I Dream of Jiyul

Though many out there hate the term BIAS to describe his or her favorite member in any given group, in K-pop it tends to be a natural and inevitable progression of fandom, and my love for current K-pop Flavor of the moment Dal Shabet is no different and in this short information-packed week, the one that rose to the top and became my Dal Shabet Girl Numero Uno was none other than Ms. Yang Jung Yoon, the delectable Miss Jiyul!

After spending the last week in a sweet sherbet induced haze and devouring solid hours of Dal Shabet videos, clips, live performances and variety show appearances, I can now say that I’m a bonafide, true FAN of these gals, and though I can probably come up with a ranking list where each member stands (so far), the real focus of my fan mania has always been solidly centered around two particular members of the group; while I like the other four members more or less equally, the other two are ABOVE AND BEYOND the HEART AND SOUL of why I love Dal Shabet so much in the first place were the sweet and adorable Jiyul and the svelte and sexy Kaeun!

My Two Faves: Kaeun and Jiyul

In the beginning when I was just discovering the girls’ awesome songs and performances, it was clearly Kauen who was my early favorite-She was such a striking figure onstage with her “Cool Beauty” image and statuesque postures, MY GOSH was this chick SEXY as HELL onstage! I’d even find out that that was a role she’d personally chosen for herself in the group, even down to telling some TV show hosts she doesn’t like doing aegyo because “she’s the sexy one” LOL!   

But as I began really watching the variety shows, interviews and backstage antics, the one that kept getting my attention was the girls’ pretty and petite singer, Jiyul! I don’t know, maybe it was the fact that she spoke English (and in such a soothing, lilting accent) and seemed so enthusiastically CHEERFUL, but it didn’t take long til SHE was the one I was waiting to see in every video and clip! 

The first time I ever saw the group in a non-performing setting was on the show Gurupop, and as the show was geared towards a western audience, the Q&A segment of the show was read by UK raised Jiyul in English and right away her personality was shining like a beacon- 

Already I could tell that this girl was funny and easygoing, but BOY, I didn’t realize how doggone SPUNKY she was til the interview part of the show, where she playfully mugged, gestured comically and cheerfully smiled throughout the whole show- and with those killer dimples and that adorable eye-smile-WOW did she make an impression with me!!! 

It was while watching these variety shows that I began to realize how much Jiyul reminded me of Tiffany of Girls’ Generation- not only did they have the same English-speaking backgrounds, they had the same eye-smiles and even both had those trademark worried-eyebrows LOLOL

Another aspect of Jiyul I learned was how much she cared for the rest of the Dal Shabet members. When asked which member was the most "motherly", the others all quickly pointed to Jiyul, saying that she's a good cook and will always whip up something for them to eat when they're hungry. Reminded me that she'd been a contestant on Celebrity Chef awhile ago (which I then had to go online and look for) sadly, despite her hard work she was let go in the very first episode! Poor girl, she was so sad after studying stressfully with her mother to prepare for the show. But at least we know that the Dal Shabet girls themselves love her culinary skills!

So, yeah, in the end, Adorable won over Sexy (probably for the first time in my life, LOL) as I continued watching new clips and performances, I realized that at some point Jiyul had become my  favorite member in the group! Though I know that as I get to know the girls even more my outlook may change, and though I'll still be keeping an eye on Kaeun's sexy moves whenever they're onstage, the girl who has been deemed the auspicious (LOL) title of my Dal Shabet BIAS right now is dear darling Jiyul!

By the way, one GREAT thing I’ve noticed about loving Jiyul and watching a ZILLION performances of Mr Bang Bang back to back is that each and every one of them begins with a pretty closeup of her as she breathlessly whispers the line “You’re a Guy…with no guts”!   Devastating Critique, but MY does she look gorgeous saying it! Definitely a screencapping opportunity for the budding Jiyul fanboy! LOLOL