Jo Hyun Jae

On Monday a little after 9 in the morning, I was flipping channels when I suddenly saw Lee Byun-Hyun (LBH) and Kim Tae-Hee (KTH) on KBS2.  They’re standing on a stage or something with four other actors, apparently publicizing “Iris” (at a press conference, I think) which started on TV the week before.  I had forgotten to catch the first two episodes, but I’d make sure to watch on Wednesday and Thursday.

Watching LBH and KTH made me miss Jo Hyun-Jae more.  LBH is an actor that JHJ admires.  I just saw his Hollywood debut in “G.I.Joe” a couple of days ago.  I don’t normally watch this kind of movie; I don’t like movies made from comics.  I made an exception because of LBH.  “G.I.Joe” is entertaining in a mindless sort of way.  LBH acquits himself quite well ; his Storm Shadow is one of the bad guys, but he looks pretty cool.  And he speaks very good English.  His name is listed 4 — before Sienna Miller — not bad, I thought, until I realized the actors’ names are in alphabetical order.

But watching LBH in the “Iris” line-up on KBS2, I could see he looks his full 39 years (he is 10 years older than JHJ.)  It’s been six years since I saw him in his last TV drama “All in” with Song Hye-Kyu; (their off-screen romance then generated a lot of press.) Actually KTH also looks visibly older since her last TV drama “Love Story in Harvard” (2004).  Her face is fuller and her arms rounder.  She’s wearing a sleeveless black dress, ultra short, which didn’t exactly show her legs to advantage.  Five years isn’t exactly a long time, but to an actor it could be an eternity.

Five years for JHJ means from Kang Min-Woo in “Forbidden Love” to Corporal Jo Hyun-Jae in the Korean army.  I’m biased, of course, but I feel JHJ is getting better and better — more matured, more confident, more refined, and his eyes are just as bright and he looks just as fresh as ever.  From his latest “Defense Daily” photos and video, he does not look a day older than in “Forbidden Love”.  I have often wondered how his skin can stay so fine in the harsh conditions in the army barracks.  Good genes or his fan clubs’ supply of face cream and moisturizers?  (That’s JHJ’s latest photo up there – from the Official JHJ Fan Club – do you agree with me?) 

And then I saw LBH and KTH in Episodes 3 and 4 of “Iris”.  My first reaction was: “LBH’s mop of hair looks worse than JHJ’s in “Only You”.  My second reaction was: “KTH looks better with JHJ in “Forbidden Love”.  In Episode 3 there is an extensive sequence of LBH and KTH vacationing in Akita, Japan.  The snow scenes are very beautiful, but they don’t look very much in love (it’s all acting that looks like acting, if you know what I mean.)  There has been criticism of KTH’s acting in the first episode of “Iris”, but the sequence that I’ve seen does not require much acting.

And I saw the church in “love Letter” — the one where Andrea is ordained as a priest.  The interior and the grounds are as beautiful and serene as I remember them, but somehow without Andrea it is not the same.  This church must be a popular setting in Korean dramas.

“Iris” has a budget of 20 billion KW, the most expensive Korean drama to date.  It is filmed on location in Korea, Japan, China, Hungary, and Russia.  It is the most anticipated drama of 2009, with its stellar cast and blockbuster scale.  This high-tech espionage drama is more like a movie than a TV drama, at least from the two episodes I’ve seen so far.  There are lots of bloodshed and violence and car crashes, also two very cool bad guys — the assassin (who looks androgynous) and the female NSS agent on the wrong side (N. Korea.)

I hope JHJ’s first work after his release from the army will be the most anticipated drama of 2010 (and not just for his fans.)  JHJ can do everything LBH does in “Iris”, and more.  Just give him the right role and a good story so he can flex his muscles (literally and figuratively.)

(Photo courtesy of http:// jo-hyunjae.com.  Thanks!)