Jin

The medical field and the legal field are two fascinating fields for me. I do not know which to choose and I am quite content with playing around academically, taking varied courses of course.

When I read that Jin was about a present-day doctor going back in the past to the Joseon era, I was seriously interested. I wish I could see something like this in Naija films, even US sef. I learned that there was a Japanese version, and I plan to watch that soon. So, I delved into Dr. Jin.

After being exposed to ER, House, Scrubs and Grey's Anatomy, I am familiar with fictional medical shows, particularly the makeup for the blood and gore. I was not grossed out by the surgery in Jin, although it seemed like everyone needed some form of brain surgery, and neither was I too impressed. It did not look real but the actors were believable and I could let the unimpressive makeup go. Besides, I was watching the drama to see what how he would get his tools and how he would make medicine.

Soju, a strong liquor, made for a good disinfectant, which is scary considering the heavy drinking culture in South Korea. Jin was able to work with a blacksmith to create tools and it was impressive to see materials made for scenes. 

But...the characters. Dear goodness the characters. 

Jin went back in time and met guy and girl. Girl looks like his current girlfriend, who is in the hospital following an accident, and guy would be the father of the next king. Jin is drawn to the girl because he feels he should protect this obvious ancestor of his girlfriend's. Girl is basically betrothed to this guy, her brother's best friend/brother, who cannot tell that she's just not into him. He pines and pines while being the bastard son of his family. Everyone makes a point to call him the bastard son, it's like his first name. Together they deal with politics and corruption all to protect their nation.

One female would not stop crying. It was a running joke among viki commentators that it was in her contract to cry every 5 minutes. As an actress Park Min Young is solid. She is a good actress but I fear she is being typecast. She was in City Hunter and she annoyed me in that role as well. Now City Hunter did not rely too much on the "love rhombus" (stolen from a viki commentator, thanks :D) between Park Min Young and Lee Minho's characters, but her character was known for getting in the way of the action scenes. It was embarrassing to watch as a female, and it is why I absolutely love Girl K, absolutely, hands down, forever will...even if Han Groo (and I still know her name without google) decides to play some stereotypical female roles. She was a BAMF (Bad-Ass-Mother-Fucker) and it was oh so refreshing to see. In Jin, Park Min Young was not entirely annoying, no that position was held by the main character, Jin. He had the most hilarious fainting spells, and he does not listen. He also feels that it is his responsibility to protect Girl. He saves her brother's life by operating on him and she's intrigued by the idea of being a doctor. She wanted to be a doctor and she achieved that. She makes her own decisions but the men, rather man, in her life just cannot stand that she will not listen to him because....drumroll...she may die. Yes, her character was just oh darn special that she had to live under his thumb or face the natural life cycle of death.

The gisaeng, Choon Hong played by Lee So Yeong, was fabulous. Gisaengs are female entertainers and they were privy to everything that went on especially on the political scale. Now she tells Jin to not go about changing history. Guess what he does? Invent penicillin and calls it...penicillin. Sorry Fleming, South Korea got it first sahn. Let's just apply some logic in this. I know, I know, there is no logic in kdramaland, same as no side vision or cell phones when your loved one runs away. Penicillin was a BAMF, it cured everything. Until some microorganisms started getting resistant and then it proved fruitless. Now penicillin was made decades after Jin supposedly made his and everyone wanted a piece. In addition to robbing Fleming of his achievement, sorry Alex, he singlehandedly sped up the resistance of microorganisms to penicillin. That is bad. That is worse than Sena and her boo's plotting in Rooftop prince. That is worse than all the evil mothers in kdramas put together. It means that in the 21st century, MRSA would be the least of our problems. But fortunately there is no logic in kdramaland and the future only has a few cases of penicillin-resistant microorganisms. 

And the operating rooms...I was hoping for a greater emphasis on cleanliness. I am surprised no surgery got infected with the amount of wading in and out and constant interruptions "touch him/her and I will kill you". Speaking of threats, so many folks were offering their lives to the Queen Dowager (oldest woman in the royal family) to prove their loyalty. You have no idea how many times I shouted at the poor woman to do it. Come on, off with his head, you know you want to say it. 

from Linda Ikeji's blog

This is the story

Best response: http://lindaikeji.blogspot.com/2012/09/dear-lib-readers-i-need-your-advice.html

That some people found this story cute is highly disturbing. Maybe this is the 14.1 percent of Lagosians that suffer some form of mental illness or other. The man took advantage of a woman and that is adorable? that is sweet? And of course, there just had to be that Naija male possessiveness there, that she belongs to him. Oh dear me. Of course she belongs to you. Because you are a male, a Nigerian male at that, she should succumb to your powers of persuasion and her refusal warrants her beheading. 

Mr Dauda (aka NACKSON)
let the lady go. In the first case, you didn't realise, while you took advantage of her desperation,that she probably had a descent boy friend, who decided not to deflower her all these years before you showed up. You don't know if she still values her relationship, in-fact you know nothing about her. The truth is the feeling you have is not love, it is POWER. You just discovered that if you have money, in Nigeria, you can take advantage of the vulnerable; this is what has been happening in Nigeria from the beginning of time, so don't try to be self righteous. 
All you want is another piece of the pie, until you get tired and then go for another pie. Let her go and promise your self not not to take advantage of another woman again! 
On the other hand, if you choose to be very stupid, you will go after her, she will date you- you might even decide to marry her. Then later on in life, after a loveless marriage, you will realise you never loved her, and she only wanted financial security. 
On the other hand, she might even never forget, and in time, gradually make your life a living hell. YES she is a matured adult, but if given a choice of not losing her job, she would have gone against her principle by allowing person she never knew sleep with her. Welcome to the world of CASANOVAS, I really hope you wouldn't graduate to start sleeping with married women.
Finally, You claim to be 28, and yet you behave like a child who doesn't have a mind of his own. you claim to be a DMD, but I reckon you can't even make good corporate decisions your self; instead you value the opinions of you friends more than even your conviction or principle. You are giving me the impression that if told to rape a woman by your pears, you would do it without asking to save face- please have a mind of your own, and don't use this forum to air your disgustingly dirty laundry.

Its men like you who ruin the lives of girls. Men like You Mr Man. As old as you are? you still get peer pressured by your mates? As old and wealthy as you are, you cant make decisions with you 'Deputy CEO'd' brain? Please allow the innocent girl. Allow her go please, drown yourself in guilt. Ensure your friends pick out a girlfriend for you okay? because if they don't, you will end up lonely without friends and you wouldn't be seen as a Lagos big boy anymore. Okay? and that will lead to you becoming poor right? right! you don't want that do you? And also, randomly walk into banks, who knows? you may find another marketer who in a bid to reach their monthly target would be willing to sell off their most treasured asset. That way, you can brag to your group of 'Big Boys'. You would like that wouldn't you? As geek as you claim, your 28 year old brain cant tell you wrong from right. Men like you disgust me.

Nigerians sha

I am Nigerian
I watch Asian dramas (2019 update: mainly Korean dramas)
I watch Naija movies and I used to watch soap operas while in Nigeria. 

I was born in Mushin, on Onanuga Street
Then we moved to Kelani Street, still in Mushin
I lived opposite Mushin Olosha market.

I have seen a burnt body in the street 
A policemen once directed traffic, allowing my mum and me to cross the busy street.

The Nigeria I know is not glamorous. It is busy and bustling. It is not pretty but it is real and gritty and genuine. I know that blogs like Bella Naija offer a more glamorous view of Nigeria but it hurts me. I liken it to a feeling of whitewashing. There is poverty in Nigeria. When a foreign body provides a statistic like "Nigerians living in poverty rises to nearly 61%" Nigerians are quick to say it's a foreign body, it's all to tarnish the name of the country. Anyway, Nigeria's own National Bureau of Statistics says 112.519 million Nigerians live in relative poverty conditions.

Apart from the relative poverty index, other poverty measurement standards are absolute measure, which puts the country’s poverty rate at 99.284 million or 60.9 per cent; the dollar per day measure, which puts the poverty rate at 61.2 per cent; and the subjective poverty measure, which puts the poverty level at 93.9 per cent.

Naija's own artists have tackled this problem: 

Fela Anikulapo Kuti - Every Single DAMN Song 

Nneka - Every single song

Eedris Abdulkareem - Jagajaga, Naija My Country

Sound Sultan - Mathematics/Jagbajantis, Gengen, Craze World

Trybesmen - Plenty Nonsense 

Kush - Let's live together

Onyeka Onwenu - Peace Song, One Love

Daddy Showkey - Fire

Femi Kuti

Lagbaja - Gra Gra, Suuru Lere

Kandy Sea - No One Knows Tomorrow 

Maintain - Alo, Efon

MI - Crowd Mentality

Now Rick Ross tackled it and I love it. See this is the Nigeria I grew up in. I saw these things all the time, the pile of refuse, the stench of the refuse. The smell of a burnt rubber stays with me today. I saw people like these all the time. I saw hawkers and little children and beggars. I lived around poor people. I was fortunate to have parents who made sure we had a roof over our heads and food every single night. We lived in a face-me-I-face-you, then a bungalow and now I think they are in a house. My point is this was my reality, my Lagos and my Nigeria. So yes it hurts me when Bella Naija try to erase these things with their haute couture and African designers including Summer and Spring in their collection. 

I understand that people do not want to hear sad news all the time. I get that. The artists above also made light-hearted music, in fact the songs above have an appealing beat without the message drowning you in sorrow. I am tired of Nigerian artists ignoring where they came from. I am tired of the awards celebrating the same mediocre people, and yes P-Square and D'Banj and Wizkid count as mediocre. So yes, I like Fazebook Babes because it shows Nigerians as they are, quick to ignore their own problems while chasing some societal status. I am tired of the issue of poverty not being discussed enough. I am tired of a mediocre government who sacks the few doctors it has, cuts off the livelihood of okada riders, passes ridiculous traffic laws, and fines owners/renters N250,000 or a six-month imprisonment for failure to beautify their properties

But condemnation for the law came from all quarters. More worrisome is that violation of the laws attracts between N30,000 and N50,000 fines or imprisonment up to three years. The motorcycle riders stated that the law would prevent them from plying about 475 routes in the state, a factor they said would seriously affect their income. Such was the discountenance of the motorcycle riders to the traffic law that they instituted a case against its implementation.
Even motorists described the law as extortive and unworkable. The law forbids them to make phone calls, eat, count money or engage in “other dangerous activities,” while on the wheel. As for pedestrians, they are forbidden to cross the expressways.

It seems Nigerians, Lagosians in particular, love dressing up messes. Rather than sweep the dirt and clean the grime, they adorn it with fancy clothes and spray the stench with perfume. It sickens me when Lagos is hailed as some great state when it is far from where it should be. Perhaps we need more Rick Ross showing us just what is wrong with us. We never do listen when our own say it. Or Fashola can simply imprison people for disobeying an ill-advised law.

Eedris Abdulkareem "Baba"

I'm surprised at how people are translating this. "Baba" is not a jab at Obasanjo. Rather it is a jab at the leaders of Naija and the state of the country. It calls out the leaders of Naija for failing to do their job. And it speaks back to them when they try to silence his criticism: "I call you jagajaga and you curse me". "Baba" is reminiscent of "Naija my country". The message is that he loves Nigeria but why oh why are things still the same 10 years later.

 I applaud Eedris for what he does. He serves as a voice for the streets and you don't have a lot of that anymore. Asa, Nneka, Sound Sultan and MI still do that but Eedris can relate to the people. He has tackled corruption and failing the people (Jajajaja), leaving Nigeria for "better shores" (Come Back Home), and sexual harassment (Mr. Lecturer). The four dabble in societal issues and I must applaud Omawumi for addressing sexual harassment (Na Who I Go Ask). He does not make club bangers, his songs have depth and meaning to them.  His songs have a societal message and he's passionate about that. PSquare and DBanj make club bangers and they do that well. I like all 3 but there is music and there's music. DBanj is doing well for himself and so is PSquare but I won't say they are opening any doors. The doors were already opened by Fela, Trybesmen, Eedris and several other whose names I can't remember for the life of me.

Eedris is angry the same way Nigerians are angry, and I think he has a healthy avenue for his anger and his frustrations, and his music does that beautifully. Eedris is talking about what he had to go through and it was rough. Based on the part about 50-cent, he had to endure the same thing many Nigerians endure abroad, but he endured that at home opposite a foreign artist. He, among other artists, paved the way for today's artists and he doesn't want the title of an "artiste" dragged in the mud. Eedris is talking about what all Nigerians talk about on the blogs and forums. This time he's targeting the artistes who should be for the people who are instead for the politicians, or so the people. Now Eedris is angry because according to him, DBanj is tarnishing the name of an artiste and he is rightly upset.  He is also upset at the politicians who are not doing what they should be doing. This is what Sound Sultan used to do, except he did not talk about it, he only sang about it. These videos sound like a documentary but the way the clips are edited sans questions and background information doesn't help.

Eedris actually gives DBanj a very good piece of advice, "make your money wisely". He's not hating, he just wants them to be true to where they came from. A lot of people were upset and rightly so when the ad for Goodluck came out and when the subsidy protests happened earlier in the year. Artistes, especially those who claim to be students of Fela, have always been critical of government officials. So for DBanj to do an ad for Goodluck is contrary to what Fela would have done. I like DBanj but him claiming to be a student of Fela was a no-no. It's something else to be inspired by his music or use his beats but DBanj is no student of Fela. Folks lambasted a lot of artistes who did not speak out during the subsidy protests, and I remember the Sahara intervew (bless that woman's strength to endure his silliness) and that's what Eedris is doing here. Now I have one question as to when this interview was done and why it was uploaded a week ago. I  think this interview was done around the time of the subsidy protest but why is it uploaded now?

Something good

I love mathematics especially when used in algorithms.

See, I knew that I could not be the only Nigerian who enjoyed Korean dramas (kdramas). I'm not THAT special. So I turned to google, whose tab-icon I do not find particularly appealing. The white g on blue background is just not working for me for some reason.

I was watching an episode of "A Gentleman's Dignity" on Viki, one of my favorite sites to watch my Kdramas. Mysoju, ma binu, you were and will forever be my first--actually Crunchyroll was but you still hold a place in my heart. I do not remember the episode but in the comments, someone had posted that the female's lead "wahala" was too much and out came the love. The Nigerians recognized that pidgin word and the other Africans also picked up on it. It was such a beautiful moment for Nigerians to claim one another even though the comments were not in real-time. From the Nigerians came the other Africans, next came the Islanders and the other non-Korean nationalities. It was a beautiful moment, so beautiful I had completely missed the gazing into nothingness the characters were portraying, so I rewound.

And today, I found another Nigerian who enjoys kdramas and kpop: Radio Palava. My summer is officially complete. I got over my fear of roller coasters (no be me and you go enter the Intimidator, lai lai), improved my swimming, sent in my DACA application and learned to bake bread. Wetin man fi want XD?

JYJ, an inspiration

I spent the last couple of days getting caught up on kpop, particularly DBSK/TVXQ and JYJ and I have found a new respect for the trio. JYJ is made up of Kim JaeJoong, Micky Yoochun, and Xiah Junsu. There was a lawsuit against their former management company SMEntertainment and the details of that can be heard in their music essay "Untitled"

I have yet to see a musician who has worked as hard as these trio, save for Michael Jackson. Their dedication and perseverance in the face of lawsuits, breaking up, horrible working conditions with mere hours of sleep and sesaeng fans (stalkers) is amazing and endearing. They encourage me not to quit and my life is nowhere as hectic as theirs. I can only go so many days without my nine hours of sleep and even then I am neither a morning person nor a people person. 

I applaud them for daring to do that which no one else has done, confronting the bully that is SM Entertainment. I was in tears while reading the stories, thanks to SeoulBeats, Soompi, and allkpop. I have so much more respect for these guys and that has grown so much after listening to their music and watching their creative talents. Junsu's "Tarantallegra" is marvelously symbolic and just very impressive. 

Now I see the musician, not just the idol. I really do hope they have a psychologist and a physician on retainer. Their body and mind has been through so much more than the average person and I fear for their mental health. I am a Naija babe and I love my Naija acts but those guys are not on this level, not yet--and I don't even understand Korean. That says something. Lagbaja, Nneka, Sound Sultan, Asa and perhaps sometimes MI do give me good music but the video is not so noteworthy. I'm not dissing my Naija musicians, just amp it up a little. 

JYJ is slowly shedding that idol image and moving onto the musician stage. Now if only SM would stop with the bitch moves and cut their losses and move on. It seems they do not realize that the harder they make it for JYJ, the greater their popularity. I am proud of these young men and I wish them successes in the future.

KDrama: Fashion King

From Left to Right: Yoo Ah In, Shin Se Kyung, Lee Je Hoon, Kwon Yu Ri

--KimchiDrama

I actually liked this drama, I really did mainly because I could relate to the characters in a way--all of them. This was not a drama about love, but about a passion for fashion and success. And I welcomed that. It was also a fairly realistic drama, one of the most realistic KDramas I have ever seen. It shows people exactly how they are.We do not want to change. The actors were great. That I must say. The drama started out okay, it was crazy in all sense of the word, but I had hoped for it. Then the writing seemed to take a turn for the worse. There were a lot of loose ends and it was as if the writers were not paying attention to the characters they created. The beginning was crazy, "Rolex" will forever hold a different meaning for me, but the ending was something else. 

Young Gul played by Yoo Ah In 
He worked hard to get where he was. His mother abandoned him, his dad dropped out of the picture, his sister fell ill and died due to lack of money. His story is sad but he builds a clothing business and makes a name for himself. He meets a former childhood mate, Ga Young, (not "friend" as they had only met once/twice) and he aggressively pursues success. There is the antagonist Jae Hyuk who really cannot stand Young Gul and does everything to make this life hell. Young Gul becomes immensely successful but he was consumed by revenge. His character is something out of a Shakespeare play. His character is the "revenge is the ultimate downfall" or "money is the root of all evil." 

Lee Ga Young played by Shin Se Kyung 
There is no character development on her part, at all. Not once. She remains the same pushover. Even Iago's wife in Othello had some spunk compared to her. Now she is an orphan. Her parents died in a car accident and her mother's business partner makes her her live-in slave. This character is weak because her circumstance has made her weak. For me, this is the first KDrama character where the writers actually go into why she is weak and I can relate to her. But she remains weak. She meets Young Gul who is her savior; he gives her a home and allows her to design to her heart's content. Then she meets Jae Hyuk and while she clearly states that she loves Young Gul, she finds herself with Jae Hyuk. The former provides security and stability, the latter provides a rare opportunity to grow and develop her talents. It is the classic "eat your cake and have it too." 

Jae Hyuk played by Lee Je Hoon 
This guy wants what he cannot have, simple. This is why I did not like his character. He is a spoiled kid, who is in need of a serious therapist. His father hits him, with available objects, and his mother dotes on him too much while remaining oblivious to his suffering. He in turn abuses others, from his secretary to his ex-girlfriend/current girlfriend, to Young Gul and to Ga Young. For some reason, viewers loved this guy. Yet, he is the one who leaves his current girlfriend Anna, whom he had to woo back, in order to pursue another girl in another country, on another continent. He cannot stand up to his dad, or protect his then-girlfriend from his parents yet he wants to bring in a spineless girl. His character is sad and pathetic, but his money and status clouds all that. I label him "things are not at they seem." 

Anna played by Kwon Yu Ri 
This character leaves her work in the US for a job in Korea because her former boyfriend promises to do better. Now she loves him and while his parents gave her hell before, she decides to brace it. But his eyes are on Ga Young and he reneges on his promise to be there for her. Granted she is not as good a designer as Ga Young, she is a good businesswoman. With no comfort from Jae Hyuk, she seeks a friend in Young Gul. Young Gul likes her but she refused him, so they become drinking buddies. She is jealous of Ga Young and she wants her boyfriend to be monogamous. Eventually she breaks up with Jae Hyuk and moves into Young Gul's company where she is better utilized. Her character is strong but she struggles to find where she belongs. She does not belong in Jae Hyuk's world anymore and he hurt her, and she keeps looking for someone to accept her and love her. I label her "trying to find oneself." 

The drama does something so well that I rarely see in dramas or tv shows except on the Cable networks: SHOWTIME, Starz, HBO, etc. The characters are complex and the villains are also complex. There is absolutely no typecast here. The actors did a terrific job portraying these characters.Young Gul seems like the good guy but he also strays when he makes money. The writers explain why he does not open himself to others easily--his upbringing.Ga Young is weak but she does go after what she wants: her life at Young Gul's shop, her work at Jae Hyuk's company, and both guys breaking their necks for her. The writer also explains why she is so weak and indecisive. She was an orphan at a young age and she was practically a slave to the "weird bangs lady."Jae Hyuk is crazy because he is constantly being beaten by his father and he cannot separate his emotions from business. Anna is the way she is because she did not have a normal family; and apparently none of the characters did, and her hubby hurt her--badly.

The ending was not well thought out, although I believe the writer/director were aiming for a Shakespearan tragedy. But they missed the mark. Young Gul is in financial trouble and he leaves Korea for New York, USA. He leaves his girlfriend, Ga Young, behind. Time passes and he sends her a letter and ticket for New York, Jae Hyuk (the guy who does not understand the word NO) intercepts the message and brings the girl to New York. Ga Young things Young Gul abandoned her (this character has serious and realistic abandonment issues) and sticks with Jae Hyuk. It is inferred that the two are together. Life does not give pretty endings but it would have been fitting for both Ga Young and Young Gul to be together. It just would have. 

And I think this drama goes the easy route: the rich kid gets his way and wins the girl. Young Gul has been consistent in saying no to Jae Hyuk and saying yes to Young Gul but now she switches? That did not make sense. Their relationship was as clear as day. Oh and Young Gul somehow manages to call her and they did not talk it out. Instead, he gets shot by some random guy while on the phone with her but she does not hear the gunshot. The ending was bizarre and odd and just way out on left field. The writers and directors did not employ the KDrama cliches here, and I appreciated that, but they used it in the end which was pointless. Why have the guts to go a different path only to go back to it. I like the cliches though, especially when it is interpreted differently, but it was refreshing to not see a lot of them in this drama. However, the ending seemed to satisfy the viewers who wanted the rich kid with the poor girl. I would have wanted to see a more realistic ending: Jae Hyuk in therapy, Young Gul and Ga Young starting over in New York, far away from crazy Jae Hyuk, and Anna standing on her own. I'll chalk this up to a slightly bad Shakespeare rendition. Also, the fashion was not that great.