'Why I never want babies'

[buccal.livejournal.com]

By Simon Maybin
BBC World Service, Seoul



An increasing number of South Korean women are choosing not to marry, not to have children, and not even to have relationships with men. With the lowest fertility rate in the world, the country's population will start shrinking unless something changes.

"I have no plans to have children, ever," says 24-year-old Jang Yun-hwa, as we chat in a hipsterish cafe in the middle of Seoul.

"I don't want the physical pain of childbirth. And it would be detrimental to my career."

Like many young adults in South Korea's hyper-competitive job market, Yun-hwa, a web comic artist, has worked hard to get where she is and isn't ready to let all that hard graft go to waste.

"Rather than be part of a family, I'd like to be independent and live alone and achieve my dreams," she says.

Yun-hwa isn't the only young Korean woman who sees career and family as mutually exclusive.

There are laws designed to prevent women being discriminated against for getting pregnant, or for just being of an age where that's a possibility - but in practice, unions say, they're not enforced.

( Read more... )

Source: BBC

BLACKPINK and BTS received Youtube Diamond Creator Awards

[snowphone.livejournal.com]

On July 26th, BLACKPINK became the first K-pop Group to receive Diamond Creator Awards from YouTube after surpassing 10 million subscribers on their official channels, with BTS following on August 16th. They are not, however, the first K-pop artists to have done so, as Psy received his own Youtube Diamond Creator Award last year.

YouTube awards users with a Silver Creator Award for surpassing 100,000 subscribers, a Gold Creator Award for surpassing 1 million subscribers, and a Diamond Creator Award for surpassing 10 million subscribers.

BLACKPINK’s “DDU-DU DDU-DU” most recently broke the record for fastest K-pop group music video to reach 250 million views. “DDU-DU DDU-DU” also achieved the second-highest number of views in the first 24 hours of its release out of all the music videos in YouTube history (second only to Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do”), while BTS’s “Fake Love” achieved the fourth-highest.

BLACKPINK’s subscriber count is also the second-highest ever achieved by a single K-pop artist.

( BTS Celebrating 10m Subscribers )

Sources: naver via soompi | kstarlive | Bangtan Subs | @BTS_twt 1 2

BTS: LOVE YOURSELF: ANSWER - TRACKLIST

[lostintheechoes.livejournal.com]

#BTS #방탄소년단 #LOVE_YOURSELF 結 'Answer' Tracklist pic.twitter.com/yf7ylEQzsE

— BigHit Entertainment (@BigHitEnt) August 19, 2018

( LARGER TRACKLIST )

( TRANSLATED TRACKLIST )

REPACKAGE OF HER AND TEAR.

SOURCES: BIGHITENTERTAINMENT | ALLFORBTS | doolsetbangtan


A FULL VERSION OF SERENDIPITY!

BLACKPINK - 'DDU-DU DDU-DU' (JPN Ver.) M/V

[pearlychoco.livejournal.com]

Source: BLACKPINK

Park Joon Hyung, GOT7's Bambam, (G)I-dle's Yuqi and NCT's Lucas on Knowing Bros

[snowphone.livejournal.com]

Click on the image to watch Knowing Brothers ep 141!

Source: kshow123 | godjp instagram

Sunmi's comeback: what do we know so far?

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

Summer might soon be over but it doesn't mean the fun stops now.
Our beloved Queen is making a comeback in september so why don't we just take a look at what we know.

( Confirmed )

( Speculation )

( Song and choreo spoiler )

Are you excited for the queen comeback? What type of song/concept do you want to see from her?

source: soompi, osen, naver 1, fy-wondergirls 1, 2, demimondeblood, sunmivlive, blue_v52, miyayeah, 

Stray Kids releases 'M.I.A.' performance video

[chasing-thewind.livejournal.com]

Source: Stray Kids

dang, stray kids really hustling this comeback! i'm loving it

VIXX LR Concert In Moscow

[lightframes.livejournal.com]

( 2018 ISAC Banner )

It says tour, but there's only one date??? Does this mean more dates will be added. Does this mean Leo and Ravi will be on tour right up until the end of the year. I have questions.

Source: spika_concert_agency, @taekwoonies

GWSN pre-debut teaser round up

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

For a few days (maybe weeks?) now I've seen teaser for this group and since I don't read I thought it was about WJSN... it wasn't.

GWSN is a seven-member group with members from Korea, China, and Japan.
GWSN stands for “Gong Won So Nyeo,” which is translated as “Girls in the Park.”
According to Han Jung Soo, who runs the music department of Kiwi Media Group, “GWSN consists of seven global members who each have their own charms and abilities. They will also show how they’re different in terms of music.”

( members profile picture )

( Debut Schedule )

( Concept )

( Teasers )

( Covers )

( BTS (profile photoshoot) )

Useful links
Youtube - Twitter - Instagram - Facebook

source: naver 1, soompi 1, 2, 공원소녀 GWSN OFFICIAL 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, kiwipop_GWSN 1, 2, kiwipop.gwsn

Holland and Friends Discuss Boyfriends, Coming Out to Family, Homophobia, and Asexuality Over Drinks

[revedesnuages.livejournal.com]

Turn on CC for English subtitles.
Trigger warning: One of Holland's friends talks about conversion therapy from 5:31 to 6:25 in the video.

Source: HOLLAND

Jeon Somi Terminated Her Contract With JYP

[pearlychoco.livejournal.com]

Jeon Somi has terminated her exclusive contract with JYP Entertainment https://t.co/R1GjoXsdH4 pic.twitter.com/c3Hh2JDtwc

— The Seoul Story (@theseoulstory) August 20, 2018

Source: Naver via The Seoul Story

Sunmi Is Giving You All A Warning

[pearlychoco.livejournal.com]

#선미 (#SUNMI) “#WARNING”
⚠ #Title_Poster
💿 2018.09.04 6pm pic.twitter.com/nK35yoE0PP

— SUNMI (@official_sunmi_) August 20, 2018

Source: @official_sunmi_

PRODUCE 48: EPISODE 10 CONCEPT EVALUATION PERFORMANCES

[miyozari.livejournal.com]

Rollin' Rollin' ( Watch the performances! ) source: mnet official (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6), r/produce48 Which performance is your favorite? Which song is under-/overrated? Are they better than the songs from the previous seasons?