Jo Hyun Jae

Final segment in “Only You” theater series — interview of Jo Hyun-Jae (JHJ) and Han Chae-Young (HCY).  But she does most of the talking and he hides his face under a baseball cap.  So you can only hear her and hardly see him.  We’ve only translated the JHJ parts.

00:38  JHJ introduces himself and his character Han Yi-Joon (HYJ) whom he describes as someone very stubborn and difficult to get along with.  He has everything in the world, and then he meets HCY’s Cha Eun-Jae (CEJ) and falls in love.

02:15  On the surface HYJ has many faults, e.g. he gets angry easily, but he has depth and he is very cool in handling things.  And deep down he loves CEJ very much, even though he doesn’t understand his own heart.

03:00  HCY asks JHJ to compare her character to a kind of cuisine, and JHJ says she’s definitely not Italian, more like Korean.  And HCY compares JHJ’s character to cheese!

03:30  They discuss Actor #2 and Actress #2.

04:50  Even if it is true love, would anyone really wait 6 years?

JHJ says if you really love someone, you will wait 6 years.  HCY says waiting 6 years because of 6 days is not for her.  Many things will happen in 6 years, may even forget.

05:35  JHJ concedes that waiting 6 years for 6 days is rather inconceivable, but there is a son, so she will wait because of her son.

06:00  Will love start again after so long?  HCY says if they are around each other, maybe; but if they are apart, then it’s very unlikely.

06:50  Can they cook?  HCY says she’s not really a great cook but she has learnt something about Italian cuisine in the course of the drama.

JHJ says HYJ is normally not like that, but that scene when he makes the scrambled eggs for CEJ makes a deep impression on him.

07:20  What scene makes the deepest impression?  HCY says it’s the scene when HYJ leaves after their one-night stand.

08:30  JHJ says it’s their first kiss in Italy – they’re both crying and  it’s a very beautiful scene which makes a deep impression on him.

10:00  HCY says the food is not very good.  JHJ says they had to eat Chinese fried rice for 12 days in Italy.  He thought there would be a lot of Italian food, but they ended up eating Chinese every day.  That’s because they wanted to have rice, so they had to go to a Chinese restaurant for every meal.  Now he doesn’t want to eat Chinese food anymore.

10:45  What is it like acting as a parent?

JHJ says it’s new and refreshing acting as a father to a child.  HCY says even though the child actor is very good, children always have naughty moments and make noise when they are trying to do an emotional scene.

12:15  HCY says this is the second time she has worked wtih JHJ — the first is a weekend drama (Which one?*)

13:00  Final words from JHJ – “Hope you’ll like ‘Only You’.  Thank you.”

Why does HCY elbow him?!!!!!!

(Credit: Many thanks to kkisok of johyunjae.hk for uploading the video!)

* JHJ and HCY in “Father and Sons” (2001).  (Photo provided by prissymom.  Many thanks!)

Installment 4 of your Sunday “Only You” video.

This  video starts with the famous kissing scene which requires only one take.  Han Chae-Young says it is more difficult doing it with someone you know very well.  The reporter has the gall to ask: “How come no NG?”  Obviously a rhetorical question, but Jo Hyun-Jae answers in all seriousness: “The director says he wants the feeling of the first time.”

Han Chae-Young has given JHJ a nickname — Old Man — because he is always so serious.  “Always half a beat too slow to respond.  Never knows when people are pulling his leg.”  Reporter asks JHJ: “Do you like this nickname?”  JHJ admits he has often been said to be mature beyond his years.

Reporter teases JHJ: “You never say much.  You must have spoken your quota of words for one year in this interview.”

Han Chae-Young speaks a little Italian — a sentence that she translates as: “Cuisine is art.”  Asked to say something in Italian, JHJ says: “My character in the drama does not understand Italian at all.”

Reporter says: “I heard that you sang at your fan meeting.”  And then footage of JHJ in Guardian is shown.

Asked to say something to the viewers, JHJ reminds them to be sure to watch “Only You” which starts on June 4?  They’re laughing because he’s not sure about the date.

The second half of the video is all about Han Chae-Young.  If you can read the Chinese subtitles, fine.  If not, please excuse us for not translating what she says.  The one part when she speaks English is when she is asked to show off her English.  If you are not a fan of hers or her signature laugh, you can skip this segment.

(Credit: Many thanks to kkisok of johyunjae.hk for uploading the video!)

Your weekly Sunday entertainment — 3 videos of “Only You” — from the drama and behind the scenes.  Enjoy!

(Credit: Many thanks to kkisok of johyunjae.hk for uploading the videos!)

This video is more than 32 minutes long.  So another Sunday entertainment for you.  Enjoy!

(Many thanks to kkisok of johyunjae.hk for uploading this video!)

This video is almost 30 minutes.  That’s why we’ve scheduled it for Sunday, so you can watch it at leisure.  Even if you don’t understand the Korean and you can’t read the Chinese sub-titles, it won’t detract from your enjoyment.  I watched it like a silent movie the first time on the Extras of my “Only You” DVD.

(Credit: Many thanks to kkisok of johyunjae.hk for uploading this video!)

You are six when we first met. I did not know about you before then.

Your Mom and I had a brief encounter in Venice. Brief but sweet! We did not see each other again until seven years later.

I thought of her often during this time. I wondered what happened to her. Did she marry that oafish fellow who burst into her apartment that morning and punched me on the chin? She deserves better than that.

My life these seven years has been a blank. I drifted from one project to another, one affair to another — pursuing a life without focus.

One day I saw your Mom again — in the most unlikely place– crouching on the floor of a restaurant. Your Mom has this knack of finding herself in awkward situations. Her doe eyes have the same beauty but have lost their sparkle. Seems life has not been kind to her. She tried to avoid me but I wasn’t going to let her go again.

I needed her to help me with my restaurant (she’s a terrific chef!) Actually I needed her to be by my side. Cha Eun Jae is the same stubborn, aggravating, contrarian, provocative, unreasonable, defiant and yet irresistible girl who followed me around and talked a lot in Venice. But she helped me find your Grandmama in Vicenza and she could cook spaghetti just like your Grandmama. Can you believe we once spent a whole day in the country because your Mom wanted to get some special garlic to cook something?

I was shocked when I discovered your Mom living with that fellow. I was even more shocked when I saw they had a son — you. But your Mom said they were just living under the same roof and he was not your father, and I believed her. Why didn’t she marry the father? I asked her. She gave me a funny look.

One day when I came looking for your Mom, I saw you playing in the front yard of your house. You are so cute, so sweet, so well-mannered — a credit to your Mom. You remind me of myself when I was your age. But you are luckier than me because at your age I have already lost my mother.

Your Mom is driving me crazy. I have never felt this way about a woman before. She tugs at my heart-strings. I want to see her every day. I need her to be with me. But she is playing hard to get. She never listens to me. She doesn’t care about my feelings. She calls me spoilt, selfish, arrogant, and unfeeling. She says I of all people have no right to judge her and she owes me nothing. I’m willing to accept her as a single mother, even pretend that you are my son. What more does she want? What more can I do?

Remember that day when I came to your house and you let me in? You were so tired you fell asleep on my lap on the bench in the front yard. Good thing your Mom soon came to my rescue. Fleeting emotions on her face ranged from surprise to tenderness to sorrow, ending in tears. Why was she over-reacting? I didn’t move even when my thighs were numb from the weight of your head so as not to awake you.

It was like a thunderbolt hit me when I learnt that you are my son — the son I never knew, the son your Mom raised all by herself. I cannot describe the emotions that raced through me in quick succession — shock, guilt, joy, disbelief, fear, anger, ecstasy……A son! You are my son! How could your Mom have kept it from me all these years? I have lost all this precious time with you. I want to tell you at once, but your Mom says you need time.

During this waiting period I see you with that man all the time. You two are so chummy; I am so jealous. It should be me holding your hand. It should be me buying you ice-cream.

One day over dinner I could no longer hold it in. “Jin Sol, I am your Dad.” Instead of flying into my arms, you burst into tears and hid in your Mom’s bosom. Your Mom was so mad with me, but I didn’t understand what I did wrong. I was just claiming my rightful place as your Dad.

I was willing to do anything for you and your Mom. I could give up everything, but your Mom, ever practical, asked how we’re going to live. I could work — that’s the least I could do.

Everybody tried to tear us apart, but I could be as stubborn and tough as your Mom. I asked her to trust me; I would make it right for you both. I had a plan. I could save your Grandpapa’s empire as well as keep our family together.

Your Grandpapa will love you. You are his first grandkid, his only grandson. He may look stern but he really has a soft heart.

Everything will be fine. Your Mom and I and you are a family. Nothing can change that; nobody can separate us. I want to make it up to you and your Mom. You are the most precious things in my life. You are the best things that ever happened to me. We’ll take you to Vicenza to see your Grandmama. We’ll revisit that place where your Mom and I first met and fell in love.

I love you, my son.