I wrote and performed a spoken word poem for Kpop Academy Graduation!!!

So just like the title indicates, that was exactly what I did.....

I initially wanted to sing 그XX by G-Dragon and I practiced it a lot (I do apologise to my sister and brother who had to go through the torture of me singing the same song over and over again)!!!

Obviously changed my mind and ended up with this delightful poem *wink wink* 

Hope you like it :) :)

안녕,
meera

Afternoon Tea at The Leonard Hotel

There's nothing more British than drinking tea in the afternoon except maybe talking to a stranger on the street about the weather. My friends from KPop Academy and I decided to partake in this British tradition as a fun thought and we settled on the oh so lovely Leonard Hotel over at Marble Arch.

Covent Garden through my iPhone Lens....

A day after my final exam, I met up with Gaya and went to London for some much needed catch-up and breather. We started off with lunch at Busaba Eatthai and then headed over to Covent Garden for a wander round. I took these pictures with my iPhone and I thought to share it with ya'll. Enjoy exploring Covent Garden vicariously through me. This was on a random Thursday afternoon BTW.

KPop Academy Week 11 Assignment: M/V Parody of I Almost Had it by Jang Kiha and the Faces.

After last week's class on Variations of Korean Music we were shown a music video by the Korean Band Jang Kiha and the Faces. Most of us had never heard of them before then but by the end of the video below we couldn't stop talking about it.  Check it out below

 

KPop Academy Week 11: Korean Art at the British Museum

This was our last class for KPop Academy. I cannot believe that it has come to an end. It feels like yesterday when I told you guys about my first day at the academy. I'll save all the sappy for my post after graduation. P.S This is so it doesn't really feel like the end :(

So for the last class we went on a field trip to The British Museum to Check out the Korean Exhibition.

KPop Academy Week 10: Varieties of Korean Music Today

This week at KPop Academy we looked at the evolution of Korean music through the history. The lecture was given by Professor Keith Howard. 

The lecture started off with a brief history of Korean Music and its influences during the three kingdom era. Then he went on to tell us about the cultural exchanges of The Silk roads which is a series of cultural and trade routes that were central to interaction between Asian countries during different periods of history. This enabled not just trade but also exchange of ideas and culture such as religion, art and music. 

The Silk roads: Central Asia ⇉ China ⇉ Korea ⇉ Japan.

Korean music is known to have instruments as a central aspect to it. Over the years some musical instruments have become extinct but some old instruments can still be found today, an example is the string instrument Gayageum which is arguably the best Korean musical instrument.

Nights like this...

Writing, you might not be my first love nor will you be my last love
but I am assured that you will be my eternal love....

It is nights like this I love,
when my heart shines like the
brightest moon on a dark summery night.
I get flutters just at the thought
of the possibilities that lies ahead of me.

My fingers itch for the familiar dance it does
tapping along the lines of my worn out keyboard,
working in tune with my heart and mind,
which eagerly awaits to share its tales
just like a kid showing his favourite toy.

It is nights like this I love,
when the silent night wraps its hands around me 
soothing me with tunes of serenity,
like the chipper of the crickets just outside my window
or the distant snores of my brother's slumber.

It is nights like this I love and wish for,
when my heart is weightless and free.
My own special kind of wonderland
away from all the adversity.
With nights like this, I dread sunrise
But alas it comes knocking every single time.

Kpop Academy Week 10 Assignment: KPop & Gugak (Traditional Music)

Following our class last week on Traditional Korean Music,this week's assignment was all based on that. I have been busy with my finals and so I didn't get much free time for the assignments. I finally got a breather today and chose the option below for my assignment.

Create a piece of work that compares modern K-Pop with traditional Korean music, and represents your thoughts and feelings about both genres. You could find examples of K-Pop songs that use traditional instruments to help with your project. You can present your work in any form you like, for example drawings, a video or a collage.

I made the collage below to  show the similarities and differences between mainstream music known as K-Pop and the Traditional Korean music known as Gugak.