FANTASIA ONE ASIA, ONE WORLD

Volume 1
March 2010

DISCOVER HOW
KPOP INVADES
THE PHILIPPINES
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SEOULBEATS:
Keeping your pulse on K-pop
by: Czarina Pauline Carando

“I want nobody, nobody but you”—the

song that caught every nook and cranny
of the Philippines into K-pop addiction.
Nobody by the Wonder Girls proved that
South Korea can conquer even the most
rural areas in the world.

Due to the demands of K-pop music and the popularity of K-pop

bands in the Philippines, Filipino fanatics formed unified groups that
would express their love for various K-pop artists. Philippine fan
groups like Wonderful PH, Big Bang PH, Primadonna PH, SHINee
World PH and Super Junior PH were organized as fan bases which
aim to be recognized as the official fanclubs of the Filipino K-pop
fans. According to Cris Miralles, Human Resources Representative
of Super Junior United Philippines (SJUPH), their group aim to unite
all Super Junior (SuJu) fans to create a strong fan base for Super
Junior in our country. SJUPH started around the last week of July
2008. The administrators from the four largest SuJu communities
namely SuJu Pinas, Super Junior Philippines, Super Junior Sahoe
and Super Junior Fanatext Only gathered and formed it. It was then
formally launched at the eve of September 5, 2008 at exactly 11:00
to match Korea’s time of 12:00 for September 6, 2009. Miralles also
said that there has been no smooth lane paved for them during the
group’s first year of existence.

“We encountered problems and trials that made us rethink
our decision of having this FC. Yet, when we see all those fans
that enjoyed the things we did, we knew it was worth everything”,
Miralles added.

SJUPH was easily embraced by most Filipino K-pop fans
especially those who love SuJu. Miralles confidently said that their
group was accepted by Filipino SuJu fans because after all the years
the four main groups have gone through, one unified group came
about where fellow Filipino Super Junior fans can communicate and
share experiences.

Miralles said, “We are thankful to our other fandom friends

because they were there to support us”.

SJUPH have 16 core members which Various Philippine K-pop Fan

plans, organizes and manages the group and its clubs, partners and sponsors participated
activities. Aspiring members’ qualifications in the said event. However, tickets were
are honesty, trustworthiness and reliability. sold for P130 each. The event took place
If you have those characteristics, you should at Starmall, Alabang, December 5, 2009
at 10 a.m. Contests and games such as
go and sign-up as a member of SJUPH.
K-star sing and dance contest and K-osplay
The group also organizes gatherings for its contest were organized. K-pop fans got the
members. They have two major events every chance to purchase K-pop merchandises at
year and during their first year, they came up the different K-pop groups stalls managed
on having SJR and SJU as their main events. by Fan club heads.
Meet-ups were planned to promote Super
Junior through SuJu merchandises like Pauline Ann Cruz, 18, a Filipino
albums, posters, t-shirts etc. Members easily Mass Media student from DLSU-Manila,
started being a K-pop fan last September
get along with other members and Miralles
2008. Her sister introduced her to the
said that there are a lot of cliques formed in vibrant and artistic world of Korean
their group. music. She loves K-pop because of the
artists, the beat and meaning of songs
and the dance steps. Moreover, it helps
“The bond the members shared with her relax, be entertained and widens
each other was really good. They were able her knowledge about Korean music and
to form new friendships as well as keep their language. She has a lot of favorite K-pop
current ones. We do not really interfere on artists including SHINee, DBSK, BoA,
how our members act with each other because 4Minute and Chung Lim. Despite her
we do promote on being true to ourselves”, K-pop fanaticism, she isn’t a member of
Miralles said. any K-pop club in the Philippines.
She said that she only registered in
SHINee Forum International. Cruz shows
According to Miralles, Filipinos will her K-pop fanaticism through attending
always love K-pop because of its different K-pop events, buying albums and goods
take in music. like pins, t-shirts and penlights. She
recently attended The Korea-Philippines
Friendship Festival at CCP and enjoyed
“It’s a given fact that we are a race because it was the chance to see her
of people who loves music no matter what favorite K-pop artist, SHINee, perform
language it is. It also helps that KPOP live.
singers have interesting personalities who When asked how much she loves
seems a bit eccentric at first but grows on K-pop, Cruz confidently exclaimed,
you as time goes on”, Miralles said. “Words cannot describe my love for
K-pop!”
“We reiterate that we can’t promise
fans any compensation (material-wise) or Filipinos are very fond of listening
to K-pop songs even though they most
anything that we cannot deliver. However,
of them didn’t understand what the song
what we can offer as of now is a safe haven says. Filipino fans, however, try to learn
where you can spazz all you want about our Korean language or Hangul in order to
dear boys”, Miralles concluded. understand K-pop songs.
“I am already familiar with some
Last November 27, 2009, Korea’s Korean words and phrases. Whenever I
Arirang TV organizes the Korea-Philippines listen to new K-pop songs, I usually search
Friendship Festival to commemorate the the internet for its English translation”,
60th anniversary of peace between Korea Cruz said.
and the Philippines. The events’ hosts were
Isak(Korean DJ) and Luis Manzano(Filipino The popularity of K-pop conquered
DJ). It was held at the Cultural Center of the the music air waves all over the
Philippines (CCP) at 5 p.m. K-pop artists Philippines and is now evidently conquering
like SHINee, Winterplay and Mighty Mouth and caprutring the hearts of every music lover
performed in front of over a thousand K-pop around the globe.
fans. Tickets were free so a lot of fans took
advantage of the opportunity to see their
favorite K-pop artists.
Due to the overwhelming demand
from K-pop fans to bring K-pop artists in
the Philippines, The First Philippine KPOP
Convention is organized. It is a fund-raising
opportunity for Gawad Kalinga, a local
non-profit government organization aimed
at providing less fortunate Filipinos with
homes to call their own. A petition regarding “Cruz confidently
K-pop artists in the Philippines was born
out of the report from the Korean embassy. exclaimed, “Words
According to Kiejoo Kim, counsellor for the
Korean Embassy in the Philippines, the plan
will push through easily if Filipinos loudly
cannot describe my
voice out their demand using signature
drives, blogs, surveys and other platforms. love for K-pop!”
“I think if there is certain, a great
number of audience, I think that should be
a very convincing rationale that we really
have to bring them here,” Kim verified.

LIVE IT!
LOVE IT!
HONG KONG! BY: Gladys Lizanne Tan
 Situated south of Mainland China, Hong Kong is one of the best places for vacation
especially this holiday season because you would surely love and enjoy the activities you
will be doing there. Just two hours from Manila by air, Hong Kong is a place that is very
convenient for a nice and enjoyable vacation. There are top 5 things a traveler needs to ac-
complish in order to say that he/ she really visited Hong Kong. These are the ideal things
that one must accomplish to make their stay in Hong Kong as memorable as possible.

5- Meet Mick-
ey Mouse! First of all, you must
not miss Hong Kong Disneyland. Though
it’s smaller unlike other Disneylands, cer-
tainly you would want to be a kid again with
all those brightly-colored attractions, jam-
packed souvenir shops, the exciting musi-
cal parade, and all those cute and funny Dis-
ney characters. You also wouldn’t want to
miss the most awaited attraction, the colorful
yet thrilling fireworks every night! So don’t
just sit around thinking it’s corny and bor-
ing because you will have an amazing expe-
rience at Hong Kong Disneyland. I’m sure
you’ll have your most unforgettable day!

4- Eat Hong Kong’s finest noodles! Your

next stop is to eat Hong Kong’s finest wanton
noodles after a tiring day at Disneyland. With
its freshly steamed wanton, thin and long .
noodles, and its savoring hot soup, you would
want it all over again with its low price!

3- Enjoy the nature! Allot your next day

and go to the higher part of Hong Kong. Don’t
forget to visit Hong Kong’s very own Ocean Park.
There are two lands in Ocean Park. The first one
is the Head lands and the other one is the Low
land gardens. In Ocean Park, its attractions are
different and unique compared to Disneyland.
There are thrill rides, kiddie rides, shows, and
you will get to see the cute and very big Pandas!
Not just that, you can simply relax and enjoy the
view while riding the Cable car. There are many
activities here that are suited for all ages. You will
also get to appreciate nature and our wild life.
 2- Get to see Hong Kong at night! After
spending the whole day in Ocean Park, you may
want to spend your money by going to Victo-
ria Peak to see the view of Hong Kong at night.
This is the highest mountain in Hong Kong and
is a major tourist attraction which offers spec-
tacular views over central Hong Kong and the
surrounding islands. In order to go up in the
mountain, you should ride on what they call
the peak train. It gives you the view of the city
with those buildings being lighted with differ-
ent and colorful lights. It was such a wonderful
sight to see! What really attracts the tourists is
the famous Madame Tussauds where the famous
stars’ wax models are put. Make sure that your
camera’s memory card still has space because
it feels like you are together with a star! Don’t
miss out to take good pictures because those
are the memories that you will always treasure
as you look back. It will also be fun taking pic-
tures with life-size wax models! It feels so real!

1- Roam around the city! The last and not

the least is what Hong Kong is famous for shop-
ping! You really shouldn’t miss this because you
will regret not buying anything in there. With
all those imported products at affordable pric-
es, you would want to buy as many as possible!
There is a place in Mongkok area called the La-
dies’ Market where the stores there are every-
where so you should really take your time shop-
ping. The prices of the original electronics that
are sold there are way cheaper than the prices
of similar products here in the Philippines. So if
you want to buy a new and good brand of lap-
top, you should definitely buy there. Aside from
the electronics, most of the products sold there
are only made in China so the most reasonable
thing to do is to just buy in Divisoria because
those are much cheaper there. Also, don’t forget
to just go around the city and enjoy the beautiful
scenery and the fresh, cool air Hong Kong gives.

Now that you know these five important things you need to do during your stay
in Hong Kong, I hope that you’ll enjoy and take your time to relax because I’m sure
that you’ll not have regrets in the end. Every activity and every decision that you’ll
be making will definitely bring you your money’s worth! So just by accomplishing
 BUDGET
SHOPPING
IN
JAPAN by: Charlene Ashley Nicole Dy

Shopping in Japan can be expensive especially when

you don't know where to go. But fret not! I'm going to
share with you my little hidden spots of outlet shops, vin-
tage boutiques and low-cost shopping – places you can
go without you having to give up your sense of style.

Outlet shop
Japan is brimming with fashion spots like Harajuku, Ometesando, Ikebukuro, Shibuya
and Shinjuku. Each of these places carry its own shopping cultures, movement and people.
However, lets leave that discussion for another day, because as promise, I'm going to show
you places where you can get the goods you've been dying for there, but only cheaper.

 In Kobe, there is shopping mecca called Porto Bazaar where
you can get designer and branded pieces sold for much less.

In Hyogo (specifically located near my place in Kakogawa), there is

an outlet shop that sells heaps of branded and cool pieces from Edwin, Sev-
enteen and more with prices that range from ¥200-¥4000 (about $2-$40).

Vintage shops
Second hand shops in Japan are everywhere, and since the economy downturn, even more so.

Vintage shops in Japan are great because they seems to sell the best of design-
ers goods for next-to-nothing. Here are some of the shops in Kakogawa that sells brand-
ed pieces from Yamamoto, Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons, Dior, Coach,
Louis Vuitton and even local labels such as Cinema Club, Ingni and many more.

The one hundred-Yen shop

Or should I say, the one hundred and ten yen shop? (since it's always has an ad-
ditional 10% tax). Daiso is a popular store that sells everything in ¥100 and there's
one located in every part of Japan. You could find everything here from food, of-
fice ware, school supplies, garden tools, car accessories and of course beauty and fash-
ion goods such as make-up, tights, stockings, gloves, knit materials and hair accessories.
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COPYRIGHT 2010