I had to roll my eyes when the article describes a two hour drive as a “tough journey”:
K-Pop Group Red Velvet is popular with ROK Soldiers.
It was a tough journey. It took more than two hours for the eight-member girl group to reach the destination. The road was not well-paved, and some sections were full of twists and turns. Their performance was not broadcast on TV, and the girl group was also paid a lot less for the gig compared with other performances hosted by private event organizers.
To put it simply, it was one of the least attractive jobs out there for entertainment groups, but 9Muses could not turn down the offer.
“Many people think of 9Muses as guntongnyeong, and they have been much loved by soldiers for a long period of time,” a person who works for Star Empire Entertainment said. “Thus, we try not to say no when we get offers from the military.
“In addition, popularity among young soldiers helps expand their fandom among music fans in their 20s.”
Guntongnyeong is a compound word made up of the Korean word gun, which means military, and daetongnyeong, which means president.
The neologism is often used when describing girl groups that are popular among members of the military.
And the title of guntongnyeong is much coveted among girl groups because “popularity within the military is often used to measure one’s popularity,” according to another industry insider.
Because of this, many girl groups take time to perform at military bases, which are usually located in remote areas of the country.
Recently, the JoongAng Ilbo wanted to identify which girl group among all-female acts were the No. 1 choice among soldiers. The newspaper ran a survey of 466 soldiers who were on their way back to their posts after taking leave.
It turned out that the eight-member girl group AOA received the most number of votes among survey responses. The respondents who voted for AOA included soldiers of various ranks. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read the rest at the link, but you would think they would make more effort to appeal to US soldiers as well in an effort to make their image look more international.
Among American GIs, the most popular act seems to be Songtan Sally.
…at least for the last 35 years.
setnaffa
9 years ago
I’ll take your word on that. 😕
ChickenHead
9 years ago
I only say that because she has serious staying power.
I’m pretty confident that I understand the lowest levels of free enterprise…
…and I just can’t grasp how she can stand out there every day for years and years and years if there was no payoff.
…well…
…that and all the GIs who looked deep into their first glass of the day and mumbled, “What have I done?”
And the few who took me aside and bragged about eating her box.
Seriously.
I learned long ago… only ridicule those who are truly destroying their lives.
Three hundred bucks for a Filipina skank that will not even pretend to have a good time but will get knocked up if she can…
…vs…
Sontan Sally, who will milk those balls for all she can… and be thrilled to have the chance… for the price of a couple of juices.
…so you don’t have to take my word… just reason it out.
But… the world has changed… and so has Songtan. Everything I say is a Ten Year Ago Story…
…and the last time I went there (3 months ago) and talked to the business owners I know… and the new ones (including a disturbing number if towelheads)… I felt the overwhelming sadness and depression… that maybe the area can’t support that many empty sports bars and uninspired hamburger shops.
Remembering the absolute fun available there in the 90s and looking at what it has needlessly become, it brings a tear to my eye… literally.
But the world changes. We adapt and overcome or we fall by the wayside. We evolve and find our place or we fade away.
Somgtan has tried to adapt. It has not adapted well. It has not overcome… probably becaue there is no way to do so.
I know how to manage this new watered-down paradigm… i dont like it… but I can control it and bend it to my will when necessary. Most can’t… and don’t even have a clue.
There should be an open thread on this very topic.
setnaffa
9 years ago
I agree, CH. This topic deserves it’s own space. We all have our “first liberty” stories. Few still living know mine. But not all of ’em died from boredom as I was reciting the tale–not even most! But those stories need to stay off the interwebs. Maybe over lunch some time…
I still love Songtan. Perhaps because of my limited after dark contact with it. As to the stores just off-base, I still like to go into Mike’s Arcade. I still plan to go to Mike’s All Season and have him run off some custom work to cover Army, Navy, Air Force, and Law Enforcement memories for friends and family. I might need to visit one of the tailors for some dress shirts. And I like several of the restaurants. It’s better than any of the malls in Dallas or Houston!!
Among American GIs, the most popular act seems to be Songtan Sally.
…at least for the last 35 years.
I’ll take your word on that. 😕
I only say that because she has serious staying power.
I’m pretty confident that I understand the lowest levels of free enterprise…
…and I just can’t grasp how she can stand out there every day for years and years and years if there was no payoff.
…well…
…that and all the GIs who looked deep into their first glass of the day and mumbled, “What have I done?”
And the few who took me aside and bragged about eating her box.
Seriously.
I learned long ago… only ridicule those who are truly destroying their lives.
Three hundred bucks for a Filipina skank that will not even pretend to have a good time but will get knocked up if she can…
…vs…
Sontan Sally, who will milk those balls for all she can… and be thrilled to have the chance… for the price of a couple of juices.
…so you don’t have to take my word… just reason it out.
But… the world has changed… and so has Songtan. Everything I say is a Ten Year Ago Story…
…and the last time I went there (3 months ago) and talked to the business owners I know… and the new ones (including a disturbing number if towelheads)… I felt the overwhelming sadness and depression… that maybe the area can’t support that many empty sports bars and uninspired hamburger shops.
Remembering the absolute fun available there in the 90s and looking at what it has needlessly become, it brings a tear to my eye… literally.
But the world changes. We adapt and overcome or we fall by the wayside. We evolve and find our place or we fade away.
Somgtan has tried to adapt. It has not adapted well. It has not overcome… probably becaue there is no way to do so.
I know how to manage this new watered-down paradigm… i dont like it… but I can control it and bend it to my will when necessary. Most can’t… and don’t even have a clue.
There should be an open thread on this very topic.
I agree, CH. This topic deserves it’s own space. We all have our “first liberty” stories. Few still living know mine. But not all of ’em died from boredom as I was reciting the tale–not even most! But those stories need to stay off the interwebs. Maybe over lunch some time…
I still love Songtan. Perhaps because of my limited after dark contact with it. As to the stores just off-base, I still like to go into Mike’s Arcade. I still plan to go to Mike’s All Season and have him run off some custom work to cover Army, Navy, Air Force, and Law Enforcement memories for friends and family. I might need to visit one of the tailors for some dress shirts. And I like several of the restaurants. It’s better than any of the malls in Dallas or Houston!!