소녀시대 – SNSD

Girls' Generation from the cover of their album "Mr. Taxi".
From left to right: Sooyoung, Hyoyeon, Taeyeon, Jessica, Yoona, Tiffany, Yuri, Sunny and Seohyon

So a funny thing happened about a month ago (as of writing). I was searching on Youtube for videos of Kanjani8, a Japanese band I like, when I stumbled upon a music video by Girls’ Generation (Mr. Taxi). I was curious, I watched. I was blown away. I was just hooked. I watch other videos, started learning the names, etc, then realized I had become a fan. Girls’ Generation, or so nyeo shi dae (소녀시대) in Korean, is probably the top female Pop group in Korea, but has also become a huge hit in places like Japan (as shōjo jidai 少女時代), Taiwan and now more and more in the West. Among fans they are often called SNSD for short. This page is devoted to these awesome ladies.

In general, I never really listened to girl groups, even after I explored Japanese music through my wife’s collection. I certainly never even listened to KPop until encountering Girls’ Generation. But since then, I have consistently enjoyed Girl’s Generation because they have such a good balance of singing, dancing and style. When you watch something like the song “Hoot“, the 70′s James Bond girl theme is so cool, the girls are strong and alluring, and the song totally fits. For you ladies, Choi Siwon is a good looking guy too.

Here’s a list of music videos by Girls’ Generation on Youtube if you’d like to see more. Early in the career, the girls were younger, and their music is definitely more “Bubblegum Pop”, but I like their recent music more because I feel they’ve matured as a group. “Genie” is still my favorite overall I think as well as “Run, Devil, Run“. Compared to a lot of JPop groups I’ve seen, I like the stronger, less “cute” image they project, among other things. I also like how they’re constantly keeping their image fresh and new. For their recent album, “The Boys”, they opted for a Victorian-style theme, which was pretty new and clever:

The members are as follows:

• Taeyeon (태연) – She is the leader and my personal favorite. She’s got a powerful voice, incredibly stylish and is a strong woman.
• Jessica – She is Korean-American and I like her voice. In videos, she often appears early on along with Taeyeon.
• Sunny – She is another strong singer in the group, and for some reason I like her look.
• Tiffany – Like Jessica, she’s Korean-American and even was born in the same hospital. She’s all-round a talented member.
• Hyoyeon (효연) – She is the main dancer of the group, and often has a solo dance in each video. She has an impressive background and is fun to watch (e.g. Watch “Genie” about 2/3 of the way through).
• Yuri (유리) – Yuri is really beautiful and earned the name “Black Pearl” for a good reason.
• Sooyoung (수영) – Sooyoung is also very beautiful, and the tallest member. You can also recognize her voice because it is much softer sounding.
• Yoona (윤아) – Yoona is probably the most photogenic of the girls, and is often placed in the front for group photos. She’s probably the most recognizable in Korea.
• Seohyun (서현) – Seohyun is the youngest member of GG, but she has a really fantastic, strong voice. Also, she is often admired for her natural beauty, given that plastic surgery is a common practice in South Korea.

So that’s a brief look at Girls’ Generation. Along with Arashi, they are among my favorite groups from Asia, and I hope to update this page more over time. Guess I am yet another person swept up in the Hallyu Wave lately. ;p