Firstly, Happy Birthday to the nation’s sweetheart IU who recently officially turned 20. We wish you a successful tour around the country and much love for your recent song Peach. Only one question, why aren’t you coming to Gwangju?

Now onto a Kpop boy group who has made their return. If you thought pop Queen Madonna was the queen of reinvention, think again. Never have I seen or experienced artists change their image with every song release as I have in Korea.

Well generally there are two main image concepts in the industry cute, and then rough, tough and sexy for example in Shinee’s super dark and sexy Lucifer, which was starkly contrasted with their soft and adorable Hello. Other groups with radical image changes include Girls Generation moving from sweet and innocent Gee to super sexy drop down low The Boys.

Now turn to Dalmation, a rookie group from last year who have had relative success with hits including That Man Opposed. This song left a lasting impression of cute and innocent boys wanting to capture the heart of girl with cute and sentimental charms.

This week however they released their new track ER which is a total turnaround in concept. Out with the cute and they have transformed into aggressive dance idols who are scribed with tatoo’s and aren’t afraid to show off their ‘I’ve spent all winter in the gym’ bodies which are sure to drive their adoring fans crazy. I am sure this will be the biggest hit for the group and we expect it to rank highly on the charts soon, so don’t forget to check out the Kpopular Top 40 this Saturday of GFN.

For now check out the boys in action below with subs as well.

That man opposed (2011)

E.R (2012)

Peace,

JD

PS. JD also comes to you live on GFN’s Kpopular daily. Tune into GFN98.7 AND 93.7FM or listen online at www.gfn.or.kr from 12.10 weekdays and 12.05 on weekends.

by Jen Lee

If there's one thing I've missed having in Korea, it's good sushi. Now, I know different people have different opinions on what good sushi is, and that's all up to personal taste. For me, freshness and simplicity are ideal. For as long as I've been in Gwangju, I've struggled finding places to fulfill my requirements, often running into rolls that tasted more like kimbap rather than a good maki. Just when I was ready to give up, I was introduced to Golden Shrimp.

Located in the beautiful area of Suwan, Golden Shrimp has already become quite popular with the foreign crowd after having been open for less than a month. One major draw for non-Koreans is the fact that the talented chef speaks amazing English. After having spoken to him for a moment, I learned that much of his skills were picked up while he lived abroad in the UK before coming to Gwangju. With a cool vibe and a kind smile, he was more than happy to stand by and describe each menu item that my lunch dates and I were curious about.

After a look over the menu (as well as the prices), it was difficult to not order everything. Many of the raw dishes have salmon, so it's a great place for those that enjoy fresh cuts of such a beautiful fish. Another specialty is the hairy prawn, which is a large shrimp that is fried in a noodle-like batter (which is what gives it that hairy look). We made sure to try each of these in some form or another.

Once we ordered our food, we sat back and enjoyed cold Japanese beers while enjoying the nice weather. There was a bit of a wait, as everything was made to order, guaranteeing that freshness I so craved. My partner and I had ordered the salmon tataki, prawn maki, and the salmon and avocado maki. In addition, our friends pretty much got the same thing we did along with salmon sashimi, hairy prawn, and an order of seared salmon nigiri. With each minute, it became harder to keep our appetites and excitement in check.

The salmon sashimi and hairy prawn came out first. The sashimi, which consists of simple cuts of salmon served over a bed of greens and ice, was a fair portion and incredibly fresh. The hairy prawn, which I managed to get a nibble of, was perfectly crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Before long, the salmon tataki made its way to our table. As delicious as everyone else was, I do believe this dish was the star of the meal. The salmon tataki pretty much consisted of slices of seared salmon topped with capers that were served with a refreshing salad made with fire roasted cherry tomatoes, onions, and jalapenos, all brought together by a soy sauce dressing. While the seared salmon was delicious, I found myself addicted to the salad more than anything.

The prawn roll, which is pretty much a hairy prawn served in roll form, was quite good, but my favorite roll of the day was definitely the salmon and avocado roll. Avocado is what I consider my happy food, and putting it in sushi rolls just seems to make it so much better. It’s not often you see a sushi place in Gwangju that has fresh avocado in their dishes, so that was very much appreciated.

All in all, Golden Shrimp is an amazing find that pleasing to both the palette and the wallet. I know I’ll definitely be looking for excuses to head back to Suwan soon to enjoy more of what I believe is the best sushi in the city.

Phone: 062-956-1021
Address: 광주 광산구 장덕동 1662 (located near the giant Lotte Mart)
Website: http://blog.naver.com/goldenshrimp

The World Human Rights Cities Forum is a platform and network of cities and local authorities to the implementation of internationally recognized human rights standards and norms.

• Period: May 15th to 18th, 2012 (4 Days)
• Venue: Kimdaejung Convention Center, City Hall and others
• Participants: Around 500, which include representatives from 50 human rights cities and organizations, and citizens
• Theme: City and Human Rights – Promoting Accountability through Empowerment
• Host: Gwangju Metropolitan City Government
• Organizer: World Human Rights Cities Forum Promotion Committee
• Co - sponsors: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, The Ministry of Justice, UN OHCHR, The National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea, Korean National Commission for UNESCO, Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding under the auspices of UNESCO (APCEIU), UNESCO Office in Bangkok, Gwangju Metropolitan Office of Education and others