SW remembers the year that was
By Suwitcha Chaiyong,
Tatat Bunnag and Ben Edwards
Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb and
courtesy of Bangkok Post, AFP and EPA
Once again we've made it to the end of an eventful year. Here in Thailand, 2015 was a year of ups and downs in the worlds of pop culture, showbiz, business and politics.
As we close out the Year of the Goat and gear up for the Year of the Snake, Student Weekly looks back at some of the most eventful events in the Land of Smiles.
JANUARY
Rumour Mill
Actor Peter Corp Dyrendal managed to get his name in the spotlight once again when his TV drama series, Ab Ruk Online, became a huge success. However, he could enjoy his success only for a short time before rumours of infidelity leaked online, saying that he cheated on his wife with a model. The rumours prompted an online campaign to boycott him.
Music Magic
During the last weekend in January, the Keep on the Grass folk music festival was held at Phu-Uthai, Muak Lek in Saraburi. Held in beautiful grassy surrounds during the cool season, the fun festival featured mostly acoustic performances by popular bands like Death of a Salesman, Goose, Two Million Thanks, Into the Air and many more.
FEBRUARY
Big Mini-festival
On February 19-20, Thai indie music fans experienced an incredible line-up of bands in Bangkok when Belle and Sebastian, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore, Temples, Real Estate and Caribou performed at The Hostess Club Weekender, a two-day mini-festival which was held at GMM Live, CentralWorld.
MARCH
Furious Chief
On March 26, it was big news when Sahamongkol Film chief Somsak Techaratanaprasert, better known as Sia Jiang, filed a lawsuit against martial arts actor Tony Jaa for allegedly breaking his contract, and tried to stop the film Furious 7, which features Jaa, from being shown in Thai cinemas.
Different Directions
Pop fans in Thailand and around the globe were in shock when Zayn Malik announced he was leaving popular boy band One Direction. Malik's representative announced the singer's departure from the band, saying that he had signed a solo recording contract with RCA records.
APRIL
Sawadee Siri
Apple launched iOS 8.3 in April with a lot of updates but dozens of bugs. The update allowed iPhone and other Apple devices user to speak Thai with a personal assistant feature called Siri.
Comic Convention
The end of April through to the beginning of May had local comic book and anime fans excited when the Bangkok Comic Con 2015 x Anime Festival Asia Thailand took place at BITEC Bangna. Between April 30 and May 4, thousands of fans converged on the convention, which was twice the size of the previous year's event, to check out the comics and collectables and to meet artists, writers, designers and producers from Japan and Hollywood.
MAY
Chompoo Sees Red
Superstar actress and model Araya A. Hargate (Chompoo) appeared on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival premiere in a Zac Posen green gown. The actress was also photographed alongside big-name models Lara Stone, Doutzen Kroes, Megan Gale and Isabeli Fontana.
JUNE
Pop Actor
Thai pop star Bie Sukrit played the lead role in the stage musical Waterfall in several US theatres, and hopes to follow the play to Broadway next year. Waterfall was adapted from a classic novel, Behind the Painting, written by acclaimed Thai novelist Sriburapha.
SEA Winners
At the 28th SEA Games, Thailand grabbed 95 gold medals and left Vietnam and the hosts Singapore behind with their 73 and 84 gold medals respectively.
JULY
Gossip Girl Thailand
In the past, there were many successful local and Korean remade TV series. To try something new, TV production company Kantana decided to remake the popular American teen TV series, Gossip Girl. However, the Thai actors who played the show's famous characters like Chuck Bass, Blair Waldorf and Serena Woodsen were criticised for not meeting the high expectations. However, Gossip Girl Thailand eventually attracted fans who are now waiting for the second season.
Couple Complications
Sharp-tongued actress Tangmo Pattaratida made headlines when she was hospitalised after taking an overdose of sleeping pills. A couple days later, her husband Tono Pakin held a press conference which became massive media event. Tono admitted that their marriage had come to an end.
AUGUST
Delicious Dim Sum
Originally from Hong Kong, the Michelin Star dim sum restaurant Tim Ho Wan created big queues of foodies when they opened a branch at Bangkok's Terminal 21 mall. A Michelin Star is a guarantee of outstanding restaurants selected by the French company, Michelin. While there is still often a long queue to get into Tim Ho Wan, the lines may be shorter once the restaurant opens its second branch in Ekkamai.
Classroom Hours Cut
Thai students spend 1,200 hours in academic classroom study each year. To allow students to have more time for other activities, Education Minister Dapong Rattanasuwan decided to cut down academic hours to 840 hours per year. After academic classes, students will participate in other practical activities such as music, art, sport and cooking.
SEPTEMBER
More Moods on Facebook
A rumour that Facebook would launch a "dislike" button started in September. But a month later, the leading social network announced that instead it would test six "reactions" — animated emoji which presented emotions like wow, sad, angry and love, so that users could express their emotions on timelines. Unfortunately, Facebook tested the emoji only in Ireland and Spain, so Thai users still have to wait.
Fantastic Finale
The final series of popular teen show Hormones 3 the Final Season began showing in September. With its great script and natural acting, the series attracted dedicated viewers every week. The intelligent script tackled modern issues such as lesbian relationships, gay dads and an HIV affected child. The episode about Pala (Sky Wongravee) having HIV was particularly informative and well made.
OCTOBER
So Long Socialcam
In October, the popular mobile video sharing application Socialcam announced on its website that it would shut down on October 29. The announcement told users to download their videos from the site because after the notification date the videos would no longer be available.
Face to Face
The Face Thailand Season 2 is a reality TV show about models and their three mentors — Bee Namthip, Cris Horwang and Lukkade Metinee — on Channel 3. The show became the talk of the town when the mentor’s tactics caused a lot of dramatic scenes. The word “strong,” which is Lukkade’s favourite word on the show, has become one of the most frequently used words among viewers on social media.
NOVEMBER
Goodbye GTH
Movie buffs were stunned when one of Thailand's most successful movie companies, GTH, announced that they would terminate their business. Run by three partners — GMM Grammy, Tai Entertainment and Hub Ho Hin Bangkok — GTH said that they would no longer exist by the end of the year. GTH was famous for producing blockbuster movies like Pee Mak and Hello Stranger, as well as popular TV hits like Hormones The Series.
Dream Team
On November 12, the Thai national football team brought the kingdom great joy when their performance gave the team a chance to enter Asia’s final qualifying round (the best 12 teams) for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. If the Thai team becomes one of the 12 finalist teams, they will have to compete to qualify as one of four finalists from Asia.
DECEMBER
New Stars
Popular singing contest The Star changed judges for its 12th season. The three new judges are Big Mountain Music Festival creator Yuthana Boonorm, The Face Thailand’s Lukkade Metinee and soulful singer Aof Pongsak. The ages of applicants have also been expanded to between 15 and 30 years old. Auditions are only held in Bangkok, but applicants can also send a video for an audition.
Poor Por
TV star Por Thrisadee received treatment at a hospital’s Coronary Care Unit after having been infected with the dengue hemorrhagic virus. His condition was so severe that complications let to him having his left foot amputated. On December 5, it was announced that his condition was getting better and that he could speak after his breathing tube was removed.
Vocabulary
- infidelity (n): the act of not being faithful to your wife or husband by having a sexual relationship with somebody else
boycott (v): to refuse to buy, use or take part in something as a form of protest
allegedly (adv): believed to be true, but without actual proof
bug (n): a small fault in a machine or computer programme
converge (v): to move towards a place from different directions to form a large crowd
respectively (adv): in the same order as the things just mentioned
remake (v): to make a new or different version of an old movie, TV series, song, etc.
sharp-tongued (adj): saying exactly what is on your mind, without worrying that you mind offend or upset some people
overdose (n): too much of a drug taken at one time
queue (n): a line of people, cars, etc. waiting for something or to do something
academic (adj): involving a lot of reading and studying rather than technical skills
mentor (n): an experienced person who helps and advises somebody with less experience over a period of time
tactic (n): a particular method you use to achieve something
terminate (v): to make something end
complication (n): a new problem or illness that makes treatment of a previous one more difficult
Idiom
talk of the town: something that many people are talking about at a particular time in a particular place
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