Jo Hyun Jae

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.)*