Hwa Young)

Old Show, New Subs [110403 Bouquet by PJYSubs]

Remember this?


I recently found it subbed at PJYSubs. (I strongly recommend bookmarking this site)
Just to spoil the show, the lady is Qri's mother.

However, if you don't have time for such old shows, here's a gist of what the show is about: Together with all 7 members of T-ara, Qri's mother is invited to the show; a panel of celebrities is supposed to guess whose mother she is through a series of questioning.

Things to look out for in the show:
T-ara talking about boyfriends
Eun Jung and So Yeon (almost) kissing
Qri, Eun Jung and Ji Yeon crying

T-ara Survived This

With the impending revolution, I did some reading up on some past criticisms and problems T-ara managed to pulled through. Here's the share:

Qri's role as a "vixen" is a variety show to test how strong the love between a real couple actually is. As a result, Netizens leave hateful comments on Qri’s minihompy
This was before debut when she's only 21.

What Will Happen To T-ara?

So here's the news (that you most probably have heard): Core Content Media's CEO Kim Kwang Soo announced that T-ara will undergo a huge change of members, possibly switching out some and adding some, turning T-ara into a 8 or 9-membered group.

Enjoy the old T-ara pictures below:

Shinee T-ara

When someone mentions Tony Moly, the image that usually comes to my mind (and most likely everyone else's too) is that of EunJung, and recently, HyoMin too, as she was the star of the mist commercial that appeared in the Pretty Boys episodes.

So here's some pictures of other members for a change.:

HwaYoung does look like the main character in You're Beautiful with this hairstyle.

T-ara's by not-T-ara

Due to my trying to learn the guitar, recently, I have wondered into the road not taken - fan covers.

I suppose most 'normal' fans would ignore those fan cover videos when browsing on YouTube; however, I would suggest that - once in a while - you click on one of those videos, and you may be surprised by what you find.

Enough talk, here's what clicking on cover videos lead me to (not really fan covers though)

Japanese Goodness that you've been missing out on

Ever since their first Japanese showcase last year, T-ara has been appearing on many Japanese variety shows, doing stuff like visiting theme parks, shopping malls and as usual - eating.

And if what I observed from my fellow kpop fans is representative of the general fan population, it would mean that we somehow don't understand Japanese more so than we don't understand Korean, that's why we still watch Korean shows but not Koreans appearing on Japanese shows.

Anyway, here's a clip made by a Japanese fan, detailing all the weird noises BoRam made while on Japanese TV. Enjoy.

SNSD > T-ara > the rest?

Here's something that I found recently - results of an "ideal-type" voting android app