Category: Korea

What NOT To Do at the DMZ

p1020100The Ultra Family is headed back to Seoul, Korea this week for Ultra Korea, and what better way to celebrate than to reminisce about all the craziness that went down last year!

The festival was amazing (as always): Avicii, Kaskade, Tiesto, Krewella, Adventure Club, among many others graced the stage.

After the festival wrapped, we all went to Octagon nightclub to party some more. Sense a theme with these Ultra festivals?

I was one of the first ones to leave the club- at 6:30am!- and immediately went to the hotel to jump on a tour to the DMZ, or De-Militarized Zone of Korea. This is the place where North and South Korean soldiers are in a stand-off, separating the two countries. With just a quick nap on the bus ride, you can probably guess that I was probably not in the best shape… and I made a few mistakes.

What NOT To Do at the DMZ is our most viewed video to date on How 2 Travelers, and not surprisingly, our most controversial. While breaking rules that can harm people is extremely irresponsible (and NONE of that was done in this video), I think people are attracted to this piece because it’s relatable. We’re not perfect! And we don’t travel perfectly! We have all been there, trying to capture a photo at a museum or making a Queen’s Guard laugh when we are told to do the opposite. This is how people travel- sometimes following the pack, sometimes going off the beaten path. And that’s the goal of our travel series, to make the travel experience as real as possible so that even if you have never been to the specific place, you can relate to the experience.

So, take this video as an entertainment piece. And be the wiser for when you head off to the DMZ.

Here We Go! UMF Korea Round 2 – and bonus BTS video

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ULTRA made its first Invasion of Asia in August of last year… and it was INSANE. Since I’ve been with ULTRA as their live stream host, I have been to some really cool places and even better parties, but Korea was definitely a highlight. A lot of the dj’s agreed, saying the Korean crowd rivaled the one in Miami. They were super enthusiastic, as EDM is just breaking over there. It was incredible to feel the energy fill the Seoul Olympic Stadium- which is kind of massive by the way- when the superstars, specifically Tiesto, made it on stage and they were able to experience the party in person, some for the first time. Add to it the theatrics of the ULTRA mainstage, and it was quite a show.

I have captured this insanity, as well as a behind the scenes of what goes on, in the video below.

Now here we are in 2013, ready for the second UMF Korea. I don’t know how it will get bigger and better, but it definitely will. Those Faibisch brothers are always pushing the envelope. Make sure to catch it as we will be live streaming from http://www.youtube.com/umftv.

Here’s a look at my favorite pics from UMF Korea 2012, as well as my behind the scenes video.

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Steve Aoki on the main stage at UMF Korea 2012. In Miami it’s hard to get on stage, but at the smaller festivals we get more access to the artists.

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Fans at the festival. The audience was primarily composed Koreans and ex-pat Americans, specifically those serving in our armed forces. These pictures show the two main components of our audience, but all coming together as one to party!

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Behind the scenes during the UMF TV broadcast: Director Charly Friedrichs, aka Final Kid, and I putting together a package on the festival on the spot. People are surprised when I tell them the broadcast is completely unscripted, as it comes together so well. I think that’s a testament of our relationship; we are both on the same page of what we want and trust each other to do our jobs. Plus, Charly is one of the best directors I’ve ever worked with and the entire UMF TV team is beyond talented.

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DJ Jon Rundell wearing my ULTRA ears on stage with Carl Cox.

 

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My favorite fan at UMF Korea. He had on a tail, a fox head scarf and glow sticks galore. In the video below, there is a hilarious exchange where I try to flirt with him, and then he SHUTS me down. I need to step up my game.

Fotor0611111826Enjoying the city skyline in Seoul, Korea.

 

Here’s the video with all the backstage antics of UMF Korea for my YouTube channel.

The K-Pop Stars You Need To Know

PSY will most likely be headed to One-Hit WonderVille here in the US, even though in Korea dude is ancient, having a serious career for over a decade; but no worries as there is a lot more from where that can from. Literally, there’s 25 million people in Seoul and they churn out pop stars like we churn out reality stars.

Here’s a breakdown of the K-Pop Stars you need to know.

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I love how every Korean Pop song contains English lyrics. It sounds something like this:

“go zha nee na ga da All Right

go zha de ga doo da blah blah All Night”

… which strangely is also how I sound singing along to FloRida.

But you can tell that the artists don’t really understand what they are saying. I mean, Electric Shock sung seductively using cardiac defibrillators?! You had me at hello.

 

JANG WOO YOUNG

Despite my best attempts, I can’t seem to get Electric Shock out of my head, but there is someone’s head I would actually like to have. And by head, I mean head of hair. I want to look like Jang Woo Young. I don’t care that he’s a boy; he might just have the greatest colorist that ever lived.

 

GIRLS’ GENERATION

K-Pop puts a whole new meaning into boy and girl groups. They don’t do 5 boys or girls per group. No, they double that to 10 9. Close enough. This is Girls’ Generation and get ready, because they are trying to break into the US market. I legitimately heard a radio advertisement for them here in Los Angeles, and I may have been the only person that knew who they were. In all honesty, they are not my favorite, BUT these pop-ettes know how to dance.

SUPER JUNIOR

And then there is the yin to the Girls’ Generation’s yang, or is it the reverse? Anyways, Super Junior has 14- yes FOURTEEN- freaking members!!! (10 of which are currently active).

This video for Mr. Simple looks like it was shot on the same sound stage as Girls’ Generation’s The Boys. Hey, with that many mouths to feed, you’ve gotta cut corners somewhere, and thankfully it wasn’t with the hairstylist. Stop it at 1:07 and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Oh, and his ring is fierce, too.

 

Welcome to K-Pop. Korean Fluency not necessary.

 

Hot Hot Hot in Seoul, Korea

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It’s the beginning of a new era! My YouTube channel is now a travel hub for fun vlogs of my adventures abroad, as well as quick, super useful travel tips (coming soon). Travel has been a passion of mine since I was young, just check out the Bio section of this website for more info, and it feels like a no-brainer that I have finally combined my personal and professional passions under one roof called YouTube.

I’m kicking it off with the so hot right now South Korea, which is literal in this case as it was FREAKING HOT when I was there. I’m talking 95 degrees and 100% humidity. The glisten in the above photo is of the salty variety.

The video is the first part of my “+5/-5” series, where I gain five pounds in one day and then lose it the next day/video. Think it can’t be done? Here is how you do it:

 

And here is how I lost it all: