Super Junior M

What is Super Junior M ?

Super Junior is a South Korean idol group made up of 13 members.  They are artists trained in singing, dancing and even acting by SM Entertainment.  Super Junior is a concept group because they are different and more innovative compared to other boy bands.  Super Junior members are very versatile, they participate in various types of events in addition to their boy band activities.  Some Super Junior members have made solo songs, others are show hosts, radio hosts, actors and moreover they have held concerts in several countries and have become internationally renowned.  To produce different style of music and to target specific markets, Super Junior has formed four different sub-groups, namely:

1.  Super Junior-Happy (sub-group made up of members who are good comedians, they set up happy moods and sing lively songs)

2.  Super Junior M (Sub-group formed to target the chinese market, this sub-group has released chinese songs and has been operating in Taiwan, Hong Kong and other parts of China).  Their album for the year 2011 is called 'Perfection'.

3.  Super Junior-KRY (A trio consisting of the best vocalists from the main group)

4.  Super Junior T (Sub-group that sings trot songs)

The new album of Super Junior M for the year 2011 includes the songs listed below:

Super Junior M song: Love is sweet

Super Junior M song: My all is in you

Super Junior M song: Destiny

Super Junior M mv: Perfection

Super Junior M, Henry's solo song: Off my mind

Super Junior M song: True Love

I hope that you will enjoy Super Junior M's songs just like I did \(^o^)/

From this album I think Super Junior M has truly proven it's worth^^

K-Drama: Oh! My Lady

Hi everyone!
I've just finished watching the K-drama 'Oh! My Lady' and I love it.  The ending is a happy one, kind of like a modern love story(^o^)

Choi Si Won who played the lead actor in this drama really impressed me with his acting skills.  He is also a member of Korean boy band Super Junior, which is also a dance group.  Choi Si Won is very talented in singing, dancing and acting.  I hope to watch him in his future dramas^^.  The drama he is currently filming I think is a taiwanese drama called 'Extravagant Challenge', in this drama he will have to speak mandarin and that's quite a challenge for a foreigner.  But I'm sure that he'll do great in that drama as well^^

Profile of Choi Si Won:

Name: Choi Siwon
Birthday: 1986, April 7th
Height, weight: 183 cm, 75kg
Religion: Christian
Sibling: a younger sister, Choi Jiwon
Profession: Singer (SM Entertainment, Siwon is a member of Super Junior and it’s subgroup, Super Junior-M) , Actor, Model

Here are some links if you want to check out Choi Siwon's songs:
'I must be bad' sung by Choi Siwon, featured in k-drama Oh! My Lady
Choi Siwon's solo song: Who am I

K-Drama: My Name is Kim Sam Soon

Bonjour! Hello!
Hi there! ^^
I was thinking of some K-dramas that I have watched in the past and a fun one that came up to my mind was 'My Name is Kim Sam Soon'.  I really enjoyed watching this drama.  It is funny, interesting, romantic and I really like the main casts for this drama because they made a very good job in acting their parts in this story.  I also like the music in this drama, I think it really fits and emphasizes the different situations in the drama, when there is some funny situation, there's a music that makes you follow the action of the characters in the movie and anticipate their next action.  To watch the opening theme of the K-drama 'My Name is Kim Sam Soon', click on the following link: 
My Name is Kim Sam Soon_Opening song

This drama was a success in South Korea, with numerous viewers and received several Drama Awards in 2005. 
The lead actor of this drama is Hyun Bin.  It is in this drama that I first saw the actor Hyun Bin. 
The lead actress is Kim Sun-ah, she had to gain 15 pounds to play the role of Kim Sam Soon.
 
This drama is about the story of Kim Sam Soon, a woman in her thirties who works as a patissier.  She has a broken heart because she was betrayed by her boyfriend who was two-timing her.  She is a character who is quite realistic about life but sometimes her imagination makes her think up weird scenarios of how she would have wanted things to be like.  She also dislikes her name 'Sam Soon' and wants to change it to 'Hee Jin', because many people make fun of her old-fashioned and embarassing name.  However, this name was chosen by her father who has passed away and this must be the reason why she hesitates to change her name.  Kim Sam Soon is very skilled in baking pastries and finds a job at the restaurant owned by Hyun Jin-Heon (Hyun Bin), 27 year old man who is very rude and considered to be very cool by his employees. 

This series is very interesting to watch because it tells the story of a woman who finds love in her thirties with a younger man.  The love story between the two protagonist itself seems so improbable, that you'll simply adore the way they end up together without regarding the odds.  When you start watching the drama, it seems almost impossible for that good-looking and arrogant guy Hyun Jin-Heon to fall in love with a chubby and old woman like Kim Sam Soon.  I mean Hyun Jin Heon could have a younger and better looking woman but somehow he falls in love with old, long time single woman Kim Sam Soon.  The funny thing is that even when Hyun Jin Heon's long lost beloved girlfriend comes back chasing after him, he gradually loses interest in her and prefers Kim Sam Soon.  I recommend you watch this drama to see how Hyun Jin Heon falls in love with Kim Sam Soon, the plot and scenarios in this drama are really interesting and fun to watch.  You'll definitely have a good time while watching this drama. 
I think that Kim Sam Soon and Hyun Jin Heon really look good together.
They make a really cute couple^^

 

 The story has its touching and sad moments too.  But, this time I don't want to spoil it for you because I think it is better you watch it for yourself to enjoy it best^^

The problem of Water Scarcity and ways to overcome it

Hi^^
I have been researching on the problem of water scarcity lately and I believe it is an urgent problem that everyone should be concerned with.  The problem of water scarcity is as urgent as the problem of increasing carbon footprint or of energy depletion. 

Therefore, I came up with a set of recommendations which will help to implement a water management policy. This water management policy will promote the conservation of water which will also help businesses to comply with principle 8 of the UN global compact.

Principle 8: Undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility

For water scarce countries like South Africa where water is becoming an increasingly limited natural resource, such a recommendation will be very beneficial.

The aims of this recommendation are to:

1.  Overcome water scarcity

2. Reduce water pollution 

3.  Prevent water overuse

Firstly, businesses will have to provide water data disclosure, to locate the parts in their supply chain where the use  of water can be minimized.  Furthermore, the recommendation includes the application of alternative water sources.  For example, recycling waste water, by using treated waste water obtained from industrial waste water or from the city waste water treatment plants to wash away dust on construction sites or to cool down power plants. 

The second alternative is to use seawater wherever accessible.  In fact, raw seawater has become the new choice for big mining companies located in coastal regions. 

 The third option is to capture rainwater on-site. By installing rainwater harvesting tanks like the one in the picture below:

Now I will talk about the lessons learnt of several companies which have implemented a water management policy. 

The first example is Barrick gold mine which has excellent water reporting practices and a very comprehensive water accounting. Furthermore, it has implemented the industrial rainwater harvesting system as well as maximizing the use of seawater and recycled waste water in activities like dust suppression and excavation. Eventually in 2010, 31 percent of its water use was salt water.

De Beers has been implementing this water management policy to ensure that its daily water consumption does not adversely affect the local communities.  In 2008,its partner Debswana has achieved a 35% reduction in water consumption.

The next positive lesson learnt is Calpine power plant’s initiative to recycle waste water.   Calpine (Minnesota) has been using the Mankato city's treated wastewater to cool down its power generators, and has also provided funds to improve the City’s treatment system that cleans both the water that is used in the power plant and the water that the City discharges into the river. Overall, the discharge to the river is cleaner hence reducing water pollution.

Benefits of this recommendation to the business would be:

1.  Achieving sustainability by reducing dependence on main water supplies.

2.  Gaining a good reputation for its responsible water consumption practices.

3.  Saving money since there is a lesser need to clean polluted water sources. 

This recommendation can significantly save water, to ensure that there is more clean water for the local community.  It will also help to preserve the ecosystem.

However, it is very likely that not all three water saving strategies are feasible for all the businesses.  Therefore, from each companies’ water data disclosure, and environmental inspection like the distance from the sea or the frequency of rainfall, the companies will have to evaluate which alternative water source suits them best.

There is also the risk that companies refuse to cooperate, therefore it is important  that the participating companies encourage these reluctant companies to examine their corporate water issues and emphasize the advantages that better water management can present.

Another issue is the cost of implementing such a project.  This challenge can be overcome by gathering several companies to collaborate and fund a central water saving system from which they can all benefit.  Since, the cost of implementing this system is shared there will be less financial pressure on each company.

'Water Scarcity is a concern for all!

It is our duty to preserve our fresh water resources, to ensure that there is potable water for all communities and for future generations as well.

For a better world^_^

K-Drama: Oh! My Lady

Hi everyone!
The drama 'Oh! My Lady' that I'm currently watching is becoming more and more interesting.  Choi Si Won showed great acting skills in playing the role of Sung Min Woo in this drama.  I'm getting the impression that the pace of this drama is much faster than the k-drama 'Secret Garden' that I have watched previously.

Oh! My Lady features main casts Chaerim and Choi Si Won.

To continue with my overview of the drama:

Sung Min Woo has accepted to take part in the musical, on the condition that Yoon Gae Hwa takes care of the little girl called Ye Eun (who is possibly his child).  Sung Min Woo does not want to take any responsibility for the child because he does not believe that he is the father of that child.  Sung Min Woo proves to be quite a selfish character who thinks only about himself and doesn't care for Ye Eun, since he suggested that they abandon Ye Eun and of course Yoon Gae Hwa was infuriated after hearing this. 

Later on, Yoon Gae Hwa accepts to become Ye Eun's babysitter on the condition that she can move in Min Woo's house and receive a salary.  Both parties agree to this arrangement.
Yoon Gae Hwa proves to be a very meddlesome person but she is very nice and caring as well.
Sung Min Woo's character is also changing little by little, I think it's all because of Yoon Gae Hwa's influence^^
Definitely, this drama is turning out to be better than I expected. 
If you want to watch a teaser of this drama^^ go to this link:
k-drama Oh!My Lady Teaser

If you want to watch some music video of Super Junior (the boy band Choi Si Won forms part of) you can click on these links:
Super Junior_Bonamana
Super Junior_It's You
Super Junior_No Other

K-Drama: Oh! My Lady

Hello!
I am watching the korean drama 'Oh! My Lady' and it looks good.  I'll give a brief overview of what I've seen in the drama so far(^_^)   

Yoon Gae Hwa is an Ahjumma (a korean term used to identify a married woman or woman old enough to get married), her husband has left her for another woman and she is desperately looking for a permanent job to make a living to take care of her daughter.  She worked for one day as a housekeeper at Sung Min Woo's place.  Sung Min Woo is a celebrity known for his handsome looks and mediocre acting skills.  From what I have watched of the drama so far, Yoon Gae Hwa has been appointed for a job interview at a company called 'The Show' but when she went there, they were expecting a young woman and not an Ahjumma, so they refused to hire her.  She managed to convince the director to hire her on the condition that she gets Sung Min Woo to accept to play in the company's new musical.  The musical is looking forward to make money by including the new rising star Sung Min Woo.  But Sung Min Woo is a very stubborn person and refuses to play in the musical even after Yoon gae Hwa persistently tried to convince him.  

It seems that Sung Min Woo has some dark secret from his past...I wonder what it is? 
Then, there's a cute little girl who suddenly appears at his condo complex and is placed in the care of Yoon Gae Hwa who was waiting to see him.  Yoon Gae Hwa finds a letter addressed to Min woo in the little girl's bag and she looks shocked after reading the letter.  I wonder what's in the letter?
Oh! The letter says the kid is Min Woo's daughter and that he should take care of her.^^
Yoon Gae Hwa blackmails Min Woo to sign the contract to play in the musical or else she will start the scandal about him having a 5 year old daughter and this will ruin his career as a top star. 
What will Sung Min Woo do?  I'll tell you in my next post (^o^)
The role of Yoon Gae Hwa is played by Chae Rim and the role of Sung Min Woo is played by Choi Si Won:

Choi Si Won is a member of boy band Super Junior.  He can sing, dance and has been acting in a few dramas.  He is playing the role of Ren in a new upcoming Taiwanese drama called Extravagant Challenge which a story based on the manga Skip Beat.  His fellow Super Junior member Dong Hae will also be starring in this Taiwanese drama.  I think the greatest challenge for both Super Junior members to play in the drama 'Extravagant Challenge' would be to speak in mandarin, a foreign language to them since they are Koreans.  But, I'm sure they'll manage to overcome this challenge because after watching some of the Taiwanese variety shows in which Super Junior M appears in, I was surprised to see how both Si Won and DongHae's mandarin had improved and even their pronunciation was better. 

Chae Rim is a great actress too^^  I've seen another one of her dramas before, 'Da Jal's Spring' and I really enjoyed it.  Below is the poster of that drama:       

K-Drama Secret Garden

Today I will give an overview of the korean drama called Secret Garden that I have watched recently.  Secret Garden has a mix of different genres in its plot because there is romance, fantasy, melodrama and some comedy.

I wanted to watch this drama because I saw some of the epic scenes in this drama being re-enacted by  Super Junior member on a variety show.  And this sparked my interest about this drama. 

To watch Super Junior members parody of Secret Garden drama, click on the following link:

Super Junior EunHyuk's parody of a 'Secret Garden' scene

The main cast of Secret Garden are:

Male lead actor playing the role of Kim Joo Won: Hyun Bin
I know Hyun Bin from his role in the k-drama 'My name is Kim Sam Soon'.  A funny and romantic drama.

Female lead actress playing the role of Gil Ra Im: Ha Ji Won

This is my first time watching a drama with the actress Ha Ji Won starring in it.  While watching the drama I got the impression quite a few times that she ressembled the actress who played the role of Kim Sam Soon.  Maybe it is because she's playing a film with the same lead actor as in Kim Sam Soon.  Or maybe they do have some facial similarities... 

In the drama:

Actor Hyun Bin plays the role of Kim Joo Won an extremely wealthy CEO who owns a department store, hotel and other resorts.  Kim Joo Won is very arrogant and so full of himself.  He looks down on people who are of lower class and treats those of the same class as him with sarcasm if he dislikes them or is not impressed by them.  To be more precise Kim Joo Won is a very eccentric man.  He is also funny because he likes to wear that ridiculous looking track suit that he claimed to be designer made from Italy.      

Actress Ha Ji Won plays the role of Gil Ra Im a stunt woman.  She is very serious about her job although it is a very risky job since she's placing her life at stake during some of the dangerous scenes she has to play.  However Gil Ra Im is very dedicated to her work and always works very hard to be able to continue working in this field although she does not receive any credit for her work since all the recognition is taken by the main actress and even though she is often mistreated and unfairly scolded by the producer.  

Secret Garden is the story of a rich guy who falls in love with a poor stunt woman.  The funny thing is Kim Joo Won starts to like Gil Ra Im because he saw how cool and unpredictable she was and she kept appearing in his thoughts everyday.  He himself did not understand why he was attracted to a poor woman since he's been used to wealth and dislikes lower class people.  To understand why he likes Gil Ram Im, Kim Joo Won starts intruding Gil Ra Im's life and becomes somewhat of a trainee at the action school where she works.  Gil Ra Im does not understand why Kim Joo Won, a stranger she just met keeps appearing in her life.  She is irritated by him and is annoyed when Kim Joo Won claims that he is very rich, because she thought that he worked as some kind of errand boy for famous Hallyu singer Oska.  Gil Ram Im is a big fan of Oska.   

In fact Oska is Kim Joo Won's older cousin and they often quarrel with each other.  Oska has his own love story in this drama.  The good thing about this drama is that Gil Ram Im does not really have any love rival so you won't need to watch any argument or fight between two women for the same man. Moreover, the woman who is supposed to be Gil Ra Im's love rival will actually support both Kim Joo Won and Gil Ra Im to be together, because she is not really interested in marrying Joo Won, she was only using him to get revenge on Oska whom she really loves. 

The fantasy part in this drama  is a body swap between Kim Joo Won and Gil Ra Im.  Both characters got lost in the forest and they took shelter in a small inn where they had dinner and an old woman gave them a peculiar bottle of alcohol each.  After they drank this alcohol, their souls switched bodies when they woke up in the morning.  That's when both of them get to know each other better. 

I have seen this body swapping plot in a Canadian/UK movie called 'It's a boy girl thing'.  

The mother of Kim Joo Won plays the role of the evil character in the story.  She is the one who draws the dislike and hate of the audience by trying relentlesstly to separate Kim Joo Won and Gil Ra Im by any means.  She plays a character who is completely blinded by the power and wealth that she possesses, sometimes so much that her hatred doesn't make sense to me, because there were a few times while I was watching the drama I got the impression that it was the perfect time for her to realise that Joo Won and Ra Im deserved to be together.  Unfortunately, she remained persistent in refusing the idea that her son loved Gil Ra Im and this constant denial really make people hate this devilish character. 

Actually, Kim Joo Won and Gil Ra Im are a fated couple who were brought together by some significant events from their past.  I won't go in details about this, you'll have to watch the drama to know more about it.  Overall Secret Garden was a good watch and the songs in the drama were nice...I guess like most k-dramas.  I think one of the songs was sung by Hyun Bin himself. 

Below is the link to listen to Hyun Bin's song in the drama, but you'll also catch a glimpse of some scenes in the drama if you watch this video, so it's up to you to click on this link or not...but I guess a lot of the story has already been revealed in my short overview of this drama...so some more spoilers wouldn't really matter (^_^):

To watch a trailer of this Korean drama, click on the following link:

Secret Garden trailer_song: 'That man' by Hyun Bin

Thank you for reading my blog postings(^_^). 

I will post something that you'll hopefully find interesting in my next post too^^