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#nba #kpop #kpopfashion At first glance, KPOP and basketball have nothing in common. Well...does it? The NBA used to be just a sport, primarily a North American sport. Since the days that Allen Iverson graced the hardwood with his cornrows and baggy sweats did it make NBA culture what it is today. Nowadays, you won't be surprised to see a fashion show players put on right before the games. So how did basketball become such a global sport? Especially in South Korea? In 2011 the NBA inked a deal with South Korean fashion company MK Trend to create merchandise on behalf of the league and sell it to over 130 NBA stores in Korea. This strategy proved to be a success. If you've watched any KPOP music videos, what do you usually notice? Lots of bright vivid coloring right? The same with the clothing. Lots and lots of brightly colored clothing. Got7 via Asiachan KPOP When looking through one of these NBA stores in South Korea, you'll notice there is an assortment of styles. There are some jerseys for those really NBA fans who want to purchase their favorite player's jersey as well as for the customers who only care about fashion. You'll see many designs in these stores that are not available in typical American NBA stores. NBA Store in South Korea. Sports Business. Many brands from overseas are seen in South Korea but don't necessarily have the same products or marketing strategies as that from their home countries. Instead, they're adapting to the global fashion wave, using KPOP at the forefront to drive eyes onto their brands. Some examples would be Kodak and the NFL (National Football League). Kodak has been out of the digital camera conversation for years. The same with the NFL, not so popular in a country that thinks football is European football. So how were these brands able to find success in South Korea? By marketing through KPOP stars. A Kodak store in South Korea. NFL Store In Seoul. So what interesting global logos/brands do you think also exist in Korea but wouldn't do so well back in their home countries? Do you think using KPOP is a good move for these brands? Let us know what you think!

#jessi #제시 #kpop Korean rap goddess, Jessi, is back on YouTube's top trending music playlists with "Zoom". The 33-year-old singer, rapper, and dancer continues to churn out hit after hit, six months since her last single "Cold Blooded". Controversy over some of the song's lyrics "크게 당겨 당겨 좀 더 당겨봐 봐 기똥차지" which translates to "stretch it stretch it stretch it out, I know you like what you see" confused many English-speakers that thought it might have been an innuendo. But after asking several Koreans, the meaning just literally means zooming in and out on your phone screen, in other words, using your fingers to stretch the picture to get a better view. Photo by The Korea Herald The combination of early 2000s beat with Jessi's raspy voice along with her sudden smooth silky voice transition during the pre-chorus caught many off-guard, including myself. With her iconic confident and 'smexy' attitude, the song is undoubtedly off to her greatest, if not one of her greatest, hits. The choreography is, as always, on point and the wardrobe definitely had subtle hints of early 2000s New York hip hop vibes. The music video for "Zoom" has accumulated a little over 4.2 million views since its release on April 13, 2022, and continues to climb on all music charts. Let us know if this will be a regular on your playlist!

#nikedunklowblackwhite #nike #koreanstreetfashion Walking down the uneven streets of the megacity that is Seoul, South Korea I've noticed one thing. Everyone is wearing the same black and white Nike dunks. Both women and men, boys and girls, are wearing these things. I thought to myself, "What's so special about these?". The original release date for the Nike Dunk Low Retro White Black was on January 12, 2022 for ₩129,000 Korean Won or about $106 USD on online raffle sites like local store Kasina and Atmos Korea with online men's sizing. Later, there would be multiple drops for women and GS sizing as well. From then on, everyone was wearing these! Fast forward two and a half months later and even more people are rocking these dunks. Why is it that this particular model and colorway has launched itself to the top of Korean street wear culture? Here are three reasons: 1. Koreans love trends! If you've ever been to South Korea, you'll notice that trend come and go as quickly as Spring and Fall fashion lines. It may change as quickly as one year! Koreans are so quick to make something trendy, since social media platforms are used by over 70% of the population, majority of those being 30 years old and younger. If a local influencer is caught wearing something that catching someone's eyes, it will spread like wildfire on social media, and sooner or later, everyone will be wearing the same/similar type of clothing or style. 2. It's simplistic. The black and white colorway is so simple that it is easy to wear. It matches with everything! Especially when young Koreans love to show off their style these days, having a pair of kicks that are trendy and goes with most outfits is definitely a winner. Young Koreans rocking their Nike Dunks. Images via Kream App. 3. Everybody's on the Nike wave. Speaking of trends on South Korea. Within the last seven to eight years, many Koreans have been jumping on the trend of Jordans and Nike. There weren't too many people that paid attention to hyped sneakers in 2014, but after 2015 and 2016, the trend exploded in Korea and drop sites and stores started carrying limited Jordans and Nikes. That's when many KPOP singers and rappers started rocking these types of sneakers and the monsoon, not the wave, began! Let us know whether you rock with these or drop these! Comment and share your style down below! We would love to see how you would dress these up or down!

With Super Bowl LVI finishing in February, many NFL players posted pictures of themselves warming up before games during the playoffs. This isn't anything to write home about to most NFL fans, except that I noticed a trend while looking at numerous NFL players' Instagram accounts. Many of them were wearing vintage tees of mostly NFL legends that played on their team. Some of them even had their own teammates on vintage tees! NFL stars like Odell Beckham Jr. and Von Miller were sporting up-and-coming brands like Dreamathon, that specialize in vintage football tees on a limited drop. Via Dreamathon IG @dreamathon_ I love the fact that these stars are recognizing players that have come before them and their own teammates as well! It speaks to the respect these guys have for each other. Imagine if we all could wear tees of co-workers or people that we support on the street! Wouldn't that be something the world needs more of? We have also created our own vintage sports tees on our Seoul Runner store! Make sure to check it out and cop your own vintage sports tee! Comment below what you think about this trend! We would love to hear from you!

"$ 3,000 USD lease for 12 months," that's what my friend, a typical 25 year old single male living in a Seoul one-room (16.5m² to 33m²), told me when he bought a Louis Vuitton backpack. This is coming from someone who doesn't even make $2,000 for a month! "How much did you say it was?" I reacted. "$270 per month," he said. Why can't young Koreans, like my friend, stop themselves from leasing luxury items with high interest? Young Koreans standing in line for luxury items. Photo via Creatrip. Here are two major facts: 1. For the investment. Depending on the product, most of fancy brands can be resold at a higher price. Knowing this, young Koreans are investing for their future. However, many of these people don't even have enough money to survive every month! They end up in this vicious cycle of paying high interest every month and purchasing other high priced items the next month again! There's no guarantee that they'll be able to make a return on investment on that item, since it's fashion. That's when I started to believe these people were pretty crazy! I agree that investing is great thing, but only if you have enough money for basic necessities. Fancy products won't feed you or work for you. 2. Showing off too much. People who care about appearance so much are also obsessed with what they are wearing and what they are holding. These materialistic types of people always try to make others jealous about what they have. All the while not know that others don't really care. This pressure to conform to the "norm" can lead people purchase fake products, which is illegal in Korea. Is this too extreme? Are buying fake goods just to fit in the new norm in Korean society? Let us know your thoughts!

#willsmithslapschrisrock #willsmithslap #oscars2022 I guess you can have your cake and eat it too! Will Smith, global superstar sensation, slaps Chris Rock moments before receiving the Best Actor Award during the 2022 Oscars. Smith slapped Rock after Rock made a comment about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, close-cropped hair. It is unclear whether Rock knew about Pinkett Smith's suffers from alopecia, a hair disorder resulting in hair loss. Smith walked across the stage and struck Rock in the face and walked back to his seat where he yelled, "Keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth!" Moments later, Smith was nominated and won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in "King Richard". Will Smith wins Best Actor Award for role in "King Richard" at Oscars. Smith has since then public apologized to Rock and has resigned from the Academy. "This only happens in America," says Lee, a Korean woman living in Seoul as an elementary school teacher as I interviewed her about this subject. "Will Smith had a good reason to hit Chris Rock since he was joking about his wife," Lee added. "If this happened in Korea, the online community would criticize Smith for attacking Rock." Of course there are many sides to this argument. Many Koreans often take a one-sided group approach when arguing against a person. In a group mentality, it is hard to argue against everyone else, so many Koreans just go with the herd. What are your thoughts about this incident? Would this incident be well received in your country? How would fans in your country react to this? Share your thoughts down below! We would love to hear from you!

#offwhitemaybach #offwhite #maybachproject Off-White fans now have another project to cheer about as Mercedes-Maybach unveiled its final chapter of Project Maybach, its partnership with the late artist, architect, and fashion designer, Virgil Abloh. The project which includes the limited edition bespoke S-class electric show car with a capsule collection was finalized right before Abloh's passing in November of 2021. Maybach lovers can appreciate the unique exterior two-toned colorway. The upper in a glossy obsidian black and the lower part of the vehicle is in a "sand hue" tone. The capsule also captures the colorway of the vehicle, emulating the same "sand hue" tone for most of its pieces. It is exclusively available in a limited run of 150 units. The concept image of the Mercedes-Maybach features an off-road aesthetic, with large tires and a sports utility rack on the roof. Photos Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Group Media. The capsule collection, launching April 5, 2022, includes Off-White's oversized styling of vintage washed cotton tee-shirts, half-brushed cotton fleece crewnecks and hoodies, canvas caps, and canvas, neoprene, and suede, driving gloves. Check out more details here. Photos Courtesy of Mercedes-Benz Group Media. This project was Abloh's third collaboration with Mercedes-Benz, and second with Mercedes-Maybach. What do you think about this collaboration? Is it a great homage to the "Godfather of Streetwear"? Let us know what you think!

#koreandrama #twentyfivetwentyone #kdramareview Kim Tae-ri and Nam Joo-Hyuk take us on a rollercoaster of emotions in this coming-of-age story of two friends who fall in love from the 1990s to the early 2000s. A story about dreams, friendships, and hardships that occur in life and brings back the "feels" of our adolescence, Twenty-Five Twenty-One concludes its 16-episode season at the number 4 spot on Netflix's trending in South Korea. 4/5 Stars *This article contains spoilers. Quirky, romantic, fun, nostalgic, and definitely emotional, Twenty-Five Twenty-One stars Kim Tae-ri (The Handmaiden 2016, Mr. Sunshine 2018) as Na Hee-Do, a national fencer for the South Korea team, and her childhood crush on Back Yi-Jin (Nam Joo-Hyuk), a conglomerate's son that has been put into tough times because of his father's failed business. Kim Tae-ri as Na Hee-do. Although there are moments of feel-good, childhood moments that only those of us who grew up in the 90s and early 2000s will understand, the themes of family, friendship, and loyalty are tested. Because of their busy schedules, Na Hee-Do always practicing with the National Team, and Back Yi-Jin trying to figure his way through life as a rookie news reporter, the protagonists are tested by their loyalty and trust in each other. With the added rivalry of childhood fencer Ko Yu-rim (Bona), Hee-Do has to juggle her life in the public eye with her looked-down-upon relationship with a news reporter. Nam Joo-hyuk as Back Yi-Jin. Twenty-Five Twenty-One touches on subjects like the IMF crisis and September 11th which many viewers claimed the series should have taken a better angle by portraying sympathy for those involved in these tragic events. Since the series travels back and forth between the present and past, we already know what happens in the end. We're taken into a fun dive into Hee-do's childhood through her diary entries, which she kept meticulously, and are unveiled through the eyes of her daughter Kim Min-Chae (Choi Myung-bin). Ko Yu-rim (Bona) and Na Hee-do embrace during a fencing match. This series definitely pulled on a variety of heartstrings and provided a much-needed nostalgic feeling to those of us who are in our 30s and 40s. Of course, there was the car accident turning point that every Korean drama needs to include, but overall a very heartwarming series that brought closure in the end. Let us know what other series you have seen that reminded you of your childhood! Which other series should we cover?