This is taken from the book Ways to Love Yonsama



original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / <a href="http://happiebb.blogspot.com:80/2007/08/ways-to-love-him-acting-coach.html">bb's blog</a>
pics added by: bb


Chapter 1 – Unconditional Love - from His Days as an Unknown
Kim Jae Yeop, Acting Instructor

Studying and Playing Together in a Brother-Like Relationship

Because my role, from here on, will be to continue to be at YJ’s side and to support him, it is for this reason that I have continued to decline all interviews related to him. I hope to continue working together with YJ for many long years ahead.

But in 2005, when KBS broadcast the program Photo Documentary in November, featuring YJ, I received a request from the BOF management office saying, “Please agree to do the interview.”



That was the first time I spoke about YJ.

I met YJ in the spring of 1994, when a senior at school introduced us. Through all of his projects, we played together, studied the projects and roles he played in together, and I have acted as his semi-adviser through the years. We analyze the character role he will portray and practice the dialogue together. I also show up at filming sites for monitor checks.

Even during his private time, I often see him during the Chuseok and New Year holidays, and now and then, I also see his family. The relationship we have is that while he is my junior, at the same time, he is also my younger brother, and a friend. Because YJ only has a younger sister and no older brother, he thinks of me as his true older brother, and maybe that is why we became even more intimate.

When I was attending graduate school, he would come visit me in my room, where I would do the cooking, or when he was filming FL, we would go skiing together at Yong Pyong Ski Resort. After skiing, we would return to the hotel room to read the FL script and sometimes practice lines. We really studied together, played together, felt everything together, and lived like brothers up to now.



YJ has never once forgotten my birthday since we met. He has always sent me a gift and a card.

He is really a person that exerts himself treating me with sincerity and devotion.

Just When I Thought He was a Player…

At the time I met YJ, I was already a full-time instructor at the Stargate Academy located close to Dosan Park. BYJ was one of the approximate 30 students in the class. Among the students, there was also Kwon Oh Joong, (Damo), who debuted at the same time as BYJ and the two were close friends. They were originally friends from the start, but their management offices were different and each of them came to Stargate Academy to study, and just happened to run into each other.

As I was teaching the basics of acting, I became especially close to YJ. Because he was still an unknown, he probably attached himself to me with lighthearted feelings. You can see in him, a part of him that is also very friendly.



Around the time we met, we went water skiing and fishing together. Fishing was my hobby and BYJ said he wanted to try it also so it was decided that we would go fishing together. We went skiing in the winter also.

When we were together, we talked a lot. Outside of class, we went to see the ocean together, to Gangnam, Hanam in Shinsa Dong, and often along the riverbank under the big bridge. Drinking canned coffee from the vending machine, we would also talk to each other about complicated matters. We also talked about difficult, heavy subjects.

Of course, we talked about women but those conversations are a secret (laughs). This is so YJ can continue coming to me and talking to me freely. If I talk too much about various subjects, he will end up losing the space to visit openly.

When he was filming AS, there was a time that BYJ said this in the car. “Hyeong, it’s already been 13 years since I met you, hasn’t it? The months and years really fly by. Hyeong, when you met me, what was I like?”

I first met BYJ when he was still probably about 22 years old.

I thought, “This fellow is really handsome.” Then in the beginning, I had the strong impression that he was more interested in playing around rather than studying acting diligently. But I quickly discovered that was a misunderstanding.

YJ is really competitive, a fast learner, and the other students, who started the class together with him, could not keep up with him.

I teach classes using a Spartan-style. Even with my style of teaching, BYJ showed an almost shining strength of will and stood out among the other students. It almost looked as if he enjoyed the Spartan-style of teaching.

YJ also read many books.

For example, when he began fishing, he brought 10 books, dropped his line in the water, placed the book next to him, and studied the book while he fished.



When he took up photography, it was like he did the same thing. While flipping through the pages of a book on photography, he would tinker with the camera, and research. He really seems to love books.



Before YJ debuted, he worked part-time as a staff member at a movie company. When I see how famous he has become up to this point, there are some people that will say, “He was just lucky.”

But I do not think it is luck. His competitiveness and guts that went along with the strict guidance stood out conspicuously among the students I taught. It is due to that strength of will and guts that, I believe, created the BYJ we see today. And he was a person that closely examined his abilities, one by one. YJ had the elements to become the major star he is now.

Riding the Subway During FL

During the time of FL, YJ lived in Gongdeok Dong, Gangnam and there were times I would stay at his house.



At the time, YJ was under contract to the Actors Palace management office, and one day, after finishing work at the office, we decided to go to YJ’s house together.

Then, I offered, “Let’s not go in your car, but let’s ride the subway.” Since FL was a major national hit, BYJ was already very popular at the time.

So he must have hated the idea, and BYJ said this. “Do we really have to ride the subway?”

I persuaded him saying, “As an actor, you have to experience riding the subway at least once.” We then rode the subway together and headed off toward his house.

Not long after we got on the subway, several male high schoolers sitting nearby caught sight of YJ, “It’s BYJ! BYJ!” “You’re wrong. Why would BYJ be riding the subway?” as I heard them whispering among themselves.

When we got off at Gongdeok Station, this time a female student followed behind us. Later in talking to her, she said she sometimes came from Busan to visit her friend in Seoul. BYJ was wearing a baseball cap at that time, and just as he was in FL, because he was wearing baggy work type pants, she confirmed, “There’s no doubt, it’s BYJ!” and followed after him.

That female student called out after him, “BYJ-san….” YJ turned around and talked to the female student for a bit.

The female student opened her wallet to show the photo of YJ inside. She really was a fan of YJ. Maybe because she was such an enthusiastic fan, she was able to instantly recognize YJ.

Because I especially wanted YJ to experience directly this type of fan’s love at least once, riding the subway this one time was a great success.

The Hidden Tuition in My Wallet and Charitable Contributions to the Poor

I have the most memories of YJ around the time of FL.

When YJ was appearing in FL (1996-1997), I was attending graduate school, but I ended up taking a leave of absence because I did not have tuition money. When YJ found out that I did not have tuition money, he said he would always put in just enough money in my wallet for me to pay the tuition. It was like he was always loaning me money.

But YJ was careful not to hurt my pride and could not bring himself to say, “Do you want me to loan you the tuition money?” so he was waiting for me to ask him, “Can you help me out?” so he said.

When he revealed this to me several years later, it was the first time I heard the truth… When YJ told me about this, I was moved by the warmth of his love and thoughtfulness. In the end, I was unable to come to a decision as to whether I should turn to him for help, and continued taking a leave of absence from school.

YJ is always taking care of everything around him and not just only me. I think it was around the time of AS, he saw fans watching the outdoor filming and he said this.

“It is cold outside, so please make arrangements for the fans to be indoors someplace. I am worried about them.”

Around the time of FL, he donated 20-30 million won to disadvantaged youths. At that time he said this. “Being able to do that, fills me with such good feelings.”

Then I told him, “One day, you’re going to do something even bigger.” The truth is YJ was already actively donating to charity from the time he was an unknown.

The reason he said he did it was because, “Doing good deeds really made me feel good.”

I thought that he was a man of high standards. He did not boast or publicize the fact that he made charitable contributions and did volunteer work.

Good deeds and charitable donations even if done only for show, are not easy to do. Because he has a benevolent spirit and a heart full of love, he is able to do these acts. From YJ, I learned to have such a heart and attitude.



Because we were able to learn from each other and been able to have come this far, I think of what a wonderful relationship YJ and I have, and I personally, am very proud of this.

What He Worried About in Winter Sonata

I think it was about the time that WS started filming, around December 2001, we went to Sydney Australia together. YJ had a CM filming to do in Sydney, and invited me saying, “Hyeong, let’s go together.”

In Sydney, there is the NIDA acting school (a famous acting school which counts among its graduates, Hollywood stars, Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe, and Nicole Kidman), which he thought I would surely want to visit. YJ asked me to go to Sydney together with him, and visit the school with his manager.

On the flight together to Sydney, we talked about various things. During the long 11-hour flight, we didn’t sleep a wink. Especially when we started talking about the WS synopsis, we couldn’t stop talking.

YJ’s biggest concern was in the beginning of WS when he had to portray Jun Sang as a high school student. Even if he wore a high school uniform, would he be able to convincingly portray a young, high school student? At that time, YJ was almost 30 years old. I tried to reassure him saying, “As long as you wear a uniform, you’ll be all right!” He was very worried.



When it comes to a role, YJ will seriously ponder it, and aim for perfection. He is overly perfectionist and will freeze up on the set, and there are times when he is unable to show his relaxed natural self.

Even during the filming of FL and HWRL, I accompanied YJ to the filming sites where he had frozen, and I advised him, “All you have to do is show them your natural self. Just relax. Give it your all and empathize with the character.” By my saying that, everything turned out well.

Was it because of me that things turned out well? Oh, no, that was not my intention as my purpose was to always advise and to point the direction; I believe that YJ found his acting voice while he himself was acting on the set.

Around the Time Preparations for the Photo Album…

You remember YJ underwent a body sculpting program for a photo album. Even during that time, I was amazed at the complete self-control he showed in aiming for perfection.



For example, even during acting practice, the time comes for dinner, right? It’s only natural that we all want to have dinner together. But YJ orders his manager to go out and buy me my dinner only and prepares my favorite menus to order from, as he does not eat dinner.

I would kid him a bit saying, “You want to try some of this?”

But he said, “No, I won’t eat it.” YJ in those days would not eat anything after 6 pm. He was adamant about this.



When it comes to dining, because YJ is wealthy, it may be thought that he is always having sumptuous meals which is not true.

YJ once said this. “If I can share a 10,000 won (about 1,300 yen) meal together with someone, that’s enough for me!”

YJ himself has not spoken much about this to the mass media, but because he experienced difficult periods over a long time, and if needed, he can go on living a normal lifestyle while being very grateful for what he has. This is the real BYJ.

Pronunciation Training Until Morning for Untold Scandal

When he was practicing his lines for the movie, Untold Scandal, YJ was having difficulty with pronunciation and came to me asking for the “pronunciation chart”, which I made the acting students practice.

Then he said, “Today, I only want to practice pronunciation.”

YJ began at 7 am with a cork in his mouth and continued until 4 am, the next morning saying, “Hyeong, I’ve finished them all,” coming into the room where I was sleeping. That day we were studying together at YJ’s house in Cheongdam Dong but I fell asleep first.

I was surprised to hear YJ say, “I’m already finished.” This was because a regular student would take 1-2 months to master one page of that “pronunciation chart.” His concentration is amazing. Once he decides to “undertake” something, he always completes it.

During AS, he practiced in my room at the Stargate Academy. There were times he practiced 10 hours a day, and even times when he practiced until dawn. YJ really has guts.



I would also visit him on-set, and during AS, I visited Samcheok once a week to see YJ, and check the monitor.

YJ’s “Bad Acting”…

YJ says that his acting still has a long way to go. “Hyeong, acting is really difficult,” he said.

I think that it’s important that he thinks his acting still has a long way to go. The fact that he thinks such a thing is because the possibility exists for him to improve even more. Actors who end up satisfied with their performances, stop growing as actors. There are actual actors who think this way.

But YJ is different. He is persevering because there is still more to do. But as he continues his efforts, YJ’s psychology has changed without his knowledge and improved, with the result being, I believe, that even his acting has shown more depth.

I think that of all of YJ’s projects up to now, WS displayed his strengths the best.



This is followed by FL. Untold Scandal also broadened YJ’s inner world, and was a project that was successful in changing his image.



There are people that say that YJ should appear in more projects, but he makes the effort to put much preparation into each and every project. When you try to put in a lot of preparation, it is natural that you can’t appear in many projects. That is why I think the current pace he keeps is fine the way it is. The way he thoroughly prepares before embarking on a project is, I believe, the natural way for an actor to proceed.

When an actor takes on a project, he identifies with the character he will portray. If he can’t identify with the character, he cannot play the role.

So if he were to portray two or three roles at the same time, he would not be able to develop into each of the characters. It is not as if he is acting with a flick of the wrist, so by acting in several projects at the same time, or appearing in projects non-stop, the character would appear different everyday, because I think, changing one’s personality is not a simple thing to do.

It is my hope that YJ will continue to appear in excellent projects. There are still many strengths and great qualities he possesses that he has yet to reveal and to find a project that will make full use of his strengths, it is my hope that we will continue to strive together.

For example, I think that YJ should try appearing in action films and dramas also. He is born with a natural athletic skill which he could show in action performances.

If the need came up for him to perform an action or sports that he has never tried before, there is nothing to be concerned about as he is a quick learner. In the new drama TWSSG, he will be able to show us his actions, but the best project for him would probably be a melodrama with action scenes.



Because YJ has both a strong will and guts, I think that his career as an actor will continue smoothly.

Contents of BYJ’s Acting Course

The course I teach is divided into four levels.

In the very beginning, we start with emotions training. I teach the ways of getting into a character’s emotions by awakening the senses that are asleep in each student.

This is followed by pronunciation, voice delivery, and breathing techniques.

The third level is the art of narration and dialogue training. I make two people act in a play.

Then the final level is the actual exercise. Using an actual camera that is set up as if filming a movie or drama, students are required to act in front of the camera.

The basics are taught five days a week, attendance is required daily, and after 3-4 years, various subjects are assigned.

Spiritual coaching is also offered. Earlier I described the story of how I made YJ ride the subway when he became famous, this is an example of spiritual coaching.



I am also strict about tardiness. If anyone is late, I will send that student home. A professional is punctual about time.

I also inflict corporal punishment. I will hit students on their bottoms. I make incoming students sign a pledge that states, “I will accept corporal punishment” and sometimes I will show them photos of students who are receiving corporal punishment.

I tell these students, “If you are prepared to say you will accept corporal punishment, then I will teach you.”

Those students who say, “I refuse,” I have them leave at once. We do not have to accept every student unlike compulsory education, since they came knocking on our door out of their choice. It is hard to show results if students aren’t prepared to accept corporal punishment because they want to learn.

In this connection, YJ was never given corporal punishment. YJ once said, “Hyeong, because I’m a good student, maybe I was never hit?” (laughs).

The Secret to How BYJ Became a Star

In addition to YJ, I have taught about 150 students up to now. There is Son Ye Jin, Ji Sung, Han Hae Jin, (1% Miracle), (Be Strong, Geum Soon), (Jumong), Soh Yi Hyeon, (April Kiss), (Resurrection), Yoon Sae Ah (Lovers in Prague), Nam Sohn Mee (Love Letter), and so many more. Even when Ji Sung was in the army, he called me when he was on leave and we had a drink.

The new stars in BOF are also studying here. I have not publicized the fact that, “I taught BYJ, it was I that created BYJ.”

Everyone, including BYJ, seems to think I am the emergency number in the entertainment world, the SOS signal to turn to for guidance. I am able to quickly perceive an actor’s individuality and strengths to create a suitable image for them and in return, they support me.

Other actor schools only seem to teach techniques. But actors cannot become stars by acting technique alone. Image is important. Actors who have studied at other acting schools may have mastered acting techniques but then end up taking time to create their own image. There appear to be actors agonizing over this.

I, of course, teach acting techniques, in addition to improvisation, and to quickly make the transition from newcomer to star, we work together on creating an image with the students.

Is this student the sexy type? The innocent type? Or the career woman type? Would they be suited for TV or films? If it’s films, would it be horror or action films that they’re suited for? By matching that actor’s characteristics, I help create his image. “Because you have these strengths, you should develop these areas more” is what I advise them.

Then I publicize their image in the mass media by concentrating on a “color” in their image to quickly increase their popularity and to guide them to stardom.

My Dream of Creating an Actors School with BYJ

Building on my previous years of experience, I am now planning to create a full-scale actors school within the next several years. At the earliest, the school would start in 2008 and the latest date would be in 2010.

We are already in the concrete planning stage. YJ is also interested in the education of the next generation and has said that he would like to lend a helping hand. I also think how nice it would be to operate the school together with him.



In offering an explanation of the type of school it would be, like a special military unit, a Spartan-style school where students would learn language, horse riding, dance, and such over 2-3 years while living on campus. The school would be located in Gyeonggi Dong. The reason it will not be located in Seoul is that if the school is not in a somewhat isolated environment, students will not be able to concentrate.

Like the actors school NIDA that we visited, we would like to make our school an international school. We would like to match the curriculum to the working needs of each actor’s native country, offering specific, long-term useful lessons.

As for instructors, we plan to contract with specialists in every field necessary for the education of actors. In addition to acting instructors, there will be plastic surgeons, dentists, and specialists in the beauty and cosmetics field…. We also plan to offer spiritual training.

We plan to educate about 40 new students a year; these select students will be thoroughly educated. Just as the NIDA graduates are proud of their background, I want to establish a wonderful school that students can be proud of, one that they can say with pride, that’s my alma mater.

It is fun work teaching students. I am always grateful at being able to do this work. I believe that educating actors will play a very important part in the future of hallyu. As time goes on, we would like to develop numerous programs which will support hallyu and be the force to lead the way.

From bb's blog. Thanks to sweet sister for the translation

sweet sister's working really fast and furious to bring us the next chapters! i received chapter 2 from her already! thanks much much, sweet sis! also wanna take the chance to let you know that the chinese fans have translated chapter 1, and everyone loved it! hee, they're wondering when the next instalment would come...

and like i'd said earlier, this book had created some controversy amongst fellow fans, especially the japanese fans, so it's really up to you whether you wanna read it or not. but... while there's a possibility there could be some exaggeration or even half-truths in the book, i still think chapters 1 & 2 are worth reading.

except for the last part, where it did seem as though PD jeong was doing light promo for his future work which he's likely to introduce to the japanese market.

chapter 2 is an interview with director jeong ki song... actually i've found a few variations to his name, including jeong gi song, jeon gi sang and also jeon ki song. not quite sure what's the right way to romanize his name.

PD jeong was one of the two directors who were working on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salut_D%27Amour_%28drama%29"]love's greetings (Salut d'Amour)://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salut_...ut d'Amour)://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salut_...ut d'Amour). yup, wuri yong joon's debut drama back in 1994. it aired on KBS from november 1994 and ended its run on TV in april 1995. and oh, the other director on that drama was director yun suk ho, the same director who had brought us the beautiful four seasons, including our beloved winter sonata! anyway, PD jeong was the one who had 'discovered' wuri yong joon and made a last-minute decision to cast him as the male lead of the drama.

incidentally, you can also read about wuri yong joon's debut story here.

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog
pics added by: yours truly, me!!


Chapter 2 – Obsessive About Acting, "Actor's Love"

Jeong Ki Song, Director
Love's Greetings (Salut D’Amour), Papa, Six Degrees of Separation

In That Moment, Thought He Had Star Qualities

BYJ appeared in the debut drama, Salut D’Amour, which Yun Suk Ho, who was hired by KBS the same time as I was, planned and cast. Salut D’Amour was a drama about youth and from a production view, the goal of the drama was to discover new talent. The first drama before Salut D’Amour was Tomorrow Love (Yun Sok Ho, producer) with Lee Byung Hun and Koh So Yeon, (who co-starred with BYJ in Barefooted Youth).

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The second program, Salut D’Amour was the sequel to the first and I was searching for a promising new star that would replace Lee Byung Hun.



Sung Hyun Ah was already cast as the lead actress. But it was taking time deciding on the male lead. The reason was that we were not finding the type of newcomer to fit the image we had in mind.

We were looking for someone different from the tough macho male that Lee Byung Hun portrayed; someone you would find anywhere, a bit indecisive, a “regular” male. It was the type of character that anyone would feel close to.

We auditioned about 20-30 male newcomers through production offices and acting schools but we just couldn’t seem to find anyone we liked. As we were doing this and that, tomorrow was the day that script practice had to start, we had to stop fooling around and decide today on the male lead, as that day had finally arrived.

Up until then, we had met a Seoul University student for which we had lukewarm, half-hearted reactions and whom we were going to cast, as the decision had been nearly made.

But at that time, I received a phone call from a production representative operating an acting school next door to KBS. The caller said, “Can you meet one more person? He’s the last one.”

But I replied, “We’ve been holding auditions the whole time, so I’m worn out.” “If we can’t use him right away, then it’s no use meeting him.”

Despite my saying this, the representative said, “He’s a really good kid,” so because the representative strongly endorsed him, we decided to meet him and waited for him. That was where BYJ showed up. That was in 1994.

The moment BYJ opened the door and walked in, I thought that anyone who saw him could see that he had the makings of a star. He had a slim physique and was handsome. Plus he had the exact image of the kid I was looking for! This excited me. That moment when he appeared was like the precise moment a comet appears.



But taking a closer look at BYJ as he approached, I had to change my initial impression since it differed slightly from the first glimpse I caught of him. There was nothing to complain about his physical looks, but I felt that he was a little different from the image we were seeking.

Hmm, I wondered, as I thought while staring at YJ, when someone offered the suggestion, “What about changing glasses?” “What about changing to square green glasses?” someone said. Then YJ left the room and several hours later returned wearing square glasses. Having done that, he exactly fit the image we had in mind.

The end result was that we decided to use YJ in the lead role on the spot and directed him to begin script practice immediately. This was because filming was scheduled to begin several days later. To YJ’s manager, I remember telling him later, “You saved us.” *bb: you can click http://bp1.blogger.com/_XVKjPue3X3s/RtLghlRXW-I/AAAAAAAAHXQ/S2JlSQYzHgk/s200/book.jpg"] here to read about his audition.

Back then I could not predict that YJ would become a major star in the future as he is now. But I did feel that he would probably become a star to lead the next generation of Korean dramas. This is because YJ had more than enough for the makings of a star. It was not only his good looks, but this is something I discovered as filming progressed, as an actor, he was able to firmly control himself. He was an actor that made thorough efforts to complete the roles that an actor had to perform. For a newcomer actor to be so thorough in his role was unusual at that time.

“Unable to Understand” Indecisive Yung Min

Salut D’Amour was a drama which reminded me of my college life and was planned to show the realistic struggles of college students during their youth. The students that appeared in the drama were good looking but not unrealistic heroes like pictures of our past selves, in nostalgic memories, they may have been ill-equipped and awkward, but they were doing their best at the time to live, that was the depiction of daily life I wanted to show of the college students without exaggeration.

Then during the filming, I tried to show the images of the students against the background of quiet images.

To achieve this, I directed YJ to act naturally and not overact. The character of Yung Min that YJ portrays is not a strong hero but is an indecisive type, a college student found anywhere, which is what I kept reminding YJ of several times. So that viewers could see themselves reflected in Yung Min, YJ could not emphasize the character’s manliness and I requested that he play him naturally and softly, a point which I put quite a bit of emphasis on.

YJ, at the time, said he could not understand a character like Yung Min, and expressed his discontent. He likes Robert DeNiro’s Once Upon a Time in America, hardboiled American movies. It is the exciting story of men who lived through violent times. That is why he probably thought that he wanted to perform in a meaty role himself.



But I felt that type of exaggerated manly characterization had been done so many times before that I was almost sick of them, so in Salut D’Amour, what I tried to portray was the image of a delicate male rooted in reality; this was the image I tried to stress and direct.

Immediately after YJ began filming, his acting was, not surprisingly, stiff. But in the end, YJ acted his role with love, and he was able to express the sensitive nature of his character. I also think I succeeded in creating the new actor, BYJ, into an actor with a sensitive image!

Absolutely No Need to Scold YJ

Filming began in the fall of 1994 and this happened one day shortly after. YJ was dissatisfied with his acting and the NGs continued. It was then that I stopped filming and called a 10-minute break. Then YJ came over to me looking indignant, “Director, do you know how hard I have been practicing?” he said, and showed me his script. The four corners of that script were all torn and tattered.

He seemed to think I was angry. But all I wanted to do was simply take a short break. Then I told him, “I know how hard you’ve been practicing. I’m not displeased with the efforts you putting in. It’s just that if you calm down a bit, you’ll do better,” I told him.

This is how ardent YJ was from the time he was a newcomer. So when things did not go well on the set, he seemed to feel a great deal of stress. He was a perfectionist actor.

It seems that Director Yun Suk Ho yelled at YJ because his acting was not up to par, but I did not have to scold him. I knew that because he was still a newcomer, it was to be accepted that things would not go well for him. Even if things did not go well, I was ready to accept such things when I cast him in the role. *bb: you can read about how wuri yong joon was scolded here and http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/view.php...&no=8"" target="_blank">here

Because I cast a totally green newcomer, his limitations were also my responsibility. When I thought of how much effort that a newcomer was exerting, I could not bring myself to pressurize or scold him. Even if the same scene repeatedly caused NGs, but as long as the actor came to the set fully prepared, then I would be willing to accept the situation for what it is. Even if a scene took 10, 20, or 50 takes, I would not get angry.

But if there is no reflection over an error by an actor, or if NGs are caused due to inadequate preparation before arriving on the set, I will deal with it rather strictly. I will strictly scold actors or pressure actors who do not sufficiently prepare before arriving on the set. I do this because it inconveniences the other staff members.

Advice Given on “Diverse Emotions”

As for advice, when YJ was acting, he would make the effort to express the emotion of that moment from his heart and he did not experience that much of a hardship over drawing out emotions. But deep emotions – expressing the differences in anguish and displaying diverse pent-up emotions seemed to be difficult for the newcomer BYJ. Such feelings such as happy yet sad, angry yet loving, he found difficult to express.

Then I advised him when he had to express diverse emotions, to decide what the most important emotion was first, then express that, and then follow that by expressing the other emotions. When you try to express various emotions all at once, things do not turn out well.

When it comes to advice that I gave YJ, this was about the only time I gave him any. YJ read his script and came prepared so that his work was generally acceptable. That is why everyone who has watched YJ’s performance in Salut D’Amour, will see that it was mainly newcomer YJ himself, who thought of and created his performance in Salut D’Amour.

YJ, during Salut D’Amour in every spare moment would be staring at the script. Even in the car while we moved from set to set, he would immediately read the script. On the set, he would not exchange casual talk with the other actors or staff or play around.

His position was that as the lead role, he would fulfill his duties first and then when that was done, he would appear with everyone only when necessary. He put all his effort into confronting his role. He was humble and there was nothing conceited about him.



Certainly, it can be said that YJ needed to work hard at the time. This was because his acting was not skilful. But then I did not think it was bad either. I did not hear such talk about him either. Instead, when he was appearing in HWRL and Hotelier, there were more people saying that he was better than expected. When we worked together, YJ himself took hold of the character’s emotions and sufficiently acted them out so that I was happy with his performance.

I believe that YJ has the nature to be an actor. But that nature is different from the nature to be an entertainer. There are very talented actors who become popular by appearing on variety shows, but I do not find it difficult to say that he has an actor’s nature. But that is fine for him. As an actor, he will probably be able to fulfill all his duties adequately. I think that is fine the way it is.

First CM “Spicy Ramen”

During the drama filming, the basic rule on the set was that conversation was allowed only when necessary and if it related to the filming. But whenever YJ had good news, he would always come to tell me his good news. I think he was always concerned about me. Maybe it was because at that time, out of all the actors, I have to admit, I had the most affection for YJ.

This incident occurred.

YJ received his first CM offer. It was from Nong Shim also known in Japan as the instant ramen manufacturer of “spicy ramen”. YJ reported to me happily, “I received a CM offer.”

I urged him to appear together in the CM with Kwon Oh Joong, whom he co-starred with in HWRL. Because he got the CM job due to Salut D’Amour, if they appeared together, I thought it would be a chance to show their gratitude to the manufacturer and fans. Just as I had urged, YJ appeared in the CM with Kwon Oh Joong.

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Kwon Oh Joong was about the same age as YJ (he was one year older) and the two of them became actors to earn money while being fellow newcomers. The two were very close friends at the time.

*bb: here's a pic of wuri yong joon with kwon oh joong's son... probably from a few years back... please don't ask me if they're still close, i've absolutely no idea.

Lover-Less and Playing Billiards

He called me “Kamdok-nim (director-sama) and I called him YJ.

During filming, YJ and I would talk the very minimum as necessary, and when filming ended, we would sometimes meet, telephone each other, or talk about the next project and future activities. We rarely talked about the drama that just ended.

Even though we met, we are not the type to become animated over idle talk. While dining and exchanging a bit about everyday stories, we would each talk about our favorite movies.

I have been watching films from a young age and when I went through my Alfred Hitchcock phase, I went through every suspense movie ever made, and in college, when I majored in French literature, I watched many films at the French Cultural Institute. About that time, when I began thinking how worthless Hollywood movies were, I came into contact with French films, and received a culture shock. In particular, I like Leos Carax, Les Amants du Pont Neuf (Lovers on the Bridge)

If you are YJ’s fan, then you know very well that he likes movies. Even back then, he spoke of wanting to become a film director. *bb: you can read more about it here

We also played a lot of billiard together. It’s not that YJ or I like billiards, but that there was nothing else to do (laughs). It was Christmas one year, and the two of us played billiards. The two of us didn’t even have lovers, so we met in the afternoon and then parted briefly, and then met again in the evening to play billiard, what a sad memory I have (laughs). Both of us were just silent, not saying a word playing billiards.

How good were we? I was a beginner but YJ was fairly good. In Korea, “four ball” style of game is played (2 balls each of red and green for a total of 4 balls is used to start the game. A beginner is allowed 100 points. An expert is ranked at 300 points and above.) I had 200 points and YJ got about 350-400 points. We didn’t bet much but we did bet on the cost of the games sometimes. Of course, because YJ is so good, I was the one that usually lost.

Deep Affectionate Image in “Six Steps of Separation” Draws Raves

After Salut D’Amour, YJ appeared in the long-running drama, Sunny Place of the Young. Sunny Place of the Young was similar to Salut D’Amour in that YJ played a naïve, kind-hearted college student. Then his role fell in love with Jeon Do Yeon who played a rising author.

During the filming of Salut D’Amour, he appeared in another drama, Six Degrees of Separation with Jeon Do Yeon, who was also cast and co-starred in Sunny Place of the Young.





Sunny Place of the Young was not on the air for long, and the two of them did not have very important roles or any scenes in the drama together, so there were no worries about these factors affecting Sunny Place of the Young. *bb: click here for the wrap-up party of sunny. you can also click here for more interesting tidbits about sunny.

Six Degrees of Separation was the story of two people who each broke up with their lover and were left heartbroken, who then befriended each other and grow closer. YJ as Kyon Min received favorable reviews from viewers for his deeply loving portrayal.



YJ’s fans also seemed to favorably rate his first attempt at a shower scene. YJ was not known for having a very muscular image, up to then, but he displayed a surprisingly, inverted triangle-shaped, fine upper torso. I wanted to show that YJ was not just an actor locked into one image until that time. This was done as a type of service to the fans.

YJ Captures Lee Young Ae in “Papa”

YJ and I talked about doing the next long-running drama together after Salut D’Amour. Then just as we were discussing it, I got to know Lee Young Ae’s manager. I received word that Lee Young Ae wanted to appear in my drama. At the time, Lee Young Ae was also a newcomer and just a bit senior to YJ. With my past experience involving these two, it is hard to believe that the current big stars, YJ of WLS and Lee Young Ae of Dae Jang Geum co-starred without any difficulty in Papa (1996).

Papa was the story of a divorced novelist played by BYJ and Lee Young Ae was his ex-wife, who was an employee of a film company. At KBS, majority opinion believed that the drama would be interesting but fears were also voiced because it was a story about a divorced man and a woman, the subject matter itself was considered too serious and the story would go nowhere or end up too solemn.



Then we used a filter on the screen to soften the images. The story did not end with the couple falling in love, marrying, and then deciding to divorce because the emphasis was placed on the start of confirming their love again.

YJ played the man called Hyun Jun whose novel will be made into a movie by his ex-wife, and while he still loves his ex-wife, he reconfirms his love and agonizes over this because of his indecisive nature. To this, YJ was heard complaining, “This character is entirely different from my own personality.”

Yes, that is true. YJ is masculine and strong and the indecisive personality of Hyun Jun and YJ did not match very well. But I think that even indecisive people fall in love and that this type of people may experience things more deeply. Such personalities can appear weak but in reality, I thought they had the strength to close in on the truth.

Both YJ and Lee Young Ae did their very best on the filming set of Papa. Filming for a drama requires more than 30 scenes be filmed in a day. 24 hours a day is not enough time to film. Once filming starts, there are times when filming continues for 36 hours non-stop without sleeping or resting. There are times when two hours are spent on travelling, and then we go straight into filming again. Many times we regretted that we were unable to get the shots that we wanted because of time constraint.



Despite this, YJ and Lee Young Ae concentrated on their acting in order to perform their roles. Both of them had personalities where they were sensitive and attentive to each other and it seemed that they were helping each other as they acted. Since there was hardly any private time, I do not think they even dined together.

But several years later, Lee Young Ae in an interview was asked who she would like to co-star with again, and she replied, “It would be BYJ.”

I wonder what YJ thinks. I do not know, but because “Will respond when asked”, is YJ’s way of loving, perhaps one day we will see the two of them co-star again. *bb: click here for more of what wuri yong joon's female co-stars have said about our sweet cupcake!

Director Yun Sok Ho is a Neighbor

For the first month of filming during Salut D’Amour, director Yun Suk Ho and I filmed together. Yes, we were together from episode one. He was also intimate with YJ. So when director Yun also cast YJ in WLS, it was not like I was the go-between. About that time, I was busy preparing for another drama.

Even now director Yun and I live in the same condo building. We often run into each other at the supermarket. Also, we run into each other at the neighborhood park, and I don’t know why but oddly, I seem to run into him unexpectedly at the strangest places.

Is it because we hit it off? Though we meet, we don’t particularly talk about our projects. It’s not that we don’t get along (laughs).

Certainly director Yun and I have very different filming and acting styles. I have been cautioned by my seniors that I place too much emphasis on visual images, but not as much as director Yun Sok Ho. He possesses the unique ability to tell a drama’s story using beautiful visual images. Currently, his abilities are being acknowledged even in Japan.

On the other hand, I am of the opinion that, “Dramas need to have good scenes” and this is the reason behind my filming. These could be scenes with visual images and dialogue, tension-filled scenes, or action scenes. I think dramas combine these various elements and should draw viewers into them. The mission of a drama should be to offer more good scenes and not just visual images. As for me, it is more enjoyable to make a drama that has plenty of good scenes.

Even in my private time, I do not watch dramas and films that do not have interesting scenes. I feel I have to watch these as part of my film studies, but I end up switching the channel within a minute. I can’t stand watching boring dramas. That is why when I film a drama, even if it is a love comedy; I make it a point to include a lot of plot development that keeps you in suspense and your heart pounding.

Important Things When Producing a Drama

I have produced many dramas up to now and the important thing when filming dramas is to listen to everyone’s opinion. Then I have to be flexible. If I am inflexible, I would not be able to listen to the opinions of many people.

For example, YJ was an actor who desired to film his appearances modestly, but when he had an opinion to express, he would insist on it also. When I was able to accept his opinion, I would, and when I was unable to accept his opinion, I would carefully explain my reasons to him. By doing that, YJ would laugh, tilt his head to one side, and then he would continue acting according to my directions. <i>,font color="orange">*bb: hee, are you imagining the way he tilted his head, just like me when i was reading this part? so cute hor?</font color></i>

Then if he understood, he would say, “I agree” and if he didn’t understand, he would say, “I can’t agree” and we would discuss the matter again. If it is something of a serious matter, I will usually accept an actor’s opinion.

My personal opinion is that when filming dramas, it is important to always pursue something new. In Salut D’Amour, YJ was not your typical hero and as I tried to portray him in the image of a sensitive and modern college student, which was not done up to then, since I originally dislike sticking to common-place types.

I try to make the camera move along with the actor’s movements. There are many directors who will place the camera in one spot and make the actor move toward the camera, but I will have the actors move as they wish, and I will have the cameras follow them, which is my method of filming.

YJ as the Lead in My Movie!?

On July 3, 2005, I terminated my employment with KBS after agonizing a long time whether I should quit or not. My family now lives in Texas but as an employee of a Korean TV station, I am unable to spend any time with my family. If I am no longer working then I can always go to the US to see my family.

Even after I finished filming, My Girl (December 2005), I visited my family for one month.



After quitting KBS, I signed a contract with the production company Calista to direct only. My many years as a salaried employee were long and there are times when I feel like I have been thrown out of a warm environment into the cold, but it is nice to have the freedom.

Right now I am planning a new project and I am thinking of using Japan for the location shooting. Nothing has been decided yet, but I would like to go to Japan as soon as possible and start filming.

After that drama is completed, I would like to try my hand at making a movie. Attempting a new movie at this age is a little late for me, but I think my previous experience will be useful. Like the Korean-Chinese joint project big action movie Musa The Warrier, I would like to film a movie based upon a myth. I would like to cast YJ in my movie, but this would depend on each of our schedules.



It is my hope that Korean dramas and movies will continue to be viewed favorably worldwide. The Korean wave began in Japan with the existence of BYJ, but the real Korean wave is only beginning to take place, as we producers tackle this problem.

All I Can Do is Watch Over YJ Now

It is my nature to seek out new things and now the only talk I hear about YJ from other people is, “He seems to be tired” or such talk. I do not feel that YJ should be indebted to me for discovering him. It was my job to discover new talent and it was not due to my efforts alone, as there were many directors such as Yun Sok Ho, Lee Eung Jin (FL), and Jun San (Sunny Place of the Young) who guided YJ to where he is now.

If I had the chance to meet him somewhere, I would like to tell him, “If you are tired, a good way to relax is to go fishing”, but all I can do now is watch over YJ.

It has been years since we have worked together and YJ has his own life now and that is the way it is. If someone you once worked together with was stuck in the same place, I would not be happy about it either.

If I were able to send him a message, I would like to tell him to relax a bit. Even in the past, he had a strong compulsion toward “perfectionism” which I think he still has not escaped from even now. When he is free from that compulsion, his acting should become “lighter.”



Then I would like to tell him not to try and do everything himself. YJ will try and attempt to do all the scenes himself in a drama, even if the scenes are dangerous. He probably does this out of love and responsibility for the drama and role.

Of course, it is a good thing to be diligent about your work, but I have heard numerous stories of injuries during important periods, causing disruptions to the drama production schedule. For example, during Barefooted Youth, YJ was performing a special martial arts practice and failed to land correctly and broke a bone.

From the standpoint of the performers, these types of injuries cause major problems. Humans are not expected to know everything or to do everything, and actors are not expected to do things which do not come naturally. The dangerous scenes are best left to the stuntsmen. Actors should stick to what they do best. There is no need for anyone to do everything himself.

In looking back, I am glad that I was able to meet YJ. In the midst of a jam-packed schedule, I unexpectedly encountered him, and though it was a short time we spent together, the memories still live on even now. I think of how lucky I was. The Japanese fans may like WLS but please also consider Salut D’Amour.

Because of Salut D’Amour, there is WLS and because of Salut D’Amour, there is BYJ.

p.s. don't miss out on those bold links that i've added for you throughout the passage. some of them link to great stories and postings about my cupcake, stuff that you might not have read previously... enjoy!

From bb's blog

I suppose most of you would have read sweet sister's translation of the first two chapters of the book ways to love yonsama, ya?

the controversy aside, must say i thoroughly enjoyed reading those first two chapters. sweet sister has been (feverishly?) working at the remaining chapters too! i've already received chapters 3 & 4 from her! our dear sweet sis, do take care and must rest, ya? am extremely grateful for everything you've done and shared.

but i've gotta be honest and say this... can't say i like chapter 3 as much. well, there're tidbits of info that i did enjoy, but somehow the tone of this uni professor who had taught wuri yong joon at sung kyun kwan uni just somehow didn't come out right. some parts were as if he were paying lip service, or trying darn hard to please the fans.

incidentally, he'd mentioned a certain female classmate of wuri yong joon's in this chapter, and this was what sweet sister had written to me: Keep in mind the professor's remarks about the female classmate because she is in the next chapter 4 and she refutes the professor's comments.


original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog



Chapter 3 – From Afar, Concern for Each Other, "Teacher-Student Love"

Ahn Sang Hyuj, Professor
Sung Kyun Kwan University

Always Had Gratitude for His Surroundings

When BYJ was a first-year student, I was giving lectures on the Principles of Images, where he always sat toward the front of the room and listened with an extremely open attitude to my lectures. Maybe it was because of the strong feeling that he felt that he had to be an example for the other students.

His academic performance was also good. As a first-year student honor student, he should have also received a scholarship. *bb: click here to read about how shy wuri yong joon feels about receiving scholarships... btw, am sure you know that he has donated all the money from the scholarship awards he's won, right?

Outside of the lectures, we also had other events. He often came to my research office and we often met at parties. BYJ would also attend many student drinking parties.

He seemed to enjoy the noisy, drinking atmosphere.

He seemed to have a strong desire to take the lead in getting the party started.

We hosted the MT (Membership Training = mixers) 2-3 times and BYJ brought his manager who supplied the liquor so that everyone could have a good time. There was also a time where he bought a whole pig for a BBQ. I thought how valuable his relationships with the students must be to him.

He acted after giving much thought as to what would make everyone happy. BYJ is always like that, thinking about the people around him. It was as if the overflowing love within him was like a busy gift being distributed to everyone around him.

I think he did not stop at just being 'the number one star in Korea', but succeeded in becoming the 'international star' that represents Korea, because he did not always think of himself and acted thinking of others around him.

Even after he had been drinking, and I was watching him talking to other people, BYJ’s attitude was pleasant. He had an imposing presence and there was practically nothing he would shy away from, or anyone he would put on airs for, since he presented his true self. He had a strong sense of obligation. He is special from other students.

In the Sung Kyung Kwan Film Department, there were many other celebrities attending at the same time as BYJ. But BYJ did not have the self-importance that the other celebrities possessed. The other celebrities had the arrogance to convey the impression, “I’m doing this university a favor by attending,” but BYJ did not give that type of impression. Clearly, he gave a different impression from other celebrities. He was friendly, warm and modest.

BYJ also always had the position of being thankful for his surroundings. I think, BYJ himself, did not have a favorable impression toward the other celebrities for their arrogant attitude.

Do you think that I am stressing only BYJ’s good points because BYJ has become a big star? It is not that, but because he made such a good impression on me, all I am doing is speaking honestly about him.


Bloodshot Eyes at His Entrance Exam Interview

The truth is when BYJ applied; I was the one that personally interviewed him.

BYJ enrolled in 2000 as a special film major in the Film Department which was established in 1998. That is why his student ID number should have begun with the numbers '00'. The interview was held in January 2000. Even now, I still remember that time quite clearly.

BYJ had his hair cut short like an athlete and his eyes were red and he appeared to be fatigued. When I asked him, “Are you busy with work?” he replied, “I agonized over what to say at the interview that I couldn’t sleep for three days straight.” His words, to my surprise, touched my heart a bit. *bb: click here for an old article on this.

That is because, besides being a famous star, for him to apply for the entrance exam like a high school student who has just graduated, and he had such a modest, unsophisticated appearance. You could sense assertiveness in his use of language also, in his person….in his watery gaze, it is hard to describe in a few words, the amazing atmosphere of that interview.

BYJ has the air of giving vague answers, which I mean in a good way because you can never tire of looking at him. Just when you are caught up in an image of him, and you are gazing at him intently, another different image of him comes to mind…. The pleasant atmosphere that he manages to create is probably due to the results of his efforts but I think it is due to the natural abilities he was born with.

Because of that atmosphere, I was a bit hesitant to ask him questions and thought to myself, what an extremely attractive person he is. Of course, even with that, I did not think that he would become the huge star that he is today.

At that time, BYJ had taken a break from his show business activities. Perhaps he had wanted to take time to recharge himself. When I asked him what his motive was for applying to the university, I felt his desire to learn was considerable. His dream was to become a film director and his ideal director was Stanley Kubrick of “2001: A Space Odyssey.”

This interview was my first meeting with BYJ but, of course, I knew about him from watching TV. But there was one professor on campus that did not know who he was. He was in the office next door to me and is an English literature professor who apparently did not watch much TV. There is a slightly amusing episode that occurred between that professor and BYJ.

One day, BYJ went to that professor’s office to inform him that he would not be able to attend the professor’s lecture because of a work commitment. But because the professor did not know who BYJ was, he yelled at BYJ without giving him a chance to explain saying, “How can you do such an inconsiderate thing!”

But when the professor got home and told his family what happened at work, his wife said, “If BYJ came to see you, you need to get his autograph. Instead, you went and yelled at him!!” and it seems the professor got a considerable scolding from his wife. That was the first time the professor became aware of how popular BYJ is.

BYJ, in his heart, must have been amazed, “This professor doesn’t know a thing about me,” (laughs).


Students as Close Friends….

BYJ associated with a wide range of students, but in particular, he was close to returning students (students returning from military duty). Perhaps this was because they were closer to his age and easier to talk to.

Then there was one female student, Lee Jya Eun, who was very concerned with BYJ and always tried to help him. She was a serious student and called BYJ oppa and thought of him as a real older brother.

Maybe it was because she was the eldest daughter, but it looked like she treated BYJ with maternal feelings. Even in his private life, she often gave BYJ advice saying, “You shouldn’t be doing something like that.”

Perhaps BYJ may have felt that advice was a bit of a burden. Lee Jya Eun did not force her one-sided opinion onto BYJ, since it appeared that the two of them exchanged candid opinions, but from BYJ’s view, that type of advice may have been at times welcome and other times unwelcome.

BYJ was aggressive when it came to concerning himself in the affairs of other students, but this was done so that other students would not come into his personal space.

Unless it was for some extraordinary reason, BYJ did not open his personal space to anyone.

BYJ understood this. I thought that it was a bit sad to see him like this.

There are probably many people who are concerned as to whether Lee Jya Eun and BYJ are still in contact with each other even now.

I wonder myself what the truth is (laughs).


Ewha Women’s University Mini Trip

We invited BYJ and some Ewha students to eat pheasant meat. *bb: incidentally ehwa uni is one of my fave areas in seoul.

Ewha students are, for Korean men, a dream match. BYJ also seemed to be enjoying himself.

The exquisite pheasant meat was found in the famous agricultural area of Gyeonggi Dong, in Namyanju City, and I invited some Ewha professors and students along with BYJ. When I asked BYJ, “Would you like to dine with some Ewha students?” he immediately said yes.

There were 5-6 female students. Whether it was a matter of pride or not, but no matter how good looking a celebrity there may have been on that trip, not one student approached him on their own. Seeing what a major star BYJ has now become, those students may be now regretting their lost opportunity.

Joking aside, we all rode in a large auto and noisily took off like it was an excursion. BYJ was dressed casually and had a lively conversation going on in the car with the students. He seemed really relaxed and seemed to be having fun.

Usually, when it came to women, he seemed to have a certain wariness, nervousness around them, but during this one time, that caution was removed and he seemed to be dealing with the students easily. *bb: i somehow have my reservations about how the professor would know much about this, since i doubt he had much opportunity to see wuri yong joon in a social setting... shrugs...

Speaking of women, there was once an executive associated with the university’s endowment foundation, with a second year junior high school daughter that came to the university asking for BYJ’s autograph, saying his daughter was his fan. Since it was his adorable daughter’s request, he couldn’t ignore her wish and end up looking bad in front of her either. After agonizing over what to do, he came to me requesting, “Can you get his autograph?”

I talked this over with BYJ who gave his consent and immediately signed a photo of himself and got me out of a jam. Even in complying with one fan’s request for an autograph, he sent his love. If it was another celebrity, they would have signed just a colored piece of paper, but BYJ was always signing a photo of himself the size of which was at least the size of two business cards.

Since he was signing autographs at that time, I also had autographs signed to give to my relatives (laughs). Unfortunately, I do not have a photo of us taken together.

When I look back now, I regret that I did not take a photo of BYJ and me. My brain wasn’t working then. It is too bad.


Refusing Preferential Treatment

I believe that BYJ was able to enjoy a rich college life but after attending up to the first semester of the second year, he ended up taking a leave of absence from the university.

The first year is generally devoted to general education courses so he was not able to progress to his film major courses. During the first year, he attended the lectures with so much interest that it was unfortunate he had to stop.

But the university could no longer extend his leave of absence and so it could not be helped. Sung Kyung Kwan University also offers classes online, so if he were to attend lectures on the Internet, there was talk that his graduation credits would be applied that way.

But he withdrew from the University. Knowing that his actions would have a big impact on the other students and that there would be publicity, he felt that preferential treatment would be inappropriate. It seems he thought that to have the University change its policy just for him would be damaging for his image and the losses would be greater than just not receiving a college diploma.

Of course, he can still return to school even now. But he is too busy and, it seems that returning to school will be difficult for a long while.

But while he said he was busy, BYJ did visit this research office once. I don’t remember when it was but, saying he went abroad, he bought me a souvenir. It is a Mont Blanc pen. I was really happy. Not that it is a luxury item but that he remembered me.

When one becomes a popular actor like him, there should be many other benefactors and staff members that he should be buying souvenirs for. Instead, he went to the trouble of buying a souvenir for someone like me, whom he only spent about a year together with at college, and then he personally came to deliver it.

I was amazed at the man, BYJ’s extent of his thoughtfulness and his caring.

He also dropped by to visit me before the filming of Untold Scandal began. We talked about various things such as the sword-fighting practice, how he thought he looked strange with the topknot and how it didn’t suit him but the director liked it. I think that was the last time I met him. After that, as everyone knows, he suddenly became very busy, so he had no time to show up at the University.

Lately, he is too busy and probably doesn’t have the opportunity to reunite with a nostalgic person like me. If he were able to have such times to meet, his life would be better, but unfortunately, life does not work out that way.


Creating Precious Bonds

He was unable to graduate college, but it seems that BYJ has a strong love for his alma mater.

In 2005, he made a large donation so that the Film Department could hold its graduation, Fried Screen Festival on a large scale. This is probably due to the fact that he has a wealth of assets but I believe that at heart, he is a kind person. He has a strong sense of obligation and, even now, I have heard that he keeps in contact with several film department classmates. *bb: click here to read more.

To BYJ, I would like to send a message to tell him to please cherish those people he shares memories with. When you are living your life, running at full speed, you will end up losing sight of your own life. On the road to success, even when one walks it, one can lose precious people along the way without being aware of it.

But we need to realize that life is precious – for example, I believe that it is important to cherish forever those rare bonds that we encounter during our college days, with people we were compatible with, and those people that we walk together in life with. I think to live with such bonds in place is more important than being any international major figure.

That is why I am concerned even now whether he has formed any successful bonds with others. If he is negligent about this, the years will advance and unknowingly, life’s unhappiness will spread. This is what worries me.

There was a time when we were drinking together and he looked unexpectedly lonely. I do not know why he looked that way to me but if he had a family, I think he would be able to have peace of mind.

But for BYJ to marry would be considerably difficult and not a simple thing. When you are that successful, it would be difficult to accept someone. To accept everything about a complete stranger, to love and to trust is a very difficult thing to do. *bb: i thought this was a weird statement. if he is to decide to marry someone, surely she would no longer be a stranger no more, right? we're no longer living in the olden days of ancient matchmaking, ya?


Role Model for All

Previously, I said that BYJ has various images so that one does not tire of him, but during his high school days, it seems he got into a few fights and as for acting, he began it as a part-time job in order to become a film director.

In addition to that side of him, he seems to have the makings of an entrepreneur. Previously I saw the news where the stock he invested in skyrocketed, but it wasn’t because of luck; it was probably because he had the foresight as an entrepreneur.

He has the sensitivity of a writer. I hold the strong image that he is a sensitive guy. Sometimes I hear talk that BYJ is difficult, but I think that his sensitivity is prone to misunderstandings.

There is a part of him that feels that he must always be a role model which I think causes him considerable pressure. Now that he is a major star, he must feel this pressure even more so, as his lifestyle depends on his existence and there are many employees in the production office. Still, it must be trying on him.


Obstacles to Success

Why is BYJ popular?

If we were to evaluate him based upon a general psychological analysis, we look at two major parts in our understanding of images, that part which satisfies the inner ideal, and the part which satisfies the exterior ideal.

Other stars will persist in satisfying only the exterior ideal by trying to become momjjang and building up their bodies, photographing to look good, and working hard at such things, but BYJ is striving to satisfy even the inner ideal. As seen in the viewer wishes, “We want him to remain as this kind person,” “We want him to remain a devoted man to the one he loves,” he is endeavoring to become the ideal man that viewers want.

Because of this, viewers are satisfied to be his fans, and can support him with peace of mind.

If an actor has a certain factor which matches what the times dictate he will then become popular. In other words, an actor has to present elements that viewers can empathize with.

For example, in BYJ’s case, he is aggressive in his aid to relief victims, or his praiseworthy appearance of returning to college to study after once being in the workplace. Once enrolled in college, he shows himself to be friendly and sociable mixing with the other students.

From all these pleasant scenes his entire image is created. This is the image the modern viewers have been desiring.

It can be said that for BYJ to present the elements that current viewers can empathize with is a wonderful accomplishment for him as an actor. That type of image is important in obtaining the popularity of viewers, and in BYJ’s case, it may be said that acting is a secondary concern.

BYJ appears to be popular with the Japanese housewives, but the reason he is popular with them is because of the reasons I just gave along with many other elements that he presents which they love.

This is just conjecture, but for example, perhaps a housewife cannot get something from her husband that BYJ is able to supply, or perhaps she keeps a deep secret hidden away in her heart like the image of her first love during school days.

I am extremely proud of the fact that I taught BYJ. Life is something that passes so very quickly like a dream and it has all passed so quickly where I found it incredible and I asked myself, did I really do this with BYJ, did we really do that together?

But I am glad that I met him and that I was able to connect with him even for a brief time, and to be able to converse with him.

BYJ’s greatest achievement is clearing the path for Korea and for widening the road for Koreans to appeal to the world. This is quite an achievement and in England this is called a peerage which is what I think he deserves.

Anything that has occurred after this is like the after-sales service period and you must not expect more of him than what he has already done.

He has risen as far as he can, BYJ has reached the summit, but there are probably those vindictive type persons who also want to see a reverse in his fortune. I am worried about this.

When a person of achievement suffers a financial setback, it is the ways of the world to exaggerate the collection of debts and try to grab the debtor by the back of the neck.

When the danger of such a situation arises, BYJ will need someone to protect him from the discord. Without such protection, his achievements will be considered a temporary event and laid to rest in the darkness.

In order for BYJ to make a major launch out into the world, he needs close friends that will protect him like strong, great trees from the dangers that come sweeping toward you like a tsunami.

It is my wish that there will be people surrounding him and supporting him so that there will not be a reversal of fortune.


bb: sweet sister also said she's not quite sure of the right way to romanize the female classmate's name. it might be Yi Jae Eun...?

p.s. here's a clip of him in uni...

uni clip

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / <a href="http://happiebb.blogspot.com:80/2007/08/ways-to-love-him-acting-coach.html">bb's blog</a>
pics added by: bb


Chapter 5 – Entrusted with the Care of His Skin, Reliable Love
Noh Eun Hye, Massage Therapist & Owner
Meridian Massage

The First Time I Touched BYJ’s Skin

The first time BYJ came to my office was March 2002, around the time when WLS had just ended its broadcast. Until then, it appeared that he was undergoing skin care treatments elsewhere but since his skin condition was not improving, and his physical condition was not as desired, he paid a visit to my office.



It seems that BYJ did not believe that meridian massage would really produce any effects. That is because he arrived for his first appointment more than three hours late.

Normally, when a client is ten minutes late, I will cancel the appointment and I will not perform the massage, but because I am a BYJ fan, and despite the fact that he arrived three hours late, I ended up performing the massage for free.

The first time I touched BYJ’s skin, I thought that it had lost a bit of its elasticity. Perhaps he had done some strenuous physical activity.

BYJ must have felt that massage was beneficial after actually undergoing it. After his first visit, President Bae Seung Woong of BOF, immediately came to the office to make an appointment for BYJ. After that, he came twice a week for about two years.

I thought that BYJ was a very warm hearted person. There are people who say that he looks cold but that is not true. He was very thoughtful about the smallest detail and treated the people around him with deep love, and was friendly to everyone.

But when it came to work, he had also had a strict side to him and I remember thinking that a professional is different, and that I should take a lesson from him as I felt a feeling of tension and determination to do better myself.

When he was coming to my office for his treatments, BYJ once kindly said this about our office in a newspaper interview.

“When I filmed WLS, there were many times that called for late night filming and caused my skin to flare up which was a big problem. But since I began meridian massage treatments, perhaps the circulation of the blood has improved, but my complexion color has also improved, and the skin problems have also disappeared.”

For him to praise our services through the press was unexpected and I was very grateful to him. I felt that BYJ had given his trust to me and I was happy.

But the important thing about meridian massage is that treatments be continued, and it was very difficult for BYJ to keep his appointments, and after three missed appointments, he stopped coming for treatments. I have heard that he has now hired a freelance masseuse.

It is unfortunate that I am no longer able to see him or to feel BYJ’s warm love, but BYJ has gradually grown busier so this is something that cannot be helped.

The newcomers in BOF and those people close to BYJ are even now clients of this office, so I believe that BYJ still trusts in me and my skills.


Facial and Body Massage Treatments

BYJ and other celebrities usually receive the facial and skin care massages. The men will also get a shoulder massage. Very few people will get a full body massage.

A meridian massage is done to basically to improve the circulation of the blood and to eliminate waste matter from the blood vessels and the body, and to promote overall wellness. It also has effects on one’s diet.

My motto is to exert my utmost effort for each of my clients, and I do not use any machines. I use 'hand meridian massage' along with acupressure.

For example, in a facial massage the muscles near the mouth and the jaw line can be corrected, with the excess fat also removed from the jaw line. For those people with mis-aligned faces, this can be corrected immediately. The effects of a facial massage can be experienced through a TV monitor. It is for this reason that I believe many celebrities have continued to patronize our office over the years.

It takes physical strength to perform massages where endurance is combined with technical ability, but I am doing what I like and having fun at the same time.

Because we cannot perform many surgical operations, we request that appointments be made and we will perform massages on the first 15-20 appointments made daily. Celebrities are not given preferential treatment by ignoring appointments.

Among my celebrity clients, I think my first one was Uhm Jung Hwa (sister of Uhm Tae Woong).



The second one was singer, Kim Yoon Ah (vocalist with the popular group, Jaurim). Kim Yoon Ah read the article about me in 'Bazaar' and became a client.



There were others like Lee Seung Yeon (played Chan Woo’s first love in FL), Kang Dong Won, Bi, Sung Yu Ri of Finkl (heroine of 'Snow Queen'), and singer, Lee Hyori have become clients of this office as a result of hearing talk about us.


Pain That Brings Screams!

Let me discuss exactly the type of surgical operation we perform.

First, when you first arrive, you will enter the massage room and be asked to remove all of your clothes. You will also be requested to remove all accessories
such as rings and neck accessories. BYJ often wears a pinky ring, and of course, such types of rings will be requested be removed.

Our staff will give you an elastic gown to wear, and you will be requested to lie down on the bed.

Cleansing must be done before the massage is started. If a client is wearing makeup, a cold, water-type makeup cleanser is applied to remove the makeup,
followed by a scrub to remove all impurities from the pores.

After all facial dirt is removed, the massage is begun. First, the earlobes are raised and the jaw line is drawn back while lightly massaged.

Next, a massage tool like a wooden rice scoop is lightly pressed diagonally to the area around the nose and mouth. This is followed by the area around the eyebrows, under the eyes and the corner of the eyes, and the flat part of the forehead is rubbed. The scalp surface is rubbed with the fingers with a strength that the client finds pleasurable.

If the cheeks are well formed, the cheeks are pinched between the thumb and middle fingers a number of times. For an angular face, if the angular area is massaged from the bottom to the top, the effect will make the face line come alive. For those with mis-aligned faces, the jaw area is pressed with the thumbs of both hands to try and bring it to intersect.

After softly massaging the cheeks, forehead, and nose, next the facial lines of the nose, eyebrows, cheeks, and along the jaw line are firmly rubbed using the fist. This is about a 20 minute procedure. First-time clients let out screams at the pain but after 2-3 visits, I think one becomes used to the procedure.
Did BYJ scream at the pain?
That is a secret (laughs).

When the massage is completed, a cold towel is wrapped around the face to relieve the burning sensation. The surgical procedure takes about one hour in its entirety.

If a client arrives at the office with a puffy face, then the neck and shoulder massage will be done first before the facial massage. Then the facial massage will be done as I previously described.

Where once meridian massage was once strictly for celebrities and wealthy women, now young men and women have become clients. Our office does not accept only male clients like BYJ.

There are also many clients from Japan. Since we received a write up in a magazine in Japan, we have many clients from Japan because of that article. It is our goal to carefully massage each and every one of our clients, and along with my husband, who was my classmate from elementary school; we would like to expand our business.


*********************************************

p.s. i guess during the time wuri yong joon was suffering from breakout and all, his stylist and makeup artist must have been really helpful. in fact, i think they must have been highly effective too! coz most of the time, he just looks near-perfect and impossibly arresting!



p.p.s. incidentally, just in case you're wondering, in acupuncture terms, meridian actually refers to the channel of pathways in the body along which vital energy flows. essentially meridian massage is abit like acupressure where the masseuse uses her hands and fingers to knead and massage the vital points of the body, and in this case, the face.

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog
pics added by: bb

Ch. 6 - From Nature "A Healing Love"
Makeup Artist, Jung Saem Mool


BYJ is Like the Color Gold

Many Japanese visit my beauty salon when they learn that BYJ is a client. They undergo the various treatments we offer such as makeup, aesthetics, and hair care. It seems they come to the salon with the hopes of unexpectedly running into BYJ. Even though they do not see him, I hope that they leave our salon satisfied with our beauty services.

I first came to be charge of BYJ’s makeup when he was appearing in Sunny P*ace of the Young (1995) which is quite a while ago.

I did not study makeup in college as a specialty and because I had many friends in the theater department that I would help out with their makeup, whenever they had a performance, this became my opportunity to seriously study makeup. Within the flow of things, I gradually began doing the makeup for professional actors and became in charge of makeup for BYJ. The truth is that BYJ’s manager at the time later became my husband, which was the connection I shared with BYJ. You can never tell about a person’s fate.

Putting that aside, the first impression I had of BYJ when I took charge of his makeup was how I thought he was an actor with terrific appeal. He is very masculine, yet that masculinity also has a soft side to it. When he flashed that smile, “Ah! He really has a lot of appeal,” as my heart pounded talking to him.

I originally loved drawing pictures and I imagine the faces of my clients, who come to have their make up done, as 'living canvasses'. Since faces are not paper and are living organic matter, I sense a person’s inherent attractiveness, that distinctive appeal which cannot be expressed in words to get inspiration,
to then create the makeup.

The actors each have their own individual colors, and because many actors frequent this salon, I am strongly inspired by their unique colors each time they visit, and my creativity takes off from there.

It seems that there is talk that BYJ views Sung Woo Sung as a rival, who is also a client of ours, but that is news to me.



All the actors each have their own various individual colors which they probably acknowledge with each other. I do not get the feeling that they are out to win against someone. I believe that they are not out to become the greatest actor in the world, but are making efforts to become the only actor in the world.

*bb: mmm... i seriously seriously doubt wuri yong joon would see JIS as a rival... and in case you didn't know, this is the guy from the classic with syj and also WHIB with sjs.


If BYJ was a color…let’s see, maybe he would be the color gold. Like the color of the sun’s rays.



Light changes its color depending upon the object it shines on. Also, color changes from one moment to the next depending upon the morning sun, afternoon light, and evening light. Because BYJ has so much charm, he is able to change into different colors so I think the color gold like the sunlight suits him if he were a color.


While BYJ is Being Made Up

When I am applying BYJ’s makeup, I am careful to make it appear understated.

For example, his eyebrows are almost never groomed. It seems that in Japan, men have their eyebrows nicely groomed, but in Korea, it is generally the norm to leave the eyebrows natural. That is why we leave BYJ’s eyebrows natural the way they are.



I am especially careful about his skin tone. I am careful to protect his natural skin tone and to make it appear bright and healthy.

When I apply makeup, the important thing is to make it seem as if you are not wearing any makeup, and to eliminate any unnecessary lines. Though you may be wearing makeup, the trick is to look as if you are not wearing any, and to make it look understated. It is also important to make the pores look smaller and to remove any angles from the face.



Hair styling is also very important. A hair style can express the image of a role and a specialist hair designer, who is not me, is in charge of hair styling.





In Japan, it seems that the Min Hyung hairstyle in WLS was very popular, that was a hair style created by our salon. I heard that Min Hyung’s hairstyle wig sold for 26,000 yen at Japan’s Tokyo Hands. Is that true? (laughs). It is an honor for the style to be that popular.



While we apply their makeup, we talk about everyday topics with the actors. When we see them early in the morning, we ask them, “Have you had breakfast?” Or such ordinary conversation such as, “Would you like some tea? Would you like something to drink?” “How have you been recently?” The rest of the time we talk about casual topics and exchange jokes. We almost never talk about work.

Because BYJ seems to be a typical Korean male, he does not talk a lot. Perhaps it is better to say that he rarely talks. Also, there is a silent understanding that any conversations I have with the stars are not to be revealed.

Over 100 actors are clients of this salon and I cannot talk about any of the conversations I have had with any of them. I ask for your understanding.


When BYJ and I Don’t Agree…

I cannot say that my opinions about makeup always agreed with BYJ and the other actor’s wishes.

When that happened, we would each very carefully exchange opinions before resolving differences. I would express my opinion and make sure it was in line with the actor’s wishes.

If a compromise seemed impossible and if I thought an actor’s wishes was headed in the wrong direction, I would give my opinion as precisely as I could.
By doing that, most actors would agree with my opinion.

But even if an actor and I do not agree, I am not the type to strongly insist on my opinion. I do not get emotional but I listen to what the other person has to say, to grasp all the elements and to remain objective so that I can carefully explain my opinion.

"All I’m wishing for is for you to stand out from the other actors by expressing your own beauty. You don’t want to appear the same as the other actors, do you? I want to create makeup that lets you stand out from the other actors."

If I speak to them from my heart, most of the actors will usually accept my opinion.

When I am asked how I can stay unemotional, with experience comes the tendency for anyone to become overly confident about their own emotions, so I am taking that as a warning sign to not become like that.

Anyone can become conceited and in no time, without one being aware of it, become distorted in their thinking. I do not want to become such an artist.

Rather than forcing my opinion on someone, I first listen to their opinion and make every effort to correctly understand their wishes. I think that by honestly listening to the various images the actors present and absorbing them is the road to making me an artist with breadth and depth.


When I’m Feeling Down, Makeup Soothes My Soul

This is not limited to BYJ, but when the actors come in to have their makeup done, and if I think they are not feeling well, this also affects me deeply. I watch over them with heartwarming expressions and make efforts to try and lessen their suffering even if only for a bit.

Anyone can experience difficult times. Especially for those people known as stars who I come into close contact with, I feel that they have a very sensitive and frail side to their natures. They have emotions where, if you touch them, they would break.

Even their viewpoints are unique. I think their viewpoints are wonderful and awesome. There are so many things that I learn from them.

But perhaps because of their sensitive and naïve natures, there may be many times where they suffer emotionally. That is why it is important for the people around those suffering to heal them. At worst, serious illness can result and the body’s ability to fight off viruses can be affected.

I have been fortunate enough to be able to learn so much from them and for the stimulus they have given me; I hope that I have shown them how thankful I am by doing their makeup which has been inspired by nature.

Nature refers to the laws of nature, nature’s energy, the cycles of nature, or in concrete terms, such things as the sky, trees, flowers, the ocean… From such things in nature, I have received endless healing.

It is from this healing nature that I draw inspiration, as I apply makeup to all the actors. Without inspiration I cannot force myself to apply makeup, so I try to express a lively beauty coming from nature’s energy. I believe this is what an artist must do.

I am not in favor of defying nature, anything artificial, or counterfeit. Even when I am doing an individual’s makeup, I retain their original coloring and respect their natural appearance.



When the actors come to have their makeup done during difficult times, I heal them through my makeup, which draws inspiration from nature, and can give them good energy.

My makeup, which draws inspiration from nature can heal them and give them good energy. If I have good energy, I should be able to do this. No matter how badly off someone maybe, if they are around me, they can become healthy. I firmly believe this.

A makeup artist is in the business of constantly pursuing beauty so my inner world must be enriched along with having good energy. If I make the efforts to enrich my inner world, then I should have a good influence on those clients who come to have their makeup done.

We also receive a good stimulus from those clients who come to have their makeup done and have our inner world enriched. It is an influencing effect and beautiful relationship, isn’t it? That is why I treasure the relationships I have with all those people who come to have their makeup done by me.

Within this whole wide world, to live in this country called Korea, and the fate to encounter BYJ at my salon in Cheongdam Dong, Seoul, when I think about it, it seems like a destiny meant to be a miracle. I must treasure this.



I probably am not conveying my feelings well but if there are any individuals whom I have met, and whose beliefs have changed for the better, even if it is just a small change, then I would be so happy that my heart would probably burst.

That is the same feeling at how I also serve BYJ. Taking inspiration from nature, I hope that he feels the healing qualities that I am trying to convey.

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog
pics added by: bb

Ch 7 - Making His Surroundings Happy 'A Smiling Love'
Dentist, Kim Soh Kyung

BYJ’s Original Teeth and Smile Are Beautiful



Ever since our dental office was introduced as the 'dental office that Yonsama frequents' our office has begun to see Japanese tourists as patients.
In the beginning, the tourists would take souvenir photos in front of our building and leave, but then after a while, they began knocking on our door
so that we have hired a Japanese-Korean coordinator who is responsible for interpreting and managing the Japanese patients. The doctors and nursing staff are all studying Japanese.

Generally for cosmetic treatments, the teeth are straightened to look more attractive and protruding teeth are repositioned. We also offer teeth whitening treatments. This is not a one-time treatment as periodic visits will ensure a continued beautiful smile.

BYJ also makes periodic office visits to ensure that his teeth get the best care.

Entertainers seem to have the need to be very careful about their teeth, more than the general public. Though they may have had treatments five years ago,
going by today’s standards, this may be insufficient and treatments may need to be redone.

For example, there are the treatments to whiten the teeth one shade whiter than the last time or the western style of positioning the teeth toward the back of the mouth. Standards of beauty change with the passage of time. Showing such concern for their teeth is also tied to improving an entertainer’s image.



The BYJ that everyone loves was originally someone with a beautiful smile. By nature, he had beautiful teeth which he made the effort to look better and continued to manage well. Since he has a great smile, I think that he should smile more with self-confidence, in broad grins.


The Power of a Smile to Make People Happy

BYJ’s smile is very beautiful and warm, but many times it is just an understated smile.



I do not think that it is a matter of him lacking self-confidence in his mouth. Asians generally tend to smile small so that their teeth do not show, and many times they laugh with the lips closed, don’t they? This is because to laugh with the mouth wide open, hahaha is considered rude or crude.

Then what is truly considered an 'attractive smile'? Ten years ago at the International Aesthetic Congress in Brazil, I presented a paper on the Smile Beauty Index. To determine what type of smile was the most attractive, smiles were ranked according to a numeric value.

lips = corners of mouth, the degree the mouth opens
gums = condition of gums and color, glimpse of gums when smiling
teeth = shape of front teeth and color

And so forth the list continues with ten items adding up to a score of 100 points to make up the Smile Beauty Index.

For example, if the corners of the mouth go up when smiling, then the score improves. Whether the front teeth can be seen or not will affect scoring. The best score is when all ten teeth, both upper and lower can be seen.



At the Smile Clinic which I opened, in addition to the whitening treatments and teeth straightening treatments, I also offer training so that the corners of the mouth rise up when a person laughs.

To create an appealing smile like BYJ, we offer facial exercises. It is not enough to just treat teeth because it is our belief that by treating the entire face, your expression brightens and you gain energy in your everyday life. This is what I propose in my 'smile design'.

I think that a smile has the power to move people. To those people around you it says, 'That person is sending me a good message. I wonder if he’s feeling a sense of familiarity, will he treat me kindly?' while brightening the surroundings. A smile can bring people a sense of joy and can bring them happiness too.

If everyone can bring to mind BYJ’s smile, I am sure you will quickly understand. When you see BYJ’s love strewn smile, aren’t you filled with happiness?



If you make others around you happy, then that happiness comes rebounding back to you. Working people should increase their chances of finding success.
Just as we see BYJ has found success. That is why I think that smiles should be considered very important whether they are a part of one’s life or a part of everyday life.

A smile is different from just laughter. An amusing incident that brings forth loud laughter is laughter, since it is a passive reaction to one’s surroundings. You can make someone uneasy and have a negative effect on them, if you look and laugh at someone and that person ends up thinking, 'Is there something wrong with the clothes I’m wearing?'



A smile is created by the individual. It is an active thing. It is created by an individual and is able to send out a wonderful message to one’s surroundings.

So it is important to know whether it is possible to create an attractive smile brimming with love like BYJ. If someone has an inferiority complex that prevents them from having a nice smile, it would be better to overcome that inferiority complex through cosmetic dentistry. This is also connected to achieving success in life.

When it comes to who has the most beautiful smile, I would like to say BYJ, but I think it is the Hollywood actress, Julia Roberts.



The corners of her mouth rise up sharply and her beautiful straight white teeth are exposed to the fullest when she smiles. Her big grin is perfect and I think that she firmly captures everyone’s heart when they see her smile.



Namul Helpful for Healthy Teeth

When asked about the smiles of the Japanese, the smiles of Asians including Japanese, look small, calm and soft. Asians can smile broadly like Julia Roberts
but they prefer to have smaller smiles to be charming.

But young people nowadays laugh loudly without holding back, like Julia Roberts, which makes the need for cosmetic dentistry even more necessary.

I do not know if it is because the Japanese do not chew their food enough, but it seems that their jaws appear to be small. This is due to consuming too much soft foods and too many small meals. While their jaws have shrunk, their teeth size have remained the same size, and have been unable to align themselves cleanly along the jawbone, resulting in many cases, where the teeth grow in overlapping in the front and back of the mouth, and on the left and right sides. The need for cosmetic dentistry can easily occur from such a condition.

Let me point out one food that is helpful to dental health.

It is namul found in Korean cooking. Namul is made from edible wild plants, bean sprouts, and greens and contains a lot of fiber called cellulose so that while you eat them, they stimulate the gums. Cellulose also has cleansing action, which means it also acts as a dental polisher to beautify the teeth’s’ surface. Thorough chewing benefits the gums, teeth, and jaw.

Bibimbap which uses namul is also good for the health of teeth.



I think I also told BYJ about this. I urge all of you to eat more namul and bibimpap just like BYJ.

On the other hand, sweets are bad for the teeth. Please be careful not to overeat sweets.


The Reason for So Many Show Business Patients

The reason why we have so many entertainment industry type patients coming to our office for dental treatments is that one of the founders, Park In Chul,
was a college friend of management agency, BoA’sSM Entertainment president, Lee Soo Man. The two were such close friends that they used to be in a band together.

Then all the entertainers in SM Entertainment started coming to our office for treatments and then, in no time, others followed. I believe that BYJ was urged to visit our office by someone else.



Teeth are very important to entertainers. If they do not have confidence in their teeth, then they cannot have self-confidence in their smile and will only be able to create small laughter. There will also be times where this will affect their acting.

There will be many times where close-up photos will be taken and it is very important to have a confident smile. To achieve this, teeth straightening and whitening treatments should be done, and it will be necessary to eliminate the inferiority complex about the teeth.

Usually, entertainers will deliberately try and emphasize their strong points and when taking photos, they know which angles are the most flattering, or they have the tendency to pose with their best side to the camera.

But doing that makes the photos look unnatural and stilted. In order to move naturally and to smile, it is necessary to have a mouth that inevitably changes.



Our Smile Clinic has treated some 200 famous entertainers as patients and recently, we have been often using the short term teeth straightening method.
We are able to correct teeth within a week and there are even methods where the braces are invisible. Techniques have advanced a long way.



Because of such dental advances, it is easier than before to obtain a warm, loving smile like BYJ. As a 'smile designer', I would like everyone to reconsider the importance of a smile.

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog
pics added by: bb

Ch 8 - A Lesson Learned in Solitude 'To Love Love'
Jinwi Buddhist Temple Head Priest, Kim Dong Ho

Yong Joon Studied at a Temple Deep in the Mountains Where Boars Appeared



BYJ arrived alone to visit this Jinwi Temple on March 1, 1991. You may ask why I clearly remember the exact date and that is because he was requested to submit a document, 'a letter of application' when he enrolled at this Temple.

There is no requirement that an applicant enrol at the beginning of a new year. An applicant may enrol at anytime. The date that YJ wrote was March 1, 1991.

On the application there are details such as date of birth, parent’s names, birthpla*ce, current residence at that time (Dongdaemun-Gu, Yongdu 2-Dong, Seoul) and telephone number. There was information to be completed on schools graduated to be filled in, but I see that YJ submitted the application with only the minimum necessary information completed.

This Temple had a square footage of about 13,000 tsubo (10 acres, 42,000 sq. metres) at the time YJ was here. Even that was a considerable size but we have now grown to 36,000 tsubo (29 acres, 119,000 sq. metres). The buildings that YJ stayed in were demolished eleven years ago and rebuilt so that the current buildings are not the same buildings as the ones during YJ’s time.

The building that YJ stayed in was an L-shaped two-story building, and YJ’s room number 205 was on the second floor. All the rooms are private rooms.

*bb: oh how interesting!! remember jaeho's cap? it's also 205!



When YJ was here, there were more than 80 rooms total. The bathrooms and bathtubs were communal and they were only located outside the building in the mountains. For children such as YJ who were used to the conveniences of city life, this condition may have been a hardship.

But despite that, this Temple was very popular back when YJ was here. As you can see, the Temple is located deep in the mountains. Previously, we used to see boars coming down from the mountains. That is why the Temple’s remote location was given as a good reason to give up all temptations.

Within the 4-5 series of buildings, there were 70-80 students studying for entrance exams that were either arriving or leaving here. Among those students are those who went on to become the backbone of government serving in the Foreign Service, and as public prosecutors, and judges.

There must be several hundred such people who went on to play an active role in society.

It is not for that reason that I say this, but I think that it is very praiseworthy for young people to give up all enjoyable pleasures to decide to come here to this Temple to study. Studying for the entrance exams is a battle with the self on how to contain your own ambitions and sexual desires with endurance, above all, being the key to success. Putting aside the end results, as a servant of Buddha, I am grateful for the young people that visit the Temple, with the desire to study after first discarding all worldly thoughts.


YJ was a Lonely Soul

At the Jinwi Temple, we still receive people who come to stay for self-study in preparation for the Foreign Service civil service examination, law studies to become judges or public prosecutors, and other legislative and administrative studies. I believe that YJ definitely came to study for some examination. That is because he had the dream of becoming a foreign diplomat or a high ranking bureaucrat.
*bb: believe YJ was trying for a spot in the law faculty.

The end result is that he did not become a diplomat or a bureaucrat but because he is currently somewhat in the role of an unofficial diplomat, it can be said that he has remarkably realized his dream.

The various examinations are not easily passed so that there are people in their late 30’s taking the tests, or there are people who are unable to study due to illness and long-term recovery. This applies mainly to middle aged women.

Young women are not admitted to the Temple. Previously, young women were accepted into the Temple, but because of a problem occurring between young women and men, we have been declining young women since that incident.

Of course, YJ was not the type of young man to cause problems. I do not have any memories that he stood out among the others; he was intelligent and was an excellent child, but I do have the impression that he was sociable, well-mannered and a neat child. YJ surely must have received abundant love from his parents when he was growing up. If he had gotten drunk and rowdy or used foul language to an employee, I would have remembered such an incident but I do not remember any such incident occurring.

Because he had a sociable nature, he had a tendency to socialize too much with his friends that I sometimes had to caution him about this. When I thought he was supposed to be studying in his room, I found him talking to another student in their room. I felt that YJ was a lonely person who seemed to need company. When a person enrolls in this temple, he is cut off from feeling his family’s love, the love from his lover or anything.

Despite this, I scolded him saying, "YJ, this is a place for studying. This is not a place for having fun or talking with your friends. Remember the reason you came here, and study like you’re supposed to." I did this for his sake.

It seems that YJ did not forget the way that I cautioned him. Because in an interview after becoming famous, he mentioned to the media, "I was severely scolded by the Chief Priest at Jinwi Temple."


Giving Up Sports to Concentrate on Studies

The Temple charged a monthly rent of 45-50,000 won (about 5,900-6,500 yen) at the time YJ enrolled and when he left, I think the rent was 70-80,000 won (about 9,000 – 10,000 yen). We are not a money-making venture but we need to cover the necessary food and operating expenses so that we collect the minimum payment from everyone.

The truth is that we do not collect payments from those who cannot pay. For those children who cannot pay, but have big goals that they want to study toward, we want to offer them the road so that they can study and reach their goals. But though they may say this and enroll in the Temple, once they are here, there are some children that only loaf and never study at all. We ask such children to leave at once.

There is no set daily routine at the Temple but meal times are set. Breakfast is at 7am, lunch is at noon, and dinner is at 6pm. The schedule is the same in summer and winter and for the past 30 some years, these times have not changed.

If the students do not show up in the dining hall at these times, then they will miss their meals.

The meals have changed quite a bit since YJ was here. There are now tables in the dining hall where the students can serve themselves buffet style but when YJ was here, there were no tables and the students each sat on the floor with a tray full of food. Soups were served by an ajumma (Korean for older woman).

In the evening, if the students wanted to snack while studying, there was a gas stove located next to the bathtubs. The students would cook instant ramen there and eat kim chi to fill their empty stomachs.

When I look back on it now, I am impressed that YJ was also able to endure such outdated facilities.

Here at this Temple, each student is basically living a self-directed lifestyle but there are rules for living communally. Besides the previously mentioned meal times, excess conversation among students, drinking of alcohol, and sports are prohibited.

Other than the above items, the Temple does not interfere in the students’ lives. Cautioning by nagging and interfering would only cause unnecessary stress
to the children. It is my wish for the children to be happy and that their days here are also happy.

It is understood why excess conversation and drinking of alcohol are prohibited but you may wonder why sports are prohibited? The reason for this is that when sports are engaged in, there are winners and losers. Then betting becomes a natural part of sports.

If students (studying for the civil service examination) were gambling, it would only lead to terrible things. That is why sports where children compete against each other are prohibited.

At the time of enrolment, each and every student must write an oath. It is an oath that says that the rules of Jinwi Temple will be upheld and that a student will not do anything that will disrupt the studies of another student… BYJ should have also written such an oath when he arrived.


He Listened Intently to Lectures on Love

Though there is no set daily routine here at the Temple, I give sermons or what you call simple lectures to the students, once or twice a month. The students and I drink tea and converse.

What I usually talk to them about is how important it is to be kind to others and that if you love others, then others will love you in return.

Love your family, love your parents, love your children, and love your friends, by doing that then they will return your love and begin to love you. Do not seek love from others but love others first and become a person that people want to be with.

If you want to become happy, I also told the students to make a lot of friends. By making many friends, you love many friends, and make them happy. I stressed that by loving and making your friends happy, you yourself also will become happy.

A person will find himself surrounded by many people in good times. But if that person fails in business or if he is an actor and loses popularity, there will be times when those people you thought were your friends will disappear.

But a true friend will never disappear no matter when or what happens. A true friend is one that will come to see you whenever and even if you live in a remote area, by climbing mountains and crossing valleys. That is why I also told YJ to make true friends that will stand by you. By doing that, you will be able to grasp true happiness.

Even now, I think that YJ certainly has not forgotten such a talk I gave.

Presently, YJ has been more than sufficiently blessed financially. To sustain this good fortune, he should love many people and make many people happy. He will certainly put that thought into practice.


TWSSG Training Close to Jinwi Temple

The truth is that YJ did not make that much of a strong impression on me among the many students that enroll here. One day, an acquaintance informed me,
"The media is reporting how popular star BYJ who once stayed at this Temple was scolded by the Head Priest," so I dug out the 'application form', which was enough to bring back fond memories of him, 'ah, he was that quiet child.'

Seeing him on TV and in magazines, I remembered it was definitely him. Then when I saw him after a long absence, I thought that his face hadn’t changed at all from the past. He has changed a bit but his basic facial structure has remained the same as in the past.

I call the people studying at the Temple children (iyedori) and show them affection and YJ is also one of my cute iyedori.

I saw YJ on TV talking about momjjang, is that what you call it, about his own body building and I remembered him fondly. He was saying body building was very difficult and how he learned endurance at Jinwi Temple.

I was happy when I heard him say that. I realized that YJ has never forgotten the memory of the days he spent here.

Speaking of that, there was this incident.

The students at this Temple, in order to pay their financial obligations, have part-time jobs in the bee-keeping industry. They have worked for the Royal Jelly operations and in livestock farming. For such work, I’ve traveled to far off Taejon and Taegu and YJ and I have also traveled to nearby Shin Tang Jin to collect honey.

Also, there was this incident.

There was an ill-natured student who had bad study habits, drank alcohol, bothered the other students, didn’t pay for his meals, and everyone was at a loss at what to do with this student. So I told that student to leave the Temple.

Then that child pulled out a knife and turned his hate on me by trying to stab me. Thinking I couldn’t back off here, I said, "It’s alright. Go ahead and stab me!" as I dared that child to stab me. That child was overshadowed by my determination, threw down the knife, and left this Temple.

I do not know if YJ was at the Temple or not during this time. But here at this Temple during the course of studying, once a twice a year there is child that will scream as a result of drinking alcohol to relieve the stress and loneliness. I wonder if YJ also did not see such a scene when he was here.

Many things happened but after six months YJ left the Temple. But I do not remember the date he left. I do not have any memory of speaking with him before he left the Temple. I think that when YJ left the Temple, I was away from the Temple. I would often have to travel here and there to resolve problems with the Temple’s operational funds.

But I heard that YJ properly washed and hung his bedding out to dry and paid his fees before he left. He was a very well-mannered child. There were many children that, unable to pay the temple fees, fled in the night.

The truth is that before the filming of YJ’s new drama TWSSG, I heard the rumor that YJ rented a matsutake (mushroom) plot of 1,500 tsubo (1.2 acres, 4958 sq. metres) for 1.5m won (about 200m yen) a month. It was said that he was doing various types of training in secret there. Perhaps he remembered how he studied here at the Temple and thought, "because it is so deep in the mountains, I can concentrate on training without anyone knowing about it."

I do not know exactly what type of training he did but the farming family that rented the land to him said the money really helped them a lot and they were grateful to YJ.

They were extremely grateful because it is impossible to have sales of 1.5m won a month from a matsutake (mushroom) farm. For YJ to pay such a large amount shows that he is generous.

There is the saying, 'There is nothing in this world that is free (i-se sang-e gong-jja-neun oppuda)', and for YJ to maintain his current success, he is probably thinking that it’s natural for him to pay compensation in his own way. Rather than expecting others to treat him well, the action of first treating others well,
perhaps my love sermon being put into practice.

If YJ thinks that he was able to achieve his current success because he studied at the Temple and made efforts at this Temple, then this would make me very happy. Just as he studied so hard here, my wish for him is to continue to live an earnest life, love others, and to continue to learn until the end.

*****************************************

YJ's story- trying to get into uni

Fumi's analysis of YJ
parts 5 & 7- pre showbiz days

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: ways to love yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog
pics: yours truly, bb!

Ch 9 – A Genuine 'Love of Volunteerism'
Hyelim-Won Orphanage, Director, Im So Hyun


BYJ Visited on Sunday Mornings

I am friends with the director, Kim Seong Soo, who filmed such movies as and Musa – The Warrior, Running Wild, but there are not that many celebrities who come to our facility to work as volunteers. The extent of their participation is when they show up at the bazaars or athletic meets we have. The popular singing group UN (comprising two males, Choi Jun Won and Kim Jung Hoon) has visited.

The 20 or so members of the Wuri Jeong Sarang Club (WJS club) regularly visit our facility on a monthly basis.

BYJ has also visited. He did not come here to donate money but he participated as an active volunteer by teaming up with a member of the facility. He usually arrived on Sunday mornings, stayed until noon, and then he would leave. He visited with the members of the WJS club, and also visited here alone.

He always wore training wear and a baseball cap, or what you would call regular, casual clothing that he could easily move around in when he visited here.



As If Feeding His Own Child

BYJ was very natural in his contacts with the children and it was almost like watching him with his own children, at the kindness he displayed.

When the children ate lunch in the dining hall, he would feed them by using a spoon, and when a child dropped food on the floor; he would not panic and would happily, smiling, pick up the food off the floor.

Lunch consisted of rice, an entrée and kim chi served on a plate and soup served in a separate container, which BYJ would feed to the children by spoonfuls,
after blowing on it to cool the soup.

While entertainers may say that they take part in charity work, there are those people that only collect donations and send them here, and others that take the time to visit our facility and take part in an event, and also others that only talk to the director of the facility and then leave.

We are grateful to them for all of their efforts but BYJ actually helped us take care of the handicapped children and he visited our facility because he truly wanted to be a part of such activities.

No matter how much a person may have the spirit of volunteerism; it is very difficult to treat handicapped people as old friends from your past from the first meeting.

BYJ probably has a heart overflowing with love and really likes coming into contact with people.



There was a time that I talked with him for about two hours in my office. It seemed that BYJ’s thoughts on his own charity work were not to be publicized anywhere due to his wishes of not wanting to draw attention to himself.

Perhaps the thought of doing charity work to elevate his image was something he hated.

With a heart full of absolute unconditional love that he wanted to share with the handicapped children, he came to our facility to take part in the activities. This is a wonderful thing.

I think that was the time that he was attending the University. He was talking about film studies, college life, photography and such things. Just because he was an entertainer, we did not have any special conversations, as I remember having normal everyday conversations with him.

My impression of BYJ was that he has a very beautiful heart and that he is a person who opens his heart up candidly when he speaks. If I had the opportunity, I would like to meet BYJ once more.

Formation of a 'BYJ Foundation'



I would like to see BYJ never lose sight of the ideals that he held when he first started out, and to continue to hold the feeling of humility in his heart. An increase in popularity can bring greed, and pureness of heart can become something easily lost. My hope is that BYJ does not lose sight of himself in all of this and that he takes firm control of himself, and remains unchanged as when he first started out.

Popularity is a fleeting thing like bubbles. Unexpectedly, at any time, it may simply disappear. That is why I think that one must not be dependent on those bubbles, but to live together with the people around you and to live a life with your feet firmly planted on the ground.

If there is a woman with a beautiful heart, and where there is a love connection, then it might be best if he were to marry.

Perhaps it might be a good idea to establish a BYJ Foundation to promote social welfare. Since he is a public figure, he has the name recognition and influential power so that he would be able to speak for society’s disadvantaged and poor, while being able to draw attention to these areas which previously have been ignored by the general public. It is my wish that he will make this idea a reality.

As a hallyu star, he is already fulfilling a diplomat type position for Korea and it would be nice if others around him would also lend sufficient assistance.

I feel that discrimination and segregation toward the handicapped occurs much more in Korea than in Japan. If entertainers eagerly took part in volunteer activities, I think that they would have a positive influence on society.

I have been to Japan a number of times for exchanges related to social welfare. I traveled to Kawasaki City, the sister city of Bucheon.

Since the rise of the hallyu boom, the Japanese people have deepened their understanding of Korea as their interest has increased, and I believe that cultural exchanges have become easier to carry out. In the area of social welfare, there are many things to learn from Japan, and it can be said that various influences were received due to the exchanges.


*********************************************

p.s. btw christmas is drawing near, and i've always felt christmas is all about the spirit of sharing. so, if you're in a position to be able to share, do spend sometime to look around and see if there're people who may need your help. and do extend them a helping hand, if you can.

it need not always be financial help. you can offer your time too.

remember, it's a blessing to give than to receive.

p.p.s. oh, one more thing...
wuri yong joon has always been so generous and big-hearted. i've always believed in good begets good, and what goes around comes around. so i'm sure he will be blessed and will be able to pull through this.

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog

Ch 10 Yonsama and His Fans Expand
'Love Through Mutual Aid'

Korean Association for Children with Leukemia and Cancer
- Vice President, Jeong Ae Jung


In 2005, BYJ’s Korean fans had a fundraising drive at a fan meeting and sent the donations to our Association.

We were filled with overwhelming gratitude and we were allowed to post a message of thanks on the home page of BYJ’s fan club.

Someone translated that message into Japanese and posted it onto a Japanese fan’s page, which became the opportunity, it seems, for our Association, to become known to BYJ fans in Japan.

Then suddenly, one fan from Japan sent warm knit caps to our Association. I think it was about January or February of 2006.

That person sent the caps to BYJ’s Korean management office, BOF, where a BOF staff member forwarded them to our Association, along with a note.

When we opened the box, there was an unbelievable 100 knit hats inside, a sight at which we were very surprised to see. We were so excited at receiving such an unexpected gift, that we again posted a message of thanks on the home page of BYJ’s fan club.

“Today, at noon, a small package arrived at the Association. Inside were 100 beautiful knit caps from BYJ’s Japanese fan, Yoshida Sakiko-san, who knitted each one, stitch-by-stitch with devotion.

To knit so many caps, I wonder how long it must have taken her. Could this be called the power of love?

Because we are unable to write in Japanese, we will post our message here in Korean, and wonder if you will be kind enough to convey for us, our feelings of gratitude to BYJ’s fans in Japan?....”

It is our hope that our gratitude be expressed to Yoshida-san and also to all of BYJ’s fans.


BYJ Also Donated One Hundred Million Won

BYJ himself also donated one hundred million won (about 1.3 million yen) two years ago in 2005 to our Association.

He did not donate directly to the Association but requested that the money be used toward the Korean Association for Children with Leukemia and Cancer
and to woman in need, and together with a social welfare charity collection, a total of two hundred million won was donated.

We were very happy and grateful to have someone like BYJ, a popular star who young people could view as a role model, take an interest in childhood cancer.

For BYJ, who has become very wealthy, donating the large sum of one hundred million won is not an amount that can be easily given away. It is proof of the love BYJ has in his heart.

I believe that the power of this love becomes an even bigger circle of love and spreads further throughout the world.

We are putting to good use the precious money that BYJ graciously donated toward the costs of treatment for leukemia and cancer patients and for operating “love houses” (free rest houses) for patients who come to Seoul from the outlying regions.

The number of leukemia and childhood cancer patients in Korea numbers about 25,000 people when you add in patients who have undergone anti-cancer treatments, are developing cancer, and are in remission.

The target age range in children is from 0 age to 18 years and each year, there are 1,300-1,500 newly diagnosed cases. Our association participates in the international organization, ICCCPO (International Confederation of Childhood Cancer Parent Organizations), which has about 60 world members, and each country has about the same conditions where for every 100,00 in population, 12-14 children are battling cancer.

The common problem we all share is the difficulty in early detection and prevention.


The Important Patient Belief “You Are Not Alone”

The reason that I am so active in saving childhood cancer patients is due to my own personal experience at having lost my son to cancer.

My son battled cancer for six years and as a result, passed away but even after his death, I have continued on with the cancer activities. I can distract myself from the sadness at losing my son, and also, I believe my son is certainly thrilled that I am taking part in such activities.

Also, in my experience with my son battling cancer, I understand all too clearly how necessary it is to have the assistance of everyone around you when it comes to the disease cancer.

For children battling cancer and their families, the advice of those who have experienced it firsthand is of great value. Our Association has many families as participants who have lost their children to leukemia and cancer and those are people who are able to offer warm advice.

Currently, for all patients and their families who are battling illness, we want them to know that, “You are not alone” and that we are here to support you.
This is an important aspect to overcoming cancer.


If We Could All Climb Mount Fuji…

BYJ and all of BYJ’s fans donated to our Association, and this action has had an effect spreading out in many directions.

I heard that BYJ donated three hundred million won (about 3.9 million yen) to the victims of the October 2004 Niigata earthquake which resulted in 5,000 deaths. This donation was made from the proceeds of a photo exhibit held in Japan.

In December 2004, he also gave another three hundred million won to the victims of the Sumatra earthquake. Through his home page, he urged his fans to donate and the fans also seemed to respond to his request.

There are other incidents where the fans made donations on Valentine’s Day instead of sending chocolates to BYJ. The Taiwan fan club supports a Korean orphanage run by Korean nuns, while the Singapore fan club established the School Pocket Money Fund to support students who are unable to afford to take a lunch to school.
*bb: actually we didn't establish the fund, we donated to the fund which was set up by a corporation in singapore. but heck, it's nice to be mentioned!!

It seems that BYJ himself does not want made known the charity work he does, but isn’t it wonderful the way that BYJ’s circle of love has spread in this way?

BYJ is a star with an appealing smile, but I think that when he unites with his fans to do charity work, this is truly a beautiful and wonderful accomplishment. I am amazed that he shows a deep concern for childhood cancer and I am, above all, most grateful to him.

Usually when I think of the activities of a fan club for a star, I thought all they did was chase after a star, but I see that there are times when wonderful things such as these can develop. This is all due to the power of love by BYJ and his fans.

It would make me happy if BYJ and his fans would continue to show their concern. We also intend to continue to pour our energies into the Association wholeheartedly.

Our future activities include offering aid for medical facilities and prescription drugs to Southeast Asia. Medical facilities in Southeast Asia are still ill-equipped
so that many children die without receiving adequate medical treatment.

We would also like to rescue the children in North Korea. It appears that there are cases where childhood cancer patients receive no treatment at all and are discarded to be left to die. It is difficult to obtain accurate information or to offer aid but we must continue our efforts.

Also, it is our dream that the children from Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, and such countries, those who have already completed childhood cancer treatments,
all travel together to the poorer countries to do volunteer work. I have also traveled to Japan a number of times. I visited the childhood cancer ward built by an English missionary in Tokyo and Yokohama.

Because of the efforts of BYJ, the Association can probably expect the exchange between Japan and Korea to become increasingly active.

Wouldn’t it be really wonderful if someday, BYJ, BYJ’s fans and the recovered children, if everyone could all climb Mount Fuji together?

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog

Ch 11 - From His ‘Father’ a “Scolding and Encouraging Love”
Role of Father in WS- Actor, Jung Dong Hwan



Showing Zeal Like a Seasoned Actor

The first time I met BYJ was during WS. Until we actually started acting together, I had no idea at the type of actor he was. Once I acted together with him, I immediately realized that he was not like any normal actor you found anywhere.



A normal actor would read the script and act following the directions given by the director.

But BYJ would read the script and act not according to the director’s instructions, but he would add his own creative touch, with the desire to create a great project, and make strenuous efforts. I was amazed at his enthusiastic attitude.

Choi Ji Woo was also an actress who showed the same efforts but now, when I look back, I think that those actors, who are called hallyu, not only have the temperament and abilities but are making the corresponding efforts. It is not just a matter of luck befalling them. Luck alone would not bring them the type of popularity they have now.



BYJ is always well prepared before he arrives on the set.

No matter what scene he may be filming, he does not come prepared with just one way of playing a scene; he will try acting in the opposite manner or offer a new opinion, as he will come prepared with several methods.



In the beginning of WS, you all know that he portrayed the role of Jun Sang, a high schooler. Immediately after I met BYJ, I was worried that it would be difficult for someone nearing 30 years of age to play the role of a high schooler.

But before filming the high school scenes, he had thoroughly done his research on how to act so he would look like a high schooler.



That is why he did not look unnatural as a high school student and he ended up surprising even me.

On a side note, in WS I played Jun Sang’s father and was a math teacher at the university but the truth is I did not want to do the role of the math teacher.

A math teacher has the image of being stuffy and grumpy. I thought of asking to play the teacher of another subject, something in the arts or some other subject.

But because the setting called for me to play the father of an intelligent child like Jun Sang, it was decided that a math teacher would be appropriate. I accepted the fact that the role was necessary in order to create a mutual interest between “father and son.”


His Acting is Still Not Perfect!

Since becoming hugely popular in Japan, I believe BYJ himself must be currently agonizing a great deal.

What will his next project be; it is probably no longer a matter of him alone making the decision and even if he were to appear in a new project where he could not act well in it, or if the film does not turn out to be a hit, there is the danger that his current popularity could burst and shrink like a balloon to immediately fall to the ground. As a result, he will end up agonizing over various aspects.

It is just that I think there is no need to agonize too much. Rather, my worry is that he agonizes too much.

The reason I say this is that I teach acting at a university and though there may be a “graduation” from the university, there is no such graduation ceremony or diploma for the acting profession. It is a profession that requires lifelong learning. Even the famous Hollywood stars are studying at an acting school somewhere or should be continuing some type of steady acting studies. They are being yelled at by their acting coaches. This is what acting is about.

We often hear of BYJ saying, “Why is my acting so bad?” and agonizing over this fact, but you might say that every actor continually suffers this same problem. This is the fate that acting brings.



BYJ is giving his best efforts to acting, but I believe that he is still not a perfect actor. The reason being is that he is still young and to portray a person’s entire life, he still has many immature aspects to him. By striving more and working harder, he must continue to study acting. By investing a certain percentage of his salary in himself, whatever percentage is acceptable, he should use this amount in continuing to study acting. Acting is not an issue that can be resolved in one or two nights.

BYJ, first of all, needs to understand that this is what acting is, to continue to study acting, and to keep striving so as to build experience.

There are times when the university students I teach ask me, “What can I do to learn something?”

At such times, I always tell them, “Anything. Do anything; the important thing is to dedicate yourself to learning.”

Acting is one method of expressing a person’s life. While you are furiously learning everything there is, you will be experiencing many things. These experiences are connected to being able to express life itself. No matter what experience it may be, it will serve as fertilizer for the acting profession.



So for even someone like the major star, BYJ, he needs to continue his studies. If he forgets to study, then there is no future for him. An actor needs to express different lives and he has so much to learn that one day will probably feel much too short with the number of hours there are in it.

If he were to switch professions to that of movie director, I think that he should still continue his acting studies. Acting is studies, and life is studies. Without studying, there is no way of overcoming a slump.

Learning from TWSSG

Currently, BYJ is appearing in the historical drama TWSSG. First of all, I would like him to understand that he needs to do comparative research on that era and the present. For example, do research on the lifestyle of the people. Without learning the significant differences of the times back then and the present,
then he will not be able to give a good performance.



For example, to go from Seoul Station to Namsam Tower back then and now, what are the differences? There are different transportation methods
such as walking, on horseback, and in carriages. Presently, we can ride in an auto and easily get there but before this method was available, people in the past must have had considerable hardships.

The same thing can be said if we consider communication. Now through communications, anyone can be easily understood, but what was it like for the people in the past? At a time when differences in class standing, male and female discrimination occurred, we can imagine that communications were not like it is now. If we include language usage, there is a difference between the past and present so that when a present day person acts, they must learn the language from the beginning.



Many years have come and gone between the past and the present resulting in considerable differences in lifestyle and views on life, and even differences in body movements. Even the walking stride is different for those from the past and present.



The very first thing that BYJ must understand is that the past and the present are entirely different things as seen in these examples given. If he understands this, when he goes to act in a historical drama, he will understand that the same expressions cannot be acted as in a modern day drama.

Though young people today act in historical dramas, their acting is strictly of the modern times. I question this practice. If there is a reason now to act in a historical drama, it is because there is a past, we have a present, and because we have a future. I think that we must portray the past much more accurately and properly. It should just not be a matter of producing a humorous amusing historical drama.



BYJ should not forget this when he acts in a historical drama.


Producer Yoon Suk Ho is My High School Junior

Since playing the role of BYJ’s father in WS, there are many people who see me as having the “father role” image, but believe it or not, in my younger days,
I was an actor that only appeared in leading roles. I appeared in love stories where I fell in love and in many roles where I was the love interest. I also acted in a number of compelling roles.

I once played the role of a priest in a film and was praised by an actual priest, “You were just like me!” Recently I have wanted to play the bad guy role and I am slowly attempting roles in that direction. Fans will lose interest if I keep doing the same type of roles. If an actor does not seek change, then an actor does not grow.

Because I have portrayed many roles up to now, perhaps my image is stronger as an actor that is adaptable to any role rather than being type cast as a father image. The truth is my personal lifestyle is also like that of a free soul (laughs).

It seems that in Japan also I have the image of being an actor that always appears in producer Yoon Suk Ho’s projects. It is certainly true that I have appeared in almost all of his projects. About the only project I have not appeared in is Summer Scent.

The reason I did not appear in this project was that I was appearing in the SBS drama, Rustic Period from July of 2002, the year before Summer Scent began airing. It was a traditional Korean yakuza (gangster) popular drama with Kim Do Han as the boss and hero, and I played the newspaper reporter. Summer Scent and Rustic Period both aired in the same time slot, and I thought that it would be rude to appear in a rival program, so I did not appear in Summer Scent.

When director Yoon Suk Ho films a drama, he is not the type of director that demands much from the actors. He lets the actors perform freely. I am very pleased with this aspect of his directing. As an actor, you are able to relax and concentrate on your acting and you feel that you are being trusted, and you end up wanting to do your best for the director.



If it is a director that gives too much detailed directions, I end up very fatigued. As it is, I am already in great pain over what type of image I should present in this current project after having appeared in many dramas up to now, and I am thinking that I should show a different image from what I have done up to now. For example, even if it is a similar father role, I think that there should be something different in the impression given.

In this aspect, I think that director Yoon Suk Ho and I share the same opinion. It seems that he has been greatly influenced by senior KBS directors,
Kim Su Dong and Kim Hyo Cheon.

Not only do I associate with director Yoon Suk Ho on a professional level, but I am also very close to him in my personal life. He is my junior from high school. We went to which is a private school in Seoul. Just because we graduated from the same school does not mean that we always work together. Also, Chungdong High SchoolLee Byung Hun is also a junior from this high school. There are many graduates from this high school who are active in Korean show business.

I think that director Yoon Suk Ho played an extremely large part in WS being a hit. That the actors in WS were appealing to make it a hit is one reason,
but it was director Yoon Suk Ho that made the casting decisions as to the actors he used.



Father Role in the Film, I Won’t Forget You

In January of this year (2007), I played the father of the Korean hero, Lee Su Hyun, in the Korean Japanese joint production, I Won’t Forget You (biopic about the Korean, Lee Su Hyun, who in January of 2001, died trying to save a Japanese drunkard that had fallen from the JR Okubo train station platform). I made several trips to Japan for PR purposes and to give stage greetings, and in the process, I was forced to consider various things.



In Korea, no matter what event occurs, with the passage of time, many times the event will be forgotten, but in Japan things are different, and with this incident, it became the start of discussions on many problems. I was very surprised at seeing that. At the movie premiere, I was also very surprised to see the Japanese emperor and empress in attendance. While being a private function isn’t it wonderful that they would attend such a film premiere? There were also several other cabinet members present.

That I was cast in this movie was probably due to the effects of the hallyu boom. Perhaps the movie makers thought that I would have more of a response
if they asked me to appear, someone who is known to the Japanese, rather than an unknown actor in Japan.

When I actually met Lee Su Hyun’s father, the role that I play, there were so many similarities between the two of us that I understood why I was cast for the role. The first impression upon seeing him is that he appears kind, a mild-mannered person but he also has an extremely stubborn side to him. I am the same way.

Lee Su Hyun’s father works in the Tax Revenue office as a government worker and has lived an upright life. They must have thought I had the perfect image to match the role of the father. That is why I think I was cast for the role of the father.

If the casting was made just on the basis of the hallyu boom, then I do not think I would have appeared in the film. You know that I have a very stubborn side to me also (laughs).


My Experience with Japanese Fans

Ever since the hallyu boom occurred, I have been constantly traveling back and forth between Korea and Japan.

Since receiving a request from a Japanese publisher of, “We’d like you to write a book on basic Korean,” I have also traveled to Japan to attend the promotion party for that book, and attended a fan meeting. There have also been other cultural exchange events for projects besides WS.

Recently, in addition to the movie I Won’t Forget You, I traveled to Japan for PR purposes for director Yoon Suk Ho’s musical WS.

It seems that I’ve become famous among the Japanese and that I am now recognized in the most unexpected places. Even if I am walking on the smallest side street, I am recognized. I am not even a young star actor and I do not think I am that popular either.

In Korea, I have been acting as an actor from childhood so I have to be conscious of the glances cast my way wherever I go, but recently I have to be concerned even in Japan.

There are many women in Japan that are Korean drama fans who say that they have seen WS a number of times. They have memorized the lines of the drama and the details of those scenes. Some fans say that the most memorable scenes were the ones where I appeared and not the scenes where BYJ and Choi Ji Woo appeared.



When I went to the hospital for the DNA test and afterwards in the scene where I came out of the hospital, the fans enthusiastically told me how moved they were by my expressions of true-to-life acting. It is a blessing for an actor to be told a remark such as this.



I never imagined that the Japanese would come to love Korean dramas so much. I feel that history is being made in its own way through such events. There is also the expectation that both Korea and Japan can overcome each other’s cultural differences.

I think that among the Japanese, there are some people that did not care if Korea existed in this world or not.

But these people watched Korean dramas and came to love them and through Korean dramas, came to know about the country of Korea. Within their new consciousness of Korea, they became attracted to the country of Korea, and in actuality, there were many people that traveled to Korea. This is the new era we have entered.

I believe that from now on we need to reflect deeply on dramas and movies and produce them more carefully. This is because of short filming schedules and low production costs which have continued to turn out cheap dramas in Korea. There is the need for a careful system which everyone can agree upon to produce dramas and films.

The Korean media and intellectuals are always grateful to the Japanese fans for the great love they show. Once the fever dies down, they should not take the attitude of ignorance but instead, take responsibility for supporting us and also respecting us.

Currently, our culture has spread to Japan and though only the beloved parts have been focused upon, the Korean people also value and love the Japanese culture. I believe that it would be wonderful if a sense of togetherness could be shared through culture, which no politics or economics could achieve.

May both sides continue to make efforts from here on.

p.s. click here to read about that brave korean youth who reminded us that the world's still beautiful.

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog

here's chapter 12 of the book ways to love yonsama. sweet sister seems to be working doubly hard over the thanksgiving weekend...

thanks much much!

this chapter is an interview with yet another veteran actor, tokgo yeong jae (aka tokgo young jae). he's actually king yang, or damdeok's father in TWSSG.

this interview must have been done during the earlier filming days of TWSSG, but there're some bits that are not quite right; they must have changed plans as they go along. but still, it's an interesting read.

Ch 12 To a Respected Senior 'A Good-Mannered Love'
- TWSS Actor, Tokgo Yeong Jae


Reunion After 11 Years and Still Modest, Always Bows Deeply

In TWSSG, I play the role of the father, King Yang to the King of Goguryeo, BYJ (Damdeok).

Because I heard that YJ was involved in all casting for TWSSG, YJ must have had a hand in casting me for the role also. That is because no actor who does not get along with YJ has been cast. That is to say that YJ must think that I get along with everyone also.



This is my first time co-starring with YJ. But in my personal life, I have met him a number of times and at wrap parties. I have also met YJ at a private affair when he was there with his friends. Around that time, I would have never expected that YJ would, in time, become an actor who would shock the entire Japanese isles with WS. I believe that he was blessed with luck also.

With the TWSSG filming, I think that it will be eleven years since reuniting with YJ. YJ calls me by the name, sonbae-nim (senpai sama, senior).

Though he has now become an international star, he has not changed at all from the past and even now, remains modest. He is courteous and when he sees me, he always bows deeply in a ninety degree angle.



Once when I was taking a photo together with the staff, YJ was passing by and asked, “Would it be alright if I took a photo together with everyone?”

He is very approachable and is not conceited at all. I think I now understand why he has so many fans in Japan. But on the other hand, he is servile no more than is necessary. When compared to other actors, he always has a natural attitude and I think he has a strong grasp of who he is.


Even During Meals He Does not Forget Love and Good Manners

TWSSG is a very large scale drama basically using three cameras like those used in films. CG (computer graphics) such as those used in films as Harry Potter and LOTR make up 30-50% of the project.

There are more than 100 people on the film set. Because of that, for everyone to gather for meals becomes a considerable undertaking. Meals are eaten from a pap cha which is a large kitchen on wheels that prepares the meals.

This is done because it is too tiresome to go outside the film set for meals. Also, because TWSSG is a historical drama, the actors are all wearing historical era costumes. Many times they must take their meals while wearing these costumes.

That is why it is inconvenient to move about and there is the worry about dirtying the costumes. Of course, YJ takes his meals together with everyone at the pap cha in this way. He dines while still wearing his historical era costume.



YJ has very good manners while dining, and waits for me, as his senior to pick up my chopsticks, before he picks up his own chopsticks. In Korea, the relationships between senior and junior are very distinct and complicated. When I pick up my chopsticks, this is the signal that he may pick up his chopsticks to begin to eat.

Elder people are respected for their age and treated with love and courtesy. As a senior, it is natural that I consider him a junior with affection. Yes, he is the type of junior who is loved by all seniors.


TWSSG Bathroom in an Uproar

I know very well how extremely popular YJ is in Japan. I think this is a wonderful thing.

There are many Japanese women fans visiting the TWSSG film sites. I am really amazed by all this. Knowing that YJ is here and using that as an excuse, there appear to be quite a number of fans on an extended stay! They seem to be staying at the Hanwha Resort where YJ is on an extended stay. This must be an expression of the fans’ love, to be as close as possible to him.

The women fans seem to know very well which days YJ will be filming and not filming. On the days that YJ is not filming, the fans all disappear having gone somewhere else.

But on filming days, they again assemble en masse, and enthusiastically and patiently wait from morning until night for YJ to appear.

The truth is that the fans can only see YJ when he goes to the bathroom. Even the big star YJ must go to the bathroom. Because there is only one bathroom on site, if you wait outside the bathroom, you will be able to see YJ a number of times in one day.

But you will only be able to see him as he goes in and out of the bathroom so it will be a glimpse of only a few seconds. Despite this, the fans persevere and continue to wait patiently throughout the day for him to appear. I have never seen such stoic love as that.

So when the long awaited YJ finally appears, the fans are in an uproar!

Even when I go to the bathroom, because I am known as “Yonsama’s father,” the fans call me, “Tokgo-sama!” and the sound of camera flashes can be heard continuously. I am also frequently asked to sign autographs.

The love for BYJ has also affected me. I am really astonished at the fervor shown by the Japanese fans.



My Experience at the Toei Kyoto Film Set

I have traveled to Japan a number of times in my private time, with my last trip being seven years ago.

I once worked at the Toei Kyoto film set. I appeared in the film, Gwicheondo (1996 release) playing the role of Tada Katsu, a Japanese shogun. The staff at the Kyoto film set was all Japanese and only the director was Korean (Lee Kyeong Yeong).

When I went to Japan, I was also moved by the enthusiastic appearance of the Japanese as they sweated while they worked. Isn’t this strong proof of the self-respect that the Japanese have?

Also, I thought they made good use of the time during filming. On the film set, no matter how late it got, filming ended at 10 pm each night. In Korea, filming can continue until dawn and all through the night.



The filming for the TWSSG drama is more difficult than it would be for a film and director, Kim Jong Hak does not film through the night. He will end filming at 12 midnight. He will not make filming difficult and have the actors and staff suffer also.

That is why YJ is not suffering through tiring, continued late night filming on this drama.

*bb: i assume this was in the earlier days of the filming; they did have some late night filming subsequently, but hardly overnight though. and PD kim does take care to ensure they get enough rest after some late nights.


Korea Should Recognize BYJ’s Achievements

I have heard that TWSSG’s 20 episodes will be broadcast from the fall of 2007. It will be broadcast in the same time slot that Jumong was (Mon, Tue, 9:55 pm.) and after a modern day mini-series is aired, TWSSG will be aired. Currently, historical dramas are very popular in Korea.

*bb: there should be 24 epis for TWSSG, and the timeslots have also changed due to the postponement. TWSSG is currently airing every Wed & Thu, korean time 9:55pm.

TWSSG is a Korean historical drama, but I am confident that it will deeply move even the Japanese, more than WS. Not only is BYJ appearing in it, but all of Korea’s appealing middle level actors are out in full force, so even the Japanese fans should look forward to the drama.

For YJ, whether he can take off in TWSSG as an actor or not will become a divergent point. YJ has acted, up to now, with a soft and kind image but with this project he will again show a new, exciting, and strong image. If he can successfully portray this image, then he can consider this success as a big leap forward.



The Korean government should award YJ with a medal or pension or some type of consideration, and I think that an evaluation should perhaps be done.

The reason for this is that he has dramatically changed for the better, Japan’s anti-Korea sentiments which is an action deserving of a medal. Because of his efforts, an unknown number of Japanese have come to change their attitude about Korea. The Korean government also needs to recognize his achievements.

Even the Japanese government tried to present Ichiro Suzuki with the Citizenship Award for playing in the National League in the US. He declined the award it seems. Misora Hibari (enka singer) received the Citizenship award, didn’t she? Korea also needs to award some type of consideration for those artists
who have made an achievement because actors would then strive to make efforts.

But firstly, I think that Korea should properly evaluate BYJ’s major achievement to the country of Korea.

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog
pics added by: bb

Ch 13 Connected by Music and a “Love of Music”
- April Snow Music Director- Cho Sung Woo


Felt Pressure on April Snow

The fact that BYJ was starring in AS and that I was in charge of the music put considerable pressure on me.



In actuality, when I compose music or when director Hur Jin Ho and I are arranging a movie, we work pretty much the same as always, and we were able to work without being conscious of BYJ, but then, when I thought of his tremendous popularity in Japan, I could not ignore the fact that a huge number of viewers would probably be hearing my music.

But I did not have any special thoughts of appealing to the Japanese fans when I composed this AS music. I did not create the music with BYJ’s fans in mind either.

If I had created the music with BYJ’s fans in mind and had BYJ sing or play the piano, then BYJ’s fans might have been pleased, but I felt that my personal fans would have criticized me if I had done this.

A movie original soundtrack (OST) with BYJ songs and BYJ playing the piano may have sold a large number of copies but…

But that would be going too far with the “profit motive” wouldn’t it? If I had tried to do something like that, BYJ may have also thought of me as, “That Cho Sung Woo is trying to use me to make money” (laughs).

As a music director, I had the pure intention of having BYJ, in the role of Insoo, sing and play the piano.

I also arranged the scene in the Duelist where Kang Dong Won and Han Ji Won performed the duet. The director, Lee Myung Se thought this film was a melodrama and thought that the duet would fit into the film’s story. The two performed the song well. It is not uncommon for the setting of a film to show the leads singing.

But even if I had the pure intentions of wanting to have BYJ sing in AS, and then had him actually sing, it would have been so easy for my intentions to be considered as taking advantage of his popularity.

That is why in the end I decided not to go ahead with this idea. For BYJ, it may have been a regrettable decision.


Photo Taken After the Concert

The setting of the movie was BYJ playing Insoo, a lighting director.

The reason for this setting is that director, Hur Jin Ho was attracted to the emptiness and ever changing qualities of “light.” At the concert venues, the “lights” shine brightly but when the concert ends, the lights go out leaving a sense of emptiness. Director Hur Jin Ho’s thinking seemed to be to use the contrast of light to express what appears in AS, during a colorful period of time and what happens after the emptiness passes.



When Director Hur Jin Ho and I created One Fine Spring Day I created the idea of Yu Ji Tae, playing a sound technician, because I thought that a technician that collected these sounds, matched the film’s storyline because even here, sounds were limited to certain locations and disappeared. Even in AS, BYJ playing the role of Insoo and the type of work he did, came out of such thinking.

Director Hur Jin Ho and I created the concert scene at Yonsei University’s open air theater showing Insoo in his working element. For BYJ fans, it certainly must have been a very memorable scene having participated in the film as concert viewers.

But despite this scene being created strictly for the movie, there were voices attacking,

“That scene was created for BYJ fans.” That was strictly not our intention though.

Yonsei University’s open air theater is a very wonderful venue, and I had previously seen a concert with artificial snow, which produced such a wonderful atmosphere that I had an obsession about using that venue someday. This venue is not rented out to the general public but because director Hur Jin Ho and I are graduates, the University cooperated with our efforts.



After this concert scene was filmed, I was sleeping on a bench when BYJ came quietly sneaking up and photographed me. I thought to myself, he got me! (laughs). BYJ may have thought that photographing me after seeing me worn out by the concert, was his way of saying, “Thanks for all your hard work.”
He also should have been fatigued. You know, I still have not received that photo yet. I am thinking that I still have to ask for that photo.


What is BYJ’s Karaoke Repertory?

I was also with BYJ when he was on the film set and in Japan for the Saitama Super Arena event. I think that he is a warm hearted person. He is a super star but we are able to associate like brothers in a relaxed way. He jokes a lot and is a humorous guy.

Until we worked together I felt a lot of pressure but once I got to know him, our relationship turned into a familiar, “college senior- junior” relationship.

At fan meetings, BYJ will hardly ever display his singing voice but when he drinks, he would often be singing to himself. He often went to karaoke with director Hur Jin Ho and the staff. And no, I did not go together with them.

From what I have heard, he often sang the title songs from the movies I composed, or Zoo’s “Wings of Happiness” (To My Wife) and “Hidden Compass” from Last Present. He seems to like my songs. I have heard that he has a fun time singing these songs. He also sang songs by Kim Kang Seok, who died at the early age of 32. (“Around 30”).

It is a well-known story that BYJ is very proficient at playing the piano. When he had the time, he would sometimes play the piano. That is why I thought that it would be nice if he could play the piano at the Saitama Super Arena event, but he seemed to think that he needed more time to practice if he was to play for the fans. I think that it would have been a heartfelt, emotional piano performance.



Why AS Was Unpopular in Korea

It was unfortunate that the reviews for AS in Korea were unsatisfactory. The total number of moviegoers was about 900,000. The movie’s theme of “infidelity” carries a generally strong negative image. The result was that the viewers rejected the sordidness, dishonesty, and secrecy that accompany the image of infidelity. Because of that general image, the viewers were expecting the movie to be the same way.



If I were to speak on behalf of director Hur Jin Ho, he would say that AS is a movie about infidelity, but also his attempt to express “true love” in which he aimed to create moderation in the images he used. This is while maintaining the director’s style.

But the result may be that this message did not get conveyed to the moviegoers. I think the most heartbreaking part for director Hur was being told that he himself surrendered his creative style as an author to BYJ. There is no truth to this statement, and I think the director has continued to be respected for his directing style including AS.

Certainly, because of BYJ’s extreme popularity on the film set, I think things were difficult. Before filming began, I think the director was confident that he would be able to show the natural appearance of BYJ. But it must have been difficult for him to always let BYJ keep re-shooting until BYJ was satisfied. Despite this, I think that the director filmed the movie in his own style.



That is why director Ho and I do not think that AS is inferior to any of the previous projects. When AS was released in Korea, and the movie was severely criticized, we did not expect it and we were bewildered. Even now, we still consider it to be a fine film.

Because the reviews were so bad, there are times when I no longer want to think of AS and there are times when I think of remaking it and re-releasing it
(director Hur Jin Ho’s re-edited complete “Director’s Cut” will be released in Japan in September 2006), it fills me with mixed feelings. It is just so strange why the movie got such negative reviews.


Memories of the AS Music Concert

The reviews also rated the music I created for AS as “ordinary”. When I look back on it now, perhaps the music ended up that way because the movie’s theme portrayed a common and ordinary “infidelity.”

It was not the result of composing simple songs so as not to disappoint the fans of BYJ. AS is a quiet film so I was intent on composing music that would match that mood.

Luckily, the music of AS was also well received in Japan and I received offers to appear in AS film concerts from a Japanese promotion company. I wanted to do concerts which would include not only the one project of AS, but that would also include all the other film projects I had worked on, and so I discussed this with the promotion company.

In the end, it was decided that we would do a concert featuring the music of AS as the highlight, and we would also introduce ten other edited works from the movies I had created. I also traveled to Japan to perform and act as guest conductor. I was happy to hear reactions from concert goers that,
“It was very moving.”

It was quite a while since I had played the piano in a public performance. Well, I couldn’t perform as well as I did in the past. But what I lacked in technique,
I tried to make up for it by putting my heart into the performance. I hope everyone enjoyed the performances.

The name, Cho Sung Woo and the music I have composed is well-known in Korea. There is even a “Cho Sung Woo Mania”. though small in number. As a result of giving performances in Japan, I have also given many interviews.

My CDs were previously sold in Japan, but with the impetus of AS, I have become more known. A fine opportunity to hear my music has been presented.

For those people who came to the AS concerts, they may at first have come to the performance thinking the concert was by “Yonsama’s music director”
but I believe they left thinking, “Korean film music is really nice,” or “Cho Sung Woo’s music is really nice.” I hope that my concerts were the stimulus that will spur interest in the music of Korean films.

I also have many friends in Japan. Before AS, there are many musicians that I associate with. For example, I have worked together with Matsutoya Yumiko
on One Fine Spring Day and recorded with Shinozaki Masatsugu, the violinist (NHK Famous Japan Peaks). My closest friend is Kawai Kenji (Running Wild).
We call each other hyeong (aniki, older brother), and tongseng (otouto, younger brother).

Other friends are pianist, Sasaki Isao, who is famous in Korea, Joe Hisaishi, and CD producers. I think that the Japanese have a cool, sophisticated approach to creating music. Korean music, especially my music, I feel, when compared to such people may be lyrical. The Korean people may perhaps be more passionate when it comes to music.


Director Hur Jin Ho, I and BYJ Gave Our Utmost

Director Hur Jin Ho and I were philosophy graduates of the same university. Because there were few philosophy students, we were close to all of our classmates. But while director Hur Jin Ho was the only student among 20 classmates, it was not a case of him enthusiastically discussing movies and music
together with everyone.

It was by chance that I came to compose music for Director Hur Jin Ho. After he graduated college, he began working for a company, quit that company,
and enrolled in film school where he heard that I was composing music, and asked me if I would do the music for his short film. This is a story that took place quite a few years after we graduated from college. Up until then, we had a really normal college relationship as classmates.

Once we began working together, I found out that director Hur Jin Ho and I are really similar. From our personalities to our thoughts, to even our favorite foods, we are very much alike.

That is why when we work or whether it is regarding music, there is not much discussion, comments, or complaints. Even if there were no discussion, the interpretation of the project would be the same by both of us (laughs). I am also working on director Hur Jin Ho’s latest project, Happiness (starring Jeong Min Hwang, Im Soo Jeong).

Director Hur Jin Ho is skillful at getting fine performances from actors. Shim Eun Ha in Christmas in August, Lee Young Ae and Yu Ji Tae in One Fine Spring Day, director Hur Jin Ho helped them all to develop as actors. Rather than always saying a movie is a matter of working with skillful actors, these were cases where the actors became better because of the director.

For BYJ, who is passionate about acting, I believe that because he understood this, he undertook the project under director Hur Jin Ho. BYJ is always an actor that acts giving his utmost efforts.



In Korea, there are many talented film actors such as Sol Kyung Gu, (Rikidozan, Silmido), Song Gang Ho (The Host) and Jeon Do Yeon (Untold Scandal),
and BYJ is also an important actor for the Korean movie world. He should not be considered just a film actor. It may be best to say that he is a valuable key man for spreading Korean films and dramas throughout Asia.

After working together with BYJ on AS, I keenly realized what a perfectionist he is and what a sincere person he is. As an actor, he shows good judgment and he fulfilled his role as an actor to the utmost of his abilities.

BYJ, director Hur Jin Ho and I, each of us fulfilled our individual roles to the utmost of our abilities, and I believe that we produced a fine piece of work.

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog
pics added by: bb

Ch 14 – A Trusted “Telepathic Love”
Photographer Kim Tae Hwan


Sending Opportune Signals from the Heart

In the previous book, (Yonsama’s Ways of Creating People), I was given the chance to talk about hyeong (aniki, older brother). At that time, I could not talk about the women in his life and my various episodes with hyong since that book was published.

Hyeong is currently filming TWSSG in Jejudo with many fans from Japan watching over him.

There are more than 100 fans gathered daily to cheer him on. They sit at the entrance of the film site and wait there until hyong passes by.

Hyeong only passes by there when he goes to the bathroom and if it is once a day, when it is not even known what time of the day he is expected to come by, the fans will not move. The fans are very fervent. I am overwhelmed by their enthusiasm. You end up respecting their enthusiasm. If it was me, no matter how much I liked a movie actor, I could not go as far as they do in showing my enthusiasm.

Also, I am always by hyeong’s side. I am photographing the TWSSSG background photo stills which feature hyeong. The reverse is also true where I also end up being photographed by hyeong also (laughs).



Hyeong’s interest in photography is never changing as he continues to shoot photos in secret of the staff while they work and in their spontaneous moments.

Because TWSSG has been on long-term location filming, there are times when hyeong’s physical condition has not been in peak shape. Even during such times, he sends me the signal, "It’s okay to shoot now." He does not use words to tell me this, but sends this sign through his heart, that it is okay to shoot the photo.



Because we have been together so long, we understand each other telepathically, and communicate with each other through the anticipation of each other’s moves. That is why I believe that hyeong’s natural and wonderful expressions are captured.

The hyeong that is seen through the viewfinder is rapidly becoming more appealing. His personality is becoming softer and it seems that as a person,
he is showing more breadth and depth. Maybe this is due to the fact that he is growing older. It feels like he is more at ease with himself. I feel that the hours that hyeong and I spend together are the most fun and that the hours spent together have increased.

During the filming of AS, hyeong also suffered considerably but on this project, he may have a little more elbow room. During the filming of AS, it was director Hur Jin Ho’s style to film by not following the scenario, which did not match hyeong’s style of preparing thoroughly for a role by following the scenario, and which caused hyeong much agony.



Premonition of a Hit in TWSSG

Currently, I feel that TWSSG which is filming will be a bigger hit than WS.



The reason for this is that hyeong will be portraying a great and heroic king from Korean history. Previously, in the movie, Untold Scandal, hyeong played the role of a 'womanizing playboy' which the Japanese fans did not support very much. But this role is different. Because hyeong will appear as a cool historical hero.

Because hyeong wants to take on different acting roles, he seemed to have fun acting as the 'womanizing playboy', but the Jun Sahng image in WS was too strong among the Japanese fans, that they were probably not yet ready to accept other images of him.

The other reason why I think TWSSG will be a hit is because of director Kim Jong Hak, known as the drama hit maker, who is filming it.

Director Kim Jong Hak previously filmed Korea’s greatest hit drama, Sandglass. Sandglass is a political drama based on the Kwanju incident (1980 Kwanju popular uprising in Korea) and was a major hit despite it being a serious political drama. During the hours the drama aired, it was almost as if the restaurants and bath houses throughout the city were empty of people because of people being glued to their televisions. Because it is his project, we can expect great things.

The superb supporting cast is also worth watching. Choi Min Soo, who was the lead in Sandglass and highly rated film actress, Moon So Ri are supporting hyeong. There is no other extravagant drama like this. I myself am looking forward to the broadcast.


Enjoying Wine in His Room

Hyeong is filming TWSSG under these conditions and continues his physical training without fail in between location filming. Then after his training or filming,
in his room at the Hanwha Resort where he is staying, we enjoy drinking wine together. Currently, that is hyeong’s and my favorite pleasure.

Hyeong has recently been obsessed with wines and has installed a wine cellar at home, which stores several hundred bottles of wine. He especially likes red wine and nibbles on small bites of cheese while slowly savoring the wine. While drinking the wine, he often tells me stories about wine. Because of him, I’ve also become a complete wine fanatic (laughs).

Hyeong enthusiastically reads really thick technical guides about wine and now has the knowledge equal to that of a sommelier. In addition to the technical guides, he likes the Japanese comics, Kami no Shizuku (Drops of God) with its theme of wine, and he seems to be reading them enthusiastically.

These comics became a hit throughout Asia and were published in the Korean language beginning in 2005. (They are currently still being published). The comics became a bestseller in Korea also and caused a wine boom. Because of the Italian wines that are mentioned in the comics, sales were suddenly said to increase 30%. The wines that appear in the comics are introduced by the author, Agi Tadashi, who actually buys the wines himself and decides which ones will appear in the comics, so that the wines do not appear to be advertisements for wine companies.



The way that Mr Agi has an obsession with his emotions is similar to hyong who is a perfectionist. Maybe that is the reason why hyeong also likes these comics.

When there is no filming taking place and he is in Seoul, hyeong invites me to his home. We either dine at his home or drink the Yakult (yogurt drink) that his mother has bought for us. We watch the TV news programs and when we tire of those, we change the channel, and watch movies.

Hyeong seems to have enjoyed the American suspense drama, Prison Break DVD that I loaned him saying, 'I enjoyed it.' As an actor, he was drawn to it and watched it with much enthusiasm.

He also talks a lot about cameras. Hyeong usually uses a Leica M60 or the Canon EOS. He often reads technical guides also and has underlined many sections under the photos.



He seems to really love photography and often tells me that we should go photographing together. But hyeong is busy so that it is rather difficult to make this a reality. He has also proposed that we someday open a photo studio together. Hyeong also says that I am the most envied man in the world. A photographer looks like he works alone picking and choosing the work he wants to do, and may have an easy and cool image.

As for his future, he has often said in past interviews that he "wanted to be a movie director" didn’t he? But recently, he does not talk about that much anymore. He is talking about such things as a desire to operate a farm in the vicinity of Brazil.


I Introduced Former Lover Lee Sa Gang

Recently, I have begun thinking of going to London to study photography for two years. I have not definitely decided whether I will enroll in a photography school or reside in London and continue to do photography work but it is my dream, either way, to go to London.

Before I go to London, I have made the promise to hyeong that I would shoot another photo album for hyeong. The previous photo album had physique training which took place in Korea and Los Angeles, and where we traveled to Malaysia to shoot the photos that concentrated on his physical beauty.

But I would like the next project to be a different concept than the last one, and I am thinking that I would like the photos to capture hyeong in his natural appearance.

But speaking of London, several years ago hyeong announced that he was dating Lee Sa Gang, who is still studying film in London. At the time of the uproar about their dating, she was still a student at the London Film Academy, but the truth is, their first meeting came about when I introduced her to hyeong, when she returned home from London for a short visit.

The two of them hit it off and seemed to be having a lot of fun. I can’t talk about the details though.

Hyeong is not dating any woman now. I am sure he is lonely but he has now accepted his situation, and I guess you can say that he is enjoying his single life in his own way. The fact that hyeong is loved by a multitude of fans; perhaps you can say that hyeong has also accepted that as his fate.

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog
pics added by: bb

Ch 15 - A Love Received is a “Love Returned”
- Film Critic, Kim So Heui


Appears to be Unselfish and the Hidden Love and Passion that Overflows

I had the opportunity to do an in-depth interview of BYJ in March of 2001. He had just ended life as a college student and was about to make his comeback in the drama, “Hotelier” (broadcast on MBC from April 4, 2001 in Korea). We took photos along the banks of Han River, in the city of Seoul, and ate dinner while discussing various topics with BYJ.



I guess my impression of him at that time would be “a trusted close friend” and “an excellent lover.”

When I was with BYJ, it felt like I was with a close friend whom I knew for many years even though I did not know him that long, because of the warm sense he gave me, of someone you could place your trust in. But though on the surface he appeared to be calm and unselfish, I felt that the truth was, on the inside, he was also overflowing with love and passion. I felt that he was hiding some secret passion that when confronted with some opportunity, that love and passion would come flowing out, and he would plunge straight forward onto his chosen path.

The reason I felt that way was partly because of hearing such things said about him, how BYJ read the script to the very end, and how he would rehearse before facing the set. There are many people who know the story about how he rehearses a single line more than 100 times, and how he memorizes the lines of the other actors in the entire script. His close friend, Kim Tae Woo (actor that played his college classmate in First Love) was once said to be dumbfounded because of BYJ’s personality.



Kim Tae Woo was married in 2001 and BYJ dropped in on the newlyweds, where he talked on long into the night. He talked about “Hotelier”, his role of Dong Hyuk and acting. This was all done while holding the “Hotelier” script in one hand and never putting it down. He was totally oblivious to Kim Tae Woo’s feelings of wanting to spend an enjoyable evening with his new bride, as he was so engrossed in talking (laughs). Because BYJ continued to read the script so enthusiastically, Kim Tae Woo said, “Stop reading the script. Find another way of rehearsing without reading the script” leaving Kim Tae Woo dumbfounded at BYJ’s behavior.


[b]“Unable to Open His Heart Up to Anyone” [/b]

As to why BYJ is so thorough in his dialogue practice, the reason seems to be that he is anxious. BYJ said this.



“Other actors are able to look at the script on the film set and immediately act. But for me, it is only after reading the script 100 times that I am able to face the film set and meet the other actors for the first time on the same level. That is why before I stand in front of the camera, I feel a compelling desire to show my co-stars that I have seriously rehearsed rather than inconvenience them.”

I felt that the compelling desire he spoke of went beyond the dimension of respect and sincerity as it related to other actors. BYJ seems to be really uneasy about his own acting skills.

When he meets veteran actors, he compares himself to them and ends up asking, “When this person was my age, what were they doing?” or “What can I do to obtain the same level of knowledge as this person?” or “Was this person born with his knowledge or was it a result of his environment?”

BYJ said that he believes that he himself does not possess an innate talent for acting, and unless he makes the efforts, his abilities as an actor are equal to zero. Though he has been sufficiently active as an actor, the fact that he thinks that he has no talent as an actor seems unbelievable. That he would divulge his true feelings to a reporter that he met for the first time, took me by surprise.

Through the TV screen, BYJ does not reveal his true face. When I asked him, why is this so, BYJ replied shyly, turning red, “I am self-conscious of the fact that I am unable to open myself up. But I have this personality where I can’t easily open my heart to anyone.” If it was any other actor, they would have gotten angry or it would not have been unusual if he had shown a disagreeable expression. But he did not show such an expression. All he did was turn red…
He is really bashful.



“But my personality has gradually been changing. Now I do not hide the fact that I have weaknesses and that I will also show those weaknesses first. That is why everyone around me clearly understands my personality.”

BYJ has endeavored in his own way to change his personality over time. As a result, I believe we have the BYJ we see now.

BYJ is known for not appearing on entertainment programs and rarely giving interviews to the media. But that was all due to his bashful personality and his strong sense of uneasiness. There are some people that say that he is arrogant and that it was a strategy he used to maintain a mysterious image, but after actually meeting him, I thought how wrong that was.

“If I try really hard, I keep thinking that some day I will be able to give really good interviews.”

Yes, he is trying to respond to the love of the fans by constantly striving.


Married One Day and Traveling With His Wife…

During the interview, photo shoots of BYJ took place along the banks of the Han River but during the filming, I waited in his auto until the filming ended.

Inside his auto, there were books scattered here and there. The titles of books that were right before me were, “Introduction to Photography”, “Theory of Film Acting,” and “Paintings of Rembrandt.” Then there were English conversational educational materials.

I took one of the photography books and flipping through the pages, I noticed that BYJ had taken a red pen to heavily highlight one chapter. I think it was definitely the chapter related to camera filters. It must have been the chapter that he was most interested in. I was looking at his books in this way, when BYJ came rushing into the car shivering from the cold.

“I took a photo of the cameraman. A photo of the cameraman that films me! I don’t think that cameraman has ever had his photo taken up to now.”

Ha, ha, ha, ha, he laughed loudly and added hand gestures using both his hands as he was having fun while he talked. His expression was like that of a young boy as he explained the angle of the photo he shot; he was having so much fun explaining it to me. I thought to myself how much he must love photography.

That image of BYJ in that moment is the most memorable impression I have coming out of that interview.



I asked him why he was looking at books of paintings and drawings. He explained it this way.

“In the future, if I am able to film my own movie, I am thinking that the angles that appear in the paintings and drawings might be useful references. If the audience that likes those paintings and drawings were to see those angles in my movie, wouldn’t they be surely pleased?

Also, one day I’d like to be married and to travel with my wife where if we go to the art museum, I would be able to give a detailed explanation on the art, wouldn’t I? If I could do that for my wife, I imagine what a proud thing that would be as a husband.”

Visualizing the audience, even about his future wife, shows how much BYJ is endeavoring. I felt just how strong the emotion was in BYJ’s feelings for the people around him.


“Living Was Painful”

After the photo shoot, while we ate dinner, I asked him about his boyhood.

“You were a child that was loved by everyone, weren’t you?”



But his answer was unexpected and made me wonder if something was wrong.

“I think that I was a child that no one knew what I was thinking or a child that couldn’t be understood. That is because when I was small, I kept running into utility poles. When I look back on it now, it almost scares me because I hit them with full force. The reason why I kept running into them was because I was always deep in thought and walking into the poles.

For example, I would recall a time when I was playing soccer; why the soccer ball would always come flying my way. I would think how great it would be if the ball wouldn’t come flying my way. I was that shy…It was to the extent that I felt that living was painful.”

I ended up being amazed. He continued and said this.

“My personality was overly passive. I blush easily as you saw earlier.”

His shy personality began in childhood. But he immediately said something funny and laughed.

“In the future when I marry, I definitely cannot lie to my wife. When I lie, my back breaks out in a cold sweat. Even if I were to lie, I would be found out by someone touching my back.”

The person who will become BYJ’s wife will surely be happy after she accepts his sincere love.


Desire of Becoming a “Genuine Actor” to Respond to Fan’s Love

Because he has this type of personality, as an actor, when he acts, he said that he cannot “lie in his acting.” With the script in one hand and never letting go of it, he reads one line more than 100 times to make the line “genuine” for him internally. If he does not make it “genuine” then it becomes clear that he is only capable of performing false acting.

The reason that he became an actor was in the beginning to earn money which he honestly discussed. But that motive gradually changed over time, as he felt a responsibility toward the truth that “someone is kindly watching over me” and that he started to strive harder in order to respond to the love shown by the fans. His way of loving is to return the love he has received by working harder to return that love.

Then while he was working as an actor, his thoughts gradually turned to wanting to become a “genuine actor.” During the interview he said, “I’ve decided in my heart that I would live my life as an actor.”

“I know that I will not be able to do everything I want, but just being able to go to the film set everyday, that itself more than anything, is what I think makes me happy.”

Maybe because he once took a step back from show business, and experienced college life together with the general population, that he began to think this way.



Deciding to be an actor means accepting ones fate; he said that he was finally able to watch the videos and DVDs of the dramas that he appeared in. Up until then, he knew in which areas that his acting was bad and that he should be viewing and studying them to improve on them, but he could not bring himself to watch himself.

“The latest topic is for me to show my natural self in front of the camera almost as if I am showing myself in front of a close friend.”

BYJ kept repeating that. Then I encouraged him to appear on casual variety or talk programs to which he said, “I think it’s too late for me to appear on casual programs. It may have been better if I had appeared on those much earlier, or so I think…” Not surprisingly, for BYJ to appear on TV showing his true self may perhaps be difficult.

I also asked him about his college life. We are all concerned about how BYJ spent his days when he did not appear on TV.

“If I were to express it in one word, I was happy.”

BYJ said that and smiled. He wrote reports late into the night and attended early morning lectures, dozed off shortly afterwards…such were the pattern of his days. He seemed to be very contented at being able to have days to concentrate on studying. He brushed off rumors of his academic performance but was very happy saying, “A famous critic/professor gave me an A+!”

“I have the personality where when I do something, I see it through to the end, and when I don’t do something, I don’t,” he said.

Like Jae Ho in the drama, HWRL he worked at a job once and then enrolled in college and then studied hard like Jae Ho. But unlike Jae Ho who thought scholastics would guarantee a successful career, BYJ studied hard for the pure desire of learning.



Experiencing the Difficulties of Directing

BYJ has often been heard saying here and there, that his goal is to become a film director. When I asked him if his goal is still unchanged, BYJ seemed to be wavering.

“My goal in the past was to become a film director but after studying various things to become a film director, I don’t know how to answer that now.”

He said that the more he studied, the more difficult it would be to become a film director.

“If I had the ability I would become a film director, if not, then I might train someone with the talent, ha, ha, ha, ha.”

According to BYJ, there are too many outstanding directors so that there is no role for him to play, and this is where his passive personality shows its face.

The directors that said BYJ “had talent” were Ryu Seung Wan and Jang Jin.

Director Ryu Seung Wong is a director, scriptwriter and actor. He is called the “Tarantino of Korea” and is a director of many talents. He is the director that filmed “No Blood No Tears” starring Jeon Do Yeon (co-starred with BYJ in Sunny Pl*ace of the Young and Six Degrees of Separation), “Die Bad,” “Arahan,” “City of Violence” and shone at the Cannes Film Festival where he received the Grand Jury Prize.

Director Jang Jin started out in theater and has produced Won Bin and Shin Hyun Jun in “Guns and Talks,” and “Mudjima Family.” He supervises a production company called “Film Suda.” As BYJ has said, these are directors that are certainly overflowing with talent.

“Why are all the actors so good in their acting? They have captured the character’s human touch so skillfully…”

The more he watched films; he was overwhelmed by the talent of the directors and became envious of the actors’ talent appearing in the films.



As an actor, he seems to respect Park Joong Hoon. Park Joong Hoon has very few drama appearances and maybe unknown to Japanese fans, but he has appeared in the films, “Two Cups” and “Nowhere to Hide.” He was once called the “King of Korean Comedy” but he is an actor that is capable of comedic and serious roles. He has appeared in many projects and instructed BYJ on the importance of appearing in many projects rather than placing the emphasis on getting the lead role in a project.

Despite this, BYJ still has not become an actor with a lot of exposure (laughs). When it comes to choosing a project, his thinking is as he said, “I want to choose only good projects to work on.”

BYJ describes the positives of his own personality as, “becoming engrossed in something and growing in the process” and also expressed that he has shortcomings. Because he is not a genius as some directors and actors are, who can work from inspiration, he instead, is the model of a hard worker, by really getting his teeth into each and every project properly so that he can grow. That is why instead of appearing in many projects and acting by inspiration,
he seems to think that the only way for him is to carefully select one project and breaking it down.

In conclusion, though he may appear to be unchanged, he has changed as well, and BYJ revealed this about his own ongoing growth.

“As I go on living my life and come into contact with various people, there will be times when my feelings will be offended, and times when I end up thinking unpleasant thoughts. I will end up experiencing pain, at times sadness, or anger…. As a result, there will be times when bitterness may develop. But while I maybe try to settle those resolve that bitterness, I am probably protecting myself.”

Isn’t he a bit philosophical? BYJ also discussed this and that about the 17th century Dutch philosopher Spinoza and when he was talking, he would even show a philosophical expression.

BYJ may be much more introverted and sensitive than one can imagine from his appearance. While battling that part of himself, he engrosses himself in each and every project while growing along the way, he maybe trying hard to respond to the love of his fans.


****************************************

you may click here for links to more interesting articles on YJ.

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog
pics added by: bb

Ch 16 – Forever Eternal “A Natural Love”
Entertainment Reporter- Soh Byung Ki

BYJ, “Perhaps the Japanese are Lonely”

In the beginning, I imagined that for BYJ to have achieved that kind of immense popularity in Japan must have been due to a meticulous strategy that was devised before he landed in Japan.

But it seems I was wrong about that. The more I learn about BYJ, I find that his popularity was not calculated or created like some stage event, and I have come to feel that it was a natural occurring phenomenon.

Are you familiar with the drama, Sad Love Song (aka Sad Sonata), which was broadcast in 2005 in both Korea and Japan? Kwon Sang Woo and Kim Hee Sun starred in it with Fuji TV broadcasting it. This drama was created with the Japanese viewer in mind and was a 'strategic' project. Production and PR costs were huge.

Sad Love Song eventually became a hit in Japan but it was not as big a hit as BYJ’s WS.

WS, which was not made with the Japanese viewers in mind, grabbed the hearts of the Japanese viewers and the Japanese were strongly attracted to BYJ,
who portrayed Jun Sahng (Min Hyun).

WS, as seen from a Korean point of view, is a classic example of a melodrama. But the Japanese fans were moved by WS and felt that BYJ’s kind and pure image had an appeal that was not found in Japanese male stars.



What was BYJ’s response to Japan’s enthusiastic reaction at the time?

“To be welcomed by the Japanese fans in that fashion was totally unexpected. WS has shown its popularity not only in Korea but also in other Asian countries,
and I think that the reason why, of all the countries it has shown particularly explosive popularity in Japan, is that the Japanese live surrounded by a stark environment, and that they are perhaps lonely.”

This is what BYJ said. He seemed to think that the Japanese were under heavy emotional stress and for the Japanese carrying the burden of loneliness, the hero Jun Sahng in the beautiful love story, more than anything, appeared innocent.


BYJ is Always a Natural

The Japanese who had encountered BYJ in WS also expect an image that is unblemished in BYJ himself.

At the September 2004 Pusan International Film Festival, BYJ’s Untold Scandal in which he portrayed a playboy was screened, and the Japanese fans descended upon Pusan displaying signs to “protest the screening” which made the news. It seemed that the Japanese fans could not accept the playboy image of BYJ.

I once asked BYJ what type of image he envisioned for himself, this is what he replied.

“All I want to do is to live my life with sincerity, honesty while putting my utmost effort into everything. I have no intention of limiting myself to one image. It is not as if I am a politician where a solid image is necessary.

Because I am an actor, I want to keep continuing to show myself in different images.”



When I heard BYJ’s reply, the words “natural” came to my mind.

Instead of him thinking strategically of this and that of how to present himself to the fans, and wrecking his brains out on how to appeal to the fans, he was going to just live his life sincerely and honestly and that he would leave it up to nature whether the fans would accept this; I felt that this was his way of showing his love to his fans.

In reality, BYJ is living his life with sincerity, with honesty, and giving his utmost effort.

He does not live an undisciplined life and always strictly controls himself. His passion for reading books is an example. He reads a wide variety of books, whether it is photography, paintings or drawings, he will also read books on philosophy. He also continues his exercising everyday. He frequently watches movies to study them.



When BYJ was filming WS, the episode that he perfectly memorized his lines, and even memorized co-star, Choi Ji Woo’s lines also is well-known.

He did not stay up late into the night drinking or hang out with actors and staff who partied, but instead, returned to his room to immerse himself in dialogue practice before he went to sleep. During filming, there were times when he even coached Choi Ji Woo on her lines.



Even when he was striving so hard, BYJ was always saying, “I always think my acting skill still has a long way to go. Despite this, I am thinking that I would like to create a new image to show to the fans.”

Just like the image of Jun Sang in WS, he is also sincere and innocent.

Also, there was the incident in Nov of 2004, during the second official visit to Japan when the fans were injured in front of the hotel BYJ was staying. At that time, BYJ participated in only the ribbon cutting for the photo exhibit after canceling all other official events and responded by making a teary apology.



By BYJ’s actions here, you can see that sincerity, honesty, and the way he gives his utmost effort to the way he lives his life, are expressed here. The fans must surely see the image of Jun Sang in WS superimposed on such a BYJ.

The natural way he lives his life, and the way he does not betray the dreams of the fans; that is the reason why I feel that BYJ’s popularity is “genuine.”


Awareness that Popularity Can Control Human Nature

Looking at the hallyu stars market share percentage in Japan, BYJ is overwhelmingly on top at 40% followed by the actors Lee Byung Hun, Kwon Sang Woo, and Song Seung Hun. But according to hallyu magazine publishers in Japan, Yonsama’s popularity in Japan is essentially different from the popularity of other hallyu stars.

The reactions to the other hallyu stars given by the Japanese are such comments as, “good looking” and “love him” but when it comes to BYJ, the reaction is, “gratitude.” The reasons given are, “BYJ made me remember my dead husband,” “WS brought back dreams from my past that I had forgotten,” and “He taught me how to smile again.”



The BYJ boom liberated the Japanese women from their ordinary everyday lives, eliminated their stress, and appeared to have healed the loneliness in their hearts. The reason that the burning flame to BYJ’s popularity does not extinguish appears to lie in this reason also.

The reason that fans are grateful to BYJ appears to be due to his personality, his lifestyle, his point of view, and the way he manages his body. It is believed that the fans all support these views. This has no relation to whether a star spends money on promotion or frequently visits Japan and uses the media for continuous exposure. Such methods are not the proven secrets to success in Japan.

Actually, BYJ as an entertainer, values his family (fans) more than the mass media and will not accept an offer to appear on a Japanese TV station lightly.
He even ended up declining the NHK Red White Singing Contest appearance. He faced criticism for selling himself too high, but his reason for declining the invitation was based upon the fact that since he could not speak Japanese, and to take advantage of his popularity in Japan, he thought that he should be cautious in his response.

He has a very cautious nature, hasn’t he? He has only had four official visits to Japan. He is different from actors who have visited Japan five or six times within a six month period, riding the hallyu wave boom.

Manager Yang Geun Hwan of BYJ’s management office, BOF, said this.



“We believe that it is more important to continue to produce projects as we have been up to now in Korea, rather than concentrating our focus on the Japanese viewers so that the Yonsama boom can continue on. We believe this will draw attention to and maintain the hallyu boom.”

Just because BYJ may have become popular, rather than starting up any special projects, their plans are to continue their efforts in doing things naturally
just the way they were up to now. It may be best to say that this is so like BYJ.

When I come across his unchanging attitude from the past, I am still deeply moved by it even now.

But is BYJ aware that his own attitudes are being supported in this way? In a 2004 interview, BYJ’s words carried a deep meaning.

“Though they say we live in a digital age, human emotions are not surprisingly the most important. As far as the entertainment industry is concerned, ultimately, this industry is capable of creating a major trend in human emotions. The mass media may be able to create the images of actors but perfect images alone are not enough. Within those images, there has to be the essence of a human, the presence of a true soul or the end result is that a major trend cannot be created.

In other words, a person who can create an image, must put in the effort to nurture the essence of that soul, and put another way, this is also seen as a sign of sincerity toward the fans.”

It would be safe to say that BYJ is sufficiently aware of this.


Yonsama’s Popularity is Eternal

On the Internet on a BYJ fansite, I read a fan posting that said, “Though the Yonsama fever may end, Yonsama will survive.”

According to that fan, there were two types of booms and fevers, one was a temporary event and the other was an event that lasted forever, with the Yonsama fever falling into the latter.



Examples of temporary events are the “tamagotchi” and the “frill-necked lizard” which were short-lived major fads but no longer are around, and it is almost as if we can’t even remember the reason why they were so popular.

Now, if you were to play with a “tamagotchi” you might only be seen as “behind times” but there would not be many advertising agencies using the “frill-necked lizard” in CMs. When you look at them in this way, you see that their popularity was short-lived.

But what about the music of the Beatles or Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn? Even now you can still hear Beatles music being played over and over, and listening to it won’t label you as “behind times". Listening to the Beatles may be like listening to classical music.

Roman Holiday is still being viewed a lot even now. It seems like Audrey Hepburn’s popularity continues forever. Both Beatles and Roman Holiday still appear in CMs. Their popularity did not end in a moment; as diehard fans have continued to love them.

BYJ’s popularity is of the same type of popularity but he is not a “tamagotchi” or a “frill-necked lizard type.”



The media will cover a boom enthusiastically as long as it is continues, but as soon as there is any sign of decline, or if the public no longer shows interest,
then the media will immediately stop covering it, whether it is one less line or five seconds less devoted to it. It is extreme, isn’t it?

This is not limited to the media in Japan, but is a practice that the media follows and because of that extreme and cruel media custom, entertainers always have the tendency to become obsessed with constantly appearing in the media.

Having one's name in the media is a barometer of ones popularity, and if a star does not continually keep appearing on TV and in magazines, they may end up being forgotten by the media and fans, so they become sensitive to this fear and always terrified by this compulsion. As a result, stars become fixated on always having their name in the media, where it becomes so easy to forget to work on improving the “actor” side of oneself.



BYJ understands this custom of the media well, as he has shown an attitude of not being swept away by booms since the time of his debut.

He has not granted many interview requests and has rarely appeared on TV variety programs. I am sure though, that there were many temptations out there
waiting to sweep him away.

When BYJ appeared in the drama, Sunny Place of the Young, as a newcomer, he had already eclipsed the lead actor, Lee Jung Won, in popularity. As a result, producers and directors and probably many others called him. There was no doubt that he was in great demand.

But BYJ did not appear in any drama series or make casual appearances on interview shows or entertainment programs while riding the wave of his popularity. It was exactly the same situation as Japan when he declined hasty offers to appear on a Japanese TV program simply because of the Yonsama boom in Japan. BYJ may perhaps be naturally cautious by nature.

If at the time that he achieved popularity with Sunny Place of the Young and made many casual appearances on TV, perhaps there would be no BYJ as we know him today. His popularity back at this time would have been, “temporary” and ended, and BYJ would also have become obsessed only about his continuing exposure, and there might have also been the possibility that he might have become a “regular entertainer".

But BYJ did not do any of this. From the earliest times, he has probably remained cautious and probably held unswerving beliefs that are not influenced by situations surrounding him or booms.

That is exactly why even though he currently continues to show great popularity in Japan, he is able to stick to an attitude which is motionless, unchanged,
and one that remains the same as the past.

Though the Yonsama fever may end one day, and even if the day comes when the media will no longer report on him, there is no doubt that Yonsama will continue to be loved by the Japanese fans as Yonsama. Then his fans will probably continue to support him forever.

Yonsama’s popularity is indestructible and is eternal… I also firmly believe that now.

*******************************************

bb: if you're interested to read more about the interviews and postings
that reporter soh has mentioned, click here.

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog
pics added by: bb

Ch 17 – Japanese Korean 'Love Link'
Producer, Kim Jin Hee

Showing Appeal of Hallyu Stars from the Fans' Perspective

The Photo Documentary TV program began as a project born out of my thinking that there were very few programs that focused on the stars who led the hallyu boom while the hallyu boom was drawing attention. There were programs that did general analysis on the hallyu stars but there were very few programs that attempted to uncover the question, “What is the appeal that these stars have?”

There were many programs that pointed out the problems with hallyu stars and I thought I would purposefully make the program a love-filled, one-sided tribute that would pursue the question of why these stars became popular, while presenting it from the perspective of the love-filled fans. There were hardly any such programs as this. I feel that the hallyu stars are loved by everyone and deserved to be praised for their qualifications.

The first subject of Photo Documentary was BYJ. The reason we chose him as the top batter was obvious. There is no need for an explanation.



Preparations for the program took more time than other programs would normally take. Preparations began several months before the November 2005 broadcast date. I think that we notified BYJ’s management of our project intention about 3-4 months prior in July-August 2005.

After the program writer, Kim Soh Yeon, sent the draft to the management office, the writer told everyone connected to BYJ, “This project is worth BYJ’s involvement,” making a strong appeal. The writer also brought attention to the project by using an entertainment reporter to petition on our behalf.

We also continued to directly contact, of course, BYJ’s public relations department in BOF, a number of times. Despite this, approval was finally received
a month before the program was to begin airing.

In September before approval was received from BOF, we were already in full-scale preparations for the program, so if the program was not going to become a reality, it would have been very heartbreaking for me as a producer. I think that luck played a big part in the program becoming a reality (laughs).
It felt like I was walking a tightrope. Sometimes I am asked the question, “Why did you not interview BYJ?” but the original premise for this program was that
the star would not be directly interviewed.

There are plenty of entertainment programs where the star himself appears and talks about himself. In our Photo Documentary, we used the method of presenting the people who know the star as a way of presenting various approaches to the star. It was our intention to present the star as plain, unadorned figure.

I have seen BYJ at press conferences, but I have never interviewed him in a one-to-one situation. He has a large entourage and is always surrounded by reporters, so it would be very difficult to meet him on a one-to-one basis. Without having had the opportunity to interview him on a one-to-one basis, I would not have much information about him.

Seeing him only at press conferences would not give me enough information. But since I have had only that much contact with him, you can say that I have no biases against him which I think, turned out to be a good thing in producing Photo Documentary.


Broadcasting Many Unreleased Photos of BYJ

Photo Documentary aired many photos for the first time that were never, up to now, published in magazines and such. The majority of the photos were borrowed from Cho Se Hyun (published The Man in Bungei Shunju, July 2004) and Kim Tae Hwan, who photographed BYJ’s photo album.

In addition, I asked my acquaintances, “Please gather for me any BYJ photos you might have!” in order to borrow the photos.

We collected many photos showing different images of BYJ, but we did not use any photos where he looked affected (posed), photos that looked like a poster, or where he was smiling. Instead of using such photos, we used photos where BYJ showed a never-before-seen attractiveness or a natural appearance.

For example, there was a photo of him shoveling snow from the roof of a house or another photo of him while he was intently reading a newspaper. We used many photos of him where he was engrossed in something and was unaware of the camera taking his photo.



I think that we were very fortunate in having everyone’s assistance on this project. I am not saying this because we forced everyone to cooperate or because we were going to broadcast on KBS, but I would like to think that the project came about because of the wholehearted requests I made.

Speaking of photos, BYJ also loves taking photos, doesn’t he? When I hear stories about him and cameras, I think of how much he must really love photography.



During the filming of Untold Scandal, director of filming, Kim Byung Il brought a rare, special model Polaroid camera which he had bought overseas to the film set, which BYJ eyed and began wanting for himself, so BYJ ended up ordering the same one from his favorite camera store so he could get one for himself. When it comes to cameras, perhaps you lose all sense of reason (laughs).


A Strand of BYJ’s Hair on His Glasses!

In addition to the photos, we also used BYJ’s personal items, which mean, of course, his glasses.

First of all, I wanted to use his glasses on the program by any way possible. But it was not a case of just using any glasses, but glasses that were used during the filming of WS, AS or for some promotional event, I wanted to collect the glasses according to the scene they were used in.

When I asked BYJ’s stylist, she saved us by lending us 10 pairs that were representative of the looks we wanted.

When I asked the stylist what his favorite pair of glasses was, she said it was the sunglasses that he wore when he exercised.



When we had discussions with the stylist, BYJ was in the US at this time, and so the stylist took out the same sunglasses that he had worn right up until the time he left for the US; there was a piece of BYJ’s hair stuck between the lens and the shank.

There was something funny about this.

It felt like I was seeing an instant where the well- known perfectionist BYJ had relaxed his guard.

The strand of hair was removed and discarded for filming purposes but if the Japanese fans were to find out that it was discarded, they might be mortified. I am sure that BYJ’s hair would have commanded quite a high price at auction. When I think of that, I guess it was wasteful to throw it out. I am joking (laughs).



The additional documents were also obtained by physically walking around to collect them. In order to borrow things related to BYJ, we had to make requests from here and there to scrape things together. Now, when I look back on it, at that time when we ran around frantically collecting things, maybe it was because we were utterly mad.

Also, it seems that BYJ has a considerable obsession about his clothing.

What impressed me was the consideration he showed the clothing store sponsors. For stars who appear on TV, there are many stores that supply clothing free of charge which many stars accept as a matter of course, but it seems that BYJ cannot accept this practice.

For example, if there was a store that offered even one free muffler (scarf), he would personally go to that store himself, and purchase goods in excess of the value of that muffler he received and then go home.

When it comes to stars receiving love from many fans, there is the receiving type of love and the type that becomes thick headed at exerting oneself. What a gesture it is to politely return each and every thought that is expressed. This is not something that can be easily done


BYJ Cooks Like “Omoni”

Instead of having BYJ himself appear, we had those people close to BYJ and who had contact with him, speak about BYJ. Negotiations with these people were not that difficult.

As to who we wanted to appear, we first prepared a list of selected names and that we had thoroughly consulted with the BOF management office. Based on that, we also planned to move forward with the collection of the materials.

First, we talked to Im Jong Pil, the fitness trainer who often visits BYJ at home, stylist, Hong Eun Kyung, and photographer, Kim Tae Hwan.

The common thread that ran through their stories was how much BYJ loved cooking. He cooked at home and liked to entertain guests at home. It seemed that when he cooked, he did not like anyone helping him, as he did everything himself from start to finish, serving everything with feeling from the heart.
When BYJ is cooking, they say that his experienced hands are almost like those of “omoni (okasan, mother).”



There are probably many people who think that BYJ lives in a tremendous palatial mansion. The truth is that I also imagined that, but surprisingly enough, he lives modestly. Because he lives alone, he probably does not need that much space, but honestly, when I heard that, I was a bit surprised.

In a corner of his living room, there was a stack of books piled high, and in another corner, there is a kitchen where he can readily prepare meals.

After interviewing the people surrounding BYJ, the impression they left me with is that they are all very honest. Im Jong Pil, Hong Eun Kyung, Kim Tae Hwan, they are all well-mannered, and responded sincerely and cheerfully during the interview.

Im Jong Pil greeted me by bowing at a 90 degree angle.



Hong Eun Kyung became famous as BYJ’s stylist but does not deck herself out in designer brands, and she will wrap a 2,000 won (about 260 yen) muffler around her neck. She is simply unaffected.



I did not get the impression that BYJ associated with these people simply because he worked with them. He associated with them as close friends in an atmosphere where everyone was like a part of a happy family. Because they were relationships where they were like family members, the people surrounding BYJ perhaps come to resemble BYJ.

Though I have never met BYJ in a one-on-one situation, he showed a very sincere response to our program.


Feelings for BYJ as a Lover While Producing the Program

BYJ sent a calligraphy autograph he wrote to Photo Documentary from the US. This was before the program title was decided as Photo Documentary when BYJ had signed the autographed to Star Documentary-sama, so the end result was that we could not use it in the broadcast, but I was very moved by how neatly it was written.

He added beautiful lines drawings to the letters also.

This may be a trivial matter, but I felt that for even such a small thing such as this, I could feel the sincerity of the love revealing itself toward the recipient of the autograph.

Even during the editing process when we were looking at the photos, I surprised even myself at the times I was moved by the photos. There were so many photos that are better than the other stars. While I was viewing these photos, I began to get sucked into BYJ’s appeal.



After the program aired, we received word from BYJ’s management that they wanted a list of all the people that were interviewed on the program. When I wondered what they were going to do with such a list, it turned out that BYJ was going to personally send a thank you gift to all persons.

I have reported on many big stars up to now, but I have never heard of such a story as this. BYJ’s thoughtfulness is extraordinary.

Since BYJ has become a major star, there are voices heard here and there praising him. But rather than believing the praise that others say about him, I have taken a second look at him after actually seeing him with my own eyes, and experiencing his personality so that my impression of him has greatly changed.

I do not know if it was because BYJ seemed like a distant figure before the program was produced, but while viewing the photos and coming into contact with his personality, along the way, my feelings for him changed where I began to think of him as a lover…I think I began gathering the data on him with that feeling in mind.


BYJ Has Become the Link Between Japan and Korea

When the program aired, the general viewer reaction was favorable and we received many grateful comments. There were many requests to re-run the broadcast and so the program was re-run about 4-5 times.

Unfortunately, due to copyright issues, we were unable to post it on the Internet. Photo Documentary is a wonderful record of a time when the hallyu stars shone.

BYJ’s autograph and the master tape used during filming (original tape before editing) are all kept tightly locked in storage. We have to be careful that they do not leak out and so we must protect them.

As a result of taking on the subject of BYJ in the program, I feel that I have undergone a great change internally. One reason is that I have come to understand the reason why the Japanese women love BYJ.

It seems that in Japan particularly, BYJ has many elderly women fans. Young people no matter what country are drawn to people who exhibit exciting speech and conduct. That is why BYJ’s attraction cannot be understood. I think that the elderly are deeply drawn to the honest, pure, kind, and warm way that BYJ shows love.



I often go to Japan for filming purposes and my view regarding the Japanese has also changed.

Until I produced the program, when I heard the Japanese say the words, sumimasen (excuse me) and arigato (thank you), I thought that the Japanese were only saying these words out of habit, superficially without really meaning them. But I have come to feel that this is not the case.

I have come to understand the feelings of the Japanese, and my understanding of the Japanese language appears to have changed also. This was also a big change for me internally.

Now, I am deeply grateful to the Japanese hallyu fans, and it is my wish that it would be nice if their love for BYJ could continue on for a long time.

********************************

here's a short clip of some of the pics used in the KBS photo documentary,
first aired in korea on 1st nov 2005.

KBS photo documentary video clip

for translation of the program, click on these links:

English translation

Chinese translation

Posted by bb on Quilt

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog
pics added by: bb

Ch 18 – A Straightforward 'Friend’s Love'
- Program Writer, Kim So Yeon

Delving Into the Human Element Made Our Project Acceptable

Photo Documentary was a project created and produced out of our wish that the popularity for hallyu stars would not end as just a short-lived fad, but that its deeply rooted popularity would continue to hold.

The project was planned as a series and the first episode featured BYJ. If the first episode did not feature BYJ, the program’s existence would be questioned (laughs). If we had featured someone else in the first episode, we would have ended up wondering when to feature BYJ.

At any rate, we had to ask for cooperation from BYJ’s management office, BOF, so we sent a draft of the program content to BOF. While we were waiting for a reply from them, we went around communicating with people close to BYJ, explaining to them the value of BYJ appearing in this program so that BYJ’s management would hear of these messages and of these urgent appeals. Our single-hearted focus was making this project a reality one way or another,
and my memory of all this was that it was very tiresome.

The result was that BYJ’s management agreed to cooperate on this project, and I believe the reason was that, though there were programs that did close-ups of BYJ up to then as a star, there were no programs that attempted to report on his human aspect. Because it was the project intention of Photo Documentary
and our wish to report in depth on his human aspect, it seemed that BYJ’s management felt this was an attractive point.



Then I think that they were also pleased with the fact that BYJ would not have to be personally interviewed, and that people from various fields surrounding BYJ would speak about BYJ. In this way, BYJ himself would be able to remain veiled in secrecy. BYJ, at that time, was in the US and it ended up where we were unable to meet with him at all. It is my understanding that following his instructions, though I have not heard this directly from BYJ, and probably for all these reasons that BYJ’s management agreed to this project.


What Ryu Seung Soo (Yong Kuk) Revealed, & Stories That Didn’t Air

In the interviews of the people who had close contact with BYJ, we also talked to actors. It was not that difficult in getting the approval from the actors for interviews. Perhaps it is because of the fact that BYJ is an important star in Korea, that it seems that everyone readily consented.

Actor Park Joon Hoon, who is closer to Jang Dong Gun than BYJ, also happily consented to our request for an interview.



Ryu Seung Soo, who played the role of Yong Kuk in WS, told us the story of how BYJ loves to cook and hates to have any help, but this was cut from the broadcast along with many other interesting stories.



For example, when Ryu Seung Soo goes to visit BYJ at his condo, BYJ would not be dressed yet and greeted him in his pajama bottoms and T-shirt,
or BYJ, who has a large dog at home, when that dog would soil the carpet, BYJ would admonish that dog as if scolding a small child saying, *'Me!'. Such were the fun and amusing stories he told us. Wouldn’t we all want to see such scenes of BYJ? Such stories stir our imagination.

* pronounced more like 'meh', not 'me' as in the 'me' in 'megane ichiba' does anyone know what it means in korean?

While we were interviewing those people close to BYJ, we were struck by the thought that BYJ has many friends. There is Kim Seung Woo, co-starred in Hotelier, Park Joon Hoon, singer/actor Shin Sung Woo (starred in Tropical Nights in December, Man in Crisis, Wild Funny Girl), with all of whom he is said to drink the night away at street stalls.

Especially, Kim Seung Woo and BYJ are not known for being heavy drinkers, but when they get drunk, they can talk passionately all through the night. BYJ’s natural appearance is veiled in secrecy but surprisingly he loves to talk, and I wondered if he was a calm and approachable person.

Kim Seung Woo also told us this story.



You know that BYJ often has the habit of putting his hands to his chest. Frankly speaking, up until then, I thought that gesture was a bit affected. But BYJ was heard to have said, "When I feel that so many people are looking at only me, there are times when the tears well up and overflow."



He said that the fans do not ask anything of him, and almost like a first love, where a pure love is riveted on him, he felt the love of the fans reverberate within his chest. Because of that, his hands would naturally go to his chest. He said the only way to suppress the emotion in his chest was to place his hands on his chest.



When I heard that story, I began to think that BYJ’s gesture of putting his hands to his chest was a natural thing. Not only that, after I heard that story, I ended up being very moved by that story.


My Bias Against 'Robot-Like Actors'

After producing Photo Documentary, my impression of BYJ has also greatly changed. Since he had the strong image of always smiling the same smile and being known as an actor for his strict self-control, I thought these were all calculated moves on his part which also contributed to the slightly non-human 'robot-like actor' bias I had against him.



But when I heard the story that he frantically did re-takes of the same scene more than 30 times in the movie, April Snow until he collapsed, I came to realize that my thinking was a mistaken bias. Looking beneath the surface of becoming a major star, we see that he puts in considerable effort, and that his attitude toward acting is different from the norm. I changed my mind when I found out popularity cannot be obtained by simply being calculating and showing individual self-control.

I also felt that the actor BYJ was not afraid of transforming himself. He is currently taking on a challenge in the new historical project, TWSSG, and before that, in the film AS, he displayed complex emotions.

BYJ will probably continue his efforts to master the road as an actor from here on. He cannot stay forever in the role of Jun Sahng in WS.

That is why, for example, if it is ten years from now then in 10 years, I think that he will still have a grasp on the fans’ hearts since he will again have a new appeal which is different from his current young, dignified appearance. At that time he will have a restrained style that is not evident yet, and with a new added charm, the fan base will probably change. It is my hope that the Japanese fans will continue to watch over BYJ with warmth and love forever.

original in japanese: Ways to Love Yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog
pics added by: bb

Ch 19 Shows No Favoritism - "An Impartial Love"
Location Caterer, Choi Soo Yeon


He Always Greeted Me with "Thank You for the Wonderful Meal"

In order to supply the meals on location for BYJ's film AS, I went to Samcheok for one and a half months.

I received the request from the production company, Blue Storm, "Because it is a project that BYJ is appearing in, we want to serve proper meals.
We request your assistance."

I asked BYJ's manager, "What are BYJ's favorite foods?"

"YJ eats anything so you do not have to worry about him. Instead, please prepare the staff's favorite foods first. The staff will be eating meals daily," was the reply I received.

He is a major star, but he is not a person who expresses anything self-centered. In addition to that, he even shows concern for the staff, and I thought also how considerate the people around BYJ were.

So I prepared bulgogi, pork sauté, octopus sauté, squid sauté, and such dishes. A miso nabe (bean paste stew), tak toritang (spicy chicken and potato sauté), chicken soups, and other soups appeared at every meal. If there were many child actors appearing, I would prepare ttokpokki, corn salad, and rice curry. Including kim chi, there would be a menu of eight different dishes offered.

Doesn't the menu unexpectedly seem like home cooking? Doing it this way made everyone happier.

Up to now, we have had meals prepared by the chef of the famous Korean Shilla Hotel, and we devised various menus, but the actors and staff are always traveling throughout the country tasting different foods, so that they have all had enough of gourmet food prepared by first-rate chefs.

That is why instead of greasy western food or fancy cuisine, in the end, they seem to prefer regular Korean home cooking.

For meals, I receive 5,000 won (about 650 yen) per person per meal.

When filming began in Samcheok, and I began offering meals with my catering truck, BYJ came to eat with the staff in the beginning, but as time went on, he stopped coming.

When BYJ came, the Japanese fans would converge onto the catering truck so he was no longer able to come, because it would inconvenience the other actors and staff. It was regrettable but an unavoidable situation.

During the short time that he came for meals, BYJ was a very courteous person. When he appeared for meals, he always greeted us, "Annyeong haseyo. Is everyone enjoying the meal?"

When actors become famous, there are some that become arrogant and will not even speak to the staff, but BYJ never showed such a snobbish attitude,
and spoke to everyone equally. At the end of the meal when it was time to return to the set, he would always say to us, "Thank you for the wonderful meal."

It would be amazing if the actors could imagine the hardships that the people who prepare the meals and others behind the scenes endure.

We were grateful that BYJ also treated us the same as he does the others, with the generous love he has.


Amazed at the Generous Love of BYJ Fans

There were many Japanese fans at the film set of AS and there was one thing that amazed me.

They would make food deliveries to BYJ by buying food from the nearby restaurants and taking it to him, but they would buy not just BYJ's portion only,
but enough portions for the entire staff. When I say the entire staff, this means portions for 80-90 people, which is quite a quantity. Despite this, the fans would prepare meals for everyone and they would deliver them saying, "Everyone, please enjoy this together."

The women did this because if they were to deliver food only to BYJ, they know that he would not accept it. Yes, even if it is sashimi (raw fish) a pricey item,
they will always bring enough for everyone.

This is not something that is easily done.

Korean fans don't even deliver food to all the staff members. This is the difference between Korean and Japanese fans. Perhaps the fans are also responding to BYJ's generous love by responding with their own generous love.

I am also trying to convey my love to many actors and staff members through my meals (laughs). Earlier I talked about menus but aside from the aspect of taste, I pay attention to everyone's physical condition and filming conditions in creating the menus.

For example, if there is going to be location filming in the mountains, I will prepare a pork sauté dish. Pork has the action of absorbing dust and cleansing according to scientific data. That is why when there is filming where there is a lot of dust such as mountain roads, construction sites, and athletic areas; I will prepare more pork dishes.

Each time I consider the psychological effect of meals when creating the menus. For example, on a horror movie, where many children appear as extras, I will always serve peanut butter sandwiches.

This is because peanut butter is said to have the action of being able to eliminate fear. If the children acting as extras are scared, then filming cannot take place. Peanut butter sandwiches are meant to relax them.

Because the 'color scheme' also affects the emotional aspect of a meal, I try to plan menus that include the colorful colors of yellow, orange, and green.
This breaks down to green peas and corn in a salad. Using these types of fresh colors relaxes you emotionally and gives the meal a refreshing impression, doesn't it?

I believe that the emotional stability of the actors and staff on the film set is very important.

I do not count calories. The reason I do not do this is because everyone is moving about filming from midnight to dawn, burning off tremendous energy. Filming is more strenuous than we can imagine. While there maybe a need to increase calorie intake, I do not think there is a need to cut calories.


On a Cold Film Set Boxed Lunches Would Freeze

On a film set, why do you think a catering service would be necessary to prepare meals?

On location filming in the mountains or in such unpopulated areas where filming often takes place, there are no places to dine, leaving actors and staff often inconvenienced as to meal arrangements.

When there is no catering service provided, the actor's management office will have someone stock up on quantities of kimbap (norimaki, sushi rolls) or hamburgers to distribute to the actors and staff, but if kimbap or hamburgers are always being served, everyone will tire of them.

The alternative is to wait until filming ends even though everyone is hungry and then going out to eat. This is still said to be a better way than always eating the same hamburgers.

There is the boxed lunch called 'toshirak' with rice, kim chi, egg, and seaweed which is available. But these lunch boxes can freeze in a cold climate making them inedible.

So I came up with the idea of the catering truck that would travel to the location site to offer them meals, and by cooking meals inside the truck, everyone would be able to eat hot meals. With that idea, I began this business.

With that idea, I began preparations eight years ago. Yes, I was the first to offer catering services for location filming in Korea!

Since there was no precedent, it actually took me a year before I could start offering services. I was researching vehicles that I could easily prepare meals in. I researched snack cars (vehicles where light meals are cooked and served) in Japan also.

I used the design of Japanese vehicles as reference. Since starting the business, through testing and errors, I am on my seventh vehicle. I am using a one-ton vehicle.

The vehicle may seem small in size, but if it were any larger, it would not be able to climb the narrow mountain roads to get to the filming sites, so the current size is just the right size.


I Respect BYJ's Attitude Toward Work

The first catering services I offered were on the film, Silmido starring Sol Kyung Gu. This was followed by movies starring actress, Song Ok Sook, who played BYJ's mother on WS. In 2006, I spent 10 months on the set of the King and the Clown starring Lee Junki.

I think that I have traveled to a total of about 70-80 projects up to now. I have good memories of the actor that BYJ said he respects, Park Joon Hoon, along with actors Lee Junki, Ahn Sung Ki, Sol Kyung Gu. They were all personable and nice people.

The most memorable film site for me was the eight month film shoot in 2004-2005 in China and Mongolia of Cheon Gun (aka Heaven's Soldier aka General of Heaven). This was a historical film starring Park Joon Hoon, Kim Seung Woo, Fan Jung Min (You Are My Sunshine).

During the location filming in China, seafood was difficult to obtain and was a source of frustration. Since we were located inland, obtaining meat was no problem but getting seafood required a ten-hour drive. To travel from China to Mongolia took a day and a half of travel time. It was really a difficult situation.
But I have distinct memories from that time.

Unfortunately, I have never been to Japan yet. Several years ago, when Sol Kyung Gu was starring in the film Rikidozan, and had location filming in Japan,
I had plans of expanding in Japan, but due to financial problems and employee-union conditions, I was unable to expand in Japan.

But it is my dream to someday drive my catering truck in Japan! I am also looking forward to meeting all the hallyu fans in Japan.

In closing, if I can comment about the film industry in Korea, I think that films are being produced too quickly. They are generally being made at a pace of one movie per month! This is an amazing pace, isn't it? Film making is an art. I think that art should be created tenaciously and simply. The pace of producing one film a month is just too quick. I think that perhaps the films are being created much too lightheartedly.

In this respect, BYJ is not swayed by current trends; he sticks to his own perfectionist style, he is thoroughly consumed by acting while performing steadily in projects one by one. I respect him for having such an attitude about work.

original in japanese: ways to love yonsama
translated into english: a sweet sister / bb's blog

Ch 20 – Impassioned “Family Love”
Cho Yeo Suk (kaulyoja KOB)



BYJ’s Smile and the Impetuous Encounter

Even now, I cannot forget the shock that I felt when I first saw BYJ’s smile.

YJ’s smile at that time, I cannot find the words to describe that smile…I felt something akin to humanity in his smile.

At that moment when I saw BYJ’s smile, something like the innocence that I possessed from my childhood came rushing back to me, and at that moment, I felt that BYJ had saved my life.

The shock that I received when I saw BYJ’s smile was when I watched WS on the TV five years ago.

At that time, I was slightly depressed, where nothing interested me and I felt that everything around me was boring. My children were grown and perhaps there was emptiness in my heart.

I was under major stress and forgot how to smile so I expected I always wore a flat expression on my face. In front of the mirror, I would try to make a smile by grabbing my lips with both hands, but my mouth had become frozen, and would not move.

Being in such a condition, I occasionally watched WS and in that moment when I encountered BYJ’s smile, I felt as if my soul was cleansed.

It was really a shocking moment for me. BYJ’s smile, director Yoon Suk Ho’s beautiful filming techniques; the kindness of the co-stars… I experienced new emotions.

After that, just the sight of a flower by the roadside, was enough to bring a smile to my face. I began to think that life was once again fun and my feelings became positive, so I decided to change my life and also decided to try and change my personality.

I ventured out to YJ’s drama and movie location sites, registered at the BYJ official website, and networked with other members to begin exchanges.

I am far and away much older than YJ, but I was not embarrassed about the activities I was taking part in.

I was able to recapture my smile and because I am grateful to YJ for changing my life, I wanted to express this feeling of gratitude in some way.


YJ Also Shows His Deep Concern for Fans

I think that I have met YJ about 60 – 70 times up to now. Of course, the two of us have never intimately talked. When he goes to Japan or Taiwan, I go to the airport to see him off, and at that time, we exchange casual conversations.

Because YJ also remembers me, each time that he sees me, he asks, “Are you tired? or “Are you cold?” For me, these words are enough to make me happy.

YJ’s manager asks me, “Would you like to meet YJ alone, just the two of you?” but I tell him, “kwaench’anayo (iidesu, its okay) and end up declining the ffer.
I know that YJ has a busy schedule and for him to find time for such activities would be an inconvenience, so I end up holding back.

But there are times when YJ shows concern and special consideration. On the Untold Scandal and April Snow posters, he wrote my name, “To kaul yoja-sama” and autographed them. I was really overjoyed.

Then there was the incident that occurred in Jeonju during the three days of TWSSG filming. At that time, the four of us, I, my husband who drove, my son, and my daughter-in-law went to Jeonju. At the same time, my friend from the US was also going to be arriving, so we made plans to meet in Jeonju and we thought how nice it would be if we could all meet YJ.

But the first day’s filming took until 2 am, I also waited for YJ close to his location bus, but YJ returned looking very tired. When I talked to him, he said that since it was late, he would not be returning to Seoul but instead would be spending the night at a nearby hotel.

When I told YJ about my friend from the US, who was driving toward Jeonju, YJ said, “What shall we do?” taking on a troubled expression. He was tired and probably in no mood to meet anyone that day.

I became apologetic and said, “We will return tomorrow. YJ please return to your hotel quickly. Let’s call it a day,” as we parted that day.

I explained the situation to my friend and we returned to the film site the next day. That day, YJ appeared in the evening past 6 pm, and filming ended the next morning at 2 am.

I was sure he was tired and that it would be difficult for us to meet him today also, but YJ, who saw us, sent his manager over to us, who let us into YJ’s location bus.

YJ lightly embraced my friend. Then my friend in turn, tightly clung to YJ… YJ was still wearing his costume and was worried saying, “You’ll get blood stains on yourself.” He is kind and always concerned about everyone.

It was not just during this time but during other location film sites or events, when YJ sees me, no matter how busy he may be, he always cheerfully smiles at me. The sight of his smiling face fills me with such emotion.

When I tell him, “You do not have to shake my hand, please hurry along,” YJ replies, “Kamsahamnida (arigato gozaimasu, thank you)” tapping me on my shoulder and walks away.

Since he is busy it wouldn’t be strange if he got annoyed…I am always grateful at YJ’s thoughtfulness.

I respect this part of YJ’s human qualities and love them. This is different from a woman loving YJ out of feelings of love. What I mean is that I think that he is magnificent as a person.

As a result of talking to YJ at the location filming sites and such places, my son has also become a fan of YJ.

At first, he was astonished at my activities saying, “At your age, becoming fanatic about an actor younger than yourself,” but he seems to have changed his mind.

My daughter-in-law also tells me, “BYJ is absolutely wonderful. I understand why Mother became a fan.” Now, our entire family has ended up becoming BYJ fans.


YJ’s Latest News

Since YJ has been filming TWSSG, he has hardly appeared in the Korean media except for the occasional CM appearances.

Those CMs would be for the Lotte Duty Free Stores and the Kyeongnam luxury condos. He has been concentrating entirely on the TWSSG filming. During the martial arts practice, there was a time when he was injured. He overdid it and the injury occurred because it seems, he thought he was fighting for real.

Though the crank in took place, he has continued his body building training while filming. It seems that by nature, YJ has a physique that is prone to gaining weight.

That is why his eating habits, though they are not to the degree as when he was shooting the photo album, even now he makes it a point to not eat any food after 8 pm.

In the interview of the monthly magazine, GQ Korea, I think that the Japanese fans know that YJ, “went to the psychiatrist because of insomnia,” but I also was very surprised by that statement. Previously, I had heard from him directly that he had insomnia…

But the truth is that YJ was also surprised by this article. The reasons he could not sleep at night were because he would ending up thinking about acting, business, and such various things, and for him, the experience of going to the psychiatrist was no worst than getting a cold and going to the hospital for a shot. We should not accept the article as the truth without questioning it.

In the GQ Korea, YJ denied the rumors of having a child by a Japanese woman, and when I asked him later about this, he laughed saying, “If such a child existed, I would like to see what this child looks like.” He probably does not have the time or the energy to date a woman. I really feel sorry for him.

As for putting his energies into his businesses, because YJ’s father once failed at a business venture in the past and caused the family economic hardship,
I think that he is succeeding at business instead of his father out of a wish for revenge.

He is considering joining forces with Masaki Sohn of Softbank in an Internet venture. Then he has said that he wants to create an acting school or that he also “wants to do farming.”

But as for the farming part, I think he is saying that he wants to live an ordinary life doing something like farming.

For YJ who is agonizing over various problems, the talk is that he is currently seeking advice from Kim Seung Woo, his co-star from Hotelier. Previously, he often consulted Park Joon Hoon, but lately he often consults Kim Seung Woo. He also discusses his personal matters with him.


A Surprisingly Modest Lifestyle

YJ is already very wealthy and there may be people that think he lives a very extravagant lifestyle which is not true. When you compare his income to his lifestyle, I think his lifestyle is very subdued.

He has been driving the British made Land Rover auto for five years. He did not purchase it as a result of his explosive popularity in Japan. There are rumors that he flies via private jet when he travels abroad which is not true.
[i]*bb: i think he has since changed to a new Rover.[/i]

YJ lives in a six room, 120 tsubo (396 sq m) leased condo.

He has been living there since January 2006 in Samseon Dong where a fire broke out in 2005 due to an electrical cause.

At that time, it was reported that YJ began living in a hotel, but when I asked YJ, he replied, “Hotel charges are expensive, so I wouldn’t do something that wasteful.”

YJ still lives in that condo where that fire occurred and sometimes stays at the home of WS co-star Ryu Seung Soo or other friendswhile enjoying the single life.


Stories About His Lover, About Religion

I think that stories about YJ’s lover, Lee Sa Gang are known in Japan but before her, there was another woman that YJ was crazy about. Earlier I talked about the TWSSG location filming in Chuncheon Namdong, she was the daughter of a businessman in Jeonju who operated a large company and majored in business administration at a college in New York.

It seems that the two met when YJ was attending Sung Kyung Kwan University. They met as classmates at a party, and it seems that it was YJ who was the one that was strongly attracted to her.

But it was her parents that were not pleased that YJ was an actor and supposedly told YJ in strong terms, “Please stop seeing our daughter.”

YJ was unable to give her up and after her parents told him about the parting, he flew off to New York to be with her. There, they say that he lived together with her for about half a year or so.

But in the end, the time came to break up…The relationship appeared to last one year, up to the six months before the broadcast start of Hotelier. It must have been a very painful breakup for him.

Currently, YJ does not seem to have the luxury of dating women, but someday when YJ marries…he will certainly have a wedding in the church. This is because YJ’s parents are Roman Catholics.

I have not heard if YJ himself is that religiously devout but if his parents are devout, I think that he also believes in the existence of God. YJ’s family appears to have properly seen to his home training and teaching of manners. For example, YJ is very proficient in the use of chopsticks. I think this is solid proof that his family taught him manners.

When I talk about YJ, I forget how time flies so I think I will stop here. It is our wish as Korean fans to continue to quietly watch over YJ in the days to come.