Korea put up a solid fight but was eliminated in the round of 16 in the World Cup on early Sunday morning, when Uruguay beat Korea 2-1. But the team made great strides in South Africa, reaching the second round for the first time on foreign soil. Although Lee Chung-yong equalized the match 23 minutes into the second half, Korea surrendered to the winning goal 12 minutes later. But Korea’s confident play against football powerhouse Uruguay impressed fans all over the world and went some way to saving the face of Asian football. Only a decade ago playing against Korea meant a guaranteed victory for the opponents, but no longer.

Korea’s offense was in the top group among the 32 teams in the World Cup. It scored an average of 1.5 goals per game, with six goals in four games, ranking sixth after 50 games played as of Monday. Korea scored four goals in set-piece situations such as free kick or corner kick where a ball is not moving — first among the 32 teams. Korea also recorded an average of 12.75 attacks per game, ranking 11th. However, the story is different when it comes to defense. Korea allowed six goals in three games at the group stage, second only to North Korea’s 12.

Experts say that systematic nurturing and managing of the players is essential to prepare for the next World Cup in Brazil in 2014. It is highly likely that the key players behind the success of the 2002 — captain Park Ji-sung, Lee Young-pyo, Ahn Jung-hwan, Kim Nam-il and Lee Woon-jae — will retire by then, which means that Korean football has to break out of the shadow of 2002, when it made it to the quarterfinals. Park Chu-young, who displayed potential as striker, and World Cup rookies Lee Chung-yong and Ki Sung-yueng will be at the core of the new generation. However, experts say that without efforts to discover and train potential replacements for Park Ji-sung or Lee Young-pyo, Korea will not stand a chance next time. First of all, there is the problem of nurturing good defenders. In Korea, players with good defensive skills are rare. Most of defenders end up taking position under inevitable circumstances or when they lose in competition for offensive positions. They mostly want to play attacking midfielder or forward positions until middle or high school. “We should nurture players with good defensive skills from an early age,” said Choi Kang-hee, manager of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors.

Although Korea’s offensive skills improved, it still lacks something. The fact that the team scored many set-piece goals conversely means that it was unable to produce field goals. In the end, more attackers will have to make inroads into the European League and grow through fierce competition. The importance of qualitative improvement of Korea’s K-League cannot be stressed enough. The future of Koran football is dim unless the K-League, which is the lifeline for many of the key players in the national team, finds way to develop further.

Better luck next time you guys. See you in 2014.

This song is pretty easy to sing along because there are less words and it is a pretty slow song overall. The lyrics don’t make that much sense to me (maybe its too deep for me?) but I do like the melodic side of the song. I also want to point out that Seotaiji doesn’t pronounce the lyrics very clearly in this song so you will be able to get away with enunciating the entire song. Learn to sing this song and impress a girl, guy, cat, dog, uncle, frog, etc.

olaen sigani jinagabeolyeossji
eoddeohge nan amuleon gieogdeuli najil anhneun geolgga
su manhdeon jeo inpadeul sogeseo
bon jeog eobsneun jeo nacseon punggyeongi naleul nolyeo bone

nopge ollyeo ssaheun dam i danjeol sogyi nan
nayi ggume geojiseul gohan ihu
geu hyanggeushaessdeon yagsogyi i dopiceolo dolaon naneun
dan haludo pyeonhi jamdeulji moshaessneungeol
geu nugudo i can’t keep going
amuteun nan jeo inpae..
jeo inpa soge nan eojjaeseo
dasi sangceoleul ibeulgga
You See The Lie?
nuneul gameun cae muli sogeul da’hollo geodgo isseo

mulyeogham jeo TVga naege yagsoghal ddae
eocapi nan amuleon maldo moshan cae geujeo usji
nopge ollyeo ssaheun dam i danjeol sogyi nan
nayi ggume geojiseul gohan ihu
geu hyanggeushaessdeon yagsogyi i dopiceolo dolaon naneun
dan haludo pyeonhi jamdeulji moshaessneungeol

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Hanglish (한글리쉬) became popular after a Korean rap artist, Tyfoon did a small skit in one of his music videos featuring this “language.” Hanglish is not a literal mix between English and Korean but pronouncing Korean like English. This takes tremendous amount of skills because not only you have to speak Korean but you have to make it sound like English. For example, you would say “놀러” which means “to visit” in Korean. In Hanglish, you would say “놀러” like “No Love?” in English.

There are a number of copycats on Youtube who attempted this feat but failed miserably. Check out Tyfoon’s original skit.

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With all eyes on Tiger Woods’ return and then Phil Mickelson’s late surge, two South Korean golfers KJ Choi and YE Yang made quiet yet impressive runs, both finishing in the top-10 at the Masters. With Mickelson winning his third title at 16-under, Choi, 39, had sub-par rounds throughout the four-day tournament to tie for fourth with Woods, his four-day playing partner, for an 11-under 277 and 38-year-old Yang finished in a tie for eighth at 7-under.

In addition, Anthony Kim, an American of Korean heritage, made a late surge in the final round into a lone third place, four strokes off the lead. Choi, who entered the final day in a tie for third, had a bogey-free 3-under on the front nine and added another birdie on the 10th hole to briefly join Mickelson in a share of the lead, but back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14 after a pace-of-play warning on the 12th dropped him out of the title mix.

“We (Choi and Woods) were told about our pace on the 12th hole, so that kind of got to me mentally,” said the seven-time PGA Tour winner. Choi, who joined the top professional men’s golf circuit in 2000, has competed at Augusta National for eight straight years and his career-best finish was a tie for third in 2004.

“Definitely, it was exciting like 2004, but only this year, it was, on a personal level, better for me because my playing level has improved a lot. So, I’m more satisfied,” he said.

“It was more gratifying for me this year and the fans were very supportive. Just playing with Tiger for the last four days was a very good experience.”

Yang, the only Asian-born major champion on the PGA Tour, got off to a slow start, making two consecutive bogeys on the fifth and sixth, but he closed the back nine with four birdies to go to 7-under.

“I am satisfied that I finished in the top-10,” Yang said of his third Masters appearance.

“The front nine, I was two-over for the day really fast but then on the fifth hole I missed a makeable putt, and then on the next I hit it a bit short and made bogey.

“I am a bit of streaky player, so I like having my birdies early, and if I don’t, then it sort of frustrates me and it just impacts my whole game. The short putts that I missed affected my whole game throughout.”

Kim, 24, who won last week’s Shell Houston Open in a playoff, came out of nowhere and fired a tournament-record 65 to prove he has talent enough to challenge for the title.

The three-time PGA Tour winner played a four-hole stretch starting on the 13th in only 12 shots – an eagle and three birdies ― and finished with two strong pars into a 12-under.

“I knew I was coming from pretty far back and Phil’s obviously playing great and Lee was playing well,” Kim said. “But I grinded. I hung in there and I’m proud of the way I stuck it out.”

Meanwhile, Choi hopes that the top-10 double is likely to motivate Asian golfers in their title bid at major events.

“In the past, it was the mindset of the Asian players that when it comes to the Masters, there was a fear factor there, that we can’t do it,” he said.

“But now I hope that this gives motivation for the younger players, other players, that they can do it at big tournaments like the Masters.”

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Korean superstar Jang Dong-gun announced his wedding plans at a fan meeting event in COEX, Seoul on Saturday. He said, “I’m getting married to my best friend, coworker and sweetheart, Ko So-young on May 2. I appreciate the interest very much but would like a quiet wedding if possible.” He posted a message on his webpage later Sunday saying he would like to thank people for wishing him well. On the same day, Ko wrote on her fan cafe site that there seem to be no secrets in the world, hinting at her impending marriage, and she is starting a new, beautiful chapter in her life.

He made his debut in the MBC drama Our Heaven. Winning Actor Award in the Blue Dragon Awards again for his role as the dedicated cop in Nowhere to Hide. In 2000, he starred in the film Friend, which at the time was the highest grossing Korean film of all time. Jang gained widespread critical acclaim for his portrayal of a troubled high school student who joins the mafia, paving the way for him to star in the 2004 Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War, about the Korean War, which again shattered box office records. His portrayal of one of two brothers drafted into the war earned him a third Blue dragon award.

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2PM leader Park Jae-beom has officially left Park Jin Young’s JYP Entertainment, dashing the hopes of fans who have been clamoring for his return to the popular seven-member boy band. In a message posted on its Web site, JYP Entertainment said it had terminated its exclusive contract with Park. The Korean-American left the group in September after incurring the public’s wrath for critical comments he made about Korea on social networking site MySpace between 2005 and 2007.

JYPE revealed it had made plans for Park to rejoin 2PM, but they were scuttled after the young singer admitted last December that he had done something “that was more serious than the MySpace controversy.’” “To 2PM and everyone who waited for Park’s return, we deeply apologize. The company and the six remaining members of 2PM will work even harder to present an improved image,” JYPE said.

The company acknowledged that Park’s MySpace comments were written on his personal page while he was having a hard time during his days as a trainee at JYPE. At the time of the controversy, the company agreed with Park’s request for some time off for self-reflection, but did not plan to curb his activities in the entertainment industry or to remove him from 2PM. However, Park’s comments, which the agency said were exaggerated through mistranslations, had already enraged the public. So, Park decided to leave the group and return to the United States in September, a move that JYPE supported.

The South Korean skater delighted fans and judges alike with a playfully sexy and sophisticated James Bond medley Tuesday night in the women’s short program, shrugging off the enormous expectations that come with being the biggest favorite since Katarina Witt in 1988. Her score of 78.5 points not only shattered her own world record.

“I had waited a long time for the Olympics,” Kim said. “I had ample time to practice and prepare, so I wasn’t shaky or nervous just because it was the Olympics. I was able to relax and enjoy the competition.”

For Kim, gold is the goal. She arrived in Vancouver with the greatest expectations of any single athlete. The reigning world champion is a rock star in her native South Korea, dubbed “Queen Yu-na” and so wildly popular she can’t leave her parents’ house without bodyguards. Though South Korea has piled up plenty of medals — 10 here in Vancouver, as of Tuesday night — the country has yet to win anything in any winter sport besides speedskating and short track.

But if Kim was feeling the heat, she didn’t let it show.

“I didn’t think that this is the Olympics or I have to be perfect,” said Kim, who trains in Toronto and competed in Vancouver a year ago. “It wasn’t that special a feeling, it was the same as other competitions. So I was very comfortable, like the other competitions.”

But what makes her so captivating is her presentation. Anyone who complains that figure skating has lost its sizzle hasn’t seen Kim skate. She played the Bond Girl to the hilt, rubbing her hand up one thigh while she was in front of the judges, fixing them with a flirtatious look.

When she saw her marks — 2.22 points better than her previous record — she gave an easy smile as if she expected it all along.

“It was a really good vehicle for her, because she likes to skate a character piece, especially for the short program because it can be such a nerve-racking experience,” Orser said. “She likes to show off. She certainly did, she was beautiful.”

We wish you the best Kim Yu-na! 김윤아