Review of a BigBang Concert in New Jersey
The New Yorker
“I love you baby, I’m not a monster.” That’s the line that Taeyang, of the South Korean boy band Big Bang, crooned to an undulating sea of light-stick wielding fans at the Prudential Center, in Newark, the other night. To my immediate left, pressed against the gray iron bars that separated us from the V.I.P. mosh pit, a thirteen-year-old girl in a silver sequin tank and top hat voiced her devotion in squeals and screams. Behind us, two boys in tuxedos elbowed their way up front, armed with flash-ready iPhones. “O.K., do me first,” one instructed the other, as he leaned back against the bars, fingers raised high in the shape of a V. “Get two!” he ordered, before being edged out by a new tide of photo-seekers.
Bigger Than Psy: 2NE1 And The Future Of K-Pop
Forbes.com
The event roster for the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, is fairly diverse. On any given night, the arena might play host to an American Idol concert, a hockey game or a death-metal mini-festival. But on August 17th, the main attraction was something unusual even for a bastion of bizarreness.
NJ County Appoints First Korean American Female Asst Prosecutor
Jacqueline Choi became the first female Korean American assistant prosecutor in Bergen County, New Jersey, when the 31-year-old was sworn into office yesterday, according to the Bergen County Record.
She follows her father, Philip Y. Choi, into public service. The elder Choi was the first Korean American elected to the Leonia, N.J., city council.
2NE1 Invades America: Behind the Scenes with the K-Pop Phenomenon
Billboard
“I have to kill it. They’ve been waiting so long, I just have to kill it,” says CL, leader of K-pop sensation 2NE1. It’s almost 9:30 p.m. and she and her bandmember’s Prudential Arena show in Newark, NJ was supposed to begin an hour and a half ago. …. It’s a big night for 2NE1, not to mention K-pop in general. 2NE1′s “New Evolution” tour makes them the genre’s first girl group to have a global tour, as well as the first to hold a solo arena show in the U.S. Perhaps this is the reason for delay; the girls need to be perfect for such a big debut.
Cancer Survivor to Compete in US Ironman Triathlon
Some of the best athletes in the world are currently participating in the ongoing Olympic games in London. But a little closer to home in New York City and New Jersey, the 2012 U.S. Ironman Championship this weekend will bring together impressive athletes who are running, swimming and biking not for gold medals, but to raise money for various charities.
Sam Cho of Cliffside Park, N.J. is one of the many athletes competing in the annual Ironman triathlon, which consists of 2.4 miles of swimming in the Hudson River, a 112-mile bike ride in Palisades Parkway and a 26.2-mile run across the George Washington Bridge.
Eight years ago, Cho would never have imagined competing in the triathlon. After all, not many cancer survivors put a grueling athletic competition at the top of their to-do list upon remission.
53 South Koreans face fraud charges in Essex County
Newark Star-Ledger (N.J.)
More than 50 South Korean nationals are facing fraud charges in Essex County after applying for state driver’s licenses in Newark using a government form they had purchased illegally, the county prosecutor’s office said today.
The 53 defendants in Essex — 151 have been charged statewide — were arrested as part of a federal investigation into a multistate fraudulent-document scheme that allegedly helped mostly South Korean citizens obtain driver’s licenses and visas in the United States.
Leonia siblings excel in annual math competition
Leonia Life (N.J.)
Jordan, 11, and Jessica Lee, 8, placed at the top of their respective age groups in the New Jersey division of the Korean-American Scientists and Engineers’ National Mathematics Competition — a feat they worked mornings, nights and weekends to achieve.
Coached by their father, Daniel Lee, and their grandfather Jong Lee, the siblings trained extensively for a month, poring over formulas and concepts from various branches of math to learn quick problem solving skills.
2NE1′s ‘New Evolution’ U.S. tour dates announced
allkpop
For the Blackjacks in the U.S. the wait has come to an end for the two U.S. tour dates that the girls of 2NE1 will be making a stop by have been revealed!
The girls will be heading towards both the East and the West coast for their U.S. portion of the tour, so check out the locations and dates below!
- August 17th, 2012 Newark, New Jersey; Prudential Center
- August 24th, 2012 LA, California; Nokia Theater LA Live
Tickets go on sale this Saturday at ticketmaster.com and livenation.com.
Big Bang’s Alive Tour Confirms New York Date and Venue
KpopStarz
After announcing the first stop yesterday in Los Angeles to take place at the Honda Center on November 3, the second stop originally announced to be New York on June 7 has now been confirmed to be held in New Jersey on November 9 at the Prudential Center.
