Jo Hyun Jae

Who is it who says she does not like Jo Hyun-Jae wearing sunglasses because she cannot see his beautiful eyes?  But you must admit: nobody looks cooler in shades.

(Credit for photos: names on phtotos.  Thanks!)

This is prissymom discussing commercials/advertisements（CF = commercial films） in relation to JHJ.

In my country (the Philippines) there are 4 signs that an entertainer has already “arrived” (meaning that the entertainer has become successful in his showbiz career):

1. His dramas/movies are top raters/blockbusters.

2. He has screaming fans following him everywhere he goes, asking for his autograph and taking his picture.

3. Fans are in a frenzy to know everything about him (i.e. what he eats for breakfast/lunch/dinner, what he wears to sleep, what brand of underwear he uses, etc.)

4. He has so many endorsement contracts under his belt (i.e. commercials simultaneously running on TV, his billboards are all over the metro landscape [or should I say skyscape?], and his face appears in countless magazine covers).

If I apply the 4 signs mentioned above to our Jo Hyun-Jae, this is how he measures up:

1. Dramas/movies are top raters/blockbusters — So true!  Most of his TV dramas (from “Love Letter” onwards) rated quite well when they were aired in Korea and other countries as well, making him an A-lister in the Korean entertainment industry.

2. Avid fans — So true, again!  JHJ doesn’t appear that much in public, but on the few occasions that he does make a public appearance (i.e. fan meetings, airport arrivals, etc.), fans do scream in excitement at seeing him, scrambling to take photographs and videos of him.

3.  Fans want to know everything about him — Of course!  Every tidbit of information about his private life that JHJ is willing to share with his fans is translated from one language to another, passed on or shared with fellow fans to be scrutinized, dissected and committed to memory!

4. Numerous endorsement contracts under his belt –  He only has 2 CFs (commercial films = advertisements) and one clothing line endorsement (Crencia) which he did many years ago.

It was more than a year ago when I learned that JHJ has only 2 CFs to his name (I didn’t even know of his Crencia endorsement until wuliJHJ mentioned it here in their blog).  This information didn’t bother me at all: truth be told I am quite glad that he has few CFs because that means that he does not have to suffer from another celebrity problem — over-exposure.

Case in point is Lee Min Ho (LMH), the Korean actor whose drama “Boys Before Flowers” (BBF) became very popular a few months ago in South Korea.  Because of the popularity of his drama, he received so many offers to endorse one product after another.  He accepted these offers like there was no tomorrow — donuts, soft drink, beer, jeans, cellphone, cosmetics, so on and so forth.  Endorsements left and right, everywhere people look/go there is LMH smiling at them, enticing them into buying the products that he endorses.  Some of his fans were already complaining that they’re sick and tired of hearing/seeing/reading about Lee Min Ho even when his drama was still airing, and some of his fans didn’t want to see him anymore!

Gu Hye Sun (GHS), another BBF alumna, (she is Eun Jin, Mo Jin’s daughter, in “Seo Dong Yo”),  is also suffering from over-exposure from CFs and other activities not related to acting — she directed and wrote the script of a short film, she wrote a book, became a book illustrator, and she also sings.  People’s perception of her nowadays is that she is flitting from one field to another but not really becoming very good at it, like a female jack of all trades and master of none (would that make her a jane of all trades and mistress of none?)

To go back to JHJ, as far as I am concerned, I like the way he and his management team have handled his career.  When he’s working on a drama or movie, fans don’t see him because he is so focused on working that he can’t do anything else.  We see him only when he’s promoting his latest drama or movie.  Once in a while he models, holds fan meetings, graces magazine covers or pages, appears in music videos, or grants interviews.  But these appearances are so rare that he leaves his fans craving to see/hear/read more of him.

We don’t see him doing cute stuff or showing off his body or his handsome face in CFs while endorsing one product after another.  That is fine with me, after all as WuliJHJ said in a previous post, JHJ is “an artist not a signboard”.  I am going to stick my neck out here and say that I am pretty sure that JHJ doesn’t lack offers for lucrative CF deals.  It is probably a deliberate decision on his part because he wants his image as a serious actor to remain intact.

I remember in an earlier entry in this blog (“We Spent Valentine’s Day with JHJ Part 2″ Feb. 20, 2009),  WuliJHJ related that they bought souvenir items during JHJ’s photo exhibit in Japan because they “reckoned this was the most direct and practical way to line JHJ’s pocket while he is drawing a soldier’s pay.”  In another entry (“JHJ souvenirs selling like hotcakes”  March 7, 2009), one fan comments that she hopes “that the profits from the sale will go to JHJ”, while another fan writes that she hopes “JHJ’s bottomline be further improved during these difficult times”.  These sentiments really made an impression on me because normally fans don’t concern themselves with their idol’s finances, assuming perhaps (correctly, most of the time) that their idols are earning more than enough from their various projects.  From time to time I would even come across articles in the internet about fans complaining about the big salaries that Korean A-list celebrities get from their projects .  But not JHJ fans, apparently!  I for one believe that JHJ deserves every Korean won that he gets for his services because he works so hard and shows so much dedication to whatever project he is working on.

“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.”

These are JHJ’s words in his KBOOM Magazine interview before he entered the military (see wuliJHJ’s post “JHJ the Man and the Actor Part 5″, March 20, 2009).  His goal is clear enough — he wants to become an actor whose works would draw attention just because he is in them.  He has already done this with his dramas, and he has started to do this in the movies.  But we have to be honest and admit that he is not quite there yet; he still has a long road ahead of him.  But I have great faith in his determination; I know that with his good work attitude and his love for his craft he will achieve his career goals.  And we, his fans, will help and support him every step of the way.

So, JHJ as CF King?  I don’t think so.   I much prefer JHJ as the best actor — the best actor that he can be.

(Credit: Photo from KBS2.  Thanks!)

From the Official JHJ Fan Club website:

Sept.21, 2009      09:51a.m.

Hi!  This is Korean staff.

South Korea has been raining since morning.

Apart from news of rain, I also have good news of Jo Hyun-Jae.

Starting today, JHJ is taking a 3 nights/4 days vacation.

He has just finished his arduous training.  Hope this will give him some rest.

See you next time.

안녕하세요. 한국 스탭입니다.

오늘 한국은 아침부터 비가 내리고 있습니다.

비 소식과 더불어 오늘은 반가운 현재씨 소식을 하나 전해 드리겠습니다.

현재씨가 오늘부터 3박 4일간 정기 휴가를 나왔습니다.

힘든 훈련도 마치고 푹 쉬었다 들어갔으면 하는 바램입니다.

그럼 다음에 다시 찾아뵙겠습니다.

There aren’t that many kissing scenes in Jo Hyun-Jae’s dramas.  They must all have been collected here.  So watch them all at one go.

(Credit: Hiro of johyunjae.co.kr.  Thanks!)

Bae Yong-Jun perfected the bespectacled look in “Winter Sonata”, to the extent that his character, even when blind at the end, is still wearing glasses.  But when he is not wearing glasses, he looks…..let’s just say he looks different.

Now our JHJ looks absolutely spectacular with spectacles (as he is without.)  4 eyes or 2 eyes — he is as cute as ever!

(Credit for photos: names on photos.  Last 3 photos courtesy of jo-hyunjae.com.  Thanks!)

Jo Hyun-Jae Got His Rib Bone Fractured In GwangJu, JuNam (June 2, 2004)

Jo Hyun-Jae, who is playing a human warrior in Gu-mi-ho (“Forbidden Love”), has got his rib-bone fractured in Gwangju, Junam.  This happened during a fight scene where the actors were dangling on wires and flying all over the place.  A stuntsman who was playing a Gu-mi-ho warrior injured Jo Hyun-Jae’s chest, so JHJ reportedly felt extreme pain and had difficulty in breathing.

The director wanted to skip JHJ’s scenes and shoot another segment.  People on set suggested he should go see a doctor, but JHJ insisted on finishing the scene first.  He received first-aid and continued with the shooting.

“Gu-mi-ho warriors are stronger than humans and I mostly get beaten up in the drama, so I don’t know how many ‘glorious’ scars would remain on my body,” Jo Hyun-Jae said laughing.  As it turned out this time, his rib bone was fractured.

We are recycling this old news because once again it shows what tough mettle JHJ is made of and how he always puts the greater good above his own.  It takes a lot of preparation for actors to be strung up on wires, which is why JHJ insists they carry on with the shooting.  He is certainly no prima donna.  That is why we are not at all surprised he could make it as one of the boys in the army.

You can see from the video of the shooting of “Forbidden Love” how dangerous it is for the actors to be flying around on wires.  It gives you a pretty good idea that being an action actor is not a piece of cake.  The only complaint we have about this very interesting video is — there is too little JHJ!  Every one of the lead actors speaks to the camera except our JHJ, well, just once, very briefly.  He must be doing his usual thing — concentrating on his acting.

(News report from:www.geocities.com/thejohyeonjaeshrine , www.geocities.com/phpbb)

This is the 13th time CAFE (Korea and Japan) sent their monthly gifts to Jo Hyun-Jae and his campmates.  There are the usual snacks, (sea-weed)cookies, chips, and candies — all beautifully packaged.

And of course the special gifts for JHJ  — ginseng, eye-cream, moisturizer, magazine, phone cards, and even paper towels, dry and wet.   The SCREEN magazine cover girl is Soo Ae, JHJ’s co-star in “Love Letter”.

If anyone can figure out what the second last item is, please let us know.  We have a prize waiting for you.

(Source: CarpeDiemJAPAN.  Thanks!)

2007 Face in Japan (Tokyo, August 13 -16)

Jo Hyun-Jae took part in a fan meeting (along with a few other actors and singers) in Tokyo at an event billed as “Face in Japan”.  A couple of childhood photos of JHJ were displayed for the first time on stage.  And he read a poem in Japanese — to the delight of his Japanese fans.

Being with you

When you run to me
And throw yourself into my arms
Your sparkling laughter
Makes me fall into endless dreams.

Being with you is like a rainy day
Just like the raindrops that wet the window panes
Let me soak into your heart.

From the look in your eyes that hearten me
I see boundless blessings.

When we express our love
Hand in hand
Embracing one another

When you wrap me in your arms
Please don’t break my heart
You’ll live forever in my heart.

Because being with you I feel blessed
Being with you I can spread my dream.

(Credit: Video by Pocky of CarpeDiemJAPAN.  Thanks!)

(Poem translated from Japanese by wulijohyunjae.)

I must confess I have not watched the entire drama, only the Jo Hyun-Jae parts in “First Love”.  I know what the story is about, which is why I don’t want to view it in its entirety.

Practically my whole working life is spent in an academic environment.  People outside of the “ivory tower” have no idea of the intricacies and intrigues in such a rarefied atmosphere.  One of the things that is not uncommon is a romantic relationship between a professor/lecturer and a student, more often than not, between a male professor and a female student.  Sometimes it’s the professor abusing his position of authority, but if you think the student is always a victim, you are gravely mistaken.  I’ve seen a 20-something girl seducing her professor — and succeeding in breaking up a marriage.

Call me old-fashioned, but I do not like to see a married professor committing adultery with his student. (one of the reasons I do not want to watch the whole of “First Love”.)   And it makes me very mad that the girl (Oh Hee-Soo played by Jo An) only has eyes for the professor (played by Shin Sung Woo) and does not seem to be aware of the existence of our JHJ (as Han Young-Woo.)  She simply takes him for granted.  This is an old Korean drama (SBS 2003), so why doesn’t it follow the traditional format?  I mean it usually starts with the characters as children, and if A and B are a pair, then there is no chance at all for whoever comes into their lives later as adults.  Why is it the girl here treats Young-Woo as her younger brother? (even though she does look older.) She has eyes but she doesn’t see.

“First Love” opens and ends with JHJ’s Han Young-Woo.  JHJ with a camera around his neck looks very dashing as a photographer.  I like the way JHJ looks in “First Love” — his tousled hair, his casual clothes, his youthfulness, his freshness.  Another young man, but a very different young man from Andrea in “Love Letter”.  JHJ’s Andrea is a classic — no one else can play Andrea so movingly, so convincingly, and oh! so sweetly.  And this is the first time he plays the lead in a drama.

Han Young-Woo in “First Love” is no less sweet, no less tender, but he is more grounded.  He tries to pursue his goal; he chases after his childhood sweetheart.  But she never takes him seriously and considers him her kid brother.  Instead, she falls for her married professor.  I find the tangled business tedious, even sordid.  I have no sympathy for this kind of extra-marital relationship (having seen too much of it in real life.)  And his wife isn’t at all bad either, in fact, too good for him.

However good Young-Woo is to her, Hee-Soo has no place in her heart for him.  Somehow Young-Woo’s attitude to Hee-Soo brings to mind a novella I read many years ago — Somerset Maugham’s “Of Human Bondage “.  The protagonist is obsessed with a girl and would do anything for her, however badly she behaves to him.  Young-Woo is fixated on Hee-Soo, however she treats him.

Some viewers see the ending of “First Love” as hopeful and heart-warming.  It is implied that Young-Woo will wait patiently for Hee-Soo to get over her dead lover, and he has accepted her child.  I don’t like it at all.  Hee-Soo has wasted Young-Woo’s early life; she will squander the best years of his life.  There’s a whole forest out there, kid!  Don’t bind yourself to one tree.

Five years later, JHJ is doing it again! — in “3 Dads/1 Mom”.  Korean scriptwriters must think men love women with other men’s children.  I think Soo-Hyun is wasting his time with Na-Young.  What’s wrong with the rich girl?  She’s younger, prettier, richer, better educated, and she loves him!  What more can a man want?

I don’t like the casting in “First Love”.  Whose first love?  The girl’s?  She can’t carry the drama.  Jo An (who plays Hee-Soo) has no charisma.  Young-Woo’s?  Then why is JHJ the #2 male actor?  I don’t think there is any chemistry between JHJ and Jo An.  JHJ’s youthfulness makes her look maternal.  Worse still, she looks…….common.  All JHJ’s co-stars hit the big time after working with him, except this one, and there’s a reason for it.

“First Love” is made after “Love Letter”, even though both are released in 2003.  Why does JHJ have to play a supporting role in “First Love” when he is already the lead in “Love Letter”?  Maybe he committed to this project before he made it big in “Love Letter”.  In any case, whoever has the misfortune to play lead male to JHJ is asking for trouble.  Just consider the case of Rye Seung Bum who is totally eclipsed in  “Sunshine”.

I’m satiated with Korean drama — they follow more or less the same formula.  The actors change, it is true, but it is like playing musical chairs.  The actors who play the parents are always the same “old” people (“old” in the sense of  “same”, not  “aged”, because the women especially refuse to look “old”.)  The last time I watch a non-JHJ drama which has something new is “My name is Kim Sam Soon”.

No, “First Love” is not my first love.  Except for JHJ, everything in it is tired and tedious.  Even the title — why does it have to have the same title as Bae Yong-Jun’s drama?  When I asked for “First Love”, I was given Bae’s drama, which was why I had to watch 4 dreadful episodes before concluding I’ve been taken for a ride (and it’s very long, so it’s expensive!)  I did check before I bought it; I didn’t see JHJ’s name, but I didn’t see his name on “Great Ambition” (Dae Mang) either.  If Korean scriptwriters don’t come up with something new, I’ll have to re-watch JHJ’s dramas over and over again, at least until he resumes his acting career after June 2010.

(Here are some NG scenes from “First Love” — for your amusement.)

(Credit for B & W photo: http://blog.naver.com and for video: EVERjohyunjae.  Thanks!)

Do you remember Jo Hyun-Jae reading love letters in his dramas, as Andrea in “Love Letter” and as Seo Dong in “Seo Dong Yo”?  How do you feel about it? Deeply touched? Then what would you feel if JHJ, as himself, reads a “love letter” written by himself to his fans? Well, JHJ did just that at his first Japanese fan meeting in Tokyo in 2006. Those fans on site were so lucky. One of them captured this romantic moment and shares it with us here.

At the 2006 Japan Fan Meeting in Tokyo, Jo Hyun-Jae reads a letter to his fans — in Japanese.

I wasn’t kidding when I said a “love letter”.  But this is not a love letter in its usual meaning — not to the opposite sex.  It’s a “love letter” from JHJ to his fans (translated from Japanese into English here.)

Hello, everyone!

First of all, I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to you all.

I finally get to meet my fans in Tokyo.  There are those with whom I’ve spent three days.

This visit to Japan gives me the opportunity to appreciate the warmth and kindness of the Japanese people.

I will never forget the time I spent here with you.

I am an actor in the world of drama.  To be loved by my fans is the highest honour in the drama of my life.

The time spent with you is really very happy, so full of joy and fun.

Hope you enjoy my works.  I especially hope you will continue to like my works, from now to ever after.

I am most grateful for your love.  I will continue to work hard.

These three days that we spent together — I will never forget your love and support.  I will work even harder from now on.

I like you all — you are all my fans.

Many thanks indeed!

(Credit: Video by  Param of CarpeDiemJAPAN.  Thanks!)