Jo Hyun Jae

Feast your eyes on these photos of Jo Hyun-Jae the model — very young, very hip, still fashionable by today’s standards.

Now you know where wulijohyunjae’s signature JHJ photo came from!

(Credit: ahiru of CarpeDiemJAPAN.  Thanks!) 

That’s our favourite JHJ photo up there, in case you haven’t guessed.

(Credit: cafe.daum.net/hyunjaelove, param of CarpeDiemJAPAN, www.johyunjae.hk.  Thanks!)

This Crencia signing ceremony took place on 2003.11.22 (almost exactly six years ago.)  Even then Jo Hyun-Jae already had so many fans.  They all waited in line for their turn, and with each one JHJ asked for her name, so the autograph was personalized.  Notice how serious and concentrated JHJ was in writing the fan’s name and signing his own, and how he smiled and nodded to each and every fan.   Notice also how many fans brought him presents and how many “Thank you” in Korean he said.

(Credit: Param of CarpeDiemJAPAN.  Thanks!)

This flash may take some time to load, depending on your internet speed. But it’s worth the wait, we assure you.

The Jo Hyun-Jae of 2003 in his modelling days is no longer with us, but at least we still have this reminder. Watching this video arouses all our nostalgia for the youthful JHJ, admiration for today’s JHJ, and anticipation of the future JHJ.

(Credit: kijineko of EVERjohyunjae. Thanks!)

(Photos courtesy of Param of carpediemJapan.)

Jo Hyun-Jae modelled for the Korean fashion brand Crencia in 2003. We find it hard to associate the fresh-faced kid here with that other model in the Andre Kim Fashion Extravaganza. (See our 5/19/09 post.) But then in his various dramas, JHJ plays radically different roles and each time he comes across as a totally different personality. That’s what a good actor is all about.

The first video is the creation of our Japanese friend mizutamari. Many thanks indeed! (Credit: http://club.brokore.com/sodongyo). The song is called 어느새 (It) and is by the Korean singer Alex, now very “hot” in Japan too.

The second video is made from advertisements of Crencia’s 2003 fashion line, set to the Gareth Gates’ song “Too soon to say goodbye”. (Credit: Carpediem.) It shows a side of JHJ that some of you may not be aware of. He’s only 23 then, in his “Love Letter” days (as you can tell by the hair), but this young model in the very contemporary clothes is so different from Andrea. Just shows you how talented and versatile JHJ is. And he looks so full of sunshine and spirit! (We apologise for the less-than-stellar quality of the video, but somehow this gives JHJ a rather dreamy look.)

(Photos courtesy of Param of carpediemJapan. Thanks!)