Jo Hyun Jae

Another diary entry within a few days?  Well, would you rather see recycled photos and videos?

For new photos you have to go to the Korean Official Website (KOW) http://johyunjae.com.  The Manager of the KOW issued a notice on May 28 that “you cannot leak pictures or videos in the homepage to the outside.”  So all JHJ fans must register at the KOW in order to be up to speed on happenings in the JHJ world.

Only the Notices have English and Chinese translations, however.  The News are in Korean only, but they are all old news — we posted the three news items listed there a few days before they did.

The new photos posted on May 28 are really NEW and must have been taken during JHJ’s recent leave.  The series of 5 photos show JHJ wearing a cap — my favourite is the one of him looking down with a shy smile on his face (but what’s with the eye-bags?!)  The one showing the right side of his face resembles Lee Byung-Hyun.  Whichever angle he is photographed – front, back, side – JHJ still looks every inch the star!  The new photos show exactly the JHJ that we remember — not a trace of the ravages of time or hardship in these two years!

Something’s been nagging me for the past week or so, and I simply must get it off my chest.  One thing conspicuously missing at the launch of the KOW is a message from JHJ.  He left a message at the opening of the Japan Official Fan Club on May 31, 2008, but to date the section FROM HYUNJAE in the KOW is still empty.  The nasty, suspicious side of my mind suggests this is the difference between paying and non-paying, but this is immediately drowned by the scream: “Perish the thought!”  I am not blaming JHJ at all (after all, he is still a full-time soldier), but how could his advisers not realize how “hungry” his fans are?  You have to feel like a fan to think like a fan.  If you are just paid to do a job, it’s just a job, not a labour of love. 

The Administrator’s notice on May 24 asks fans to fill “the site full with words of love and reprove…..”  The last word “reprove” strikes a curious note, with negative connotations.  He must have translated literally from the Korean word.  I think the Administrator simply means they are open to “constructive criticism.”  Now few people have JHJ’s interests at heart more than me, and what I have written above is perhaps what other fans are thinking.

There is one other thing — A week after the opening of the KOW, there are already 200+ (and counting) messages TO HYUNJAE, many from foreign fans.  I hope somebody in KOW reads them all, and he/she will have to be trilingual!  Does JHJ read them?  Well, perhaps the Korean ones, unless somebody translates the others for him.  So, I’ve come up with a brilliant idea!  It is perhaps too much to expect JHJ to read everything addressed to him, but he should glance at the titles.  So I put “Greetings from U.S.A.” in my last message — just to let him know he has fans on the other side of the world.  I suggest you do the same – something like “Hello from Thailand” – so he knows his fans all over the world are thinking about him.

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On a recent flight from the west to the east, I was reading a Chinese newspaper when I was shocked to see Jo Hyun-Jae’s name — not in the Entertainment Section but in International News.  The title of the news is: “Korean stars may go to war with Pyongyang.”  It is about the escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula over the sinking of a S. Korean warship in March.  Results of a multi-national investigation fingered N. Korea as the culprit which torpedoed the Cheonan.  There are new developments everyday, and the outcome depends on the backers of the two Koreas, China and the U.S.A., as much as on N. and S. Korea.

Anyway, the newspaper article specifically mentions the soon-to-be-discharged JHJ may be sent to the frontlines to protect his country.  Other actors/singers cited include Kim Rae-Won (“Love Story in Harvard”), Joo Ji-Hoon (“Princess Hours”), Lee Jun-Ki, Eric of Shinhwa, a member of Super Junior, and a few others that I don’t know.  Strangely enough, Lee Dong-Gun’s name was also there, even though he has not yet enlisted (postponed several times because he is suffering from depression.)

I’m not too worried, though.  I bet a lot of people are working feverishly behind the scenes to defuse the crisis.  I do not believe war between N. and S. Korea is imminent.  Newspapers like to sensationalize events — to sell newspapers.  Politicians love to posture, especially in front of an electorate.  I’m sure JHJ’s discharge on June 19 will not be affected.

(Credit: Photo from EVERjohyunjae.co.jp shows a very young JHJ.  Thanks!)

(Credit: Countdown 20 by prissymom of wulijohyunjae; others by ahiru of carpediemJAPAN.  Thanks!)

This MV is made from photos taken at the Andre Kim Fashion Extravaganza in Wuxi, China, on July 12, 2007.  Jo Hyun-Jae, who was working on “G.P.506″ at the time (hence the crew cut), took advantage of the break in filming to be the lead male model of this show.  His female partner is Park Sol Mi of “Winter Sonata” and “All in” fame.  Don’t they make a handsome couple?

(Credit: www.johyunjae.hk; http://gall.dcinside.com.  Thanks!)

v

(Identical videos -  first one is YOUTUBE, second PHOTOBUCKET – take your pick.)

The following dialogue occurs at the end of “Great Ambition” (Dae Mang), when Jo Hyun-Jae’s Crown Prince is about to return to his kingdom to reclaim what is rightfully his — to ascend the throne.  This is his last conversation with his travel companion Park Jae-Young (lead role played by Jang Hyuk.) 

CP (Crown Prince)                           PJY (Park Jae-Young)

CP:   You really don’t want to go back with me?

PJY:  No, I’d like to return to my village.

CP:   Can’t you pretend this country is your village?  Won’t you stay by my side?

PJY:  You do what you have to do and I’ll do my thing.  Maybe we’ll see each other again someday.

CP:   What is your village really like?

PJY:  A place where everyone has his/her own business, no distinction between high and low, everybody understands one another, all leading simple lives without being laughed at.

CP:   Is there really such a place on earth?   What you have described is Utopia!

PJY:  In reality there’s no such place, that’s why it’s called Utopia.  I think we’re very lucky.  If we live in this ideal world Utopia, we won’t know what to do next.  Now is not yet the time, so there are many things to do.  That’s why we’re lucky.

Well, there’s something philosophical in there for you to contemplate.  Even though JHJ only has a small role in “Great Ambition”, his presence is felt throughout the drama.  His role as the Crown Prince really caught the eye of the Korean TV-watching public and propelled him to fame.  He never looked back after this.

(Credit: http://blog.daum.net; http://hyunjaelove.jp; http://blog.naver.com; www.johyunjae.hk.  Thanks!)

Jo Hyun-Jae’s Korean Official Website was launched three days ago – on May 24, 2010 – in the afternoon, which led to a lot of anxious anticipation.  I’ve always believed that good things are worth waiting for.  The new website is quite professionally designed (to my layman’s eyes anyway), mainly in shades of black and white and grey.  Jo Hyun-Jae looks very cool in these colours, so I find the photos/videos in these colours very appealing.  When I accidentally moved my cursor over the collage of photos on the Top Page, I discovered they changed into colour!   And when I clicked the photos in Gallery, each one became five!  So many hidden wonders; so much fun playing around this site!  Maybe this is obvious to the computer-savvy, but to someone technically-challenged like me it is a great discovery. 

I like this new official website — it’s simple, stylish in an understated way, user-friendly, elegant, a nice place to “hang out” with JHJ, in the words of its Administrator.  Best thing is – it’s not cluttered.  I don’t like websites that overwhelm me with 101 sections/categories - I can’t handle that.

So many fans have already left messages for JHJ.  Perhaps the most surprising thing is – seems like foreign fans outnumber Korean fans in writing TO HYUNJAE.  Maybe foreign fans are just more expressive, more enthusiastic, more zealous in voicing their support for their idol.  In any case, they now have a forum to get together with one another and with JHJ – in spirit. 

One interesting footnote — If you’re not Korean, you have to be either from China or the U.S.A.  The KOW has divided the world into 3 segments.  I’d like to know how our fans from Canada, England, Portugal, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines classify themselves.

The other day I received a curious e-mail from my friend B — full of technical terms that made my head spin.  It seemed she was having problems with her computer which she couldn’t fix herself (in spite of her considerable technical knowhow.)  She cannot live without her computer; she runs her JHJHK website from her computer. So in desperation she called her computer guy (also my computer guy) and he rushed to her home in the suburbs in response to her emergency.  It took him less than a minute to figure out the problem — the left click of her mouse was dead!   B was full of conspiracy theories, but, as it turned out, it was just a simple technical malfunction – nothing sinister at all. 

The moral of the story is — something that is very simple can become very complicated, or rather, something complicated could in fact be very simple.  There’s a popular term in China called “simplification complication” (in Chinese.)  Some people specialize in making everything very complicated to justify their existence.  

My Japanese friend M has often said to me: “The world of JHJ is very complicated.”  I used to laugh but am now beginning to understand what she meant.  But I still believe that it has nothing to do with JHJ who is a simple* person (NOT simple-minded!)  It’s just certain of his fans who make things complicated for their own ulterior motives.  (* “simple” as in opposite of “complicated”, unaffected, unassuming, unpretentious, free from guile or deceit.)

My wise friend B ended her e-mail with this exhortation: “Let us start simply again with JHJ.  Let us try our best to make the world of JHJ as simple as JHJ.”  Hear! Hear!

(Credit: Photos from Korean Official Website.  Thanks!)

In the last few days there have been several articles in various Korean media on the impending discharge of Jo Hyun-Jae. The following two are largely similar in content to the one we posted on May 24 – “Coming soon —JHJ”.  We have, however, extracted something additional which we have translated as follows:

http://isplus.joins.com/article/article.html?aid=1398713

2010.05.26

JHJ’s discharge on June 19 — continuous love calls amidst happy cheer

Jo Hyun-Jae who will be discharged from the military on June 19 has received numerous invitations to star in dramas/movies.

A person closely connected to JHJ’s management company indicated on May 25:  Even though there is still less than a month to JHJ’s discharge on June 19, his management company is already very busy casting him and has received several scripts for movies/dramas.

He also revealed: JHJ used to be very reserved and speak very little, but military life has made him more outgoing.

In preparation for his discharge, the official website was opened on May 24.  Acrtive negotations are going on to hold fan meetings and other promotional activities in Japan, China, Thailand, etc.

JHJ entered the military in August 2008 and is now serving in the Army’s 2nd battlalion.  He declined all invitations to be an entertainment soldier, instead opting to remain as an ordinary soldier.

Also, on the day of his discharge, several hundred overseas fans will be there to welcome him out of the army.

http://www.newsen.com/news_view.php?uid=201005241045571001 

A spokesperson for JHJ’s managment company revealed in a telephone conversation with our reporter that, even though he is not yet discharged, JHJ is busy studying scripts.  Because of his long absence in the military, he will first return to the entertainment world in a TV drama in the fall.

JHJ will meet his fans through his work, and he will also meet them face to face at fan meetings.  JHJ is very popular in many Asian countries and he has received many love calls from overseas which contribute to his travel plans and fan meetings. 

The spokesperson said JHJ’s main activities after his discharge will be dramatic performances, as well as fan meetings, and he will choose his first work very carefully.

(Credit: http://isplus.joins.com; http://www.newsen.com; photo from ISplus.  Thanks!)

Above is a beautiful, colourful congratulatory artwork posted on the Korean Official Website (KOW) by a JHJ fan, hanamizuki.  Just want to share with you all.  Thanks, hanamizuki!

Below are samples of some of the photos you can see under PHOTOS in Gallery.  You only see 4 photos there, but if you left click each photo once, out come 5 small ones on the right.  If you move your cursor over one, it will become the big one on the left.  So actually there are 4 series of photos there.

These are some of the hidden treasures on the KOW.  If you discover any more, please share with us here.

(Credit: From the Korean Official Website – http://www.johyunjae.com.  Many thanks!)

The following is a message left on the newly-opened Korean Official Website by its Administrator on May 24, 2010 :

Hello,

I am the administrator for the official Jo Hyunjae Korean website.

This page was created so that actor, Jo Hyunjae could become more familiar with his fans.

We would like to express our thanks to all those who have awaited the opening of this official homepage.

This Korean homepage is the only official location where you can hang out with actor, Jo Hyunjae.

Furthermore, while small, we have prepared a space for you as well.

We would like to ask you to keep on cheering for Jo Hyunjae, filling the site full with words of love and reprove, so that it may become a clean place devoid of aggressive and slanderous words.

Jo Hyunjae’s discharge is now less than one month left.

Once again we thank all those who have been more than supportive during his military service.

Keeping an active schedule after the discharge,

Here’s wishing you good health and happiness as we promise to see you often in the near future.

(Credit: Text and photos from http://www.johyunjae.com.  Many thanks!) 

(Credit: Countdown 25 designed by prissymom of wulijohyunjae; the rest by ahiru of CarpeDiemJAPAN.  Thanks!)

If you prefer:  youtube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLn1ENsXRzk

This is johyunjaeHONGKONG’s congratulatory video on the occasion of the opening of Jo Hyun-Jae’s Official Korean Website today.  The Chinese song is called “Congratulations”, repeated over and over again as ‘gong see’ (Chinese for congratulations.)

(Credit: Video by KK of johyunjae.hk.  Thanks!)