Quantcast
Channel: Viki Blog
Viewing all 646 articles
Browse latest View live

The Most Terrifying Drama Villains

0
0
Even if you have never watched Batman, Star Wars or The Little Mermaid, youve probably heard of the notorious bad guys Joker, Darth Vader and Ursula.

These villains always try to go after the heroes and heroines we admire, but good eventually overcomes evil in the end. However, it’s hard to deny that these evil characters are irresistible in their own ways.

Here are some of our favorite villains and their delightfully wicked deeds that you can witness in the following dramas on Viki.

Min Joon Gook From I Hear Your Voice

No other character sends chills down your spine quite like Min Joon Gook, the killer in the highly rated 2013 K-drama I Hear Your Voice.” Played by actor Jung Woong In, who seems have been born to make that evil smirk, the character runs down Park Soo Has father in a car, and then when that doesnt quite get the job done, he takes a metal rod and beats the man to death in front of the little boy. Hes also equally relentless in killing Jang Hye Sungs mother and repeatedly going after Hye Sung and Soo Ha. And we cant even mention the dismemberment. Youll have to watch for yourself to see how far this villain will go to seek revenge against the two people he blames for his wasted life.

Min Joon Gook played pure evil in 'I Hear Your Voice'

Yuka Kagusai From Sacred Monsters

In this suspenseful 2012 Japanese medical drama, nothing is as it seems. Dr. Kengo Shiba, our protagonist, tries to do his best to save peoples lives and generally do good as a surgeon who is transferred to work in the financially struggling Okubo Hospital. But one rainy night, when he is forced to perform a C-section on a pregnant woman and deliver a baby, the baby survives and the mother dies, sealing the young doctor’s fate in becoming a pawn in an unknown, evil scheme. 

Central to the evil plot is chief nurse Yuka Kasugai, the cool and calculating woman who is a master at manipulating the young doctor and everyone else around her, including her sister, Keiko Fuga. Keiko is desperate to have a baby but is unable to carry one on her own. Driven by greed, Keiko will do anything to have a son who can become heir to her husband, Toshio Fuga, and his wealthy family. But how far will the sisters go to get everything they want? Youll have to see the drama to find out!



Eduarda Arismendi From Wild Cat

As far as Venezuelan telenovela evil villains go, Eduarda Arismendi is as evil as they come. This wicked character from Wild Cat will stop at nothing to play with the lives of the people around her just so she can get her way. And let us say, you wouldnt want her as your sister-in-law, thats for sure!

After Eduarda decides that her brother, Luis Mario, should marry the wealthy Eva so that they can save their financially troubled family ranch, she does everything in her power to break up his relationship with the poor Rosaura. When Luis Mario marries Rosaura anyway, Eduarda (in no particular order) orchestrates a horse-riding accident so that Rosaura miscarries her baby; frames Rosaura for theft and has her sent to jail; has Rosauras father killed; perpetuates lies about Rosaura’s behavior so that Luis Mario thinks she is flirting and kissing other men; and otherwise makes Rosaura's life a living hell so that she is forced to divorce Luis Mario. Need we say more?



Joo Da Hae From Queen of Ambition

In this suspenseful 2013 K-drama, Joo Da Hae is the steely main character who rose from extreme poverty to become First Lady, and she is determined to let no one take away everything she has worked so hard to achieve. If that means killing her good-for-nothing stepfather, using and then throwing away her first lover, and then later trying to kill a prosecutor, then so be it. If you can help her, the evil Da Hae will use you. If youre in her way, she will stomp on you. There is nothing more terrifying than absolute greed and blind ambition!

Joo Da Hae is a beautiful villain 

Ou Ya Ruo From My Lucky Star

In this 2007 Taiwanese drama, Ou Ya Ruo is the type of woman you love to hate. She goes out with the main character, Tian Qi, until she realizes that his older brother, Tian Jun, is first in line to inherit the family jewelry empire. So Ya Ruo dumps Tian Qi and goes out with Tian Jun instead — because, lets face it, Tian Jun is a better bet to give her the life of luxury and power that she wants. But her delightful evil streak doesn’t stop there. Ya Ruo also tampers with her own father’s car in an attempt to kill him. With a daughter like that, who needs enemies?


Bang Young Ja of A Hundred Years Inheritance

There is no other villain in drama history who will have a more chilling effect on marriages for years to come. In this popular 2013 Korean family drama series, Bang Young Ja is every womans worst nightmare of a mother-in-law. Unable to play second fiddle to any woman who comes between her and her beloved only son, Chul Kyu, Young Ja openly abuses and attacks her poor daughter-in-law, Chae Won. And if the verbal and physical abuse wasnt enough, she also has Chae Won locked up in an insane asylum, frames her with a concocted extramarital affair, tries to feed her medicine to keep her from conceiving a child, has Chae Wons father jailed, and then finally succeeds in forcing Chae Won to divorce her son and leave penniless. To prove the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, Young Ja’s daughter, Joo Ri, is just as vicious in attacking Chae Won to try to keep her away from the man she loves. With in-laws like that, you too will be praying for a divorce!

Bang Young Ja played the world's worst mother in law in 'A Hundred Year's Inheritance' 

These are just a few of our favorite villains from recent dramas on Viki. There are many, many more that we cant even begin to list here that make watching dramas so much fun and suspenseful. Tell us about some of your favorite villains!


Sexy Male Music Celebrities on Viki

0
0
A few weeks ago, we brought you some of the globe’s sexiest female music celebrities. This week, we’ll zero in on some sexy male music stars on Viki. You might be wondering why some of the obvious names aren’t on this list. We all know who they are. So we thought, instead, we would call attention to what we call our hidden gems. Clearly sexy, but these artists haven’t quite got the huge fan following we think they deserve on Viki yet.



We’re counting down our list in the order of their sexiness in the featured MVs below and the general perception they create among fans.


#5 — DMTN in Safety Zone



After debuting as “Dalmatian” with a cute boy-band concept, the group later underwent a major transformation after Japanese-Korean rapper Simon joined the band in 2012. They changed the band name to DMTN. Not only did the group adopt a cooler image, its music style followed suit from bubblegum pop to sexy dance ballads. “Lies”—‘he’





#4— Bang Yong Guk in I Remember” (featuring B2ST’s Yang Yo Seop)





From the leader of B.A.P, “I Remember” is a sexy song that released before B.A.P made its official debut. Starting as a member of an underground hip-hop crew, Bang Yong Guk knows his sexy hop-hop moves. Kpop fans don’t just love his toned and muscular body, he’s also voted as Nate’s top 5 for “Most Sexy Collarbone.” If you don
’t know what a sexy collarbone looks like, take a look!


#3
— Eminem in Not Afraid




Tattoos and a bad-boy image make a sexy combination. “Not Afraid” was the 2010 comeback single of the very talented rapper Eminem. He took rap music to another level and reinvented the way music fans enjoyed hip hop music. Now that’s what we call 
“sexy!




#2
— Enrique Iglesias in Ayer


This Latin pop royalty is a multitalented artist as a singer-songwriter in both English and Spanish, a model, actor and record producer. Oh, did we also mention, he’s a great dancer? Touted as “The King of Latin Pop” and “The King of Dance,” it’s no wonder people associate romance and sexiness with Enrique. In this music video, he takes on a slightly vulnerable, boyish look as he sings about his broken heart.


#1 — Adam Levine of Maroon 5 in Makes Me Wonder


It’s no surprise Adam Levine came out tops on our list. He is undeniably one of the sexiest male celebrities with killer abs, and an incredible voice as lead vocalist for the American rock band Maroon


No wonder he’s off the shelf, and with the equally-hot Victoria’s Secret model Behati Prinsloo. See news clip below. 
X


So there you have it. Our top five sexiest hidden gems. Who was your favorite? If not, tell us who you thought should have made the cut.


Note: Some videos are only available to users in Southeast Asia. However, QCs (Qualified Contributors) get to enjoy free access to all of these videos. Find out how you canbecome a QC!

28 New Languages (more than 200 total!) Now on Viki!

0
0
The Viki community is truly a global one, speaking languages from all corners of the globe. And as our community grows, so does our list of languages :) We now have 28 new languages bringing our total to more than 200!

Many of the new languages are spoken by millions in China, India and Pakistan while others like Udmurt and Zomi are spoken by hundreds of thousands. We even added a fun language: lolspeak! We’re thrilled Viki can play a role in help expose these languages to more people around the world.

PSY's "Gangnam Style" subtitled in lolspeak

Here are the list of languages that you can now write and watch subtitles in!

Udmurt
Xiang
Hakka
Bhojpuri
Maithili
Fula
Igbo
Gan
Cebuano/Binisaya
Saraiki
Chittagonian
Madurese
Marwari
Haryanvi
Chhattisgarhi
Chewa/Nyanja
Dakhini
Min Bei
Min Dong
Sylheti
Kinyarwanda
Haitian Creole
Ilokano
Mossi
Balochi
Konkani
Zomi
lolspeak

Don't see your language on Viki yet? Let us know!


More Chinese Dramas Coming Your Way!

0
0
Le Jun Kai
Chinese drama fans, rejoice! A new on-air Web drama titled Le Jun Kai is now available on Viki. It is an original production by Sohu Video, a subsidiary of Sohu.com, the top Internet portal in China. The story — about love, revenge and lots of drama — stars well-known Taiwanese actors Peter Ho and Janine Chang. The nine-part Web drama centers on Le Jun Kai (played by Ho), who takes revenge by marrying his enemy’s daughter just to torment her for the rest of her life.




Despite Jun Kai’s abuse and torture, Ye Zi (played by Chang) continues to love her husband and later gives birth to his son. Will a turn of events lead Jun Kai to admit his true feelings for Ye Zi? Episodes 1-4 are available worldwide (except China) on Viki in four languages now.


To get a taste of the intensity of the drama, here’s the exciting trailer for your viewing pleasure.





We’ve also recently licensed some Chinese dramas from major Chinese broadcaster Huace Film & TV. You’ll love the new offerings — from period dramas based on martial arts novels, such as The Magic Blade, Four Brothers of Peking and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber, to romantic dramas like Ancient Terracotta War Situation, Love Amongst War and Good Morning Shanghai. Fans of Ady An, Baron Chen, Alec Su, Shawn Yue, Jessica Hsuan, Jang Nara and Benny Chan, get ready to be treated to their sensational performances in these new dramas on Viki.


More dramas are on the way, so follow the channel now to be updated when new episodes are uploaded.


Note: Some videos are only available to users in Americas and Europe. However, QCs (Qualified Contributors) get to enjoy free access to all of these videos. Find out how you canbecome a QC!

Love Viki? Watch this and share the video with friends!

0
0
Check out this “Viki Concept” video and share it with your friends! Let us know what you love about it in the comments.

A special shoutout goes to our friends Chris Martin and Han West, who helped produce this video for us. Also to Sean Richard, who will be a special guest panelist at our KCON panel this weekend. :)

MTV VMA Awards: Best Female Video

0
0
Were counting down to this weekend2013 MTV Video Music Awards and taking a look at the contenders for Best Female Video!



And the nominees are:


Demi Lovato — Heart Attack


Demi Lovato co-directed the music video for her hit song Heart Attack. Check out the edgy video below:




Rihanna  Stay (featuring Mikky Ekko)

The Barbadian artist recorded the pop ballad with Mikky Ekko. The accompanying music video shows Rihanna stripped down without makeup in a bathtub. The simple,  raw video highlights the songs powerful lyrics.




Taylor Swift — I Knew You Were Trouble

The country cutie reportedly wrote this song about her ex-boyfriend, One Direction’s Harry Styles, after he dumped her. Check out the music video for her powerful vocal revenge below:



Miley Cyrus  We Can’t Stop

The edgy songstress will be making her first VMA appearance to perform her smash hit We Cant Stop, which is nominated for four VMAs, including Best Female Video, Best Pop Video, Best Editing, as well as the new Best Song of Summer category.




Find out who wins on August 25th on MTV!

Community Stories: Amy from Canada!

0
0
Viki has an amazing global community, full of countless stories that deserve to be shared. Here's one such story about an avid Viki community member.

Amy is a university student from Canada who loves watching television dramas and films from all over the world and stumbled upon Viki by chance in August 2012. Ever since her discovery, Amy has been an active community member and a Qualified Contributor since September 2012.

She not only spends a few hours a week subtitling and segmenting, but also serves as a moderator and instructor for the Segmenter 101 project for other community members. “Since I love watching dramas and movies so much, I feel that I should try and help others understand and enjoy the same types of entertainment that I enjoy,” Amy says in her Viki profile. “I hope that it could all be shared globally between people like you and me.” Read about how she discovered Viki below, and why it is now the first place she prefers to be when she has some spare time.

What's your Viki username?
AmyPun

What language(s) do you speak?
English, Chinese (Cantonese and Mandarin), Spanish, French

Which activities do you do often on Viki?
Viewing (watching shows, movies, etc.), Subtitling, Segmenting, Moderating, Channel Managing

How did you discover Viki?
I actually discovered Viki out of serendipity. At first, I heard the Taiwanese version of the OST for “Rooftop Prince” on YouTube. So I took a peek at the clips and instantly fell in love with the drama. I searched everywhere and Viki was where it’s available. I swear that I've watched “Rooftop Prince” approximately 10 times now.

What do you like most about Viki?
The part I like the most is being able to interactively communicate with other members of the community and contribute your expertise for the benefit of every viewer from different parts of the world. I feel a sense of accomplishment.

Has Viki helped you to learn or practice another language?
Viki has helped me practice my Korean. I took the community’s own Segmenter 101 course, and graduated from both Traditional and Express 101 programs. Now I’m teaching students how to segment and also serve as a moderator for Seg101 and Express101. I really enjoy my experience learning and teaching how to segment.

Through segmenting Korean videos and interacting with Korean subtitlers and editors such as cgwm808, my Korean ability went from zero to basic Korean. I understand quite a few single words, phrases and honorifics.

Have you made friends in the Viki community?
I made quite a few friends at Viki. My first group of friends were subtitlers I became acquainted with through subtitling on Chinese and Taiwanese dramas. My current friends have come through the Segmenter 101 course and through collaboration on on-air drama.

I don’t think I would have successfully managed the Taiwanese drama “Two Fathers” and “Love Around” without the sincere and unconditional support from my subtitler and segmenter friends at Viki.

Despite the “Two Fathers” channel getting off to a rocky start, we managed to pull through and now have almost 4,000 fans. My other channel “Love Around,” has around 17,000 fans!

What’s your favorite genre on Viki?
Korean Dramas, Taiwanese Dramas, Music

What’s your favorite drama that you’re watching right now?
I told you all about my passion for “Rooftop Prince.” If I had to really choose my most recent favorite drama, it would be “Gu Family Book.” The story line was very interesting, the main leads performed well in their roles, and it was a very good drama overall.

Do you have any special memories to share?
My most pleasurable memory is the success of my “Amy’s Vikipedia of Segmenting Skills” found on my profile page. I managed to improve new segmenters’ segmenting skills using it. It’s also an effective tool I use to teach my Segmenter 101 students.

My Vikipedia wouldn’t be possible without the coaching I received while I was a student in the program, as well as collaboration with other graduates, mentors and graduation panelists on my Guideline, Diary, and Segmenting Bible. Special thanks should be given to my mentor narin78, as well as cgwm808, mihaelagh, marykarmelina, RoxieHar, Mazza, luzclarita81, jojoo, Tou66, Va12ni and many others.

K-Drama Texts to a Bestie Part 3

0
0
This is a guest blog post from Coco and Vivi of Kdrama Fighting! 

It’s time for another round of K-drama texts to a bestie! Sometimes we wish we were best friends with heroines from the Korean dramas we watch on Viki. Maybe their lives are a little ridiculous, but at least we would never have boring text conversations. 

See what our past text conversations with our imaginary best friends from K-dramas.

And here are more we wish we could have with our besties:
















See the trailer for the drama Who Are You below:










Are there any K-drama characters you would like to chummy up to and text? What would you say to them?


Introducing Community Discussion Forums!

0
0
A piece of feedback that weve received often from the Viki community is the request for a discussion forum  a place for you to talk about your favorite shows, channel organization, interactions with those who speak the same language, and any other exchanges. We completely agree and think it would be a great addition to Viki. Thats why were so excited to launch Community Discussions today. Check them out and join the conversation! And make sure to check out the Welcome to Community Discussions topic to learn how to use the new feature.

Connect with other passionate community members to talk about your favorite dramas, music videos or actors, learn how to subtitle and find videos to get involved in. Make sure to also check out the different language categories, such as Spanish, French or Korean. There, you can find and start conversations in those languages!

You can access Discussions through the Community tab in the header, from the Community page, or by going directly to discussions.viki.com.


We hope you love Discussions as much as we do, but if you have any questions or feedback, feel free to contact us!

Viki Named World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer 2014!

0
0

We're excited to share some very exciting news: Viki has been named a World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer for 2014!

This is a huge honor that WEF bestows on only a handful of companies every year that are making the world a better place through innovative technology.

Viki was chosen for "helping to break down languages barriers and provide global access to content." Other honored companies include Airbnb, GitHub and CodeAcademy. We're in some pretty amazing company. Previous Tech Pioneer winners include Google, Mozilla, Sling Media, SoundCloud, Twitter and Wikimedia Foundation. 

A huge THANK YOU goes out to our community. Your incredible passion and dedication has helped to make Viki the coolest place to hang out and watch global TV with friends halfway around the world. <3 

Here's an interview with Viki CEO Razmig Hovaghimian about the award: 





KCON 2013 - Recap of an amazing weekend with fans

0
0
Whew! Just got back from KCON 2013 and we're sad about having to wait another year before seeing our friends again. We loved chatting with all of the amazing fans of K-dramas and K-pop.

For those of you who didn't get to go, and even those who did, here's a recap of the weekend - with photos!

Day 1:
Viki's Stephanie (2nd from right) with Sean Richard & the girls from Dramabeans 

Our very own Stephanie (Catchlight) moderated a panel featuring special guest Sean Richard, K-drama actor and star of Viki's concept video (you can also watch him as Daniel in "Feast of the Gods"). Sean talked about his previous and upcoming projects and we even got to watch his new documentary "Finding Hallyuwood." The lovely ladies of Dramabeans also joined us in our panel!

After the panel, Sean came to our booth for an autograph and photo session with fans (check out some very cute fan pics like this and this). The afternoon quickly became a star-studded event, as we got to meet famous YouTube stars, including Dumbfoundead andThe Fung Brothers!

Sean Richard gets ready to sign autographs

Viki's Brittany with Dumbfoundead

And of course, we saw lots of fans dressed up in their favorite K-fashion!

Day 2:

In the morning, we tried out the KCON Speed Dating - a fun event that paired fans with other fans in hopes of finding a possible KCON soulmate! Unfortunately we didn't find our soul mates, but we certainly made many new friends who love K-Pop as much as we do!


Later that day, we attended Henry's panel to learn more about his new movie "Final Recipe." He talked about what it was like to be in a movie and the differences between acting for the camera and performing on stage.

Henry
Red Carpet Event and Concert

A special edition of M! Countdown was filmed on the last night of KCON, for the first time ever in LA! We attended the red carpet event, which was packed with some of the greatest K-Pop idols, including EXO-M and EXO-K!

EXO

The night ended with explosive performances from stars like TEEN TOP, G-Dragon, and Missy Elliot!

TEEN TOP

G-Dragon with Missy Elliot
We had such a great time checking out the idols, but especially meeting all of you. Leave us a comment and tell us about your favorite KCON moment!

Check out our full photo gallery below!! :D

Community Stories: Kristen from California!

0
0
Viki has an amazing global community, full of countless stories that deserve to be shared. Here's one such story about an avid Viki community member.


Kristen Mazza is currently a senior linguistics major at the University of California at Los Angeles, who found Viki by chance in December 2010 while looking for a site to watch television dramas. She saw Viki pop up many times in online searches and other people online also recommended the site. It has become her favorite destination since, and she spends all of her spare time on the site. She's been a Qualified Contributor since January, and says that helping segment dramas has helped her learn Spanish and Korean. Read her fun story!


What's your Viki username?
Mazza

What language(s) do you speak?
English

Which activities do you do often on Viki?
Viewing (watching shows, movies, etc.), Subtitling, Segmenting

What do you like most about Viki?
I love the huge community that you find here and how passionate everyone is, from the dedicated volunteers to the very entertaining fans.

Has Viki helped you to learn or practice another language?
I initially became interested in contributing to Viki because I wanted to practice Spanish. At first, I thought the best way to practice would be to volunteer as a subtitler, but I feared my subtitles would be too poor. I turned to segmenting instead and discovered that segmenting is also very helpful for practicing listening skills, for segments must be replayed to check accuracy. When I work on a program of a language that I’ve studied, I always feel like I’m multitasking by practicing my listening while contributing to the creation of subtitles.

Have you made friends in the Viki community?
Yes! While working on channels, I have made some good friends whom I now talk to regularly!

What’s your favorite genre on Viki?
Korean Dramas

What’s your favorite drama that you’re watching right now?
There have been so many exciting dramas recently I can hardly label one as my favorite! If I must decide, perhaps these days, the drama I have been most looking forward to each week is “I Hear Your Voice,” because the mix of cuteness and suspense is too good to miss!

When you’re not on Viki, what other things do you do in your spare time for recreation or fun?
When I’m not watching dramas or contributing on Viki, I like to spend my spare time practicing Korean or experimenting with cooking. Viki is my favorite place to be in my free time though, so generally that is where I can be found!

September's Music Artist of the Month: BTOB

0
0
BTOB, which stands for Born to Beat, is the newest K-Pop boy group from Cube Entertainment. Following in the footsteps of fellow label mates B2ST, the new group has been under a lot of pressure to perform just as well as, or perhaps even better than, its predecessors. But BTOB didnt crumble under the pressure and its fans have been showing lots of love to the new group!


Less than a year into their debut, the multi-talented members of BTOB decided to venture out to different areas of entertainment, some choosing to take on dramas and variety shows and others choosing to hone their Broadway skills in musical theatre.
Recently, the seven-member group has been touring around Southeast Asian countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. BTOB's debut in Japan, at prestigious Tokyo Dome and Sapporo Dome, was wildly successful with tons of screaming fans. We wish we could have been there!








As if their great song and dance routines weren't enough, BTOB's appearance in Monstar involves a steamy bath scene in the showers alongside B2ST's Yong Jun Hyung. Don't miss it!


In 2012, their debut track “Insane" took the industry by storm with their tremendous popularity and strong fan base.






Music videos are available to viewers in most of Southeast Asia and Korea, and to Qualified Contributors worldwide. 

Let's Cook With Viki: Arepas!

0
0
In celebration of all our new telenovelas, we decided to make a Latin American dish called “arepas” — a type of corn griddle cake. (If you’ve ever had pupusas or gorditas, these will be familiar to you!)


Before we start cooking, let’s check out of some of our sexy new telenovelas to get us in the mood!

Eva Luna

A young woman’s road to happiness is paved by heartaches and tragedies created by a manipulative wealthy family in this remake of the 1997 Telemundo telenovela “Aquamarina.”




Wild Cat

In this telenovela, a simple ranch laborer falls in love with her boss’ son, but can they survive the tumultuous challenges that threaten their relationship?

Watch the trailer below:



OK, now that we’re in the right frame of mind, let’s get cooking! And as always, the first thing you need to do is to make sure your work station is clean and your hands are washed!

Ready to cook? Here’s what you need:

For the arepas:
  • 2 3/4 cups of maserpa flour (pre-cooked ground corn flour; please note that Western corn flour or polenta will not work, as they are processed differently)
  • 2 tablespoons of melted butter
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
  • 2 1/2 cups of hot water

Mix all of the ingredients together, until they form a dry dough-like consistency. If the batter is too thick and dry, add some more water. If it is too wet, add more flour  just be sure to adjust the butter and salt as needed as well!



Once the ingredients are mixed, form small dough balls, about an inch and a half in diameter. After that, press it in between your hands until it forms a disc about a quarter inch thick. Be careful not to over-handle your dough or it will become tough and gooey when you cook them!

To cook the arepas, simply pan fry on each side until golden brown, preferably in about a tablespoon of butter or a very light splash of olive oil (this helps enhance the golden brown color). Once done, take  out of the pan and serve while hot!



We chose to serve our arepas with some salsa and grilled skirt steak, but you could easily add other types of meats, vegetables and some queso fresco!



The arepas were fun to make, and it was a very engaging food to make with friends. The only suggestion I have is that you take your time and be careful when cooking them. If the arepas cook too quickly, the outsides turn brown before the insides cook! Make them too small, and the arepas overcook too easily. So just be careful and remember to have fun while making this dish!

For our salsa recipe, check this out:

Yummy Simple Salsa


  • 1 jalapeño (be sure to slice and scrape out the seeds!)
  • 2 habanero peppers  (to reduce the heat, scrape out the seeds or use less peppers)
  • 4-5 large red tomatoes
  • 1 clove of garlic
*Also note, in some cases jalapeños and habanero peppers can leave a "burning" sensation on hands due to the oils in the peppers - wear gloves to prevent this!

Roast everything in a pan or directly in the fire. Add some salt and a spoonful of vinegar to the mixture, blend well and serve chilled.

Enjoy this week’s recipe? Let us know what you thought, and feel free to make suggestions for what to make next time!


More K-Dramas Coming to Europe, Part III

0
0
European fans rejoice! Another twenty-five K-dramas, listed below, are now available in Europe for the first time. Check out the first two batches of K-dramas available in Europe that we've already announced here and here.


Enjoy the trailers for some of the dramas below.

Do you live in a region where these shows are still unavailable? Read our blog post on Qualified Contributor (QC) status to learn how you can get access to these shows!


Actors Doing Double Duty — Appearing in 2 Concurrent Dramas

0
0
The life of an actor or actress can be very demanding and involve some grueling filming schedules. But imagine having to work on the schedule of two dramas at the same time!


There are many talented actors who are working "double duty," enough to make some of us exclaim in timed comments, "Hey, wasn't he the evil grandpa in Shark?" Usually, the actors take on a strong supporting role in one drama, and a cameo role in others. Here are just a few examples of some Korean actors and actresses doing double duty in recent dramas.


Jang Hyun Sung


This prolific actor plays the arrogant, philandering husband Michael Noh in the currently airing drama “Goddess of Marriage.” Playing an anchor for an English-language news program, the character is having an affair with his co-anchor, Cynthia, and leaves his wife for her.


Jang also made a cameo in the first two episodes of the currently airing sci-fi drama “Who Are You.” In this drama, Jang plays Park Hyung Jin, a despicable and dangerous psychiatrist who likes to defile virgin girls.

Jang Hyun Sung plays a cheating husband in Goddess of Marriage and a dangerous pedophile in Who Are You

Kim Chang Wan

The well-respected rock musician and veteran actor has been a pleasant, fatherly supporting figure in many recent popular dramas. But he takes on characters in two currently airing dramas that seem to harbor a dark side. Kim plays Choi Moon Sik, the head of the serious crimes division of the Seoul Police Department in the drama Who Are You.” While on the surface a pleasant man who tries to chummy up to Detective Cha Geon Woo (played by TaecYeon of 2PM), Kims character starts to hide crucial evidence and play other dangerous games.


Kim Chang Wan joking around on the set of Who Are You
Kim also plays the chairman of the prestigious teaching hospital in Good Doctor,” and his character promises to play a small-but-pivotal role as he tries to push his own agenda in hospital politics. See his first appearance in Episode 4, below:


Kim Hee Jung

The Korean actress played Gong Kang Sook, one of the daughters-in-law, in the recently ended family drama “A Hundred Years’ Inheritance.”


See Kim Hee Jung play a money-hungry and aggressive wife in A Hundred Years' Inheritance.
At the same time, she appeared as Lady Yoon, Kang Chi’s adoptive mom in the popular sci-fi historical drama “Gu Family Book.” Coincidentally, both the dramas she appeared in had the words “hundred years” in them. In “Gu Family Book,” Kim’s character died trying to protect her husband’s “Hundred Years Inn.” See Kim Hee Jung appear in Gu Family Book, Episode 7 below:


Let us know if there are any other actors or actresses who have done double duty in recent dramas!

Letter from Viki's CEO

0
0
When we started Viki, we set out to build a “cultural silk road,” a streaming website built for the fans and by the fans. Our community remains the spine of what we’ve built, and it will continue to be so--soon on the world stage--bringing down language barriers and making the world a better place, one word at a time. 

We’re happy to tell you that we’ve reached another important milestone in Viki’s history. Today, we announce that we’ve been acquired by Rakuten, a Japanese Internet company that’s well known for its community-driven e-commerce platform. 

For a start-up founder, your first instinct is to build on your own. It became clear, however, that in order for Viki to truly live up to its potential, we needed to join a larger family with similar drive, passion, and the bias to disrupt. We chose Rakuten because the company shares the same values and philosophies we do: putting the community first, and building the global culture we love so much.

While Viki will continue to operate independently, we now have the resources to truly build Global TV Powered by Fans. What this means:

  • We’ll bring more on-air content/genres to more regions of the world.
  • We’ll grow the team to build community features faster than we’ve been able to before.
  • We can launch even more community programs and perks, including ad-free viewing and much more.

Most importantly, we’ll remain community first, putting much of our energy behind getting you closer to the content you love. 

We'll continue to keep you updated through this blog and QC Newsletter. In the meantime, my deepest gratitude to you all. I look forward to our next phase of growth together, as always. It is now time to truly unlock the world. 

Thank you for all you do. From your biggest fans,

Razmig & the Viki family

The Darker Side of K-Pop

0
0
Many summer K-pop music videos have ventured into darker territory with themes like wolves, vampires and epic longing for lost loves.


Check out these edgy music videos, which feature supernatural special effects, monsters, vampires and more!

Brown Eyed Girls — Kill Bill


The Brown Eyed Girls’ music video pays homage to Quentin Tarantino’s iconic vengeance film. In it, the girls play super sexy vixen killers who are clad in leather outfits and out to serve some serious woman-scorned spite.

Check it out below with a special shoutout just for Viki fans.




EXO — Wolf

EXO made a comeback with their music video for Wolf. In the video, EXO members transform into majestic wolves ready to strike! Naega wolf geurae wolf!




B2ST  Shadow

In this boy band’s video for Shadow, the members of B2ST linger in the shadows, longing for a lost love.




4 Minute — Volume Up!

The gothic set for this music video looks like a castle from the Dark Ages  the perfect location to fit the girl group’s vampire theme.



LC9  Mama Beat

Rookie K-pop group LC9’s music video for Mama Beat, which features Brown Eyed Girls’ Ga In, contains so many dark fighting action scenes that it received a 19+ rating.




Let us know which video is your favorite!

Types of Ideal Men: Teen Boys We Can’t Resist

0
0

Who is your ideal man? Is he tall? Handsome? Smart? Rich?

To give hope to all the women out there who are still searching for their ideal man, we thought we would provide some guidance and inspiration.

Over the next several weeks, we will feature “5 Types of Ideal Men” as seen in our favorite dramas. In our first list of ideal men we love, we feature teen boys that we simply can’t resist! Even if you’re no longer a teenager, live vicariously through these popular dramas and imagine how these irresistible boy toys would have made your angst-filled teen years a little more dreamy!

We’re sure you’ll be able to find your type in this list of the different types of ideal teen boys from our favorite dramas!

The Smart/Class President Type

Who can resist big brains, especially when the brain comes packaged with a handsome face and a beautiful body? Some of our favorite smart boys include:
  • Baek Seung Jo (played by Kim Hyun Joong), the tall, good-looking, most-popular guy in school who also gets perfect scores on all his exams in “Playful Kiss

  • Lee Sun Joon (played by Park Yoochun), a brainiac with the highest of ethics and morals in “Sungkyunkwan Scandal” 

  • Jeon Seon Woo (played by Kang Ha Neul), the class president who also can serenade any girl with his velvety voice and musical talents in “Monstar


The Wild and Confident Type

Admit it. We don’t always want to go out with the goody two-shoe boys. We sometimes fantasize about the boys who have a bad streak in him. Here are some of our favorite wild boys:
  • Goo Joon Pyo (played by ultra-hot Lee Min Ho), the cocky leader of the F4, a group of the four richest, best-looking, but also trouble-making boys at an elite high school in “Boys Over Flowers

  • Yoon Seol Chan (played by Yong Jun Hyung), a hot-tempered idol star who is forced to go back to a regular high school to repair his bad-boy image in “Monstar


The Sweet and Innocent Type

Innocence and naiveté can have their allure, especially in our favorite ideal teen boys. Here is our favorite sweet and innocent type:

  • Song Sam Dong (played by Kim Soo Hyun), the sweet-tempered boy who aspires to enter the entertainment industry in “Dream High

The Devoted, Attentive and Protective Type

You can’t help but fall in love with a boy who will do anything for you. If that makes us narcissistic, then so be it! Here are our favorite teen boys who are the devoted type:

  • Park Soo Ha (played by Lee Jong Suk), who as a boy pledges to protect the older Jang Hye Sung and then grows up to keep his promise in “I Hear Your Voice

  • Zhou Zhen (played by George Hu), the tough gangster’s son who will do anything to safeguard the woman he loves in “Love around


The Sporty and Active Type

We all love boys with rippling muscles and tremendous athleticism. The sporty boys who make us swoon include:

  • Kang Tae Joon (played by Choi Min Ho of SHINee), the elite high-jump athlete who suddenly must face the reality of suffering a career-ending injury in “To the Beautiful You

  • Shen Ruo He (played by Mike He), the unstoppable leader of the champion basketball team at East Sun College in “Bull Fighting” 


Which type of teen boy toy is your favorite?

Music Genres — Electronica in the Music Scene

0
0
Popular music has evolved from classic oldies by the Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder and Donna Summer back in the 60s and 70s, to more contemporary pop, rock and hip hop by Michael Jackson, Kylie Minogue and the Beach Boys in the 80s and 90s. Since the year 2000, electronica music has slowly gained popularity and has started to dominate the popular music arena.


    Electronica music infused its way into pop music thanks to the debut of multi-talented French house DJs, Bob Sinclar and David Guetta. More recently, Swedish house DJ, Avicii joined the gang. The catchiness makes you want to move your body with the music, completely reinventing the way music lovers listen to house music.




Tracks such as “Together” and “Levels” made it to pop and dance charts all over the world. Plus, further collaborations with mainstream artists, such as Black Eyed Peas, Lady Gaga, Pitbull and LMFAO, blurred the lines between hardcore electronica (trance, house, drum & bass, trip hop, etc.) and pop, hip hop and R&B. Even K-pop tunes from T-ara and ZE:A have added the electronica flavor.





From top left: Black Eyed Peas, Far East Movement & LMFAO
Below is a list of some today’s best known electronica-infused music enjoyed by music lovers, especially club goers!

"Don't Stop the Party" by the Black Eyed Peas
"Dynamite" by Taio Cruz
"Shots" by LMFAO
"Like a G6" by Far East Movement
"On the Floor" by Jennifer Lopez
"I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" by Pitbull
    Have a listen and enjoy!



    Viewing all 646 articles
    Browse latest View live




    Latest Images