Norebang; Karaoke Korean style

We’ve all been there. It’s 2am and after a few too many shots you and your friends are slurring and swaying your way through your best rendition of Hey Jude. While in England the word ‘karaoke’ conjures up images of dingy pubs and office parties, Korea has taken karaoke and turned it into something of a sacred institution. Norebangs (literally translates to ‘singing rooms’) are popular, commonplace, and, dare I say it, enjoyable?

If there’s one thing Koreans love besides soju, which let’s face it is often an essential part of karaoke here, it’s a good sing song. According to statistics from 2009, there were almost over 36,000 norebangs in Korea, with 1.9 million people visiting them every day. Norebangs are dotted along every street and are usually identifiable by the glowing neon signs outside them and the wailing coming from within.

They range from tiny booths in games arcades to full-blown themed suites, and no Korean night out is complete without a visit to one. Usually kitted out with a disco ball, tambourines, a song book the size of the Yellow Pages and sometimes even a dance podium, the private rooms mean you don’t have to subject strangers to your best cat-strangling impressions. Just your friends.

The room hire itself is pretty cheap and while you are expected to order some food and drink you will often receive a lot of ‘service’, the wonderful Korean custom of giving away free stuff, often crispy pork cutlet, fried mushrooms or noodles.

One word of warning; never underestimate how seriously Koreans take norebang. Just as you’ve finished laughing your way through  ‘Sweet Caroline’, your Korean friend will swoop in with an emotional version of ‘My Heart Will Go On’, and maybe even shush you if you dare to talk over them…

The hat is optional…

…as are the dodgy dance moves

Magpies, moths and memory loss: Korean superstitions

Every culture has their own superstitions; The British won’t put new shoes on a table, the French believe stepping in dog poo will bring them luck, and Indians refuse to get their hair cut on a Tuesday. Here are some of Korea’s most bizarre beliefs!

• On the day of a big exam you shouldn’t wash your hair, as it will wash away everything you have learned. It’s also best to avoid ‘slippery’ foods like noodles or seaweed soup as they will cause information to slip away, and instead eat sticky foods like rice or sticky Korean candy.

• It is said that if you give shoes as a present to your boyfriend or girlfriend they will break up with you and use the shoes to run away. If someone does give you shoes you should give them a tiny sum of money, like 100₩ (5p/10¢), so the shoes are considered a ‘purchase’ and not a gift.

• Similarly, a woman should never feed her husband or boyfriend chicken wings, in case with a stomach full of wings he takes flight and leaves her. Especially if he’s wearing those new shoes.

• It would seem that the Tooth Fairy doesn’t visit this part of the world. Instead lower teeth should be thrown onto the roof, to encourage the new tooth to grow upwards, while upper teeth should be thrown under the house to encourage the new tooth to grow downwards.

• Don’t cut your nails at night, as Korean folklore says that mice will eat the clippings, become human and steal your soul. This one comes from the days before electricity so if you cut your nails at night, you wouldn’t be able to see to clean up, and the room would become dirty.

• You should also avoid whistling or singing at night, as it can attract ghosts or snakes to your house. Apparently no one told our neighbour this one.

• When moving house it is important to ensure that evil spirits don’t follow you to your new house. You should choose a 손없는날 (a day without uninvited guests), and moving companies often give a calendar for each month showing which days are ‘safe’ to move on. You shouldn’t sweep up before leaving the old house, because it tricks the spirits into thinking you’re still there, and by the time the new people arrive and clean the place, it’s too late for the spirits to find you.

• In Korean culture the number 4 is considered to be unlucky, because the words for ‘death’ and ‘four’ have the same pronunciation. In Korean elevators the button for the fourth floor is often labelled ‘F’ or sometimes missing altogether, and you should never give gifts in sets of 4.

• White is the colour of mourning and funerals, so wearing white ribbons in your hair is an invitation for death. At funerals the name of the deceased was traditionally written in red, to ward off those pesky evil spirits, so writing the names of living people in red is seriously unlucky, and can even be taken as a sign that you want that person dead!

• Many Korean girls believe that cutting their hair short will make them grow taller, and if you jump over a baby (not quite sure why you would!) the baby will always be short.

• On a baby’s first birthday people often present them with a pencil, some string and money. Whichever one the baby goes for first is a sign of their fortune. If they reach for the pencil they will be a good student, the string symbolises a long and healthy life and the money, of course, means they will be rich.

• If you see a crow or a raven when you leave the house in the morning it means you will have bad luck that day. However, if you see a magpie in the morning it’s a sign of good luck.

• If you catch the bouquet at a Korean wedding you have six months to get married, or you never will. For this reason Korean brides usually choose one of their friends who is engaged beforehand to catch the bouquet.

• Apparently if you touch a butterfly or a moth and then rub your eyes before washing your hands you will go blind. A similar thing is said for orange flowers.

• And lastly there’s every foreigner’s favourite…fan death. The genuine belief that sleeping in a room with the fan running overnight will kill you. According to the South Korean government this silent killer claims around ten lives every summer. There are several theories behind this one, including hypothermia, the fan creating a kind of air vortex around you causing you to slowly suffocate, the fan motor converting oxygen into carbon dioxide, and my personal favourite, the blades chopping up the air molecules making them un-breatheable. I’m no Einstein but I’m pretty sure that’s not how it works. The origins of this myth aren’t very clear as electric fans had been used in Korea for 80 years before the first reported case of fan death, but some people think the government started this rumour as an attempt to reduce energy usage at a time of limited supplies.

10 Things I’ll Never Understand About Korea

Korea is a truly fascinating country, and I defy anyone to spend time here and not fall in love with it. However, there are some little quirks and oddities that even after 15 months I still struggle to get my head around.

1. The road rules. Or perhaps, the lack of road rules would be better. Red lights, pedestrian crossings, and giving way seem to mean nothing here. Scooters, motorbikes and sometimes even cars, freely drive along the pavement beeping at you for being in their way. As for parking, the general rule seems to be that anywhere is fair game if you can fit your car there. And there’s this strange rule that means you can turn right at a crossing, regardless of the light being green or red, which has resulted in more than a few near misses!

2. The lack of queues drives me crazy here. Yeah, yeah, I’m a Brit, and all Brits love queueing, I’ve heard it all before, but seriously Korea, learn to wait your turn! Koreans seem to have this bizarre and frustrating idea that if they only have one thing in their basket or they just want to buy a packet of cigarettes, but you have several things to pay for, they can cut in front. Ajummas (see point 7) are the worst for this.

3. Koreans have an incredible ability to fall asleep anywhere. With or without the help of several bottles of soju. Businessmen kicking off their shoes and settling down on a park bench for a cheeky power nap, builders having a kip in the middle of a building site, falling asleep on the subway yet somehow always waking up in time for their stop, and in class, hopefully not a reflection on my teaching! Koreans have perhaps the longest working hours in the world, and many of my students only get 4 or 5 hours sleep a night, so it’s not really surprising that they need some down time.

4. Every culture has their own superstitions, and Korea’s are no stranger than our fear of black cats, broken mirrors and walking under ladders. For example, the number 4 is considered unlucky here as the words for ‘death’ and ‘four’ have the same pronunciation in Korean. When you get in a lift the button for the fourth floor will often be F, instead of 4, or sometimes skipped altogether, and you should never give sets of 4 as a gift. Writing someone’s name in red is also reserved for the dead, which has on more than one occasion led to a slow motion style ‘nooooooo’ from the kids as they dive to take the pen out of my hand. And then there’s fan death, the widely held belief that sleeping in a room with a fan on overnight will kill you. There are several theories behind this one, but the most common one is that the blades of the fan will chop up the air molecules making them un-breatheable. No, really.

5. Along with several other East Asian countries, Korea uses a different way of age reckoning than the Western world, meaning that your ‘Korean age’ will be either one or two years (depending on what month you were born in) older than your ‘Western age’. Babies start life at one, as you are considered to be one in your first year of life, two in your second year of life, three in your third year of life and so on. However, in Korea everyone ages up on the Lunar New Year (Seollal) in February, and not on their actual birthday. For example, a baby born in January would be one year old when they were born, and would then turn two on Seollal in February, even though they would only be a few days old according to the Western system. This system is used in every day life in Korea, although the legal system uses the Western reckoning. Confusing I know!

6. Writing and reading the date can also be a source of great confusion here. While American English uses the month-day-year format, and British English uses the day-month-year format, Koreans usually (depending on their education) go for year-month-day. So 10/9/12 could be October 9^th 2012, September 10^th 2012, or September 12^th 2010. Frankly it’s anyone’s guess and it makes sell-by dates an absolute nightmare.

7. Ajummas. That one word is enough to strike fear in the heart of even the most seasoned expat. Kitted out in clashing animal prints, more diamanté than the entire cast of TOWIE, and of course, the obligatory visors atop their standard issue perm, this army of elderly women that roam the streets of Korea is a force to be reckoned with. They will push, jostle and elbow their way to the front of the queue or to get on the bus first. Although they are painfully slow when walking down the street, don’t be fooled, as soon as that subway seat becomes free they pounce. The last thing you want is to invoke the wrath of an ajumma. Do not mess with them.

8. This bizarre, and slightly disturbing game is unfortunately very popular among Korean kids at the moment. Where they learned it, and why no one stops them is completely beyond me. The ‘game’ involves the kids putting their fingers together like a gun, waiting for the opportune moment before jamming their fingers up your bum shouting DONGCHIP! You have been warned.

9. Coming from the land of the eternal tea-break, the rate that buildings appear and disappear in Korea is nothing short of astonishing. One week you’ll walk past a hairdressers, and the next week it’s a fully refurbished restaurant. It’s like living in some kind of time-warp.

10. The national obsession with kimchi. I mean seriously, it’s fermented cabbage.

Top 5 PSY songs…yes, there are other songs!

Love him or hate him, 2012 has undoubtedly been the summer of PSY, with Gangnam Style topping the charts in 15 countries and overtaking Justin Bieber (thank God) as YouTube’s most ‘liked’ song. In the midst of Gangnam fever it’s easy to forget that this is just the peak in PSY’s 12 year career, during which he has released seven albums. Having been to his incredible concert in Seoul a couple of weeks ago, I now have new found love for PSY and his music, here are my five favourite songs! (click on the song titles to watch the videos on YouTube)

Korea – Few countries do patriotism like Korea does (let’s not forget Dokdo), but this song is perhaps one of the better examples, as it doesn’t involve beheaded pheasants. Released earlier this year, with the video set in the grounds of Gyeongbokgung, ‘Korea‘ is a rousing anthem for all things Korean.

Shake It – My personal favourite, this song has me dancing around my apartment like a loon, singing the few words I do know loud enough to compensate for the ones that I don’t! It was released in 2011 and reached number 4 in the Korean charts. It features fellow South Korean entertainer Noh Hong Chul, who also happens to be ‘the elevator guy’ in the Gangnam Style video. This song has a kind of 50s vibe to it and is almost as catchy as Gangnam Style.

Right Now – Although it was released two years ago ‘Right Now’ has done pretty well off the back of Gangnam Style’s success. The song is rapidly gaining popularity online in the US, perhaps proving that PSY isn’t just a one hit wonder. Rather controversially ‘Right Now’ is one of three PSY songs to have been given an R19 rating by the Ministry of Gender, Equality and Family for its ‘obscene’ lyrics comparing life to toxic alcohol.

Champion – This was PSY’s fifth single and it went to number 1 in 2002. However, it too has been at the centre of a recent controversy as many international fans mistook some of the Korean words to be racist slurs. Many people asked for this seemingly offensive song to be taken down from YouTube while K-Pop fans were jumping to PSY’s defence and explaining the meaning of the Korean words. This song remains popular with Koreans today because of its catchy lyrics hailing anyone who can have fun as a champion in life!

We Are The One – Another cheer for Korea, this song was the national football team’s official chanting song during the 2006 Fifa World Cup. It seemed to be one of the most popular songs during PSY’s free concert in Seoul as the crowd were going crazy for it. Unfortunately the team were knocked out in the group stages, and PSY didn’t fare much better in the charts, but I like it anyway!

With a new single rumoured to be out in the US next month, it seems PSY is here to stay!

“Teacher, what’s your blood type?”

One of the many rather personal questions you may be asked when you arrive in Korea is ‘what is your blood type?‘. I remember being asked by my 9 year olds on my first day at school and being a little confused. I hadn’t got a clue what my blood type was, but more importantly, why on earth were they asking??

In much the same way that many Westerners view star signs, some Asian cultures consider someone’s blood type to be a prediction of their personality, temperament and compatibility with others.

Whilst today the concept is trivial and something of a joke to people, it’s origins are rather more sinister. The idea of blood types being an indication of someone’s character can be traced back to the early 20th century. It was used by Nazi Germany, before being adopted by Imperial Japan, to promote their supremacist ideology over other races. As the distribution of blood groups can be somewhat disproportionate across the world, the Nazis realised that blood types A and O were much more common in German people, while Asians and Jews had a higher percentage of type B, and so having the ‘right’ blood type became part of their Aryan ideal.

By the 1920s the theory was gaining ground in Japan, and the government had ordered a study aimed at breeding the perfect soldier through different combinations of blood types. After a Taiwanese revolt against the Japanese occupying forces in the 1930s, research found that over 40% of Taiwanese people had blood type O, which is deemed to be the least submissive type, and therefore their dissidence was thought to be genetically predetermined. The same study found that only 20% of Japanese people had type O, and so the solution was to ‘dilute’ the rebellious blood by increasing intermarriages with the Japanese.

Having lost it’s dark roots, the theory was renewed in a much more light-hearted nature during the 1970s by Masahiko Nomi, a Japanese journalist, in his best selling book. It then spread to nearby countries like South Korea and Taiwan and remains a part of pop culture today. There are films, songs and books that focus on blood types, and dating agencies take them into consideration when matching people up. You can even enter your blood type information into your Korean Facebook profile.

USB sticks with Park Dong Sun’s blood type characters

But what does your blood type actually say about you?

TYPE A is often seen as the best type to have, and so people can sometimes be quite smug about it. They are the ‘goodie-goodies’ of blood types as they tend to follow the rules, and they dislike disruption or confrontation. Often introverts and perfectionists, they are said to be reliable and punctual, but they also have a tendency to over-analyse things and worry too much. They are very considerate and loyal, and they take everyone’s opinions into account as they don’t like to upset anyone. Although they take care of other people’s emotions, their own can get hurt very easily and they are not ones to forgive and forget. They can be rather indecisive, fastidious and stubborn, and they will weigh up all the risks in doing something before they actually do it. It is also said that they can’t hold their drink…

The total opposite of type A, people with blood TYPE B are egomaniacs and extroverts. Type B has possibly the worst reputation of all the blood types, as type B men are seen as unreliable ‘players’ or commitment-phobes and they are not considered to be suitable marriage material. A popular Korean film called ‘My Boyfriend is Type B‘ centres around a (type A) young woman who is advised by her family and friends not to date a boy she likes, who happens to be Type B. They can be selfish, irresponsible and they tend not to care what other people think. They are often very opinionated and usually get their own way as they have charisma by the bucket-load. They hate being bored and want to be amused at all times, so they are creative and often do things on a whim. They are rather lazy and lack the perseverance to see things through. They have short fuses, and they’re not afraid to speak their minds, and this leads them to be quite argumentative. However, they forgive and forget easily.

‘My Boyfriend Is Type B‘ poster

TYPE O is the joker of the group. They have a strong physical presence, they thrive on being the centre of attention and they rarely take anything seriously. They are seen as friendly, happy-go-lucky and extremely ambitious. They like to be the best at everything  and they have a fierce competitive streak. Their sometimes obsessive drive for success can make them difficult people to live with. They’re the most likely to go over the top with things and throw extravagant parties to show off to their friends. Once they put their mind to something they usually see it through to the end, as they are very practical and diligent. They are blessed with good memories and small details rarely escape their notice. Although they are normally so cheerful, when they get angry they get seriously angry, and they can be ruthless and insensitive. Type Os make natural leaders as they are not afraid to take a gamble. They hate to be lonely so they tend to trust people completely, and they take it pretty badly if that trust is broken.

TYPE AB is something of a mystery, as their characteristics are not quite as clear cut as the other blood types. They are cool, calm and collected, however they can sometimes come across as aloof or detached. They are very rational people, and they are ruled by their heads, not their hearts. Observant and analytical, they can also be very critical and unforgiving, and they keep themselves to themselves. They tend not to care what other people think of them and are often seen as being anti-social. They are not strong team players although they wouldn’t do anything to deliberately hurt other people. They usually have a wide range of interests which makes them knowledgeable and creative. Type ABs adapt easily to most situations but they can be extremely unpredictable. Other types often view them as loners who are two-faced and not to be trusted.

This picture by the popular cartoonist Park Dong Sun, shows how the situation might be if the four bloodtypes were placed in a room together. Type A would be sitting at the edge of the room so as not to attract any attention, Type B would naturally be in the centre of the room, Type O would be mingling and socialising with everyone and Type AB would most likely be daydreaming in a corner somewhere.

Park Dong Sun’s cartoon of different blood types

PSY Concert at Seoul Plaza 오빤 강남스타일!

Having topped the charts in 15 countries, and still riding high on the success of Gangnam Style, PSY announced earlier this week that he would be staging a free concert to thank his home fans for all their support. And so Thursday night found us right in the middle of an 80,000 strong crowd of students, businessmen, ajummas, and children all doing the famous ‘horse dance’ in Seoul Plaza!

The concert lasted two hours, and he had the crowd singing and dancing along to every one of his songs, just like a huge, public norebang! However, there was one song in particular that everyone was waiting to hear, and as soon as he put on those sunglasses the crowd went wild. People were jumping up and down, riding invisible horses, and screaming every word. It was a truly unforgettable moment.

PSY had promised that if he reached number 1 in the Billboard Top 100 chart this week he would perform the ‘horse dance’ shirt-less during the concert. Although Maroon 5 clung on to the number one spot while Gangnam Style remained at number two, he kept to his promise and tore his (extremely sweaty!) shirt off during the encore of Gangnam Style at the end of the show. 오빤 강남스타일!

The Flower Men: A new generation of South Koreans

In a socially conservative, male-dominated, and dare I say it, slightly sexist country, it may come as a surprise to many that recent data has shown South Korean men to be the number one consumers of male cosmetics in the world.

In fact, it would seem that it is not only the women who find themselves swept up in the national pursuit of perfection. Despite there only being 19 million men in the country, they somehow make up 21% of the global male grooming market. The report, published by market research group Euromonitor International, shows that South Korean men spent a staggering $495,500,000 on cosmetics and skincare products in 2011, with an estimated $885,000,000 to be spent this year.

Gone are the days of rough, tough and ready macho men, and in it’s place is a new generation of image conscious, sharply-dressed and immaculately groomed young businessmen. Dubbed ‘flower men‘  by the South Korean media, these men have flawless, porcelain skin, pencilled in eyebrows and long, thick eyelashes.

Pale, whitened skin is very much the preferred look in Korea, harking back to the ancient belief that pale skin was a symbol of a privileged life, free of manual labour, whereas tanned skin showed a hard life spent working in the fields. Skin whitening creams, pills and even injections are big sellers for both men and women here.

Alongside a strict skincare regime consisting of cleansers, exfoliators, moisturisers and eye creams, products like foundation, eyebrow pencils, eyeliner, mascara and lipstick are fast becoming popular with Korean men. Even young men undertaking their mandatory 21 months of military service don’t have to suffer the indignity of bad skin, as some brands offer camo paint for sensitive skin.

Skin-friendly camo paint from cosmetic brand Innisfree

But what lies behind this startling new trend?

Of course there are many who point the finger at the South Korean media and its starlets, for bombarding these impressionable young men with images of their ‘peers’ photoshopped beyond recognition. However, this seems too simple an explanation for such a huge phenomenon.

Korean society places an overwhelming amount of pressure on it’s younger generations, and success is everything. The competition for jobs and for girlfriends is fiercer than ever and in a culture where “appearance is power”, first impressions count for a lot. Taking such a high level of pride in your appearance offers an opportunity to show that you are sophisticated, reliable and conscientious.

K-pop idol and Dream High 2 actor, JB

In a country with the highest rate of plastic surgery in the world, combined with the highest suicide rate in the world, where a job application requires a photo and keeping-up-with-the-Joneses (or should that be the Kims?) takes on a whole new meaning, where will this obsession with appearance go next?

South Korean fan death

Fan death. The commonly held belief in South Korea that sleeping in a closed room with an electric fan on all night will kill you. Seriously.

According to the South Korean government’s consumer agency, electric fans claim between seven and ten lives every year. The same government body also states that asphyxiation from fans is one of the top five causes of summer fatalities.

“If bodies are exposed to electric fans or air conditioners for too long, it causes bodies to lose water and hypothermia. If directly in contact with a fan, this could lead to death from increase of carbon dioxide saturation concentration and decrease of oxygen concentration. The risks are higher for the elderly and patients with respiratory problems.”

Now, you may be wondering how a seemingly harmless electrical appliance can transform overnight into a brutal cold-blooded killer?

Well, there are several suggested ’causes’ of death by fan.

The first is hypothermia. Our metabolisms naturally slow down at night and this makes us more sensitive to temperature changes. If the fan is left on all night, the change in room temperature can in turn cause our body temperature to drop so much that it causes organ failure and hypothermia. Hmm…

The second is death through prolonged asphyxiation. This theory claims that if a fan blows air directly onto your face, it creates a kind of vortex, and the fast moving flow of air makes it difficult to breathe so you slowly suffocate.

The third theory is that the fan motor actually converts the oxygen in the room into carbon dioxide, thus suffocating its sleeping victim.

Lastly, and my personal favourite, is that the blades of the fan ‘chop up’ all of the air particles in the room leaving you none to breathe. Now, I’m no Einstein but I’m pretty sure that that isn’t right.

So where did this absurd myth originate from?

The origins of this mind-boggling superstition remain a mystery. Electric fans had been used in Korea for over 80 years before the first reported case of fan death. One theory however, is that the rumour was actually started by the South Korean government during the 1970s as an attempt to reduce energy usage at a time when there were limited supplies.

Is it all just a lot of hot air?

There is no scientific evidence that sleeping in a room with a fan running all night alone will kill you. In fact, several studies have disproven the theories beyond doubt. Most of the deaths are actually attributed to alcohol poisoning, heart conditions or other undiagnosed medical problems. In 2007 Dr. John Linton, who had carried out autopsies on several fan death victims, told the International Herald Tribune “there are several things that could be causing the fan deaths, things like pulmonary embolisms, cerebrovascular accidents or arrhythmia. There is little scientific evidence to support that a fan alone can kill you if you are using it in a sealed room. Although it is a common belief among Koreans, there are other explainable reasons for why these deaths are happening.”

Yet South Koreans of all ages, classes and backgrounds continue to believe in this urban legend. Even doctors and medical professionals warn of the dangers of electric fans.

How can we protect ourselves from these silent assassins?

The Korean Consumer Protection Agency advises that doors or windows should be left open when sleeping with the electric fan or air conditioner turned on, to prevent the oxygen from being converted into carbon dioxide/sucked out of the room/chopped up into tiny pieces. Also, most fans now sold in Korea come with a timer device that automatically switches it off after a certain amount of time, no doubt saving tens of lives every year.

We slept with the fan on last night, and I feel lucky to have escaped with my life.

‘Venus’ – Shinhwa

Shinhwa’s latest song ‘Venus’ is my new favourite K-pop song of the moment! It is currently sitting at number 8 in Soompi’s weekly K-pop chart and I cannot stop listening to it!

I was first introduced to this song when I walked into my classroom last week to see Tony, one of my favourite 8 year olds, dancing round the room singing at the top of his voice. As with most K-pop hits he had the lyrics and the dance routine practised to perfection.

The only problem is that, unfortunately, Tony is one of those kids who can’t pronounce his ‘V’s properly…

I ♥ K-Pop

K-Pop is the term used for Korea’s home grown genre of pop music, and I’m not ashamed to say that I am rather a big fan. Sugary sweet bubblegum pop with infuriatingly catchy beats, it is vaguely reminiscent of 90’s pop bands like Steps and S Club 7 that I adored as a kid.

K-Pop dominates the Korean music scene and the phenomenon is now spreading to the rest of East and South-East Asia, and even America.

What may have started as merely a music genre is now as much a part of Korean daily life as kimchi. It’s in your head, it’s in the classroom, it’s in the street; there’s almost no escaping it. Even if you were to don earplugs and manage to escape the music, there’s still the copious amounts of merchandise to cope with (they even have K-Pop biscuits!). Oh, and the dancing! Almost every music video features a highly choreographed dance routine, memorised and performed by kids up and down the country.

With it’s unique blend of cuteness, kitsch and synthesizers I really can’t see it being long before K-Pop makes an appearance in the charts at home.

Personal favourites so far include…

                        

       T-ara – Roly Poly                     Wondergirls – Nobody                          Kara – Step

                           

Girls’ Generation – The Boys                  2NE1 – Hate You                        BigBang – Tonight

(Click the links to see their music videos!)