omonatheydid | Shinee and Boa on tv... en français ! (with translation)

childishgrin.livejournal.com posting in

The korean pop music, commonly called kpop, is one of the essential components of the Korean wave. Videoclips of kpop celebrities are invading Asia and flooding the internet. On the musical market for the youth, Koreans are now references instead of Japanese groups.

In Seoul, at the market of Namdaemun, it is almost like an idols' fair and a hunt for souvenirs. This flea market (TN: apparently my mind completely failed me right there) is visited by "non-regular" visitors (TN: as in they only made the trip for the merch and don't make it a habit of going there otherwise) who enjoy finding pictures, calendars, pencil cases, coffee mugs of kpop celebrities. Under the effect of the Korean wave and the popularity of its stars, foreign tourists - mostly Japanese or Chinese, are pouring into South Korea.

Woman: "In Asia the Korean wave is becoming more and more popular. I think that culturally speaking, Korea has dethroned Japan. I was never really interested in the Japanese culture so it's been 10 years since I've been interested in Korean stuff."

These two Japanese tourists, fans of kpop, were dazzled.

Japanese woman: "For the music In Japan we do what we can. I think our artists don't give enough effort unlike Korean artists who do everything possible to please other countries."

(OP: different translator)

The Hallyu wave in Asia is a bit like the modern world was upside down. Twenty years ago the trend was Japanese and the Japanese culture was very present in South Korea. Nowadays, it's Korea that leads the way.

In 2009, the Korean boys group SHINee embarked on a tour in Japan. The 5 members of SHINee have launched their first album the year before and already have moved a crowd of fervent fans. A friendly ceremonial during which each of them would have the privilege to touch the hand of the celebrities. Then it's time for the concert and lighting effects. Is it the choreography of the group; is it the looks of SHINee, well-known as it seemed for their clothing style or is it the music that triggers the enthusiasm of the Japanese fans? Whatever the success, there is always a hidden mystery.

In Seoul, to meet the five boys of SHINee is not an easy thing. They are in contract with a talent agency, SM Entertainment, which includes a number of young korean stars of Kpop.

On that day, around sixty high schoolers waited for SHINee, coming to record a song for a TV show. Unluckily for them, SHINee has entered through a back door. Just out from adolescence, SHINee is surfing on the wave of success since two years.

Minho (TN: LOL, they mistook Key for Minho xD), Member of SHINee : "Since we debuted in Kpop, with the impact of the Hallyu wave, our songs quickly became a success. It was incredible. It happened a few hours just right after the launch of our first single. We have really managed to realise how the Hallyu wave was powerful."

SHINee sings lyrics which are in korean but whose titles and chorus include words in American (TN: they meant in English). This song, for example, is named Hello. From an artistic point of view (OP: corrected translator's mistake), the korean Kpop officially aims a very high standard and from a commercial perspective, the international market.

(OP: back to original translator)

YoungMin Kim, CEO of SM entertainment: "The main asset of our company is that first we recruit young singers whose talent will allow them to appear on the international market... but we do not stop at that; for them to progress we give them a strict training that can last between 3 to 6 years. We teach them dancing, singing and even foreign languages."

The star of the company, Korean singer Boa is the most known female kpop artist in Asia. Boa knows how to adapt herself to her public; in Tokyo she sings in Japanese in front of 15 000 fans. Boa sings alone but moves around in a group; a hairdresser, a make-up artist, a stylist, a manager and, for French television, a little word/message in French:

Boa: "Hello, my name is Boa. What is your name?"
Interviewer: "In how many languages do you sing?"
Boa: "I sing in Korean, Japanese and English. I've even recorded an album in Chinese but without understanding the lyrics. I was very young back then. The 3 languages I can speak fluently are Korean, Japanese and English."

Blah blah blah.

Translation:

childishgrin
Italicized translation (Shinee cut): kiana17 (or kiana78@soompi)
Video: Missecile

Any correction is welcomed as there are some slight differences between France!French and Quebec!French. Haven't done any translation in a while so there might be some awkward spots. :|

Stealing this amusing gif from mademoiselle

morgenderper.

[edit for corrections]: Thanks to

eijis_pants for the correct market name and to

flashbacku for pointing out my extreme brain!fail at not realizing that it's "marché aux puces" and not "marché opus" and to

ahmtal for some better terms/expressions.
In my defense, it was 7 in the morning and I was sleep-deprived. No matter how fluent you are (and despite having studied in French schools up until graduating from HS and growing up where French is the most spoken language), you are bound to make mistakes that will induce some huge (self-)facepalming once you're awake and fully conscious. T_T