Jo Hyun Jae

I had it from a reliable source that in Osaka Jo Hyun-Jae had a rehearsal soon after he arrived from Seoul in the afternoon of June 21. Two lucky Japanese fans in Osaka (and another two in Tokyo) were selected to watch the rehearsal. On the day of the Fan Meeting, JHJ arrived at NHK Hall at 11:30 a.m. (This is from another eyewitness.) The meeting begins at 2 p.m. This just shows how seriously Hyun-Jae takes his work.

At a little after 12 noon, JHJ fans were already gathering in the lobby of the NHK hall. Everybody was very excited and anticipation was in the air. At 1 p.m. we were allowed to enter; the queue was moving slowly because there were so many people. When we got to the top of the escalator, we saw many huge posters of JHJ — all unspeakably handsome! And there were all these JHJ souvenirs spread out on several tables. So we started charging at once! I made a beeline for the photo albums. They are BIG and BEAUTIFUL, with many previously unpublished photos of JHJ and his signature. I also collected a set of cups (2) with different JHJ photos on each, and cell phone straps (with JHJ’s signature.)

Clutching my precious purchases, I entered the hall which could hold 1500 people (full house.) Three huge JHJ banners were hung on stage, one on each side of JHJ in a black suit, and a set of three in the centre of JHJ in a grey cotton cardigan and white T-shirt with grey-and-yellow striped sleeves. Just looking at these made my heart beat to an unnatural rhythm.

A little after 2 p.m. the lights dimmed. Wah…..wah…..wah….. screams could be heard all over the main auditorium and the 1/F balcony. Suddenly projected on the big screen was a pair of black leather shoes. Then the camera panned to reveal a pair of ash-white trousers and then a jacket. It stopped at the neck! By that time everybody in the audience knew that it was JHJ backstage. Screams were reaching fever pitch. Drum roll……and Hyun-Jae appeared on stage left, walking to centre stage. Everybody was screaming at the top of their lungs.

The vision that appeared before our eyes was Hyun-Jae in an ash-white suit (short jacket — must be this year’s style), black shirt with polka dot lining (strategically revealed at the open collar), black leather shoes, and short hair (in the “3 Dads/1 Mom” style.)

Hyun-Jae started to sing. I didn’t understand a word but it was beautiful music. I have only heard him sing on MVs before. On stage he sounded much better and stronger; his voice was a rich, deep baritone. When he finished, the applause was deafening.

Then the Master of Ceremony (MC) and the interpreter appeared on stage, and they all sat on high stools, the two women on either side of JHJ. Hyun-Jae sat with his left foot on the lower crossbar of the high stool and his right foot on the floor in a pose that could only be described as elegant. (Try sitting on a high stool for over an hour with your back straight up and you’ll know how difficult it is to maintain such a pose.) The MC started with her questions, which Hyun-Jae answered in his characteristically terse way (not many words.) The interpreter was translating simultaneously and she was doing a good job, because almost as soon as the Japanese MC finished asking her questions, Hyun-Jae was ready to answer. (The interpreter was the same one as in the last Japan Fans Meeting a year ago.)

On the big screen appeared first Lee Dong Gun (whose younger brother’s funeral JHJ attended a few months earlier) and then JHJ’s co-stars in “3 Dads/1 Mom” — Shin Shing Rok, Jae Hee, and Eugene. I think they were wishing JHJ success with the Fans Meeting (the last two words were spoken in English.) Lee appeared thinner, Shin looked exactly the same as in 3/1, Jae was sporting a smart new hairstyle, and Eugene — I did not recognize her at first (without the wigs she wore in 3/1). Her real hair was very short which made her face look very round and full.

On stage Hyun-Jae was like a bright-eyed little boy who was curious about everything. He kept turning his head to look at his friends on the big screen. I guess the MC’s questions were about JHJ’s various TV dramas. I could hear the words “Seo Dong Yo”, “Only You”, and Andrea.

I did not understand a single word of Japanese or Korean, but I was caught up in the fervour of the moment. I laughed when everybody laughed, and I clapped when everybody clapped. We all know JHJ is a man of few words. But he seemed to be warming up after a while, and even spoke more than ten words at a time (Just kidding!) Seriously, he must have become more humourous because his answers were evoking constant laughter. We laughed and he smiled. We laughed some more and he smiled some more. The atmosphere was warm an electrifying.

After more than an hour, Part 1 came to an end. JHJ went backstage, waving and bowing. On the big screen appeared various scenes from his TV dramas which brought back happy memories.

After an interval of about ten minutes, JHJ re-appeared — on the 1/F balcony! He had changed into casual wear — a white collarless T-shirt, black vest, black trousers, and white canvas shoes — and he was so drop-dead gorgeous! He made his way across the whole balcony before coming down to the main auditorium which he criss-crossed, so that everyone had the chance to see him up close. He passed right in front of me, but the fans on the other side grabbed hold of him, so I didn’t even manage to touch his back!

Part 2 was games, one of which was “Stone, Paper, and Scissors”. Everybody stood up and played against JHJ. If you lost, you sat down. After three or four rounds, JHJ had already defeated most of us. Only 7 or 8 people were left and they were invited on stage to play with JHJ. The last two left standing received prizes and got to shake JHJ’s hand.

Another game was “Wheel of Fortune”. The lucky few that JHJ invited on stage turned the wheel to see what they could win. (Hyun-Jae was very considerate to his fans; the first one he picked was from the 1/F balcony.) The luckiest one of all got a HUG! The Japanese girl was shy but Hyun-Jae was shyer. There was a lot of foreplay before they finally came together for a brief second. Her head barely reached his chest, and I could see she was about to faint from the excitement.

In Part 3 fans competed for the gifts that JHJ brought with him, among which were DVD sets of “Seo Dong Yo” and “Only You”, won respectively by an old lady and a young girl who both looked overwhelmed.

The most bizarre part of the afternoon was JHJ demonstrating the art of eating. Actually he was supposed to be a culinary judge. A food cart was wheeled out on which were a number of dishes. JHJ first tasted some kind of pancake. He took a small bite but was made to take another bite by the MC. Hyun-Jae’s table manners were impeccable. He wiped his mouth and drank from a glass of water before trying the spaghetti. Can you imagine how embarrassing it was to eat spaghetti in front of 1500 people? with 3000 eyes watching every movement of your jaw? While he was trying to swallow, the MC kept talking to him, so he had to turn his back to the audience to gulp it down. He was so polite and well-bred! This happened twice because he had to sample two different kinds of spaghetti. I think it is torture.

Next the MC said something which of course I did not understand. The Japanese lady sitting next to me said (in English): “Stand up! Stand up!” I stood up without understanding why. Then she said: “Go out! Go out!” and pushed me towards the stage. I saw Taiwan’s Greencup and, being the smart JHJ fan that I was, I guessed overseas fans were invited to meet Hyun-Jae. Actually we stood just beneath the stage, about 8 or 9 of us, and each of us was asked where we were from. The man on my left said “Taiwan” (yes, JHJ does have male fans!) and I said “Beijing, China”, followed by Bigcat from Hong Kong and Greencup from Taiwan. The last person was from Italy (at least that’s what I heard.)

All this time I was standing about five feet from Hyun-Jae and I was staring (yes, staring, very rude, I know, but I couldn’t help it.) I was so near to him and I could see him so clearly. Oh, my God! He was so “beautiful”! This was what the Japanese lady sitting next to me was saying all afternoon — “He is so beautiful! the most beautiful in Korea!” And I answered: “In the world!” Yes, up close he was even more “beautiful”!

Without understanding Japanese, somehow I knew we were asked to play “Stone, Paper, Scissors” with Hyun-Jae. I played “Scissors” and Hyun-Jae used “Stone”, so I lost. I knew I was supposed to go back to my seat, but I didn’t want to take my eyes off Hyun-Jae. I had never been so thick-skinned in my life. I just stood there and kept staring, until the other losers started leaving. I cursed myself for losing, but I was losing my head in Hyun-Jae’s presence. The two winners were Taiwan’s Greencup who won JHJ’s shirt and a leather bracelet (I’m so happy for her!) and a Korean fan from CAFE who won JHJ’s jeans and also a leather bracelet. Lucky girls!

At some point the audience dedicated to JHJ the song in “3 Dads/1 Mom” that the three fathers sang for the baby girl on her first birthday — “You Were Born Out Of Love”. Hyun-Jae stood there solemnly receiving the tribute, even though the singing was out of tune sometimes, and he smiled and bowed and thanked us. After another brief intermission, it was “handshaking” time. The organizers moved very quickly and efficiently. A small table was set up on stage left. The fans lined up and took turns to shake Hyun-Jae’s hand. Then they were led to centre stage where two identical stands were erected for fans to take a photo with Hyun-Jae in groups of 30. The front row had 11 chairs (the centre one for Hyun-Jae); the two back rows were standing room only.

When it was my turn, I was pleasantly surprised (and very moved) that Hyun-Jae actually “shook” my hand and looked me in the eyes. His hand was soft and his grip was firm. He really took his fans seriously. Gazing into his big, beautiful eyes gave me a dizzy feeling.

I half-walked, half-stumbled to the stand and discovered I was just one seat removed from Hyun-Jae. Bigcat very generously offered her seat to me so I could sit next to Hyun-Jae. When he came over, I could not take my eyes off him. His face looked even more “beautiful” when it was less than six inches away. His profile was like that of a Greek statue. His skin was very fine and his complexion flawless. When he smiled (at us, not at me in particular), I was ready to drop dead from the ecstasy. It was all like a dream, a dream come true! I could not remember how I got off stage.

There were a few children in the audience. When they went on stage for their photo shot, they were placed next to JHJ. It was heart-warming to see Hyun-Jae put his arm around the child (children in one case — twin girls.) I could see Hyun-Jae loved children and he would be a good father when he had children of his own.

I was still on cloud nine when finally the handshaking part was over and JHJ came on stage again to sing another song and to say goodbye. Part of the proceeds of the show was donated to charity, and JHJ presented a cheque to a representative of the charitable organization, to thunderous applause.

Finally the MC presented JHJ with the fans’ messages in an album. While we were waiting in the lobby, we were given cards (the size of a business card) on which to write a message to JHJ, to be dropped in a box at the entrance of the auditorium. JHJ read out a few; the rest presumably he would take back to Korea. When he has nothing better to do in the army, I hope he will take out this album and perhaps come across mine that reads:
“To: Mr. Jo Hyun-Jae (in Korean) FIGHTING! From China with love 2008.6.22″

Time’s up but nobody wanted Hyun-Jae to go, so we kept on applauding and applauding until he came on stage again to say “Thank You” and “Goodbye” one last time.The Fans Meeting was billed as 2 – 5 p.m., but it actually lasted till 6:30 p.m. And I had to catch a 9 p.m. flight to Tokyo. I’ll not tell you about my mad dash to Kansai Airport. It was nothing compared to JHJ’s 4 1/2 hours on stage, most of it standing, and shaking 1500 hands and posing for photos with 1500 divided by 30 groups of fans (you do the math), all the time maintaining his elegant pose and sincere manners and genuine smile — all from the heart!

(TO BE CONTINUED)

(Originally published in JoHyunJaeChina)

Bigcat was there for the planting ceremony, and she has paid a return visit in February 2009.

The jasmine tree is flourishing, with a flower in full bloom and flower buds. Of all the trees that were planted last year, JHJ’s tree is faring best. The Thai fans have been taking good care of this precious tree.

In time it will grow bigger and stronger, just as we wish Jo Hyun-Jae will grow in fame and fortune.

Photos courtesy of http://johyunjaefans.invisionplus.net