Hollywood celebrities and singers who love Korean food, culture and K-Pop

Why do you think Hollywood actors and singers love K Pop?

What do you think about K pop?

The Hallyu Wave is becoming so popular all over the world that even the biggest Hollywood stars are taking notice. From Liam Neeson to Lorde, a lot of big-name actors and singers know and love K-Pop and Korean culture.

Liam Neeson

During his visit to South Korea on July 2016, the "Taken" actor showed that he knows about K-Pop. While promoting the movie "Operation Chromite" he gave his best version of TWICE's famous "sha sha sha" move from the group's song "Cheer Up." He also said that he loves Korean food. His favorite is Kimchi.

Emma Stone

Stone talked about her love for K-Pop during an interview on "Conan." She proclaimed herself to be "obsessed" with K-Pop. She was excited when she talked about her favorite, 2NE1. When host Conan O'Brien asked her to describe K-Pop, the "La La Land" star said, "It's a global phenomenon. It's beyond excellent. It's the best thing you've ever seen."

Conan O'Brien

He too is in love with South Korean culture. He went to South Korea in 2016 and immersed himself in the many colorful things of South Korean life and culture. He tried to learn Hangul. He visited an historic fish market and even starred in a Korean drama series and K-Pop music video.

Lorde

The Grammy Award-winning singer is a very big fan of K-Pop. She described the genre as having interesting melodies and songs. And that Korea’s type of pop music is more cute and more fun than in the West. Lorde lists 2NE1 and Lee Hi as her favorite K-Pop acts.

Nina Dobrev and Kat Graham

"The Vampire Diaries" actresses showed that they too get excited about K-Pop groups. Dobrev once tweeted about 2NE, it’s so amazing. Graham said that she's also obsessed with K-Pop.

Jaden Smith

Jaden Smith, together with his father Will, visited the YG Entertainment headquarters in 2013 and hung out with Yang Hyun Suk, CL, G-Dragon, Taeyang and T.O.P. Jaden even showed love for G-Dragon on Twitter. He called the BIGBANG member his idol. He also said that he's serious about being a K-Pop Star.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=3, B=8, C=1, D=7, E=6, F=2, G=5, H=4

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1. You need to take notice of the weather and prepare yourself.

2. He proclaimed his love for her by buying her a ring.

3. You are obsessive about video games, you play them 8 hours every day.

4. Gangnam Style was a Youtube phenomenon.

5. If you want to learn a foreign language well you need to be immersed in it. For example live in that country.

6. My parent’s favorite genre of music is very different from mine.

7. This weekend let’s hang out together and share dinner and a movie.

8. The Korean baseball player Park ChanHo was my idol when I was growing up.

    

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1. What parts of Korean culture would you like people to take notice of? Why?

2. How would you proclaim your love to somebody you love very much?

3. Why do you think young people/or other people obsess over idols and famous people?

4. Do you think that Hallyu is a phenomenon? Why or why not?

5. What hobby or activity would you like to be immersed in? Why?

6. What is your favorite genre of movie or music or other activity?

7. Who do you hang out with in your free time? Who did you hang out with when you were at school?

8. Who is an idol singer or actor for you? If you don’t have one, then who do you idolize?