Jo Hyun Jae

We racked our brains about what to get Jo Hyun-Jae for his birthday.  We know he has said he likes hand-made things by his fans.  (We suspect he does not want his fans to splurge because of him.)  But since we don’t have any artistic talents, we did the next best thing and got him something hand-made (just not by us.)

The crystal ornament you see above is by Tittot.  (This photo is from their website.  Our present is so beautifully gift-wrapped that we don’t want to open it up to photograph it.)  We were first captivated by the amber colour and the pair of goldfishes, set on a rosewood stand.  Then we saw the words (each Tittot piece has a title and description in Chinese and English) and we felt: “That’s it!”  When you read the words below, we think you will agree that they remind you of JHJ’s song: “I spread my dream in the sky.”  This piece is called “Bottoms Up” (Please see explanation before Korean translation.) 

杯底嘸倘飼金魚                       Bottoms Up

酒酣耳熱                                    In a state of drunken rapture

說著杯底嘸倘飼金魚                  Call for bottoms up     

出盡年少氣盛豪情                      Displaying youth’s heroic ardor

暢談未來江山大業                      Easy talk of future exploits

多少年   多少月                          All those years   All those months

無論實踐了多少抱負                  Never mind how many realized ambitions

想著杯底嘸倘飼金魚                  Thinking bottoms up

再激起往日純樸無邪的情懷       Summoning again past state of innocence

也給衝刺的事業                         And give to surging business pursuits

一份現實和理想                         A measure of practicality and idealism

從前與現在溫情的觀照              Warm reflections on past and present

We want JHJ to understand what this is all about, so we got the words translated into Korean.  Our conscientious translator also did some research and discovered the Chinese version is really an old Taiwanese song with poignant meaning.  The Chinese title (in native Taiwanese) translates literally as: “Don’t keep goldfishes in a glass”, meaning “Don’t leave any wine in the glass” or “Bottoms up” (drink everything), because what’s left is enough for the goldfishes to swim in.  The suggested meaning is to be hearty, confident, cheerful, no feet-dragging, give it all you’ve got.

The contents of the song is about a man who has been drinking (actually a little drunk), thinking back on the splendour of his youth and looking forward to the magnificent exploits of the future, at the same time contemplating a critical juncture in his career, all set to ascend to a higher plane.  This is a young man christened and chastened by the passage of time, toiling along the passage of life, reminiscing on his simple, innocent past, and drinking heartily and cheerfully to his future.  Isn’t this more or less a description of our JHJ?

JHJ is 30 today (or 31, acording to Korean reckoning), about to be discharged from the army next month, and will be making a comeback in the Korean entertainment world.  We feel he is raring to go, and we wish him all the very best for today and always. 

원샷 = Bottoms up

술잔 안에 술을 남겨두지 말라고 한다

젊었을 땐 호기가 넘치던 때도 이야기하면서

미래의 대한 포부와 꿈에 대해서도 즐겁게 늘어놓아본다

세월이 얼마나 흘렀는지

인생의 포부가 얼마나 이루어졌는지

술잔 안에 술을 남겨두지 말아야겠다는 생각이 들었다

다시 지난날의 순수했던 마음이 끓어오른다

지금 전력투구하고 있는 사업에

현실적인 것 뿐 아니라 내 이상도 보태고 싶다

지난 시간들과 현재에 따뜻한 마음이 울려 퍼진다

And this is the birthday card we sent JHJ: it’s a singing card – it opens to the song “Combat Tactics.”  This is the only year we can send him such a card.  We hope he will have a little fun.  We signed it: “From your fans all over the world” (in English and Korean) — yes, that’s you…..and you…..and you…..and us…..we’re JHJ FANS WITHOUT BORDERS!

(Credit: photo of crystal piece from www.tittot.com.  Thanks!)