We’ve been getting a lot of questions asking what exactly are we giving away every day. So here just see for yourself in these photos after the jump. There isn’t any official merchandise such as cds, t-shirts, or posters related to Boa’s Eat You Up album yet because the we’re still a few months away from actual release. So Ningin made one-of-a-kind collector’s posters which Boa so generously autographed. Having collected a few autographs from many celebs, I have to say, Boa’s signature is really cool. Anyway there’s a couple of CDs that we had signed too.

Everyday we’re giving out two posters to lucky Ningin users. All you have to do is visit us each day so there’s a chance, albeit tiny chance, that you can win multiple days. So if you’re already a Ningin member, you don’t have to do anything but visit. If you’re new to Ningin, then you better sign up now! It only takes 30 secs or so to register.
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Tags: autographs, BoA, cds, contest, eat you up, posters, prizes, signatures

Today my role was Ningin’s third cameramen during our interview with the Apop superstar, Boa Kwon. I basically just walked around with a Flip video camera taking candid videos of Boa and her staff/entourage to possibly add a behind the scenes type angle if needed. We brought a pretty big crew in total, two photographers, three cameramen, one audio guy, and of course the interviewer, Jeannette Eng. Seeing how this was Boa, we brought in all seasoned professionals including Eddie Lebron, director of the Megaman Movie that we’ve been helping to promote.

I think we were the 5th or 6th interview of the day for Boa having already met with the likes of Seventeen Magazine, Nylon, and others mostly American media sites. By far we were the biggest production crew, though I thought this was standard for someone of Boa’s caliber. I don’t know how many chances I’ll get to spend time with Boa, so I made sure to get squeeze as much as content as I could with the multiple photographers and cameramen.
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Tags: amy cheng, apop, BoA, david hou, eddie lebron, exclusive, interview, jeanette eng, new york city, ningin, peter chin, sm town, umg

With BoA crossing over to America, it makes me think of other artists I would love to see cross over.

For example, I believe the Japanese band Exile has a lot of promise. Recently dubbed at the 2008 World Music Awards as the Best Selling Artist from Japan, the group blends R&B and Techno to form their signature style. Some of my favorite songs are Real World, ChooChoo Train, Song for You and Heart of Gold.

Another artist I would enjoy is Japanese R&B duo Chemistry. As opposed to Exile’s upbeat hits, Chemistry is a purist of R&B. Being very talented; they have collaborated with various Korean artists like Lena Park producing various chart topping singles. Of all their music, their live album recorded at Suntory Hall in Japan is one of my favorites.

Also on my list is Korean boy band Dong Bang Shin Ki (DBSK/TVXQ). There is no denying that DBSK is marketable as they are talented. They’ve won various awards in both Korea and Japan and hopefully one day the US. I’m sure everyone will grow to love their ballad O as much as I have.
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Tags: apop, BoA, Chemistry, clazziquai, Crystal Kay, dbsk, Exile, m-flo, TVQX, wang lee hom

The world over, in every village and street corner, millions of kids want to make it big in music. Every country has its own “pop machine,” but making the ultimate name (and royalties) for yourself invariably means success in the U.S. market. A few from Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Australia have crossed over, but why aren’t there more Asian stars on the U.S. charts?

They have the looks, the talent, the cutting-edge fashion and dance moves. In recent years, they’ve been coached by some of the same producers and talent-shapers behind big U.S. acts. So why are Americans not buying? People who know the music industry have a variety of theories.
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Tags: america, apop, asian americans, crossover, english

Cape No. 7 (海角七號) is a Taiwanese comedic romance film written and directed by Wei Te-Sheng, his first full-length motion picture. The film is mainly in Mandarin Chinese but also contains significant lines in Taiwanese and Japanese. Before its commercial release, the film premiered world-wide on June 20, 2008 at the 2008 Taipei Film Festival as its opening film. The film later won 3 awards in this festival.

Prior to this film, the two leading actors Van Fan (范逸臣) and Chie Tanaka (田中千絵) only had minor acting experience while some of the supporting roles were filled by non-actors. Even without a strong promotional campaign, this movie has become so popular in Taiwan that on November 1, 2008 it became the 2nd top grossing film in the island’s cinematic history, behind Titanic. The film has been nominated for 9 awards in the 2008 Golden Horse Award and it is Taiwan’s entry to compete in the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.
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Tags: academy award, cape no 7, festival, film, movie, taiwan

Apop princess BoA performed live in Times Square NYC this morning where only a selected few were allowed inside. Even though I had arrived much later than most fans (some had arrived at 5AM), they allowed a second batch of fans to enter, including yours truly.

Getting inside the studio, I noticed there was a diverse group of fans - showing that BoA’s popularity has no limit. The pop princess performed hit singles “Girls on Top” and “Eat you Up” where she was vocally on key and up to par with her dancing. I found this impressive as she had a broken wrist and admitted to being nervous.

There was only one retake of the entire performance but it was due to the lack of crowd participation and a microphone issue. While waiting, BoA made jokes about the mic and had everyone laughing.

After the performance, she did a small Q&A where I learned some interesting facts:
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Tags: boa kwon, eat you up, girls on top, japan, katy perry, korea, new york, times square, usa

Having been around for almost a decade now, Boa has accomplished a lot in her young life. Not only was she discovered by chance at the age of 13, but she is the most well known Asian pop artist of our time. From her training days to her U.S. debut, the young artist continues to excel beyond limitations.

On that note, I’ve made a small timeline of her journey to fame. While it is a short timeline, I expect her to be around for much longer now that she has crossed over to the US.

Stay tuned to the rest of the week as fellow Ningin bloggers talk in more detail about her career.
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Tags: boa kwon, career, history, jpop, kpop

Boa Kwon, easily one of Asia’s biggest pop stars, is crossing over to the United States. Even casual fans of Boa know that this is what she’s been groomed for since she was a little kid. However, preparation and talent can only go so far. There’s a lot of factors beyond Boa’s and her management’s control.

The number one reason why we started Ningin was for events such as this. Everyone here has a serious passion about Asian media and would love nothing more than to see Boa and every other Asian pop star succeed worldwide. When Boa’s management contacted us to help promote Boa’s US arrival, we were extremely thrilled to say the least. We understand that communities like Ningin have important roles to play in making changes and so we’re taking this very seriously.

See http://boa.ningin.com

Starting today for the next five days, we’ll be posting articles, photos, and DVD-quality video related to Boa. We created our own special flash video player (nicknamed the Boa Player) just to accomplish this feat. We’ll take a deep look into her history, her achievements, and her goals. We’re even going analytical and see why Asian pop stars have a hard time crossing over. As mentioned before, we have an exclusive video interview with Boa herself and we’ve put together a professional camera team to go film it. Oh, and all this content will be available to download and share under the Creative Commons license. So please download!
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Tags: apop, BoA, contest, creative commons, crossover, download, dvd-video, eat you up, exclusive, interview, microsite, mtv, performance, photo gallery, prizes

Couple of months ago, my Korean cousin from Suwon came up to Seoul with her boyfriend. They stopped by, left their car in our apartment parking lot, and went up to visit N Seoul Tower (or Seoul / Namsan Tower). After reading this article, I wonder if they went up there to declare their eternal love for one another . . . much like the article said how couples would bring locks, lock it, and throw the key away.

As much as I find this really corny and wasteful, this discovery is actually tempting me to go back up to the Seoul Tower. That temptation itself is quite shocking since I have sworn never to go back up there after a field trip that traumatised me. And I do live close to it. Heck, I’m only five minutes away, by car, from the base of the mountain, so one of these days, I may go up there to see such a thing. Make that a day when I’m really bored, have a friend who’s willing to go with me, and when we do go up there, we are taking the cable car. I refuse to walk up there, which stems back to that childhood trauma of the place.

Actually, you guys here at Ningin can motivate me to go up there. Although, I don’t know if going up that high during winter’s a good idea or not. XD

Tags: korea, n seoul tower, namsan tower, seoul, seoul tower, suwon, yongsan-gu

Jinra Ilustrisimo is your average 20-something based in Southern California. Although just average, she likes to experience life beyond the average in her forever on-going pursuit for new sights, sounds and tastes. Ilustrisimo is a walking contradiction in her love for both high and low brow culture. It’s common to spot her at an art gallery or local cafe participating in something seemingly pretentious, but don’t be surprised at the ease in which she’ll speak about the latest Britney album, Gossip Girl episode or Twilight book she’s reading.

Her past professional lives include time as a PR specialist for a boutique PR agency and event coordinator for the 2007 Newport Beach Film Festival’s Asian Spotlight event. Currently, she’s on a break to explore other professional life directions.

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Tags: blogger, jinra ilustrisimo, new, ningin