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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, /ˈneɪtoʊ/; French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance among 28 European countries and 2 North American countries. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implements the North Atlantic Treaty, signed 4 April 1949.[3][4]

NATO constitutes a system of collective security, whereby its independent member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. It was established during the Cold War in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance has remained in place since the end of the Cold War, and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East and North Africa. The NATO headquarters is located in Brussels, Belgium, while the headquarters of Allied Command Operations is near Mons, Belgium. The organization's motto is "animus in consulendo liber" (Latin for "A mind unfettered in deliberation").[5]

Since its founding, the admission of new member states has increased the alliance from the original 12 countries to 30. The most recent member state to be added to NATO was North Macedonia on 27 March 2020. NATO currently recognizes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, and Ukraine as aspiring members.[3] Enlargement has led to tensions with non-member Russia, with Russian President Vladimir Putin demanding that NATO provide legal guarantees that it would stop expanding east (to countries such as Ukraine, Georgia or Moldova).

An additional 20 countries participate in NATO's Partnership for Peace programme, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members in 2020 constituted over 57 per cent of the global nominal total.[6] Members agreed that their aim is to reach or maintain the target defence spending of at least 2 per cent of their GDP by 2024.[7][8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO

Girls' Generation (Korean: 소녀시대; RR: Sonyeo Sidae), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensemble, Jessica departed from the group in September 2014. Among the prominent South Korean figures and most popular K-pop groups worldwide, Girls' Generation has earned numerous accolades and the honorific nickname "The Nation's Girl Group" in their home country.

Girls' Generation debuted on August 5, 2007, with the single "Into the New World" from their eponymous Korean album. The group rose to fame in 2009 with the single "Gee", which claimed the top spot on KBS's Music Bank for a record-breaking nine consecutive weeks and was Melon's most popular song of the 2000s decade. The group consolidated their popularity in Asia with follow-up singles "Genie", "Oh!", and "Run Devil Run", which were released between mid-2009 and early 2010. Their second Korean studio album, Oh! (2010), won the Golden Disc award for Album of the Year (Disk Daesang), making the group the first and only female act to win the Album Daesang.

Girls' Generation ventured into the Japanese music scene in 2011 with their eponymous Japanese album, which became the first album by a non-Japanese girl group to be certified million by the RIAJ. The group's third Korean studio album, The Boys, was the best-selling album of 2011 in South Korea. An English version of the single "The Boys" was released in an attempt to expand the group's endeavor to the global music scene. The group's fourth Korean studio album, I Got a Boy (2013), was supported by the title track, which won Video of the Year at the inaugural YouTube Music Awards. Girls' Generation continued to build upon their popularity with their fifth and sixth Korean studio albums, Lion Heart (2015) and Holiday Night (2017).

The group's signature musical styles are characterized as electropop and bubblegum pop, though their sound has varied widely, incorporating various genres including hip hop, R&B, and EDM. In 2017, Billboard honoured Girls' Generation as the "Top K-pop Girl Group of the Past Decade".[1] They are the first Asian girl group to achieve five music videos with over 100 million views on YouTube with "Gee", "I Got a Boy", "The Boys", "Mr. Taxi", and "Oh!". In Japan, they became the first non-Japanese girl group to have three number-one albums on the Oricon Albums Chart, and their three Japanese concert tours attracted a record-breaking 550,000 spectators.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls%27_Generation

RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, UK, to New York City. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers and crew aboard, more than 1,500 died, which made the sinking possibly one of the deadliest for a single ship up to that time.[a] It remains to this day the deadliest peacetime sinking of a superliner or cruise ship.[4] The disaster drew much public attention, provided foundational material for the disaster film genre, and has inspired many artistic works.

RMS Titanic was the largest ship afloat at the time she entered service and the second of three Olympic-class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line. She was built by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. Thomas Andrews, who was the chief naval architect of the shipyard at that time, died in the disaster.[5]

Titanic was under the command of Captain Edward Smith,[6] who went down with the ship. The ocean liner carried some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of emigrants from Great Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere throughout Europe, who were seeking a new life in the United States. The first-class accommodation was designed to be the pinnacle of comfort and luxury, with a gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants, and opulent cabins. A high-powered radiotelegraph transmitter was available for sending passenger "marconigrams" and for the ship's operational use.[7] The Titanic had advanced safety features, such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors. The ship was equipped with 16 lifeboat davits, each of which were capable of lowering three lifeboats, for a total of 48 boats; the Titanic carried only 20 lifeboats, four of which were collapsible and proved hard to launch while the ship was sinking.[8] Together, the 20 lifeboats were capable of holding 1,178 people—which was only about half the number of passengers on board, and only one-third of the number of passengers that the ship could have carried at full capacity (this was consistent with the maritime safety regulations of the era). In addition, when the ship sank, many of the lifeboats that had been lowered were only about half full.

Titanic had departed from Southampton on 10 April 1912, then stopped at Cherbourg, France, and Queenstown (now Cobh), Ireland, before heading west towards New York.[9] On 14 April, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles (600 km) south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm ship's time. The collision caused the hull plates to buckle inwards along her starboard (right) side and laid five of her sixteen watertight compartments open to the sea; she had been designed to survive the flooding of up to four compartments. Some passengers and crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partially loaded. A disproportionate number of men were left aboard because of a "women and children first" protocol for loading lifeboats, which was generally observed.[10]

At 2:20 am, the ship broke apart and foundered, with well over one thousand people still aboard. Just under two hours after Titanic sank, the Cunard liner RMS Carpathia arrived on the scene, and took on board an estimated 710 survivors.

The disaster was met with worldwide shock and outrage, both at the huge loss of life and at the regulatory and procedural failures that had led to it. Public inquiries in Britain and the United States led to major improvements in maritime safety. One of the most important results of the inquiries was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today. In addition, there was an effort to learn from the many missteps in wireless communications that had increased the number of fatalities, and as a result, several new wireless regulations were put in place around the world.[11]

The wreck of Titanic was discovered in 1985 by a Franco-American expedition sponsored by the United States Navy.[12][13] The ship was split in two and is gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (2,069.2 fathoms; 3,784 m). Thousands of artefacts have been recovered and displayed at museums around the world. Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history, depicted in numerous works of popular culture, including books, folk songs, films, exhibits, and memorials. Titanic is the second-largest ocean liner wreck in the world, only being surpassed by her sister ship HMHS Britannic; however, she is the largest sunk while in service as a liner, as Britannic was in use as a hospital ship at the time of her sinking. The final survivor of the sinking, Millvina Dean, aged two months at the time, died in 2009 at the age of 97; there are no survivors of the Titanic that are still alive today.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic

2NE1 (Korean: 투애니원; RR: Tuaeniwon, IPA: [tʰu.ɛ.ni.wʌn]) was a South Korean girl group formed by YG Entertainment, which was active between 2009 and 2016. The group was composed of four members: Bom, CL, Dara, and Minzy. Known for breaking typical stereotypes of K-pop, musical experimentation, fashion, and stage presence, they are recognized for expanding girl group styles in the Korean music industry and have become one of the leading figures of the Korean wave.[2][3][4][5][6]

The group was introduced in March 2009 after appearing on the promotional single "Lollipop" alongside labelmate Big Bang. 2NE1 rose to prominence with the release of their debut eponymous extended play 2NE1 (2009), which featured the singles "Fire" and "I Don't Care". The latter was named the Mnet Asian Music Award for Song of the Year, making 2NE1 the first idol group to receive a daesang in the same year of debut. They followed up their debut EP with their first studio album, To Anyone (2010), and their second EP; the latter produced four chart-topping singles: "Don't Cry", "Lonely", "I Am the Best" and "Ugly".

Considered the first world tour by a K-pop girl group, their New Evolution Global Tour visited eleven cities in seven countries in Asia and North America in 2012,[7] and their show at the Prudential Center in New Jersey was named the second best concert of the year by The New York Times. 2NE1's final studio album, Crush (2014), was critically acclaimed and the highest-charting K-pop album on the US Billboard 200 at the time, debuting at number 61.[8] The quartet also ventured into the Japanese music scene through YG's partnership with Avex Trax, releasing Nolza in 2011 and following up with the studio albums Collection (2012) and the Japanese version of Crush (2014).[9] 2NE1 amassed a total of nine number-one songs on the Gaon Digital Chart throughout their career, the most of any idol group then, including "Go Away", "I Love You", "Missing You" and "Come Back Home".

After a period of group hiatus, Minzy announced her departure from the group in April 2016,[10] and the other three members officially disbanded that November.[1] Their final single, "Goodbye", was recorded as a trio and was released on January 21, 2017 as a farewell to their fans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2NE1

Twice (Korean: 트와이스; RR: Teuwaiseu; Japanese: トゥワイス, Hepburn: To~uwaisu; commonly stylized in all caps as TWICE) is a South Korean girl group formed by JYP Entertainment. The group is composed of nine members: Nayeon, Jeongyeon, Momo, Sana, Jihyo, Mina, Dahyun, Chaeyoung, and Tzuyu. Twice was formed under the television program Sixteen (2015) and debuted on October 20, 2015, with the extended play (EP) The Story Begins.

Twice rose to domestic fame in 2016 with their single "Cheer Up", which charted at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart, became the best-performing single of the year, and won "Song of the Year" at the Melon Music Awards and Mnet Asian Music Awards. Their next single, "TT", from their third EP Twicecoaster: Lane 1, topped the Gaon charts for four consecutive weeks. The EP was the highest selling Korean girl group album of 2016. Within 19 months after debut, Twice had already sold over 1.2 million units of their four EPs and special album. By the end of 2021, Twice had sold over 7.29 million albums in Korea in 2019. As of December 2020, the group has sold over 10 million albums in South Korea and Japan.

The group debuted in Japan on June 28, 2017, under Warner Music Japan, with the release of a compilation album titled #Twice.[1] The album charted at number 2 on the Oricon Albums Chart with the highest first-week album sales by a K-pop artist in Japan in two years. It was followed by the release of Twice's first original Japanese maxi single titled "One More Time" in October. Twice became the first Korean girl group to earn a platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) for both an album and CD single in the same year. Twice ranked third in the Top Artist category of Billboard Japan's 2017 Year-end Rankings, and in 2019, they became the first Korean girl group to embark on a Japanese dome tour.

Twice is the first female Korean act to simultaneously top both Billboard's World Albums and World Digital Song Sales charts with the release of their first studio album Twicetagram and its lead single "Likey" in 2017. With the release of their single "Feel Special" in 2019, Twice became the third female Korean act to chart into the Canadian Hot 100. After signing with Republic Records for American promotions as part of a partnership with JYP Entertainment, the group has charted into the US Billboard 200 with More & More and Eyes Wide Open in 2020 and Taste of Love and Formula of Love: O+T=<3 in 2021. Their first official English-language single, "The Feels", became their first song to enter the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, peaking at the 83rd and 80th positions of the charts, respectively. They have been dubbed the next "Nation's Girl Group", and their point choreography—including for "Cheer Up" (2016), "TT" (2016), "Signal" (2017), and "What Is Love?" (2018)—became dance crazes and viral memes imitated by many celebrities.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twice

Kim Tae-yeon (Korean: 김태연; born March 9, 1989), known mononymously as Taeyeon, is a South Korean singer. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea and one of the most popular K-pop groups worldwide. She has since participated in other SM Entertainment projects, including Girls' Generation-TTS, SM the Ballad, Girls' Generation-Oh!GG, and Got the Beat.

Taeyeon released her debut extended play I in 2015, which includes the number-one titular single on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart. In 2016, she released the number-one SM Station single "Rain", followed by her second extended play Why, which peaked atop the Gaon Album Chart. Her debut studio album, My Voice (2017), yielded the top-five singles "11:11", "Fine" and "Make Me Love You". In 2018, Taeyeon ventured into the Japanese music scene with the digital single "Stay", followed by the 2019 extended play Voice. Her second studio album, Purpose (2019), featured the successful singles "Four Seasons" and "Spark", the singer's third studio album INVU was released in February 2022 with the pre-release single "Can't Control Myself" released earlier in January.

On television, Taeyeon appeared as a main cast on the reality shows We Got Married (2009), Begin Again (2019), and is currently serving as a main host for Amazing Saturday (2020–present). She is set to host Queendom 2 from March 31, 2022. Additionally, she has recorded soundtracks for various television dramas and movies that proved successful, notably "If" for Hong Gil-dong (2008), "Can You Hear Me" for Beethoven Virus (2008),[1] and the chart-topping "All about You" for Hotel del Luna (2019).

Having sold over one million physical albums and twenty million digital singles as of 2021, Taeyeon is one of the best-selling solo artists in South Korea. She has received various awards and nominations, including six Golden Disc Awards, five Seoul Music Awards, four Gaon Chart Music Awards, three Melon Music Awards, and three Mnet Asian Music Awards.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/taeyeon

K-pop is the culture and pride of Koreans!

K-pop (Korean: 케이팝; RR: keipap), short for Korean popular music,[1] is a genre of music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture.[2] Includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, gospel, reggae, electronic dance, folk, country, and classical on top of its traditional Korean music roots.[3] The more modern form of the genre emerged with the formation of one of the earliest K-pop groups, the boy band Seo Taiji and Boys, in 1992. Their experimentation with different styles and genres of music and integration of foreign musical elements helped reshape and modernize South Korea's contemporary music scene.[4]

Modern K-pop "idol" culture began in the 1990s, as K-pop idol music grew into a subculture that amassed enormous fandoms of teenagers and young adults.[5][6] After a slump in early idol music, from 2003, TVXQ and BoA started a new generation of K-pop idols that broke the music genre into the neighboring Japanese market and continue to popularize K-pop internationally today.[7][8] With the advent of online social networking services and South Korean TV shows, the current spread of K-pop and South Korean entertainment, known as the Korean Wave, is seen not only in East Asia and Southeast Asia, but also in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Latin America, North Africa, Southern Africa and East Africa, the Middle East and throughout the Western world, gaining an international audience.

The term "K-pop" became popular in the 2000s. Previously, South Korean pop music was called gayo (Korean: 가요; Hanja: 歌謠).[9][10] While "K-pop" is a general term for popular music in South Korea, it is often used in a narrower sense for the genre described here. In 2018, K-pop experienced significant growth and became a 'power player,' marking a 17.9% increase in revenue growth. As of 2019, K-pop is ranked at number six among the top ten music markets worldwide according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's "Global Music Report 2019," with BTS and Blackpink cited as artists leading the market growth.[11] In 2020, K-pop experienced a record-breaking year when it experienced a 44.8% growth and positioned itself as the fastest-growing major market of the year.[12]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-pop