Cleaning Freak BRIAN (Mdromeda Studio)

Kim Rieun: The web variety show Cleaning Freak BRIAN seems like an explanatory guide on how realism and authenticity so celebrated in the YouTube era can become an entertainment content. The show revolves around the eponymous personality of Brian, who is notorious for being a “clean freak” in real life as well. The show has Brian meeting extremely unhygienic “Dirty Zone” guests, leading to scenes that are close to an observational documentary. Moments where Brian exclaims “That’s nasty!” to the brothers Cho Jun-ho and Cho Jun-hyun, who revealed that they haven’t washed their bedding for four to five years and even share underwears, or when he screams in a high-pitched voice upon discovering his place dirtied by the cast members as he cleans up after a house party, are moments that can easily become popular “memes.” Even as he claims to be a “human hater,” saying “People are the dirtiest on Earth. I hate people,” Brian passionately cleans for the “Dirty Zone” guests, sharing his cleaning tips along the way. The guests undergo a transformation as they try to maintain cleanliness in their lives after a visit from the “cleaning freak.” It’s a moment of peace created by the meeting of the extremes.

In the past, Brian appeared on Dr. Oh’s Golden Clinic (Channel A) and talked about the difficulties he faced in interpersonal relationships due to his acute sense of smell and strict hygiene protocols. On the other hand, we see many individuals struggle with cleaning due to mental reasons such as depression, to the extent that content that provides cleaning services for such people has emerged. Brian, who had been unable to express his grievances on the matter, now has the freedom to express his thoughts on hygiene through the voice of the “cleaning freak” and dishes out his opinions both openly and discreetly. His viewers, who have earned the title of “the Rudes” borrowed from Brian’s statement, “If it’s dirty, it’s rude,” have commented that they too, have become more diligent with cleaning while watching this program, experiencing positive changes in their actual lives. While not all this may have been intentional, it’s certainly a product of an authentic character, a familiar and approachable subject matter, and the power of algorithms combined. Perhaps the overplayed concept of “authenticity” still holds value in the content market.

SUMIN - “Closet” (feat. Uhm Jung Hwa)

Na Wonyoung (Music Critic): SUMIN, who has created a sensuous artificial beauty often associated with pop music with the smooth glossy feel of Your House and planned, directed, and starred in Miniseries, may appear to feign ignorance, or as they say in Korea, taking to “sichimi,” of the typical “neo K-pop” style that can feel like a mass of polygons flashing primary-colored neon lights. Of course, the whole idea of “sichimi” is knowing but pretending not to know, so in her latest album SICHIMI, there is fun in rummaging through her closet in search of electronic sounds and excessive textures that have been shut away in a drawer, pretending not to exist. SUMIN’s unique voice that has been evident in her recent features shines through. The voice, which glides at the top line with startling accuracy in pitch and rises into an exhilarating falsetto as effortlessly as an artificial sound effect, moves through the tracks as if it was a mechanical device, like a synthesizer. In Closet (feat. Uhm Jung Hwa), her voice surges thrillingly just before the last refrain, while Uhm Jung Hwa, the heroine of the Refund Sisters and Dancers on the Road, opens the doors of the closet she was nestled in and steps out, overlapping SUMIN’s voice with her whisper of “the Cloud Dream of the Nine.” This historic encounter is truly exquisite, especially considering that Uhm also achieved popularization of electronic music that was traditionally associated with pop with her first CD, Self Control, and the follow-up, Prestige. The old closet is filled with ready-to-wear clothes that make one ask, “Why do I even like you?” The 15-year gap between the early-mid-2000s and the late 2010s is obliviated. Local Korean dance music and international idol-pop stand with their “eyes locked, hands locked,” then look far out in the same direction. The fact that “glam,” which is rarely employed now even among Korean divas, was incorporated into the duet with the subtlety of “a spritz of perfume” rather than resorting to exaggeration, might be indicating that the genre is growing more aware of pop and K-pop musics’ increasing inclination toward naturalness than artificiality. At any rate, this closet is full of “feel-good songs” oozing charm and temptation. Every time I look through it, I think, “You’re not that pretty, nor are you expensive. / You’re just old, so why do I love wearing you so much?” There is no need for fancy labels—just captivating charms.