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Why K-Pop?

K-pop? sounds familiar right? Even if you are not a supporter of it, you have to hear the the K-pop culture in Hong Kong. But why it would be so popular in Hong Kong? 

From my point of view, K-pop is popular because it can attract different audiences from different backgrounds and ages.

1. Popular Songs

Every time when you go into a restaurant and even a shopping mall, you will hear some K-pop songs there as background music. One main feature about the Korean popular song is all the songs are very catching and easy to remember. For example, PSY's song 'Gangnam Style' became the first YouTube video to reach one billion views because it is catchy. The song's music video has been viewed over 2.41 billion times on YouTube and has been YouTube's most watched video since November 24, 2012.

There are many examples like this. Also. there are many singer groups in Korea and the number of the group almost could be updated every single day. Some entertaining companies, such as YG, SM and JYP will spend a lot of money to provide some training for these singers and produce some very catchy songs to attract fans. Here are some famous popular singer groups and their songs, we can see that many people would like to view their music videos on YouTube.

• BigBang - FANTASTIC BABY M/V (170,404,285 views)

• 2NE1 - I AM THE BEST (내가 제일 잘 나가) M/V (132,600,186 views)

• Girls Generation - Gee (146,290,586 views）

• EXO - EXO_으르렁 (Growl) (78,433,179 views)

2. Dramas

Dramas are another important way to promote the ideas of K-pop since a lot of Korean dramas are extremely popular among young people or even many middle age people. Korean dramas are popular worldwide, partially due to the spread of the Korean wave, with streaming services that offer multiple language subtitles.

• My Love from the Star

• The Heirs

                         

The Heirs, also known as The Inheritors, is a South Korean television series starring Park Shin-hye, Lee Min-ho, and Kim Woo-bin. Written by Kim Eun-sook, the trendy drama is set in a high school populated by the privileged and uber-rich.
This was the first Korean drama co-produced by American digital distribution platform DramaFever and Korean production company Hwa & Dam Pictures.

3. Variety Shows

Unlike dramas or music videos, there are a lot of original variety shows in Korea, which are very innovative and creative. Here are some my personal favourite reality shows. Some of them are very interesting, but meaningful at the same time. You can check them out in your spare time.

• Running Man

Running Man (Korean: 런닝맨) is a South Korean variety show; forming part of SBS's Good Sunday lineup. It first aired on July 11, 2010, and as of 2015, is currently the longest-running program, at five years on Good Sunday, surpassing X-Man's three and a half years. 

Running Man was originally classified as an "urban action variety"; a genre of variety shows in an urban environment. The MCs and guests complete missions at a landmark to win the race. The show has since shifted to a more familiar reality-variety show concept focused on game show games. 

The show has become popular in other parts of Asia as well, and has gained online popularity among Hallyu fans, having been fansubbed into a number of languages by volunteers, such as English, Spanish, French, Thai, Malay, Vietnamese, Chinese, Indonesian, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian and Turkish.

• Infinite Challenge

Infinite Challenge is a Korean television entertainment program, distributed and syndicated by MBC. As of January 2013, it still has the largest market share for its timeslot; roughly between 13 to 17 percent of Korean television viewers watch Infinite Challenge at 6:30 PM every Saturday night. 

This makes it the top free-to-air television program on Saturday evening, and it's also the most viewed non-drama program in South Korea every week. Infinite Challenge has been called the nation's variety and Korea's real first variety for having been successful for over ten years.

• We Got Married

We Got Married is a South Korean reality variety show, one segment of the Sunday Sunday Night program. First broadcast in 2008, the show pairs up Korean celebrities to show what life would be like if they were married. Each week, couples have assigned missions to complete, with candid interviews of the participants to reveal their thoughts and feelings.

4. Fashion Trends

Beside these popular songs and TV shows, Korean fashion attracts more and more people in the world. Take clothes as an example, some Korean brands are very famous in all over the world. Even some famous designer would like to cooperate with Korean celebrities to promote their fashion designs. Especially, the cosmetic products from Korea are very hot in Hong Kong because a lot of K-pop will use these products and people will follow the trend due to this kind of celebrity effect.

There is a list about these famous cosmetic products in Hong Kong and I am sure that you can see all these stores everywhere on the streets!

• Innisfree

Innisfree is a South Korean cosmetics brand owned by Amore Pacific.

Innisfree is a naturalism-oriented cosmetics brand created by Amore Pacific in 2000. The brand name originated from W. B. Yeats' poem, 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree'. It is one of the few Korean brands that use organic ingredients certified by France's ECOCERT organization. Innisfree has stores in South Korea, Hong Kong, China, Japan, India, Singapore and Malaysia. 

• Tony Moly

It’s obvious why girls are obsessing over this brand: the packaging is freaking adorable. But what’s even better is that the products stand up to the hype.

• 3 Concept Eyes

The palette of high-voltage color makes this brand a must-try for girls who want to stay ahead-of-the-curve on makeup trends. Shop here for everything from statement-making cheek stains and beyond bold lip color to the next-big-things in nail art.

• Etude House

With a tagline like “Let Out Your Pink!” it’s safe to say this brand is all about pampering your inner princess. This one-stop shop for the modern girly girl has everything from a sea of red lipsticks to its Beauty Shot Face Blur, a lightweight cream that promises to smooth and even your skin so that you’re selfie ready.

How to learn English? Learn it by this!

We have learnt English for almost ten years, but we still do not know how to learn English effectively. I love learning one language by using different channels and interesting methods to keep me learning. 

Here are some personal experience and advice to remind all of you that Learning can be interesting!

1. YouTube

YouTube is an excellent way to learn English as over 50% videos on it are in English and they are totally FREE! I found some useful channels on it. Unlike normal video, I was looking for some YouTube blogs which would be updated from time to time.

Ryan Higa is one of my favorite YouTube bloggers since he will updated his channel at least once per week and I can keep following his posts. Most importantly. his posts are very funny and meaningful at the same time. For example, he post a video about homeless people in US during Easter holiday and he gave a lot of food to the helpless people with his friends. I really learnt a lot from his videos. (His YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/nigahiga)

Here is the video about homeless people

2. Dramas

Watching English TV is another way to learn English. However, the most important thing is to REMOVE any subtitles when you watch the show. (Both English and Chinese) There are some my recommendations:

a. Friends

All seasons are very attractive and extremely interesting. I bet you will never feel bored if you use these funny guys to learn a difficult slang or phrase.

Friends is an American television sitcom, created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which originally aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004. It lasted ten seasons and is now in syndication. It revolves around a circle of friends living in Manhattan. Friends received positive reviews throughout its run, becoming one of the most popular sitcoms of all time.[7] The series was nominated for 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 2002 for its eighth season.

b. 2 Broke Girls

2 Broke Girls is an American television sitcom created for Warner Bros. Television by Michael Patrick King and Whitney Cummings. It premiered in the United States on CBS in September 2011, and is currently commissioned for a fifth season. 

Set in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City, the show's plot follows the lives of roommates Max Black (Kat Dennings) and Caroline Channing (Beth Behrs). Whereas Channing was raised as the daughter of a multimillionaire, Black grew up in poverty, resulting in differing perspectives on life, although together they work in a local diner while attempting to raise funds to start a cupcake business.

3. The Ellen DeGeneres Show

If you let me to only choose one from all US TV shows, I will choose Ellen show immediately. She is funny, smart, considerate, caring and very influential as well. I will check out her show every day from beginning to the end.  The best thing is, you can see all popular super stars in the show.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show (often shortened to and stylized as ellen) is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Since the beginning of the sixth season, Ellen has been broadcast in high definition. The show has won 36 Daytime Emmy Awards as of 2013. The program combines comedy, celebrity, musical guests and human-interest stories. The program often features audience participation games where prizes are awarded.

3. Movies

I noticed that many of people would say they learn English by watching English movies. It would be very effective to learn the language if you again remove all the subtitles from the movies. Try to be patient at the beginning because you will find it is very hard to understand the meanings of some phrases and words. Look them up in a dictionary after the movie by looking at the subtitle. 

Also, I have some movies to recommend

a. Fast & Furious

The Fast and the Furious (also known as Fast & Furious) is an American franchise including a series of action films, which center on illegal street racing and heists, and various other media portraying the characters and situations from the films. Distributed by Universal Pictures, the series was established with the 2001 film titled The Fast and the Furious; followed by seven sequels, two short films that tie into the series, and as of May 2015, it has become Universal's biggest franchise of all time.

b. The Hobbit

The Hobbit is a film series consisting of three epic fantasy adventure films directed by Peter Jackson. They are based on the 1937 novel The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, with large portions of the trilogy inspired by the appendices to The Return of the King, which expand on the story told in The Hobbit, as well as new material and characters written especially for the films.

3. Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean is a series of fantasy swashbuckler films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and based on Walt Disney's theme park ride of the same name. 

The films take place in a fictional historical setting; a world ruled largely by an amalgam of alternative versions of the British Empire and the East India Company, with the pirates representing freedom from the ruling powers. The film series started with their first release on the big screen in 2003 with Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which received positive reviews from the critics and grossed US$654 million worldwide.

Best University Admissions Promo Videos Ever!

Before you enter your university, did you check out the promotional videos about your uni? The answer has to be YES! Since all of us want to know more about our unis by watching the official promotion video.

As some first-class universities in the whole world, these universities' videos are commented as the best promotion videos.

 (I re-post this post from another post called "Best 5 University Promo Videos"
http://www.frederickding.com/posts/2010/11/best-5-university-promo-videos-21984/ )

1. Yale University - Most Awesome: “That’s Why I Chose Yale“

The opening might be boring and conventional, but watch past the first minute — a pleasant surprise awaits. Beautiful cinematography, great music. Yale’s video is a true piece of art, all the more so because it was produced by undergraduates at the university.

 

 2.  University of Pennsylvania - Most Inspiring: True Learning

The University of Pennsylvania’s video is filled with a sense of purpose, of motivation and of inspiration. 

3. Harvard University - Most Elegant: “Places like Harvard“

This is one of the most beautiful promotional videos I’ve ever watched. Harvard did a splendid job of presenting all the awe-inspiring statistics about the school in a way that is both simplistic and informative. On YouTube, Harvard has combined all its videos into one long video, but the specific segment I am referring to starts at 13:50.

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4. Columbia University - Most Eloquent: “Columbia, An Introduction“

Although Columbia’s video is heavily dominated by interviews and speaking, in stark contrast to the dynamic singing of Yale’s student-produced video, and even though it doesn’t carry the same wow factor of Harvard’s video, the words spoken in this video are the most moving. Columbia’s video seems very genuine. Moreover, in the context of Columbia’s status as a world-class Ivy League university, its promo video, juxtaposed with the videos of Harvard and Yale, is unpretentious.

5. Stanford University - Most Relaxed: “Powered by People"

It’s probably a testament to the West Coast lifestyle. Stanford’s video made university seem fun and playful, rather than studious.

How Much Do You Know about Singapore Food?

The reason I want to introduce Singapore but now other countries as I did my internship there in my last summer holiday. Singapore gave me a very impressive impression. Therefore, I decided to record all the amazing things that I have experienced in Singapore.

If you have never been to Singapore, there is a short video to introduce some famous sightseeing places and beautiful views in Singapore. Enjoy!  

1. Bak Kut Teh (肉骨茶 lit. Meat bone tea/ Pork Ribs soup)

As a Chinese, rice is the key to every meal for me. When I was in Singapore, I tried meat bone tea many times because I lived in Katong and there is a very famous meat bone tea restaurant there. If you just look at its name, it may give you a misunderstanding that it is a combination of tea and meat bones. Actually, the tea here means soup. It's really very delicious! 

The picture below is the meat bone tea restaurant near my hostel in Singapore. Super delicious!

2. Wanton Mee (云吞面)

 

In Hong Kong, we also have very famous Wanton noodles, but they are different obviously. In Hong Kong, we normally have the Wanton noodles with a lot of soup. In Singapore, there is not much soup with the noodles. Besides, you can choose if you would like to choose a spicy or non-spicy one. 

The Singapore Wanton noodles was probably influenced by Hong Kong cuisine, but has become entrenched in our culture over the years. The Singapore version is typically eaten ‘dry’, drenched with some light sweet sauce, slices of pork char siew and wanton dumplings filled with pork, with a small bowl of soup on the side. Auntie will also ask if you want spicy or not. The spicy type sees chilli being mixed into the noodles, while the non-spicy kids version will have tomato sauce mixed in. Wanton dumplings may be either deep fried or come in soup dumplings.

3. Laksa

 

Laksa is a very special food in Singapore and I have never tried it before this trip. As I mentioned before, I lived in Katong, which located in a food area. Not only meat bone tea, there is also a very famous Laksa restaurant there called 328 Laksa. Every day, there will be a lot of people there to line up for this. 

Laksa is a dish merged from Chinese and Malay elements otherwise known as Peranakan culture. There are 2 main types of laksa- curry laksa and asam laksa. Curry laksa is more predominant in Singapore, while assam laksa is found more in Malaysian regions like Penang Laksa. In fact there loads of variants of Laksas differing in fish type, broth and even noodles.

Here is a useful link for everyone to learn how to cook it by yourself. Hope it could be helpful.

 

 4.  Hokkien Prawn Mee

 

 

As we know, the living expense in Singapore is not cheap and it would be quite expensive to eat in the formal restaurant everyday. There are a lot of popular food court or hawker centers in Singapore, which can provide many delicious food with cheaper prices. The Hokkien Prawn Mee in food court is the most famous one.

The Singapore Hokkien Mee fries a combination of egg noodles and rice noodles in a rich prawn stock with cubes of fried pork fat, prawns, fish cake and squid. Some vendors add pork strips as well to add more flavour. This dish was a product of post-war Hokkien noodle factory workers who would gather along Rochor road and fry any excess noodles they had. 

5. Indonesian Grilled Chicken

 

Lastly, it is my favorite food in my whole trip in Singapore. I always ate it the food court in different shopping malls. Every time I would lineup for it for almost half an hour and it is really popular in both local people and tourists. 

 

Are you using these popular APPs?

You must very be familiar with different kinds of apps nowadays. Without them, you will feel very hard to study, relax and even hard to contact with your best friends!

We reply on some excellent apps, such as WhatsApp,  Facebook, YouTube and MTR mobile app. However, the whole world is keeping changing all the time and the apps will be updated in every minute.

Let's check out these new attractive apps now!

1. Colorfy: Anti Stress Coloring Pages for Adults

Before I really start to introduce the app, look at the picture below. You must know it, right?

This beautiful coloring book is extremely popular in all over the world, which can help the people in city to reduce there pressure by finishing the colouring book.

Now, let's look at the E version of this impressive colouring book - Colorfy:Anti Stress Coloring Pages for Adults. Let the colors fill your mind in a relaxing painting experience and time will fly by and problems fade away while you chill out and have fun. 

  

 

Highlights

-Printable HD Coloring pages

-Unique Gradient and Pattern for perfect coloring

-Different color schemes

-Complex and simple coloring pages

Download Link: https://itunes.apple.com/hk/app/colorfy-anti-stress-coloring/id1031072302?mt=8

2. Real Racing 3 

This one is actually my favourite game and play the game for several years. The game is really very challenging, exciting and help to feel relaxing at the same time. 

Besides the exciting game, the most attractive thing for me is that I can buy a lot of first-class luxury cars in the game to join a competition. You will make your dream come ture as you can buy any cars that you want - Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche, McLaren, Koenigsegg and  even Pagani! If you are a big fan of these amazing cars, you have to check it out and the extraordinary cars will totally blow you away in the game.

One more thing to say, you will use a real car to compete with a real person in a real track. Enjoy it!

Can you imagine? You can join a real NASCAR Race! Unbelievable!

Download Link: http://www.ea.com/real-racing-3/zh_HK.html

3. Noisli

Feel nervous and exhausted before the final exam? Don't worry, something good is coming to you.  I looked for this kind of app for a long period of time. When I feel tired or nervous before sleeping, I will spend 5 mins to listen to nature.

Noisli is a beautifully minimalist tool for generating background noise, with everything from rain, fire and wind to the familiar drone of a coffee shop to help you get working. It’s dead simple and is the most beautifully designed tool I’ve come across for the task. 

Download Link: http://www.noisli.com/

4. OneNote

After relaxation, it's time for us to study! Do you want to get rid of papers and pens to do your own special notes during the class? Do you want to export your notes to wherever you want, like Google Drive? Do you want to only bring your iPad or MacBook to school instead of a thick notebook?

OneNote can help you! Check out the video below to know more about the amazing tool.

Download Link: https://www.onenote.com/

5. Workout Trainer

No time for working out? Too expensive to go to gym everyday? Too shy to join a fitness class with others? - No problem, the app can help you to solve all the questions above.

Workout Trainer is ideal for people who want to get in shape without using any exercise equipment. The app specialises in bodyweight-only high intensity workouts, quick strength building routines, energizing yoga practices, and brutal fitness challenges! 

✓ Follow along to workouts with audio instructions and progress cues 

✓ See instructional photos and videos that explain each move in detail

✓ Complete our free virtual fitness consultation wizard for a customized experience!

✓ Easily create and edit workouts from your Android!

✓ Add our home screen widget to see a new workout every day

✓ Share your workouts via Email, Facebook and Twitter 

✓ Play your favorite music while working out

✓ Discover our 15MM strong community of exercisers like you

✓ Try new and recommended workouts from the community

What are you waiting for? Download the app and join me!

Download Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/workout-trainer/id395686735?mt=8

What to know more about popular apps and update the hot ranking of different apps? These useful links would bring you there without any difficulties......

• App Annie App Store Stats - https://www.appannie.com/apps/ios/top/?device=iphone
• APPlyzer - https://www.applyzer.com/
• AppTweak - https://www.apptweak.com/app-ranking-charts-top-400/hk/ios/all