Unbreakable Tradition

We've been inundated with cheerful summer party music recently. As much as I love getting into the feel of the season it was awesome to find a video that really broke that mold. And a whole bunch of other ones as well....

So this week we're talking about Kim Hyun Joong's Unbreakable!

I’m no expert on traditional clothing or weaponry, so you’ll have to forgive the technical terms here, but let me know if you have the names or any info on what is being used.

Overall impression:

Ruby: So I know that this video was probably a bit of a surprising choice but I have such a weakness for anything even vaguely reminiscent of  traditional east Asian clothing - furisode, yukata, hakama, obi, hanbok (no surprise here…) - and I’m all over it. I’m also a sucker for the fighting arts and use of weaponry in the dance, so this video was a happy experience for me. Aside from that though, I also loved the way they played with the modern clothing in some cases to reflect their counterparts. It gives me the fashion tinglies.

 

Traditional swordsmen bring artistry in movement into the video

Those beautiful sleeve extensions highlight the dancers flips and tricks.

Matt: Mmhmm! This video is definitely loaded with cool visuals that combine to create a surprisingly strong and eclectic overall style. All of the visual and artistic components blend together in a really enjoyable mix of modern and historic culture to surprise and entertain audiences. A good example of the cultural complexity of the video can be seen when a dancer wearing a historical Korean mask underneath an urban-style bandana performs a modern martial-arts-inspired dance while simultaneously painting an aggressive dragon on the wall behind him in a style heavily reminiscent of ancient Eastern calligraphy.

 

the dragon beginning

Paint and dance and so many feeeeeeeeels

Other promotional Materials:

Ruby: What other promotional materials….. I mean he released some half naked photos to promote Round 3, his album. But really he hasn’t done much else to promote. Maybe Mattmatt can find some other videos I missed but I’m at a loss. He has recently been on a show called Barefoot Friends, which is quite fun. We found out all about his apartment. It has skulls and booze and designer clothes and that's about it. If that's not good pr I don't know what is.

NAKED TEASER TIME

barefoot friends. they take their jobs really really seriously.

Matt: Hahaha… agreed. On another note, I actually did manage to stumble across some other promotional material. Kim Hyun Joong recently uploaded one of his dance rehearsals to his official YouTube channel. The video brings the choreography to the spotlight, which is good considering that in the official music video, the more complex movements are drowned out by cut scenes to women in traditional dress, Hyun Joong stepping out of a flashy sports car, or the aforementioned dragon painting scene. His live SBS Inkigayo Comeback Stage can also be found online. Its visuals mirror the music video’s main scene, including elements such as the historic emblem cutout on the backdrop and the modern hoodies and gold chains that adorn the established singer and his talented backup dancers. Although it’s worth watching for the live vocals if nothing else, it doesn’t diverge from the fashion and visuals established in the music video.

stage performance featuring the same sports wear from the mv

Continuity:

Ruby: I guess this is where the video could have gone horrible no good very bad wrong, but it didn’t. I really think they made an effort to use the traditional and modern clothing in parallel. We have these harem pants paired with the idea of flowy skirts and hakama and the slit-side sweatshirts with the happi jackets. Even the hats and hoods with writing give the impression of the headbands and headwraps traditionally worn. Yeah, the button down and wife beater were not the best choices and ripping off ones shirt is not classy at any point in history… but I have a lot of respect for the people who coordinated this. I bet there was a lot of thought put into each outfit and I appreciate that a lot.

 

The beautiful traditional dress with extended sleeves

and the sweatshirt, split up the sides to reflect shapes of items like the happi coats.

Matt: Definitely. I don’t have much else to add, except for the fact that the contrast between black-and-white cinematography and color cinematography was also very well balanced. Mirroring the contrast between tradition and modern culture shown in the video, the color usage and overall videography was also very well thought out. A+ for continuity!

 

the black and white take contrast to a whole new level

Band’s Overall Image:

Ruby: So this is extremely consistent with Hyun Joong’s other big Korean single, Breakdown. And that's all fine and good, dark alley gangster dance clothes are fantastic. But lets be real. He spent the beginning of his career of the leader of the group SS501, who were the ultimate flower boy, sweet-heart boy band. I know he’s grown up a lot and I respect that, but I think for me he will always be the playa bartender who can’t pick up a chick to save his life.

Breakdown era KJH

DOUBLE S FIVE OH ONE, DOUBLE S...

Matt: Again, there’s not much to add here. The video is consistent with his solo work, but not so much with his pre-solo-debut material. That’s to be expected. As for his new image, I love it. This video may not look like the product of “the ultimate flower boy, sweet-heart boy band”, but it’s still darn good ^_^;

 

once upon a time, he was such a cutie pie.

Trends in K-POP:

Ruby: So this video is in some ways spot on with the trends. Fake tattoos, and sports wear are really peaking right now. Guys with six packs taking off their shirts has been in for a long time now. coughraincough…. not that I’m complaining. I guess I wish that playing more than alternative fashion was in. They did a nice job of keeping it accessible by staying with trend for one look and then pairing it with something off-trend and stylistically really interesting, like traditional clothing. Even the altered version of the traditional clothing that appear in the video are really refreshing.

 

Bi Rain in his famous shirt removal dance.

Exo wolf's sports wear

Matt: Yup. Fake tattoos are definitely appearing all over the place. Just take a look at Brown Eyed Girls’ new music video “Kill Bill”.

Fake tattoo from Brown Eyed Girls "Kill Bill"

lots of fake tats in this mv

Conclusion:

Ruby: The video really split down the middle of painfully predictable and really fresh and interesting. Using the rhythmic dance of the taiko drums in conjunction with the clothing and the modern song really was completely unexpected but immediately understandable. And for me that's the ultimate goal. I wish they’d committed to it fully rather than half-assing it. I appreciate that they made it accessible to more people but for me it took away from the cooler aspects of the video. I wish they’d gone further with their metaphors and references. 

 

this is really cool looking, very modern but not at odds. 

for me, outfits like this were really out of place

next to scenes like this.

Matt: Really fresh video. Really cool concept, and really great execution. Unlike Ruby, I don’t think it was half-assed at all. To me, the juxtaposition of the different elements (some of which were, admittedly, simpler than others) is what makes the video so captivating.

 

the traditional meets the new

with breakdancers in ribbon hats

and dudes in weird masks!

Daily Dose of Daebak:

Kim Hyun Joong... in the red light district..... *smirks* because there haven't been any prostitution scandals in kpop recently..... (too soon?)

Hi, there, horsey. The man on your back is terrifying ^_^   

Leave us some love in the comments please! If you want, tell us if you prefer the traditional or modern clothes!

This video was awesome. Like, I had so much fun screencapping it and I just couldn't pick. I love the aesthetic. seriously.

But seriously

wow.

See ya

Rachael AND MATT 

Werewolves wear what?

Exo can help us answer that with their (LONG AWAITED) comeback, Wolf! There are two versions of this dance video (and a promised drama version) one in chinese, one in korean. However, both video feature all 14 members combined. We took images from both, though the outfits are the same between the videos.
As of June 10th 2013, the korean version had 4,443,432 views and the chinese version had 1,778,365 for a combined total of over 6 million views!
If you haven't gotten into the canine spirit yet, simply chose your language and hide your cat and then enjoy the new, wolfish side of exo.....
click for Korean OOOOOOLF
click for Chinese OOOOOOOLF

Overall impression:

Ruby: So there are 3 sets of outfits featured in both the Chinese and Korean versions of this music video. One white, one black and one more colorful but in shadow. Overall they went for a very simple aesthetic which I super appreciate. As much as I loved concepts like Siwon (Super Junior) in neon boxer-briefs and red leather, Exo went a little bit classier. Earth tones complemented the neutrals, a manly-manly-military-man color palette (ignoring the zebra shorts). I think the big thing here was that each outfit had one cool or different accent piece, which provided focal points for each cut scene in the video.

Siwon of Super Junior in NEON BRIEFS WHY promotions for Mr. Simple

My manly manly zebra shorts

Barbed wire detail brings flair without distraction

Em: They did some interesting combinations of different aspects of men’s fashion. There were elements of sports clothes (stripy athletic socks!) and military-esque pieces. They also had manly-gangster heavy gold jewelry. There was a LOT of black and white, which always makes things look dramatic in my opinion, and also served the purpose of tying these elements together extremely well. Most of the clothes were baggy as well, barring a few tighter things in the mostly-white outfits.

Gym socks as never seen before

oh kris and his gangsta chains and hat and cute lil' gloves

Other promotional Materials:

Ruby: Video teasers were primarily scenes from the mv and pictures were promoting the full album, XOXO, and featured mostly school-boy uniforms. They were cute. But I preferred some of the fanmade ones. ;) Their comeback stage was one of the most consistent ones I’ve ever seen. They wore t-shirts and sweatshirt variations with the same print on the front, a jersey style number and the word wolf on the back. Many wore a graphic of the word wolf elsewhere as well, on the crotch (eyebrow waggle) or on a bandana tied somewhere. I liked the consistency and the references to both the mv for wolf and the album. And then there was Kai and Lay. Alright guys who forgot to order 2 shirts…. -.-

FAKE TEASER, but oh so wonderous

one of these things is not like the others....

one of these things just doesn't belong....

Em: Comeback stage was nice, it was an even more simplified version of the mv outfits. I noticed the wolf  on the crotch pretty quickly too…I wonder if someone’s going to get a new nickname along the lines of Dubulge.  The schoolboy teasers were odd and didn’t really seem related to their concept. I felt like they made the teasers before they actually knew what the song was going to look like. Odd. I mean I get the XOXO thing…schoolboys…whatever. Still kind of a stretch to wolves.

exo yearbook teaser

what are your pants implying sir? how... wolfish.

Continuity:

Ruby: Honestly I thought it was rather brilliant in this category. It seems obvious from watching super junior videos that the answer is simplicity, even uniformity, if you’re going to have that many people in one group. But recently sm has really been innovative about clothing these massive groups. I thought small details, like the fringe jacket, the red numbers or that rope jacket kept it unique while it maintained the balance. 

the numbers seem to be completely random, but look cool anyway

rope jacket, like a straight jacket, only more fashion forward

Em: They did do a really good job with making the group look like, well, a group, while not just taking the easy way out and putting them in all suits (see: Spy). Not that I’m complaining about suits , but it’s nice to see some variety without it being overwhelming. It was interesting without making my eyes bleed, which is always nice.

Super Junior in Spy promotions, and suits. lots of suits.

us after some kpop videos. 

Band’s Overall Image:

Ruby: Exo tends to be sportier than other bands. With the teasers and the mvs they released last year, they clearly know how to dress up and look manly. However more often than not, their stylists opt towards stretchy harem pants and hoodies. For me the hair got weird this time. Rainbow dye and cornrows just don't belong together.

WAIT WAIT WAIT, could this be???? a veritable harem of harem-pants?

its okay to be confused kai, we don't know why they put the cornrows in either...

Sehun during the mv, its okay just kind of out of place...

and then they dunked his head in acid.

Em: Agreed on the cornrows. Ew. I liked the pink hair though just because I have a thing for pink hair. The band has also ended up with a lot of fantasy-ish themes, from the magical powers in Mama to the wolves here, and I think it affects their clothing in interesting ways. They draw from the quintessential mysterious cloak as well as fantasy futuristic metals. Wolf had fur everywhere, for obvious reasons, which is also a little bit manly-wilderness-adventurer. Not to mention the recent outbreak in fantasy novels with wolves in them.

see this pink hair is okay....

magical movie wolf magic

Trends in K-POP:

Ruby: There are some older trends, like high or thick collars, but summer is beginning so I think there are some new trends that are forming as well. Fringe seems to be something sm is latching onto, part of the recent boom of 60s/70s era clothing in kpop. Also large scale details, like the rope have featured in a few videos. We’ll see if earth tones are more popular this summer, but they haven’t been dominant recently, and I am not personally convinced the they’re destined to come back in the kpop world.

giant turtle neck (and we're going to ignore how many times the make up artist missed your eye...)

fringe jackets are fancy

but not as fancy as this corset jacket worn by Joon from MBLAQ in their recent
single, Smoky Girl 

Em: Fringe does seem to be becoming a thing, along with fur like we saw in CL’s The Baddest Female. Fake tattoos have been EVERYWHERE—we talked about them in our review of 4Minute, but they’ve been showing up since Big Bang’s Fantastic Baby. I’ve also seen more harem pants than I really want to see. I guess they look dramatic and swoopy? Idk. Do not want.

Fringe, fringe everywhere for Girl's Generation in their recent japanese single,
Love and Girls 

Fur hat. For the summer.

CL from The Baddest Female, rocking that fur

Fake tats from 4Minute's What's your name?

Conclusion:

Ruby: Honestly, I was really impressed by the concept and styling for this comeback. It still feels like the exo from their debut but this is much more refined and cohesive. I think it really stands out in the midst of other male groups right now; they just seem to be getting weirder and weirder. Even so there were a lot of unique details, some I liked and some I didn't. But I think the biggest complement I can pay exo is this: I watch a video probably 10-15 times throughout the process. Normally I am frustrated or bored by the fashion by the end of that, but even now, at the end of the review, I keep finding cool pieces I’d missed and small, impressive details. You make watching the same 4 minutes 20 times fun exo, and that's hard.

with all this chaos, too many details would have been even more distracting.

Em: I thought it was cool. I think Exo has been fighting the cheesy a little bit, and they walk a fine line between dramatic and silly. Here, the clothing walked on the right side of the line, and I thought they really pulled it together. (The wolf ‘claws’ were another story) I like that Exo hasn’t gone for a cutesy image yet, even though some of the bandmembers could easily pull of aegyo, and they’re slowly finding their niche. I hope they keep up the consistency and interest.

WOLF HANDS, rawr.....

Daily Dose of Daebak:

Kai was raised by wolves. Sure sweetie.

The giant claw thing on the ceiling was awesome. I want one.

Please leave us some love in the comments and let us know what you want to happen in the drama version! 

Or anything that comes to mind!!!!! 

Thanks for reading.... 

Love, 

Ruby and Em <3