Jo Hyun Jae

Still no news from JHJ on his comeback drama.  Why are we still here?  Why haven’t we gone on to greener pastures?  The answer may lie in prissymom’s article here. 

Since becoming a JHJ fan, JE NE SAIS QUOI has become my favourite French phrase.

JE NE SAIS QUOI, pronounced as [zhuh nuh se kwa], literally means “I know not what” or “I don’t know what” in English. Such a mundane meaning for a chic-sounding phrase! But don’t belittle this French phrase, because the French use it figuratively to describe someone or something, well, indescribable.

Here are several meanings of the phrase I found online:

From the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: A quality or attribute that is difficult to describe or express.

From the Collins English Dictionary: An indefinable quality, especially of personality.

From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary: Something indescribable; something that cannot be adequately described or expressed.

From the Random House Dictionary: An indefinable, elusive quality, especially a pleasing one.

Lastly, from the American Heritage New Dictionary: That little something; an intangible quality that eludes description.

In short JE NE SAIS QUOI is that quality that JHJ has that made viewers and Kdrama watchers in general, and JHJ fans in particular …..

….. sit up and take notice of the relative unknown that JHJ was when he appeared as the Crown Prince in “Dae Mang” (Great Ambition). His indefinable quality made his star shine in that drama, despite being in the presence of stars bigger than him.

….. empathize with the young conflicted priest Andrea in “Love Letter”. To this day, people are still one in saying that only JHJ could have played Andrea.

…… take umbrage that Oh Hee-soo (Jo Ahn) could not return Han Young-woo’s (JHJ) love for her in “First Love”. So unbelievable! How can she not love him? He is so handsome, so pure, so loving, and so true! How can she not notice him? How dare she?

….. feel cheated that there is no clear ending for Ji Heon-woo (Song Hye-gyo) and Jung Eun-sup (Jo Hyun Jae) in “Sunshine”. Up to this day I still encounter JHJ fans who would ask if Heon-woo and Eun-sup ended up together. No matter how one answers this question, a debate will surely ensue. Of course, most viewers wanted Heon-woo to end up with Eun-sup.

….. feel Kang Min-woo’s despair at losing the woman he loves in “Forbidden Love”.

…..fall in love and swoon over Han Yi-joon in “Only You”, shockful of hair and colourful wardrobe, notwithstanding.

….. feel every pain that Jang went through just to claim his rightful position in his Kingdom in “Seo Dong Yo”. Feel happy for him as his and Princess Sun-hwa’s love finally found fulfilment. And then break our hearts again when he smiled that bittersweet smile as the drama ended.

….. be enamored with Han Soo-hyun despite his miserly, stingy ways in “3 Dads/1 Mom”.

….. stay loyal and devoted to him despite JHJ’s almost reclusive behaviour! Other actors are so busy posting news and pictures about themselves (yes, they do the twitting and blogging in their twitter accounts and mini-homepage by themselves) on an almost daily basis, while JHJ fans have to go months with nary a word from him. Not even a “Hi”!

….. want to protect him from the big bad wolves that abound in the K-entertainment world, even if we know that he is old enough and tough enough to take care of himself.

Well, whatever you want to call this elusive, indescribable, indefinable quality – charm ….charisma….. X-factor…. certain something.… or yes, JE NE SAIS QUOI, one thing I am sure of: JHJ has it in abundance.

(Credit: Photo from Gra.  Thanks!)

Our Contributing Editor prissymon has come up with another interesting article.

Like any Jo Hyun-Jae fan, I must have looked at hundreds of JHJ’s pictures during the two years he was away in the Army (and still looking even though he is now out!!!).  In addition, I must have spent an inordinate amount of time pouring and scrutinizing over these photos while I was working on the countdown banners for his military discharge.

In doing so, I have observed something: whether he’s acting, posing for a magazine photo spread, or during candid moments, JHJ has a propensity for putting his hands near his lips – hands-to-lips or, in short, H2L.

The two collages I prepared are just some of the photos I have collected to show this JHJ mannerism:

Whether JHJ is holding an object in his hands or not, the act of putting his hands near his lips draws attention to his lips.  As if we need something to draw our attention to one of his most remarkable and attention-grabbing features!  JHJ has got the most beautiful lips I have ever seen on anyone, male or female!!!  And the amazing thing is his lips are all natural – no cosmetic surgery, no botox injections! 

(Credit:  THANK YOU to all the professional photographers who took such good pictures of JHJ through the years, and to all the JHJ fans who uploaded these pictures online.)

Just when we’re worrying about when our next post is coming from, the above is delivered by an angel by the name of Zoe.  Jo Hyun-Jae’s fans are all thinking about him.  Is he thinking of us too? 

(Credit: Poem and design by Zoe, including drawings on umbrella.  Many thanks!)

Our Contributing Editor prissymom has come up with a timely article. 

“Wild” is a word that I would never dream of associating with our JHJ.  He has been variously described as calm, tranquil, serene, etc.  But wild?  No, not a word that I would use to describe our JHJ. 
 
And yet looking at his pictures below, the first word that came to my mind was WILD…..  See for yourself….. 

The photos are beautiful even as stark as they are.  In fact, their starkness is part of the appeal of the photos to me.  The photographer successfully captured JHJ’s air of innocence, but when I look at JHJ’s eyes in these photos I sense storm, mystery, fire, passion, and yes, wildness.
 
I especially love photos 1, 2, 3 and 4.  Photo 1 conveys sheer wildness trying to get out of the innocent facade; photo 3 mixes innocence with mystery.  Photo 4 is a mixture of innocence, fire, passion and storm, challenging the onlooker to come closer, to delve deeper.  But my favorite among the lot is photo 2; with just half of his face showing in the picture, JHJ is still able to convey such a myriad of emotions.  The lines of his lips speak of innocence.  His eye conveys storm, fire, and passion brewing beneath the surface, also mystery and wildness.  His tousled hair and the black streaks in the background add to the “wildness” effect of the photo. 
 
Looking at these photos I am struck once more by JHJ’s chameleon-like quality – a quality that will surely stand him in good stead when he resumes his acting career.

And the photo below is our contribution — WILDER!

(Credit: First set of photos from kk; last one from CarpeDiem.  Thanks!)

Our Contributing Editor prissymom (who now doubles as our blog Designer) has come up with another interesting article.