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boysplanetrecaps · 2 months

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Build Up, Episode 7 Part 2 I guess: Team Lastplace versus Team Ballad

Ok, my loves! Welcome back for another recap of MNET’s Build Up! We’re jetting through the series at this point -- only three episodes after this! Is Nakka still stuck in your head? Because I woke up singing it. Anyway, in the previous post we transitioned from episode 6 to episode 7 and saw a ninth place team go up against a first place team. In this one, we’ll wrap up our third mission with our final 3x3 Death Match: Team Lastplace against Team Ballad. Let’s do this!

So, Dahee calls the guys up on stage and people are excited to see a big ballad show down.

The first team introduces themselves as “My Mr. Gwangseok”, which is a reference to the fact that the song they’re singing comes from the soundtrack to a drama called My Mister.

You can tell that Gwangseok sort of wants to die.

In the previous round, Lim Junhyeok and Yeo One performed My Sea and came in last place; new recruit Lee Gwangseok performed A Letter with Kim Seongjeong, and lost. Seongjeong was eliminated, unfortunately.

LTR: Junhyeok, Gwangseok, Yeo One

The second team introduces themselves as Soul-Pow in reference to the fact that Inhwan was in the Power category and the other two were in Soul.

LTR: Jaekyung, Inhwan, Donghun

In the previous round, Yoon Inhwan and Ma Jaekyung performed Take Me Back In Time and came in 3rd place; new recruit Donghun performed End of a Day with Sunyoul, and lost.

The judges ask about song selection, triggering a flashback to the day that the surviving duos were able to recruit a third member from the ten sole survivors.

We see that Donghun, sitting in the DMV, is hoping for Jeup’s team to choose him so he can avoid singing another mournful ballad -- while meanwhile the balladeers are talking about how much they really want him on their team. UH OH.

Donghun is like, well, I’m flattered, but also, I’m miserable.

They meet in an apparently unheated room with a… chalk board? Is that a chalk board? That can’t be a chalkboard. It has to be some sort of marker board or smart screen or something.

The other two keep suggesting old-fashioned ballad after old-fashioned ballad and Donghun is like, hey, here’s an idea: what if we sang something happy? The other two want to do what they’re good at. They discuss for quite a while (or at least, it’s edited to look like quite a while, but their cups don’t change position much so I don’t think THAT much time passes) and eventually Donghun gives in and says, ok, a ballad… And Jaekyung suggests doing an idol-ballad, which is at least kind of a compromise.

Donghun suggests The Truth Untold by BTS. It is apparently inspired by an Italian folk tale, but it could also just be read as the anxiety that comes from showing your real self to a new love and fearing that they’ll reject you.

Sample lyrics:

You know that I can’t show you me, Give you me I can’t show you my weakness So I’m putting on a mask to go see you But I still want you

A flower that resembles you Blossomed in this garden of loneliness I wanted to give it to you as I take off this stupid mask

But I know this can’t go on forever I must hide Because I’m ugly

It’s emotional, but not miserably sad. It’s a song of pining for someone, not mourning the death of a relationship.

The other two actually really love the suggestion and they begin practicing immediately. Either that or it’s a different day and Inhyuk is wearing the same s w e a t e r.

This will come as a shock, but they really want to win! What? I know!!! It's wild.

The performance begins.

Full version without reactions.

My thoughts:

Overall, very nice. I admit, I’m not a BTS stan -- I like them a lot and enjoy a lot of their songs, but I’m not obsessed and I didn’t know this song well. Still, I’d heard it a few times and like it well enough. I think that, if anything, this version was more enjoyable than the original.

It’s weird to hear this song sung by someone like Inhyuk. But it mostly works, even if I think that his facial expressions are a bit much.

He should add this to his busking repertoire -- I bet he’d get more tips! I think this is the most I’ve enjoyed an Inhyuk performance on the show. He toned down some of his more ballad-y mannerisms and for me it worked much better.

Jaekyung, if anything, sings with *more* ballad-y mannerisms, and I still find his vocal tone a little nasal, but boy can he harmonize.

I think Donghun has my favorite voice among the three. It’s smoothest and prettiest among the three with the least nasality.

But all three have great power and breath control, and their voices work really well together.

In the MNET edit, there’s nothing but love. Lots of shots of the judges sort of shaking their head in surprised approval.

Solar has goosebumps! Either that or she is genuinely cold in the studio! Might be both! No way to know!

When they’re done, several judges do the Korean throat-clearing-of-approval thing.

Backstage, the maknae look genuinely touched.

It seems that most people are especially impressed with Donghun.

The judges say…

Jaehwan immediately praises Donghun, saying, “Singing each note so preciously maximized the story arc of the song.” Baekho, Jaehwan and VCG agree that Donghun is just sort of charming and likable on stage when he sings.

Jaehwan has some criticism for Inhwan, who took some jazzy liberties with the rhythm in the second verse. Jaehwan wanted him to keep to the original rhythm.

Wendy wished there’d been harmony in the beginning too since she liked the harmony so much in the end when it showed up.

VCG says that when they took turns singing, the ones who weren’t singing looked distracted or disengaged, and it negatively impacted the performance.

That’s a good point, and backstage, Lee Minwook is like, that’s good advice for all of us.

And with that, judging for the first team is over and the second team -- the last team to perform and also the last placed team -- comes up to perform.

Immediately, the judges talk to Gwangseok about his unique but untrained voice, triggering a flashback to his experience on the show so far. He placed first in Voice check in, then he was a low-tier member for failing to control his voice, and then was saved despite being the reason his team lost. Then he was left for last when surviving duos recruited their third member.

He was so glad to see Junhyeok and Yeo One when they went all the way to the DMV to get him and tell him that he was actually their first choice.

I love how he’s so tall that the camera man can’t even get the top of his head in frame.

They’re not lying -- they did sincerely did want him. Junhyeok mixes some metaphors to explain, “If we can tame the wild horse, he’ll be a good weapon.”

They meet up in a conference room to drink iced drinks -- drink warm drinks to take care of your throats, you dumb dumbs! -- and strategize.

Junyheok is back in a sweatshirt, which is such a power move. He’s like, yes, this was on the floor when I woke up. This is me. Yes.

They ask Gwangseok what he wants to sing, and he basically says that he’s so worried about harmonizing with a team that he doesn’t even know what song to sing.

s w e a t e r

Junhyeok is sympathetic and encouraging. He tells him, “If you present refined wildness, I think it’s a success. I’ll be able to help you.”

They decide to go with a song called An Ordinary Day by Jung Seunghwan from the My Mister soundtrack.

The song itself is a basic k-ballad about trying to muddle on in the wake of a breakup. Sample lyrics:

Drip drip, I’m trying to stop my falling tears As I pretend nothing is wrong I say hello to you And I start my day like that again I’m alright, Telling myself it’ll pass As I cover up the past As it builds up, I get used to it Days I can’t turn back easily I forgot about the beginning And I kept getting farther away That’s why I couldn’t tell you So another ordinary day passes

True to his promise, Junhyeok teaches Gwangseok how to sing, with really specific feedback.

Aww, how cute is this --? Junhyeok playing the piano like a chorus teacher while they practice together.

And it seems to really work. At the guys’ final check in, the staff say that Gwangseok has changed how he sings. As a teacher myself, I love seeing a student who is hungry to learn finally get the instruction he’s been wanting to get.

Back to performance night. Everyone is excited to see them perform.

The performance begins.

Full version without reactions.

My thoughts:

I don’t think this was ever going to be a performance I really enjoy, since as you know full well by now, I don’t love most k-ballads. But I still appreciate their voices.

Gwangseok sounds a lot softer, but manages to keep pitch on those deeper, softer notes, which is a credit to Junhyeok’s teaching. I think this is my favorite performance of his so far.

Yeo One does that thing that drives me nuts where his eyes are completely closed for about 95% of the performance -- WHAT IS THAT? -- and he still needs to work on his breath control, but he seems a little better at holding a note for the right length of time.

Junhyeok’s voice still has that slightly shrieky tone to it sometimes, but here it didn’t bother me. I actually think this combination of voices works really well, because Junhyeok’s voice is like the spritz of lemon juice you put on some fried calamari, you know? It brightens things up.

Their harmonies work well, too. You can hear all of them, which is a credit again to Junhyeok.

In the MNET edit, of course, everyone goes nuts for Gwangseok per usual. We even have to have an instant replay of his first few notes.

The conspiracy theorist in me thinks that sometimes, just sometimes, the judges exaggerate their facial expressions in order to maximize their screen time. Maybe. If anyone does this, it’s Solar, because she is always displaying the most over-the-top reactions to things.

But just in general everyone loves it, and when they’re done there’s applause and throat-clearing-of-approval. Backstage, the rival team is worried, and the guys in the green room think that Donghun’s team is at risk.

The judges say….

Eunkwang says that for him, it was the best performance of the night. He praises Junhyeok’s efforts in helping the other two sing better and arranging the song. Yeo One isn’t dragging his notes as much, Eunkwang says, which is something I noticed as well.

There’s also a lot of praise for Gwangseok’s voice general and for his improved singing technique. He started and ended the song with a sweet tone.

Solar says that Gwangseok “built up” the most among all the contestants. She’s impressed with his improved restraint.

Then VCG says, “That’s all for the compliments. Let’s talk about the problems. The song suits Gwangseok the most, so when the other people sing, even though they’re very good, it sounds awkward. When Gwanseok led the song and the other two added harmony, nothing could’ve been better. It’s a team of three people that can’t easily make harmony. You have good individual parts but don’t blend well as a team.” Ouch. That’s exactly what they didn’t want to hear.

Backstage, the guys are starting to think that this team will win. How on earth could Donghun get eliminated, though? So, who will the judges vote for?

The votes are revealed.

Blue is Donghun’s team, and red is Gwangseok’s team. And… Gwangseok’s team takes it, 4-3.

It’s the revolution of the underdogs.

Gwanseok thanks his teammates for helping him so much.

Donghun says he’s disappointed, of course, but he seems pretty much ok. He thanks the judges for their kind words over the course of the show, and thanks his team. He really does seem to be in a better place emotionally than he was at the beginning of the show.

Both teams walk off stage arm in arm, and backstage, the guys are hugging each other and congratulating each other for their hard work.

Then Dahee says something that judges seem not to know: that they’ll be rescuing five of the eliminated people!

The judges say they were hoping for something like this. I assumed they’d be saving one, but nope, they’re saving five! This is great!

Ok, we’ll pick up with that in the next post. Thanks for being a friend! See you soon.

XOXO

BPR Unnie

#bpr recaps build up #build up mnet #mnet build up #build up #A.c.e.#a.c.e donghun #pentagon

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kimgoeun · 3 years

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𝘓.𝘜.𝘊.𝘈.: 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 - 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘥𝘦 1

#L.U.C.A.: The Beginning #lee da hee #luca #last universal common ancestor #kdrama #drama #kdrama edit #lee dahee #luca: the beginning

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jievn · 4 years

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favourite drama kisses - cha hyun & seol jihwan (search www) bonus: surprise kiss

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myyounee · 4 years

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love this image ❤️ ❤️ ❤️

#edit image #movie still #once again kdrama #kdrama #kbs drama #holding hands #sadon couple #lee sang yi #lee cho hee #jae sook & dahee #kbs once again

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jaegraph · 6 years

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#lee da hee #lee dahee #model #race queen #racing queen #korean #asian #avatars #jae #edit

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keetika · 2 years

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— ⁺ 𝐋𝐄𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐇𝐄𝐄 , 1985 [ #378 GIFS ] THE BEAUTY INSIDE / lee dahee is korean, please cast accordingly and use appropriately. all of the gifs have been created from scratch by me. to access the gifs please click the source link. do not edit, claim as your own or add into your own hunts! time and effort were spent into making these gifs, a like or a reblog would be much appreciated!

[ ! ] content warning: alcohol

#lee dahee gif pack #lee dahee gif hunt #rph #asiarph #gifsociety #mine.#gif pack #gif hunt #lee dahee

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perfectlyfuckingcivils · 4 years

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don’t crop my gifs. don’t edit my gifs. don’t use my gifs if you rp as real people.

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nana-studio · 4 years

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Cabin attendant uniform

( The beauty inside/ Lee dahee♡)

·Dress

·10 Swatches

·All lods

·New Mesh

- PLS DONT STEAL

- PLS DONT SHARE SFS

- PLS DONT RE-EDIT & RECOLOR

- PLS NO UPLOAD TO ANOTHER SITE

My blog♡

Download

#laluna #lalunasims #sims4 #sims4cc #sims4dress #sims4clothes #sims4clothing #ts4 #ts4cc #ts4clothes #ts4dress #sims4dr #ts4dr

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be-lis-mamamoo · 4 years

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lee dahee's instagram post

[TRANS]

hyejin-ah, maria for you🙈

(unnie really burned with passion...😳) #mamamoo #hwasa #comeback #mariachallenge #moomoopresident

she edited her post and addedㅡ

this song is..c.r.a.z.y🙊

cuties (what she calls her fans/followers), you all are listening to it, right??

#She's officially the Moo president hahahahahaha #I love this #Mamamoo #Hwasa #Ahn Hyejin #hwasa comeback #Maria challenge

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solplparty · 2 years

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youtube

ENHYPEN (엔하이픈) 'Tamed-Dashed [Japanese Ver.]' Official MV https://youtu.be/qVdc7AvM4xQ ENHYPEN (엔하이픈) 'Tamed-Dashed [Japanese Ver.]' Official MV Credits: Production : DIGIPEDI Chief Director : Seong Won Mo Directed By : Chung Kiyoul, Seong Won Mo Executive Producer : Lee Moon Young Producer : Yu Yena Assistant Director : Yuk Heonryung Director of Photography : EumKo Gaffer : Park Byeongjoo Art Director : Eum Inyoung (BOYYD) FX : Min Changki Post Production : DIGIPEDI Edit : Seong Won Mo DI & 2D : Moon Seok Ho / Yuk Heonryung 3D VFX : PLASTICBEACH Visual Creative : Serian Heu, Gunhee Lee, Ara Choi, Minsoo Cha Performance Directing : Sangwoo Myung, Dahee Kim, Gahun Lee, Seongkwan Kim Artist Management : Sejin Kim, Shindong Rhee, Kwangtaek Oh, Yuki Hong, Hangil Kim, Min-Gi Kang Brand Experience Design : Soyeon Sung, Minji Kim DARK MOON with ENHYPEN ⓒ BELIFT LAB Inc. All Rights Reserved Connect with ENHYPEN OFFICIAL WEBSITE https://ENHYPEN.com ENHYPEN Weverse https://www.weverse.io/enhypen OFFICIAL V LIVE https://channels.vlive.tv/9A0CA5 OFFICIAL YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/ENHYPENOFFICIAL OFFICIAL TWITTER https://twitter.com/ENHYPEN ENHYPEN TWITTER https://twitter.com/ENHYPEN_members OFFICIAL FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/officialENHYPEN OFFICIAL INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/enhypen OFFICIAL TIKTOK https://www.tiktok.com/@enhypen OFFICIAL WEIBO https://weibo.com/ENHYPEN OFFICIAL JAPAN WEBSITE https://enhypen-jp.weverse.io/ OFFICIAL JAPAN TWITTER https://twitter.com/ENHYPEN_JP #ENHYPEN #엔하이픈 #Tamed_Dashed_JP #DIMENSION_senkou #DIMENSION_閃光 #MV HYBE LABELS

#하이브 레이블 #HYBE LABELS #빅히트 #Big Hit #빅히트 레이블 #Big Hit Labels #빅히트 엔터테인먼트 #Big Hit Entertainment #소속사

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fromis-me-blog · 7 years

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Fromis as Youtubers

Disclaimer: In this world the Fromis girls are all aged-up, as the youngest is in high school instead of middle school and 2000-line are freshmen in college. Enjoy!!

P.S: I can’t edit for my life I’m so sorry for the bad edits

Lee Saerom

➥ One of the pioneers of makeup and fashion tutorials on K-Youtube

➥ Known for her on-point eyeliner tutorials because she explains in a really easy to understand way

➥ Nowadays she’s starting to get into yoga so she makes “How to be Healthy” videos bUT no one buys it because she talks about healthy living while having a STACK of chips in the background (tbf she does exercise regularly)

➥ She keeps getting invited to fashion events but usually declines because she gets anxious about her fashion style

➥ Has a collab channel with Hayoung where they post their daily vlogs or some similar domestic crap

➥ Roommate: Song Hayoung (Youtuber, college student/animation major, freelance artist)

➥ Channel Name: romsae | Subscriber Count: 3M

➥ Top Video: Top 10 Things You SHOULDN’T Do With Your Eyeliner

Song Hayoung

➥ Does storytime videos using animations but shows her face here and there (kinda like sWoozie’s videos)

➥ Her videos are very relatable and funny, often revolving around her mess of a student life

➥ She started off posting original songs with her guitar but wanted to share life stories that’s why she’s what she is now (but she does post her songs in her Instagram or Twitter)

➥ Her fans know (No thanks to Saerom) that she professionally trained in hip-hop dance before but she gets really shy when she talks about that

➥ Whenever she poses for her fans she usually imitates the cartoon character Peko-chan so it became a nickname of hers

➥ Roommate: Lee Saerom (Youtuber, beauty guru)

➥ Channel Name: SHY girl | Subscriber Count: 820k

➥ Top Video: MY COLLEGE PROFESSOR SHAT IN FRONT OF THE CLASS

Jang Gyuri

➥ Mostly does storytime vlogs; her life never gets boring so she has new content almost every day

➥ Keeps doing livestreams on Periscope because she speaks more naturally there

➥ The first few videos she posted were filled with “My grandfather didn’t allow me to do this before” so it became an inside joke inside her fandom

➥ Slowly gaining more popularity after being featured in a FBE/Youtubers React video for her cuteness (It was Youtubers React to Aegyo and EVERYBODY was all over her eyesmile)

➥ Sometimes posts skits as well

➥ Roommate/s: Bae Eunyoung (College student/business major) | Yoo Jina (College student/architecture major)

➥ Channel Name: Gyuri Jang | Subscriber Count: 580k

➥ Top Video: What NOT to say to East Asian Kids

Park Jiwon

➥ Originally a viner and her first few videos on YT were compilations of her vine edits (all her friends make fun of her for this but she’s proud of her work... except when she watches them because CRINGE)

➥ Now she mainly does react videos?? She usually reacts to underrated videos (from funny videos to conspiracies) that blow up because of her

➥ Occasionally does Lets Plays too but only for horror games (because she likes screaming)

➥ Sometimes does pranks (mostly on her roommate Chaeyoung #rip)

➥ She’s a popular meme all over the internet. Literally everything she does becomes a huge meme (she’s a 9gag favorite)

➥ Her videos’ intro is her screaming

➥ Roommate: Lee Chaeyoung (Youtuber, college student/law major)

➥ Channel Name: GWon | Subscriber Count: 2M

➥ Top Video: Jiwon Reacts to Her Vine Compilations

No Jisun

➥ Makes domestic videos like Rosanna Pansino

➥ Known for her pretty DIYs. She sometimes makes slime videos but she HATES them because she make a big mess after

➥ She also makes unique cooking vids. She mixes the MOST BIZARRE food together and make them taste EDIBLE?? Like one time she deepfries a chicken leg then dips it in a CHEESE and MAYO combination, and everybody?? liked?? it??

➥ She didn’t want to monetize her content but everybody wanted her aesthetic products so she opened up an online shop

➥ She’s in a culinary course and everybody is scared of her weird ass experiments

➥ Roommate: Lee Dahee (College student/culinary major, freelance singer)

➥ Channel Name: No Jisun | Subscriber Count: 2.5M

➥ Top Video: lettuce + ketchup + fish = ?? || cooking experiment #5

Lee Seoyeon

➥ Mainly a music youtuber (song covers, dance covers, freestyle raps ─ she’s very multitalented) but often posts vlogs

➥ Her fans wanted to know why she didn’t try to make it as an idol and she said that she did train in an agency before but didn’t like how her artistic freedom was kept from her

➥ She used to cover up her eyebags but after opening up about how it made her anxious, she slowly started to leave it as it is

➥ Used to do Lets Plays but she just LAUGHED throughout the games so she stopped

➥ Collabs with a lot of people who people didn’t know were good singers

➥ Roommate: Yoon Jiwoo (College student/music major)

➥ Channel Name: SEOYEON | Subscriber Count: 500k

➥ Top Video: Sunday Morning - Maroon 5 (Acoustic Cover by SEOYEON & GWON)

Lee Chaeyoung

➥ The “Challenge/Tag Youtuber”

➥ Cinnamon Challenge, Spicy Noodle Challenge, Try Not to Laugh Challenge, BFF Tag, Girlfriend Tag (she doesn’t have a girlfriend so she did it with Jiwon)─ you name it, she has it

➥ Not all her attempts are successful though, especially not with Jiwon as a roommate. In some videos, half of the time was spent on Chaeyoung chasing Jiwon who stole the brush she needed

➥ She talks in a very slurrish and not understandable way so she doesn’t do livestreams

➥ Her fans have to talk her out of a dangerous challenge,, When they went to Paris she wanted to do a “Fall from the Sky Challenge”... You’d see how that would have turned out

➥ Roommate: Park Jiwon (Youtuber, college student/psychology major)

➥ Channel Name: CHALLENGE CHAE | Subscriber Count: 790k

➥ Top Video: Roommate Does My Make-up Challenge (MESSY)

Lee Nakyung

➥ A world-famous gamer

➥ Her most popular Lets Play series is Overwatch (mostly because it’s also her favorite so she gets REALLY hyped in them)

➥ Whenever she’s agitated she starts full on SCREECHING at her screen (”Idiot why did you go there!!! NO FCKER THE BASE IS GOING TO OH MY GOD STUPID”)

➥ If she doesn’t post serious Lets Plays she plays the most obnoxious games in the internet

➥ Used to cosplay video game characters but hated having to exert effort all the time so she quit (but her photos are in the internet)

➥ Roommate: Jo Yoori (College student/piano major) but she doesn’t go to college

➥ Channel Name: kyunglixe | Subscriber Count: 10M

➥ Top Video: WHAT NOT TO DO WHILE PLAYING | overwatch #13

Baek Jiheon

➥ Started in Instagram with studyblr that’s why she has a loyal fanbase

➥ Now she does aesthetic Study With Me, What’s in my Backpack, Book Reviews, etc. videos

➥ Her videos are ALWAYS in low saturation AND in pastel or pink and purple. There is NO in between

➥ Sponsored by A LOT of stationery brands that liked her videos, that’s why she has an unending supply of washi tapes and blank notebooks

➥ Occasionally posts vlogs whenever there’s something interesting in school or if her friends come up with something stupid

➥ Roommate: n/a, still in high school but is planning to move in with Nakyung and Yoori

➥ Channel Name: studynread | Subscriber Count: 900k

➥ Top Video: How I Take Notes!

Extra:

↳ Aspiring voice actress Seo Herin is also planning to move in with Dahee and Jisun when she graduates high school

↳ Lee Sian and Jo Youngju live in the room next to Chaeyoung and Jiwon’s so they usually visit over and things go REALLY messy

↳ HaRom is easily one of the most popular ships in the community

↳ Chaeyoung and Nakyung collaborated for a gaming video and people started to ship them

↳ Gyuri sometimes makes videos in the wee hours of the night and over the audio you can hear Eunyoung screaming “SHUT THE FCK UP GO TO SLEEP”

↳ Seoyeon tried to collaborate with Bin Haneul but they played Mario Kart and didn’t finish anything

↳ Jiheon and Jisun collaborated for a DIY video and everybody was BLINDED with the amount of organization and aesthetic in their video...

↳ Don’t tell Nakyung but Jiheon’s better than her in story-based games

#fromis #idol school #ot9 #mine #fromis au #fromisnetwork

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ecoamerica · 2 months

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youtube

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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cleopatrarps · 6 years

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The Foxconns of fast beauty propel South Korean cosmetics

SEOUL (Reuters) – At a factory two hours south of Seoul, women clad in plastic caps and masks put peach-colored eye-shadow into cases, right next to a machine churning out a skin-color face powder.

Cosmetic products are seen on display at an AHC cosmetic store in Seoul, South Korea, June 22, 2018. Picture taken June 22, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

The difference between the two lines: the first is supplying one of France’s best-known premium cosmetic brands, while the second is serving a South Korean budget firm.

The plant is operated by Cosmecca Korea (241710.KQ), the country’s third-biggest contract cosmetics maker, which produces a range of products for more than 300 customers, all the way from high-end brands like Estee Lauder (EL.N) to nimble domestic firms such as Clio and Dr.Jart.

It is factories like this that have made South Korea the epicenter of fast beauty, a world in which the time it takes to get a product idea onto store shelves has dropped dramatically, often by years. This is vital as fickle millennial consumers can easily leave last year’s hits as this year’s busts.

Their dominance of the world of contract manufacturing for cosmetics may have become as important to the industry as Apple (AAPL.O) iPhone manufacturer Foxconn (2354.TW) has been for electronics.

Some of the major Korean brands they work for have been acquired by global cosmetics companies such as L’Oreal (OREP.PA) and Unilever (ULVR.L), and according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, the manufacturers themselves have received investment offers, some from foreign cosmetics firms.

South Korea’s three largest contract manufacturers – Cosmax(192820.KS), Korea Kolmar (161890.KS) and Cosmecca – have all been approached by foreign investors about buying a minority stake in recent years, three people with direct knowledge of the situations told Reuters. The sources asked for anonymity and declined to elaborate further citing confidentiality of the approaches.

One of the sources said one of the manufacturers had rejected a 2016 offer from an overseas cosmetics company for a minority stake, partly due to concerns that such an alliance could upset its broader customer base.

Representatives for the companies declined to comment.

A woman holding her mobile phone walks past an AHC cosmetic store in Seoul, South Korea, June 22, 2018. Picture taken June 22, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

DEMAND FROM CHINESE BRANDS

Though largely staying in the background with little public recognition themselves, contract manufacturers stand to benefit as Korean brands they work for rapidly grow in China’s $53.5billion cosmetics market. That’s thanks to their value for money image, fast turnaround times for new products, and smart online marketing.

China’s own fast-growing cosmetics brands, albeit still small, are also driving the revenue growth of South Korean manufacturers, although margins on these contracts can be low, company officials say.

The stock market performance of the three has been mixed, though they have all outperformed the main benchmark in South Korea.

Shares of global No.1 Cosmax (192820.KS), has gained 34percent year to date, far outpacing a 8 percent drop in the wider South Korean market .KS11.

Cosmecca shares rose 8 percent and second-ranked Korea Kolmar (161890.KS) fell 3 percent in the same period.

All three have, though, outperformed the 21 percent decline in shares of Amorepacific Group (002790.KS), South Korea’s largest cosmetics powerhouse. Amorepacific, which uses both in-house and contract manufacturing, reported revenue fell 10 percent and operating profit slumped by nearly 30 percent in the first three months of2018. Its brands include the top-end Sulwhasoo, mass market Innisfree, and young makeup offering Etude House.

Even as all the top three contract firms, which are also known as original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), posted revenue growth in the same period.

“The surge of smaller players gives tough times to beauty giants like Amorepacific. By contrast, this is a favorable environment for OEMs,” said Park Jong-dae, an analyst at HanaInvestment & Securities.

“While brand companies have up and downs, OEMs garner stable earnings. They are most suited to the industry’s structural changes – Asian growth and diversified distribution channels.” STRUGGLING TO CATCH-UP

In particular, they are central to the success in the high-growth China market of small Korean brands with new ideas but no production or research capabilities, industry executives and experts say.

When French luxury giant LVMH’s (LVMH.PA) private equity arm was conducting due diligence on Clio before buying a stake in2016, among its key questions was: “How do you come up with new products at such a fast speed?,” said Lim Mira, a manager atClio’s strategic planning team.

Contract manufacturers such as Cosmax deliver on orders much more quickly, in as fast as three months compared to about a year overseas contract manufacturers require, Lim said.

The firm used to source products from an Italian contract manufacturer in the past, but has now shifted to Korean manufacturers, she said.

“Many global players are struggling to catch up as the life cycle of any success has shortened, pushing them to come up with new innovations at a much faster speed,” said Laura Chu, a China-based account director at researcher Kantar International.

In China, Unilever’s share declined from 3.2 percent in 2014to 2.8 percent in 2017, while L’Oreal’s share fell from 9.4 percent to 8.5 percent during the same period, according to research firm Euromonitor.

Seeking to turn the tables, both Unilever and L’Oreal, as well as other European and American majors, have paid big premiums in the last two years to scoop up South Korean brands thriving in China.

Unilever announced a 2.27 billion euro ($2.67 billion) deal for Carver Korea in September – maker of the A.H.C. cosmetics brand, whose China sales rose more than 30 percent in 2017,according to Kantar International.

“Geographically it will enable us to strength our position in two of the top five largest skin care markets – China and Korea,” Lizzy Chen, a U.K.-based executive at Unilever, told Reuters.

South Korea-based Nanda, which was acquired by L’Oreal for an undisclosed sum in May, saw sales of its flagship cosmetics brand 3CE double in China last year. The strong performance was particularly notable given that last year a major spat between Seoul and Beijing over South Korea’s installation of a new U.S. missile defense system led to an unofficial boycott of South Korean brands in China. South Korean contract manufacturers have been expanding China production to meet surging demand.

Cosmecca’s chairman Cho Im-rae said that in recent years it has been running its factories in China at full throttle. It is planning to open a third factory there.

“China’s cosmetics demand is growing enormously,” he said in an interview with Reuters.

Reporting by Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Additional reporting by Dahee Kim; Editing by Soyoung Kim and Martin Howell

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