Huh? K.B.R.? What in the hecky heck is that? It is in all fairness our lack of creativity for a new name for our newest segment. K.orean B.eauty R.eview.

We all know that Korean beauty products have skyrocketed to popularity in the last few years. From face masks to make-up trends, Korea is currently queen of the beauty scene.

We know that ever since we started watching K-dramas and K-pop music videos one of the things we say the most (apart from “TAKE YOUR SHIRT OFF” and “KISS ALREADY”) is, “Their skin is flawless.”

And so, we began to dive into the insane realm of Korean Beauty. We do mean insane. Some of the people profess a fifteen-step plan to keep their skin bright, tight, and blemish free. While we admire the people who take the time to maintain their skin in such measures we have found, at least for us, long processes are not necessarily the best. Sometimes it’s one simple step that can help change your routine and help your skin flourish and glow.

In this new area of our blog we want to share the products we have found work best for us and why. We hope you’ll enjoy and maybe find something that works for you as well! And if you have something you’re afraid to buy, send it our way and we will try what we can!

Friday couldn’t have come sooner this week. We needed a mental vacation from everything in the world that is transpiring. The fact this series is almost over hurts! It has been such a breakthrough for Korean Dramas and we hope to see many more in the future. (We hope they adapt some of those 만화’s we love so much!) Our review of 5 and 6 is going to happen…NOW!

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO RUIN THE PLOT BEFORE WATCHING DO NOT READ!

5화- 또 다른 시선 (Ddo daroon sheeseon- another kind of gaze)

 Well butter us up and call us a turkey because this is the episode we needed! 내 주 feels guilty for just dipping on 강 국 after he caused 강 국’s date to kind of get ruined. When they arrive home 내 주 sort of confronts the feelings he is having. We say sort of because he eggs 강 국 on to explain why 내 주 acted the way he did. YOU DON’T NEED AN EXPLANATION! You know exactly why you did what you did. It’s this little old feeling called jealousy.

As they fall asleep 내 주 asks 강 국 to hug him like his mother used to, which 강 국 denies initially due to hide his very clear feelings. But 내 주 explains he is sad, and like a good not yet boyfriend, 강 국 gives in and wraps내 주 in his arms. Let us tell you that snuggle looked so comfortable and filled with care that our hearts melted.

Now here is where the episode started seasoning and basting us to get ready for the deep fryer. During their gym class they start to play this game we have seen a lot in high school k-dramas. We don’t the exact name for it (if you do please let us know), but it is very similar to dodgeball here in the US. You throw a ball to get people out, but there are some who keep a person our of harms way. In the usual k-drama trope, it’s a man keeping the girl he likes safe. But since this is a BL Korean drama, we got not only a female getting defended by 강 국, but also out lovely little rich boy 내주 as well.

Too bad 강 국 decides he is going to block the girl from getting hit by the ball and내 주 gets nailed in the head. He is not happy about this and after the gym class is over he looks for solace in a quiet little grassy area of their schools campus. 강 국 finds him to give him a water bottle, but 내 주 has other plans.

And this moment, our dear dear friends, is when we were dropped in the hot vat of oil that over flowed and caused a catastrophic fire. 내 주 wrestles 강 국, pins him down, and stares at him with a very lustful gaze. 강 국 asks if he really wants to ‘do it’ there. To which our boy responds ‘do what exactly?’

We can’t tell if강 국 tries to play dumb for his own sanity or for 내 주’s safety, but either way내 주is not having it and complains about how much he hates 강 국 playing dumb since he believes they are the same. (aka: gay) AND THEN… THIS. BOY. SAYS. ‘Let’s prove it.’

If we thought our souls left our bodies in the previous four episodes, we don’t even know what we would call what happened to us as 내 주 leans down to kiss 강 국. Because trying to contain squeals of joy was impossible. But it was followed up by screams of total heartbreak as the episode ended. Luckily, next episode was prepared to harm us even more.  

OUR FAV SCENE: That end scene where내 주 looks to have finally come to terms with his feelings for 강 국 and plans to show him just how much he cares about him. We have been on the 강 국 side of this lovers growth, but in this moment we took a step back and dug the initiative내 주 took. In fact he gave us more ‘top’ vibes than 강 국, who we’ve been assuming would be ‘top.’

Our cutest scene: The cuddle scene. While it was sad, because we felt like 내 주 uses 강 국 as a weird motherly kind of caretaker, the fact is that 강 국 does care, and wants nothing more than to see내 주 safe and taken care of. Seriously when he wraps 내 주 in his arms, we wrapped ourselves up in blankets to try and feel the same type of comfort.

Our least fav scene: Another episode we can’t say there was a scene we didn’t like. This had a lot of character growth and realizations that we were here for. So nothing. Nothing was ‘meh’ about this episode.

6화 – 15년 우정의 마침표 (shibo(15)nyon ujonge machimpyo- the end of a 15 year friendship)

The title of the episode suggests that it could go one of two ways. Positively, meaning that they both accept their feelings, kiss, and live a lovely love filled lovey love. (Yes, we meant to use all those love words.) Or negatively, meaning one confesses and the other pushes them away.

Since this is a BL Korean drama…you can probably assume which way this is going to go. But let’s begin at the start shall we?

Our fav bully buddy makes his appearance looking for his two new besties. And he finds them…oh yes he does. With 내 주 on top of 강 국 going in for a kiss. Walking away, our bully buddy sees the meh girl who is walking in the direction of the two kissing friends. He stops her and they actually have a very witty and endearing conversation. We have a sneaking suspicion that these two could potentially hook up by the end of this series. And we totally ship it. Ugh girl has actually weirdly grown on us. She is really socially awkward but means well. Even if she tried to break up our boys. (By the end of this episode though, she shockingly redeems herself.)

While all that is happening 강 국 pushes내 주 off of him and says that they should get back to class. They walk past ugh girl and bully buddy as if totally unaware of the two.

And then our spirit animal returns. Ugh girl’s mom. And this is when we start to see ugh girl realize that maybe her mom might’ve been right about 강 국 and 내 주’s relationship.

Now this is where sh*t hits the fan and this k-drama hits one of the dramatic romantic k-drama peaks! As 강 국  and 내 주 finish up their massive sparring session (probably to relieve their sexual tension when in actuality just making the tension even stronger) 내 주 drops a bomb to end all bombs.

THIS.MAN.CONFESSES.HIS.LOVE. And not just a simple, “I like you.” NO! This man says how he hated seeing 강 국 with ugh girl, how he wants to spend all day every day with him, how he wants to hug him whenever he is with him, and how he whines whenever he is far away. This man professes like a man should!

And our boy…this mother f*cker…강 국 do you know what he does? He doesn’t shoot the boy down. He fires a damn torpedo at this boys heart and pisses on the ashes. He not only claims that 내 주 is confessing because he thinks 강 국 can fill the void of his mother, he tells him that내 주 can’t live without 강 국, but 강 국 can live without 내 주.

The biggest of BRUH’s fell from our mouths. Sir?!?! What is you doing?!

내 주 is a don’t f*ck with me type of guy and so he tells 강 국 to go and tell his boss (aka: 내 주’s father) that and how unbearable life is with his son and how much he hates working for him. He then explains that he never wants to see him again and that he should just get lost.

 강 국 leaves the gym and meets up with ugh girl. And this is where she sort of redeems herself. She makes him a little knitted doll as he apologizes for ignoring her that morning, she explains that it was ok. BUT THEN, this boy is about to confess that he likes 내 주 and she stops him saying that she guessed her mother was right. On top of that she says that she could tell that when he looked at her, he was really looking for someone else. (Brava girl. Brava.)

The episode ends with 강 국 heading back to his shared apartment to find the place looks to have been ransacked and destroyed and내 주 is no where to be seen.

OUR FAV SCENE: 내 주 confessing his feelings for 강 국 was very heartfelt and genuine. Their chemistry really is captivating.

Our cutest scene: Bully buddy hitting on ugh girl was funny and was a great comedic break before the sh*t hit the fan the rest of the episode.

Our least fav scene: 강 국 shooting down 내 주’s confession. Of course we kinda get why he did it. Like he was keeping his feelings hidden so he could stay with 내 주 as his bodyguard. But like he dug out that poor boys heart and threw it into the ocean. It hurt.

If you want to watch the show yourself and see everything we talked about and more, the show is airing on Viki. Check it out. So far we have not been disappointed and neither will you. If you want to chat about the show feel free to reach out to us on Instagram (@koreanfromcontext) or Twitter (@koreanfrmcntxt). We would love to hear if you’ve started the show and what you think!

It’s Friday again! That means another two episodes of 너의 시선이 머무는 곳에 (Where Your Eyes Linger) Why must these episodes be so short?! WHY?! We could watch this show for hours and in total with only four episodes being out, the show only totals about an hour. WE NEED MORE! But for now, we are going to talk about the latest two episodes. 시작 (shijak – let’s go)

No screenshots this episode. Apparently Viki has blocked all forms of screenshots. We get video but legit pictures to add to articles is kinda silly. But ok. Sorry this one won’t be filled with sexy boy goodness. 🙁

WARNING!! SPOILERS ARE HAPPENING FROM HERE ON OUT. DON’T SAY WE DIDN’T WARN YOU!

3화 – 도망치고 십은 순간 (dumangchigo shiboon seongan – ten minutes of one’s peace/escape)

This episode starts off where the second one left. The shower scene. BLESS! Otherwise we would’ve passed out. It continued to be a sweet moment between the two. With 강 국 washing 내 주’s hair, 내 주 repeatedly says it tickles, as well as trying to get 강 국 to wash up with him, he drops a sad bomb of how his hair being washed reminds him of his mother.

They then discuss the fact 강 국 now has a date with that annoying girl. Whether he’s doing it to make 내 주 happy, or to try and hide his feelings, we’re not sure, either way we don’t like the idea of him even looking at a female. (In the show, however in real life, if we weren’t all happily married, Eui Soo call us) 내 주 realizes that 강 국 has never been on a date before and chooses to be his ‘study partner’.  (a cliché we tend to love in Korean 만화 that now came to life in a K-drama)

As내 주 acts all cutesy and adorable to see how 강 국 reacts in the situation, 강 국 confused at first, realizes what his friend is trying to do, and gives the sexist little laugh/smirk that had us in a pool on the floor. 내 주 decides 강 국 needs more coaching and they bring in the bully, who has now become the comedic relief of the show. He is cute and funny and plays well off the other two main characters. We support.

내 주 brings up, along with never dating a girl, 강 국 has never kissed a girl. And then he does his ‘bad habit’ asking if 강 국’s heart fluttered. 강 국 doesn’t take that shiz lightly and as he pulls 내 주 towards him, he begs for him to stop torturing him and playing with his feelings.

What a way to end the episode. We desperately wanted their faces to smash against each other in what 내 주 called an 앵그리 키스 (aenguree kissu- angry kiss).

OUR FAV SCENE: The almost kiss scene was just so filled with tension we were bopping up and down wanting so much more. Their chemistry really does fill the screen and our bodies.

Our cutest scene: The breakfast scene. A hot man making breakfast, for another hot man. The flirting, while fake, still made us giggle as we watched 강 국 give that smirk. Yes, we are still not over that smirk.    

Our least fav scene: Shockingly, we didn’t have a scene we didn’t like in this episode. (That chick wasn’t in the episode. Lol.) We weren’t a fan of seeing 내 주 kiss a girl and having our poor boy 강 국 watch, but it made for the plot and explanation of an 앵그리 키스 .

4화 – 그림자에게 생긴 자아 – “gureemjaaygay saengginjaa- the ego of a shadow)

And this is where things started to get interesting. The first three episodes where all narrated by 강 국, but this episode changed the game and we heard내 주’s thoughts and feelings. And being from his side we see more of his feelings for 강 국, which we have to admit confuse us. We aren’t totally sure of his feeling for 강 국. While 내 주, flirts and says things that would make anyone think he was trying to make his intentions known, seeing it from his side, we genuinely can say we don’t know if his feelings are genuine or not.

While 내 주 goes to his tutoring session, 강 국 waits patiently to go on his date. What bothers us is when 내 주 says ‘Go. It’s not like I’m going to get stabbed.” To us that seems like an odd thing to say and we have a very bad feeling about that statement for future episodes.

강 국 goes on the date with the blegh girl, and we shockingly liked her this episode. Well more than previously, still not our fav person on the show. But she cracked some jokes that made our 강 국 laugh so we approve. As they’re enjoying their date, 내 주 shows up out of the blue and even she questions what their relationship is. 강 국 explains that they have a master/servant relationship. Which내 주 hears and doesn’t like the sound of.

After the date, 강 국 and 내 주 meet up to get their ride home. 강 국 notices 내 주 doesn’t have his cast on his arm to which 내 주 states nonchalantly that it was fake. 내 주 climbs in the car telling 강 국 he should walk home since their relationship is only a master/servant relationship. What a petty man. We love it.

It ends with his inner thought explaining that his shadow (강 국) shouldn’t have a mind of it’s own. And that made us quake. And then boom. Episode over and we cried wanting more.

OUR FAV SCENE: The fav scene of this episode didn’t have either lead in it, but the bully turned bestie. Him and his crew occupy the leads’ secret spot in the school and are hanging out and are talking about why the lead bully is now close with 강 국 and 내 주. His response? Well he’s handsome. AMAZING! Even he can’t deny the attractiveness.

Our cutest scene: Can’t believe we’re going to say this but 강 국’s date was actually really cute. He was so cutely awkward we wanted to jump in and help him. But he seemed to be able to carry himself and actually ended up having a cute date.

Our least fav scene: We didn’t like hearing 내 주 call 강 국 his shadow. We understand why he said it, as 강 국 follows 내 주 around, but we don’t like the way he said it. It concerns us as to what he’s playing at. Like has he been playing with 강 국 this whole time or does he really care.  

If you want to watch the show yourself and see everything we talked about and more, the show is airing on Viki. Check it out. So far we have not been disappointed and neither will you. If you want to chat about the show feel free to reach out to us on Instagram (@koreanfromcontext) or Twitter (@koreanfrmcntxt). We would love to hear if you’ve started the show and what you think!

너의 시선이 머무는 곳에 epi 1-2 review

We’ve been dying for this show to come out ever since @blworld1 on Instagram shared it on their story. A Korean BL drama?!?! Like HELLLLOOOOO, we knew we were ready for our two worlds to collide. And now it is finally here so we are going to give our thoughts every week about the two episodes airing that week.

We couldn’t even wait until it was fully subtitled that’s how excited we were! We also found this was a great way for us to practice the skills we learn and try and teach here on the site. We re-watched with subtitles a little while later to confirm what we believed to be said and we were pleasantly surprised that we were able to grasp close to 75-80% of the show. Now let’s get into the good stuff.

WARNING: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT! If you don’t want to know before you watch then pause on reading, watch, and then come back to us so we can have a full-on discussion.

1화 (huwa-chapter/episode):  안 좋은 버릇  (an jueun boreut – bad habits)

The first episode had similarities to most shows. Characters were introduced, their roles to the story identified, and what we need to know for us to proceed with the rest of the show was learned. We understood from the trailers that the relationship between 한 내 주 (they call him Han TAE Joo in the romanization but his name tag read내 주) is a wealthy heir to a large company while 강 국 (Kang Gook) is his not so well off bodyguard. What we didn’t know from the trailer was that 내 주 is supposed to keep his identity unknown to the world and 강 국 is there to protect not only the secret but also 내 주.

That doesn’t go so well as in the first two minutes of the show 내 주 get’s into a fight because he keeps stealing this other dude’s girlfriends and then brags to the bully that he is the son of the president of the super big company. To be fair, if three of your girlfriends are seeking comfort somewhere else…take a look at yourself bruh.

As the episode proceeds, we find that 내 주’s father is, to put it bluntly, a dick. Like all rich parents in K-dramas are. He takes out his anger on 강 국 instead of his own son, hinting about ‘a habit’ his son has. Now this bit confused us. What habit is he talking about? Fighting? Girls? Or, does his father assume and/or know his son is gay?

To us 내 주 doesn’t seem to know he’s gay, or at least plays a very naive boy who is unsure where his feelings lie. Like he calls 강 국 “자기야” (jagiya- honey/darling). 강 국 on the other hand seems to wear his sexually frustrated feelings on his sleeve however much he tries to push his feelings aside.

For real if 강 국looked at us the way he looks at 내 주, nsfw things would have already been happening. It is evident from the second he comes on the screen that his feelings for 내 주 are not simply bodyguard and friend.

As 강 국 gives 내 주 first aid in their shared apartment (the rich father put them in a small, ‘average’ liveable space to keep up the mediocre appearance to the rest of the world) they start to rough house making quips and jokes about each other and their fighting techniques. And then that sexual tension that 강 국 so easily portrays comes to hit us head on when 내 주 plays with his earlobe. Rendering 강 국 useless and also hella turned on.

At the end of the episode, the bully who clearly has girl issues comes to apologize and 내 주 chooses to befriend the kid joking it will make it easier to not steal his girlfriends. But then he goes to grab the boys earlobe and 강 국 is not having it.

OUR FAV SCENE: When they go to grab a bite to eat and the woman who owns the shop asked if 강 국 is the attacker and 내 주 is the defense. (Essentially seme/uke top/bottom) Basically this woman is us in 20-30 years and that’s why we loved this scene.

Our cutest scene: When 강 국is taking care of 내 주 and내 주 gets all adorable saying he doesn’t want to go to England (which his father threatened him with) and starts rubbing himself on 강 국 like a little puppy. The actor does give us puppy dog vibes to begin with, so this just solidified his little doggy look.

Our least fav scene: We know this sounds messed up, but any scene with the girl, who we can tell is going to be the strain in the boys’ relationship, is just not for us. She just rubs us the wrong way. I mean she walks into her first scene a legit sneezes loudly not covering her mouth or anything. We outright cringed. Like hello, pandemic? And for real…it’s just basic manners and hygiene. #sorrynotsorry

2 화 : 동등한 관계 (dungdoonghan gwangae – equal partnership/relationship)

Now here is where the story starts to get interesting. And by interesting we do mean the plot thickens, but we also mean the tension builds even more between 강 국 and 내 주. After the incident with 내 주 grabbing the bully’s ear and 강 국 not having it, our two lead boys decide to have a sparring match to prove who really is the better fighter. And now all the fun juicy stuff our ‘hard stan’ BL hearts love takes front stage. 강 국 takes off his shirt to reveal a very sexy back (yeah no abs, we were a crushed but don’t worry we’re on the mend) and 내 주 even compliments his handsome frame. Who wouldn’t?! Boy has a nice backside.

We come to find our that내 주 gave that annoying girl, who honestly we don’t even know if we got her name or not…we don’t care, 강 국’s real phone number! UGH! The nerve of him. 강 국 is not impressed and doesn’t get why 내 주 had to step in and make that move for him. As they begin to spar, (this is where our hearts started to mend) we were trying to hold back our squeals at their heavy breathing, groans, and moans. It was a struggle. And not to mention they seemed to actually have some solid moves.

강 국’s phone keeps blowing up, (GIRL can you get the freakin picture?! He isn’t interested) and while distracted내 주 starts touching 강 국’s bare chest. *Cue the hallelujah chorus on this one* But to cover up the fact he was most likely enjoying the touch, 강 국 puts the hand in a back bend that ends up injuring our rich boy lead’s wrist.

Oh what a shame. NOT! Now our lovely 내 주 needs help doing the most basic of things. “Like what?” you maybe asking yourself. Oh…ya know…cooking…cleaning…showering.

Our bodies hit the floor, our souls were sent to outer space, and then the episode ended, our souls sky rocket back into our bodies, which sat up from the floor and proceed to punch our TV screens for doing us dirty like that.

OUR FAV SCENE: The sparring scene. Do we really need to explain ourselves? Pretty sure we did above.

Our cutest scene: The shower scene. It isn’t a sexual scene at all, like one might think from us freaking out over it. The way 강 국 takes care of 내 주 is sweet. The way he tenderly moves the shampooed hair from 내 주’s ears and softly scrubs at the boys scalp… let’s say our hearts pitter pattered. It was such a soft and gentle moment.

Our least favorite scene: Once again, any scene with this girl just…ugh. Her mother, who is our spirit animal, says to not interfere with the boys relationship. SHE CAN TELL THEY HAVE A RELATIONSHIP, and yet her daughter is like, “nah, they aren’t like that. I’m gonna pursue this dude who gave me a fake number, totally on accident, because he def likes me.” Beesh BYE!

If you want to watch the show yourself and see everything we talked about and more, the show is airing on Viki. Check it out. So far we have not been disappointed and neither will you. If you want to chat about the show feel free to reach out to us on Instagram (@koreanfromcontext) or Twitter (@koreanfrmcntxt). We would love to hear if you’ve started the show and what you think!

With every concert for the foreseeable future getting postponed or even cancelled, a lot of fans are feeling the NCD (No Concert Depression) sinking in. And when K-con announced its cancellation of the NYC event, all hope was lost our in eyes here at Korean From Context. Not only just for seeing an unforgettable concert, but seeing our concert buddies, shopping the cool booths, and enjoying k-town with friends who are new to the NYC scene.

But KCON wouldn’t let a cancellation and social distancing stop them from providing fans some sort of concert experience. Pulling inspiration from groups like BTS, NCT, and others, who have been having viral concerts or even just all day binge-thons of their previously filmed tours, KCON came up with a way to take that idea and turn it into something more interactive.

KCON-TACT 2020 SUMMER is going to be a 7-day 24 hour event. Not only will they be streaming past KCON concerts, they will also be sharing new live performances from some of our favorite artists (TBA), behind the scenes videos, meet and greet sessions, influencer led panels, and so much more!

And what makes this event more worthwhile is the fact that a portion of the proceeds will be going to UNESCO’s Learning Never Stops campaign which is helping students around the world continue their education during these COVID times.

Mark your calendars for June 20-26^th and get ready to scream “LET’S KCON” from the comfort of your own home.

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BREAKING NEWS! [KCON:TACT 2020 SUMMER] We're taking #KCON online, JUNE 20-26! Get the ultimate KCON experience at home with #KCONTACT , 24/7–all day, every day LET'S KCON 24/7! KCON:TACT 2020 SUMMER 20-26 JUNE, 2020 Only on ▶ Mnet-Kpop YouTube (www.youtube.com/Mnet) #KCON2020 #KCON247 #LetsKCON247 #MnetKpopYouTube

A post shared by KCON (@kconusa) on May 13, 2020 at 4:30pm PDT

While there have been some Korean BL movies, and there have been a TON of BL 만화, we’ve been dying to see a solid Korean BL series. Sure, there have been some dramas that have tossed a gay couple here or there into the plot line (The Lovers, Love With Flaws, Reply 1997) and we are talking tops one or two K-dramas that were specifically focusing of BL romances. Sadly, most of the major Korean BL stories don’t have happy endings.

But guess what? We finally have it. Yes, we finally have a Korean BL drama coming to our computer screens May 22, and with names we know and are excited to see on screen.

너의시 선이 머무는 곳에 (noweeshee sonee momoonoon gusae – Where your eyes linger) is the story of Tae Joo (played by Han Gi Chan), a young heir to his family’s company, and his body guard Goo Koo (played by Jang Eui Soo), who, while protecting Tae Joo, also becomes his friend and confidant. But that friendship becomes something more. While Goo Koo seems to be more aware of his feelings, they both seem scared to admit what the tension between them really is.

When we heard a Korean BL was coming we knew we were going to be excited. But when we heard a contestant of Produce 101 was going to be one of the leads we knew we had to watch. Now all we can pray for is that this has a happy ending.

We are hoping to cover this drama as it progresses but since it isnt’t released just yet, here are the two trailers they have dropped. This will be available on VIKI May 22^nd.

I was considering never writing this article. It isn’t so much an article as it is a story time.  

The reason I had no intention of writing this was mainly because I knew it would be hard for me to begin and while this is a place for happy fun times, I feel I can open up to you guys on slightly more personal things happening in my life. I mean I shared my wedding photos with you so…big life events, happy or sad, I feel can be told. And since we are in a time where a lot of people are facing hardships much worse than anything I could imagine, I decided to finally share this journey.  

This story time popped back into my mind a couple of weeks ago. It was Osiris’s birthday. The first birthday she isn’t here to celebrate. Osiris is my kitty (고양이- goyangee- cat). Or, I should say, was my kitty. I remember the day I got her like it was yesterday…

We drove two hours to a shelter that only had ONE female kitten available for adoption.

My mom very agitated from the drive said, “This kitten better be the one.”

We were escorted into a room full of cats of all ages, shapes, and sizes. The woman pointed at a timid black fluff ball in the corner. The name was Teri at the time. I called her name and her head popped up. Big bright yellow eyes looked around, frightened. The woman handed me a treat to get her to come but she was nervous and didn’t move from her corner. A bunch of the other cats started coming up to me for the treat but it was for Teri. Me being a kid, who didn’t really get how animals handled people walking up to them, walked up to her and sat on the ground in front of her. She didn’t run away. She just stared at me and I at her. I reached my hand out and pet her head. She didn’t swat, or hiss. She closed her eyes and let me continue petting her.

The woman left the room leaving me with my mom and little Teri. I continued to pet her and when she still had no objections I stood up to grab some toys to try and get her to play with me. When I turned back around I saw she had jumped up on the counter to follow me. I laughed as anywhere I moved, she moved.

My mom left the room almost instantly to sign the papers. As I walked to the door to follow, Teri meowed. I turned back telling her I would be back. When I did come back, she was sat by the door waiting. I took her home and called her Osiris.

Why am I telling you all of this? What is the point? You’re probably thinking, “I thought this was an article about a tattoo artist?”

Well because Osiris, my little baby kitty, after 16 years of being by my side, sadly got terminally ill and I had to put her down. Going to the vet and finding out she only had a few months to live was probably the worst day of my life. I decided to make her last months the best I could. But I also knew my life wouldn’t be the same once she was gone. I still sometimes think I see her coming down the stairs to greet me or feel her climbing onto the bed and curling up next to me.

I wanted to do something to remember her. To keep her at my side always.

I had been contemplating a new tattoo for a while, and when I found out about Osiris, I knew exactly what I wanted and I knew exactly who I wanted to do it.

Jay Shin of Bang Bang Tattoo.

I had been following Jay for a year or so on Instagram because I fell in love with his fine line work. He is a Korean American tattoo artist and what impressed me the most about his work was how talented he is at animal portraits.

I was sold on him. A day or two after Osiris passed, I emailed the company. I anxiously awaited a reply and when I got one, I was surprised to see I had to have Jay approve working with me. Luckily, he did.

Then I had to wait. Two whole months. Man is in high demand. Lol. And three days after Christmas, my husband and I ventured into NYC (I work in the city, my husband hates going in (he hates crowded places), but I convinced him with food. Lol) to get my Osiris memorial.

On the way there we actually ran into Ted Park shooting a music video and I def fangirled a bit, meanwhile my husband rolled his eyes asking if we could get a move on. We did. And we arrived at a building you wouldn’t even suspect held an amazingly gorgeous monochromatic, multi-level, tattoo studio inside.

We checked in and waited patiently. Jay Shin walked over to us and I tried to keep my wits about me but then he spoke and I literally couldn’t form words. He walked us down to this luxurious waiting room where he sat next to me to explain his idea for the tattoo.

To be totally honest I was terrified. He had only drawn a rough sketch of her shaping and I wasn’t totally sold, but I trusted him. I had seen his work and Bang Bang doesn’t eff around when it comes to the talent of their artists. So I agreed to the design. He walked away saying he would be adding some final touches and then would be ready.

I laid down on what looked like a massage table, in the oddest position (of course I chose a weird angle to get my tattoo) and he placed the template making sure I was ok with the location, which I gave him the go ahead on and we were off!

I have gotten tattoos before and while there was a slight sting, they were never extremely painful. With fine line it was even less pain. In fact, it felt like he was drawing on me with a ball point pen. No pain whatsoever.

And in the four hours we spent together we talked. We talked about how long he had been a tattoo artist (close to seven years), about how my next tattoo was going to be in hangul (천천히 – chonchonhee – slowly) and why I liked the phrase (it ended up being one of his favorite things to say to his adorable daughter whom he face timed with during one of our breaks), and about travelling to Korea in general. We talked about why I was getting my tattoo and he offered his condolences. He was so sweet, and calm, that he kept me calm as my nerves continued to run rampant waiting to see the final product.

When I heard him say he was finished, I slowly sat up, my hip feeling like that of a ninety-year-old lady, and hobbled a bit to the mirror to see the final product.

• 

• 

I knew it would be emotional. I knew seeing my pretty little baby looking at me again would have me choke up. But the tears that started streaming down my face like a damn waterfall was not what I was expecting. I don’t think he was either. If anything, I think he might’ve been worried he did a bad job. My husband had to explain that I was happy, and it looked amazing. To me, it was like Jay Shin had brought her back to life for a second.

He took several pictures of the tattoo, and then air dropped it to me so I could have as well. We talked for a little while longer but he had another client coming in so we had to leave. I couldn’t stop bowing and thanking him for the amazing work he did. As we walked out I thought about the amazing experience I had with an amazing artist that I hope to one day see again and when we got home that night, I swear I felt Osiris climb on me as I slept telling me she approved.

K-pop is part of our every day lives. Whether we are listening to it, tweeting about it, spending all our money on it, and when coronavirus isn’t a thing, going to concerts for it. Any way you look at it, K-pop is essential. Since we’ve been spending a lot of time in front of our computers lately working on our Sims K-drama, STAY WITH ME (나랑 같이있어), we’ve been realizing we need music to keep us vibin’ with what we are working on. Just like with any project we work on really. Music helps us get the creative juices flowing. And since the website was created to share our love of all things Korean (and lately we have been focusing on other things like BL dramas…which #sorrynotsorry) we thought we would share our current most listened to K-pop songs. Not all of these are new, or the groups most recent songs, but these are the songs that currently keep us in the zone. And these songs are subject to change as new music is constantly coming out and making us feel some type of way.

10. HOTSHOT – Jelly

When we went to grab the link for this song, we saw it came out in 2017! And we remember like it came out yesterday. Even so, this song’s melody is catchy and will make you scream, “Baby please don’t go” at the top of your lungs. The music video is also very enjoyable. *cough* shirtless Ho Jung and Timoteo rolling his hips *cough* “뜨겁게 번져가고/ 숨이 점점 가빠지면/ 돌이킬 수 없는 Paradise – tteugeopge beonjyeogago/sumi jeomjeom gappajimyeon/dorigil su eomneun Paradise – It spreads hotly/My breath gradually catches/This irrevocable, paradise

9. THE BOYZ -Salty

Salty. One of our favorite words for god knows how long. Sammie professes the song was named for her. However, the lyrics hold a lot more sexuality than the song title leads one to believe. “몇 번이고 원할 게- myeoch(but the ch kinda sounds more like a t) boneego wonhal gae – I’m wanting it again, several times…”

8. WINNER – Ah Yeah

As our fav editor Aleda said, “Cutest break up song ever.” She isn’t lying. Most breakup songs are sad, or angry. This one is the song version of the girl/boy shrugging emoji. “네가 알던 착한 바본 여기 없어 – nega aldeon chakhan babon yeogi eopseo – The nice fool you once knew is no longer here”

7. CLC – HOBGOBLIN

This is the only girl group(GG) we stan. Religiously. Sure, we listen to a GG song here and there, but CLC constantly comes out with hard bops for strong independent women who don’t need no man. This is the song that got us hooked on them. Sorn quickly became our fav and we came to find out she’s Thai…maybe she’s what kicked off our Thai obsession. Like look at this hot girl confidence. “너도 날 원하잖아 – neodo nal wonhajanha- You want me too”  

6. MCND – ICE AGE

The beginning of this song always gets us ready for it to go in. It starts with a Castle J making a simple statement and then it grows into a chant with a hard backbeat. This is one of those songs that’s makes you want to punch the air and run up the Philadelphia Museum of Arts stairs. (Yes that’s a very old reference. WE’RE OLD!) “우린 앗 차가워!/Come into ice age – urin at chagawo! -we are cold/ come into ice age”

5. VeriVery- Lay Back

This song is sexy. That’s just facts. The sensual breathy voices that build into the deliciously erotic whispered “Lay Back” to start the chorus make that sexy vibe hit a peak. And their dancing really kicks it up a notch. “겁내지 말고 please take off/Go love 더 보여 줘 봐 – geopnaeji malgo please take off/Go Love deo boyeo jwo bwa – Don’t be afraid please take off/Go love, show me more)

4. JINU – 또또또 (Feat.MINO)

From the group that brought you the upbeat song about break ups, comes solo artist Jinu and his upbeat song about desperately trying to get this chick to simply text him. Yes, Jinu of WINNER produced a solo song that is literally a poor boy who wants someone to notice him and respond to his texts. But in a cheerful way. “ㅎㅎ은 너무 꼰대 같은 느낌이고/ㅋ은 가벼워 보여 결국 ㅎㅎ/으로 급히 보냈는데 오타 (Oh no)/뭐 해? 바쁘구나 – hieut hieuteun neomu kkondae gateun neukkimigo/kieukeun gabyeowo boyeo gyeolguk hieut hieut/euro geubhi bonaetneunde ota (Oh no)/mwo hae? Bappeuguna -“haha” seems too old/“ha” keeps too light so in the end I said “haha”/But I sent a typo (oh no)/What’re you doing? I guess you’re busy”

3. IMFACT – Tension Up!

If you’re looking for a song to get amped by, this is that song. We use this in every single work out mix we make. It has a great build and the chorus just gets you jumping and dancing and moving in general. It’s also a solid party track to get wasted, dance, and sing drunkenly to (If you are over the age of 21 in the US or are legally allowed to drink where you live. Please drink responsibly.)  “뭐든 뭔들 눈치 보는 사치- mwodeun mwondeul nunchi boneun sachi – whatever happens being cautious is a waste.”

2. 1Team – Make This

After seeing this song performed live, we have a whole new appreciation for it. The beat? Sick. The dancing? Solid. The vocals? Unparalleled. Song in total? Sexy AF. “수천 번씩 또 되감아/Drama 같은 느끼한 건 아냐 /어설피 널 쳐다보는 시선 yo I just – Sucheon beonssik tto doegama/ drama gateun neukkihan geon anya/ eoseolpi neol chyeodaboneun siseon yo I just – I rewind it a thousand times and it didn’t feel like a drama. I’m just looking at you.”

1. ATEEZ – WONDERLAND

This song goes HARD. The whole damn song. The beat is like a militaristic uprising and we are ready to march behind ATEEZ into any battle. The dance break with Mingi in the forefront…don’t even get us started. “터져버려도/상관없어 난/지금 이곳은/끝의 시작 – teojyeobeoryeodo/ sanggwaneopseo nan/ jigeum igoseun/ kkeute shijak – even if I explode/ I don’t care/ this place right here/ is the beginning of the end”

So there you have it. Our top 10 current playlist. If you want to know more about any of these songs or the bands themselves feel free to reach out to us on insatagram (@koreanfromcontext) or twitter (@koreanfrmcntxt)

Since we have found a ton more people who are BL lovers like us, and have already made several lists, we wondered how else we would talk about our BL obsession. That’s when we realized besides re-watching the dramas for the millionth time, we also scour the internet for edits of our favorite couples. Whether cute, sexy, romantic, heartbreaking, or dark, we are fascinated by the creativity of fans who want to show their admiration for something they love. And it keeps us fan who are way less talented (we are speaking only of us, we don’t know many of you personally) well fed until we can get our hands on a new episode, or new drama all together. There are hundreds of thousands of edit instagrammers and youtubers out there, but these are the five we have decided we can’t live without. Enjoy.

5. LBL_OG (Youtube)

There are so many new editors out there and while we can complain A LOT about Youtube and their BS algorithms, we will say whatever algorithm is working to create the autoplay of all these BL FMV’s (fan made videos)  is helping us thrive. And also find amazing new people to follow like this angel right here. The thing we love about the editors we have chosen is the fact they can create so many edits that bring so many different emotions with their videos. And LBL_OG has created that. One of our absolute favorites from them is with TharnType, and a mix of Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy,” playing behind Type being his anti-gay self but then they flip the damn switch and Tharn becomes the bad boy who seduces the guy who hates gays. We were screaming and kicking like the fangirls we are. That’s how you know an edit is good. When you fangirl over edits of scenes you know and love that are now being brought to you in a fun and new way.

4. 0062s (Instagram)

We found this editor via another editor on this list and we get why they like them so much, because we now love them enough to put them on our list. As of right now they have only edited two shows, SOTUS and Why R U?, but they are such solid edits that we can’t wait for them to make even more edits. Remember how we said that edits can make you feel something totally different for the same scenes you’ve watched countless times? 0062s’ exemplify that notion. They can pull so many different emotions from a singular scene than the actual scene could.

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episode 9. ＂i love you, tor.＂ ＂i love you too, p’fight＂ ac aechanting cc aethosia

A post shared by c (@0062s) on Mar 20, 2020 at 3:17pm PDT

3. dreamie234 (Youtube)

This was our intro into FMV. We had mentioned that HIStory2: Crossing the line was our gateway drug to everything BL. Well after watching the series, and not really knowing what else was out there, we went to Youtube. And wouldn’t you know it, there was a video about our boys. We will never forget the day we heard Billie Eilish’s “Ocean Eyes” (starting to think we might need to actually listen to her albums at this point) over a beautifully edited montage of our boys loving and growing relationship. That’s when we learned about Fan Edits and also dreamie234 introduced us to the fact there were so many other BL dramas out there we needed to watch.

2. Mochiigun (Instagram)

One of our newest finds, who has quickly become one of our absolute favorite editors is mochiigun. Not only do they provide quality content, but they also share other amazing instgram editors that we have now become obsessed with (Like 0062s). What caught our eye about this editor was their mix of cuteness, like blushing cheeks and little stars sparkling, and then sexy, with the dark defining shadows and sensual transitions. It makes their Instagram, and our Instagram feed, never boring. Whatever you’re in the mood for, they provide. And let’s not forget how music plays a massive part of fan made edits. Mochiigun has one of the most solid tracklist that always meshes so well with the edits. We can’t say enough good things about this instagrammer.   

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basically a compilation of Tine being shy & Sarawat being cheesy 😳♡ – Sorry, I'm too lazy to fix the glitches :(( Also no one ever told me about S_BlurMoCurves are you kidding 🗿🗿🗿 And if the transitions are too aggressive , it is a one time thing bcs i was angry while making this wjfiengodll – cc: urikage? i think? sc: deumure best boy credit: @lovbotz dt: tagged i love you please feel special 🤬

A post shared by zee's tiddies world domination (@mochiigun) on Apr 10, 2020 at 11:42am PDT

1. Coldties (Youtube)

DING! DING! DING! We have made it to our #1 BL FMV editor. This editor was another one of the YouTube autoplay finds. We can’t tell you when our love for them started but we can tell you exactly when they solidified their #1 spot in our heart. Win and Team “The King” edit. SOLD. 1000000%. Their impeccable timing of scenes, their music choices, their coloring of the edits, just EVERYTHING about these edits call to us. And we have seen their subscriber count go up by the thousands in the last week or so because people have also seen the talent of this editor. If you think we are exaggerating, we will tell you straight up that their last edit, which was of Sarawat and Tine of 2gether, caused us to cry. Yes, cry. We sent it to a friend who we facetimed to watch her reaction. She felt that shiz too. When an edit can hit us harder than the show…you just win.

We hope you will follow these editors, and share your love of them and of all the BL content they provide us! Subscribe and follow their accounts. The few we have been able to speak to are some of the nicest people we have met!

BONUS EDITORS!

We couldn’t pick a top 10 editors but 5 wasn’t enough. And since an odd number count would cause Lindsay’s OCD to kick in hella hard, we thought we would share a video or two from other editors we appreciate. Enjoy!

gia (Youtube)

ohorngg (Instagram)

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SOFT FIGHTER NATION RISE!! . cc katherineherself ac aelestic dt tagged + comments 💕

A post shared by 𝘻𝘪𝘥🐙 (@ohorngg) on Mar 25, 2020 at 1:16pm PDT

We like kisses ok? BL or otherwise. Kisses are kisses and as romance obsessed humans, kisses are important. We can lose all interest in a show if the kiss lacks in emotion and decent kissing form. Yeah. We take kisses that seriously. Sometimes if we haven’t watched a drama we will go to our girl @kdrama.kisscene on Instagram to see some quality kisses and make the decision to watch the drama.

ON TO THE KISSES!

10. The Liar and His Lover (그녀는 거짓말을 너무 사랑해)

We are kicking it off short and sweet with this kiss. Now this drama…well tbh wasn’t good at all. The concept lacked a LOT, and it was just…just not good. The one thing we did love however, was the band that was the best friends of the male lead. Shockingly we will see the kissing ability of one of the other members of the band in a future number in this chart. But this kiss was between the band leader who is also the lead singer, and sexy mf, played by the god who is Sung Joo of UNIQ, and their old high school friend who became their manager. They always flirted and when they are hanging out they realize their romantic connection. Only problem is she believes he doesn’t like her because he never received her confession letter when they were in high school. After the misunderstanding they share a very adorable kiss.

9. She Was Pretty (그녀는 예뻤다)

This was the first drama we learned we had to wait for episodes to come out every week like normal tv shows. Seriously, it was rough. And while we disliked the concept of the show, Park Seo Jun being a douche to the not so attractive girl until he realizes it’s the pretty girl he was in love with when he was younger, we have to admit their relationship after that fact was shockingly cute and adorable. This kiss comes when he is trying to convince her to stay the night at his place. Nervously she declines, but once she leaves, she realizes she doesn’t want to go and so she knocks on his door to make up an excuse to stay. He pulls her back into his apartment for the bow chika wow wow and this kiss was our first look into the slightly steamy kissing K-dramas had to offer.

8. I’m Not A Robot (로봇이 아니야)

If we had started this website earlier, and started making these lists earlier, we would of made lists for top dramas of every year since we’ve started watching dramas. And this drama would probably be in the top 3 of 2017-2018. It was fun, cute, romantic and all around adorable but heartfelt and made us cry a few times. Our kiss is from when our two leads have finally resolved their problems, which tbh are A LOT, and she is making him her super-secret recipe, which is just covering up the fact she can’t cook well. He knew about the recipe due to her young niece telling him about it. And he sees how much she loves him, and how much he loves her and smooches the heck out of her. It is a solid kiss and when he pulls her closer…oof!

7. Mistress (미스트리스)

We didn’t watch this show. I know we said kisses can make us watch shows but we did try to watch this drama and shockingly with all the steamy scenes in it, the plot wasn’t for us. But this scene? The biggest of oofs! This scene is by far the MOST sexy scene we’ve seen in a k-drama. No lie, we watched the scene several times, and at one point drooled. We admit that to all of you. We drooled. Sex in a car. IN A K-DRAMA?! Seriously we can’t even describe how hot this scene is so just watch for yourself.

6. 1% of Something (1%의 어떤 것)

Clearly dudes pushing women against a wall really sends us. This drama was an example of the total cliché rich guy, poor woman, thrown together by a contract, and fall madly in love with each other, but someone tries to stop their love from thriving. But it was cute, and while cliché, sometimes we need clichés in our lives. This kiss is one of our favorite scenes in the show as well. It was just a funny little feel good kiss when he realizes he wants more than just a kiss. And she looks like she is all for it. He presses her against the wall after she just gets out of the shower (don’t worry she has a robe on. He isn’t a total horn dog), and just makes her melt. She’s gonna need another shower after he’s done with her. Too much?

5. Clean With A Passion For Now (일단 뜨겁게 청소하라!!)

We loved this drama. We feel it was very underrated and needs more appreciation. And this kiss was one of the ultimate kisses of the show. She makes it clear she is going to spend the night in his house and then kisses him to make her meaning known. When it truly clicks in his head what she is implying he lifts her up with ease, endlessly kissing her before placing her on the counter to continue their make-out session. We wished they continued to the bedroom but ya know, we take what we can get. Oddly one of our favorite things about this kiss was their outfits. Sounds weird, we know, but they complimented each other so well that we took note.

4. Search:WWW (검색어를 입력하세요)

TWO kisses in this drama deserve the #4 spot. We couldn’t choose between the two so we chose both! We really loved this drama and the strong women it provided for us to be inspired by. They all had their problems, but dealt with them and came out stronger. Two of the leading women had some pretty adorable relationships. And also shared some great kisses. A kiss shared by that #10 other band member, Jang Ki-young, we mentioned. The coffee making scene was super adorable and the ASMR killed us. The only things heard are the coffee maker and their smooching lips. Amazing. The second kiss, a confessional kiss between a fangirl and the man she has fangirled over. A true fan fic moment right there. She surprised attacked him and he got her right back. We should also mention the man she kissed is also the second lead in Extraordinary You. And we were very excited to know he had some solid kissing abilities with those nice lips.  

3. Suspicious Partner (수상한 파트너)

Ji Chang Wook is bae. That is all you really need to know for this kiss. But if you need more than that, this kiss is steamy, steamy, steamy! We weren’t expecting that kinda make-out session from a lawyer drama. But this lawyer drama wasn’t like many lawyer dramas we’ve watched. Possibly why we liked this one more than most. We loved this kiss so damn much we can’t even describe it. And while the kiss was amazing in the drama, we attached the behind the scenes of the kiss because…WOW. They really went in. It made a lot of sense why people thought the two were dating in real life.

2. W: Two Worlds (더블유)

Our number one K-drama has the number two spot in our kisses list. We think this kiss is what sold us on Lee Jung Suk as an actor. And once again the fashion during this kiss made us sweat. That teal suit with the white stripes at the cuffs, oh my lawd. *chef kiss* The kiss. Let’s focus on the kiss. This one was emotional as he finally admits his feelings for the woman who holds the key to his destiny. Not only does he lift her out her seat to drop her on the table, it involves handcuffs.

1. What’s Wrong Secretary Kim? (김비서가 왜 그럴까)

Park Seo Jun makes his second appearance on this list and it so happens to be the #1 spot! Yes, he is THAT great of a kisser. I mean we could make a whole top 10 of his kisses. Maybe we should? Let us know what you think. But back to this particular kiss. The #1 kiss. Why is this #1? Maybe it’s the pressing her up against the wall, maybe it’s the heavy breathing, maybe it’s her pulling off his tie, maybe it’s them tumbling onto his bed, or maybe it’s him pulling off his shirt and dropping down to tell her he loves her. It could be any one of those things. Or all of them combining to make a glorious sexy make-out to the bed scene. Yeah, it’s definitely all of them.

What do you think of our top 10 kisses. Have you watched these dramas? What are your favorite K-Drama kisses? Let us know!