Jo Hyun Jae

Let’s start with the JHJ photos in the September 2010 issue of KBOOM (interview to follow):

(Credit: Cover photo from CarpeDiemJAPA’N; all others from http://club.brokore.com/sodonyo; www.johyunjae.hk. Many thanks!)

Above is the September 2010 issue of the Japanese magazine KBOOM (on sale from July 21.)

The cover features Jo Hyun-Jae, and the headline says:

(Exclusive)  Jo Hyun-Jae’s first exclusive interview after his discharge

As soon as we can get our hands on one, we’ll try to get the contents translated.

(Credit: www.club.brokore.com/sodongyo; www.johyunjae.hk; JHJ photos from 2010 calendar.  Thanks!)

This is from that Japanese magazine on Korean historical drama that we featured in our 2010.3.5 post “SDY in historical drama magazine”, 2010.3.18 post “Director Lee talks about JHJ”, and 2010.3.22 post “JHJ in historical drama magazine” under Category: JHJ magazine.

In the dramas that I have directed, the male lead is invariably played by an actor over 30 years of age — Ji Jin-Hee in “Jewel in the palace”(Dae Jang Geum), Jun Kwang-Ryul in “The legendary doctor Huh Joon”, Lee Jae-Ryong in “Sando”, Lee Seo-Jin in “Yi San” (Lee San, Wind of the palace.)  There is only one exception, and that is Jo Hyun-Jae in “Seo Dong Yo”.

Jo Hyun-Jae possesses the aura and style of an aristocrat and a certain charisma, but there is always a faint hint of sadness on his face.  He has to be under the cameras day and night continuously.  The long and tongue-twisting dialogue in ancient language makes it very difficult for him.  But we cooperate well together and we get used to one another.  I would say it is good training for him.

That winter (2005) when we were filming “Seo Dong Yo” was very cold and snowed a lot which made filming on location so much more difficult.  At that time there was a blizzard along the western coast highway, and one of the actors had a car accident.  Since this director made enormous demands on JHJ, he normally left immediately after finishing his shots.  But because of the heavy snow, the roads were blocked, so he was stranded and could not leave.

Since “Jewel in the palace” started the Korean wave, the “Seo Dong Yo” locations are favourites with fans.  “Seo Dong Yo” first aired in 2005 when Korean dramas were still very popular.  There were many fans which came in groups to our filming locations which made work very difficult.

During the filming of “Seo Dong Yo”, what impressed me most were the fans.  Jo Hyun-Jae and Lee Bo-Young  are more or less the same age – in their mid-20s.  Those JHJ fans who came from all over Korea in tourist buses were all ajumas in their 30s and 40s.  Every visit brought groups of over 100 who brought all kinds of food for JHJ.  JHJ could not possibly eat all that, so he shared with the entire crew.

On the other hand, Lee Bo-Young’s fans were all high school boys.  On her birthday, they all wore top hats and with candles in hand sang “Happy birthday”.  That was one marvellous performance on set.

(Rest of article has nothing to do with JHJ.)

The magazine came with a DVD.  I stoically sat through the first 10 minutes but had to fast-forward the rest.  It’s not because they are speaking Korean and the subtitles are in Japanese.  Director Lee sits chatting with 3 not-young, not-good-looking supporting actors (two male, one female — I only recognize Bumro’s Dad in SDY, but I think he’s there in his capacity of Jang Geum’s stepfather in “Jewel in the palace.”)  They just sit on the floor talking about I-don’t-know-what, and only clips and actors from “Jewel in the palace” are shown.  There is NOTHING on “Seo Dong Yo” or JHJ!  I feel cheated!

(Credit: English translation based on Chinese translation on johyunjae.hk.  First photo from Param of CarpeDiemJAPAN, second photo from EVERjohyunjae.co.kr.  Many thanks!) 

The Japanese magazine “Korean TV” in its March 2010 issue has an item on Jo Hyun-Jae’s military life.   It is about JHJ as a dog soldier — where he is serving in the Korean Army’s 2nd Battalion Military Supplies Support Command, how he trains with his dog, how he patrols the ammunition depot with it every night at 4 a.m. for 5 km. (even in winter), how he underwent Severe Winter Training in January (when this photo was taken), and how he completed his mission satisfactorily. 

(Have we mastered Japanese overnight?  Nah!  But we can read the Chinese characters in the Japanese language, plus a little imagination and our knowledge of all things JHJ, so we guess our translation is not far off.)

The magazine cover features Lee Byung-Hyun and the focus is on “Iris”.  But to be mentioned in the same breath as Lee Byung-Hyun is not bad at all, considering JHJ admires LBH as an actor.

And here are the latest countdown creations from JHJ fans in Japan:

(Credit: Ranta, Ahiru, and Hart of CarpeDiemJAPAN.  Thanks!)

The Japanese magazine* on the historical dramas of Director Lee Byung-Hoon features each and every one of the lead characters in “Seo Dong Yo”.  The very first is of course our Jo Hyun-Jae as Seo Dong.  Others include Lee Bo-Young as Princess Sunhwa, Ryu-Jin as Giroo, Lee Chang-Hoon as Mokrasu, Heo Young-Ran as Princess Woo Young, and Kim Young-Ho as Buyeo-Seon.  (*Please see our 2010.03.05 post “‘Seo Dong Yo’ in historical drama magazine” and 2010.03.18 post “Director Lee talks about JHJ” under Category “JHJ magazine”.)

[Editor: All quotations are JHJ's except otherwise stated.]

Seo Dong – Jang (later King Mu)

“To let all citizens live in bliss — isn’t that enough?”

The lead actor of the 2003 MBC drama “Love Letter”, Jo Hyun-Jae, is elevated to a star at the centre of attention.  JHJ possesses a soulful face and a pensive expression, a deep resonant voice, and has such an aura that he has been called “Korea’s aristocrat.”

JHJ’s name first came to public attention in the 2002 SBS drama “Great Ambition” (DaeMang) in which he plays the role of the Crown Prince who has to go through trials and tribulations before he could ascend the throne.  “Who is that charming actor who plays the prince?” became the hot topic among fans of TV drama.  Director Lee Byung-Hoon also began to take notice of him at this time:

“JHJ can play the role of the prince, not only because he possesses the aura, but also because he himself has been through a lot in his own life.  This is the quality that someone who becomes king must possess.  So far he has been in 5 TV dramas; with each role he has shown how dynamic he can be in tackling a character.  So, with “Seo Dong Yo” JHJ will definitely become a shining star!” 

As for JHJ himself, he said: “I feel honoured to take part in a production of the #1 director in Korea.  Very few actors have the chance to play a prince twice in a row; I feel doubly honoured.”  And: “Everybody around me expects great things of me.  I feel the stress.  If I fall short, I will try harder.  I think this is part of growing up.” 

But filming “Seo Dong Yo” is certainly not a piece of cake.  The hardest parts are lack of sleep and the script.  Every day at 3 p.m. the script arrives and rehearsal takes place three hours later.  Filming starts at 9 p.m. and continues overnight till noon of the next day.  As the male lead, JHJ has to appear in most scenes and his lines are also more and much longer than other actors’.  It is rumoured that memorizing his lines has given him some white hair.

There are more difficulties in other areas.  The fight scenes require a lot of energy over many hours – this is one of the hardest parts of filming.

“During filming life is like prison life.  Everybody must listen to filming orders.  Everybody jokes this is not ‘Seo Dong Yo’ but ‘Slave Labour Yo’”.

Whenever he felt he could not take it anymore, JHJ would think: “If it had been Jang, he would be able to do this,” so he would grit his teeth and carry on.  On the set every time he thought about Jang’s endurance and perseverance, JHJ would continue to work hard.

“Jang is a remarkable person: he could let every citizen live in peace and prosperity – this is no mean feat.  Jang lives in a world of pure idealism.  What will he do if he really becomes king?  This is not an easy thing; researching science and technology and developing culture and art are not simple.”  When he says these things, JHJ sounds very much like Jang himself.

JHJ also has had his differences with the director.  The director’s dictate was: “Jang must beat his chest to show his fury.”  At first he could not grasp this.  He thought about how Jang would behave in the funeral and then went to discuss with the director.  He asked the director to think in terms of the whole drama, and finally the director changed his mind and followed JHJ’s suggestions.

“I was utterly exhausted during the post-production party of ‘Seo Dong Yo’, so much so that I even seriously contemplated not attending.”

His cooperation with Director Lee in “Seo Dong Yo” taught JHJ a lot and he gained invaluable experience.  Even though filming was very tough, he had to memorize many long lines, and he was seriously sleep-deprived, finally he was able to satisfactorily complete his task.  Since then he has become full of confidence about tackling whatever role that comes after.  And the fact that he ”hopes to become a sincere and honest person with a heart full of love like Jang ” also shows JHJ has indeed grown up.

After “Seo Dong Yo” JHJ worked in “G.P.506″ and the 2008 KBS drama “3 Dads 1 Mom” before entering the army in August 2008.  At the fan meetings just before his enlistment, he sang the song ”See you again after today” for his fans in a very moving atmosphere.  “The most meaningful thing before my enlistment is to be with you, my fans.  Thank you so much!   Military life will not be easy, but I will work hard.  I will never forget you.  Thank you all!”  That was how he expressed his gratitude to his fans inside and outside Korea.

Looking forward to after June 2010 — to a more mature and fresher and brighter JHJ!

(Credit: English translation based on Chinese translation in johyunjae.hk. Photos from everjohyunjae.co.kr and cafe.daum.net/hyunjaelove. Thanks!)

We’ve now got the magazine and discovered to our delight that there are many more pages on “Seo Dong Yo” (22 pages in all!)  We’re sharing them with you here, but please don’t ask us what Director Lee Byung-Hoon said about Jo Hyun-Jae.  (Your Japanese is as good as ours!  But we promise to scour the web for a translation that we can translate into English.)  Meanwhile, enjoy the visual!

We have already provided this information on our March 5 post “‘Seo Dong Yo’ in historical drama magazine” under Category “JHJ magazine”, but here it is again:

FYI, the magazine is now available at http://www.amazon.co.jp – type in its Japanese title: 韓国時代劇のすべて-イ・ビョンフン監督、全自作を語る – (ムック) – and proceed as directed. Website has English version.

(Credit: http://cafe.daum.net/hyunjaelove; www.johyunjae.hk.  Thanks!)

A brand new Japanese magazine called “All About Korean Historical Dramas” has just been published on March 2 in Japan.  In it director Lee Byung-Hoon tells his own story about 5 popular historical dramas he directed as well as one forthcoming.

Director Lee’s masterpieces include “Jewel in the Palace” (Dae Jang Geum), “Yi San” (Lee San, Wind of the Palace), “Sangdo” (Business Ethics), ”The Legendary Doctor Huh Joon”, and of course “Seo Dong Yo”.  His new drama ”Dong Yi” (Dawn), starring Han Hyo-Joo, Ji Jin-Hee, and Lee So-Yeon, will premiere on MBC on March 22. 

Several pages are devoted to “Seo Dong Yo”, as you can see from the above photos.  Each section on each drama gives the synopsis of the story, the historical background, casting secrets, scriptwriting problems, interesting anecdotes during production, behind-the-scenes conversations between the director and the actors, as well as the director’s take on the “real” actors. 

Magazine is priced at 1980 yen (inclusive of tax) and comes with a special DVD.

(Credit: EVERjohyunjae.co.kr; www.koretame.jp; http://gall.dcinside.com; johyunjae.hk.  Thanks!)

We have received permission from the Official JHJ Fan Club to relay news from their May Vol.1 magazine to our readers here, provided that we “change the words.” Since we have changed the language, we reckon we are obeying instructions. We have not translated the words, just the general meaning, and we have added information from Wikipedia (to fill our readers in on some background.)

The Republic of Korea army is by far the largest of the military branches of the South Korean armed forces, with 522,000 members as of 2008. (One of these is our own JHJ!) The size is maintained through conscription. South Korean men must complete 24* months of military service between high school graduation and the age of 35, provided they pass a stringent medical check. (*Only 22 months for JHJ — date of discharge from army: 6/19/10.) This is in response to the heavy North Korean presence, with its 1 million strong army, two-thirds of which is permanently garrisoned in the frontline near the DMZ (demilitarized zone.)

These two pages show the life of Jo Hyun-Jae in the army. The map shows the location where JHJ is serving — Pocheon military base. After 5 weeks of basic military training, JHJ was assigned to the Ammunition Depot (under Army Logistics Command) as a “dog soldier”, working with military dogs. (Please see our May 27 post: “JHJ’s army dog”.) The two photos of JHJ in uniform on the top page are released soon after JHJ joined the army and show him with his fellow trainees. The small photo at bottom right is taken on the day he enlisted — August 5, 2008, as are the three photos on the bottom page.

A day in the life of a Korean soldier
06:00 Get up, toilet, change into uniform
06:30 Roll call on field, morning exercise
07:30 Breakfast, clean up dishes
09:00 Military exercises before lunch begin
12:00 Lunch
13:00 Military exercises after lunch begin
17:00 End of exercises
18:00 Dinner
19:00 Free time (for bath,etc.)
20:00 Clean up, briefing by superior officers
20:30 Free time
21:30 Roll call
22:00 Bedtime
(Winter: get up 30 minutes later.)

The boots on the bottom right of the bottom page have an interesting “legend”. (Please see our April 16 posting: “Farewell to JHJ: Seeing him off to join the army (Part 2)”) We were told by a Chinese-Korean that Korean women often leave their men when they join the army. Perhaps a two-year separation is too much for some relationships. The army boots are a reminder that their men are serving their country, and the women have to wait for their return.

**FOR COPYRIGHT REASONS, PLEASE DO NOT REPRODUCE OR TRANSFER ANYTHING**

The Cover

If our heads get bitten off again, well, it won’t be the first time. But it would mean we’ll not be able to share the contents of the magazine with you. Actually they are pretty harmless, just rehashing old news. But of course we have to obey the regulations.

It is good to see the Japan Official JHJ Fan Club finally doing something. This is the first ever written communication we have received since becoming members in February 2009. If they allow the contents of the magazine to be made public, it would mean they have learnt a thing or two about public relations. The more people know about JHJ, the more popular he will be.

(Photo courtesy of the Official JHJ Fan Club.)

*(FOR COPYRIGHT REASONS, PLEASE DO NOT REPRODUCE OR TRANSFER PHOTO.)*