only Yong Joon

its moving day !!

2006-10-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

just to let you know that i've been doing some 'moving' lately and i recently opened a new site that i dedicate to Yong Joon and some of the things that interests me. i'll still be here in blogger though my postings would be coming in quite few and slow but you can check me out in my new crib in multiply.com w/c i called windmills of my mind. am still doing some tinkerings in the site & still lots & lots of byj related stuff to post and update... pls click here to visit the site.

ok, you might wonder who the heck is ' sareeh ' when you open the site. well, that's me and that's my real nickname. actually, it should be ' sari ' but its already taken so i got the sareeh w/ a little variation in spelling ^^

hope you'll come and check me out but hey, blogger will still be my first byj home. wont leave this place but it sure feels good to have another hang out with yong joon.

see you all,
ciao :D

HOTelier

2006-10-08T13:48:00.000-07:00

Wahttt ??!! after all these mind boggling blogging this past 1 year, 2 months & 11 days & i haven't blog anything about Frank Shin/Shin Dong Hyuk from Hotelier ? that is so remiss of me :( i'm feeling so guilty coz Frank is such a special guy and he deserves all the attention he can get.

i borrowed the above title from one of the blog postings i saw in the net last night. the lady who posted the comment got simply blown away again by BYJ aka Frank Shin when she rewatched Hotelier... :D same here, i just started rewatching the drama ( again ??!!) and the dashing M&A specialist literally swept me off my feet, oh yes, all over again ^^^

i like the concept of the drama coz it gives us this glimpse on how the usually efficient hotel staff actually goes about their daily routine & how crazy it can get but most of all, it's the story of that distant, dashing, lonely, stubborn, one-man-woman M&A specialist that caught my attention. must admit that amongst Yong Joon's dramas, i rank Hotelier just below HWRL & WLS. i feel that Yong Joon should have been featured in a lot more scenes (that's the biased byjfan in me talking) but thankfully, Yong Joon's captivating portrayal of Frank more than made up for that shortcoming ;)

a lot had been written about yong joon's preparation in doing this drama and the impact it made amongst tv viewers in korea and beyond. not surprising at all. i think he did a great job on this one and in typical BYJ preparations prior to facing the camera, he truly succeeded in giving us Frank Shin in the flesh.

i'm reposting these 2 Hotelier reviews (from sukting and TKL, respectively) from spcnet.tv that somehow summed up how i felt about Yong Joon as Frank/Dong Hyuk after watching (& rewatching :p) the drama.

"From the harsh person who assaults others with sarcastic remarks and boorish acts, he becomes TRULY mild mannered. I like scenes when he calls her from behind most. They are cute, amazing and amusing. He can be so endearing when he does that. Dong Hyuk never lets go of any chance to show that he loves her, no wonder he emerges as the love winner. His English name and his actions really tally - Frank.

I like Bae in here more than in Winter Sonata. He is more charming and is steadfast in love & he never gives up and does not allow his prey any breathing space. He can be wilful like a spoilt child as once he has his mind set, he goes all out to get her. Be touched at the way that he looks at Jin Young tenderly. Some say his acting here is less formidable. I beg to differ. Dong Hyuk is cold by nature and doesn't know how to express himself well. Bae is a rare actor who can make you feel for him when he acts.

Bae Yong Joon was very confident in portraying this cold and aloof image of Frank Shin, a man who has no companion and friends as he is an orphan. Yet he was also able to express the emotions of the character effectively, like when Frank Shin met his long-lost father and sister. The character Frank Shin deserves an Award for "The guy who doesn't know what it means to be embarrassed". Frank Shin is one brave guy who can confess his love for Jin Young at any time and anywhere. Be it when he just steps down the plane, when he is about to board one, before he goes to sleep, in private place, in public places, when he is fully dressed, and even when he is half naked. He must be congratulated for never missing out a chance to tell Jin Young of his love. Yet, he was the only character in the series who knew what he wanted from the beginning.

missing him still....

2006-10-03T11:30:00.000-07:00

why am i missing him so much ? been telling myself that i'm already used to this perennial BYJ waiting game but there are still moments, w/c is getting to be quite often lately, that i can't help but long to see his face, see his smile, see his eyes, hear his voice, read his news.

ahhh, the agony and ecstasy of being a BYJ fan....

back to my real world....i found these cute screen captures (from shieshie's blog) of yong joon and his "wife" in april snow. first time i've seen behind the scenes of a BYJ bed scene though this is not really a 'bed scene' (w/c means sexy bed scene in my vocabulary ^^^) but they're just lying in bed, talking & fully clothed :p but still, its nice to see him in this kind of a scene looking very casual, looking like the guy next door and quite w/in my reach.....even only in my dreams ^^

thank you nagajun

2006-09-24T09:50:00.000-07:00

as i've been writing all along, i have always been awed and amazed by the sheer talent of BYJ fans particularly in the world of drawing. this is one gift that i'm so wishing to have gotten from my recessive genes but alas nothing came forth, nada, zilch !! :( & so, what's left for me to do? simply say oh and ah whenever i see a BYJ drawing and utter thank you so much !!!

i know that this sounds like a recording but i still want to say kamsahamnida for all the beautiful drawings and of course, a special mention to one of my favorites, nagajun ^^^ i've seen lots and lots of nagajun's drawings and they never failed to impress me. oh yes, nagajun is so prolific and so quick in creating her lovely stuff !! i particularly love her various sketching styles and her different interpretations of Yong Joon. love how she portrays him in the most realistic way and even the drawings that has this different look in him ;)

looking forward for more inspiring drawings from all my talented Baesis' ^^

got all these great stuff from nagajun's BYJ blog

april snow all over again !

2006-09-22T22:25:00.000-07:00

the pictures that are coming out is making me more & more excited to watch the april snow dc @@@ please, oh please, let there be an english subbed director's cut :)

btw, i did some editing in the pics coz i wanna see clearly who's in bed with him !!!

the big boy w/ his favorite toy and two captive audience ^^^

captured shots by oodo and shieshie

PyeongChang 2014

2006-09-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

South Korea is in a buzz lately. last june 22, it got short listed in its bid to host the 2014 Winter Games ^^ the chosen candidate city from Korea is PyeongChang. i think this time around, the koreans will do everything in their power to get the nod of the IOC coz the last time it made its bid, Korea lost their chance to host the 2010 winter olympics when it narrowly lost in the final voting to Vancouver. the other two candidate cities that were short listed for the 2014 event were Salzburg,Austria and Sochi, Russia. the announcement of the host city will be made on july 2007 in Guatemala City. well, i like all the 3 candidate cities and i just hope the most deserving bid wins ;)

one thing i like about this kind of events is looking at all those lovely emblems that are full of wonderful colors and significant meanings. the three emblems from the 3 cities are quite impressive !!

now, why am i blogging about this? of course, i found something that connects this to Yong Joon ^^^ it's none other than YongPyong Resort !! its that wintry romantic wonderland where Minhyong/Joonsang and Yoojin spent some of their unforgettable togetherness in the classic TV drama "Winter Sonata".

i'm sure lots and lots of overseas BYJ fans have gone to Korea and visited Yongpyong :) and for those who have not yet been to korea like me :( , we may not have been there but after watching WLS for the nth time, it sure feels like we've been there and we just can feel the magic & beauty of this place through the eyes of Joonsang and Yoojin.

YongPyong (also known as Dragon Valley) forms an integral part of the olympic bid of Korea coz it's proposed as a major venue in some of the important winter sport events like the alpine giant slalom and likewise, the resort is being considered as one of the athletes villages. YongPyong is situated at the foot of Mt. Balwang and is found in PyeongChang, Korea's 3rd largest county & located in Gangwon-do Province. accdg to one online report, South Korea has about 13 ski resorts and many are just a mere 30 minutes away from Seoul and YongPyong has the distinction of being a world class ski resort and the 'Mecca of Winter Sports in Korea'.

seeing all these gorgeous photos of snow just made me want to watch WLS all over again @@@

photos from yongpyong resort were taken from google images

missing him ~

2006-09-17T12:30:00.000-07:00

this dream job of being the stylist for Yong Joon is getting to be more & more so darn appealing. imagine being this close to him with his face looking like this and staring at those smokingly sexy eyes ♥ ♥

...and i wouldn't not mind cuddling beside him wherever, whenever...⌒∇⌒

captured shots from shieshie's blog and byj bar

a byj ring

2006-09-13T23:45:00.000-07:00

i did my usual BYJ surfing tonight and i saw this little picture in BYJ Bar
that features this ring w/ Yong Joon's initial !!

it's being offered in Nieve Online Shop as some kind of a BYJ birthday commemoration ring and that's according to the fish named babel ^^. i'm not sure though when Nieve started selling this item . looks like its being offered in platinum and silver, the platinum kind is priced at 356,475 JPY or about 3,030 USD & the silver on the other hand, goes at 50,400 JPY or 428 USD.

i'm not really a ring person but i would not mind keeping this in my favorite music/jewelry box or if i feel like missing him so much, i can have it as my necklace pendant during the day...and even at night :p....that is, if (capital IF !! ) only i've got the bucks to spare @@!! ... :( ... sigh....

yummy !!

2006-09-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

wow, pizza never looked this good ^^^ bring it on !! :D

:p oh man, that was delicious !! now, what will i do with this crust and empty boxes ??!!

captured shots from shieshie's blog

The Legend

2006-09-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

got dumbstruck again when i saw in quilt this pic from a korean news report
@@@ Yong Joon in the flesh as the Great King !!! accdg to the article, the english title of Tae Wang Sa Shin Gi is going to be "The Legend". how apt!! here's an actor who has the makings of becoming a living legend in his own right for spearheading the way in uplifting the image of korean culture in asia and beyond and he is the main lead character in a drama entitled 'The Legend'...a very nice coincidence ^^

the excitement for the drama is definitely building up and byj fans are already quite busy creating lovely artworks to honor the Great King :) ~

look-alike ?

2006-09-08T16:45:00.000-07:00

got some free time in my hands this afternoon and i found myself having a fun time via myheritage.com. this site is cool coz you get to see who among the famous celebrities have some similar features with you!! you just have to upload a photo and the site will run a face recognition and voila ! names & pics of some famous personalities will pop up that have similarities w/ the photo you uploaded...well, that is, according to myheritage.com ^^ its important though that the pics uploaded should be clear and must at least show the entire face...no big dark shades, just like yong joon's most recent pics or else the site will come up w/ pics of personalities wearing shades & the face recognition will come off as somewhat half baked :p

of course i wont let this get away w/o doing some uploading of yong joon's pics from one of his recent photos down to his most recent films and dramas. i'm so curious to discover who are the famous names that resemble yong joon's photos that i've uploaded. see if you do agree with myheritage.com's results or simply have a good laugh after seeing the 'similar feature' pics and making comments like "hwhat!!??!! he looks like him ??!!!....no way @#$!!

now, its my turn to upload my photo and hahaha, i just looove myheritage.com!! i'm still in the 'too shy' stage to go public & post my picture but believe me, its a bona fide, my very own picture that i've uploaded and i'm quite happy with the results @@@ :-}

come fly with me

2006-09-06T17:00:00.000-07:00

I wonder how many countries Yong Joon have gone to? As far as I know, he has been to a number of Asian countries, in North America, in Guam, in Australia, & in France...hmm, not sure if he has gone somewhere else that the media and his fans were not aware of. If time will allow it, I'm sure Yong Joon probably wants to visit & explore a whole lot more of new places! Even though he is so busy as an actor and as a businessman, I do hope he'll find the chance in the future to just pack up his bags and fly to wherever he wants to explore & enjoy himself big time :) It would be nice to see him looking relaxed, refreshed, carefree and having a blast...

One of my dreams in life is to go to those far out places that we normally see only on tv & magazines or in the annual travel fair I usually frequent in one of the malls in Manila ^^ But I guess for now, this will have to remain a dream coz I still have lots and lots and lots of savings to do to even at least visit one of my fave countries! I'm very much under time & fund constraints at this point in time to just drop about everything when the travel bug hits me so these future travel plans would have to take a back seat for awhile plus the fact that these grand dream of mine definitely involves some major meticulous planning & strategizing especially if I intend to make my travel plans involve some serious backdoor routes in addition to the usual trekking on touristy areas :D

So in the meantime, one of fave tv shows, Globe Trekker (also called Pilot Guides or Lonely Planet before) keeps me in good company in my imaginay travel adventures and I do enjoy this show so much !! This series was inspired by the Lonely Planet travelbooks and it's being broadcast in over 40 countries! Globe Trekker actually offers a lot of inside information especially for budget tourists on where to stay, eat, shop and mingle with the locals w/o spending so much yet experience an authentic taste of the local culture and traditions of different countries. It's also fun to watch the sometimes wacky, sometimes awkward experiences of the travelers w/c I think a lot of the scenes in the show are unrehearsed yet it retains this feel of fun and excitement, and I like the idea of going places backpacker style :p

Among the many travelers of Globe Trekker, I like the most are the charming & entertaining Megan McCormick and the show's resident lunatic, the very funny Ian Wright , these guys are two of my favorite travel 'companions' ;)

Actually, I was able to go abroad a few times but these were mostly as a traveling companion to my mother dearest, thus, I didn't have that much chance to explore by myself and see some interesting places off the beaten path ^^ Let's see now...where would I really like to go when I'll eventually have that chance to travel my own way ?? Of course, there will always be one of my favorites, the dynamic South Korea, land of the morning calm and one gorgeous guy ♥ ♥

But there are three more places that I would love love to see, explore and experience their unique sights and sounds....Jordan, China and Greece.

Where in mysterious Jordan would i like to go? None other than the ancient cliff city of Petra (it means "city of rock" in Greek) w/c is about a 3-hour drive south of Amman. The one place I would love to see in Petra is "Khaznet Firaoun", a temple also known as the "Treasury of the Pharaohs". These ancient structures are carved out of the walls of rose-colored sandstone cliff, amazing isn't it? It was named the 'Treasury' coz at the top of the enormous structure is a carved, stone object that looks like an urn. According to legend, the urn contains treasure. chips on the inaccessible urn are the results of unsuccessful attempts to break it with bullets and stones. The 'Treasury' also got more publicity in the outside world coz some scenes of the movie "The Last Crusade" of Indiana Jones aka Harrison Ford were shot there.

My next stop will be the dreamlike picturesque city of Guilin, situated in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. My main course in Guilin will be to savor its spectacular & surreal misty limestone mountains that are lined along every twist and turn of the beautiful Li River . Ever since I saw a picture of the Guilin mountains in one travel magazine, I fell in love with its mystical and magical look & I told myself that I will find a way to visit that place someday! Guilin's lush landscaping is unique both to China and to the rest of the world and not surprisingly, it was said that Guilin has become an inspiration to Chinese poets and artists throughout the centuries.

And my final pitstop which also happens to be my dream honeymoon getaway *blush* is the captivating & very romantic Santorini Island in Greece ^^ This favorite tourist destination w/c is around 40 minute-flight from Athens, offers breathless views of dizzying red and black cliffs and dazzling villages dotted with white cube houses and blue domed churches. This island is all that remains of a cataclysmic volcanic eruption the occurred around 1640 BC, and my gosh, that explosive wonder of mother nature did a magnificent brush of stroke in Santorini. This volcanic island is even being touted to have the best sunset in the world!! To be considered as one of the most spectacular landscapes in the world would translate to a few things...high priced hotels, expensive cafes, trendy shops and swarm of tourists willing to spend. But an opportunity to experience the beauty and charm of Santorini is something I would not want to miss in this lifetime!

If it's not asking too much, it would be blissfully heaven-like to see (equals to ogle !!) Yong Joon lounging in the poolside in one of Santorini's cozy & dreamy hotels....@@

1972...it was a very good year

2006-08-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

i was out of town & out of touch yesterday & missed the b-day fun of fan greetings yesterday. got a lot of reading & catching up to do today!! as always, Yong Joon spent another working b-day & that was nice of BOF to post a message for his fans though it would be extra super nicer if it could have been Yong Joon himself who sent the message....oh well, just one of those wishful thinking ^^ .

anyways, just checked in at Brokore and i saw this ad about Yong Joon and a port wine, specifically, Dow's 1972 Colheita Port. this got me curious & even w/o understanding japanese, did my usual mind boggling babelling on Brokore info and my usual googling on the topic. looks like in celebration of yong joon's 34th birthday, brokore together w/ netwine.co.jp is offering this limited edition of port wine that comes w/ a premiere wine glass from Riedel

why Dow's 1972 Colheita Port? not sure if this is a personal favorite of Yong Joon but being a wine connoisseur, he probably also favors this particular brand. seems like this highly regarded port wine was bottled in the year 1972, same as Yong Joon's birthyear and was produced in limited numbers only.

Dow's is one of the greatest of all port houses & dedicated in producing some of the best port wines in the world. got the following info from my googling ~ the word ''Colheita''(pronounced col-YATE-ah) means Harvest in Portuguese and refers to wines from a single harvest that have been aged in wood for a minimum of 7 years. Colheita Ports have a complex appealing nutty character acquired from the long contact with oak. they are beautifully structured with delicious, delicate fruit, an enticing silky-smooth texture and a long opulent finish. the style of Dow’s Ports is more structured and less sweet than most other leading Port houses. this classic dryness is the hallmark of Dow’s.

Dow’s continues to make wines by traditional foot treading in large granite lagares (square open tanks that are about 12 feet wide and about 3 feet deep). Dow’s wineries receive more A and B quality (the finest classifications) than any other wineries in the Douro and Dow’s is the largest buyer of premium grapes in the Douro area, & this unique position is a key factor in the outstanding quality of Dow’s Ports. wow, i just added a new set of info in my 'culture101' databank :D

here are 2 pictures of Dow's vineyards located in the Douro Valley in the north eastern part of Portugal, along the banks of the river Douro - one of the longest rivers in Europe.

ok, i'm not really into wine culture though i drink red wine occasionally but am not too familiar with port wine. all i know is that red wine goes well with red meat, white wine with fish & fowls and now, i know that port wine is commonly served after meals as a dessert wine, often with cheese and chocolate desserts. oh no!! looks like i've been doing a culture blunder all along, i usually drink red wine together with my fave blue & feta cheese!! there goes my pretending-to-know-how-to-do-it ways @@@ !!! geez, i just realized that i know next to nothing on anything about wine but it sure is a great thing we have Yong Joon to give ME some pointers on certain areas that need some vast 'refinement' *wink*

i wish you love

2006-08-28T13:10:00.000-07:00

dear yong joon,

i changed my blog music especially for your birthday ^^ are u familiar with the song? it's called "i wish you love" . you probably have heard of the french songwriter named charles trenet? this song was written in french by monsieur trenet who also did the popular "beyond the sea". so, do you like my choice of song for your special day? this is quite embarassing but it's actually my birthday message for you !! pls. don't laugh but some parts of the song's lyrics do convey what i want to say to you ~~

I wish you bluebirds in the spring
To give your heart a song to sing
And then a kiss, but more than this
I wish you love....

I wish you health
And more than wealth
I wish you love....

I wish you shelter from the storm
A cozy fire to keep you warm
But most of all when snowflakes fall
I wish you love....

yeah i know, its kindda too mushy and too romantic but i also happen to be a romance buff ^^ and i honestly feel the words for you. more than anything else, i sincerely wish you will find your true happiness topped with loads of love.

got something to confess to you. august 29 is actually that day of the year when i really really wish i could do something extra special for you. something that i can proudly show off to you like a nice drawing, a lovely poem, a fun VOD and a wonderful essay. how i wish i could do these things for you but alas, i can only write a short passage & even borrow words from a song!! how original is that ??!!

anyway, what is important is that you're happy on your birthday and wishing that you will always be happy in the days to come and always be showered, kissed and hugged with lots & lots of love ♡♡♡

yong joon-ssi, saengil chukha hamnida !!

how does he do it ?

2006-08-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

it's one of those slow, lazy and 'terribly-missing-yong-joon' sunday again and his birthday is just 2 days away!! i wonder where he'll be on his b-day and what he'll be doing on that day...i guess it'll be another working day for him & will probably just have a small intimate party w/ his family, close friends & colleagues.

anyways, to kill this terribly-missing-him syndrome w/c has been bugging me since yesterday, might as well do another of my crazy nonsense blog and put a little silly smile on my face and make my imagination run a little wilder w/c i think, will eventually make me miss him even more....@@@@!! i swear, being a byj fan is not an easy job for a mere mortal like me, but surprisingly, even though this endless waiting game may be draining at times, it does add a whole lot more fun & excitement in my byj journey.... yeah right, coz it makes me want to scream sometimes!!! :\'-) ..... triple sigh....

back to my craziness aka antidote, there is something steamy about yong joon when he takes off his clothes...whaaat ??!!... i mean, when he takes off or fixes his coat, jacket, shirt or whatever he is wearing up there, whatever is covering THAT chest :D *me w/ my big silly grin* with just a lift or extension of his arms, a little sideway move of his torso, a slight bent of his neck and that one of a kind smile....this sexy teasing move makes him look so manly yet there is this touch of elegant gracefulness & just a hint of aloofness....wow, sexiness redefined ....how does he do that ??

the mysterious king

2006-08-22T00:15:00.000-07:00

the shooting of 'the great king and four gods story' seem to be moving under a cloak of secrecy and it's just making us more excited !! looks like Kim PD's group is doing its best to keep the public away from the ongoings in the drama but a few photos still managed to float in the net and made a lot of ppl particularly the ever-patient byj fans ^^ all the more restless and so looking forward in seeing yong joon in this large scale tv drama.

i was surfing the net and i came across some photos in truelovebyj.com & looks like these are from the shooting of the drama ~

& the photo below floated in the net some weeks back but i do like it a lot and it gives me this feeling of great anticipation on what gkfg has in store for us ^^

some byj fans have even started doing some artworks on The Great King ! and expect a whole lot more wonderful creations in the months to come :D

~ artworks from ami and sakabou

his cheeks....

2006-08-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

in heippieh's blog, she enumerated the various parts of yong joon's body that was blogged about and there are still a lot to cover !! this time around, i'll be on the wholesome side and do some writing and posting about his kissable cheeks.....yeah right, i did say wholesome, ok? just don't think of the other colloquial expression ....you know, the 'cheek behind' >-)

anyhow...i feel that yong joon's cheeks belong to the 'overlooked' part of his body. the cheeks are not that mentioned too often coz it happens to be adjacent to his other more famous facial parts...the clear expressive eyes, the intelligent eyebrows, the patrician nose and those oh so sexy lips. & so, w/o much ado, i'm going to give his kissable cheeks a chance to shine.

what comes to your mind everytime he gives us a full frontal facial shot ? well, if you ask me, i always have this wishful dream of caressing his gentle yet masculine face, starting from his elegant cheeks. oh ! how i would love to have that one in a trillion chance to tenderly touch his face. it probably feels soft and strong even with just my fingertips touching his cheeks....sighs....dream on frances ^^^

the camera caught a number of shots with yong joon doing this cute puffed cheek expression. he looks so cute doing it and it makes me feel that there's still this little boy in him. it reminds me of my eldest brother (kuya in filipino language) coz when we were younger, he used to do the puffed cheeks when he is concentrating on a school work or when he got caught doing a mischievous act :D

i wonder what makes yong joon do the puffed cheek thing. well, it could be a number of things. he could be tired or he's seriously thinking of something or he's just simply having fun, but whatever it is, he looks so adorably boyish doing it and makes me want to gently kiss those cheeks *blush*

but the next 2 pictures makes me forget about the adorable boyish cheek and makes me want to think about the colloquial cheek.... :-}

'his cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers....'
from song of solomon

it must be magic

2006-08-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

i was supposed to blog something about the byj fans & got hopelessly distracted with his latest ntv vods from japan....

he looks on the thinner side but still so goodlooking (^o^) i particularly like the last photo where he was having this talk w/ the CF ppl, i just love the way he looks in there, the way his hair is a little messed up & the way his chest is teasing us @@...haha, another classic case of missing him so much ^^

so, where was i?? oh yes, gonna blog something about the byj fans. this is just an add- on to the very interesting articles my fellow baesis bloggers have written about. marissa posted in her blog about fandom, flowerbossa translated the exciting meeting-byj experiences of fellow fan satovic and bb started writing about fanmories with tiff. all very nice stuff and this made me go over my small collection and compiled a few pics that would give us a glimpse of this unique and special bond yong joon has with his fans from all over.

i actually wouldn't mind being in the background and amongst a sea of ppl and be able to see only the top of his gorgeous head or a portion of his thick silky hair or the sight of his broad muscular back or even just the tip of his long masculine fingers when he waves, especially that oh so cute right pinkie finger ! what's impt for me is the rare experience of being there, exactly in the right moment when he smiled, waved and said 'hello, how are you my dear family' ! wow, that i think is such a high & no wonder a lot of byj fans follow him around and even cross oceans just to see him and be with him in that special moment. the feeling must simply be magical ^^

of course, there are those who are so lucky and got the chance of seeing him up close, touch him, talk to him, take a pic with him w/ his arms around the fan's shoulder, embrace him and even watch him w/ only inches away take off his jacket.....@@@ i'm SO enviousssss !!

oh, i almost forgot !! some simply have all the luck in the world & so gutsy enough to be able to surprise yong joon with one solid kiss !! ♡....hmm, must try to remember that :-}

hur jin-ho's next film....and april snow

2006-08-11T16:10:00.000-07:00

remember director hur jin-ho? yup, the quiet, intelligent, sensitive guy who gave us a beautiful film called April Snow. he'll have another film to make and here's a short article from koreanfilm.org about his latest project ~~

New Hur Jin-ho film HAPPINESS
by Darcy Paquet

A bit of news about our old friend Hur Jin-ho. Hwang Jeong-min (male lead of 'You're My Sunshine') and Im Soo-jung (star of the just released 'Sugar Lump')are cast to play in HAPPINESS, his fourth feature after CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST, ONE FINE SPRING DAY, and APRIL SNOW.

The film is a love story about two people who meet while battling serious illnesses. So it doesn't sound like a major departure for him in terms of subject matter, though personally I don't think I mind. Some directors are good enough at the little things that they can make an interesting film regardless of the overarching structure.

Hur's last film APRIL SNOW took a lot of abuse from critics and online, though I think most of the bile was aimed at the stars. It will be nice to have another film from Hur with good actors and fewer distractions. I'm hoping he puts more dialogue into this one, too -- conversations between characters are often the best part of his films.

It will start shooting in early September, and they're aiming for a release next spring. ~~

ok, our beloved April Snow was mentioned by Darcy and he made a quick note on why he thinks AS was 'disliked' by some quarters. Darcy actually liked AS. he mentioned the film in his 2005 top 10 films list in koreanfilm.org, to quote ~

"Choosing only 10 films out of those 70 for my top ten list involved quite a bit of anxiety and hair-pulling, even after excluding worthy titles like The Peter Pan Project or Sa-kwa which screened at festivals this year, but which will get their commercial release next year. The Unforgiven, Crying Fist, You Are My Sunshine, Geochilmaru: The Showdown, Love is a Crazy Thing, Green Chair, A Bittersweet Life, April Snow, Bravo My Life and Blue Swallow by themselves would have made a worthy top-ten list, but instead they rank as films that I exclude with much regret."

he mentioned that the beating was mainly aimed at the stars, or should i say, aimed at yong joon? most of the negative write ups i saw in the net mentioned yong joon. as we all know, most of these write ups compared yong joon's AS performance in his WLS persona. well, can't help them about that if that's what they think but still, i feel kindda sad that some ppl got sideswept with their celebrity preconceptions and missed seeing what yong joon conveyed to the audience in bringing out the character of insoo in the film.

below is a reply on darcy's article. not sure if this is a result of a preconceived notion or simply an objective take on yong joon's performance in AS ~~

"thought April Snow could be better with a different lead actor. Not that Bae Yong Joon is a bad actor, I think he isn't but he certainly was trying too hard and the character always remained in the shadow of his Yon sama fame. It probably is something that can't be helped with since his fame grew even more after Untold Scandal (which is a film I really like) and I think severely hurt the film."

i've actually read a number of articles in the net about his 'yonsama' fame/image but what is this anyway? does it have something to do with him maintaining a certain image that will please his fans, particularly his japanese fans? or, has it something to do with his immense popularity around asia & that his persona as an actor was overshadowed by his persona as a megastar? geez, this is getting to be quite confusing @@ !! and why am i making this hard on myself ?? bottom line is i can take what others have to say about yong joon, be it not nice or not very nice. for me, i like yong joon coz i find him a complex case of a simple guy...simply fascinating!! and i'm so looking forward for more great films from him in the future.

and yes, i still would like yong joon to do a film with kim ki duk !! perhaps a film that is totally out of yong joon's mold would shake the 'others' and make them finally see the light that surrounds and glows around a very good actor named bae yong joon ^^

a kkd film with byj ?

2006-08-09T17:05:00.000-07:00

first time i'll be making a blog entry that is almost non-byj ^^ though it's the thought of yong joon that pushed me to write something about director kim ki-duk. yes, he's none other than the south korean film director who is getting high praises in the international scene but unfortunately, is being snubbed in his very own country. [click here to read more on his most recent remarks in english chosun re his 'rejection' in korea]

actually, i've just seen only one film of director kim so far, his 2001 difficult-to-watch-and- emotionally-unnerving film, "Bad Guy" also known as "Nabbeun Namja". i'm not really into dark films and this film is not one of the best of kkd nor a great favorite of critics but it did made an impact on me. maybe because of its disturbing rawness, its haunting & somewhat mournful images and even the unacceptable (at least for me) fate of the female lead's character.

"Bad Guy" is not a 'pleasant watch' but it tells us one thing that we already know, & to quote an online critic - that everyone wants to live an honest life, and life often has other plans in mind. When the unexpected occurs, the true test of humanity is to see how we roll with the punches. In Kim Ki-Duk's marvelous, evocative universe, the test is both the ends and the means. We are all bad guys, he seems to say…now, what are you going to do about it?...

the 46 yr old 'Bad Boy' of korean cinema became the first South Korean director to win the Silver Bear award for Best Director for his film "Samaria" (Samaritan Girl) at the 54th Berlin Film Festival on Feb 2004.

on Sept 2004, director kim was also awarded the Silver Lion as Best Director at the competition sector of the 61st Venice International Film Festival for his film "3-Iron" . this film also known as "Locataires" did pretty well in the box office of France, as mentioned by camille in her blog.

his recent films like "Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring" and "The Bow" are getting the nod from foreign box office & foreign critics but sad to say, these films can't even reach the 100,000 ticket sales mark in south korea :( ......same story, getting accolades in foreign lands but getting almost nil recognition in his native land. i guess the korean critics and audience are just not too keen on the film style and approach of director kim.

so, what's the point of me blogging kim ki-duk? of course, it's still connected with yong joon :) actually, it's one of my dream to see yong joon do a film with kim ki duk. what?! ok, this may not sit too well w/ some byj fans ( or probably w/ many??!!) coz director kim's films have this reputation of being on the dark side, rough on the edges & tends to focus on the marginalized elements of society. his films are also known for its very minimal dialogue, evocative imagery and uncomfortable portrayals of the female lead character. but i wish yong joon will have an opportunity to work with a director who has this different perspective in storytelling and film making. the first and only big star so far to be featured in a kkd film is jang dong gun for "The Coast Guard" .

geez, writing about kim ki-duk is already making me feel somewhat emotionally drained!! k, back on my wishful wish....oh, but i have this complete confidence in yong joon's acting that even a collaboration with a director known for his 'disconnect' with the korean audience and a fast & furious but efficient filming timetable (he can finish shooting in 2 weeks !) would be a satisfying artistic challenge and accomplishment to yong joon's continuously advancing acting career and another chance for us to witness an onscreen transformation of a very different yong joon.

the heat is on

2006-08-04T13:00:00.000-07:00

with the heat wave going on in many parts of the world including usa, europe and even in korea, i think there's a need to get some valuable tips from yong joon on how to beat the hot hot weather !!

or....just like yong joon, simply lie down in a cozy soft bed w/ windows wide open and enjoy the summer breeze ^^

.....but why is it still very hot in here ?? *wink*

thanks to yandy, LL, maron & ame for the cute gifs !!

spreading his wings

2006-07-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

yong joon is not only making his mark as a major force in the promotion of asian culture but i think he's also on his way of making his mark in the international scene as an actor. ok, this may sound too presumptuous on my part, but hey, i'm a big fan and i can dream can't i ?? ^^ anyways, the way i see it, yong joon's ever so careful stance in choosing his films is slowly but surely making some ppl turn their heads and look in his direction. he may not be as prolific or as gifted as his contemporaries but the films he have made so far are doing well in some well known as well as the little known international film festivals all over.

in my opinion, his 2 films have contributed, even in just a small way, in enhancing korean cinema's artistic image in the international film festival circuit. April Snow which was shown in korea on Sept 2005 and Untold Scandal which had its domestic release on Oct 2003 are the two films that yong joon had carefully chosen to devote so much of his time and effort to come up with well made films that would somehow satisfy even the most discerning moviegoer.

i've made a partial summary of the places/events where yong joon's 2 films have made or are making their marks ^^ here's some kind of a tracking sheet of the international film festivals where april snow and untold scandal were invited to participate plus some of the comments made by critics and media ppl during the said festivals.

April Snow - since its debut in korea last Sep 2005, AS has been invited so far in 10 film festivals....and hopefully, more to come ~

1> 30th Toronto Intl Film Festival (sep 8-17, 2005) - shown under the "Special Presentation" programme of the festival.
The Asian film I liked the best, and the one I am hoping gets U.S. distribution, is another South Korean entry. April Snow is a swirl of deeply-realized emotions that escape from the screen to grab the viewer. It's a touching love story about the ways in which people can find comfort in seemingly impossible circumstances. The acting is fantastic and, while the director doesn't saddle us with an improbable happily-ever-after ending, he concludes the film on a note of hope - from popular online film critic James Berardinelli

Cold, antiseptic atmospheres are bathed in a wintry light that seems to shine from inside the battered protagonists’ emotional cores. Hur Jin-ho’s airy and elegant directorial touch slides over the gestures of everyday life and empties them of their accepted meaning, creating a haunting limbo where the performances of Son Ye-jin and top Korean star Bae Yong-joon glow with deep psychological impact. An intimate narrative accompanies this subtle dance of passions. Like mirrored reflections on the two protagonists’ new intimacy we see rendered - with unusual simplicity - the complexity of heartbreak - Giovanna Fulvi, Rome-based intl film fest programmer.

2> 24th Vancouver Intl Film Fest, Canada ( sep 29 - oct 14, 2005) - screened under 'Dragons and Tigers Young Cinema' competition.
April Snow seems to be grounded in a realism that depends on poetry to take it to another level. One example of this poetic kinesis are the poignant love scenes... - schema magazine

3> 53rd San Sebastian Intl Film Fest, Spain (sep 15-24, 2005) - invited under the official/competitive section

4> 10th Pusan Intl Film Festival, South Korea (oct 6-14 2005) - screened in the 'Korean Panorama' section.
from Nick North of firecracker media.com UK - April Snow is another polished, sensitively-told tale which follows two people who turn up at a hospital after an accident involving their spouses, only to discover that the spouses had been having an affair with each other. As they work through the betrayal they inevitably turn to each other. Deliberate of pace, but engrossing nonetheless.

5> 41st Chicago Intl Film Fest, USA (oct 6-20, 2005) - screened in the internatinal competition section. With incredible subtlety and patience, "April Snow" explores the deepest, quietest scars of grief and betrayal. A gentle, elegant meditation on pain and recovery that just might break your heart- Matt Pais of metromix.chicago tribune.com

6> 29th Goteborg Film Festival, Sweden (jan 27 - feb 6 2006) - invited under the non-competition/worldwide selection programme

7> 8th Deauville Asian Film Fest, France (mar 8-12 2006) - chosen as the opening film.
everybody knows now that (though the korean media has yet to acknowledge this....don't know what's taking them so long.....) april snow is very much appreciated by the french audience and there are lots of great reviews that floated in the net. camille's blog is the place to visit to read all those terrific reviews from french critics, media and moviegoers ^^

8> 1st Costume and Fashion Intl Film Festival, Paris [thanks to camille for this info] (mar 31-apr 4, 2006) -
april snow's costume designer, Kim Hee-ju was chosen as one of the official competitors. this festival offered a unique opportunity to better understand the importance of costumes and wardrobe in the creation of a film's universe, and measure the amount of work that is involved in creating each character, big and small (whether it’s for a period piece or contemporary film) - quoted from the official site.

9> Osian's Cinefan 8th Festival of Asian Cinema, New Delhi (jul 14-23 2006) - the film was screened under the Asian Frescoes section.

10> 6oth Edinburgh Intl Film Fest, UK (aug 14-27 2006) - to be screened under the 'Director's Showcase section.
Hur Jin-ho slowly and subtly draws a tremendous amount of emotional tension from a straightforward narrative with minimal dialogue. He’s greatly assisted by Korean heartthrob Bae Yong-joon and Son Ye-jin, who deliver terrifically understated performances that perfectly match the film’s mood. There’s no clumsy handling of the serendipitous situation either, the events being played out at a perfect pace, allowing the audience to be progressively drawn into the drama - Colan Mehaffey

Untold Scandal - to this day, Untold Scandal is still making the rounds in film festivals, film societies & even film showings in various universities/film schools :)

1> 8th Pusan Intl Film Festival, South Korea (oct 2003) - received NETPAC Award (network for the promotion of Asian cinema) for Best Korean Film

2> Berlin International Film Festival, Germany (feb 5 – 15, 2004) -
For my money, the best film at Berlin so far has not been in the main competition but in the international cinema sidebar. Untold Scandal, by the South Korean director E.J. Yong, is an exquisite reworking of Dangerous Liaisons transplanted to 18th-century Korea. The story of a cynical seduction that turns to grand romance, then to tragedy, is revitalised by this magnificent-looking film. Its eroticism, mystery and poignancy are captivating and the performances are outstanding. It surely can't be long before the rest of the world will be able to see this marvellous film - Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian in Berlin

3> Deauville Asian Film Festival, France (mar 10-14, 2004) - closing film

4> New Directors/New Films, New York, USA (mar 24 –apr 4, 2004)

5> Verona Romance Film Festival, Italy (apr 16-25, 2004) -
The prize for Best Artistic, Technical or Creative Contribution goes to E J-yong for the direction of “Untold Scandal”.

The accredited journalists at the festival awarded the “Stefano Reggiani” special prize from the Veneto’s Order of Journalists to “Untold Scandal” (South Korea), directed by E J-yong, for the following reasons: “For the chromatic elegance of the photography, which creates descriptive and lyrical scenes of luminous incisiveness; for the balance of contrasting emotions played as opposing forces yet voices of a solid musical harmony. For the symbolic value of detail and its meticulous care, open to allegory and metaphor; and for the sound-track: orchestral counterpoint which is discreet – subtly minimal, never overpowering”.

6> Barcelona Asian Film Festival, Spain (apr 30- may 8, 2004) - opening film
The best way to start BAFF was with one of the latest jewels from that country: Untold Scandal. Directed by E J-yong, this period film is an adaptation of the classic French novel “Dangerous Liasions”, but this time transposed to fit Korea’s Chosun Dinasty period. And it sure works! The story works perfectly well, portraying the struggles between the repressive customs of that period and people’s desires, with that Korean touch. The director, with the help of impressive performances from all the cast, the beautiful scenery and a brilliant production design, is capable of creating a superb movie which surely deserves a viewing!

7> Seattle Intl Film Festival, USA (may 20 – jun 13, 2004) -
I've now seen the Dangerous Liason story done at least three times, and this is every bit as good as any other version. Actually, the story translates very well into a Korean film of nobility and manners in the 18th century. This film has unbelievably wonderful costumes, makeup, hair, sets. Every visual aspect was under total control and seemed authentic. The acting was above average. … the best looking film of the festival so far -from 2004 Seattle International Film Festival Journal

8> Shanghai International Film Festival, China (jun 5 – 13, 2004) - received 3 awards Best Director Award, Best Music Award & 500 journalists at the festival awarded Best Visual and Sound Effects to the film.

9> Sydney Film Festival, Australia (jun 11-26, 2004) - official selection

10> Los Angeles Film Festival, USA (jun 17-26, 2004) - official selection
With exquisite cinematography and gorgeous sets and costumes of 18th century Korea, this elegant film is mesmerizing and painfully gripping at the same time. …. Bae Yong-jun succeeds at giving the character great depth and layers - Asia Pacific Arts

11> Edinburgh International Film Festival, United Kingdom (aug 18-29, 2004) - closing film
Untold Scandal, a South Korean remake of Dangerous Liaisons...the new version is "even more lush, sensual and compelling than the John Malkovich-Glenn Close classic" , according to festival artistic director Shane Danielsen

The “Scandal” is an outstanding film which is equal to the “2046”, esthetically & artistically and it will become a good chance to confirm the status of Korean movies which are distinguishing themselves in the World film field. Excellent acting from Lee Mi-sook as Lady Cho and Bae Yong-jun as Cho-won - from iofilm.co.uk

12> Montreal World Film Festival, Canada (aug 26-sep 6, 2004) - invited under the 'Golden Zenith' Award for asian films.

13> Korean Film Festival, Auckland, New Zealand (Oct 22-31, 2004)

14> Hawaii International Film Festival, Hawaii, USA (Oct 2004) - one of the festival's Signature Galas

15> Leeds International Film Festival, United Kingdom (Oct 29-Nov 7, 2004) - Official selection

16> Three Rivers Film Festival, Pittsburgh, PA, USA (nov. 5 – 18, 2004) (Filmmaker’s Film Festival)

17> Anchorage Film Festival, Alaska, USA (dec 5, 2004)
Bae Yong-jun is not as devilish as John Malkovich, who played the role in the American film, but he is more playful in his deceits. He's also more believable as a man for whom the ladies would fall. … Director E J-Yong succeeds because he treats the subject with irony and makes the story even more sophisticated than it was originally conceived - Miami Herald

18> Glasgow World Film Festival, Scotland (feb 10-17,2005)

19> Third Jameson Dublin International Festival, Ireland (feb 11-20, 2005)

20> Bradford Film Festival, United Kingdom (march 4-19, 2005)
This is much sexier than the 1988 Stephen Frears version, which boasted more verbal sparring than heaving bosoms; the frocks are exquisite, the defrocking even more so. And the choice of a baroque-pastiche score works wonders. But the real genius of Untold Scandal is how sublimely it manages Laclos's ending. E J-Yong saves his most painterly and striking sequences to illustrate the idea not of love feigned, but of love lost, and his last 20 minutes are pure, devastating poetry - from the daily telegraph, UK

21> Chlortrudis Society for Independent Films, Boston (march 2005) - nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay - In this tenth iteration of Les liaisons dangereuses to hit the screen, and possibly the most erotic, writers Dae-woo Kim and Hyeon-jeong Kim and director Je-yong Lee use a subplot of underground Catholics to add to the flavor of risk and repressed sensuality. A beautiful overlay of Korean culture on a French story.

22> Istanbul International Film Festival, Turkey (apr 2-17, 2005)

23> Belfast Film Festival, United Kingdom (apr 7-16, 2005)
This stunning film had me entranced throughout its entire two hours. It’s rich, dynamic and absorbing, and a genuine cinematic triumph. …. You’ll enjoy a cavalcade of gorgeous sets, a story of remarkable emotional force, and an ending to die for. Fantastic –Leicester Mercury – UK News

24> Alba Regia International Film Festival, Székesfehérvár, Hungary (jun 6-12, 2005)

* i did not include it here but there are about 5 more small film fests that featured untold scandal. btw, i made some revisions/additions to the untold scandal summary initially made by shirley & posted in byj's quilt...thanks a bunch to shirley !!

say chest !

2006-07-25T17:35:00.000-07:00

might as well join the excitement!!!

pictures of yong joon when he arrived in japan were featured in a popular japanese woman magazine looking like this....

OMG!!!...he's doing the teasing chest thing again !!!

i actually got all shook up and started imagining chest-related things before when i saw him in these ...

and now, he's back in korea and i'm back to imagining things again!!! oh my gosh, he sure knows how to give instant chest pains...^^

the boss

2006-07-24T16:30:00.000-07:00

excitement is in the air again !! after being out of sight & missing him so much, yong joon made another heady appearance to the delight of his fans ^^

but what struck me most is his aura of being in control, of being the one who calls the shots....or perhaps, after reading articles about his business ventures, i'm now beginning to associate his name as synonymous to major investor, decisions, boardroom, expansion, stock options, etc :-D .... but whatever, he certainly is one of the coolest and hip looking boss around *wink*

lately, yong joon 'the businessman' is being attached to a lot of business jargons such as 'businessman extraordinaire', 'entertainment magnate', 'great strategist', 'stock billionaire', 'key player', 'CEO'....

having an iota of an idea of how will yong joon react to these descriptions, he is probably squirming in his chair, feeling embarassed by the minute with all these adjectives being thrown at him.

but as always, the intelligent businessman in him overcomes all this attention and continues to work on his long term mission and vision of promoting the asian culture in the world stage and creating a lot of opportunities for people working in that field. wow, the boss is on a roll !!!

here's a glimpse of what he's been up to this past 2 years, what probably kept him very busy while poor us are patiently ( & later feeling very proud of him !!) waiting when will be his next public appearance...........here are yong joon's babies :-))

together with the establishment of IMX America based in LA !!

eyes on the thighs

2006-07-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

ha, the title is such a give away!! anyways, after drooling on his latest photo (only one so far ??!!) upon his arrival in japan yesterday, might as well do something about those thighs before all hell breaks loose when his latest photos and vods start pouring in ^^

got nothing much to say about this hunky body part of him except that its.....hunky !! i would rather look at the photos and & let my 'innocent' thoughts wander.....haha, naughty me !! anyhow, from my still growing byj photo collection, i only managed to get a few photos that would complement my byj anatomy101 lesson for today. just the same, what i got will somehow give us an idea how the real thing looks up close and too personal *rolling ogling eyes !!*

his recent photos seem to indicate that yong joon likes his jeans loose and comfortable...& looking stylish and cool as always ^^

...and if you haven't noticed, yong joon likes to put his left hand (or both hands) in his pants pocket :) nice...reminds me of the idiomatic expression 'put your hand in your pocket' w/c means giving money to charity....so very yong joon !!

back to that part of the lower limb, there are times that we get lucky and get to see teasers of those muscular sexy thighs under those a little tight fitting pants or cozy comfy poses *wink* . now, if your imagination is as wild or crazy as mine, those pants are no hindrance at all & next to nothing whenever i look at these pictures.... *blush*

but of course, there will always be the special moments where we have a first hand glimpse of the real thing and it just makes us clamor for more !!

3 years of waiting, 30 minutes of meeting

2006-07-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

blame it on the weather. it has been raining, cloudy and gray in manila lately and it just makes me feel kind of mushy, lazy, sentimental & everything associated with bad weather. anyways, though i was dead tired from work last night and to end another missing-byj-day before another missing-byj-day dawns on me, i did my ritual of browsing & rereading some of my favorite fan writings. what can i say ? these stuff are so good coz they all came from the heart. there's no need to go to a journalism school to understand the essence of these fan writings. i just find it so amazing & heartwarming every time i read byj stuff from fans and i thank them all for their love and devotion to yong joon.

there is this one article that really pricked my heart. it was written by a chinese fan, aroma of coffee during yong joon's 2005 beijing trip and beautifully translated by tiffany. this was posted in quilt sometime november 2005 but alas, this was one of the lost treasures in quilt when the site broke down last june.

i'll be reposting this beautiful passage in my blog for the simple reason that i want to keep it much closer to me. this is one article that i will always treasure coz in its honesty & simplicity, there is so much love & beauty in it.... and i also feel that i may someday cross this bittersweet path....

btw, i made a blog entry on this article at the time when it really hit me hard & tears just kept rolling from my eyes... *blush* ....gosh, if only yong joon knows what he is doing to me.

from aroma of coffee, written on 16 november 2005
translation from chinese to english by tiffany of www.joonsfamily.com ~~

Time cannot take away your brightness

I know you, I'll always remember you. At that time, you were still young, everyone said you were beautiful.....to me, you are even more beautiful now than when you were younger, compared to your looks then, I love your weathered face even more............Marguerite Duras.

I remembered once telling friends, I don't like some of Yong Joon's photos now, because he looks aged and tired. I don't like him wearing brightly coloured clothes like a teenager, because he has already lost some of the purity. I don't like some of his CFs, because his smile is too sickly sweet.
I said, if it's too commercial, my enthusiasm will cool.

Those times when I was once a crazy fan is now but a memory, those longing and passion that once raged in my heart has slowly become a faint wish. I guess my love for him has now become a habit. But it is no longer love.

But I still decided to go and see him, to give an answer to my heart.

12th November, Wangfujing Road, I sat together with LJ on the wooden seats outside the foreign bookstore, and in the cold wind, opened up the cards that we had selected for Yong Joon. LJ concentrated on writing the messages for Yong Joon from the members of loveyongjoon and I carefully kept those cards that were already written. Reading those heartfelt, sincere messages, I felt my pangs of guilt in my heart.

My sisters still follow Yong Joon's footsteps but I, seems to have drifted further and further. I guess I'm just a fake BYJ fan.

To this man though, I will always be grateful. Because of him, I received so much. Writing, friends, even adding color and dimension to my life.

For this Beijing trip, I had no demands, it is enough that I can see the sisters from the website who have been so good to me, whether I can see him up close, I will leave it to fate. My seat for the movie premiere is in row 32, with my short sightedness, I will never be able to see Yong Joon clearly on the stage, nor will I be able to see clearly the movie subtitles.

But it is ok, Yong Joon, we are in the same city, it is already very good. I have no regrets.

At the premiere in the afternoon, it was already dark when I entered the hall, the movie had started. I saw an empty seat in front and managed to crept up to row 11, seat no 50+. I didn't know anyone around me and was very nervous, fearing that that at any moment, someone will chase me away. This uneasiness remained till the end of the movie.

Now that I think back, I watched "Oe Chool" only intermittenly because people kept walking along the aisle by my side. Because the seat was too out of the way, the screen was awkward and my eyes took a long time to get used to it. Thankfully, I could see the subtitles clearly.

I like Dir Hur's movies, but I don't want to discuss in details now. I want to say, I, finally saw Yong Joon.

When the movie ended, the whole atmosphere in the cinema became excited and anxious, everyone was waiting for Yong Joon to appear.

When he appeared, smiling, walking from behind the stage to the front, I suddenly felt my heart beat accelerating. It's him, Yong Joon, it's really him. The very familiar smile, the gentle smile and yet, it's a different smile from the screen.

Because that gentleness and honesty that emit from the heart cannot be felt so keenly from the screen.

He waved to us, and said in Mandarin: My families China, how are you?

He said, I've missed you all.

I've missed you all.

At the very moment, hot tears welled up in my eyes.

There were screams all around me, everyone raised their hands to wave to him. In the darkness, I silently waved to him, and covered my mouth with the other, not wanting to make any sound.

Yong Joon ah...

I found out, You, are still irreplaceble.

Don't ask me why I felt such sudden and fast change in my emotions, don't ask me why my heart is in turmoil, I can't answer you. I only felt intense pain throughout my body. Even now, after a few days, when I think of Yong Joon, I will still cry. This kind of feeling will never be understood by those who were not present then.

I don't want to cry.

I pinched myself hard not to let my tears roll down. I saw Yong Joon's reluctance to leave, he was truly shocked that the meeting was so short. Twice he said, too short, too short. I saw the deep helplessness in your smile.

But, you know you have to go, you almost snatched the microphone, you said: Wishing all my familes in China, happiness, peace, safe and sound.

3 years of waiting, 30 minutes of meeting.

Yong Joon ah...

You could not see my hand waving amongst the sea of people, you could not see the tears in my eyes. But I, I could clearly see, my heart.

Yes, you are no longer handsome like before, you don't seemed as young anymore, you can no longer act as a high school student. Even with make up, you could not hide the changes in your face. This one year, you seemed to have lost something in you and yet, I found out, the shine from deep within your heart, which can never be erased by the passage of time, it shines even more brightly than the polaris.

This beauty, is like the tall sunflower, the stuborness and steadfastness within the yellow petals, never wilting.

A phrase flashed through my mind:
I know you, I'll always remember you. At that time, you were still young, everyone said you were beautiful.....to me, you are even more beautiful now than when you were younger, compared to your looks then, I love your weathered face even more.

Yes, my dear Marguerite.Duras, you've said what I wanted to say.

Source: 咖啡香氛527 of www.loveyongjoon.com

a dream job

2006-07-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

what do ms. hong eun kyoung have in common with rachel zoe, philip bloch, danna weiss, todd shemarya, sam saboura & andrea lieberman ? they are all stylists of famous celebrities ! they have even attained some kind of 'celebrity stylists' status for their creativity, vision and of course, affiliation to famous names. btw, accdg to a recent LA Times article, rachel zoe is the biggest star stylist today in hollywood. she is credited for making the blonde-bronzed-thin-sexy look of the moment in hollywood.

back to our ms. hong, i guess almost all byj fans knows who she is. she is none other than the lady responsible in creating the look of yong joon during his official tours, public event appearances and even lends a hand in coming up with his images in CFs, magazine & poster shoots.

but what readily comes to my mind when i think of ms hong is that, she's this petite and pretty lady who we almost always see in pics and vods standing or sitting beside yong joon, behind yong joon, in front of yong joon, combing his hair, fixing his tie, pulling his belt, removing his shirt, touching him here and there....@@@ it's almost like undressing him !! really, some girls simply have all the luck in the world!!! & surely, this lady has one of the best jobs there is in this entire planet ^^

seriously though, i think being a stylist of a celebrity is not an easy task. they are not just merely part of a star's entourage party. they have this responsibility in presenting a celebrity to the public with a look that can make a big difference. i'm sure in the case of ms. hong, she would agonize for days or weeks on what yong joon would wear in a particular event and at the same time makes sure that he would be comfortable and relaxed in the clothes and styles she has chosen and in the end, achieving that elusive thrown together stylish and elegant look, the BYJ look !!

it's also a known fact that ms hong has been with yong joon for so many years. i guess they already have this brother-sister kind of relationship and that there is this long standing trust and commitment between the two ( i'm feeling enviousss again !!).

ok, here are some pics that will give us a glimpse of this special bond ms. hong has with our man :)

personally, i prefer the colors black, white, brown or gray in clothes ( too drab ??). i do appreciate ms. hong's effort in coming up with new styles & trying on new colors for yong joon but what i really like the most is when she dressed him up in my fave colors or at least had a helping hand in giving us some of yong joon's best looks....at least through my eyes !!! ....here are some of my faves *wink*

the big man's little finger

2006-07-16T16:20:00.000-07:00

.....another warm, sleepy sunday afternoon.....another day without seeing him.
i guess its time to open again my treasured little wonder box and savor once more why with just a glimpse of the face of this certain Korean actor or just a mere whisper of his name can make my ♥ heart ♥ beat a little faster...

missing him so much inspires a lot of byj fans to blog anything about him that we can think of under the sun. and i think, at least from my end, blogging about some of the physical aspects of yong joon is an enjoyable respite from our waiting game w/ him.

oh yes, this is going to be another episode of my byj anatomy101. and what part of his body got my attention this time around? none other than the littlest of his fingers....his pinky finger (*_*)

yong joon's little finger, particularly the one on his right hand brings a little smile on my face everytime i see it (^-^) . it actually attracts attention when he waves his right hand coz the tip of his pinky finger is bent a little at the tip and it just looks so cute and adorable !! so uniquely yong joon.

but the cuteness of the pinky pales a little when yong joon injured his index & middle fingers...like what happened in one of his April Snow bunggaes in seoul last year :( . hey yong joon oppa, be careful next time, k?

anyhow, here are a few pictures of him doing the wave w/ the cute little finger

of course, the more famous little finger on his left hand has another story and deserves another blog entry ^^

and how can i forget the forefinger ? the one that usually touches those lips ? make it two more blog entries !!!!

some like it hot

2006-07-12T18:18:00.000-07:00

the beauty of films is that it gives us this wonderful opportunity to witness, feel and experience the different emotions that comes out from the screen and it has the power to enchant us, move us, capture us and simply refuses to be erased from our memories.

i'm a big movie fan though i've been remissed lately in my movie watching activity. oh, i'm quite partial to old movies particularly the affairs of the heart movies ^^. also, i appreciate films that have touches of sensual passionate scenes. i find it a delight discovering how the director and the actors challenge themselves by playing out difficult scenes that have glimpses of sensuality yet not repulsive to the audience.

actually, i've been wanting to blog about this topic for quite some time but i just don't find the time to search more info on some of my fave films. and so, now that i'm here, i would like to touch on some of the unforgettable 'love scenes' i like from a few of the films that i've seen. i hope this post would not appear too risque or too suggestive ^^

i like the film "Ghost". i'm not a big fan of the stars but i like the enduring connection portrayed by the characters in this film. who would forget that memorable scene at a pottery wheel backed by the Righteous Brothers' 'Unchained Melody' ?

the infamous beach scene from the movie, 'From Here to Eternity'. first time i've seen this film, i was really shocked! can't imagine the demure Deborah Kerr doing this daring scene after seeing her in 'An Affair to Remember'. but i think the sexy, foamy beach scene was tastefully done.

another unforgettable romantic scene is the 70-second 360 degree view of the dizzying kiss of Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway from the 1968 original version of 'The Thomas Crown Affair'. some were saying that this is the longest cinematic kiss ever !! i like how the director captured the palpable tension between the 2 characters thru the moving camera & i adore the bgm of 'Windmills of your mind' by Michel Legrand ;)

i love love 'When Harry met Sally'!! i like both Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan and the film is just so witty and funny and i was totally floored by Sally's rendition of a fake orgasm....you know, the Big O scene...yes, Yes, YES !!! :) w/c btw, that scene was shot in NYC's Katz's Deli.

and after doing the real thing, one can see the contrasting looks between Harry and Sally ? she of the happy & contented look and he of the surprised and somewhat horrified look !! very cute huh ?!!

and now, for what this blog entry is all about....ok, i hope i'm not offending anyone with some of the photos i've posted and get deported from Baeland & thrown somewhere where i won't be able to live and breathe anything BYJ for a long long time ^^ ....but what the heck, i'm a big fan of the BYJ love scenes from his two films and i just want to include this in my exciting bae journey *wink*

yong joon made a total of two films so far (waahhh, i want more!!!). and from his 2 films, Untold Scandal and April Snow, our man did some beautiful and emotionally charged sensual scenes. for instance, i'm proud of what he did in Untold Scandal. his role calls for it and he delivered. Big Time. i totally fell for BYJ's character, Jo-won and he's so believable as a cunning ladies man in the film ^^ and i think he's one hell of an ideal man in real life. period. :p

*fanning myself*........*with both hands !!!*........

and how about April Snow ? well, i think almost every love scene, even the deleted ones were posted in the net. they were made into artworks, vods, mvs, whatever, but still, we can't get enough of his love scenes in AS. i for one, love all the scenes and i think BYJ & SYJ did a fantastic job in conveying the emotions and sexual tension between Insu and Seoyoung.

wow, i think i need a pitcher of very very cold lemonade......its just too darn hot in here ^^

sources ~ wikipedia, AFI, filmsite.org

aura of BYJ

2006-07-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

from another episode of my bae searching in the net, i found this very interesting article on face/aura reading of yong joon. i already posted this in quilt and soompi and i almost forgot to post it in my blog !!!

anyhow, i enjoyed reading this great stuff and i learned a set of new things again about yong joon. wow, even his eyebrows has a lot to say about the real essence of this man ^^

Face/Aura Reading of Korean actor Bae Yong-Joon
Reading by Rose Rosetree
Posted by asianamericansusedeeperperception
03 Mar 2006

Reprinted from “Reading Life Deeper,” a free zine featuring face reading, aura reading and techniques for empaths, July 2005 Zine (Issue 37).

The Face Reading is first:

FIVE REASONS TO DEVELOP A CRUSH ON THIS EYEBROW

You need not speak his language to be inspired by Korean actor, Bae Yong-Joon. In fact, he’s a mega-star in Japan. When I taught there recently, his name came up as the celebrity to receive a demonstration reading. Hearing about his magnificent inner qualities while we stared at photos of His Gorgeousness, well… it’s the closest I’ve come yet to seeing an entire group of my students swoon.

So, ready or not, here comes Bae. Check out five superb characteristics of his right eyebrow, shown to best advantage in this publicity shot.

Before reading my comments, you’re invited to flex your growing muscles as a physiognomist. What do you find most interesting about that eyebrow? To interpret each item of face data, keep in mind that all eyebrow patterns relate to intellectual specialties. And the right one tells you about career, in contrast to personal life (which would show in the left eyebrow). Of course, to tell right from left on any face other than yours, in the mirror, you must “Go flippo.” Switch sides just as you do when shaking hands, your right to another person’s different version of right.

Ender: Eyebrow grows fuller toward the ear. Meticulous follow through on any project—that’s the talent. The potential challenge? Perfectionism.

Shape on top edge: That deep angle suggests a managerial mindset. Whenever working, I’d expect this actor to observe his surroundings in a detached way. He may uncover problems others wouldn’t notice. Despite the actor’s convincingly sweet expression, that brow angle suggests that you’ll also find within him plenty of shrewdness and steel. Potential challenge? Being intimidating.

Shape on bottom edge — the “inner eyebrow”: Long-time face readers, you’ve never caught me discussing this category before, have you? That’s because most people don’t have a radically different eyebrow shape underneath the one that shows on the top of the brow. But check out that clearly defined lower curve, completely different from what’s above. Plus, extra-thick hair sculpts this “inner eyebrow” as a starter, fuller at the beginning than the end.

To me, the category of “inner eyebrow” is about a second aspect of life, a person’s role as World Server. Each of us has both a human life and this spiritual role. But it’s a rare individual where the second role shows on an eyebrow with such definition. This curvy inner brow suggests that, in his capacity as World Server, Mr. Yong-Joon is deeply motivated by concern about people’s feelings. The potential challenge? Worrying that he never does enough.

Silky texture: Between makeup, lighting and surgery, it’s hard to know what you’re seeing when you stare at the faces of most American movie stars. Sure, you can read a person who has had cosmetic surgery because it changes the person inside. Still, how refreshing to read authentic face data. Try making someone grow extra-fine eyebrows like these! Surely they’re genuine.

The meaning is refined thinking, not that Bae can’t belch with the best of them. Instead, the point is that he’ll automatically express the high end of any concept. In his films (none of which I’ve seen, admittedly), expect this actor to stir deeper sentiments than another performer would do in his place. Given the extra emphasis of his “inside starter brows,” add innovation to the mix.

Potential challenge? It’s how Bae would suffer if he had to act like a character in “Dumb and Dumber.”

Sculpturesque brows: Here’s another face reading first from Rose–in print, anyway. Occasionally I’ve commented on this characteristic in personal readings, but it’s still mighty rare. Check out the sculpturesque 3-D effect, which accentuates the refined shape of Bae’s right brow.

This represents a gift for thinking in ways that are extra memorable. If he acts, that performance will stick to your memory. Were he a fan of bubble gum, watch out! Those bubbles might affect you like super glue.

Apart from this threat of stickiness, the potential challenge is how the man would squirm if he had to think small.

Way to go, Bae Yong-Joon, all this in just one eyebrow! Later in this zine, readers, you’ll get to read his aura, too.

The Aura Reading is next:

THREE WAYS TO BASK IN BAE’S

After downing the stiff drink of Killen’s energy field, here’s your chaser. Come back to earth delightfully by reading the aura of Bae Yong-Joon. All his chakras are scrumptious. Here, you’re invited to explore his heart, throat and high heart chakras with the “Plug in and Ask” method from Empowered by Empathy. This photo gives you easy access.

Heart Chakra: Does the actor’s gift for Holistic Knowing bowl you over? That’s the ability to keep many people in your consciousness, the same ability you may have if you can run a large family or teach a large class, constantly staying aware of how everyone’s doing. For most of us, the best we can manage is to pay attention to self plus one or two others, but not so when a person has the gift of Holistic Knowing.

Bae’s version of the gift is huge. He holds multitudes of people in his heart, a world-ful. Moreover, Holistic Knowing pervades his entire aura, as you’ll discover if you read any of his other chakras. In America, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been working hard to make headlines as celebrity activists, dedicated to fighting poverty. Besides now being involved in a good cause, their auras show plenty of talent. Nevertheless, their famous good looks can’t disguise what their auras reveal about self-involvement.

By contrast, Bae’s pure heart shows a depth of concern you might not guess from his squeaky clean, wholesome good looks. At the heart chakra, you’ll find someone who has overcome personal pain, then used his hard-won knowledge to reach out to help the world.

Throat Chakra: Savvy aura readers know that this chakra will make or break a performer’s career. Absent the karmic windfall enjoyed by celebs like Paris Hilton, popularity usually depends on charisma at the throat. Bae won’t disappoint you here. Confidence blends with kindness.

It’s also amusing to see that the actor has the equivalent of a light switch here. He can really turn up the charisma, easily as you or I would flip on an overhead light. Does he turn the glow up on purpose? Either way, it’s wonderful to behold him projecting that huge energy. And it’s comforting to know that he also can live very comfortably, when off camera, with his aura scaled down to a more normal size.

High Heart Chakra: Is this celeb doing what thrills his soul? That chakra between the heart and throat is such a tip-off about whether a person’s life expresses soul. Out of 300 people, only one shows a strong connection here. And, until you read auras, you might be amazed to learn how many of the rich and famous aren’t, in this respect, happy at all. Yet anyone could be, and within a week. (If you’d like to learn more, check out the how-to video, Thrill Your Soul: Inspiration for Choosing Your Work and Relationships.

Reading the high heart is always instructive. But with Yong-Joon, it’s also a treat. Not only does his life express soul, but that chakra is full of God light. Many a preacher talks about spiritual surrender. But here is a man who lives it, not just in times of struggle but sharing great good times, too.

source ~ http://asianamericansusedeeperperception.i...eaura-readings

perils of being BYJ....

2006-07-07T17:20:00.000-07:00

feels great to be blogging the man again ^^

looks like nothing much is happening from yong joon's end but one great news is that he will start shooting GKFG by the 20th of this month ??!! and Quilt is back on cyberspace again !! wonderful news after my few days of absence from the net :)

ok then.... on our way back home yesterday evening from an out of town trip, my boyfriend and i got stuck in a heavy traffic somewhere along south of manila. we're so used to this and we just kind of took things in stride and enjoyed every minute of our traffic-inspired togetherness. and yes, he knows about HIM and loves teasing me about my fascination w/ yong joon. during our conversation, he asked me if yong joon is still being mobbed by fans whenever he goes public, & of course, i gave him a resounding YES but he's being mobbed in a very tender loving and caring way. my honey went like 'huh? a tlc mobbing? how's that?' he then added that being a very popular personality has a lot of risks involved like stalking, bashing, invasion of privacy, etc...yes of course, it comes with the territory but yong joon is a very low key celebrity and he gets away mostly unscathed from the usual unwanted trappings of being famous.

haha, my bf unwittingly gave me this crazy weird idea to blog about. risks....perils....of being a famous personality? of being BYJ? hmm, as far as i know, yong joon is probably one of the most low profile famous personalities around. the public gets to see him only during his official functions but other than that his visibility is almost zero, nil, nada.... but.... there is still this element of the unknown lurking behind yong joon.....as i see it with these 'situationers' *wink*

.....he may get the ire of some high strung ladle wielding chef everytime he enters a kitchen backdoor. or perhaps, the chef will try to appear upset but actually he's a bit nervous & self conscious coz a famous restauranteur in- the- making is in very close proximity!!!

.....with his fans around during the filming, & him trying to spend even just some few precious moments with them, yong joon stands a good chance of forgetting his line or cue from the director and eventually turn the shooting into an instant meet the fans session....to the distress of the producer of the film :)

.....he may definitely cause some damage in the airport terminals of countries he will visit w/ all those media people jostling for the best position. reporters better start practicing the use of harness so they can have themselves suspended in air or something from somewhere to get the best & prized shot of the man ^^

.....after a very busy and hectic day, it is highly possible that during a presscon, yong joon might doze off even for just a few seconds whenever some members of the media will ask questions that are just not related to the project he is doing.....that would be a shocker to his PR managers !!

.....he runs the risk of getting sued by wallpaper making companies......there is a big possibility that he might monopolize this industry, that is, wallpapers like this from a samcheok city restaurant may come up anywhere especially on places he visits frequently.

.....being surrounded by people during his official trips is a normal sight to the point of bringing one of the security people to his knees & begging for calm and order amongst the crowd ^o^.... the macho image of security ppl is at risk !!

.....he may get an eye trouble or something with all those burst of lights coming from flashes from all kinds of cameras!!

.....he may cause a 'sisterly' quarrel among his fans coz everyone wants to hold his hand first or wants to get waved at first !!

.....he may find it difficult to go out of his hotel room and check out the nice places whenever he is abroad, and what is the better alternative ? a room telescope to view the scenic spots !!

.....he may cause an instant traffic jam in the busy streets of seoul, tokyo, beijing or wherever he maybe if people will catch even just a glimpse of him roaming around their place. going incognito by sporting a long hair wig and a fake goatee won't do him any good coz ppl are now familiar on how he looks w/ long hair and goatee......yummy !!

BYJ's photocommentary

2006-06-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

gosh, i'm missing yong joon and i'm missing Quilt!! but i'm pretty sure that if worse comes to worst, the entire BYJ family will pitch in and share whatever info they have saved to rebuild our beloved Quilt again.

btw, i noticed that i've been blogging a bit lately. i must admit that i got a little lazy the last few weeks but i told myself that i have to make up for some of my future lost time ....huh?? yes, i will be away for a number of days next month and i'm already starting to make up..haha !!

anyways, i've read tons of very interesting and inspiring BYJ articles and i love love all of them but there are a number of pieces that have a special place in my heart.

ok, must admit i got a little paranoid with happened to Quilt so i've decided to repost here in my blog a few of my favorite BYJ articles. oh, how i would love to post all my favorite BYJ pieces...i guess i should start saving all these precious BYJ articles/interviews/translations. just in case...

one of my most favorite is this 2003 Cine21 article wonderfully translated by Youngsun onni. this photocommentary, as they call it, is very special for me coz this was written by none other than our man, Bae Yong Joon. yes, yes !!!....i'm not sure if this is the first time he did this but it sure is the first time i read an article written by him. and mind you, he even took the black & white photos !! i do hope yong joon will come up with pieces like this more often :)

he wrote this photocommentary during the filming of Untold Scandal. most of the pictures were reposted so many times in various sites and blogs but it sure feels a little different looking at them accompanied by words from the gorgeous man himself ^^

BYJ's Photocommentary on Untold Scandal
[Trans] Cine21(10/14/2003, No. 422)

Written by Bae Yong Joon, leading actor of Untold Scandal
Black & White Photos by Bae Yong Joon
Translated by 잔돌밭youngsun & originally posted in BYJ's KOB

[Manggeon*1) tightening my head, anxiety irritating Mr. Director]

"My God, 4 months' shooting from now on... Luckily, I didn't seal the contract yet"

It's not until both the movie company and I had to pass over several obstacles that I was given the role of Jo Won, the unprecedented playboy. As for my party, all including my managers objected desperately to my choice of a 'period movie' as my debut to the silver screen. And Mr. Director himself never dreamt to cast me as Jo Won. I could understand them. Judged from my drama images, it was sure to be a venture. The stronger the objections from my acquaintances became, however, the more intensely something from my inside kept signaling, "It's my role". Nevertheless, I couldn't imagine myself wearing a topknot, either. I as well as the movie company agreed to a tentative makeup test: I took off glasses, wore a beard and mustache, then a traditional costume, and then a topknot. When I did all my hair up into a topknot, and tightened the manggeon for the first time in my life, my head started to ache all at once. My only thought at the moment was to throw away everything. Director Lee Jaeyong was so meticulous that he would not permit girding a manggeon around short hair when wearing a topknot. Umm, then, I would always have to do my hair up tight like this... Their unanimous inspiring responses that it suited me surprisingly well made me forget the ache, but only for an instant... Four months' shooting period... I felt dizzy in the head... Umm...didn't I seal the contract yet, did I?

"Press hard! I've done enough for myself..."

All the actors make it a rule to prepare much before starting their new works, but, this time, I had to learn even 'how to walk' newly. Before shooting, I learned the poise of the nobility, manners of wearing a traditional costume, and the tea ceremony. Trying this or that gesture in an unaccustomed traditional costume, I felt even walking was difficult. I also had to learn how to ride a horse and to use a sword. Moreover, as Jo Won kept porno graphs of his love affairs with women, I had to learn drawing Korean paintings as well. Our ancestors were said to be good at everything; they were not only good at poetry, calligraphy and painting, but could plan their own houses. How lucky I am to be born in the 20th century! There still remained an important task of weight loss; muscular physique didn't become a scholar in the Joseon Dynasty. For 2 months until the movie crank-in I increased the amount of exercise greatly and began a spare diet. At last everybody, on seeing me, began to mention I had lost weight. However, the staff whom I met almost everyday didn't show any response. One day when shooting was taken in Andong, I told Producer Yujin and still photographer Taehwan triumphantly to press me down on the abdomen, only to receive no response from them. Saying "Well, how can we tell that you have lost weight or not, because we don't know how you were before?", they hurried to the snack table...

"May we finish it safe and sound"

On Feb. 6, 2003. At last came the first day of shooting. Cold winter wind pierced into me through the thin traditional costume. There held a sacrifice to gods for the safe progress of filming. I, together with Sister Misook, and Ms. Doyon, made ceremonial deep bows toward the smiling head of a pig with bills of money in its mouth. That posture of propping hair with her hands, to support the weight of her 4kg-heavy wig, would harass Sister Misook throughout the shooting period more than my topknot did me. What did I think of, while bowing that deeply? Jo Won in blindingly white robe made wishes softly... Mr. Director, staff members, Sister Misook, Ms. Doyon...all of them are competent and trustworthy...may we finish this long trail safe and sound! Then, the new movie actor Bae Yongjoon murmured his wishes... May my first movie not disappoint those nice persons who believe me with their best...may it be kept as a page of good memory in my life album!

"Cigarettes increase in number, whereas my body decreases in weight!"

It is quite true that nothing on the earth is easy to deal with. Dialogues such as 'hath done', 'dost thou know...' were like no less than foreign jargons to me, and their quantity was substantial. Moreover, the insidiousness of the character Jo Won was beyond imagination. Though I had spoken countless sweet dialogues and shed much tear, I could not tackle easily such a character as was confessing sincere love with his own mouth, but, on turning around, was wearing a mean smile instantly. The taciturn Director Lee Jaeyong seemed much worried inwardly. Ah~~ my hand turned automatically to a cigarette that I had avoided for a while. I could hear my weight reducing. I should not have lost weight intentionally before. His serious expression seen in the picture was captured at Seoul Cinema Complex on one day of the two months when the Buyongjeong scenes had been shot. Might he want to fly away the sense of obligation and stress in cigarette smoke...?

"How queer Mr. Director was at yo scenes"

A 'yo' scene... a very witty term referring to a bed scene of a period movie. Women with whom Jo Won slept were numerous, including kisaengs*2), So-ok who was both a would-be concubine to the husband of Lady Jo, Jo Won's cousin, and daughter to his ex-mistress (what a pair of mom and daughter they were!), etc,. Therefore, I shot a number of yo scenes... Jo Won, yes, he really has many women, I thought. It was not merely its performance but its appearance on the big screen that annoyed me. Moreover, it was also the role of a male actor to cover the actress when she became strained with yo scenes. However, I myself had never shot those scenes before! Worried that I might feel awkward at my first bed scenes, Mr. Director was so kind as to give a bodily demonstration of every bed scene. Mr. Director demonstrating solemnly those things ranging from odd moans to queer motions looked to me no less than a savior. The shooting site was filled with tension... Something must be wrong. Mr. Director and Sister PD, looking at the monitor, were exchanging words in a low voice for fear that someone might overhear them. I gave an unnecessarily loud shout, "Well, what are you two talking about? Please speak up for me to hear you!!" At the instant, the site was full of laughter. However, I seem not to have succeeded in hiding the pressing tension despite of my hard effort to shake it off. The picture, taken during the interval of yo scenes, shows me making a face with the head twisted to one side, at the corner of the shooting site...

"Sister Lee Misook, may I call you Big Brother?"

I felt particularly at ease whenever there was a shooting with Sister Misook. Perhaps thanks to her deep and rich personality, I could appreciate every advice of her who took the voluntary duty of a training instructor. The range of her view was wider than anyone else at the shooting site to an extent that she was called 'production director'. I felt very respectful of her who could turn her rich experiences into care and generosity for her juniors and peers. She shows personally what a 'senior' should be. I sometimes felt like calling her 'Big Brother'... Toward the end of filming, I could afford psychological serenity to pick up a camera and took to my own photographing. This picture of Sister Misook was taken by me during the interval between shooting scenes for the opening title sequence where I exchanged a subtle glance with her for the first time: she, in a magnificent white court dress, was discussing on the next scene with Sister PD. The presence of Sister Misook seen through the viewfinder of a camera either still or in motion pictures was felt very huge to beyond expression.

"What a pity for Mr. Director to waste his acting skill..."

Although I'd already heard that Director Lee Jaeyong was meticulous, it was far beyond imagination. His sense of humor was also extraordinary. How terse and witty his word was! It was such that you would explode into laughter only when you went your way one or two steps, and then, stopping your way, would look back at him again. Moreover, his demonstration of acting for characters was another fun of the shooting site. His demonstrations for wicked and bewitching expressions of Lady Jo, deceitful manners of Jo Won, and decent walking of Lady Sook as well made me wonder why he didn't become an actor himself. The picture shows me, standing side by side with him and following his hand movements. As we studied together which performance could be better, our postures and expressions might get assimilated. The poises of Mr. Director and me looking down at the monitor are almost the same, excepting the difference of our heights. Another characteristic of him is that he never shouts. Mr. Director in my photos was shown only in silhouette, buried in the background; like himself who didn't lose his own pace, however noisy his surrounding was.

"Hurry up, finish kissing quickly!"

While on persistent operations to seduce Lady Sook, the role of JDY, I was shooting a kissing scene, the supposedly fatal blow to her. Its tension was no less than that of yo scenes. Though the kissing was instant, it meant Lady Sook the first bodily relationship confirming her feelings of love, and, to me, the flashing realization that she, unlike other women, should not be trifled with. As the expression of this subtle feeling was more difficult than the smile of a playboy, I made quite many NGs. Moreover, as hairs of my beard and mustache glued around my mouth fell off, I had to redress them whenever I made an NG. As it kept raining on of off, with changeable weather, the staff was also worried. The looks of those surrounding the two serious-looking actors were graver. They might urge secretly, "Hurry up, finish kissing quickly!!! Before we have more rain!!!"

"All of you did really great jobs"

Nobody who hasn't experienced the hardship of the staff can know the degree of their difficulties. To say nothing of the long preparation term and the great shooting trail from winter to summer, for it was a period movie which required the attentive hands of the staff to every bit of its details, the sight of the staff working at the location was enormously touching. The art team was busy applying bean oil on the all corners of the floor in the Korean room within camera angles, and sprinkling water there for better color effect. They worked so hard that the shooting director, checking camera angles, would shout, "No! That's out of the angle! No more of it!!!" The grip team had to stand in the pond all day long, drenched to the waist, to hold the boat loaded with cameras for the boating scenes at Unrimsanbang; the assistant director planted out-of-season reeds one by one; the lighting team gazed ruefully at the whimsical sun playing hide and seek with clouds. However, they would not know how beautiful they looked every instant. Click, click, as I photographed their looks with my camera, their memories were kept in my mind. The filming period was felt only too long at the time... On retrospect, it's felt thrilling as if it had been an instant. Now, [Untold Scandal], out of the hands of those who produced it, has passed to the audience for the final judgment. For me, it will become a precious memory that I will turn to over and over again like an aged B&W picture.

Notes:
*1) manggeon: a horsehair-woven headband
*2) kisaeng: a female entertainer who makes a feast or a drinking party more enjoyable

a feeting tribute

2006-06-27T11:15:00.000-07:00

for the record....i'm sooooo missing yong joon sooooo much !!!

i have this tendency to become restless and impatient but i've learned a great deal about patience since i became a BYJ fan. i've been telling myself to get used to this waiting game since day one but sometimes, it's just so achingly long waiting for him and i'm just dying to see him again on the big screen, small screen, or wherever as long as i'll see him again. but i guess this is an integral part of yong joon's one-of-a-kind mystique. his ability to build this intense anticipation for his next appearance, the longing to see him again even with just a single picture or a 1 minute vod.

and so, in my endless quest to quench my thirst for any BYJ related stuff, i'mgoing to do another blogging on a part of his body. oh yes, its time for my anatomy 101 class again. i've been wanting for a long long time to blog about his big and lovely feet and i have this chance to do it now.

actually, big feet have a special place in my heart. when i was a little girl, i used to hop and step on the feet of my daddy and then, w/ his laughter on the background, he would walk around the house w/ my arms wrapped tightly around him! i used his feet like a stilt and boy, it felt so much fun walking on two big feet ^^

btw, yong joon has a nice pair of sexy looking feet. i'm not very sure about his size but for a guy who is 180cm in height, the size of his feet probably ranges from 10 to 11 inches ?? i think his feet are the rather unsung heroes of his much blogged about body parts. must keep remembering that this hardy pair are the reason why he has this elegant long legged stride, why he has this graceful and refined movements, why he stands above the rest.

here are a few of my favorite BYJ feet-ures *wink*

hmm, the guy w/ the lighter colored shirt is our yong joon. the other guy w/ an equally big feet is director hur jinho ^^

now, in my make-believe BYJ scenario.......if ever yong joon will offer his lovely feet to relive my stilt walking, i can't guarantee what i will do to him if he appears before me looking like this....yup, total guarantee not included ^^

a glimpse of byj behind byj

2006-06-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

yong joon has gone invisible again....byj news are hard to find lately....nothing much to post in soompi and quilt is still down !!!

w/ all these scenarios, i might as well make use of my 'byj time' and look back at some of his photos.

i'm so used to seeing yong joon w/ his refined and impeccable manners during his rare public appearances and its such a blast to see pictures and watch vods of yong joon when he is dressed down, relaxed and simply enjoying the common rituals of ordinary folks like us.

i kind of pity him when i first saw this photo. a dozing yong joon means a very tired yong joon...coz this guy is not a big fan of the sleeping habit.

it always makes me smile whenever i see yong joon cuddling a little child. makes me think of how he will look like when he'll become a daddy ^^

this is probably how he looks like when he's running late for an appointment :)

oh there you are yong joon!! sitting in a corner, away from the crowd and tinkering with his favorite toy.

enjoying the camaraderie of his co workers. i like the way he put his arms around those guys. looks like a man's man to me.

what's this? leading a dance practice w/ his winter sonata co-stars?

look at him...biting his fingernails? he looks shy when he's caught by the camera while waiting for their food.

the athletic in him knows no place and time. love how those pants and shirt stretched over that to-die-for body !!

he looks so cute in this pic. i won't mind giving him a relaxing foot spa ^0^

the animal lover in shorts!! one of those very rare times we see yong joon in his house attire !!

a deadly combination. yong joon w/o the glasses and using his fingers while eating....waaahh!!

he loves doing that to his cheeks which i find so adorably sexy !

looking yummy while reading a newspaper with folded pants. only yong joon can get away with that.

getting a bit drunk to add realism to a scene in AS...love the professionalism of this guy.

looks like a grown up kid in a suit whispering secrets with a playmate ^^

the favorite V sign!! nice to see him having fun while doing his job.

the breathstopping effect of his casual get up is just the same when he's wearing a suit...at least for me!!

yong joon on all fours. a superstar signing autographs on the floor. how down to earth is that ??

beyond hallyu

2006-06-25T22:05:00.000-07:00

there's an article today in Korea Times that touched on hallyu or korean wave...here's the full text ~

Can ‘Hallyu’ Maintain Popularity?

Hallyu, the Korean wave, has spread like a wild fever among Asian nations. Thanks to the popularity of Korean culture, Korea’s international image is positive. Moreover, hallyu has paved the way for Korea to have friendlier relationships with other nations.
However, can hallyu carry on to spread more widely and maintain its popularity? If Korea wants hallyu to continue, it should perform two significant tasks. First, diversification of cultural content in hallyu is needed. In addition, hallyu should not be a means of cultural imperialism.

Currently, the success of hallyu is mostly thanks to Korean celebrities. Popular stars such as Rain, Lee Young-ae and Bae Yong-joon attract Asians. Especially, Bae is considered one of the most honorable people in Japan due to his fascinating role in ``Winter Sonata.’’

Yet, there are risks in hallyu when it depends, too much on celebrities. When celebrities’ popularity falls, so can hallyu. Furthermore, Korean soap operas support the hallyu fever. Yet, themes in dramas seem to be reaching their limits. Most dramas have become too similar in content as is seen in the familiar theme of a love triangle.

If such problems persist, other nations might get sick and tired of Korean dramas, which could eventually lead to the demise of hallyu. Thus, Korea must diversify its cultural items. For instance, Korean food can become an international preference _ it is not only delicious but also nutritious.

Moreover, we need support studies on the Korean alphabet “hangul.” As hangul is a scientific and sophisticated alphabet, other nations will be attracted to it and could have more opportunities to learn it.

At the same time, Korea should not take advantage of hallyu as a step to cultural imperialism. Korean culture has already spread to various places in the world. Furthermore, the impact of Korean culture has been substantial. Yet, as always, if there is enmity, there is hostility. Hallyu should not be the means to conquer other cultures to assimilate them into Korean culture. Such an attempt could spark antagonistic reactions to hallyu. For instance, China banned Korean soap operas after realizing they posed a threat to its own dramas. In other words, China feared its culture might face risks. Thus, Korea should try to cooperate with other nations to develop both its own culture and others’ cultures.

In conclusion, hallyu can be a continual phenomenon when Korea realizes two preconditions. A variety of cultural items are necessary for hallyu to continue to thrive. In addition, hallyu should not be an expedient to cultural imperialism. Co-existence is momentous. Gradual efforts to improve hallyu can lead to a culturally rich international society.

source: http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/opinion/200606/kt2006062518125654070.htm

this is the first time in my blog that i posted a full article especially from a korean news portal but after reading this, i can't help but go to my blog and jot down my scattered thoughts regarding this raging....or waning?? korean fever.

first of all, these are all my personal opinion and i may be totally wrong in my views but i just want to share & let out some things that got stuck in my head since this hallyu thing got associated with BYJ.

ok....i'm glad that korea is getting a fair share of the limelight due to the korean wave which was partly triggered by bae yong joon. actually, my 'gladness' stems from my great admiration to this korean actor coz if not for him, i would probably have no idea what's happening in korea. but because of yong joon, i got interested in a number of things about korea though my interests lie mainly on anything and everything about bae yong joon.

the article stated that hallyu should not depend on the popularity of celebrities. that is correct. but i think a bigger part of hallyu is leaning rather heavily on the popularity of a few celebrities. the ripple effects of the popularities of BYJ, actress lee young ae, singers rain & boa, director park chan wook are bringing in the bucks but i'm not sure about the economic impact of the other kr celebrities. and these bucks happen to be one of the major contributors in the driving force behind hallyu.

it seems that a large number of korean artistes are of the goal to make it big outside korea. of course, that's where the bigger fame and fortune lies. an actor may be very popular in korea but if he or she won't make it beyond korea, it just seems lacking. actually, quite a number of new faces are sprouting all over courtesy of some popular dramas but will they be enough to add strength in sustaining the popularity of hallyu?

reading the english news reports from korean portals gives us an idea that korean media (of course, in coordination w/ the actors' talent mgt. company) is doing its best to spread the good news, so to speak. korean media plays a vital role in promoting the korean wave coz they are one of the major sources of info of overseas fans so its giving a lot of actors sufficient space to promote themselves and their projects probably with the hope that they will get more recognition and appreciation from overseas fans w/c in turn may translate into economic figures that would hopefully, further strengthen the korean wave.

on the other hand, it makes me wonder why some members of the korean media are not that friendly towards BYJ. this is a perennial topic amongst byj fans and we still don't have the answers. i won't be going into details about this issue but based on facts and figures, BYJ made a very substantial contribution in creating and sustaining to this day the korean wave and it just amazes me on the attitude of some members of the korean media towards BYJ on several occasions.....i can only shake my head.

with regards to this, i also came across some articles before (though i'm not sure how reliable the writers are) that hallyu actors are kind of getting the snub from korean public ?? not very sure on this but if this is true, this is very surprising!! oh yes, i remember before a report that said that one reason AS did not make it big in korea coz the audience are not into the 'korean fever' feel of the film. huh ??? ...or perhaps i read this in one of those articles in twitch, where we can find this particular fan-writer who just can't get enough of yong joon.. haha!!

btw, this may sound so naive but why do they call BYJ a hallyu actor? before this hallyu thing, BYJ is already a very popular figure in korea. yes, the korean wave may have invigorated his career but its not totally dependent on hallyu. it just happens that he got recognized & become immensely popular outside korea. if this is the case, does this mean that all korean actors who become popular outside korea are called hallyu or korean wave actors ? can they just call BYJ as 'famous korean actor'? or just 'korean actor'?

i think one way of helping maintain a positive & encouraging atmosphere, thus, may somehow help sustain the korean wave is the korean media giving full support to all korean actors, and that includes BYJ. i don't mean that we only want to read the nice news about BYJ but i hope they focus more on the positive side of things and veer away from negative reports that are negligible and not worth writing about. if they are dreaming big and aiming high, they should be more sensitive to the pulse of the public, particularly the paying public or those who are mainly responsible in keeping the temperature of the fever as high as ever. if some members of the media have a personal grudge on a particular production company or actor, can they just settle it behind the scene and not use reporting in the guise of 'journalism' to settle a score.

the writer of the above article probably got a glimpse of some of BYJ's interviews during the past few months where yong joon mentioned a number of times that he fully supports an Asian Wave and not just a korean wave. he had been implying that it is not healthy to have a one way cultural flow but he is encouraging that an asian cultural exchange should be strengthened thereby creating a healthier & stronger relationship among asian countries and who knows, this may create an Asian Fever all over the world !! actually, one thing i love and greatly admire about yong joon is that when he speaks of something, he takes definitive actions. oh yes, i think he's already paving the way for an Asian Wave.

capturing byj

2006-06-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

i'm probably one of the most artistically challenged gal this side of our geography. ask me to draw a car and all i can give you is a rectangle with two circles at the bottom !! yeah, drawing the basic symbols such as circles, squares & triangles are the most that i can do to express my artistic inclinations....if there's any at all *wink*

i've always been a great admirer of all BYJ fans who have this talent to create such lovely BYJ artworks. so everytime i see an artistic creation by any of my fellow BYJ fan, i'm just totally in awe. and who could blame them if they suddenly find themselves become so prolific by producing all these wonderful drawings/paintings/sketches....they got The Man as their inspiration :)

it just feels good looking at BYJ fans' artworks and i can just imagine how it feels if you are actually the one creating it...that would have been simply magical!! capturing yong joon through the camera lens is a once in a lifetime thrill but there is definitely something more personal when he is captured in a canvass, through the eyes of the besotted (!!) artist.

i recently discovered in the net a treasure of artworks by a japanese fan, Nagajun & she became one of my favorite talented baesis'. i posted several of nagajun's drawings in soompi and some in quilt and i'll be posting some of her drawings here. this is my first time to see yong joon interpreted this way & he looks cute (as always !) & a little different but he's undeniably our man ^^

keep coming back for more

2006-06-19T17:20:00.000-07:00

what is it about this man's back that keeps me coming back to blabber nonsense in my blog ??

could it be that everytime i see his back, my imagination simply goes wild and makes me think of things like a pair of hands and arms lovingly embracing that muscled torso....or fingers delicately touching those wide dependable shoulders....or a pair of hands caressing his strong nape and tousling those thick & silky hair ?? or maybe its some kind of a teaser on what i'm about to see when my haywire imagination just goes a little bit wilder and my vision goes a notch lower and behold his gluteus maximus....his yet another muscled b..... *wink* ....well, i don't mind seeing it all over again, even though i've seen it so many times & i've lost count already courtesy of his film, Untold Scandal *blush* .

gosh, this crazy nonsense is probably the result of endlessly rewatching his dvds/vods and tirelessly going over his pictures that my mind has practically gone BYJ automated and any part of his magnificent body automatically got dissected, assessed and blogged !!

let me see now.... *frances trying her darn best to look serious * .... actually, a lot of byj fans have done stuff like this where major parts of his body like his eyes, lips, nose, hair, eyebrows, legs, hands were meticulously analyzed, seriously evaluated, critically examined and came up with very informative articles that would make both byj and non byj fans better understand why there exist this very unique person named BYJ........haha, this sounds like i'm making a major presentation!!! *wink*

but really, however others may see it, BYJ fans have done wonderful articles writing about what makes yong joon click from the physical aspect. he wouldn't be who he is right now if he has a different shape of eyes, nose or lips !!! no way !!

this guy is simply wonderful and he deserves every bit of 'tribute', even this kind of crazy far-out nonsense from me !!!

a fun wish !

2006-05-31T17:30:00.000-07:00

i think most of yong joon's films and tv projects are all dramas. well, maybe except for 'papa', w/c is on the lighter side. wouldn't it be nice to see him appear in a light comedy? ppl close to yong joon or those who were lucky enough to get a chance to talk to him have been saying that yong joon is quite a funny mischievous guy. yeah, he may look handsomely serious ^^ to many ppl but one can actually sense that he has this naughty side in him. of course, yong joon is not the type of actor who would readily grab a comedic role just to prove his 'versatility' though he mentioned before in one of his interviews that he would like to take on a comedy role someday.

hmmm, i wonder how yong joon will fare in a funny role ?? i think he can pull it off nicely coz he has shown us glimpses of his funny antics in some of his dramas and behind the scenes videos. i personally would love to see him in fun roles ala george clooney in 'ocean's 11' or 12' or hugh jackman's 'someone like you' and don't laugh pls, but i just saw this very old 1934 romantic comedy movie of clark gable, 'it happened one night'!! wow, it would be a thrill to see yong joon play a role similar to that of gable's. btw, gable bared his muscular chest in this film, and who else can do more justice in baring a sexy chest ?? yong joon, of course !!

he's cute in this fun scene from wls. in this scene, he's supposed to be pretending to yujin that he can cook but he can't cook but we all know that he is a very good cook in real life *wink*

see, he can make some funny antics if he wants to! from one of his asian promo gig for 'untold scandal'.

its those luscious lips again !! those kissable lips can be oh so sexy but can also be oh so fun to look at when he's making one of his funny faces ^^

just looking at this picture makes me giggle. he is so adorable & lovable in this video !!! and that's one lucky 'leading lady'!! :)

he only has to stand there and wear this funny looking jacket's hood over his gorgeous head and i'm lost....in a fun way !

oh my, i got to do something with those kissable lips !!

there he goes again! making fun of himself in front of the AS staff. nice to see him looking relaxed and exchanging banters w/ his co workers.

now, this is the yong joon i would like to see more often. carefree, having fun with friends, enjoying the most that his busy and hectic life has to offer.

what GQ did to me

2006-05-26T18:50:00.000-07:00

i was supposed to blog about the jaw dropping mouth watering sexy GQ pictures...

and then, comes the interview...

it was a very difficult read and yet an eye opener for me to a different yong joon. this is one famous person whom everybody knows a lot of things about him and yet we actually know very little about him. huh ? he allows us only glimpses of his thoughts and feelings and yet we know there is really more to it.

so, what can is say about what he said in the GQ interview ? a few things like, here's a more open, more straightforward yong joon. vulnerable yet there is an underlying strength and willpower. simply, a man worthy of lots of love, respect and admiration.

ok, i've been blabbering about in soompi that maybe yong joon is sounding off to his fans to back off a little & give him more private space or this theory that maybe he is preparing us for some very important changes in his personal life & acting career in the very near future...but of course, only yong joon knows the real score. for all we know, he was just in this low emotional level during the interview and he just wants to get those heavy feelings off his chest. but what caused these heavy feelings ? what made him go public and bare some of his innermost fears and frustrations ?

yes, he was already making some passing remarks before about his loneliness, wanting to get married, longing for more freedom but this is the first time he made these kind of comments like its his personality that is partly causing his current state of solitude, and divulging that he has to seek medical attention to cure his sleeplessness w/c btw, still looks obvious during his recent outing on the 26th when he attended the wake of the late writer, Cho So Hye ( of First Love fame).

well, i think our reluctant megastar still has a lot to hurdle & a lot to accept. i'm optimistic though that he will be able to 'solve' whatever is bothering him right now, and eventually, find his way out of the trappings of oneness into a whole new world of twosome ^^ oh yes !! i think what yong joon needs is someone who will complete him, someone to watch over him. **if only he will accept a very more than willing volunteer ~~ frances on tiptoe & frantically waving both her arms !!**

but whatever decisions he make, whatever actions he will undertake in the future, he can definitely count me in, among his thousands of loving & caring fans, to support him. if he decides to leave showbiz.....* gosh, why is the word "leave" suddenly have a very sour taste in my mouth ?? * i can take it........errr, i think.......hmmm.....on second thoughts......i'll get back to you guys on my final say on this issue, ok?.....next sentence pls....

as i've said, whatever he decides, painful it maybe, i will still be here for him.....no matter what. and that's a promise.

doing it his way...

2006-05-15T18:55:00.000-07:00

Last week, a friend of mine gave me this little book “First Things First” by Stephen Covey (author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”) but it was only the other day that I took a real look at it & saw these words in its cover… ”because where you’re headed is more important than how fast you’re going”…and my first reaction was, “oh, I know someone who advocates this principle !!”, who else but Mr. Bae Yong Joon ^^

That’s one thing I admire about Yong Joon. He is not your typical actor who tirelessly and endlessly accepts film/drama projects, product endorsements, publicity gimmicks, etc. You know, strike while the iron is very hot, get the most of everything while the demand is high. Don’t get me wrong, I think every actor has his/her own stand on this matter and I don’t blame them. The entertainment world is such a fickle minded business and you may be “in” right now but for how long will it last? And with all the new faces sprouting from all over the place, the competition is just getting to be more challenging.

But Yong Joon opts to take it real slow. Do things on his own time, on his own terms. Sometimes though, I feel nervous about this position he stands for. What if people will get tired of waiting for him? What if people will little by little take him for granted, put him on the side and eventually forget about him. Crazy thoughts but kind of scary.

But I should not be scared, right? An actor makes his mark not on how many films he made, how much is his box office results, how many dramas he appeared in and how many products he endorsed. A true actor will be remembered because of the depth & impact of the characters he portrayed, the artistic quality of film productions he participated in.

I think this is what Yong Joon wants all along. He is not after the number of films he made, he does not care at all if he makes only a handful of films in his entire acting career. I think what matters most for Yong Joon is accepting roles that he feels he can totally immerse himself into so that he can fully live and breathe the essence of the character in the story. He would prefer to do a film or a drama that he feels will linger in the minds and hearts of the viewing audience for a long long time. He probably wants to be remembered as the actor whose roles & performances touched many lives and perhaps helped make a positive difference….

calling Dr. Phil....

2006-05-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

There must be something wrong with me. Why is it that the current “it” guys of Korean entertainment just don’t appeal to me at all ? The likes of bi, lee jun ki, hyun bin etc. just don’t make any impression to me. They are the current favorites in soompi, a fan site for Korean pop culture. They got the highest number of visits, ladies go crazy on them, even some byj fans got hooked on these guys *wink*, but alas, these actors just dont stir me at all.

Ok, confession time….I’ve already mentioned this before in the byj thread in soompi and I’m saying it again. I’m not actually a big fan of Korean dramas and films. Don’t get me wrong, I like watching Korean dramas and films before….before Bae Yong Joon……. ???? Oh yes, after getting hooked on yong joon, I simply lost interest in other Korean dramas and films that does not feature yong joon. Crazy, weird and pathetic but true. I tried my very best to watch the “it” dramas like goong, my girl, & even kim sam soon and…nothing. It just does not have that excited feeling of anticipation for the next episode. What’s wrong with me ?? Well, probably, its also part of my personality. I’m this kind of girl that once I get hooked on someone, I totally devote my attention to this person and it will really take a long time and a major reason before I lose interest.

Sometimes, I also wish that I have this capacity to explore other areas…read > ‘korean hunks’ coz I think this will somehow help ease my never ending restlessness in waiting for the next appearance of yong joon. But believe it or not, I would rather sit in front of my pc, surf the various bae sites & even the sites on languages I don’t understand, tried to make friends with a fish named babel in order to at least get an idea on what the byj fans are saying, and go around the net on byj related stuff. As I’ve said, I’m totally pathetic.

Girls my age normally runs after the younger actors. They normally go from one actor to another, depending on who is the current flavor of the month. This is supposed to be a fun filled internet celebrity chasing experience where one gets to see loads of vods and pictures of cuter, younger, more daring and more fashion forward celebrities. I should be part of that pack !!! But no, here I am , I prefer to just wait for HIM to make his rare public appearances, would rather read and reread all those wonderful articles that gives us a hint about the inner beauty of this person , would rather go gaga over those gorgeous fan writings and artworks, would rather watch over and over again the recent and not too recent vods. Would rather blog my byj thoughts. Waahhh !! this is becoming quite alarming !! I’m beginning to sound like a hopeless neurotic case !! will I ever be cured of this craziness ? Or on the other hand, would I ever want to get cured of this craziness ?

Crazy or not, All the wonderful things that I learned about yong joon has so far shown me he deserves my total attention. His simple, kind and warm gestures brought me much closer to him and I think I will find it so very difficult to wander... As if I want to....

sweet torture...

2006-04-24T23:25:00.000-07:00

it was already evening & i just came from my fave spa. i went straight to my pc, logged on to quilt and soompi and whoa !!!!!! i was hit by the smoking hot photos of yong joon !! my god, this guy never fails to amaze me. he always has this extra something that surprises everybody. my eyes literally got glued in the monitor and i think i just died a little death and went straight to the gates of heaven.... or the fires of hell, after all those sinful thoughts polluted my brain upon seeing those pictures !!!

this made me thinking...good thing yong joon rarely makes public appearances coz if he makes this his regular thing & we get to see more of his latest photos, god forbid, heaven help us, dont know how we will survive this kind of visual onslaught...

undressed to kill

2006-04-20T13:05:00.000-07:00

since there’s a lot of talk lately about his 'well being' business, his desire to promote a healthy lifestyle through his 'smart kitchen' chain of healthy food restaurants,

i might as well join the bandwagon, review my health habits and do some soul searching…..or should I say body searching ?? well...you know...well being means healthy body means terrific body means bae yong joon !!

its actually like this, i just found another satisfying & very satisfying way of ogling, or rather spending my ‘perpetual waiting for byj’ time! *blush*

gosh, so much beating around the bush & all i really want to do is just savor all over again the sight of that heavenly hunk of a body.

and who would have thought that fiery hot body belongs to this innocent looking man ?

the thinking David

2006-04-16T12:57:00.000-07:00

we all know the statue of David.

michelangelo depicted David at the moment he decided to engage Goliath in a battle. David was symbolized as righteous, strong willed and ready to fight. moreover, the figure somehow gave emphasis to David’s character traits rather than his victory over Goliath. even Michelangelo’s interpretation of David being completely nude, as opposed to the other great artists’ (Verrocchio & Bernini) depiction of a partially clothed David, gave a possible interpretation of the biblical text describing David as a hero and future king before his fight with Goliath.

also, David was described in the bible as “most handsome & had beautiful eyes and was nice to look at".

what am i babbling about ?? i was just reminded that some fans compare a photo of yong joon with that of the statue of David.

i don’t know how the fans came out with the comparison or if the fans were merely looking at the physical similarity but in my opinion, the similarity runs deeper and I find it in the character traits of yong joon and David. Both have the strength & guts to go against all odds to confront a bigger & stronger adversary in order to protect and defend his rights & principles. its so yong joon, isnt' it ? ^^

one more great work of art reminds me of yong joon. It’s The Thinker, the famous sculpture of Auguste Rodin.

Ok, I know, the title is a give away. No need to elaborate. Its so obvious to all that yong joon is a thinking actor. For me , he is not just a script-holding, hand-waving, camera-ready type of celebrity. There’s so much more about bae yong joon.

at first, it was simply the title of The Thinker that reminded me of yong joon. a very shallow & pointless observation on my part... noticed the 'thinking' pose ? *blush*

but with all the news reports that came out a few weeks back about his various business investments in different fields, The Thinker as compared to yong joon gave me a different perspective to it. in a way, yong joon comes out as a guy who is wise enough to invest his hard earned money & has these broad & long range plans that i think would benefit not only himself but also the people that works with him. and we can also include the rest of korea !!

come to think of it, The Thinker also happens to have some similarity to the situation of yong joon today. The Thinker statue was originally meant by Rodin to be Dante pondering his great poem, Divine Comedy. But Rodin thought of the figure in a broader more universal terms. Rodin depicted The Thinker as a man in sober meditation battling with a powerful inner struggle. There is a contemplative feel, a struggle to create. in the end, The Thinker becomes not only a dreamer but also a creator. Thus, the Rodin equation was born, “The Thinker = the Poet = the Creator”.

Yes, Yong joon dreams and creates all these wonderful things, both tangible and intangible, that are truly appreciated & beneficial to a great number of people. personally, i appreciate the things he has done, what he's doing right now and what he's planning to do in the future.

Artistic wise and business wise, he continually evolves as a person who has this great foresight for future endeavors that will continually challenge his courage and determination both as an actor and as a business person.

Btw, just like the statue of David, The Thinker was also interpreted in his natural glory *wink* .

Sources of info ~ statue.com, artcyclopedia.com, vlsi.colorado.edu

a happy sinner

2006-04-12T16:23:00.000-07:00

like what marissa mentioned in her blog...

while i'm preparing for a spiritual mission these coming days, a new photo of yong joon came out. just like that.

how can i defend myself from yet another byj visual experience? i rest my case.

jaeho dearest

2006-04-03T18:08:00.000-07:00

i was looking for my april snow ost cd but I happened to pull out my hwrl ( have we really loved ?) ost cd & i told myself, why not? it has been quite some time since i listened to it. so i played the cd and memories came rushing back. Big Time. and lo and behold, jaeho was right there in front of my eyes again. i don’t know, but this guy simply got a super tight hold in my heart. it's as if he broke my heart a thousand times and i’m still here waiting & he is still so much a part of me.

just listening to the love songs of hwrl makes my eyes wander, as if looking for someone and hoping to see that someone. crazy & pathetic huh? yeah, up to this day, since watching hwrl and falling for jaeho the first time sometime last year, he is still very much in my mind. just the mention of his name, a trickle of music from the ost and i’m a total goner.

what is it about jaeho that have me enamored up to this day ? honestly, i don’t know. probably, i witnessed & rejoiced in his celebration of love and hope, cried buckets in his most trying moments and got numb & felt lost when he left this world. he just felt so real to me.

jaeho should have been given a longer lease in life. he deserves it. so much pain and suffering accompanied him all his life and he deserves to be happy. but then again, the love of his life was there with him to the very end. she never abandoned him even during their toughest days together. i guess jaeho did have a chance to be happy and experience a love that does not ask anything in return. love that is in its purest form. oh well, the thought that jaeho was loved unconditionally somehow eased my silent pain for him.

jaeho dearest, i’m sure you know that you will never be forgotten. you’re this kind of guy who will always have a space in somebody’s heart and a special place in someone’s memory.

till we meet again.

what will i do ?

2006-03-19T17:27:00.000-08:00

what if...i will be given that once in a lifetime chance to chat with yong joon. since i will be totally megastarstruck, i really don't have any idea at all what i will say to him or what we will talk about but i'm sure yong joon will take care of that and he will make the first move so that i will be at ease in our cozy conversation ^^

but, what will i do if he starts talking in his soft velvety voice and give me these soft lingering looks ?

i would probably become the first funny & weird looking living statue of its kind of a girl with this glazed eyes, with mouth agape, giddy hopeless smile on her face. definitely not the mysterious mona lisa smile !!

photos taken from byjfriendsforever.com

another look

2006-03-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

looks like BOF and Kim Jonghak's production company are restricting the public distribution of photos related to the drama's prayer ceremony held last march 16. i think this is a good idea. from the very start, the drama's producer should monitor and take the necessary measures to avoid the drama from getting too much hype. its a given that domestic and foreign media will give extra attention to this project since its a large scale production for a korean drama & it stars the asian icon, bae yong joon but i'm hoping that the shooting will be done smoothly & quietly and yong joon will have this chance again to show us another side of his versatility.

i think it's better if the public and media alike will be given enough room to build their excitement and anticipation towards the drama w/o exposing too much the details surrounding the behind the scenes of GKFG.

in this regard, i will start my own 'building of excitement' through these 2 photos from the event. the first picture was from the ceremony and a full body shot of the man with the long hair, torn jeans, hand in pocket and all !! the second picture was taken from his arrival at the jejudo airport, where he was warmly welcomed by ardent foreign and domestic fans.

cant' blame them ^^

finally...

2006-03-16T20:30:00.000-08:00

this is simply to remind myself that today is not just an ordinary day.

some kind of wonderful happened this afternoon.....

i saw him again ^^

p.s. if only he took off his shades, i would love to see those clear gorgeous eyes !!

what if......

2006-03-15T12:07:00.000-08:00

i won't be the calm and collected gal this time around but i will shake up a bit my quiet byj world.

these are just some crazy ramblings from a tired mind & body stuck in the middle of chaotic days at work and totally craving to see even just a glimpse of him......

going over the recent news reports on k entertainment and blog entries of fellow bae fans, these thoughts went flying all over my head....

what if....after wrapping up april snow, yong joon immediately hopped into another film project and afterwards, started doing a tv drama project.
will this finally put an end to his fans' endless trials of waiting, more waiting and more thinking when they will see him again on the big or small screen?
and perhaps, create this frenzy of excitement amongst his fans on what particular film or drama set to visit & explore first?

what if....instead of choosing to do the gkfg drama, yong joon opted to make a big production, japan-korea collaboration tv drama with a famous japanese actress ?
will this help improve the popularity of the korean wave in japan or will it only give yong joon's critics more elbow room to dish out remarks that yong joon chooses projects that caters only for a certain age demographics?

what if....yong joon celebrated his birthday last august 29 with a few thousands of his fans coming from all over the world and during the occasion, yong joon serenaded his fans by playing the piano or the guitar & even sing a song or two.
will this be considered a complete turnaround from yong joon's low key & reserved personality & he did this performance for the love of his fans ?

what if....yong joon recently held a large scale fan meeting either in korea or japan attended by thousands of his fans.
will this mean that he is the current undisputed top star of the korean wave and finally put an end to all those polls after polls heralding who is the top hallyu/korean wave star in japan and elsewhere ?

what if....yong joon was the very first famous celebrity to stage a one-man protest against the screen quota policy and continued on with his protest even when he's swarmed by media, fans and plain curious onlookers.
would yong joon be hailed not only as the top korean actor but also the influential leader of the korean actors' group & receive praises from domestic & foreign media and fellow actors for his actions ?

what if....yong joon made a low budget, low profile-no hype but high quality film w/ solid screenplay & good acting ensemble.
will this hit it big in the korean box office & prove to one and all that a film featuring a korean wave star should not be snubbed and prejudged and be given proper recognition for what it's worth ?

what if....there will be very limited byj merchandise in the market and the best chance ppl has to catch a glimpse of yong joon is through his films or dramas only.
would this help eradicate yong joon's "too commercialized" image from some quarters ?

what if....instead of doing april snow, yong joon opted to do a film where he will play a character that is a complete reversal from his current romantic image & will totally challenge whatever inhibition yong joon still has in his acting arsenal.
would this perhaps help minimize the harsh criticisms yong joon gets from some korean critics & online writers ?

what if....yong joon chose to make a pan asian film created by famous film personalities coming from japan, china and korea.
will this be a signal that yong joon is ready to face the entire world ? that he has finally mastered the english language, got enough courage and confidence and is finally willing to step up to the challenges of being a "world actor" ?

gosh, what a lot of crazy what ifs.....this is a clear and present sign of reading too much internet stuff when my mind is simply missing him too much....sighs...

the king on the tee

2006-03-05T22:55:00.000-08:00

after going over some of yong joon's various interests in films, music & hobbies, i now turn my attention to his love of sport, in particular, his love of golf. this so called gentleman's sport happens to be one of my favorites too !! golf is not a physical sport but more of a 'mental game' and i enjoy watching the golfers go 'head to head' & show off their genius in course management against the backdrop of nature's beauty like the lush trees, blue oceans & majestic mountains. my friends who enjoys soccer & basketball get a kick in teasing me about my fascination w/ golf w/ these remarks, "what's the big fuss about a guy trying to shoot a small ball into a hole located somewhere among those mounds of greens ? " and ....." oh, i know why u like golf...you just want to watch something that will lull you to a deep, dreamless sleep !!" ha, but let me tell you this, those crazy friends of mine also keeps me company in watching golf especially during the majors like the augusta masters....or maybe...they think i've gone bonkers about golf & are just being extra nice to me ?? anyways, my friends and i have one thing in common about golf, we all admire "you're the man" aka Tiger Woods !! actually, it's his fault why i got hooked on watching golf. he is so talented & made the sport look so cool and interesting and he got this magnetic presence in the golf course that commands your attention and makes you forget the other golfers w/ big tummies !! besides, he looks so classy wearing those signature TW Nike golf apparel.

back to the other classy guy....it is a known fact that yong joon is seriously into golf. it is not just an exercise for him but also an opportunity to socialize with friends and a chance to let his guard down, savor the scenery in the golf course and simply enjoy the excitement of the game. he mentioned in his interview in 'the image vol 1' dvd that whenever he's going to play golf the next day, he gets all excited as if he's going on a picnic !! he's so cute, isn't he ? he also mentioned that he loves early morning golf, and playing the sport gives him a chance to chill out & enjoy the long day ahead, enjoy the pleasures of nature like the sunrise, enjoy walking on the green grass, enjoy looking at the blue skies.....hmm, he's not only athletic but sounds poetic too !

it was mentioned in a quilt article that yong joon is a member of this artiste golf club called 'ShingleBunggle ' (meaning 'happy smile') which is headed by the respected veteran actor, ahn seong gi and w/ the likes of park joong hoon, ahn jae wook, & lee jeong jae as members. oh, ok, i got it....i just realized they have one thing in common, they all have nice and warm smiles !! anyway, it would be a blast to watch yong joon play a round of golf w/ these great actors.

yong joon's first encounter with golf was around 1998 but it was in 2002 when he got hooked in the game & when he joined the artiste golf club. it was also reported before that he recorded his first eagle in the sapphire course of Lake Hills Country Club w/c is located in gyeonggi province & where his parents are based. btw, i read in a korean golf site that there are about 33 golf courses in gyeonggi province alone !! here's a view of Lake Hills....

more on his golf stats, it was also reported last yr that yong joon's best score was a 78, but this probably have improved & who knows, his score may now be in the vicinity of 72 or even par perhaps? yong joon mentioned in his 'the image' interview that his shot distance is over 300 yds ! not bad for a non pro & i guess his body building program helped a lot in improving his golf game. his golf instructor said in an interview that he classifies yong joon as the 'focused and high concentration' type once he plays golf and that his average distance is comparable to professional golfers. well, that is not surprising at all. knowing yong joon, he always strive to do his best in whatever activity he sets his heart out. very focused indeed.

it makes me wonder, who is yong joon's favorite golfer ? could it be choi kyung ju or better known in the professional golfing world as k.j. choi ? k.j. is active in the PGA Tour and is the most famous male golfer from korea right now. or, could it be the famous japanese golfer, shigeki maruyama ? he is also an active PGA Tour player and the one who sent yong joon a personalized putter during his first trip to japan last april 2004. better yet, it can be tiger woods !! the best golfer in the entire planet !! i prefer that its el tigre so at least we have one thing in common *wink*

south korea has about 196 golf courses and just recently, golf digest magazine, named the top 10 golf courses in korea. two of yong joon's favorite golf courses are in the list !! they are Midas Valley Country Club in gapyong county and Pine Creek Golf Club in anseong city. his other two favorite golf courses are the high end East Valley Golf Club and Lake Hills Country Club !! the number 1 on the top 10 list is Pinx Golf Club in Jeju. and here's more...in another article in golf digest, it was reported that almost all of seoul's golf courses are private clubs & most with memberships costing around $100,000 to $500,000. the article mentioned one of yong joon's fave, Pine Creek Country Club as a private club and dispenses memberships for around $300,000 !! in a related topic from korea herald, it reported that membership costs for opulent courses such as the Midas Valley Country Club ( known as the hilltop refuge for billionaires) and East Valley Golf Club, two of yong joon's favorites, can go as high as $600,000 ( or 600mln won)...wow, that's a lot of money !! here are two pics of Midas Valley Country Club...

i'm sure that once yong joon settled himself in the volcanic island of jeju during the filming of gkfg drama, he will definitely find the time to play rounds of golf in the two world class golf courses in jeju, the haute-designed Pinx Golf Club and the western-leaning The Club at Nine Bridges. these two courses, accdg to golf digest, are considered to be the most beautiful in the whole of korea. Pinx Golf Club is actually ranked as one of the top 100 golf courses outside the US & Nine Bridges is one of the top 10 in korea and also pegs a membership costs of about $600,000 !!! here's a look at Pinx and Nine Bridges in jeju, the future hang out of yong joon *wink*

the 'great king' truly deserves to play in these magnificent courses..... :)

almost like being in love

2006-03-02T11:55:00.000-08:00

what a day this has been
what a rare mood i'm in
why, it's almost like being in love......

really.
yesterday was one crazy day at work. everybody in our office seem to be at the end of their wits and patience is running low at a very fast rate. why ? coz its almost there, the dreaded end of fiscal year !! everybody's nightmare !!! well, maybe not everybody. there's this one girl who seem to have acquired this calm demeanor even in the midst of all the chaos. a girl who has learned to smile, look nonchalant, & go on with her usual routine w/ not much fireworks & no visible tension. in short, this girl learned how to pretend big time !! even when her stomach is churning coupled w/ goosebumps all over after all the endless waiting for info fr outside sources & trying to beat the deadlines, even when her brain seem to stopped functioning after revising, rehashing all those mgt. reports, etc. etc. but this girl remained a picture of calm, quiet and patience. oh yes, this girl just became an instant pro. whoa, what happened ? this girl was not like this before. she used to get a little crazy, excited & stressed up during this dreaded time of the year. what could have triggered this change ? or to be more precise....who could have triggered this change ?

ok, it is so obvious that the girl is me *wink* and the who is none other than Him. bae yong joon. thanks to this guy, i've learned to become a ' lady-in-waiting ' in byj's boot camp !!. that's what i call myself sometimes when the byj waiting just becomes too much to bear. yong joon is like this hunky drill sergeant that gently and lovingly inculcate these positive traits to his followers that can help them overcome some difficult days ahead of them. as i've implied before in my previous entries, i'm not particularly good in the patience cum waiting department. i have a tendency to get a bit impatient, easily distracted & sometimes even lose my concentration on what i'm doing at the moment and transfer my attention somewhere else. actually, i'm more of a gemini than a taurus. but with this ongoing ' training ' under this gentleman officer, i did noticed some subtle changes lately. i'm not saying that i'm this crazy girl who easily freaks out when the going gets tough...( er, just a little *blush* )... and this continuing waiting game with yong joon definitely brought some positive changes that somehow made me more......patient, focused, resourceful, understanding, cheerful even when my hyper boss is breathing down my neck......oh shucks, come to think of it, its almost like being in love all over again !!!! jeez, the things you do to me, yong joon ^^

looking good

2006-02-25T00:19:00.000-08:00

here is yong joon from the making of his latest CF from Secom Japan. oh yes, i was in for another treat !! he's definitely looking good and well .......and yummy ^^

love is in.....the hair

2006-02-23T14:48:00.000-08:00

i noticed lately that yong joon seem to have acquired this habit of popping out from nowhere and show us a new look that always have this effect that makes our usually quiet and normal daily routine go haywire and simply turn our world upside down !!

like last sept 2005, he made this surprise appearance, actually, it was us who were totally surprised, in this inauguration of a resto in seoul. we saw him sporting a longer hair and a goatee that can give johnny depp a run for his money :)

then last nov 8, after his stay in japan, we were simply floored when korean news portals just had a feast posting all these gorgeous photos of yong joon coming out of incheon airport. again, he's wearing a longer & sexy-messy hair, more goatee, stylish autumn get-up and that unbelievable sexy aura that only yong joon can easily carry ...

when he went to beijing last nov 11-13, he showed us again a different look. this time around, yong joon seemed to have gained some weight, his cheeks are chubbier, the body is fleshier.......and the longer hair is straighter. i like the new hairstyle and it made him look younger *wink*

after another long.........wait, yong joon went public on dec 30 & this time, via a vod in his korean board with his new year greeting for his fans. we got to see a different look again !!. the hair is still straight but longer and is parted from the middle & we got to see more of his lovely forehead ^^

and the endless waiting continues......until one fine day this january, a very lucky japanese fan got to see yong joon on their way to tea loft in seoul. ha, good thing our japanese bae sis is alert and armed to the teeth !! she got her precious camera, aimed at yong joon and voila ! we got another photo from our elusive favorite man. the photo captured another beautiful smile from him and oh boy, he looks so dashing in his suit with his longer hair that is nearing shoulder length ^^

saving the best for last...the most recent episode of our tireless quest for what's the latest on yong joon gave us this most wonderful surprise !! we got to see this.......

looking lean, tall, broad shoulders, gorgeous smile, sexy get-up ....and the hair...definitely longer and just suits him so well. he just have this totally manly, chivalrous, knight in shining armour aura !!! love it!!
i must admit i have this weird habit of checking out yong joon's hairstyle every so often. if its the proper length, if its too made up, if its kind of messy (w/c i like) if its too permed, goes well with his wardrobe...etc....dont get me wrong ms. hong !! i have no intention of taking over your job. i just have this thing w/ hair especially yong joon's hair *blush*

and the hairstyle from his latest photos are just great for me. straight, long and away from the face. can't wait to see him all dressed up as The Great King galloping astride a big horse, holding this massive sword, going after the bad guys with this don't-mess-with-me look and his sexy hair flying all over. ooh, it just gives me the excited shivers !!

i'm no 'philematologist' !

2006-02-11T23:41:00.000-08:00

will we finally see him this coming march?? i'm really very excited for the coming weeks coz after all the delays & postponements, something concrete was finally announced. i do hope that this is it. no more last minute changes and let the cameras rolling for yong joon's new tv drama.

so, while waiting for the man to make his public appearance again, i might as well do something timely, something that has social relevance.....blog a topic related to the day of the hearts !!! oh yes!!! isn't that so original of me?! this time around i will let my thoughts play around this thing that symbolizes this heart shaped day in that exciting kind of way, and its none other than the "kiss". ok, i'm not an expert in philematology, kiss-ology, however we call it...my knowledge is purely limited from my personal experience so i did another digging in the net to give just a little substance to what i'm going to blabber about.

actually, i've decided to take on this topic of "kiss" coz after going over my small collection of byj pictures, i saw again ( for the nth time) his photos from april snow where, you know, he did all those hesitant, yet sensous kissing scenes. must admit i'm still a little jealous of son yejin and boy, some girls are just so lucky !!! really, life can be so very unfair sometimes... syj is pretty, famous, rich and most of all, got to kiss & caress yong joon & mind you, not only once!!! jeez, my skin is getting greener by the minute again. ^^

alright then, what is a kiss anyway ? of course, all of us will probably answer that a kiss is this act of caressing with the lips against someone's mouth or other body part as an expression of love or greeting OR if we want it with more boldness, we can add the word french before the word kiss and define it as a 'soul kiss' coz they are saying that the life and soul are thought to pass through the mouth's breath in the exchange across tongues. i think there's no need to elaborate on this. the phrase "french kissing" is more than enough to let our imaginations run wild *wink* . there's another interesting description made by the ethereal Ingrid Bergman ( of Casablanca fame) and she puts it nicely, "a kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous"...that is so true !! the tricks of nature can be so naughty sometimes but very practical. less words and more actions can go a long way!!

or we can go mainstream and tech-smart & define "kiss" as the KISS principle or simply ," Keep It Simple, Stupid" , one of the golden rules of web design, search engine optimization (SEO) and online business as a reminder to the participants to avoid unnecessary complexities in the design process...sounds too unvalentine for me....

how about sweetening our mood? there's Kisses, that very famous chocolate candy made by Hershey's with that very distinctive shape wrapped in silver or golden foil....yummy.. one of my faves :) and oh, i got this trivia..Hershey's Kisses got their name because the machine that makes them looks like it's kissing the conveyor belt. haha, whoever from Hershey's came up with that idea sure has a rich imagination.

lots of notable artworks over the years were also created and inspired by the act of kissing...for instance there's that lump of marble stone hewed into that famous erotic statue 'The Kiss' by the celebrated French sculptor, Auguste Rodin (1840-1917).
a representative painting from the Art Nouveau movement, the controversial & subtly erotic painting by the Austrian painter, Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) called 'Der Kuss' or...The Kiss.
the photograph of a sailor kissing a nurse in Time Square in 1945 and featured in Life Magazine. that famous kiss was caught by photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt (1898-1995). my mom has a reproduction of this photo and i find it really beautiful !! actually, a life size statue entitled 'Unconditional Surrender' was made by sculptor, Seward Johnson, Jr. to immortalize that Life Mag kiss spread and was unveiled in times square 60 yrs later last august 2005.
french photographer Robert Doisneau's classic photo, "Kiss by the Hotel de Ville" which has become a poster icon around the world.

now the interesting parts, i just realized that we can actually shoot 2 birds with one stone while kissing....we can enjoy some healthy benefits while enjoying a moment of passion !! accdg to health gurus, a person burns 26 calories in a one minute kiss as opposed to the energy expended in a minute's brisk walking of just 4.5 calories. hmm, i think i need to revise my work out program presto!!

kissing also helps reduce tooth decay because it increases the mouth's production of saliva, and saliva helps clean the mouth thus aides in the prevention of tooth decay, so , its like kissing is nature's own cleaning process !!. just a sec, why was i not told about this by my dentist ??

there's more....accdg to cosmo magazine, kissing slows the aging process. it helps to tone our cheek and jaw muscles, so they're less likely to sag. hey, there's no need for botox after all !!

kissing also boosts self-esteem. there's nothing better than a passionate kiss for a major dose of feel good factor. "in theory, when you're kissing, you're happy. And when you're happy, you feel good about yourself," says psychotherapist Paul Zeal. calling Dr Phil ...hey doc, did u discussed this in Oprah's show?

a cardiologist, Dr. Susan Hotchkies, says that kissing is also a great cardiovascular workout !!!! it increases fitness levels coz it pumps the heart and the pulse is racing and it release adrenaline into the bloodstream and the heart pumps more blood around the body. oh wow, and to think that i spend so much time and money in a treadmill !!

hmm, my supposedly valentine offering is turning into a mini science journal w/ all these health tips!! and i still have not touched on the profile of a good kisser...anyway, accdg to esquire mag, a good kisser sees the kiss as the destination itself. he kisses as if he will never do anything else with this woman, as if he never wants to do anything else with this woman. he kisses as if this is what he's been dying to do for years and he wants to savor every moment. isn't that so wickedly romantic ? this makes me wonder if yong joon as a kisser falls in this profile.....

yong joon showed a marked improvement in his screen kissing scenes today compared to his previous works. well, i guess, his works before were all tv dramas and he only showed the world his turnabout when he made his debut film "untold scandal" in 2003. and he definitely ignited my interest w/ his love scenes in april snow. there is this palpable sensuality and you can sense their intense pleasure and eagerness and at the same time its mixed with this air of guilt, hesitation and even pain. it sounds difficult to project in the screen but in my opinion, they pulled it off very well. i truly feel that they made memorable love scenes in the film. all the elements needed like the awkwardness, the buildup of excitement and the uniqueness of their passion were there to make the "plunge into the depths of guilty pleasure" of insoo and seoyoung simply unforgettable, at least for me ^^

sources of info ~
coolnurse.com, esquire magazine, wikipedia, imdb, lovehk.film, filmsite.org
teenstation.com, hicards.com, enotalone.com, dindragoste.ro

instant amnesia

2006-02-04T20:08:00.000-08:00

this is one of those lazy days when crazy thoughts rule my brain.....

i know almost all if not all byj fans are wishing and praying that yong joon put an end to his on and off smoking habit. sometimes, a message in his official board will come out asking & even to the point of begging yong joon to quit the habit. i'm sure he appreciates all the words of concern for his well-being but i'm also very curious what he tells himself after reading the do's and dont's from his fans.

when he collapsed after filming april snow, he was inundated with get well soon letters and lots of the letters ended with the sentence, "please, please stop smoking !" ha, now we know the real culprit. based on what i've read from some reports/interviews and from his physical appearance, yong joon seems like a health buff and he even claims that he has the will power to kick out this habit but it seems that he also has this habit of slipping back to his smoking when the going gets tough during filming. i wont go preaching about what he should or should not do, he's a grown up boy and i'm sure he knows the perils of this habit so i'll leave it to him to make the final decision. he knows what is best for himself.

ok, his job is not an easy one. he's responsible not only for himself but to a lot of people working for BOF & IMX. we all know that being an actor is not an easy task. yong joon's approach to acting by giving his 110% best can definitely take a toll on his nerves and on top of that, his celebrity status is simply overwhelming. cant imagine how he copes with all those pressures & demands coming from just anybody around him....so, sometimes ( a very rare sometimes) i dont blame him if he indulge in his habit as his temporary means of "escape" where he can feel a bit relaxed & ease a fraction of the tension even for just a very brief moment.

alright then, enough with my rhetorics.....

frankly, i'm like zero tolerance when it comes to smokingm but....
call me irresponsible....call me crazy....call me a traitor....but, i must admit that when yong joon holds a ciggy in his hand and when he starts blowing out the smoke w/ that dreamy and sometimes brooding look on his face, he simply exudes major temptation !! i just forget what he's doing, i suddenly have this attack of instant amnesia on my lifetime ban on smoking and get carried away, swept away, whatever with his irresistible sexy look!!! crazy indeed !!!*blush*blush*

should i duck now or take cover w/ something bullet proof ???!!!

and for this blog entry, i will temporarily put aside my "war" against the ciggies of the world and declare a brief ceasefire.......and simply indulge in the beauty of this man who has this knack of making something not so nice look so appealing ^^

blog warning: a smoking BYJ is dangerous to one's health......

*cough* ..... and i now declare the end of ceasefire ..... *cough* ^^

my untold scandal

2006-01-31T00:15:00.000-08:00

patience is not the best of my god given virtues and by becoming a byj fan, it is seriously putting me to the test.

it has been quite a while since yong joon made his public appearance & i'm definitely not counting his 2006 greeting in kob coz he was just sitting there, the reception of the vod in my pc is not that clear and its so darn fleeting ! i like watching yong joon when he's on the move. i like the graceful strides of those long legs, the elegant turns of that manly torso....& those big capable hands...i simply want to have a longer glimpse....a full back & frontal body glimpse.

so, i guess it will still be a few more agonizing weeks of waiting, and its time for my plan B again...while waiting, do something... in 2 words, continue blogging..

now, this definitely sounds pretty corny but i just realized another french connection to yong joon.what else but his debut film Untold Scandal!! well...ok....i'm trying to sound surprise here!!! as every warm blooded byj fan and die hard korean movie fanatics know, this film was based on the classic 1782 French epistolary novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons) by Pierre Ambroise François Choderlos de Laclos (1741-1803). once again, i will try to do a very quick trip down memory lane to have an overview on this famous piece that somehow made an indirect association to the acting career of yong joon.

though its 2 years behind, this will also be some kind of a homage to Untold Scandal since i was not yet around & missed the fun when its success was celebrated by byj fans & the fact that its also one of my favorite films!! obviously, i like the daring performance of yong joon in this film.i think he brought elegance & humor to the character of Cho Won/Valmont and he was such a suave and poised playboy !! and i also like the performances of the two lead female actors.

the film in its entirety is an artistic experience for me and in particular, i love the exquisite art design, the unique & impeccable baroque music, the stunning cinematography. i've seen the film a number of times and it always amazes me whenever i see its visual elegance, those gorgeous period costumes, the lush but subtle colors of the characters. actually, while watching the film, it feels like you're watching a living painting, as if you're walking through a mural breathing with life....so tantalizing^^

i came on board as a byj fan long after the hoopla on Untold Scandal but i was able to catch up with the readings of all the movie related news articles, interviews, watched the vods & got to know how yong joon landed this role, the hardships he went through to capture the very essence of the character of cho won. i guess the koreans were just as excited to see their tv drama king show off his acting skill together w/ 2 of korea's respected actresses. as a result, the film became one of the biggest hits in korea in 2003. its no. 6 in top 10 highest grossing films (including hollywood films) selling 3,345,268 tickets (figures from korean film council) .

ok, just to reprise the gist of this novel,Les Liaisons Dangereuses is the story of the Marquise de Merteuil and the Vicomte de Valmont, two rivals who use sex as a weapon to humiliate and degrade others, all the while enjoying their cruel games. It also depicts the decadence of the French aristocracy shortly before the French Revolution, the novel is simply filled with dark undertones simply because it explored the themes of seduction, revenge, and human malice.

i learned something here....it says that the book is an epistolary novel, which basically means a literary technique in which a novel is composed as a series of letters or diary entries written by the various characters to each other. in the case of the novel, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, the story unfolded entirely via correspondence among the characters. the epistolary form used by Laclos somehow added greater realism to the story, greater dramatic impact and offered subjectivity of interpretation. however, this novel, which was published in paris only seven years before the french revolution, -- was rumored to be not a work of fiction but a collection of letters actually circulated concerning true events. hmm, even then, the public's fascination for spreading rumors is so like today !!Les Liaisons Dangereuses was made into a number of films, tv adaptations, a famous stage play by Christopher Hampton (1985) and even an opera. it was also translated into English many times, with Douglas Parmée's recent translation (1995) generally being the preferred version. It is the origin of the saying "Revenge is a dish best served cold", a paraphrased translation of Laclos' "La vengeance est un plat qui se mange froid.". Untold Scandal, which was effectively transposed & depicted in late 18th century korea, was the fifth film adaptation after Roger Vadim's Les Liaisons dangereuses (1959) starring Jeanne Moreau, Gérard Philipe; Stephen Frears' Dangerous Liaisons (1988) starring Glenn Close, John Malkovich, and Michelle Pfeiffer (based on Hampton's play) ; Milo Forman's Valmont (1989) starring Annette Bening, Colin Firth, and Meg Tilly and Roger Kumble's Cruel Intentions (1999) starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Philippe, and Reese Witherspoon.

inside stories here.....co-stars John Malkovich and Michelle Pfeiffer gave memorable performances as the illicit lovers, but they also made headlines by having an affair during production. -- a situation later paralleled by Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon, who fell in love and conceived a child while filming Cruel Intentions (& they're happily married now !) . ha, that got me thinking.....hmm, no...of course not....nothing remotely similar happened during the filming of untold scandal though i wont be surprised if one or two ladies in the cast or crew got attracted to yong joon aka Cho Won.

this reminded me of the article in quilt translated by happiebb.

yong joon was doing this love scene with jdy and the camera moved slowly and rested on yong joon’s buttocks. suddenly he gave a loud shout, “no! you can’t shoot like this!” yong joon stood up, pulled the clothes to wrap around himself * OMG !!* and said “my buttocks is not my best part, can you shoot more muscle instead? that’ll be better.” & everyone in the set broke into laughter.

huh? hello? his buttocks not his best part? how can he say that? was that a joke or what? i can stare at that part of his heavenly anatomy for as long as it takes.......oooppss, i did it again... *blush*blush*blush*

anyways, Untold Scandal was shown in a number of international film festivals and got good reviews from foreign critics. in rottentomatoes.com, a popular online database of film reviews, the film got a high "fresh reading" rating of 89% (out of 100%) from 27 film reviews & this rating was derived from the critics' ranking of the film . unfortunately, Untold Scandal got a very limited screening in the states and europe (confined only to filmfests, special screenings in various film societies) and it failed to make the cut of at least 50 reviews to qualify for rottentomatoes' annual "golden tomato award" for 2005!!!!! seriously, if it only got a wider distribution in the states, it would probably have made a louder noise in the critics' circle.

Marta Barber, a critic from Miami Herald wrote that "Bae Yong-joon is not as devilish as John Malkovich, who played the role in the American film, but he is more playful in his deceits. He's also more believable as a man for whom the ladies would fall." oh yeah, she is so right & i like the fact the he gave a different twist to the Valmont character. as Cho Won, he definitely convinced us of his love for Lady Sook much more so than Malkovich for Pfeiffer.

this is really so awkward, but better late than never. i think director E.J. Yong did a great job in this film. this boyish looking 41 yr old really see to it that an almost perfect marriage should be orchestrated when east meets west in his film version. the pre production alone of the film took 10 months including the period for studying on the architecture, customs, and clothings. In order to find places where the graceful scenery is melted in, they spent one year for the site-hunting before shooting the movie and used Okyeon Jeongsa in Andong and Woonrim Sanbang in Jindo as the main stages. i would like to make special mention to 3 people: the art director, Park Sang-hun ( my mother the mermaid), music director, Lee Byeong woo (rules of dating) and cinematographer, Kim Byeong il ( sympathy of mr vengeance) for their exquisite work. i usually just sit it out watching a film and concentrate on the character development w/o that much thought on the aesthetics, but it all changed after Untold Scandal.

to quote Erika Franklin, film critic from Firecracker Mag, who gave this advise to those who have not yet seen untold scandal -

"If all else fails to tempt the would-be viewer, consider this: with so many Western remakes of Asian origin now in circulation, this film affords a rare opportunity to see a remake working in the opposite direction: how many people can claim to have ever seen a Korean period drama based on a classic French novel?"....... and what a delicious remake.

sources of info- byj's quilt, wikipedia, nytimes.com, koreanfilm.org, firecracker media, answers.com, rottentomatoes.com, imdb, tiscali/soda pictures, cine21, film2.0

music and him

2006-01-27T16:19:00.000-08:00

its gives you this warm feeling writing about the things & people that gets the attention of yong joon. from this perspective, you will have a deeper appreciation of his personality & character. it makes you understand somehow what makes him click, what makes him so appealing to lots of people. he has this depth that the more you dig, the more you discover nice little things about him.....

take the case of his interest in music. it was mentioned before that yong joon loves listening to music & has no particular genre that he favors but named a few titles and names as his favorites. he may have his current favorites to date but those reported before are worth looking at coz those are also reflections of yong joon's taste. but before i proceed, i noticed that yong joon seem to have this inclination towards european artists ^^ he likes a french director and a french photographer and in this occasion, we'll be reading about his favorite italians...approvazione!!

for instance, it was reported that yong joon enjoys listening to the film scores made by the famous Italian composer Ennio Morricone (1928 ~) this prolific maestro composed the scores of more than 500 films and TV series. morricone is most known for his sparse and haunting music and he got oscar & bafta nominations for his scores in the films "bugsy", "malena" , "the mission", "the untouchables" & "once upon a time in america" to name a few. morricone also have this famous collaboration with great italian directors like sergio leone, bernardo bertolucci, giuliano montaldo that resulted in unforgettable film scores. morricone's film music were even recorded by other famous musicians like hugo montenegro, john zorn and my favorite cellist, yo-yo ma ^^.

in particular, yong joon likes the music of morricone in these 2 films, the 1988 italian film "cinema paradiso" by giuseppe tornatore and "once upon a time in america" starring de niro & made by italian director sergio leone in 1984.
wow, knowing that yong joon have seen & i'm sure enjoyed these 2 films just made me realize ( over and over again !!) he's really one serious dedicated actor. these films are considered 2 of the best, particularly "cinema paradiso" w/c is ranked as one of the all time top 100 films. noted american film critic james berardinelli wrote, " Cinema Paradiso is widely regarded as one of the best foreign language films ever to grace american screens. light and romantic, this fantasy is tinged with just enough realism to make us believe in its magic, even as we are enraptured by its spell. This film is sometimes funny, sometimes joyful, and sometimes poignant, but it's always warm, wonderful, and satisfying. Cinema Paradiso affects us on many levels, but its strongest connection is with our memories. ."...i love how berardinelli described it, btw, i adore this film critic & of course i loved him even more when he praised the performance of yong joon in april snow and the film as a whole during the 2005 toronto filmfest :)

yong joon also liked "once upon a time in america"starring his favorite actor, robert de niro. i'm sure yong joon loved not only the music but the entire film as well. actually, this film was a huge hit in cannes and very successful in europe but got poor reception in the US coz of its alleged "butchering" or drastic editing but its uncut version, according to reports, was by far considered leone's most critically acclaimed film, and today it has a large cult following. though it is not leone's most well-known or liked film, "once upon a time in america" is now considered a classic film.. btw, sergio leone was first offered to direct the film "the godfather"...hmm, wonder how it would have turned out ?? cant imagine francis ford coppola out of the picture !!

know what, reading the stories behind these great films just makes me appreciate even more yong joon's outlook in his craft. & his taste is so varied. and oh, i would love to see his film collection !! i can just imagine all these classic films lined up in the cabinet walls in his viewing room. wow, the man is not only a serious book lover but a film aficionado as well.

now on the lighter side of films, yong joon also likes the music of morricone behind this feel good film "love affair" starring husband & wife, warren beatty/annete bening (remake of the classic "an affair to remember") btw, i have a cd of the love affair OST...beautiful music indeed, i love the piano score, but the film.....well, lets just say i still very much prefer the original w/ the great cary grant :).
it was also reported before that he likes the music of the japanese new age pianist, yuhki kuramoto, particularly his piece, "second romance" from his most famous new age album, "romance". "second romance" was included in the OST of his 1994 drama "salut d' amour" and was also chosen by yong joon as the background music of his old official site.

not contended with just listening to great music, yong joon probably thought that its another challenge to learn some musical instruments. knowing this guy, once he sets his heart in one thing, he will go the distance and really do his best to get the most from it. ok then, it was said that yong joon's only sister has a degree in music, major in piano, so, our man probably thought that he just have to give it a try !! i'm not sure though if he got piano lessons or it was self taught but people are saying that yong joon is a very good piano player, but if asked, he always says that he still needs a lot of practice.....humble as usual.

it was also reported that yong joon plays the guitar & if i remember it right...i think he said in an interview that he taught himself how to play the guitar. he even made this impromptu performance in the "bicycle thief cafe" in samcheok during the filming of april snow. many witnessed his performance and they are unanimous in saying that he played it well !! and what piece did he play ? none other than the classic "moon river" from the 1961 film "breakfast at tiffany's", a sentimental favorite song of mine coz this was one of my dad's all time fave. anyways....i was just totally floored when i learned that he played this song. i love this song and obviously, he loves it too !!!

moon river was composed by two of the best in making film scores, henry mancini (1924-1994) for the music and johnny mercer (1909-1976) did the lyrics. this dynamic duo also did the beautiful music of "days of wine and roses" (hats off to jack lemmon) & "charade"...i love these films !!!! also, the great johnny mercer did the lyrics of these all time classics, "fools rush in" & "that old black magic"...these songs just remind me of my getting to be hopelessly helpless craziness over yong joon ;)

just want to share this....the timeless audrey hepburn, star of "breakfast at tiffany's" wrote a letter to henry mancini after his "moon river" music score was added to the film...it reads ....

Dear Henry,

I have just seen our picture - BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S - this time with your score. A movie without music is a little bit like an aeroplane without fuel. However beautifully the job is done, we are still on the ground and in a world of reality. Your music has lifted us all up and sent us soaring. Everything we cannot say with words or show with action you have expressed for us. You have done this with so much imagination, fun and beauty.

You are the hippest of cats - and the most sensitive of composers!

Thank you, dear Hank.

Lots of love, Audrey

so nice huh ? what she wrote is very true. music can sometime make us feel like flying, even soar to wonderful heights!! sometimes it just makes me speechless and in awe on the genius of these artists who can make such beautiful music.actually, mancini and mercer composed "moon river" to complement that reflective scene in the film where audrey was playing the guitar by the window. mancini said, " and audrey’s big eyes gave me the push to get a little more sentimental than I usually do. those eyes of hers could carry it I knew that. "moon river" was written for her. no one else has ever understood it so completely. there have been more than a thousand versions of "moon river", but hers is unquestionably the greatest"....

*blush* i think this has gone too long....got carried away again with all these super talented people & discovering this side of yong joon ^^

and so.... yong joon....how can you not love this guy? what i wrote is probably just a very small fraction of yong joon's interests and favorites. isnt it exciting to know what are the other things or who are the people that stirs his interest & thus, can give us a better insight on the real yong joon ? but even from the limited info we know so far, it gives us a glimpse of yong joon being a reflective person, a sensitive man who appreciates the mystique of arts.....a book lover, a film lover, a music lover.......a perfect lover ? almost.

sources of info ~
byj's quilt,bbc,busan.go.kr,imdb,umich.edu,wikipedia,official sites of the artists

living the dream

2006-01-25T04:43:00.000-08:00

bae yong joon, the future film director. sounds nice :)

yong joon is a man of few words, but when it comes to his future plans, he does not mince his words when he says to all and sundry that he wants to become a film director in the not too distant future. he is even vocal about his favorite directors, the likes of chinese directors ang lee, zhang yimou, chen kaige...... and the french director claude lelouch. ok, the chinese directors are very familiar to me, i've seen crouching tiger, hero, farewell my concubine & i like them all!!

but who is claude lelouch ?? yong joon mentioned in his chosun monthly (june 2005) interview before that he likes the directorial style of lelouch in his film un homme et une femme. while reading that arcticle, the french words looked familiar to me...its like a man and a woman but i want to make sure so i checked the film in the net and i discovered a lot of things about this director who made this film in 1966. its english title is "a man and a woman" after all, at least i remembered something from my basic french w/c unfortunately, i'm now way beyond remembering what i studied ( i didnt even finish the course :( ).....french is a very classy language but kind of difficult for me to learn. just like my clumsiness in photography, i also have this slowness in learning new languages...grrrhh...what a pity !!! oh, looks like i'm digressing here...

so, monsieur lelouch, who is not only a director but also a screenwriter/producer/cinematographer, made his most famous film during the great era of the 60's. new york times called "a man and a woman" the ultimate date movie of the 60's. looks cute huh?..actually, from what i've read, its an effectively and strikingly simple film with lush photography, with little dialogue spoken & conversations are heavy on symbolism. ha, the film sounds very familiar....so bae yong joon in april snow to me & lelouch is also known for making movies based heavily on improvised dialogue...umm, another very familiar style...i wont be surprised if lelouch is also a great favorite of dir hur jinho of april snow.

other films that are said to be similar to the style of "a man and a woman" are two for the road, starring the classic audrey hepburn ; the way we were of streisand & redford and "before sunrise" of ethan hawke & julie delpy. waahhh...i just saw "before sunrise" & its sequel "before sunset" about 2 months ago and they are just wicked !!! i cant choose between the two..i like both films!!. here's my confession time.....i saw "two for the road" and "the way we were" about a year ago together with "picnic" w/ kim novak & "dr. zhivago" of omar shariff. i have this "old movie" fanatic friend who told me that i've got to see these films coz they're just great classics......i'm also into old movies coz of my dad but this is the first time i saw these films. so, i spent several weekends watching these films and i just fell in love with them and i want more more !!! i especially like "two for the road" !! dont know why, but i just find it gloriously confusing following around the escapades of this married couple. anyways, i just got hooked on these amazing great love stories...i should have been born 50 years ago !! back to the main man....yong joon strikes me as the kind of director-to-be who will be influenced by the lelouch film style in "a man and a woman". probably he is willing to explore the lush visuals, improvisation approach & spontaneity of the french director. nonetheless, yong joon is also interested in the film style of the chinese directors so we can expect from him a convergence of directorial styles influenced by these talented directors from different cultures and he will come up with a style & flair entirely all his own. i'm really looking forward to the time when yong joon finally embarks on the directorial field. i know he is happy being an actor and is always willing to learn and challenge diversity in his roles but you can also sense ( at least for me!) that his heart longs for directing a movie, creating a film that will showcase and highlight his vision, his sensitivity and innate artistry in the craft. and when that day comes, he will probably become the handsomest & sexiest film director around....move over george clooney ^^

those decisive moments

2006-01-22T23:16:00.000-08:00

so, this topic is so common knowledge, at least to all his fans, that yong joon's other passion is photography. i must admit i know next to nothing about the art of photography, all i know is to use my good old olympia digicam w/c sometimes i also end up ruining the photos!!! i'm such a clumsy photographer that on the brighter side, my friends would rather have me pose for the camera than stay behind it!! good strategy huh?!

ok, i'll be blogging this short topic coz i simply find it fascinating talking or writing about guys who are so good in photography w/c btw, is one of my major frustrations. i like that idea of capturing the moments, those precious moments that comes along when you least expect it and must be spontaneously preserved through those lenses.

its also a well known fact that yong joon carries with him his camera wherever he goes. he especially loves to take pictures of the cast & crew of film, drama or whatever project he's doing. taking their photos while they were working or just hanging out in between shootings. he has a preference for black & white photos and thanks to the latest technology, he's now using a digicam ^^ i think he's using right now is a professional camera from the Canon EOS 1D Mark II series & the price ranges from US$5000-$9000. (tnx to bb for this info)

in one of his print interviews, yong joon mentioned that one of his fave photographer is the famous french photojournalist, henri cartier-bresson (1908-2004). mr cartier-bresson also uses black & white photos and he advocates this approach of snap shooting that catches "the decisive moment", w/c incidentally was the title of his show w/c was the first photographic exhibit ever to be displayed in the halls of the Louvre and likewise, the title of his most famous book of photographs where he mentioned that, "in photography, the smallest thing can be a great subject, the little human detail can become a leitmotif" ....i really like that ^^ .
i also think that there are no hard rules on w/c subject to capture as long as it conveys a meaning that can be expressed in an emotion that will make us appreciate more the ordinary things around us. now, how about some samples of the master's works ? here are some of the famous photographs of mr. cartier-bresson ~~

i guess mr. cartier-bresson is a great influence to yong joon's style of photography. aside from the choice of b&w film, yong joon also seem to like capturing the beauty of people or things as they are.....the reality of here and now, as mr. cartier-bresson puts it... that's so cool...

yong joon mentioned before that in the future, it is possible that he may hold an exhibition or even come up with a book that will feature his extensive collection of photos. wow, that would be pretty exciting for him & for us too!! imagine, unveiling to the public all those wonderful moments he captured. maybe the pictures will even tell us what yong joon was feeling at the very second he took those pictures....interesting revelations!! anyways, a few photos yong joon took were posted in the net, i really would love to see more but these are just the very few i've got :) ~~

photos of the production staff, the director and his co-star during the filming of Untold Scandalhis Hotelier lead lady, song yoona, during the shooting of the drama..i like this photo ^^

i think he took these photos during the making of The Image either in Thailand or Malaysia....colored ones but very nice!!

and here's my top 10 list !!

2006-01-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

how about making my own top 10 list for 2005! my exclusive selection of famous people who tweaked my interest for the past year. well, lets just say that some of them are newcomers, others are late discoveries and a few are regular mainstays. actually, i started doing this since 2003 and this is my first time to go public..so to speak ^^

anyways, this is definitely not a serious take on these guys, just some silly homegrown thoughts from a starstruck gal ^^....drum roll please....

10. angelina jolie - this lady rocks !! i know that lots of good and not so good things had been said about angie but i just love her edginess & she makes a difference w/ her role as a UN ambassador. she is such a woman of contradiction...i wonder how her and brad's kid will look like...
9. denzel washington - this guy is a regular mainstay in my list since i started making my top 10. this is the guy lots of ppl are saying to have the perfect facial symmetry ! of course, the guy is simply gorgeous aside from being the total actor.
8. johnny depp - i simply adore the versatility of this actor. his choice of roles is so varied and you can say that again in his taste in clothes too ^^ a hard working actor and he truly deserves recognition for his performances....the film was not really raved about but i love him in chocolat w/ juliette binoche.
7. jon stewart - i love david letterman & he's my no. 11 this yr but this time around i will give the floor to jon, america's most beloved "fake news anchor", that's accdg to him !! love his talk show, love his style of "attacks" on the higher ups & he gets away with it w/ us laughing on the side ^^ looking forward to his oscar hosting job ( but i will miss billy crystal *sad* )
6. dan brown - a friend of mine has been bugging me to read his book since 2 yrs ago & i just kept the book in my drawer, forgot about it. what a stupid thing to do @#$! i remembered it in 2005, read da vinci code & i got immersed in it!! & i love angels & demons too !! another must see film for me this yr, da vinci code w/ tom hanks..
5. lance armstrong - love the tenacity of this guy. i would glue my face on the tv, even if its a spanish or french channel just to watch tour de france. the "maillot jaune" or the yellow jersey just looks good on him. sheryl crowe must be singing her heart out everytime this guy wins !
4. anderson cooper - he looks seriously serious everytime i tune in to cnn but when i started following the events after katrina, i just got hooked on this silver haired yale guy!! love his reporting style, love the way he controls himself even if the emotion is just getting too much to handle especially during his coverages of natural disasters. his mom, the gloria vanderbilt, must be very proud of him.
3. tiger woods - the kind of person i want to be when i grow up...become a multimillionaire by the age of 21 ^^, oopps, sorry, i'm just past that age ! anyway, he's another mainstay on my list. i really make it a point to watch the majors just to see what this guy will deliver. i admire his motivation, his dedication...quite a serious kind of guy but can be funny too...just dont click on the camera when he's making his tee shot.
2. jamie oliver - wicked !! love it when he says that expression !! i'm not really that good in cooking but when jamie started showing the televiewers how enjoyable it is to immerse oneself in the kitchen, i just got hooked !!...wicked !! errr, actually, i got hooked watching him on tv coz he makes cooking look so cool but the cooking stuff itself....well, i think i will still give it a pass & continue contributing in my small way to the progress of the fast food industry :)
1. bae yong joon - what a big surprise !! i never thot he would make it to the top!! hahaha, what more can i say ?? the title of my blog says it all ^^

faded photographs...

2006-01-19T03:50:00.000-08:00

i am 23 and yong joon is 33 and he is the opposite of the actor girls my age normally run after. he’s very refined to the point of being mistaken as kind of stuffy, quiet, unassuming & more on the shy side, rarely seen in public, film projects are far and between, has a very strict self management regimen that others may think as rather mechanical….etc…etc…

and yet….here i am blabbering on anything and everything about him. just crazy about him… then how do i explain this craziness that has besieged me since 2004? this got me wondering. i fell for this well mannered, matured, intelligent guy 10 yrs my senior but will i also fall for him if he’s younger, and still has some sense and wisdom to acquire?let me see, what if today is year 1997, & there’s already this korean wave splashing all over asia. i’m still 23 and yong joon is 25 yrs old. he’s the most popular guy in korea & asia, girls dream about him…guys envied him….the media go wild over him…will i also feel this way about him if i got to know him at this age? of course, he’s the same tall, good looking guy with that oh so melting voice but will his aura & charisma be able to capture my attention & trigger an explosive interest from me?
when i look at his “old” photos, short hair, kindda rabbit front teeth ^^ , fleshier body, funny looking round specs…it makes me smile & a wistful feeling washes over me. i see the innocence yet there’s this maturity in his eyes, i see a more carefree yong joon and yet there’s this distance, an invisible wall where i can’t go beyond. do i like what i’m seeing in those “old and faded” photographs? you guessed it right...i like what is in those photos. the younger yong joon definitely captured my attention and sparked my interest. ok, my answer is so predictable and so typical but seriously, i kind of miss the yong joon of the 90’s. oftentimes, i do wish that i was around at that time. i would have loved to see him grow as an actor before my eyes, how he overcome the odds and still come out the winner.Moreover, I would have loved to see the more carefree yong joon. yes, there are lots of photos today, even vods where he was captured in his relaxed & unguarded moments, making his usual funny antics, showing his “other” side to the world. but in my mind, there is less of that now and more of the byj the actor persona. he may not have changed that much…the same aloofness, a kind of “coldness” that warms my heart (!!!), same stubbornness, but in my eyes, something is missing. it is as if he is shielding himself more from public scrutiny. it is as if he’s a little wearier and you get this feeling that he wants to get away & stay away from whoever or whatever?? it’s kind of sad but i guess it’s the reality of his current status. lots of things are at stake now & they come as part of him.

so, how do i conclude these kind of wandering thoughts? i don’t think i can. there is still a long way to go to even understand a little bit more of him. this is probably just the tip of the iceberg. Ps ~ i’m thankful to happiebb and close2yj for coming out with those wonderful articles on the younger yong joon. come to think of it, i’m learning and discovering a lot of new things from old stories ^^

gotta shake it to the left !!

2006-01-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

i've read a number of postings regarding the status of byj's latest drama & i'm really hoping that they can settle all those issues at the soonest possible time. that's all i can say for now coz my info on the drama is limited only to those that i've read in byj sites and byjfans' blogs plus i'm not familiar with the pre production stuff of korean dramas. from what i've been reading though, it looks a bit complicated and can take time to iron out the creases. to be honest, i'm a little uneasy on what's going on and i really feel that precious time is being wasted by yong joon while waiting for this drama. i know he has to prepare for the role but this preparation thing is dragging way too long. i can only shake my head for another lost golden opportunity.

having said that, i think its time for me to amuse myself again. this is my way of venting out this negative feeling i'm getting lately, thanks to the continuing saga of yong joon's new drama !!

ok, this sounds really crazy and too shallow but i just noticed that yong joon often uses his left hand when he handles his mobile phone. he's right handed but i saw lots of pictures that his left hand is holding the phone! haha, i noticed this coz i also do the same thing *blush*. i'm right handed but i also use my left hand when i use my phone ^^, chopsticks, bread knife, peel an apple, play bowling, badminton....just about almost everything except handwriting. ha, at last, i found an affinity with yong joon !!!

anyways, here are some photos of yong joon using his left hand with the phone. dont know if these were instictive on his part or simply choreographed for better viewing but whatever, its still a good feeling that we do the same thing, even how trivial it is ^^

hehe, in this photo, he used his right hand but it still went to the left ear ^^

i almost forgot, like yong joon, i also play the piano ^^, but mine is not a grand piano, not even a baby :P

my afternoon delight.....

2006-01-15T10:50:00.000-08:00

its another lazy sunday afternoon. i'm not in the mood to go malling or go anywhere else for that matter. i've had my fill of going everywhere and anywhere during the holidays to last me for another month and all i want to do now is sit in front of my pc, go around byj sites and blog ^^.

actually i dont have anything much to write about and all i want to do is just look at his pictures and missing him so much !!! we are still waiting for yong joon to come out of his shell and start filming his new drama and when that time comes, we will again be loaded with lots of news and new pictures !! in the meantime,we just have to content ourselves by looking at his not so new to his most recent photos to somehow ease this nagging "i miss byj" feeling.......

ok, since this is the case, i will be posting a few of my fave yong joon photos, actually i have lots of favorites, in fact, i like almost all of his pictures even the unflattering ones!! i love this dreamy look in yong joon ^^. makes me want to close my eyes and dream about him too!!
he seem to have this habit of puffing his cheek when he is concentrating on something. that's a touch of boyishness in his otherwise serious, "i mean business" look.
everytime i see this picture, it always elicit a smile from me ^^. yong joon with his unkempt hair & bright smile looks so happy cuddling the dog...& even the doggy seem to be happy too !
one of my all time favorite photo from all the wls photos floating in the net. just love that naughty look on his lips and that smile line on his left cheek just above the lips is sooo cute.
i love love yong joon in black and white photos. it somehow brings out a different kind of aura in him....that unique, all his own intelligent sexy look ^^
i dont know but everytime i see him in a serious look, it makes me feel sad. sometimes yong joon radiates this lonely aura especially if he makes this kind of poses. makes me want to give him a big tight hug ^^
i love his frank shin look particularly the short hair. i miss seeing him in short hair!! i hope he will have the chance to cut short his hair again if its asked for in one of his future projects.
i find yong joon in this photo so mischievously charming as if he wants to do something naughty but he's just holding back & pretending to be a well behaved boy. hmmm, i wonder what he's thinking & what he was supposed to do ^^
wow, who would not be impressed with yong joon in a dark suit? he simply exudes class and sophistication when he's got this look. cant stand this anymore.....i need help !!!
this has gone far enough !!! these photos are making my slow and lazy sunday come to life again!! anyways, i adore the look of a younger yong joon too. as always, there's that very unique bae yong joon charm, that charm that captivated the hearts of many unsuspecting hearts ^^

wishes and dreams......

2006-01-12T08:58:00.000-08:00

let there be world peace...

ha, i'm not a beauty contestant or acting out a sanda bullock wannabe aka miss congeniality role but i really really hope for world peace in the new year. though this seem to be becoming more and more like an impossible dream but still, i'm not losing hope...

now, lets veer away temporarily from the serious stuff, and concentrate on the more doable wishes and dreams i have for 2006. obviously, this refers to only one person, the focal point of this blog ^^

what are my 2006 wishes for yong joon?

of course, this still includes the all time everybody's favorite.."wishing you good health, happiness and success" but i just want to give a piece of my mind on some of the things i want yong joon to concentrate on this new year, so here goes....

first, i wish him great success for his new tv drama "tae wang sa shin gi" or as some fans call it "The Great King", how apt for our man. it was announced a few weeks back that this drama will be shot in its entirety in the beautiful island of jeju. here's a map of s. korea & there's jeju !!, its on the southernmost tip of baeland ~

in this photo, i'm imagining yong joon astride a horse, preferably a black stallion looking over his domain with that beautiful backdrop!! btw, the scene below is from Seongsan Ilchulbaong Peak, Jeju.another dream scene of mine from the drama is yong joon having this action packed sword fight with his enemies atop that mountain. the great king showing off his masterful skills in swords and martial arts!! the view below is another beautiful scene from Seongsan Ilchulbaong Peak, Jeju.second, i wish he will announce this year his next project, preferably a film. i dont have any particular genre i would like him to get into but i wish it will be an artistic film that has commercial appeal. i would like this film to somehow redeem him for whatever perception some koreans may have after they panned april snow. in addition to this, if i'm not asking too much, i wish he will start filming this dream film in the latter part of this year. gosh, i'm beginning to sound like a dictator. but sometimes i do want to push yong joon a little harder so that he will make his next move asap.

i know that he is the professional, meticulous and careful guy we've all learned to love. that he is not that much interested in popularity contest or even box office results. that he is a firm believer in making quality films than making films by the quantity, i definitely agree to all of those but my dear yong joon, the competition is getting stiffer, the viewing public is getting to be more choosy and you're not getting any younger. you get what i mean? i'm not saying that yong joon will be a popularity chaser like some of the kr actors today but he really needs to do more films. i'm so sure that lots of good scripts are coming his way and its a shame if he will lose a golden opportunity just because he is not yet ready to make another project & he would rather be somewhere out there where he will become an invicible guy again, or to be more precise, can he cutdown his blackout periods & make a film instead?? is it asking too much if he can make at the most 2 films in a year ??....oh well, that's just the fan in me "dreaming", thinking only for my sake *blush* ... but in reality, i know that yong joon and BOF knows what they are doing and i fully trust them for whatever plans and decisions they will come up with regarding their moves in his film career. they know better the pulse of the public and mine is just a teeny weeny voice.

back to my countdown...

third, i wish yong joon will have this major transformation in his image. i love his tender & refined image but i do hope he will show off more his intense masculinity, which in my mind, yong joon is oozing with. i also wish that we will see more of him in pictures with those serious sexy look poses !!...dont get me wrong, i adore his killer smile but when he gets serious, he is to die for !! and here's wishing that he will put aside those flowers i normally see him holding in some of his pictures !!!, and if possible, no more make up pls or at least very minimal, read >> yong joon, dont you know that you're much much better looking w/o those makeup? i know that its like a fad among korean actors to wear makeup but yong joon just dont need it!!! ... so, ms. hong....just a friendly reminder, yong joon is not your favorite ken doll ^^ so pls pls make his natural handsomeness shine, pretty pls?? << *blush* ......and the hair.....my dearest yong joon....do let your hair down once in a while, i mean it literally!! its so ok if its a bit messy or out of place. there's nothing wrong about it and your fans wont mind at all. long or short hair is ok w/ me as long as its not too made up. finger combed hair is very sexy, do you know that? and you look fantastic when your hair is a bit messy. but in fairness to ms hong, yong joon's hairstyle lately is just fine !!! alright, i will keep on saying this....yong joon is such a good looking guy that he only needs minimal retouch....his refined, intelligent and sexy aura comes from within and no amount of makeover can cover it up.

fourth, i dream that he will have this wonderful fan session with his korean fans. i feel that the korean sisters deserves more attention from him. they were the first one to discover him and they are still with him after all these 11 years. they just kept quiet and gave their all out support to yong joon while the rest of asia got to know him and is taking much of his attention now. i saw his great rapport w/ his korean fans in the 0911 april snow bungae in seoul and even just watching the vods and reading the translations of what happened there, one can really feel this love and respect between yong joon and his korean fans. how i would love to see that kind of scene again in a bigger venue with more fans around and more time to interact and chill out with yong joon. in addition to this, i hope all his fans from all over will have the chance to get together in korea with his korean fans leading the pack!...and throw in another dream...yong joon will play the piano or guitar for his fans and even sing a song or two perhaps ?? ^^

and finally , i wish he will have more time to socialize in order for him to meet new friends particularly from the fairer sex. ok, its like this...i wish he will finally meet his special someone this year !!! there are lots of lovely ladies out there who i'm sure are so willing to get to know yong joon too !! & dont be a hermit yong joon! there are lots of very interesting places you can hang out with friends beside your office, home and fitness gym ^^

yong joon simply deserves somebody who will truly care for him. this may cause intense pain to my poor sobbing heart but i do hope he will get to know somebody who shares his dreams, interests and is willing to take the chance as yong joon's partner even in the midst of all these craziness surrounding yong joon. that would be the day if yong joon will finally announce to his "family" about his soon to be life partner !! i wish....i wish....

now that i'm done with my 2006 wishes and dreams for yong joon, i have these wishes and dreams for myself when it comes to this wonderful man. i wish that i will get to know more & lots more about yong joon (particularly the juicy parts..haha) , get to know more beautiful bae family members and to finally get the chance to visit korea this year........baeland here i come !!!

make it easy on myself....

2006-01-08T08:39:00.000-08:00

it was a very hectic holidays for me but definitely super over the top fun and enjoyable *wink* . ok, now that the boyfriend is out of the way (miss him already !!), office work backlogs were wrapped up and done with, got recharged, its high time to baeblog again.

wow, at last, finally, i got to see him !!! he made his new year greeting last dec 30 via a vod in his korean official board, very nice !! he's still chubbier and w/ longer hair & he looks happy and healthy too. seems that yong joon is enjoying his break while preparing to the hilt for his upcoming tv drama. well, knowing him, he seem to enjoy this kind of total preparation & he get so totally engrossed in character analysis whenever he has a project. the consummate actor.

actually, this is my second christmas and new year as a byj fan. some say that having new years resolution is passe but i still do it !! and since last year, i've even begun making my own new year wishes for yong joon. for my first new year celebration w/ him, i posted my 2005 wishes in quilt on 12.31.04...down memory lane we go....

for our beloved yongjoon, the following are my wishes, in no particular order (haha)
1> wish byj would do another movie, or a tv drama perhaps? (is this asking too much?)
2> wish he would shorten his hair and let it fall naturally (no more blowers pls!)
3> wish he would not wear any makeup, he's handsome enough!
4> wish he would visit the philippines (wishful thinking??)
of course, i wish byj happiness, more success, peace of mind, good health...

wow, such simple wishes from a newbie fan......simple? nah, but definitely doable. anyway, did my 2005 wishes come true? ok, he did make april snow and he announced last year his new tv drama. next is about the hair and make up thing, well, i think i need to make a separate blog on this. i have a lot to say on this matter....i take this issue seriously...really !! the visit to the philippines i think will remain a wishful thinking in a few years time. i see no reason for him to come over to our country. korean fever in the philippines is not that feverish at this point in time. local dramas are still more popular than korean dramas which should be the case actually.....let me see, this topic needs some serious thoughts so i think this needs a separate blogging too !! hey, what is this, it feels like i'm telling myself to "blog more often, frances...bloggers are supposed to visit their blogs regularly & write entries & not just to ..." ok, alright, i got it !!! ......my new year's resolution no. 11, visit & update my blog on a regular basis......there....happy now??!!

on a serious note though....this is my very first foray into the world of an actor's fan. first time i really got this seriously involved in dealing with things related to anything about an actor. so i guess, sooner or later i have to experience some good and not so nice things that could help me become a more "understanding" and "open minded" fan.

2005 was an exciting year for me as a BYJ fan. i got to know online very nice byj fans, i got to watch some of his previous works like HWRL & Papa, i got to watch April Snow, i got to discover byj's threads in soompi & sokorean where i actively contribute byj materials, & i got to know a lot of things about yong joon the person. but i also consider 2005 a tough year for me as his fan. maybe i'm overreacting or being oversensitive, but i felt that i've gone through a lot this past year. i call 2005 my baptism of fire as a byj fan. it was the year that i encountered some nasty remarks about yong joon & the first time i tried to fight back, & found out it was such a stupid thing to do. i realized that its so futile to confront faceless people in the net. i've discovered that its so cowardly to initiate bashings in the net and the best way to fight back is to ignore them. this episode helped me somehow overcome my sensitivity on anything negative that is being written about yong joon. i still have some traces but i'm doing my best to be more "forgiving"^^. i also learned how to deal with my insecurities & jealousy whenever i felt that yong joon is being overshadowed by somebody else. the world is round, everything is a cycle, there are ups and downs in anybody's career, so deal with it frances !!

but the thing that gave me the most highs and lows in 2005 was april snow. this film gave me the most heartache coz i know that yong joon made this film w/ all his heart and some ppl are just too insensitive and had a field day attacking him & the film. if they dont like the film then so be it, i respect their opinions, but why make those unnecessary, hurtful & senseless remarks? i never thought that many were suffering from the so called "i hate celebrity syndrome". well, its another first for me, i'm moving in the world of internet & i should be prepared to encounter anything insanely ridiculous albeit negative remarks.

on the other hand, april snow also gave me so much joy. i saw it before 2005 ended and its such a beautiful film. i truly feel that yong joon made the right choice in making that film. i think it further enhanced his ability as an actor, gave him more sensitivity and depth in bringing out a character. i guess it also gave him lots of important pointers in directing a film....his dream of becoming in the near future.

come to think of it, it feels like i'm following the footsteps of yong joon. it feels like i also took the difficult route....of becoming a byj fan. its not easy to be his fan. the constant waiting alone can take a toll in a fan's patience. it takes strong determination to be his fan or else there's a big chance you will wander somewhere else but once you got seriously hooked on yong joon, there's no turning back....coz he really is the only one....