Jo Hyun Jae

Jo Hyun-Jae’s DVD was released in mid-March 2009. It is called “Last Story”, after the Japan Fan Meetings in June 2008 which were billed as such.

The 80-minute DVD documents Jo Hyun-Jae’s Japan Fan Meetings in Osaka on June 22 and Tokyo on June 23, as well as the Nogoya Dinner Show on June 27, 2008.

The first 30 minutes are devoted to the Osaka Fan Meeting at NHK Hall. Part 1 features JHJ on stage with the MC and the interpreter, discussing his dramas. Part 2 is after the intermission, when JHJ plays “Wheel of Fortune”, “Stone, Paper, Scissors”, Q & A, etc. with his fans. Part 3 is the handshaking and photo-taking, check donation and reading of cards. (For details, please see “Diary of a Star-Chaser” Part 2.)

When the credits are rolling, JHJ can be heard singing “Like the wind by your side” against a visual background of the Tokyo Fan Meeting (Part 2). The DVD producers are smart not to show in detail this second fan meeting which follows basically the same format as the Osaka Fan Meeting. (For details, please see “Diary of a Star-Chaser” Part 3.)

Then comes 30 minutes of the Nagoya Dinner Show at the Westin on June 27. In Part 1 JHJ is on stage with the MC (same one as in Osaka, and in the same clothes!) and a different interpreter. He is in a silver-grey suit and a blue shirt and appears very relaxed answering questions and smiles a lot. He then sings “Like the wind by your side”. Part 2 is Q & A, followed by JHJ’s message to his fans. The encore song is “Words you said to me”.

The audio is in Japanese and Korean. (The Japanese MCs and interpreters speak Japanese and JHJ speaks Korean.) But just as at the fan meetings, there is no need to understand the languages to appreciate the emotions and atmosphere of the occasions. Just watching JHJ and hearing his deep baritone is already great value for money.

The next segment “Photography” is the most interesting. It shows behind-the-scenes footage of the shooting of the “Memories” photo album. JHJ is a born model (and I don’t mean just his looks) — every movement, every gesture, every pose, every smile –seemingly effortless and casual, is so expressive and elegant. No wonder the photographer is snapping shot after shot non-stop. And it’s a female photographer (could you have guessed?)

There is another “Photography” segment, and this time JHJ is sporting a crew-cut, shooting the KBOOM cover and magazine photos, as well as the big photo series at the entrance of the Photo Exhibition in Osaka in February. But there are a few shots of JHJ in a very tight white shirt with short sleeves that can only be described as “sexy”.

This is followed by “Recording” — JHJ in the studio recording “Words you said to me”. This song is obviously very difficult to sing; JHJ got stuck (at the same place) a couple of times.

The last part of the DVD is the August 5 farewell when JHJ entered the army. He was interviewed by the media before he saw his fans for the last time (in two years.) The last shot is of JHJ saluting his fans.

Hi! I am here to report on news of Hyun-Jae.

Yesterday’s work schedule started at 4:05 a.m. This was out of consideration for Hyun-Jae.

Hyun-Jae looked very tired; made my heart ache.

Patrol was finished at around 5:40 a.m. when we returned to camp.

Have a great weekend, everyone at CarpeDiem!

(This is Joy’s story)

My first encounter with Jo Hyun Jae started with “Love Letter” last summer. After a strenuous exam I tried to relax my brains with Korean dramas, which I never had time to watch before. I found out that my local library system has quite a collection of Korean drama DVDs (about 160 in total so far). The area where I live has a large Asian population, including a large Korean community. I started with the most popular ones such as “Dae Chang Jin” and “Autumn In My Heart”. “Love Letter” happened to be the fourth one I borrowed. I have never heard about this drama or actor Jo Hyun Jae before, but I knew the scriptwriter is the same as “Winter Sonata”, “Autumn In My Heart” and “All About Eve”.

I was captivated with JHJ from the beginning of the drama. The storyline is not an ordinary love story. The theme relates to faith, religious life and love. This category has always interested me due to my Catholic background and very few dramas ever touch on this. My first impression of JHJ is his beautiful face, to put it more accurately, almost the best-looking actor among all the Korean movie stars. As the storyline progresses, I am more impressed with his acting skills. He brings Andrea to life and his acting skill is so natural that I almost believe JHJ is Andrea. For a newbie in his first leading role at the age of 23, I can only sum it up in one word — brilliant! JHJ portrays Andrea’s struggle between his desire to become a priest and his love for the girl he grew up with with such profound depth that he makes me cry with him. His eyes are full of purity, sincerity and love. I imagine people with these beautiful eyes must have a beautiful heart inside. I have watched “Love Letter” for a few times already; I just can’t have enough of JHJ. It reminds me of the meaning of life and the true values of Christian faith. In an interview, JHJ said he did not have much acting skills when he shot “Love Letter”; all he did was to execute the role with his sincere heart. His performance really touched my heart and many others.

After this first encounter with JHJ in “Love Letter”, my curiosity about this “new” actor drew me to look for more of his dramas. I quickly found out that JHJ also filmed a historical drama called “Seo Dong Yo” with the same director and scriptwriter as “Dae Chang Jin”. Luckily for me our local county library just got it a few days ago but I had to drive forty miles to pick it up myself. “Seo Dong Yo” is really a classic drama and a masterpiece; the script is well-written, with twists and turns. The cliffhangers kept me playing the next episode until three or four o’clock in the morning. I had to force myself to catch some sleep. I completed “Seo Dong Yo” in less than a week. This time I fell in love with JHJ. I would rate it to be JHJ’s best work so far. His acting skills are so much more matured than in “Love Letter”. His appearance is always appealing and gorgeous, with his princely look no matter what costumes he wears or what roles he plays (potato boy or king). This is the drama I would recommend to all my friends and family. It covers all aspects of life: destiny, love, success, loyalty, integrity, determination, etc. It is such an inspiration; I gain strength and direction from this drama which made me a JHJ fan.

The last TV series my library carries is “Forbidden Love”. To be honest, after I played the first few minutes I could not continue because the show is too violent and bloody for me. I concluded that “Forbidden Love” is not my type so I gave it up. After that, I watched “Only You”, “Sunshine” and “Three Dads with One Mom” online. Compared to “Love Letter” and “Seo Dong Yo”, these dramas are not my favorite but with JHJ’s acting, they are all worth watching. The role JHJ plays in “Three Dads with One Mom” really surprises me. I never thought he could ever be so funny. Many thanks to JHJ for playing this role, even though the ending is confusing, I enjoy most of it and replay it whenever I need to relax. JHJ’s performance here is quite a breakthrough. He tries to play dramatically different characters to drill his acting skills and he shows his potential is unlimited.

After “Three Dads with One Mom” I decided to try “Forbidden Love” again. After a few episodes, I started to like it. This time JHJ plays a cop and secret agent. There are some action scenes where he needs to practice martial arts. He looks so manly, very different from his previous roles. I wish JHJ would act in more Kung Fu movies in the future since there is a big market for these and he will draw more audience.

I wanted to learn more about JHJ as a real person after spending all this time watching him on screen. Fortunately I found a website JHJChina.com with loads of information; photos, MVs, interviews, articles and his messages. As I expected he is beautiful inside and out. He is a person of few words, but his messages are so warmed-hearted: he sounds like an old friend, loving and caring. He is low key, humble and honest. He is always polite and kind, treating his fans with sincerity and respect. I remember his speech at Baeksang Award: he first thanked his fans for their support. This would rarely happen in the western world. JHJ does not take a shortcut to become famous but follows each little step to become the actor he dreams of. Underneath his beautiful smile, it is hard to imagine he grew up in hardship; he dropped out of high school to support his family. He does not take advantage of his appearance but puts his heart and soul into each role he plays. He is a treasure rare to find: once you found him, you will never let go.

It is the first time I ever become a fan of any type. Now it is part of my life to check his news, write him letters, watch his dramas and collect his souvenirs, even make friends with other JHJ fans. I am so thankful for JHJ: when I went through difficult times, his dramas gave me comfort, helped me to pull though and inspired me to be strong. His personal life also taught me how to deal with hardship in life with grace. Living overseas for such a long time, sometimes I feel that I am losing my identity and my roots. I learned so much from him and determined to make a difference in my little world. I wish that more people will get to know JHJ, this wonderful actor. He did make a difference in my life and we need to do the same, to be the light of the world. I pray that God will always watch over him, protect him, guide him and give him strength. JHJ, I love and support you, always.

If Helen of Troy was “the face that launched a thousand ships”*, Jo Hyun-Jae is “the face that launched a thousand sites.”

I have no statistics to back up my assumption, but I am sure there are more than a thousand websites all over the world dedicated to Jo Hyun-Jae.

Which is your favourite Jo Hyun-Jae photo? What is the face that first attracted you? Come on, let’s be honest! Before you discovered his “inner beauty”, you must have been first captivated by his incredible good looks.

Please e-mail your favourite JHJ photo and your name to us at jhjfans@gmail.com and we will publish them here.

What you see at the top here is the JHJ photo that took my breath away. Let’s see yours!

* From the 16th century English dramatist Christopher Marlowe’s “Doctor Faustus”:

Was this the face that launch’d a thousand ships
And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?
Sweet Helen, make me immortal with a kiss.

The reference is of course to Helen, Queen of Sparta, the most beautiful woman in the world, who was abducted by the Trojan prince Paris. The thousand ships refer to the Greek contingent that set sail for Troy to try to get her back which started the Trojan Wars, resulting in the destruction of Troy.

Jo Hyun-Jae’s fans have been doing charity work in his name for some time. Korea’s EVERjohyunjae has been making donations (totalling 5,700,000 won up to March 2009) to UNICEF and Good Neighbours since October 2006 and January 2007 respectively.

This is an English translation of Jo Hyun Jae’s exclusive interview with KBOOM (October 2008 issue) prior to his military enlistment. Jo Hyun Jae speaks frankly with KBOOM about his acting and his life on the eve of his enlistment in the armed forces. (Translated by misa123 first published in EVERjohyunjae on 2008.9.20)

(Cont. from Part 4)

Q. When would you like to get married? And what kind of woman do you like?
A. I’d like to get married around my mid-30s, so I have to start looking for someone (laughs). I’m an actor, so I’d like to meet a woman who understands my work and is supportive. When I’m working, I totally immerse myself in it, so I don’t think I’d be able to pay attention to her at those times. It wouldn’t be intentional, but I might make her feel lonely. It would be nice to find someone who would understand that. Maybe I’m setting my sights high (laughs)? In terms of appearance, I like a woman who has a pretty smile, but otherwise I don’t have any set type. If I fall in love, then that person is my type.

Q. You are nearing your 30s. What are your thoughts about getting older?
A. There were still a lot of things that I wanted to try, so it is a bit of a shame.

Q. For example, what kinds of things?
A. For example, as we were talking about earlier, I would like to travel more . . . . . Because of the nature of my work, I haven’t been able to experience things that you would normally experience in your 20s.

Q. Like co-ed parties and experiencing campus life with a girlfriend?
A. Yes (laughs). Those things too. Or going to the library and studying very hard.

Q. The average person in their 20s doesn’t go to the library and study!
A. Is that right? When I look back, I think I’ve tried my best in my life, but there are some things that I regret. But I don’t mind getting older. That’s because the more years you live, the more experienced you become, your thoughts become deeper, and you grow.

Q. Do your personal experiences help you in your performances?
A. Of course. Although I may not have the typical experiences, instead I think that I’ve had many experiences that others can’t have. The busy life I have now will be better after I’m 30, I think. And I think my acting will have more depth. Of course, that depends on me. That’s the way acting is. I don’t think you can produce satisfying work simply by trying your best. By maturing as a person you start to be able to give a good performance. I hope that I’ll get even cooler as I getolder, just like Al Pacino.

Q. What is your objective as an actor?
A. I’d like to become an actor whose works will draw attention just because I’m in them. That’s my goal. I want to be the kind of actor whose name alone will get people to want to pay money and see my work. And I hope that the audience and viewers will be able to see my performances and forget about their worries, even if just a little. Of course, it would make me happiest of all if people said that I’m a good actor.

Q. Could I ask you to say a final word to our readers?
A. I won’t be able to see you for a while. I’m going to be having another new experience. I think that Jo Hyun Jae will probably return as a more mature person. Until then, I wish you all well. I will send you greetings occasionally, so I hope you won’t miss me too much. I’m looking forward to the day when I can meet you again and show you how I’ve matured as a person and as an actor. It’s very humid, so please take care of your health! Be happy.

(THE END)

(Photo courtesy of Official JHJ Fan Club website)

This is an English translation of Jo Hyun Jae’s exclusive interview with KBOOM (October 2008 issue) prior to his military enlistment. Jo Hyun Jae speaks frankly with KBOOM about his acting and his life on the eve of his enlistment in the armed forces. (Translated by misa123 first published in EVERjohyunjae on 2008.9.20)

(Cont. from Part 3)

Q. After that, you appeared in Three Daddies with One Mommy. That was a completely different character than 1st Lt. Yoo.
A. The character of Han Soo Hyun in Three Daddies with One Mommy was a kind of comical character that I had never tried to play before, so I decided to take the role. It is a completely different character than Lt. Yoo of Guard Post. The part is of a fund manager who dreams of marrying a rich girl, but the interesting thing about this character is that even though he is talented himself, his dream is to “land a rich girl!” Also, the fact that he was stingy made the character interesting as well. I wasn’t trying to play the character over the top. For Soo Hyun, that was his serious life goal, so I played it seriously (laughs). I’d like to keep playing roles that are each slightly different from the last.

I’m not good at talking and I’m a shy person, so I have a hard time getting close to my fellow actors. But in the case of Three Daddies and One Mommy, the other actors I was working with were all about the same age, so we became good friends very quickly. We drank a lot too, and before we knew it, Eugene [Kim Yoo Jin] would come and hang out with us as well (laughs).

Q. Looking at both Guard Post and Three Daddies, it seems like your criteria for selecting projects is changing.
A. I don’t use any complex process when I select a project. When I was new on the scene, even if I didn’t want to take a role, I would try it anyway. It was because I was a rookie. Now, I can take responsibility myself and I only take roles I really want to play. Maybe it is my actor’s instinct that following the dark role in Guard Post, I did the opposite and played a lighter role next. As I told you, I prefer mysteries and powerful movies rather than comedies. But if you’re an actor, I think you have to be able to play a variety of roles. From now on, I want to look not just at the character I’d be playing, but the overall story and feeling of the work.

Q. I hope you will be treating us to even more funny performances than Three Daddies.
A. You’ll see it sometime. The completely relaxed Jo Hyun Jae. In fact, even when I’m on location, people have told me that I get more interesting the longer they know me. I think there are still different aspects of myself that even I’m not aware of. I have to search for them in my performances (laughs).

Q. We’ve talked about it coolly, but you seem to have a lot of enthusiasm regarding your performances.
A. I do have a lot of enthusiasm. I guess it’s because of the impression I give, but even when I’m enthusiastic, I don’t appear that way. I used to think that looking like an honors student got in the way of performances, but now I don’t think so. A performance is based on the results, so it’s a question of how I act.

Q. What do you think you would do if you suddenly became a papa like you did in your show?
A. Uh, first I think I would panic. Honestly, I think it would be really awkward. To meet someone for the first time and have her say, “This is your baby” would be a shock. But I think that type of problem would work itself out with time.

Q. When you encounter something unforeseen, how do you solve it?
A. First of all, I think about it. Why did this happen? What are my own thoughts? How should I resolve this? Of course, there may be some part of me that suddenly gets angry and that even I can’t control. But that isn’t all of me. I’d make an effort to resolve it rationally.

(TO BE CONTINUED)

“The prince and princess live happily ever after!” This is how most fairy tales usually end. “Seo Dong Yo” is by no means a fairy tale because our hero and heroine only lived together for 13 years.