Fumi, had posted a number of articles on on BYJ for the last few weeks. His analysis gives a very good insight not just into BYJ, but also the Korean culture and entertainment industry.

He has posted altogether a total of 85 articles on BYJ. They have been translated into Korean by Youngsun on the OB, Chinese by truelove on loveyongjoon and English by happiebb. Happiebb has promised to translate the rest of the articles slowly (Thank you!!!!!!). In the meantime, we hope you will enjoy these first.

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-sama – Part 1

Hello everybody!
My name is Fumi and I’m the representative and manager of FUMI Investigation Services. From today, I will be presenting a series of postings that analyzes Yon-sama.

I look forward to your support.

I remember coming across an article in a magazine a long time ago.
That article made a big deal out of the fact that during Yong Joon’s college days, he had taken up a part time job of roasting sweet potato. I laughed out loud when I read that.

There was really nothing surprising or unusual about that. At that time in Korea, there were not many part time work opportunities for college students, so many students took up that sort of work. In fact, a lot of people had taken up such work as roasting sweet potato or something simliar in their lifetime, so there was really no need to kick up a fuss over the fact that Yong Joon had roasted sweet potatoes before.

Due to their lack of understanding of the Korea culture and history,
the Japanese media had misinterpreted many facts in their reports.
So, we, FUMI Investigation Services, decided to rise to the Herculean challenge of correcting all these misconceptions and mistakes.
That’s why the birth of this series that examines and analyzes Yong Joon.

Let us first introduce to you the culture of the North Hangan [江北].

[happiebb: Hangang or the Han River [汉江] is the second largest river in Korea and can be divded into the South [江南] and North [江北] sections.]

What on earth is that? Now, please don’t say that first.

Yong Joon was born and he grew up in this place called North Hangang [江北], within the four great gates of Seoul. (When Yong Joon was born, his family house was at Yongdu-dong [龙头洞], near the East Gate or Dongdaemun [东大门] in Seoul. He stayed there all the way till Primary five.] Now, if you don’t understand the culture of this locale, then you will not be able to truly understand Yong Joon. Of course, you’re lucky that I’ve come along… Actually, I was born and grew up at the place not far from Yong Joon’s old home, within twenty minutes’ drive. So I am very familiar with the local culture there, because that’s my hometown too.

A river by the name of Hangang [汉江] runs through right in the middle of Seoul. Northwards of Hangang is known is North Hangang [江北] and southwards of the river is known as South Hangang or Gangnam [江南].
In the past, only the area within the four great gates [汉城的四大门] was known as Seoul [汉城], that is, only the area surrounded by the West Gate, East Gate, South Gate and the North Gate was considered as Seoul. Therefore, the people who lived within the four great gates were very proud of it, just like the situation with Edokko in Japan.
By the way, the “Edokko” or people who were born within the four great gates are known as Seoul Tobegi. So, Yong Joon is a Seoul Tobegi [Happiebb: this means Seoul natives], you must remember this.

The inclusion of the areas outside the four great gates into Seoul is a relatively new development, therefore the so-called new Seoul has a very short history. For instance, despite the fact that South Hangang or Gangnam is now a vibrant city centre of Seoul, Gangnam was only included as part of Seoul as recent as twenty years ago.

[to be continued…]


Yon-sama分析系列1

大家好！我是FUMI侦探事务所的代表兼理事fumi。从今天起我要在这里为大家做一个Yon-sama分析系列，希望大家支持。

记得我以前看到一个杂志上大张旗鼓地报道，勇俊在上高中的时候卖烤地瓜打工，我看了觉得好笑得很。其实这没有什么希奇的，那个时代的韩国，高中生因为打工的地方很少，好多人在打同样的工。就是说象卖烤地瓜这样的事好多人都做过，并不是勇俊有多么特别。

日本媒体的报道中有好多是不了解韩国国情的误报，所以，我们FUMI侦探事务所决定担负起这个矫枉过正的艰巨任务，作这么一个勇俊分析的系列。

今天先介绍一下江北文化。那是个什么东西？——请先不要这么说啊，勇俊出生，长大的地方就叫做江北，四大门之内。（BBG出生时家住汉城东大门附近的龙头洞。他在那儿一直住到上小学5年级。）那儿的文化要是不懂的话，就不可能真正了解勇俊。当然了，大家很幸运遇到我，其实我fumi出生长大的地方就在离勇俊老家乘车20分钟的距离内。所以对那里的地域文化我是很精通的拉，因为是我老家嘛。

汉城的正中有一条叫做汉江的大河流过。汉江以北叫做江北，以南叫做江南。从前被称为汉城的，只有四大门以内的地方（西大门，东大门，南大门和北面的山围起来的地区）。所以，从前老家是四大门以内的人都很为此骄傲。就好像日本的江户人（Edokko）。顺便说一下，四大门内出生的“Edokko”韩国语里称“Seoul Tobegi”。勇俊就是Seoul Tobegi，请一定记住这个词。
四大门以外的部分的汉城，成为汉城的历史很短。比方说江南，是20年前才纳入汉城的。虽然现在那里已经成了汉城的中心地。

待续。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-sama – Part 2

Wrote too much earlier, could not even post it.
Alright then, let’s write bit by bit.

Gangnam in Seoul is now the financial and cultural hub. Coversely, the North Hangang is perceived as somewhat old and even poor. Perhaps an easier way to explain would be this:

People who were born in North Hangang, especially for Seoul Tobagi born within the four great gates such as Yong Joon, tend to associate the Gangnam culture as a phenomena of “sudden wealth”. The old Seoul culture that laid within the four great gates had a long history, to many people, that is the real Seoul. However, Gangnam, with its Europeam culture, is a fairly new development, and quite some of the wealthy people living in the Gangnam precinct are nouveau riche or “the new rich”. On the other hand, Seoul Tobegi will be looked upon as “country bumpkins” when they go to Gangnam. The changes taking place in Korea is truly rapid. A traditional gentleman from the North, someone like a senior high school graduate such as Yong Joon, may be treated like a country folk once he goes to Gangnam.

But, but, but… Seoul Tobegis tend to be prideful people. They believe that only the area within the four great gates is truly Seoul. Therefore, to be perceived as a country folk in Gangnam may not be the happiest thing for these Seoul natives. So, from here, we can hazard some preliminary conclusions:

Yong Joon does not like the “new rich”, and he prefers things with history and past, that is, he tends to like things that are more traditional or historical.

This is what I deduce about Yong Joon, judging from his birthplace and the environment that he grew up in. Ha, in that sense, Yong Joon and I are quite similar, and hey, even our looks are quite alike too! Haha, I will apologise to him when I meet him in person one day. When Yong Joon was interviewed by the media when he visited Japan, he mentioned wanting to visit places of historial interest such as Kyoto, I was not surprised. It was perfectly natural and expected of a Tobagi born within the four great gates.

Just next to Yong Joon’s old family home and about twenty minutes’ walk from Dongdaemun was a legendary arts theatre. This theatre is quite an institutation in Korea. This is a place where artists and people from the arts circle would congregate to discuss about their arty aspiration, culture in general and of course, to drink a little. What I want to say is that all these would have had an indirect impact and influence on Yong Joon.
Will share a bit more about this in the next part.

[to be continued…]

Yon-sama分析系列2

一下子写多了，贴不上来。那就一点一点写吧。

汉城的江南现在是经济和流行文化的中心地。江北在汉城人的眼中反而有一种比较古旧，贫穷的印象。比较简单易懂的说是这样。

江北，特别是老家在四大门以内的像勇俊那样的人，内心里，把江南的文化认为是暴富文化。四大门内的文化有着悠长的历史，是真正的汉城。而江南的，欧美化的文化历史很短，江南的有钱人里面好多都是暴发户。但是虽说如此，Seoul Tobegi到了江南就会给看成是乡下人。韩国的变化实在是快。同样是汉城，传统的江北的绅士，比如像高中生的勇俊去了江南就会被看成土土的乡下人。

但是的但是，四大门内出生的人的自尊心是很强的。以“四大门内才是汉城”为傲。所以呢，在江南给看成乡下人的感觉肯定不会是愉快的。这里，可以得出最初的结论：

勇俊讨厌暴发户。而喜欢有历史的，传统的东西——这是从他的出生地和长大的环境得出的结论。和我一样。长相也一样：），哈哈，要是什么时候和勇俊见到了，那时候再道歉吧。勇俊这回来日本，记者采访的时候他说想去京都等有历史的地方看看。我觉得那很自然拉，四大门内出生，Tobegi长大的嘛。

勇俊的老家的旁边，有韩国代表性的演剧剧场。从东大门走20分左右？并且那附近经常有演剧的人和艺术家聚在一起，有很多一边喝酒一边讨论艺术的场所。我想说，这些都会让勇俊间接地受到影响和熏陶。下面接着细说。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-sama – Part 3

Continuing from above, there is a famous arts theatre near Dongdaemun
where Yong Joon was born. In the past, many people from the arts and culture circle would meet there frequently. Now, new theatre halls have been added in this area, even more than before. The area near Yong Joon’s old family home is now Dehanno. A few scenes from Winter Sonata were shot there as well. Even before the area was referred to as Dehanno, it was already a cultural centre. And just for your information, until the 80s, Seoul National University was located at Dehanno.
This is certainly the place where draws the arts and culture crowd.

I’d guess that Yong Joon truly likes his old family home.
Even his choice of university, SungKyunKwan University [成均馆大学] was next to Dehanno. Yong Joon can be likened to a wolf, always moving and manoeuvring on his own. There are quite a number of Seoul Tobegis who do not like group activities. By the way, Winter Sonata’s director Lee Hye-Eun is also a Tobegi who likes to make solo moves.

Oh, another thing, in the eyes of many Seoul Tobegis including myself,
we have no concept or we do not recognize the so-called system of “senior-junior”. Even when we encounter juniors or later generations from the same area, we would say, “So what?” Many Koreans would address their seniors as “hyong” [which means brother], but Seoul Tobegis do not practise this. Seoul Tobegis only address their own blood brothers as “hyong”, not even cousins. When I was much younger,
I suffered some hardship due to my insistence on not addressing my seniors as “hyon”. Actually, this is just a phrase, but Seoul Tobegis have a stubborn streak in them, some people refer to us as “yamtye”.
“Yamtye” refers to people who have lofty ideals and who are proud and stubborn. In truth, we are not really like that, it’s just that we Tobegis simply do not have the habit of using the term “hyong.”

Words like “obba” seems cool, no? But it is also because of such words and phrases that have caused some of us to be misunderstood.

[to be continued…]

Yon-sama分析系列3

接着上面的说，勇俊出生的东大门附近，那里有著名的演剧剧场，过去的时候有很多演剧人士的集会。现在那里又增加了好多剧场，从前没有那么多。勇俊老家的附近现在变成Dehanno，冬恋的摄影也在那里进行过。被叫做Dehanno以前起，那儿就是文化的中心地。顺便提一下，80年代为止，汉城大学就曾座落在Dehanno。是文化人集会的场所。
我想勇俊是很喜欢老家的。大学也是选在Dehanno旁边的成均馆大学。勇俊好像“一只狼”一样地行动是吗？Seoul Tobegi里面不喜欢团体行动的“一只狼”很多的。顺便说一下，冬恋的尹导也是Tobegi“一只狼”哦。

就明说吧，包括我在内的Seoul Tobegi 基本上没有前辈—

后辈的意识。即使有本地的后辈来，也是“那又怎么？”的态度。经常韩国人会称前辈为hyon（哥哥），Seoul Tobegi之间却不用这个词。Seoul Tobegi称hyon的时候，只对自己真正的亲哥哥才用，对亲戚的表哥堂哥也不叫hyon。我年轻的时候，因为不叫前辈hyon, 吃了不少苦头。其实只不过是个用词的问题，但是Seoul Tobegi 就是这么固执，也被称为Yamtye.Yamtye就是只知道自己的心高气傲的人的意思。实际上不是那样的，Seoul Tobegi 就是不怎么用hyon, obba这样的词，是用词很cool吧。可是因为这个也经常被误解。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-sama – Part 4

Hehe, thanks for everybody’s support. I’m now having a drink on my own, and today, I write the fourth part for you.

It is almost “natural” that Yong Joon would become a lone wolf. In most cases, Koreans build their network and relationships through the following avenues:

1. Seniors & Juniors from the same hometown
2. Seniors & Juniors from College and University
3. [for men] Seniors & Juniors from the Army enlistment days
4. [for entertainment circle] Seniors & Juniors from joint drama projects, etc
5. Network from relatives & close friends

Yong Joon is understandably excluded for most of the avenues mentioned; I’m sure I don’t have to elaborate further as most of you would already know. As for the first point, I’ve already made some explanation in the third part of the series.

In truth, the Korean entertainement circle is not unlike the military,
violence is not quite prevalent. One can often see violence break out between the so-called seniors and juniors; one infamous example would be the incident between Ryu Shi Won and his good friend Kim xx
[mind you, they were not drunk yet at the time of the incident…] It is quite common that fighting will break out when the juniors are not seen as being polite or respectful enough. Such incidents of beating and kicking are especially susceptible to occur during drinking sessions. This is something most Koreans would understand.

Let’s take an example.
In the Korean military culture, the juniors are expected to drink from the seniors’ boots. Now, this is something a Seoul Tobegi or Yamtye like Yong Joon could accept. This is mainly due to the environment in which the person has been brought up. (Please note that I do not mean for this to be derogatory or offensive, this merely highlights the difference in culture between the old Seoul, and the rest of Korea. What is understandable is that since the ancient times, the culture of the old Seoul
has been established and transferred down from generation to generation. In addition, the sense of individuality is stronger. I can’t really describe this as self-centred, neither can I say this is herd mentality or group principled-thinking.] I can appreciate and comprehend the why and how of Yong Joon behaving like a lone ranger in Korea’s entertainment circuit because of our common roots.

From my personal experience, I can understand the challenges that a Seoul Tobegi has to face in the Korean society. Yong Joon’s “lone wolf” behaviour is intricately linked to his birthplace. And of course, I also believe that Yong Joon will probably deny any of this...

I’m the senior, remember?

[to be continued...]

Yon-sama分析系列4

呵呵，谢谢大家支持。我现在一个人喝上了，今天再写个4。
勇俊成为“一只狼”是有其必然性的。韩国人一般
1．老家出身的前辈—后辈
2．高中，大学的前辈—后辈
3．男性的话，军队的前辈—后辈
4．演艺界的话，入行契机的前辈—后辈（比如说，MBC的第几期生）
5．亲戚，熟人的关系网
这样来建立自己的人际关系。但是，勇俊一个也没有。对此我想不用说明，大家也都已经知道了。对于1，我上面作了说明。

韩国的演艺界其实和军队差不多少。暴力啊什么的也很多。因为前辈—后辈的关系经常会发生暴力事件。比如说柳时元的好朋友金xx（还没醉哦）的事情就很有名。后辈如果礼数不周，因为这个（特别的喝酒的时候）发生又打又踢的暴力事件并不希奇。这个是韩国人都明白的。


比方说，作为韩国的军队式男性文化，后辈会用前辈的鞋盛酒喝下去。但是Seoul Tobegi，Yamtye的勇俊就不可能有这样的事情。长大的环境不一样（这个既不是褒义也不是贬义，是为了说明四大门内的文化和韩国一般的文化的差别。四大门内的文化，可以理解是从古时候就凝练下来的，更加有个人主义的倾向。我想那既不能称为个人主义，但也不是集团主义。）我很理解勇俊在韩国演艺界的“一只狼”行动的状态。因为老家是一起的嘛。从我个人的经验来讲，对于Seoul Tobegi在韩国社会里要经历的社会生活的考验，我是能够理解的。勇俊的“一只狼”行动，一定和他的出身地有关。即使勇俊本人否定，我也绝对认为这是有一定道理的。我是大前辈嘛：）。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www/baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-sama – Part 5

Good morning, everyone!
Today, let’s discuss how Yong Joon came to be someone with the thinking of a philosopher.

Yong Joon at Senior High. Yong Joon’s junior high school was Bejye Junior High; this was an elite school with tradition and history. (In Korea, one has to go through assessments to enrol into junior and senior high schools.) As for senior high, Yong Joon attended Hayong Senior High.
Simply put, this was not an elite or famous school.

At the time Yong Joon entered senior high, Korea was going through a democratic movement. (happiebb: The pro-democracy movement intensified throughout the 1980s and presidential election through voting was restored in a constitutional revision in 1987). Near Yong Joon’s home, that is near Dongdaemun, the labour unions and public would often hold demonstrations; this often brought traffic to a complete standstill or cause massive traffic jam. In addition, during the mid and late 1980s, the Korean movie industry was flooded with mainly pornographic works.
Let’s sidetrack a little here, during the period when pornographic movies reigned, the most active actor then actually played as Yujin’s father in Winter Sonata. In the drama, only his photograph appeared.
Anyway, these days, this actor would occasionally take on a fatherly role in dramas, sometimes only his photographs would appear.

During those times, a group known as Orange was active in the Gangnam area. The Yata group comprising mainly of young people would drive their foreign cars and zip around town. They would frequent clubs and pubs as well. (happiebb: I’m not sure if there’s any loss in translation from Japanese to Chinese as some parts did not seem to link.)

Comparatively, the senior high students from the poorer areas of North Hangang would loiter around the Daehak-ro area (大學路; literal translation: University Street or College Street) and Donamdon (this is next to Miari, home to many fortune tellers). During those days, senior high students such as Yong Joon would pretend to be university students
and hang around with female senior high school students who were also pretending to be university students.

(happiebb: The Seoul National University was first established in this area in 1946,
and this quickly became a gathering place for youths.
Later, when the Univeristy moved in 1975,
there were already many other universities in this area,
including SungKyunKwan University, Korea Open University, Catholic University of Korea and the Seoul National University College of Medicine. As such, the main street in this part of Seoul has been aptly named College Street.

I wonder…
Did Yong Joon ever fantasize about visitng Gangnam in one of those foreign cars?

Perhaps people from North Hangang simply did not have the financial means to live otherwise. So… they would indulge in self pride at being a Seoul Tobegi, and all the while despising the nouveau riche (new rich) in Gangnam. Yong Joon, just like the rest of the students who hailed from North Hangang, would perhaps watch the street demonstrations that took place all the time with clinical eyes. And maybe they would steal into the cinemas to catch a pornographic movie or two. Or maybe when there was not much work available, the North Hangang students may take to selling roasted sweet potatoes, all this while preparing for the university entrance examination.

Or… yet another maybe, Yong Joon would make-believe that he was a university student and hang around the front of SungKyunKwan University, listening to the arty-farty people share their aspirations.
That is, in a nutshell, how complicated a senior high school student’s life could be (in those times).

To add on, the senior high schools typically would choose to loiter near the front of SungKyunKwan University when they were in the Daehangno area. Yong Joon would have many memories about the university, I suppose? Perhaps this had something to do with his choice of SungKyunKwan University now.

When Yong Joon failed in his attempt in the university entrance examination, he chose to stay in a temple to concentrate on his studies.
This was an extremely unusual move. In Korea, it is quite common for a person around the age of thirty years of age to live in the temple in order to prepare for judicial examinations. But not for a senior high school student… this is quite unheard of. And needless to say, Yong Joon is a Christian. I suppose growing up in such a complex environment during such turbulent times may have triggered the philosopher and intellect in him.

[happiebb: Joon’s first choice of university was to the Department of Architecture in Hanyang University, but he failed.
Then he decided to move himself into Jinwi Temple in order to concentrate on his studies. He tried for the law faculty in his second attempt, but in vain. In addition, Joon is a Roman Catholic, to be more specific.]

Yon-sama分析系列5

大家早上好。今天就勇俊为何拥有哲学性的思考，来讨论一下。

高中时代的勇俊。勇俊的初中是Bejye中学，是具有传统的名校（韩国的初中和高中都是选考入学制）。高中是Hayong高中。明说这个高中并不是名校。

勇俊高中入学的时候，韩国正在实行民主化，总统直接选举制开始实施。勇俊家的附近，东大门周围，劳动团体，市民团体的示威游行连日进行，经常会导致交通瘫痪。还有，那时80年代中后期的韩国电影清一色是情色的东西。不妨多说一句，在那个以情色电影为主流的时期，活跃的情色男演员的代表是冬恋里面只在照片里出现的惟真的爸爸。这个人最近在这个剧那个剧里面偶尔会以父亲角色（有时候只有照片）的形象出现。

当时的汉城江南有被称为Orange族，Yata族的年轻人开着外国车四处跑，在俱乐部里狂欢。
和江南相比，穷一些的江北的高中生，会在现在的大学路啊Donamdon（就在那个以算命出名的Miari的旁边）玩。像勇俊那样的高个子的高中生，一般会隐瞒高中生的身份，假装成大学生，和同样装成大学生的女高中生一起玩。勇俊是不是也曾想要坐着外国车，在江南玩一玩呢？。。。但是，也许因为江北人并没有那样的经济能力，会一边鄙夷江南的暴发户文化，一边以Seoul Tobegi而自我满足吧。勇俊，和别的江北的高中生一样，一边冷眼看着连日的示威游行，偶尔也去一起看看情色电影，偷偷乐一乐；或者在没有打工机会的江北大家一起卖卖烤地瓜，准备迎接高考战争，还也许勇俊会装成大学生在大学路，特别是成均馆大学的前面溜达，听着周围演剧人士的高谈阔论。。。那是一个环境复杂的高中生活吧。

多说一句，本地的高中生在大学路玩的时候，一般都是在成均馆大学的前面。勇俊对于成均馆大学的周围一定会留有很多回忆吧。这和他后来选择成均馆大学也有一定关联吧。

高考失败的勇俊曾自己进到寺庙里补习功课。这样的行动，是很不同寻常的。在韩国，30岁前后的人为了准备司法考试进到寺庙里学习的事情并不少见，但是高中生选择一个人在寺庙里学习是罕见的。更不用说，勇俊是个基督徒。在复杂的社会环境下长大的勇俊，那时候就开始了他哲学性的思考了吧。
[size=18][/size]

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-sama – Part 6

Yong Joon has said before that he felt some pressure and burden from the role of MinHyeon (Jun Sang) in Winter Sonata has been too deeply embedded in the Japanese fans’ minds. Somehow, the fans had fixated his on-screen persona as that of that particular role. In Hotelier and Winter Sonata, he played well-heeled roles hailing from the Gangnam area. In WJS and First Love, he played poorer characters from the North Hangang. Personally, which role was closer to Yong Joon’s heart?
Mmm… Not sure. But my guess is, with Yong Joon’s birthplace’s history and his Seoul Tobegi identity, he would probably take to the character of Chan-woo in First Love a bit more.

After Winter Sonata, Yong Joon chose to take on the role of Cho-won in the Untold Scandal, I would imagine that this had something to do with the environment within which he had grown up. At Dongdaemun [东大门],
Yong Joon would have had played in Chyangkyon Palace when he was growing up. The palace was where the Chosun royalty had presided and resided in the past. This would be dramatically different in terms of influence if one would compare Yong Joon’s upbringing to that of the children from Gangnam who played in Lotte World. As compared to the affluent characters from Gangnam who have had much influence form Europe, the roles of Chan-woo and Cho-won would probably be something Yong Joon could associate with more, even akin to the feelings evoked by the thought of his mother.

Yon-sama分析系列6

勇俊曾经说，因为日本的Fans把他的形象固定为冬恋里的民亨（俊尚）让他感到很有负担。Hotelier和冬恋里他演的是江南的有钱人的角色，我们和初恋里是江北的清贫的角色。勇俊本人对哪个角色更中意呢？不大清楚。。。但是我想，勇俊出生，长大都是四大门的Seoul Tobegi，我推测勇俊会更中意初恋里灿宇的形象吧。

勇俊在冬恋以后选择丑闻里赵元这个角色，也可以考虑是跟他的生长环境很有关系的。在东大门，朝鲜王族生活过的Chyangkyon宫里玩耍过的勇俊，和在Lotte World玩耍过的江南的孩子们是不一样的。相对于欧美化的江南的有钱人的角色，灿宇啊赵元这样的角色，更让勇俊感到一种像母亲一样的东西吧。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-sama – Part 7

Thank you, everyone, for your replies to my posting.

Next, we’re now talking about the period when Yong Joon entered the temple. Where is this temple? Maybe all of you already know, but I’m not sure. I’d hazard a guess here, maybe it’s the temple in the mountains of Dobon Yong Joon’s family house. (happiebb: the temple is actually Jinwi Temple, located in middle of Ohsan and Pyeongtack)

During the time Yong Joon was in the temple, an outstanding newcomer entered the scene of the Korean entertainment circuit, this person is So Teji. He came onto the scene as a rock singer but the impact he had on the entire entertainment industry in Korea was commendable and had far-reaching effect.

Until the 1980s, Korean youths were rather westernised in terms of their tastes and preferences when it came to music and movies. It was uncommon for Korean youths then to actually listen to Korean music and watch Korean movies. So Teji’s entry sparked new interest amongst the Korean youths to get to know Korean music once again. This also created ripple effects on Korean TV dramas as well as Korean movies. It was then that Korea started to pay more attention and interest to home-grown arts and entertainment. At about that time, a new TV station, SBS, was born.

With the birth of SBS, many quality staff left MBC and KBS. These included producers, directors as well as the acting crew. Director Lee Jang-soo of Beautiful Days was one prime example of the movement;
he had moved on to SBS during this time. The sudden change of tide in the Korean entertainment industry during that time was very timely and opportune for Yong Joon, who had then decided to give up on the university entrance examination and had gone on to become an assistant to the filming team. Yong Joon may not have realised it, or perhaps he may not have planned for this to happen. But it was no sheer coindence that the actor-starved KBS decided to use the good-looking filming assistant.

So… Yong Joon ended up signing an exclusive acting contract with KBS.
During that time, Director Yun Seok-Ho (who later went on to direct Winter Sonata) who was also a new talent then, had said that he could feel the “X” factor in Yong Joon the very first time he met him. There was something special about Yong Joon, a special presence, a special aura.
That was also why he did not even hesitate in his choice of Yong Jun as the main male lead in his second work, Love’s Greeting.

The entire development was so suddent and unplanned. He who was just an ordinary student (good-looking, no doubt) from the North Hangang,
unsuccessful in his attempts to enter university, would one day suddenly be cast as the main male lead of KBS’ teen-oriented TV series. Just a day before, Yong Joon was still carrying a camera upon his shoulders, would be told to “go the front and face the camera. Yes, you’re the main lead from today. Now, action, camera..!”

Yon-sama分析系列7

谢谢大家的回贴。

接下来，进到寺庙里的勇俊，那个寺庙在什么地方呢？可能大家已经都知道了，但是我不大清楚。我的推测，可能是勇俊老家附近的Dobon山里面的一个寺庙。在勇俊进到庙里用功的时候，韩国的演艺界里出现了一个叫做So teji的了不起的新人。So teji本来是个Rock歌手，但是他对于整个韩国的演艺界都产生了全面的深刻影响。

因为直至80年代，韩国的年轻人听的音乐，看的电影基本上都是欧美的东西，听韩国音乐，看韩国电影的人很少来着。So teji的出现使韩国的年轻人重新对韩国的音乐，电视剧，电影发生了兴趣。韩国开始了本国的演艺热。同一时期，新的电视台SBS诞生了。

SBS一诞生，就从MBC啊KBS里面起走了好多优秀的节目创作人员，导演和演员。美丽的日子的李导演就是这个时期转到SBS的代表人物。韩国国内的演艺热潮，给了放弃高考，改作摄影助理的勇俊一个很大的机会。勇俊自己可能没有怎么意识到，其实对于演员不足的KBS决定起用英俊的摄影助理裴勇俊，这并不是那么偶然的。

勇俊和KBS结成专属契约。当时，同样是新人导演的冬恋的尹导曾说，第一次见到勇俊就感觉到他身上某种非同反响的气质。这样，感觉到勇俊的魅力的尹导演，在他的第二部作品爱的问候里，就毫无犹豫地选择勇俊来作男主角了。

这个过程其实是这么突然，曾是江北的普通高中生（当然很英俊），高考失败的勇俊，有一天突然被选作KBS的青春电视剧的男主角。到昨天还是扛着摄像机的勇俊，突然地被叫过去“你站在摄像机那边，脸冲着镜头。对，今天开始你就是主演，开拍。”。。。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-sama – Part 8

Yong Joon, although he is undisputedly handsome, but to be suddenly cast as the main lead was something that had not happened before.
If it were a female, it would be more common as the typical “route” would be for the person to have won a beauty pageant or was a TV model before progressing onto filming TV series. But what happened in Yong Joon’s case was a rarity. It’s almost as if he became Cinderella-Boy.
There was something mysteriously special about Yong Joon. So what was it?

I believe it has something to do with his princely aristocrat aura. Let’s take an example, there are many male stars who look good in leather jackets, but it is definitely harder to find a a young actor to look especially distinguished and good-looking when attired in a formal suit complete with a tie. Everybody knows the image of Yong Joon in a suit
is extremely handsome and attractive. (happiebb: YES YES YES!)
Even Takuya Kimura [木村拓哉] looks better in a leather jacket than he does in a suit, I suppose? So, we can say Yong Joon can be likened to a prince.

This is something that was already noted and recognized when Yong Joon first came onto the TV screen. No doubt, there’re a lot of good-looking men, but to be perceived as possessing a princely air is not at all common.

However, it is possible that since the beginning, Yong Joon was already contemplating doing something outside of the arts and drama. Otherwise, why would Yong Joon be avoiding any engagements outside of TV series? From the perspective of the Korean entertainment industry, this was something incomprehensible. Any actor who is anxious about his popularity and acceptance by the public would inevitably pitch for opportunies for more TV exposure; this is especially so for a newcomer.
But as a newcomer, Yong Joon straightaway adopted a stance of not being particularly keen or concerned about his popularity. This “lone wolf” was already a lone wolf from the start.

Nonetheless, regardless of what was on Yong Joon's mind, a staunchly loyal fan base formed almost immediately – a fan base that Yong Joon refers to as family. Even before Yong Joon became the hottest property in the Korean tinseltown, the name “Bae Yong Joon” was already a household name in Korean. He did not appear on TV much, nobody could put his or her finger on when exactly he became famous, having a large group of loyal fans, and being a runaway success with the drama First Love, all these more or less could be anticipated.

From my experience, people bearing the surname “Bae” tend to be rather serious; they tend to say less of “kwaen-chan-a-yo” (no, can do...)
(happiebb: korean phrase "It's okay", implying willing to accept less than perfect standards.)

According to my observation, Yong Joon should be someone who is quite serious and does not easily compromise on his high standards. Before Yong Joon’s entry into the entertainment circuit, the Baes tended to dominate the comedy-centric arena (especially in cross-talk and stand-up comedy). There was Bae Sanlyao who reigned from the 60s to the 80s,
and then from the 80s to the 90s, there were Bae Yijibu, Bae…

Whenever the Koreans think of performers with the “Bae” surname, they would tend to think of performers who specialised in cross-talks and stand-up comedies. Just when these three big names slowly faded from the comic performing field, Yong Joon entered the scene. Not only did he change the mindset of the koreans in terms of the Bae-performers, he actually came into the scene with the presence and image of a superstar.

Yon-sama分析系列8

勇俊，虽然英俊是没的说，但是这样突然地被起用作主演，也是基本上没有前例的。如果是女演员的话，选美大赛获胜，或者以电视广告模特出身，由开始拍摄电视剧进而升为主演的例子并非少数。但是勇俊这样，真可以说是辛德瑞拉Boy。勇俊的身上一定是有什么神奇的东西。那是什么呢？

我想是他的贵公子气质吧。打个比方说，我觉得穿皮衣好看的男演员很多，但是穿西装扎领带特别好看的年轻男演员却不怎么有。大家都知道，勇俊的西装领带的形象是非常好看，非常帅。木村拓哉也是相对于西装领带更适合穿皮衣吧，可能。所以说，勇俊是贵公子。

这一点在勇俊刚出镜的时候就是被公认的。帅男也许很有不少，但是与贵公子称呼相当的人却不怎么有。

但是，从入演艺圈起，勇俊也许一直在考虑做演艺之外的工作。不然的话，入行以来，勇俊一直回避电视剧以外的电视出演，这从韩国演艺界的基准来考虑，是无法理解的。如果是重视自己的人气管理的演员，特别是做新人的时候，基本上所有的人都会考虑要多出镜多上电视的。但是刚入行时的勇俊采取了好像对自己的人气毫不关心一样的行动。“一只狼”从一开始就是一只狼来着。

然而，无关勇俊心里是怎么想法，马上就产生出了一批被勇俊称为家族的固定的Fans。在勇俊因为《初恋》真正走红以前，在韩国大家也都知道裴勇俊这个名字了。不怎么上电视，但是不知从何时起就出了名，获得了一大批固定Fans的勇俊，后来在《初恋》里一炮打响，也是早就可以预料的事情吧。

从我的经验上来说，姓裴的人多数都很认真，没有一般韩国人的“kuan can nyo（差不离）”精神。勇俊据我的推测，也是不会说“差不离”， “差不离”这样的话。在勇俊入行之前，裴姓的人君临于搞笑界（相声小品一类）。60年代至80年代的Bae sanlyao，80年代至90年代的Bae yijibu, Bae…。韩国人想到裴姓的演艺人士的时候，通常会联想到相声小品吧。就在这3个相声小品界的巨匠不怎么活动的时候，勇俊开始入行。而且是一改裴姓的搞笑的形象，以巨星的形象堂堂登场的。[size=18][/size]

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-sama – Part 9

Hello!

Since then, Yong Joon has starred in First Love. Choi Su Jong also starred in First Love; he was a superstar in Korea during that era. Before the progress and advancement of the Korea society, there was a concept of having one superstar for each era or a specified period. By the way, the actor, Han Jinhi, who played the role of Kim Bok Man, or Kim Young Hee’s father in Hotelier, was the superstar of the 80s. After him was Choi Su Jong. During the time First Love was filmed and screened,
Choi was undeniably the superstar of that period.

The story of First Love centred around Choi Ju Jong and Bae Yong Joon,
and also used two female newcomes, Choi Ju Woo and Lee Seung Yeon.
This was a different approach from the past dramas that Yong Joon was involved in, KBS had cast Yong Joon as one of the two main leads in this considerably big-scale production. Yong Joon did not disappoint, he shone brightly in this drama. The phenomenon then was not unlike what has happened with Kwon Sang Woo today.

But one key difference exists between Yong Joon and Kwon Sang Woo,
that is, Yong Joon hardly appears in talk shows and he does not make appearances in variety or other entertainment programs. He is still the lonely prince.

In reality, I’m sure you all have heard some Koreans say Yong Joon is really not such a big deal in Korea. But is this really the case? Let me help to shed some light here.

First of all, people who are saying things like this are fans of other stars.
They are merely voicing their displeasure and dissatisfaction over why their own idols are not as popular Japan as Yong Joon. This is perfectly understandable.

Secondly, some people are saying this also because other than TV commercials, one hardly sees Yong Joon on Korean TV. Now, to use this as a yardstick to assess Yong Joon’s popularity in Korea is wrong.

Today, in Korea, Yong Joon’s performing and appearance fees is the highest. This is mainly because Yong Joon’s works enjoy tremendous popularity and support in Asian countries, and leading the pack is Japan. This has resulted in a significant surge in his fees.

If we only take into consideration the popularity factor within Korea alone,
then whose fees would rank the highest? Some people may say it’s Kwon Sang Woo. But personally, I believe there would be some seven or eight people vying for the top spot.

Currently, the drama Lovers in Paris starring Park Shinyang is enjoying high viewership and popularity. As recent as two months ago, Park Shinyang could not even make it to the top 20 most popular performers.
But of course, he is not a newcomer; instead he is already a famous star.

Basically, what I am trying to say is that the popularity ranking in Korea
is very much dependent upon and is closely associated with the screening of TV dramas and movies. This is something that is similar to the music billboard, which is linked to the launching of new CDs.

If Kwon Sang Woo were to take a hiatus and take a break for two years,
then his popularity will suffer. Yong Joon is probably the only performer in Korea who would take an entire year to rest, spending his time alternating between intellectual development and thinking, and considering his next works.

For a star who is supposedly taking a break and to command such a high performing and appearance fee, Yong Joon is the only one. Therefore whoever says Yong Joon is not popular in Korea simply does not understand the situation.

Following First Love which shot Yong Joon to true stardom in Korea, he appeared in another KBS drama (happiebb: I believe the author is referring to Barefooted Youth). Thereafter, Yong Joon appeared in an MBC drama. As for this MBC drama, Have We Really Loved [WJS], we will continue to discuss this in more details tomorrow.

For now, let’s all eat some hot kimchi, have a good weekend.

Yon-sama分析系列9

大家好！

那么之后，勇俊主演了《初恋》。《初恋》里有当时韩国的超级巨星崔秀钟出演。韩国社会在多样化之前，一直存在着“这个人是超级巨星”一样的艺人。顺便提一下，Hotelier里的会长（云熙的爸爸）的演员，Han jinhi是80年代的超级巨星。他之后就是崔秀钟。《初恋》的时候韩国的超级巨星毫无疑问是崔秀钟。《初恋》以崔秀钟，裴勇俊为轴心，同时起用了新人女演员崔智友和李升燕。这是和勇俊之前出演的作品不同的，KBS在倾全力的大制作中启用勇俊做主角。不负众望，勇俊在这个作品里大放光彩。就好像现在的权相佑状态。但是，和相佑不一样的是，勇俊不出演talk show，不出演综合娱乐节目。依然是孤独的贵公子。

实际上，就象大家知道的，有不少韩国人在说，勇俊在韩国没有那么了不起的拉的话。但是真的是那样吗？让我来稍微分析一下吧。

首先，说这样的话的是一些其他star的Fans，由于对自己喜欢的偶像在日本不怎么出名，而为什么勇俊就那么人气有不满的情绪。这是可以理解的。其次，也有因为勇俊除了广告在电视上不怎么出现，以此为基准来判断勇俊在韩国不人气的。这样的判断是不对的。现在在韩国，出演费用最高的是勇俊。这是因为勇俊的作品在以日本为首的其他亚洲国家都有很高销量的缘故，这使得勇俊的出演费高涨。如果只考虑韩国国内的因素，那么谁的出演费最高呢？有人会说是权相佑，但是我认为，如果只考虑韩国国内，那么会是7，8个人并列的状态。

现在在韩国Park shinyang主演的《巴黎的恋人》的剧正在走红。Park shinyang在两个月之前的人气排行榜上还不在20位之内。当然，他不是新人，是已经成名的star。所以说，韩国的人气排行榜是随着出演的电视剧，电影而随时随刻在变化的。这和音乐排行榜是一样的，出新CD排行榜位数就会提升。如果权相佑从此休息2年，那他的人气也会下降很多。在韩国成年地休息，一边思考一边仔细选择出演作品的，恐怕只有勇俊一个人吧。当今，出演费用最高的休假中（？）的star也只有勇俊一个人。那些说勇俊在韩国没有人气的人，是不了解情况。

勇俊因初恋成为了韩国代表性的star, 在又拍了一部KBS电视剧之后，他出演了MBC的作品。对于这个MBC电视剧，我们真的爱过吗，明天接着细说。大家吃吃辣白菜，渡个好周末吧。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-sama – Part 10

Good morning, everyone!
(truelove: Fumi has a habit of posting a few long messages early in the morning.)

We mentioned Kwon Sang Woo earlier, so let’s talk abit about him. Sang Woo has a terrific mother who will visit filming sites and ask after the crew. In the hot summer days, she will also buy watermelons for everybody. Perhaps it’s because of such a good mother that the media always has positive things to say about Sang Woo.

Sang Woo has just won The Best New Actor in Korea’s Grand Bell Awards,
and in his acceptance speech, he mentioned, “Up till now, I’ve not not come across any work that could be considered as quality or excellent work. I do not wish for it to be like this. I hope that in future, I will become a real actor.”

Once these words were out, speculation and criticism abound. He might as well be saying “Up till now, I’m just an idol whom the high school girls are crazy about. I do not wish for it to be like this. I hope that in future, I will become a real actor.”

Now, there are many high school girls in his fan club and they were upset with his words. They did not take things lying down. So, through the media, they said, “We’ve been supporting him for so long, how could he say something like that? Does he take us as fools?…”

But the media did not write much about this and the incident died down quickly. But why? My guess is that the media is still very tolerant towards Sang Woo, therefore they did not pick on that point to “attack” him.

Then what about Yong Joon’s reputation amongst the media? I would say, it’s neutral, neither positive nor negative. But most media’s comment about Yong Joon and his management team is that they are very professional.

Yong Joon and his team operate in a manner very different from the rest of the industry. In Korea, most artistes or their managers would rely on network or relationships to plan and organize things.

But not Yong Joon and his team.

They have never relied on networking to get things done. There is no one who is particularly experienced in Yong Joon’s team. Of course, in the course of their work as Yong Joon’s managers, they would have established their own network due to their job nature. However, they do not make use of their network to work things.

By the way, the members of Yong Joon’s team maintain very close ties with a certain famous actor’s (CIP) management. If you encounter problem contacting Yong Joon to visit Japan for whatever interviews,
you may want to try CIP Management.

Now, let’s talk about Yoon Joon who started off at KBS, but later moved on to MBC for two TV dramas (HWRL and Hotelier). It has been said that the reason Yong Joon chose to do HWRL was because he is a fan of the scriptwriter Noh Hee-gyeong. I’m not sure how true this is. Noh Hee-gyeong is a first class student of the famous scriptwriter, Kim Soo-hyeon. The teacher whom she had mentioned in her notes was possibly Kim Soo-hyeon.

Anyway, MBC’s TV series have a tradition of producing quality works. The director of HWRL, Park Joon, is the key person responsible for contemporary drama production at MBC. Director Lee Jang-soo of Beautiful Days is a student of Park Joon’s. During the Baek Sang Art Awards (Yong Joon won Best New Actor), the directors who won all thanked Park Joon. So… Park Joon can be considered as a very key and senior figure in the field of directors in Korea.

HWRL brought together (during that time) the best of everything, from director, scriptwriter, cast and the rest of the team. Although its viewership could not rival those of First Love and Winter Sonata, this was a drama that showcased Yong Joon’s growth and maturity in his acting.
Kim Hye Soo, at that time, was extremely popular and she is an artiste known for her excellent acting skills. In this drama Yong Joon proved that he could hold his own in terms of acting and Kim Hye Soo, a strong opponent, did not overshadow him.

Yon-sama分析系列10

大家早上好！（这个fumi爱起早经常早上连发几个长贴。）

前面提起权相佑，那咱们就说说相佑吧。相佑有个好母亲，经常会到摄影现场，慰问每一个摄制组人员，酷夏的时候她会买好多大西瓜来分给大家。也因为有这么一个热心的好母亲吧，媒体对于相佑的评价一直非常好。相佑此前当选为大钟奖的最佳新人奖（？），但是他在受奖致词里说，“至今为止，还从没有遇到一个真正称得上作品的作品”，从而引起争议。这句话仿佛是在说，“至今为止，我权相佑虽然是女子高中生狂热追逐的偶像，但是我不喜欢这样。希望今后能够作为真正的演员演戏。”这样的话说出去，令相佑的Fan俱乐部的女子高中生们非常愤怒，她们对相佑还以颜色。通过新闻报道她们说，“长时间以来我们一直都这么支持他，现在他却说出这样的话？把我们当傻瓜吗？”。。。但是，这个事件媒体后来并没有怎么再提，因而也就渐渐平息了。为什么呢？我想是因为媒体对相佑还是比较宽容的，没有进一步做攻击性的报道.

那么勇俊在媒体间的口碑如何呢？不好也不坏吧，我想。媒体多对于勇俊和勇俊事务所的评价是Professional (很专业)。在韩国的演艺界里，勇俊和勇俊事务所以很罕见的排除派别和人际关系网的专业姿态来开展活动。勇俊事务所的成员里并没有拥有特别资历的人，但是作为普通的经理人他们在韩国的演艺界里也建立了自己的联络网。只不过他们并不是利用这样的联络网来行事的类型。顺便提一下，勇俊事务所和某著名演员CIP氏的事务所关系很好。想邀请勇俊来日本访问的大家，如果实在联系不上勇俊事务所，可以试试和CIP事务所问一问。
接着说，一直在KBS拍戏的勇俊在MBC拍了2部电视剧（我们和Hotelier）。勇俊之所以选择《我们》这部剧有人说是因为勇俊是该剧作家鲁喜珠的Fan，我不大清楚是不是这样。鲁喜珠是著名的剧本作家Kim suyon弟子一级的人，她在自己的写作笔记里称作老师的可能就是Kim suyon。MBC的电视剧非常有传统，以作品优秀而著名。《我们》的导演Park joon是MBC现代剧部分的负责人一级的人物，《美丽的日子》的李导演是他弟子级的人。在此前的百想艺术节上（勇俊是得了新人奖的吧），获奖的导演们都一致地对Park joon导演致谢辞来着。。。。所以说，《我们》的Park joon导演在韩国的导演界是被称为理事一级的大人物。
《我们》是一部集合了当时韩国一流的导演，剧本作家，出演阵容以及剧组人员的电视剧。虽然收视率不及初恋和冬恋，但是是一部显示了勇俊飞速成长的作品。和当时有着高度人气和实力的女演员金惠秀共演，这部剧里勇俊证明了他的演技实力于以演技派著称的金惠秀毫不逊色。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-sama – Part 11

How does everyone look at Yong Joon’s outward appearance? From the most recent electronic goods publicity shot, I would that’s the best photo I’ve seen of Yong Joon so far. Perhaps things are clearer and more objective coming from someone who is not a fan.

The image of Yong Joon in the Sony photo actually made me feel and made me believe that he, indeed, is Asia’s No. 1.

For the first time in my life since the day I was born, I actually felt a tinge of jealousy. (Just a little, haha, I wonder what the men here would think?) Anyway, I think that the Sony commercial will only bring more Yong Joon fans. I’m sure you’ve seen that picture by now right? He’s really good-looking!

Now let’s now analyze his appearance.

Yong Joon’s chin…
I feel that he has a habit of thrusting his chin forward. That’s why he give people a feeling that he is a very sharp person.

His brows…
I feel the shape of his brows is that of half crescent. Please have a look at his recent photos. His recent photos would show his eyebrows as more curved, or maybe that’s just makeup. But I do think his eyebrows do look a little different from the past.

Yong Joon has full lips, both upper and lower lips are full and thick, very manly.

The shape of his face is oval, therefore very suitable to wear glasses.

Below his lips where his lower jaw is…
It juts forward slightly. Please look at Yong Joon’s sideview, that’s a wonderful feature on his face. Perhaps this is what makes his entire face so delicate and exquisite.

I I do not actually think that his ears are particularly good-looking, but somehow, I think they’re very sexy. (Whoa, I really shouldn’t go on… It’s getting kind of weird.)

After HWRL, he appeared in Hotelier, this time around, it’s with Song Yun-Ah and Song Hyo-gyo. I suppose it’s the same of other top grade actors as well, but Yong Joon truly, without fail, is always cast with the best actresses in dramas.

Just like HWRL, Hotelier was also put together by the best of best team in MBC. Why do I say you have to watch MBC if you want to watch TV dramas?

Let me try and explain this simply. The KNTV of Japan also screens MBC’s “TV’s Best Theatre”. This program tests and assesses the capabilities of young directors and scriptwriters. Here, viewership is not taken into consideration, only the quality of the TV drama. If these young directors and aspiring scriptwriters cannot obtain acceptance in this program, then they will not get any work. Although this is is an MBC program, if anyone can gain recognition in the program, the person will be recruited by the other broadcasting stations for sure. Perhaps it is because of this that we have to watch MBC dramas as opposed to the rest.

After we’ve witnessed Yong Joon’s maturity in First Love, HWRL and Hotelier (happiebb: Fumi has got it wrong, Yong Joon left to do his studies after HWRL and before Hotelier), he suddenly came to a decision to go to university. A lot of other Korean stars continue to appear in dramas even as they attend university, but no, not Yong Joon. He chose to really become a university student.

In Korea, there are some universities where you can graduate so long as you have money. But no one could tell why Yong Joon chose to attend SungKyunKwan University, an institute that not many people from the entertainment industry would choose. And there, he started to really study. In order not to affect his studies, it is understood that he would go to great lengths to disguise himself as a typical student. In fact, it was said that even some classmates in his same class did not recognise him.
(happiebb: Somehow, I doubt this… How can anyone not notice this tall & handsome guy?)

In most cases, when a celebrity enters university, the media will report on the celebrity’s daily school life and all on TV. Even the university will support such filming as part of its promotional campaign. But Yong Joon moved like a ninja, attending classes and not letting anyone know of his celebrity status.

Even now, his ninja behaviour is still evident. Where is he now? Don’t know! In my mind, Yong Joon is completely unsuited for the entertainment circle. But Yong Joon was chosen to take this path due to his good looks. As compared to the other actors who started taking acting lessons since young, Yong Joon was just an ordinary young man who had dreamt of becoming an architect.

Due to this sudden change in path to become an actor, he went through some hardship in the beginning in terms of acting skills. But Yong Joon worked extremely hard to improve his craft. Not once did he harbour thoughts of "kwaen-chan-a-yo"; he just persevered on learning and focusing on becoming a great actor. But somehow I do not think that Yong Joon is a naturally hardworking person. In the beginning, he did not even think much about becoming an actor, his good looks was more of a burden than it was able to help him.

Thereafter, it was his pride and never-say-die attitude that took over. He simply was not someone who could just put in a shabby performance and pass that as his work. So in everything that he did, he did and gave his very best and tried to even surpass his best. And this was probably how people started to describe him as someone very hardworking and industrious.

Personally, I think Yong Joon started to gain confidence from his performance in HWRL. Also, the fact that the illustrious director Park Joon
and the reputable actress Kim Hye Soo were part of the HWRL team further cemented his self confidence and esteem. From there, he entered university.

At that time, I would imagine he was plotting and planning his future. Did he want to be become an artiste? Or someone who would nurture and groom talents and artistes?

Yon-sama分析系列11

大家是如何看勇俊的外貌的呢？最近的新电器广告的宣传照，是至今为止我看到的勇俊的照片里面我觉得最棒的。也许听一听不是勇俊Fan的人的想法就会更清楚，SONY照片里的勇俊的形象我感觉是亚洲的No.1。从生下来到现在，我头一回作为男人有一种嫉妒的感觉。（只有一点儿啊，哈哈，不知道这里的xx,xx(男)如何想法？）。我觉得那个CM会增加更多的勇俊迷。大家也都看到那张照片了吧，真的是好帅啊！


下面对勇俊的长相做一下分析吧。勇俊的下巴，我觉得有向前伸的习惯。给人以锐利的印象。勇俊的眉毛我感觉是半月形的。请看最近的照片。最近的照片比从前是不是眉毛有点儿弯，也可能是化妆的不同吧，我觉得勇俊眉毛的形状和从前有点儿不一样。勇俊的嘴唇是丰满型的，上唇和下唇都是厚实的，富于男子气。脸型是鹅蛋型的，所以很适合戴眼镜。嘴唇的下面，下鄂的部分有点儿向前，请看勇俊的侧脸，这一部分是非常好看。也许是造成精敛的脸型的关键。耳朵不觉得好看，但是不知道为什么感觉很性感（哇。。。越说越悬：）。

勇俊在《我们》之后出演Hotelier，这回是和宋允儿，宋慧乔共演。别的一流演员可能也是这样吧，但是勇俊真的是经常会和最优秀的女演员共演。和《我们》一样，Hotelier也是由MBC最优秀的组创人员摄制的。为什么说，电视剧要看MBC呢？在此我简单地做个说明。现在日本的KNTV也在播放MBC的单本剧节目《电视剧BEST剧场》。这个节目是测试年轻的导演和剧本作家实力的地方。这里不考虑收视率，只重视电视剧的质量，年轻的导演或者剧本作家等如果不能够在这个BEST剧场里实力得到承认，就不会得到以后的工作机会。这虽然是MBC的节目，但是如果能够在BEST剧场里获得认可，马上就会被别的放送局请去。因为有这样的缘故吧，所以有电视剧要看MBC的说法。

在《初恋》《我们》（《Hotelier》这里fumi搞错了，勇俊是拍完我们以后上的大学,后来他说Kuan can nyo来着：）迅速成长的勇俊，突然决定要去上大学。别的韩流star即使进了大学，也会出演电视剧的，但是勇俊是真的当上了大学生。在韩国，只要有钱怎么都可以毕业的大学不老少，但是不知为何勇俊选择了演艺界的人不怎么去的成均馆大学，真正认真地开始了学习。为了不影响学习，据说勇俊是乔装改扮夹在大学生中间，连同一个班的同学都没有发觉他。一般韩国演艺界的人士进了大学，媒体马上就会对其上课的情形做电视报道，大学方面也会因为是宣传本校的好机会而放行。但是，勇俊却连同班同学都不让知晓，忍者侠一般地上起了大学。


勇俊的忍者侠风格现在也在体现。勇俊现在在哪儿呆着呢？不知道！我感觉勇俊原本不是适合演艺界的人。但是却因为长相英俊被选中入了行。和其他的演员从孩子时候起就接受演剧训练不同，勇俊从前是个梦想称为建筑家的普通的年轻人。突然被选中做演员，所以开始的时候演戏吃了好多苦。勇俊非常地刻苦努力来着。没有Kuan can nyo的想法，一心一意为做个好演员而努力。但是我想勇俊原本并不是个刻苦的人吧。开始的时候不想当演员，漂亮长相反而成了麻烦，之后因为不服输的性格，使得他不能够随随便便演下来，所以尽全力去做了，从而被说成是刻苦勤奋的人。我个人感觉，《我们》以后，勇俊对自己演技有了相当程度的信心。和那个大人物的Park导演以及金慧秀的共演成为他信心的基础。那以后他就进了大学。他那时对自己的将来做了各种各样的思考吧。是做演员呢，还是做艺术家，或者是做培养艺术家的实业家? （待续）

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-sama – Part 12

Good morning!

Today let’s talk about Hotelier. Now this drama is Yong Joon’s first attempt to shoulder the responsibility of viewership alone. In Have We Really Loved, there was a sterling team of Kim Hye-soo, director Park and scriptwriter Noh. In Barefooted Youth, there was Go So-Young.

Yes, there was Song Yun-Ah in Hotelier; although I do like her very much,
but in terms of popularity, she did not rate as high as Ji Woo or Hye-soo.
As for Song Hye Gyo, despite her sky high popularity now, she was still a newcomer to the scene back then.

The other male lead, Kim Seung Woo could not be rated as a superstar either. Besides, Kim was going through a divorce during that time. In Korea, women tend to be rather cold towards male actors who divorce their wives. Kim was previously quite popular, but his popularity suffered at that time as he was perceived as an irresponsible person who abandoned his wife. (Kim starred in a Taiwanese TV drama this year).
Director Jang Yong Wu and the scriptwriter Jiang Yin Qing were fairly famous, but their fame was not no to the extent of drawing throes of viewers.

So in Hotelier, other than Yong Joon, the rest of the leading cast was slightly weak in terms of popularity and audience draw. Therefore, I would imagine Yong Joon feeling the pressure and the heat regarding the viewership of the drama. This was an MBC production and MBC was always less aggressive when it came to scouting of acting talents and stars. SBS, conversely, pursued the Japanese strategy of using superstars to play the viewership game. I suppose in a way, MBC with its focus on engaging the best talents in directors and scriptwriters, had little strength and resources left to engage additional stars other than Yong Joon.

In comparison, the second liner cast in this drama was rather substantial and adequate. Park Jung Chul who played Choi Young Jae was a newcomer who was able to stand his own as the main male lead. Choi Yong Min who played Leo Park was also a household name. Hu Joon Ho who played Manager Wu (Oh Hyung Man) is the son of the very famous actor Jang Gang. When they were filming Hotelier, people would often point towards him and say, “Hey, isn’t that Jang Gang-ssi’s son?” But thereafter, Hu Joon Ho acted in many dramas and movies; subsequently the public came to accept him as Hu Joon Ho, an actor in his own right.

The elderly Choi couple appeared in numerous dramas and I’m sure there’s no need to introduce much as you would already be familiar. Let you in on an insider news, the actress who played Choi Young Jae’s mother (Yun Yeo-jeong) and the the actress who played Sang Hyk’s mother in Winter Sonata were both very famous in the 1970s. Yun happens to be the best friend of the writer Kim Soo-hyeon (mentioned in Part 10).

Further, Han Jin Hee who took on the role of President Kim Bock Man in Hotelier was a superstar in the 1980s. He could be said to be representative of that era. His attitude and approach to things were somewhat similar to Yong Joon’s. He was also like a “lone wolf” in the Korean entertainment scene. Other than TV drama, he hardly made any appearances in TV shows. In this sense, he was ahead of Yong Joon.

Yong Joon could be considered to be the instrumental element in the commercial success of Hotelier in that the viewership rating was dependent on him and him alone. Besides, the presence of Han Jin Hee, a princely icon twenty years ago, should have triggered thoughts in Yong Joon of what he could be like in twenty years’ time. (But of course Jin Hee was never called a Prince Charming like Yong Joon.) As the filming went on, did Yong Joon entertain such thoughts as “What would become of me in future? If I continue to be an actor, then Jin Hee is a prime example of what would happen me in future, no? But no, I should be, would be different. Why? Because I would never be satisfied with such a state. I’ve so much more that I want to do.”

After Hotelier, Yong Joon has blossomed into an actor of substance, who decides for himself what he wants to do. My guess is all the way from First Love to Hotelier, Yong Joon probably did not make his own decisions,
he probably just followed instructions or decisions taken by his agency…

(Happiebb: Both Truelove77 and I think that Fumi may have gotten his sequence wrong. We think Yong Joon went to pursue his studies after HWRL and before Hotelier. So, we believe that the change in mentality and approach took place during this period, that is, between HWRL and Hotelier. He just packed up and went to do his own thing after HWRL. Of course, he could still accept some product endorsements and commercials to earn a living.)

Yon-sama分析系列12

大家早上好。

今天说一说Hotelier。这部作品，是勇俊第一次一个人担纲承担起收视率重任（？）的电视剧。我们》的时候有金惠秀，Park导演，作家鲁喜珠。《赤脚青春》的时候有高晓英。Hotelier里的女主角是宋允儿，虽然我很喜欢，但是在人气方面还是不及智友和惠秀的。宋慧乔虽然现在是人气顶天，但是在当时却还是新人。共演的男演员金承佑也不能称为大明星。况且金承佑那个时候正在闹离婚。韩国的女性对于离婚的男艺人是很冷淡的。承佑本来还是比较有人气的，但是因为离婚，被看成是抛弃老婆不负责任的男人而被女观众冷眼看待（承佑今年在台湾的电视剧里出演）。张导演还有剧本作家韩x也是有名的人物，但是名气还不能达到拉动收视率的程度。

Hotelier是除了勇俊以外主演的人气都比较薄弱的剧。所以，勇俊会对收视率感到非常大的压力吧？我想。这一部也是MBC电视剧，MBC在明星的scout, 涉外方面较为薄弱。日剧式的以大明星担纲决胜负的是SBS，我想MBC为了着重于导演和剧本作家的缘故，除了勇俊以外没有能力再起用别的大明星了。

相比之下，这部电视剧的配角却很充分。容齐一角的Park joontyol是当时可以胜任主角的成绩很好的新人。成俊（by77这个是哪位？）一角的演员崔xx是韩国家喻户晓的演员。演吴经理的Hoh jyu noh(by77都是片假名，翻不好)，因为他父亲是特别有名的演员（Jyan gan）的缘故，Hotelier的时候，大家都说“这不是那个Jyan gan ssi的儿子吗？”。但是，以后他出演的好多电影，电视剧，从此不再是以Jyan gan ssi儿子的身份，而是作为Hoh jyu noh被观众承认了。

崔董事长夫妇因为太经常出现，也不用介绍了（笑）。给大家说一个内情，演崔董事长夫人的尹suyon和冬恋的相奕妈妈一起都是70年代的代表红星，尹是前面说过的著名作家Kim suyon的最好的朋友。还有，Hotelier里面饰演金福万会长的是韩国80年代的代表巨星Kan jinhi。他的风格和勇俊有些像，也是韩国演艺界里“一只狼”一样的人物，除了电视剧以外从不上电视，从这个角度来讲，可以说是勇俊的前辈了。

勇俊在Hotelier里第一次处于单独一个人要对收视率负责的状态。并且现场还有能联想到20年后的自己的20年前的贵公子Kan jinhi（jinhi没有被称作过贵公子啊：）。勇俊是不是会一边看着jinhi一边这样想呢“这以后自己应该怎么办呢？作为演员，按现在这样做下去将来就会是jinhi前辈的样子吧？呀，不，应该不一样。为什么呢？因为自己不会满足的。自己有更多的各种各样的事情要做。”

Hotelier之后，勇俊成了能对事务所做出自己的决定的实力演员。但是，从初恋至Hotelier止勇俊应该是一直没有自己的决定权，按照事务所的安排来拍戏的吧。（by77,这里fumi再次搞错了勇俊上大学的时期，应该是在《我们》之后，Hotelier之前。所以勇俊从《我们》之后就自己说了算了。不顾事务所的反对（干系到10多个人的吃喝生活啊）自己上大学去了。当然可以靠拍广告赚钱。）

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-sama – Part 13

Good morning!

As what everybody knows, Yong Joon went to SungKyunKwan University. The FTM (Film, TV & Multimedia) course here is quite different from those in other universities; there, the key areas of focus are techniques in cinematography and the management aspect of the film business. In all honesty, a graduate from this university will not have the benefit of belonging to any “in” circles or cliques, SungKyunKwan University does not practice inviting people from the industry to lecture. (It's common to invite people from the entertainment industry to lecture in Korean universities; this is usually interpreted as facilitating the establishment of network and industry ties). It can be said that pursuing a degree at SungKyunKwan University is not going to help Yong Joon directly in terms of his future in this industry.

Then again, Yong Joon has always been interested in taking photographs,
and he has little interest in the cliques of the circle. Besides, the university is near his old family home, and quite possibly, was also a place where he had some fun in his younger days, so he chose to enrol himself in SungKyunKwan University without hesitation.

SungKyunKwan University was a prominent and key institue in the past,
but became a normal university after a major revamp to the entrance examination in 1980. During the Chosun period, schools that taught Confucian studies were known as SungKyunKwan. This university was thus named as there were SungKyunKwan from the Chosun period in that vicinity when the university was first built. Of course, the university had absolutely nothing to do with the SungKyunKwan during the Cho-sun period. In fact, this is one of the very rare cases of a university being sponsored by a corporation; the directorship of this university is held by the Samsung Corporation in Korea.

Before the shooting of Have We Really Love [HWRL], Yong Joon had a year of inactivity, let’s call it a “blank”. (Unlike other performers and actors, Yong Yoon does not appear on TV other than for TV dramas and TV commercials, as such, there are always “blanks” when he is not appearing in any TV dramas). Then there came another blank which lasted for two years. Along College Street, at SungKyunKwan University,
he transformed into a student and nobody even noticed! You’d better watch out! For all you know, Yong Joon could be standing in front of you right this minute! After HWRL, the public came to realise and accept that
Yong Joon really “didn’t appear on TV much…”

(Truelove77: Fumi appeared to have gotten his sequece wrong, particularly the time when Yong Joon attended university, so I’ve changed his original posting a little.)

After Hotelier, Yong Joon’s next work was Winter Sonata. Was Yong Joon trying to go back to to the origin? Was he trying to retrace his steps to when he just started by choosing to work with Director Yoon Seok-Ho who directed his first drama? After he was talent-scouted, he had started his acting career. He worked very hard, became a big star and then he found time to think about things a little. At that time, he was probably thinking, “Let me debut once more. This time, I will do as per what I want and I wish for. I will think through things myself and make decisions myself. I want to do what I want to do.” With this as a premise to start anew, Yong Joon chose to work with the very director he first worked with.

Director Lee Hye-Eun, having just left KBS to work independingly at that time, was really hot property with the runaway success TV drama, Autumn in My Heart. As a free agent, Director Lee probably cracked his head for quite some time when making casting decisions for his first drama after leaving KBS. Bae Yong Joon? Lee Byunghun? Jang Dong Gun?

He eventually picked Yong Joon who is most suited to act in a drama about pure love. This is what I think, Yong Joon probably would much prefer to appear in a drama that was closer to reality, something that reflected the real life, as opposed to a fantasy love story that spoke about pure love. But Director Lee is someone who would elevate the status of Little Candy, the teenage girls’ cartoon series, to an artistic level
when he discussed Little Candy with anyone. (Director Lee was besotted wth Little Candy from Japan when he was in his 30s. He’s now in his 40s and still single). Yong Joon was possibly affected and influenced by the artistic part of the drama. Choi Ji Woo was the female lead, presumably Yong Joon would be happy with this choice since they both appeared in First Love together and became really well known from then.
Besides, his old home was quite nearby as well. So, in terms of his choice of script to embark on the second debut of his career, Winter Sonata was a natural choice.

From the later part of the 1990s, Korean dramas started to gain popularity in Asia. South East Asian fans who have grown tired of Oshin from Japan were starting to look the second Oshin. Even if these were not as good as Oshin, the fans were very interested in Ahn Jae Wook’s Wish Upon A Star and Jang Dong Gun’s All About Eve.

But Autumn in My Heart was instrumental in propelling the acceptance and popularity of K-dramas. Before Autumn, the craze was nowhere near what was achieved with Oshin. It was Autumn that fuelled the K-drama fire. Subsequent to Oshin, Japanese dramas were not widely available
in South East Asian countries due to their high prices.

Right after Autumn came Winter Sonata, and this was what made it for K-dramas. It cemented the status of K-dramas in South East Asia. And almost miraculously, Yong Joon began to have fans everywhere, very staunchly loyal fans who started to form fan clubs. After the screening of Winter Sonata, one could find Yoon Joon’s families everywhere in Asia.
This was something the other korean stars could not and still cannot lay claim to. Looking at the Asian region, perhaps only Jang Dong Gun could rival Yong Joon in terms of popularity. (Jang is especially famous in Vietnam; he can be considered to be “national” star there).


After Winter Sonata, Yong Joon immediately went into the preparation
for the filming of The Untold Scandal. At that time, he perhaps had also heard about how he had become an Asian Superstar. But he was not particularly or unusually excited, I suppose he merely just smile slightly at that. With Winter Sonata as his second debut, Yong Joon had created much for himself. The tremendous success was unparalleled. However, Yong Joon did not stop and bask in the craze of it all. He did not linger to enjoy the success and byj-craze that he had created. Having long decided to “walk his own path”, Yong Joon was already contemplating his next move as he thanked his Asian fans.

Yon-sama分析系列13

大家早上好。

勇俊像大家所知道的那样进了成均馆大学。这个大学的戏剧电影学科和其他的大学有所不同，是着重于电影摄影的技术面和经营面来教授的。实际上，即使从这个大学的电影学科出去的话，也不会拥有大学的派别，因为那个大学里没有有名的演艺界人士授课（在韩国经常会有演艺界人士在大学里教课。既是教授实际的演艺经验，也有在演艺界培养自己的人际关系的意思。），所以说对于在演艺界的将来并没有什么直接的帮助。勇俊原本对照相就很感兴趣，对演艺界的派别之争没有兴趣，并且，成均馆大学离勇俊老家很近，还曾是自己以前玩耍过的地方，所以他毫不犹豫地选择了这所大学吧。

这所大学从前是重点大学，80年高考制度改革了以后变成了普通大学。在朝鲜时代，学习儒学的学校被称为成均馆，这所大学因为初建时的地方有朝鲜时代的成均馆，所以就以此命名了。当然是和朝鲜时代的成均馆毫无相干的大学，是所罕见的由财团出资经营的大学，韩国的Samsun(?)财团是该大学的理事。

在《我们》拍摄之前勇俊就曾有过一年的空白时期（和其他的艺人不同，勇俊除了电视剧，CM以外不上电视，所以不出演电视剧就成为空白状态），这回他又造成了2年期间的空白。在大学路，成均馆大学，他乔装改扮，因而也没有被人发现。大家也要小心一点儿哦，没准儿勇俊现在就在你跟前也说不定呢？《我们》以后，勇俊的“不怎么上电视”也众所周知了。勇俊的Fan以外的人从这个时候开始，说“裴勇俊，确实是star，但是因为不怎么上电视。。。嗯。。。”。
(by77 这一段因为fumi原文把勇俊上大学的时期搞错，所以我给改了一点儿，可能前后不大通顺。)

Hotelier之后，勇俊选择的作品是《冬季恋歌》。勇俊是否打算以出演自己初演作品的尹导演的电视剧，试图重新回到原点呢？被scout之后就开始演戏，一直拼命地努力，成为大明星，有了自己思考的时间，这时候勇俊是这样想的吧：“重新debut。这回是按照自己的意志，自己好好思考，做自己想做的事。”作为这一新的出发点，勇俊选择了自己初演作品的尹导演。

尹锡浩导演正因《冬季恋歌》之前的作品《秋天的童话》的走红，刚刚从KBS独立出来。独立后第一部作品的选角问题一定令尹导演大伤了一番脑筋吧。裴勇俊，李秉宪，张东健里面，他最终选择了最适合演出纯爱的勇俊。我个人是这样推测的，勇俊自身可能相对于纯爱，更喜欢社会派内容的剧。但是，尹导演是将少女漫画（尹导演在30多岁的时候，迷上了日本的Candy·Candy的少女漫画！至今40多岁了仍然独身）提到艺术水平来谈的作家，勇俊可能也被那个艺术性的部分感染了吧。一起共演的是崔智友，这也令勇俊感到很开心吧。两个人因《初恋》一起走红，老家也离得不远。再出发的作品，勇俊选择了《冬恋》，当然，是非常正解啊！

特别是从90年代后半开始，韩剧开始在亚洲走红。早已看腻了日本的《阿信》的东南亚的Fans开始寻找第二个阿信，就算比不上第二个《阿信》，他们对安在旭的《星愿》，张东健的《爱上女主播》等韩剧都非常感兴趣。而把这个韩剧热提升到《阿信》那个水平的，是《秋天的童话》。之前的韩剧的热度是不及从前的《阿信》热的。是这个《秋天的童话》提升了韩剧热的温度。日剧在《阿信》之后，因为输出价格比较高额而在亚洲不怎么能被看到。韩剧却在《秋天的童话》之后放映了《冬季恋歌》，从而使韩剧的热潮得以确立。不可思议的是，勇俊在各地都马上有了固定的Fans，建立了自己的家族。冬恋放映之后，亚洲各地都产生了勇俊的家族。这是其他的韩流star不具备的特征。如果从亚洲全域来考虑的话，人气方面能称为勇俊对手的，我想只有张东健吧。（张东健尤其在越南特别有名，是越南国民级的star。）

勇俊在《冬恋》结束之后，立刻进入《丑闻》的摄影准备阶段。他也听到自己成为亚洲巨星的消息。但是他并没有如何兴奋，只是对之微微一笑了吧。第二次debut，以《冬恋》的辉煌成绩大获成功的勇俊，没有停留于周围的狂热，早已决定好“走自己的路”了吧。勇俊，一面感谢亚洲各地的Fans,一面已经开始考虑自己的下一步了。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 14

Good morning!

Hey, is everybody quite keen and interested to know the backdrop of Yong Joon’s visit to Japan? I, too, want to now! I, Fumi Investigation Services, will be starting to write about that after Part 15. Please be patient and wait…

In Korea, it is widely perceived that stories or dramas that centres around true love or pure love will not be well-received. Typically, Korean audience quite enjoy the storyline of having a mean capitalist pitting against a poor but righteous man for power, money and for love. Of course, the finale will be that the poor guy will win. In Korea in the olden days, there was even a saying telling people to “throw stones into a rich man’s house”.

From the end of the Chosun period, there was suddenly a sporadic appearance of “nouveau riche” or the new/sudden rich. Due to the inexplicable or dubious nature of their sudden wealth, people did not look upon the rich positively. Although this is by no means an authoritative statement, I personally feel that the backbone of a typical Korean drama is one that recounts the downfall of a wealthy capitalist. Of course, there will be some love stories within the main story, especially for both the so-called good and bad sides to vy for the love of the female lead.

That is to say, in Korean dramas, the first 100% pure love story only started with Winter Sonata. Didn’t Autumn in My Heart also had the backdrop of money and wealth issues amidst the love story?

In reality, the first to test the Korean market’s acceptance to a true love story was Love Letter from Japan, which starred Nakayama Miho. Before Love Letter, movies by Akira Kurosawa and Kitano Takeshi did not meet with success in the Korean box office. Nobody had imagined that Love Letter would have such a resounding success when it was screened in Korean. Not only did a create a stir, the scene where the lead shouted “O genki desuka?” passionately towards the mountains became a unforgetable famous scene from the movie. At that time, the greeting phrase “O genki desuka?” also became the most popular phrase in Korea. When Ji Woo was asked by the Japanese TV media what Japanese phrases she knew, she shyly said, “O genki desuka”. Through this movie, the Koreans learnt how to say “How are you” in Japanese.

The success of Love Letter was lise a dose of confidence for Director Lee. Director Lee has long been known as someone who is familiar with most things Japanese. Other than Little Candy comics, he also studied Japanese TV dramas and movies on pure love. Director Lee is of the view that he can make a commerical success out of using his favourite storyline as his work.

It was then that Director Lee started his Four Seasons series, which centres around pure love. In the first piece of work, Autumn in My Heart,
he still added elements of the society class structure as per the traditional Korean dramas. But with the success of Autumn in Asia, he had more confidence to produce a piece that was completely and totally on pure love. And… first love is the purest of them all. Built upon first love, he got rid of all other elements that had nothing to do with pure love, and that was how Winter Sonata was borne.

In the beginning, I would suppose other than Choi Ji Woo, Director Lee would have considered using Won Bin or Song Seung Hun from Autumn;
these are all top stars. This was Director Lee’s first production after he became independent, so it was really a critically important piece of work for him. But Korean’s topmost stars mostly have an inclination towards making movies; perhaps other than Yong Joon, most of the other top stars all had movie engagements. In one interview during the filming of Winter Sonata, Director Lee said, “I had originally intended for the like of Song Seung Hun or Won Bin to play Park Yong Ha’s role; because at that time, Yong Ha was not a top grade star yet. I’d thought that it was pure bad luck. But look at how things turned out… Yong Ha’s performance in this drama was excellent, definitely top grade!”

This also meant that right from the beginning, the director had pinned everything on Yong Joon. From the angle of viewership, the female audience is the main target audience, therefore the male lead is extremely important. Director Lee risked the success of the most important production in his entire career on Yong Joon. The end result?
Well, it’s been proven that his judgement was very sound.

Before Winter Sonata, Yong Joon was referred to as the James Dean of Korea. But in Winter Sonata, he had completely discarded the image he had in First Love. In most cases, any actor would be ecstatic to be called James Dean, but no, not Yong Joon. He would deliberately choose to play roles that are non-James Dean type. And after Winter Sonata and the success that it had brought upon him, the image of Minhyeon was impressively strong. It was like Yong Joon was perceived to be Minhyeon personified. Not surprisingly, he appeared in The Untold Scandal in a role that was very un-Minhyeon. I suppose Yong Joon was trying to prove himself as an actor...?

Yon-sama分析系列14

大家早上好！

大家，是不是有很想知道勇俊秘密访日的背景的？我也很想知道啊！我FUMI侦探事务所写完这个分析系列的15以后，马上就开始交待啊。请一定少等。

在韩国一向被认为，真正的纯爱故事不会受欢迎。韩国的观众很喜欢大坏蛋的资产家和正义一方的穷小子为了爱和权力，金钱等问题开战，结局是穷小子大获全胜这样的故事。韩国从前就有“往有钱人的家里扔石头”这样的话。从朝鲜末期开始，韩国出现了好多来历不明的暴发户，从而有钱人不再怎么被大众认可。虽然不是权威性的说法，我认为讲恶劣的资产家败落过程的故事才是韩剧的主流。所以即使纯爱故事里也会经常出现贫穷人和有钱人对立的背景。

所以说，在韩剧里面，真正意义的（只讲）纯爱的电视剧也许是从冬恋才正式开始的。《秋天的童话》里不是也有一点儿恋爱和财产问题的背景吗？其实，预示了纯爱故事会在韩国打响的作品是（日本的）中山美穗主演的《情书》。在这部作品之前公开过的黑泽明导演，北野武导演的作品，但都因为票房不振而受挫。之后上映的《情书》，谁也没想到在韩国这样的纯爱故事会受欢迎。但是结果是，引起了巨大轰动。这部电影里主人公充满深情的“你好吗？（O genki desuka?）”（对着空山）呼喊的一幕成为名画面，O genki desuka?也成了流行语在韩国广泛流传。智友在日本电视采访上被记者问道，“知道的日语是什么”的时候，很害羞的说是O genki desuka，通过这部电影韩国人都知道了日语的“你好吗”。

《情书》的巨大成功给尹锡浩导演以很大鼓舞。尹导演以日本通著称，除了日本的少女漫画，他还
研究日本的纯爱电视剧和电影。通过《情书》，尹导演觉得以自己的喜欢的题材做自己喜欢的作品在Business方面也可以行得通。

这样，尹导演开始了他的四季恋曲的纯爱系列。在第一部《秋天的童话》里他还加进了一些韩剧传统的阶级对立的内容，但是随着《秋天的童话》在亚洲全域的成功他开始更有信心要做一部只有纯爱的电视剧。那么纯爱的王道，就是初恋，以初恋为主题排除其他一切和纯爱没有关系的东西，这就是《冬季恋歌》了。

最初的时候，大概尹导演也曾想过除了崔智佑以外，起用《秋天的童话》的元彬，宋承宪一样的顶尖明星来着吧。不管怎么说，这是尹导演独立后的第一部作品，对他实在太重要了。但是，韩国的顶尖明星都有喜欢拍电影的倾向，大概那时候，除了勇俊之外的一流明星们都有签约在身吧。尹导演自己在摄影时的采访中说，“勇河的这个角色，本来开始是想让宋承宪，元彬那样的一流明星来演的，因为在冬恋之前勇河还不是一流明星啊。原以为运气不好。可是现在你们看，这部剧里勇河的表演，绝对是一流明星的水准。”那就是说，在冬恋开拍的阶段，尹导演把全部都压在勇俊身上了。从收视率的角度说，电视剧的主要是女性观众，所以男演员当然是最重要的。尹导演把自己最重要的作品的胜败都压在了勇俊身上，结果证明，他的眼光是不错的。

但是，冬恋的出演，使从前一直被称为韩国的James Dean的勇俊，完全改变了电视剧《初恋》时的形象。一般被叫做James Dean的话都会很高兴，但是勇俊却特别选择那些强调说“我不是James Dean”的作品来演。冬恋红了以后，民亨的形象变得强烈，他又同样，出演了仿佛强调说“我不是民亨”的《丑闻》。大概，勇俊是想被称作是演技派演员的吧？

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 15

Good morning!

The top stars in Korea tend to prefer making movies; they generally feel that movies is an art form, whilst they do not quite see TV dramas as a form of art. Besides, making movies is very different from making TV dramas. Making TV dramas is always an accelerated process; TV dramas always have a sense of urgency and have to be completed within an extremely short period of time. Movies allow the actors and actresses the luxury of time to deliberate over their acting so as to produce the best works. True acting skills can only be brought out and demonstrated in movies. Therefore, Yong Joon’s movie debut did come a little late.

Yong Joon’s maiden movie also brought out typical Yong Joon-style. The Untold Scandal did not seem a production that would rock the industry or would even be widely known. The storyline was stale and had been made into movies many times. To further adapt the storyline against the Cho-sun backdrop would have alienated the audience further as it was neither modern nor contemporary. Although there were some action scenes, period movies do not generally have a market (period TV dramas are popular though). The director was also not particularly well known (he’s rather new to the industry, no?) Despite the fact that the actresses were fairly big names, Lee Mi Sook and Jeon Do Yeon, they could perhaps elevate quality of the movie, but their names alone were not enough to draw the audience. There are quite a number of famous actresses in Japan, but not many people would watch a movie just for the actresses.
So under such circumstances, it is unlikely that a script like that would be selected. See, it’s not a popular storyline; the director may be talented, but he’s fairly new and inexperienced, this was enough to make people worry. Take the examples of Silmido and Brotherhood, anyone would hazard a guess that these movies would be great hits in Korea.

But… Yong Joon chose The Untold Scandal as his first movie on the silver screen; this was a risky move as it could ruin his image if mismanaged or backfired. Surprisingly, in the Korean movie industry, a market that has seen numerous quality works, Untold Scandal was a resounding success.
Yong Joon is undoubtedly a real superstar.

The Untold Scandal was released in Korea at a time when the Korean media was reporting about how Yong Joon had become a superstar in Asia. Before him, there were already countless media reports about how Ahn Jae Wook, Jang Dong Gun and other stars were very popular in Asia. Even though in Yong Joon's case, there was also the additional element of how Yong Joon also had Japanese fans, most Koreans were not particularly interested in the news about how Yong Joon had gained much popularity, so on and so forth. Of course, when the media started reporting on the korean wave, the general Korean public was understandably excited. For the past five years or so, the media had been reporting similar news, the only difference was that the stars changed all the time. So when the BYJ-fever hit, the Koreans had thought that this was part of the korean wave and they had the feeling of “Oh, this time it’s Bae Yong Joon’s turn.”

When Yong Joon visited Japan in April, it created quite a stir.

When the Koreans read about it, they went, “Oh, so the Japanese typically like to gather at the airport?”

When they read that Yong Joon’s fees for making a Japanese CF was as high as $1b Korean Won, they went, “Oh, the Japanese really have money! Does everybody get such high fees in Japan?”

They typically had such responses.

In Korea, media reports that related to the entertainment industry tend to be exaggerated. So even when the Korean media reported that Yong Joon’s fees far surpassed the norm in Japan, the Korean public would also assume that they were blowing up the numbers again. (Chuckles)

And when the media reported that Yong Joon was so, so, so popular in Japan, the Koreans would take it with a pinch of salt. I’m thinking they would probably know that Korean actors are fairly popular in Japan,
but they will not believe that anyone would be enjoying such a high level of popularity. The Korean media has traditionally been known to make extremely exaggerated or even false reports, therefore when it comes to the crunch, nobody would believe them or take them seriously. This is much like the youth who cried wolf. (Chuckles)

Many Japanese fans of stars other than Yong Joon would often ask me questions such as these:

A fan of Han Suk-kyu (Swiri, Christmas in August) would say to me, “Hey, I heard that Bae Yong Joon is really not so famous in Korea. In reality, Han Suk-kyu is more famous, isn’t it?”

When I heard questions like this, I could not answer without being sensitive to the fan’s feelings. So I would say “En…” as I tried to buy time to compose an answer.

But the fan would have come to a conclusion, “See? I knew that’s the case!”

Jeon Ji-hyun’s fan would say to me, “Jeon Ji-hyun is much more famous than Bae Yong Joon in Korea, right?”

As usual, I would say, “En… it’s…”

“I think so. I’ve always thought so!” the fan would say.

I keep having conversations such as the above recently.

Yon-sama分析系列15

大家早上好。

韩国的Top star们更喜欢拍电影，是因为觉得电影是艺术，电视剧不是艺术的缘故。并且，和短时间内加急拍摄的电视剧不同，电影可以有时间仔细斟酌演技，所以有真正的演技要在电影里才可以展现的风潮。也因此，说勇俊的电影debut是有些迟。

这部勇俊的电影处女作，实在是很具勇俊一贯的风格。《丑闻》实在不像是能够打响的电影。剧本是多次被电影化的老题材。把这样的故事放在朝鲜时代的背景里拍，没有现代感，虽然有些动作戏，但是古装戏的电影（电视剧里古装戏受欢迎）没有市场。导演也是没有名气的（新人，是吧？）。共演的虽然是大人物的女演员：李美淑，全度娴，但是著名的女星虽然可以提高作品的质量，但还不足以号召观众。日本也有不少著名的女星，但是因为著名女明星去看电影的人还是很少的吧。通常的情况，这样的作品都不会被选中的。不受欢迎的题材，还是新人导演，即使很优秀，也会令人不放心。像《实尾岛》，《Brother Hood》那样的片子，谁看了都会觉得在韩国会成功。勇俊，却选择了弄不好会破坏自己形象的，不被看好的作品来作为自己的银屏处女作。结果是，在优秀作品频呈的最近的韩国电影市场上，《丑闻》大获成功，完全是出人意料。勇俊，不愧为真正的Super star。

在《丑闻》在韩国上映的时候，韩国的媒体正在报道勇俊成为亚洲超级巨星的消息。之前也有好多关于安在旭，张东健，以及其他歌手，演员在亚洲很有人气的报道。虽然这回说的是和之前不同的在日本的勇俊的人气，但即便这样韩国的观众们也仍然没有多少关心。最初报道韩流热潮的时候，韩国人都很兴奋，5年来一直在报，只不过人气的明星一个个地换。所以，说到Yon-sama热的时候，韩国人以为还是亚洲韩流star里出来的一个，“哦。。。这回轮到裴勇俊了？”的感觉。

今年4月勇俊来日时引起的轰动，韩国人看了说，哦？日本人平常就爱那么在飞机场集合吗？勇俊在日本的广告出演费涨到一亿韩元以上：哦？日本还是有钱啊，在日本谁都拿那么多的出演费吗？——就是这样的反应。演艺关系的报道，在韩国很多都是过分夸张，韩国的媒体即使说这样的出演费在日本也是超级水平的，韩国人也会认为，啊，又是夸张报道。（笑）报道说勇俊在日本如何人气，韩国人也不会太相信。我想他们会知道韩国的演员在日本很人气，但不会相信有这么人气。韩国的媒体，关于演艺界写了太多的虚假过分的东西，所以关键的时候不被信任，就好像喊“狼来了”的少年。（笑）

勇俊以外的韩国star的fan的日本人经常这么问我。比方说，韩在圭（Swiri，八月的圣诞节）的fan，“我听说在韩国裴勇俊实际上没那么有名，实际上，韩在圭更有名是不是？”
听到这样的话，我也不能不考虑对方的心情，一边想怎么回答一边，

嗯。。。”的时候，“是吧，我想就是这么回事儿！”韩在圭的fan就已经得出结论了。
全智贤的fan问我，“在韩国全智贤比裴勇俊有名多了，是不是？”
我，“嗯，这个是这样。。。”， “还是吧，我早觉得就是。”
最近这样的对话特别多的fumi。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 16

First Love was broadcast in 1996. During the period before 1996, that is, prior to First love, Yong Joon was always right on top of any and every popularity ranking or lists. From this, I began to doubt the credibility of such ranking. Everybody knows that Yong Joon really became a top star from First Love. The top spot in popularity rankings in the past could not truly represent who was top in people’s minds. In this part, I will be discussing about what some people say about how Yong Joon is “not that popular” in Korea, as well as analyzing the changes in the perception and definition of a top star.

In the 1980s, the top star of that era was Han Jin-hee, the actor who played President Kim Bock Man. He has not been appearing much on TV these days, but he still has a certain status. There is another actor by the name of Noh Joo Hyun who was also a star in the 1980s; he has been appearing in comic roles recently.

Crossing into the 1990s, up until 1995 and 1996 when Yong Joon was probably the only star who would top the popularity ranks all the time,
there were not too many top stars who were of much “substance”. The rare few included Park San Wun and Choi Min Soo of “Hourglass” fame
and Choi Soo Jong of First Love. Of course, although Yong Joon topped in almost all the popularity ranks during that period, the real top stars in the earlier part of the 1990s were probably these three actors.

Thereafter came First Love; after this TV drama, Choi Soo Jong truly handed over the top place to Yong Joon. At that time, Choi Soo Jong got married and he was also getting older, therefore was naturally unable to compete against the young and fresh Yong Joon.

To me, I think the period up to Hotelier is Yong Joon’s Phase 1, and the period after Winter Sonata is Yong Joon’s Phase 2. First Love was Yong Joon’s most important work in Phase 1; it was this drama that propelled him to achieve both top placing in terms of popularity ranking as well as to really be a top star, that is, an actor with real substance. I remember that during the period from First Love to Have We Really Loved, Yong Joon’s keenest competitor was Jang Dong Gun.

After Have We Really Loved, Yong Joon went into a long period of “preparation stage”. During this period of inactivity or what we called “blank” in the earlier part, his placing in the popularity ranks slided. Most other actors or actresses would take part in varity shows or other
entertainment programs so as to appear on TV when they are not filming any TV dramas. But no, Yong Joon did not appear on TV unless in TV dramas, so it was only natural that his popularity would suffer once he took a break.

After the 1980s, actors or actreses who ranked high on the popularity lists
and were also true top stars were very, very rare. We had mentioned Jan Jin Hee, Choi Soo Jong and perhaps a couple more others as such performers who were able to achieve both. Yong Joon also managed to position himself in that same elite class, although he joined the ranks later. The class and status are very different for actors in this league. For instance, Han Jin Hee may occasionally make appearances in TV dramas,
like in Hotelier, and people would exclaim in delight, “Oh, it’s Han Jin Hee!” There is an element of very pleasant surprise, of joy to see that person. The difference is very obvious for such performers.

In the Korean entertainment world, there is such a saying, “Yong Joon is an actor whose name alone can be the sole brand of a drama”. What this is effectively saying is that so long as there is Yong Joon in a TV drama,
there is no need for other stars as he alone can achieve the viewership effect.

Currently, the hottest actor in terms of popularity ranking is probably Kwon Sang Woo. But is Sang Woo a true top star with sustaining power as well? I think he is now at the stage comparable to where Yong Joon was just before First Love. To truly achieve top star status, Sang Woo needs something like First Love. He needs a representative drama like First Love. Now those of you out there who like Sang Woo, he’s really a nice chap; what I’m saying is just an observation that Sang Woo himself had said during his recent award presentation speech. So please don’t misunderstand me.

Yon-sama 分析系列16

96年的时候，《初恋》之前的勇俊在所有的人气排行榜上都列首位。看到这儿，我反而觉得人气排行榜也许没有多少可信度。大家都知道勇俊是从《初恋》开始一炮打响成为Top star的。之前的排行榜的Top并不能代表人们心目中的“Top”。下面我想就所说的“勇俊在韩国没有多大人气”的说法，关于Top star地位的变化分析一下。

80年代的Top star是Hotelier里饰演金福万会长的Han jinhi。他最近在电视上不大出现，但是级别还在。还有一个名叫Noh jyuhyon的80年代的star。最近出演一些喜剧角色。进入90年代，到勇俊在人气排行榜上独占榜首的95，96年为止，“实质”性的Top star有几个人并列存在，那就是以《砂时计》走红的Park sanwun和Che minssu，还有《初恋》里的崔秀钟。虽然勇俊当时是排行榜的Top，但是真正的Top应该是这3个人。

然后有了《初恋》，这部剧以后崔秀钟就把真正的Top让位给勇俊了。这个时候，崔秀钟结了婚，岁数也有点儿大，自然无法胜过年轻的勇俊。我认为到Hotelier为止是勇俊的第一阶段，冬恋以后勇俊进入了第二阶段。《初恋》是勇俊在第一阶段里最重要的作品，这部作品以后勇俊在人气排行榜和实际上都成为真正的Top star。我记得在《初恋》至《我们》期间勇俊的竞争对手应该是张东健。

《我们》之后，勇俊进入了长期的准备阶段。这段空白期，也使得他在排行榜上的排名降了下来。别的艺人即使不拍电视剧，也以参加综合娱乐节目的形式在电视上露脸，勇俊电视剧以外不上电视，这样一休息人气排名自然会下落。80年代以后，人气排名和实质上的Top两方面在手的人非常少。上面说过的Han jinhi，崔秀钟，另外可能还有2，3个人，勇俊是后来名列其中的Top star。就是说，级别不一样。Han jinhi偶尔在电视剧里出场，比如说Hotelier，那人们看了都会说“啊，是Han jinhi!”，是令人惊喜的存在，级别摆在那里。

在韩国的演艺界，经常这么说“勇俊是一个人就能当金字招牌的演员”，就是说，电视剧里只要勇俊出场别的star不用也可以得到收视率。现在，韩国的人气排行榜上权相佑是首位吧，但是相佑是否实质上也是top呢？我想他现在应该是《初恋》之前的勇俊状态。为成为真正的Top，他还需要像《初恋》那样的有力作品。喜欢相佑的大家，相佑是个很好的人哦，我这个观点是相佑在大钟奖的发奖仪式上自己说的，不要误会哦。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

The Bae Family

Good morning! I actually just finished Part 17, and it was a very long chapter, mind you. But due to invalid registration, my posting was unsuccessful. Now even if I say, “kuan can nyo, kuan can nyo”,
it still doesn’t help things. So upset…

Not much time left, let’s talk a little about Yong Joon’s family’s physical appearance. I think Yong Joon takes after his mother. Sometimes he would unknowingly let the typical Bae-expression slip, just momentarily.
For instance, the recent publicity poster for Lotte Duty Free, the one with the Chanel boutique as the backdrop. Yong Joon half-turned towards the camera and was wearing a slight smile. If you have that picture, do have a look again. Somehow the feel of this picture is different from the rest right? That different feel comes from the typical Bae-expression that I was walking about. I’ve seen his family, and I witnessed that feel then.

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 17

I’m actually very surprised and amazed at the number of Yong Joon fans in Japan, especially females between 30 to 40 years old (Fumi wrote ‘males’, but I believe he was trying to refer to ‘females’). The female fans tend to be supporters and fans of Winter Sonata, but what surprised me was that they too adore Yong Joon. In Korea, the drama had garnered more support from the 20-something, this was something different from the situation in Japan.

In Korea, one could read something on Yong Joon in the papers or magazines on an average of twice a week. I should say that for this year, Yong Yoon is the Korean star who has enjoyed the most media exposure. This is despite the fact that he has not had any new works yet.

For last year, the export market of Korean drama was 20 million Japanese yen; for this year, because of Yong Joon’s and Winter Sonata’s popularity, the export figure has already exceeded 100 million Japanese yen.

I’m not sure when it all started, but in Korea, Yong Joon’s fan clubs have been addressing him as Yon-nim. The direct translation of “nim” is “sama”; yet its definition is somewhat different from “sama”.

When one calls a person whom one likes or loves as “nim”, it implies that one has not been able to meet one’s loved one. So, in the case of Yon-nim, it fully expresses the fans’ feeling of wanting to meet or see Yong Joon, but not being to see him on TV often enough.

In the trade, most people think Yong Joon’s habit of having “preparation stage” or having “blanks” is a good strategy, as it actually heightens the audience’s desire to see his new works. Surely by not appearing on TV unnecessarily, the audience would be more keen and interested when his next works actually screen. I’ve forgotten where I’ve read it, but Yong Joon mentioned that he would be entering a phase whereby he would be making movies. I suppose he will do as he said. Thereafter, I do hope to see him in serial dramas.

I’ve a Japanese friend who has always thought that the Korean actors and actresses in Winter Sonata had been speaking in Japanese. It is somewhat so, as the shapes that forms on one’s mouth when speaking Korean or Japanese are very similar. I thought this was quite curious, as the composition of Japanese and Korean is, in actual fact, quite similar. Had this been an American show, then we would be able to tell straightaway that the show was dubbed.

But personally, even if Yong Joon were to act in a Japanese drama, I hope that he would not speak in Japanese himself. For instance, Yoon Son Ha (Truelove77: YSH is the actress who played Hyunsun in HWRL.
She appears on Japanese variety shows frequently and is pretty and quite popular) speaks fairly fluent Japanese, but she is still sometimes unable to fully grasp the usage of the more complicated Japanese phrases and also the pronounciation of some words. Although Yoon Son Ha’s Japanese is considerably good, she may not understand that her own usage of certain phrases or words may cause her co-stars to respond in a certain way which may or may not be the intended response. Maybe she has gathered some useful information from her managers, but to express oneself excessively in a language that is not one’s mother tongue can potentially be a risky affair. Why do I say this? Because you may have unconsciously given others the wrong impression or conception through your choice of words. Therefore, I think it is good enough that Yong Joon is able to master basic conversational Japanese; there is really no need to go to the extent of Yoon Son Ha. Yong Joon most probably would not do so anyway. Whatever, I just hope that this would not happen.

P.S. I mentioned (in Part 16) that Yong Joon’s Phase 2 began from Winter Sonata. But some hours later, I thought that wasn’t quite right.
(Chuckles) If I were to segregate Yong Joon’s activity periods into Phase 1 and Phase 2 which includes the present period, then where exactly is the end of Phase 1?

1. Before he achieved true stardom, before First Love,
2. A protracted preparation period, before Hoterlier,
3. The emergence of the Minhyeon image, before Winter Sonata,
4. Before his maiden movie, The Untold Scandal,
5. With Japan as the main market, before he “rocked” Asia.


裴氏一家

大家早上好。刚才写了个好长的17，但是登录失败没贴上。Ken can nyo，Ken can nyo也无补于事，上火ing。。。

没有多少时间了，就介绍一下勇俊的裴氏一家的长相吧。我想勇俊是像他母亲，有时候他会一瞬地露出裴氏一家的表情。比如说，Lotte免税店的宣传照上，以Chanel的店铺为背景的那张照片，勇俊稍稍背过身回头微微一笑，有这张照片的请再看一下，是不是跟别的照片感觉不一样？那个感觉就是裴氏一家的表情。我见过那一家，那时候感觉到的。


Yon-sama分析系列17

我其实很惊讶日本有这么多勇俊的fans。特别是30岁至40岁的女性fan(fumi这里写男性，我想是笔误)很多。女性fan一般多是冬恋fan，但是我惊讶她们也多喜欢勇俊本人。在韩国冬恋反而(?)是20几岁的人更加支持。这一点和日本不一样。

韩国的新闻以每周2次的频率报道勇俊的关联记事。大概，今年韩国新闻里报道最多的韩流star就是勇俊了。虽说勇俊现在还没有新作品。

至去年为止，韩剧出口了大概2千万日元左右，进入今年，凭借勇俊，冬恋人气，现在已经达到1亿日元以上。

不知从何时起，韩国的勇俊fan club对勇俊的称呼成了Yon-nim。Nim的直译是sama，但是又和sama不一样。对喜欢的人，爱人称呼nim的时候，多包含和对方不大能够见到的意思。最开始，nim是对于憧憬的对象的称呼，也表示见不到的意思。Yon-nim的称呼，表现了fan的“想见Yon-sama，却在电视里看不到yon”的心情。

韩国的演艺界对于勇俊的“预备期”，“间隔”的处理其实评价很好。想想也是，因为不怎么上电视，观众想看他的下一部作品的心情就会更强烈。但是就是这么说说，还是很想快点儿看到他的下一部作品啊。忘了是在哪个采访里面了，勇俊说今年内要进入电影的摄制阶段。大概，他一定会这么做吧。那之后希望他拍连续剧。

我有个日本朋友，一直以为冬恋里面韩国演员是在用日语表演。说是口形就像是在说日语。我觉得特别好玩，日语和韩语的语顺确实差不多，如果是美国剧的话，配音马上就可以看出来。但是我觉得，就算勇俊出演日本的电视剧，我也不希望他直接用日语表演。理由是，比如说尹孙河（by77《我们》里的炫秀，在日本的综合娱乐节目里经常有出场，漂亮可爱很人气）日语已经说得相当流畅，但是应该还是对某些词句的运用以及发音不同所造成的微妙差别难以把握。如果是日本人，当然会在了解诸如这么说话会给对方这样一个印象的基础上说话。尹孙河的日语虽然不错，但是我想她还是在不了解自己的说话方式‘反应给对方造成何种印象的状态下演戏。她也许会从经纪人那里听到很多有用的信息，但是其实很顺畅地滔滔不绝地说外国语是一件很危险的事情。为什么这么说呢，因为自己的无意之间也许已经给人造成了错误的印象。所以，我想勇俊能使用日语做简单的会话就可以了，不必成为像尹孙河一样的状态，当然勇俊也不会。总之是不希望那样。

追伸：上面说勇俊的第二阶段是从冬恋开始的，几个小时过后，我又觉得不对劲。（笑）把勇俊的活跃期间分为第一阶段和包括现在的第二阶段时，哪里是第一阶段的结束呢？

1．真正走红之前，《初恋》之前，
2．预备期变长的，《Hotelier》之前
3．民亨形象形成的冬恋之前
4．银屏处女作的《丑闻》之前
5．以日本为首，在亚洲轰动之前

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 18

Good morning!

Today, let’s analzye how Yong Joon makes his choices in terms of what dramas or movies to star in. If one is not a big star with a certain status,
usually such starring decisions are not made by the actors or actresses themselves; instead, the agencies will decide on the actors’ or actresses’ behalf. Most Korean artiste managers or agents will work on the basis of developing close ties with a selected director in each of the broadcasting stations (KBS, MBS & KBS) and pitch for work based on these selected directors’ new works. If the artist manager or agent is able to develop close ties with one director in each station, then the actor or actress will have secured a rather stable stream of acting opportunities, and therefore increase his or her exposure on TV; if this aspect is managed well, it will be hard for the actor or actress not to gain popularity…

In Korea, most scripts are not completed when filming starts, so it is quite unlikely for actors or actresses to decide what works to star in based on the scripts. So, what then do the actors or actresses base their decisions upon?


1. The Director

I’ve said earlier that in Korea, the famous or more established directors
would establish their own in-groups, that is, something akin to their own clan. Out of these so-called clans, the best known group is probably that of “Dae Jang Geum” (or The Great Janggeum) led by the director Lee Byung Hoon. Those of you who have seen “Hur Jun” can count the number of actors and actresses in that drama who also appeared in “Dae Jang Geum”. Chuckles. Even without checking, it’s obvious that the cast is almost the same. Basically, they are the members of the same clan, so to speak. So long as an actor can secure a place in a director’s in-group, then the actor will be on the receiving end of many acting opportunities, so work will naturally become easier and smoother. By the way, the actress who acted as Yujin’s mother in Winter Sonata (Kim Hae Soo?) also appeared in “Hur Jun”, did you notice?

2. The Cast

Of course, anyone wants to pick a winner when choosing which drama to act in. To a large extent, the cast plays a critical role when it comes to the success of a drama. First Love has been referred to as a resounding success in the Korean TV history; other than Yong Joon, the other main leads included the top star at that time, Choi Soo Jong and Park Sang Won, that’s why the record-breaking high viewership. Let’s take today as an illustration, if Yong Joon were to appear with Lee Byung Hun and Jang Dong Gun, naturaully it would be a record-breaking feat as well.


3. The Scriptwriter

When the Korean female viewers above the age of forty hear of Kim Suyon’s works, they would typically say, “Oh? It’s a Kim Suyon script? Then we must watch it.” So, a drama can achieve high viewership with a renowed scriptwriter, therefore the choice of the right scriptwriter is also an important element.


So, what are Yong Joon’s criteria when choosing which script to accept?
He probably doesn’t quite bother himself with who else will be acting alongside him, and he probably doesn’t really care if the drama will be a great hit. So when did Yong Joon start to make his own acting decisions,
instead of relying on his agency as is the normal case?

Yon-sama分析系列18

大家早上好！

今天就勇俊如何选择出演作品做一下分析。如果不是有地位的大明星的话，通常出演作品不是由自己决定，而是由事务所负责挑选的。韩国的演艺经纪人会把在3大放送局（KBS, MBC, SBS）各拥有一个“关系好”的导演作为工作目标(?)来开展活动。各个局里都有一个关系好的导演的话，可以为自己负责的艺人获得持续稳定的工作机会，从而能够经常不断地上电视，那样不红也怪。

在韩国，电视剧在拍摄之前通常剧本都还没有完稿，所以通过剧本选择作品是不可能的。那么，演员们是依据什么标准来决定出演作品的呢？

1，导演。以前也曾说过，韩国的名导多建立起被称为“师团”自己的门派。其中最有名的师团大概是《Dejyangun》 （by77, 大将军？）的导演Yi byonfun师团。看过《Ho jun》（by77,完全不明白是什么剧）的人，可以数一下里面有多少个演员在《Dejyangun》也出现（笑）。不用查也知道，演员基本都差不多。都是同一个师团的成员拉。能够进入名导演的师团，那么就可以经常得到工作机会，做起来比较轻松啊。提一句，《Ho jun》里惟真的妈妈Kim hessu也出现了，大家发现了吗？

2．看出演的演员阵容。当然，选择作品的时候肯定是希望能够打响。而一部作品的成败与否很大程度是由演出阵容决定的。被称为韩国电视剧史上最轰动的作品《初恋》，其主演除了勇俊以外，还有当时的Top star崔秀钟和朴相文，所以创出了纪录。拿到今天来说，就好像勇俊和李秉宪，张东健一起出场，那当然是会创纪录的。

3．看剧本作家。韩国40岁以上的女性观众，一听说是Kim suhyon的作品，就会有，“Kim suhyon作品吗？一定要看”的反应。只凭著名的剧本作家的名字就可以得到收视率，所以作家当然是重要因素。

那么，勇俊选择出演作品是什么特点呢？我想，他大概是，既不在乎共演者是谁，也不在乎作品能不能红。那勇俊是从什么时候开始，不用事务所，自己选择作品的呢？

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 19

Hello everybody!

In Korea, the more popular TV stories are historical sagas, or those that centre around politics or storylines that are close to reality (for instance The Third Republic, Hourglass, etc). This is so even for movies, Swiri, JSA, Friends (Chingu) and Silmido, are all related to the reality of society. From these, we can see that TV dramas or movies with such storylines tend to have a higher chance of success. Lee Byung Hun’s acting JSA was very well-received and Jang Dong Gun’s performance in Friends was described as very good acting.

However, Yong Joon’s choice of scripts have not been any of these; there has been no historical or period dramas, not even social-reality type of works. HWRL could not really be considered a social-reality story. And of course, The Untold Scandal could not be categorized as a historical saga. I think Yong Joon’s preference is for the classical and mainstream type of works. From his choice of TV dramas, based on the Korean standards and classification, he has consistently chosen the mainstream love stories. As for movies, his first was a classical work.

As everybody knows, Yong Joon had previously considered playing a role in a SBS production, Police SWAT Team (Police Special Weapons And Tactics Team). But he gave up halfway through, I suppose he could not accept how low the production quality was at SBS. SBS has not changed from those days; their sole consideration in producing any drama is whether it will be an instant hit. I suppose there’s really nothing very wrong with such a philosophy. Talking about this SWAT drama, in Korea in the 1990s, there was a very popular documentary, 119 Rescue Services (This is not something that is a spin-off of any American drama). SBS was trying to produce a TV drama based on this documentary,
and they were hoping to use Yong Joon to create a success out of this. I’m not badmouthing SBS or anything (SBS is quite possibly still the broadcasting station that produces the more sensational works even now), but Yong Joon probably could not accept how SBS
(1) imitated the documentary,
(2) was not particularly concerned with the quality of the script and the director, instead SBS was capitalizing on the stars’ appeal for success.

These were harder to accept for Yong Joon who was more inclined towards the more classical form of drama works. I think Yong Joon was probably looking for new experience with MBC and SBS after completing First Love as he had always been with KBS. Eventually, he found that he could accept the TV drama reigning king, MBC’s production philosophy and methods, but he was dissatisfied with SBS’ methods and therefore withdrew from that production halfway through.

But Yong Joon appeared to be very interested in materials or stories
that related to police or intelligence work. I remember there were some reports on this. Even in his choice of police dramas, Yong Joon still selected works that
(1) were not too social-reality orientated
(that is, not purposely relaying a message about the society), and
(2) as opposed to action thrillers, he went for police stories that centred more on their daily lives and love stories.

Yong Joon is someone who likes classical and mainstream stories.

Yon-sama分析系列19

投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/07/23 18:35:23　

大家好。

在韩国，最受欢迎的电视剧题材是历史剧，政治/社会派电视剧（比如第三共和国，砂时计等）。电影说起来也是，《Swuri》，《JSA》，《Chingu》，《实尾岛》等，都是社会性题材的，可见包含社会问题题材的片子容易打响。李秉宪是通过主演JSA而受到好评的，张东健也是在《Chingu》里被认为“演技很出色”。然而勇俊选择作品的特点是，历史剧当然没有，社会派的电视剧/电影也没有选。《我们》应该也不能算是社会派的电视剧。而且，《丑闻》当然也不能说是历史剧。我想，勇俊是喜欢古典派/正统派这样的词吧。看勇俊选择电视剧，基于韩国标准，他一直是选择了正统派的恋爱剧来拍，第一次的电影也是选择了古典的作品。

像大家知道的那样，勇俊曾经考虑过出演SBS的《警察特工队》，想是后来看到SBS制作手法粗糙，中途中止了。是正统派的勇俊无法忍受那种制作电视剧的方式，而中途放弃的吧。SBS现在也是一样，唯一考虑的就是电视剧能否走红。如果说这有什么不对？的话，其实也无可厚非。说起这部《警察特工队》的剧，韩国特别是在90年代，非常流行一部叫做《119救助队》的纪录片（这个不是模仿美国的东西）。SBS试图把这部纪录片拍成电视剧，起用裴勇俊希望能一炮打响。我不是想说SBS的坏话，（SBS现在也可能是制造轰动性作品最多的放送局），SBS的1，模仿；2，相对于剧本，导演，更重视明星效应的做法可能令古典派的勇俊无法接受。我想勇俊可能因为一直在KBS拍片，《初恋》以后他希望多些经验出演MBC或者SBS的作品。他最终是接受了电视剧王国MBC的制作方式，而因为对SBS的做法不满，中止了SBS那部作品的拍摄。

但是，勇俊好像对侦探片，警察的东西很感兴趣。我记得以前曾有过这样的采访记事。
勇俊选择的警察题材的片子也是，1。不很社会性（不是专门要给社会传达某种信息），2。相对于警察的动作戏，更喜欢讲警察的日常生活和恋爱故事 (by77, 赤脚青春？)。勇俊是喜欢古典正统派作品的嘛。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 20

Hello everybody!

Today, let’s look back at the growing years in Yong Joon’s life. Yong Joon experienced his childhood in the 1970s. Let us start with the North Hangang [where Yong Joon’s old family house was] to recollect what Korea was like in those days. At that time, most Koreans were comparatively poorer, and they would usually eat hot kimchi with rice, and maybe add a fried egg; rarely did the Koreans eat out.

The sight of a Seoul household having their Korean barbecued meals
outside of their homes only became more common in the 1980s. In the 1970s, people usually ate rice and kimchi. (chuckles) Therefore people above the age of thirty tend to like kimchi and zazang myun (Korean black noodles). In Korean TV dramas and movies, there are always scenes of people having zazang myun, basically that’s because most people like it. During my long stay in Japan, the hardest to bear (was actually not being able to see my children, and second to that) was not being able to eat zazang myun. In Tokyo, Ueno has Korean-style Chinese restaurants, one can always eat there…

Yong Joon should be the same, I suppose he would particularly enjoy zazang myun too. I’ve not met anyone above thirty years old who does not like zazang myun. Although it is a very cheap dish, it was the only dish that we could eat out during our childhood days. In a way, zazang myun is to the Koreans what ramen is like to the Japanese.

Yong Joon is now in LA, there is a Korean town there and I’m sure there are Korean-style Chinese restaurants there. For all you know, Yong Joon could be having his zazang myun there now!

In the early 1980s, games arcade started sprouting in Korea. Everybody was crazy about the Space Invader games brought in from Japan. Yong Joon should be attending Junior High, Year 1 or 2, during that time, but I think he may not have stepped into a games arcade before. During that time, there were many such arcades and many people enjoyed frequenting these places, myself included. (chuckles)

In junior high, Yong Joon would possibly have watched “ET” and “Terminator” and become very excited over these movies. During that period, the Euro-American music ruled the Korean music world, for instance Duran Duran was very popular. Yong Joon quite possibly would have spent time at Jong Ro as well. There were large-scale book shops there and also little eateries where the high school students hung out (they would eat buns, mando, gimbap, tteokbokki, etc), and there were quite a few cinemas. Yong Joon’s old family house was just next to No. 5, Jong Ro, so for sure he would have spent time at Jong Ro.

Korea was going through a democratization and therefore liberalization
during the time Yong Joon was attending senior high school. Korea therefore became a different place to be, it was a new Korea. With these changes, the quality of Korean movies and music was also elevated.

Yong Joon would probably have watched the Korean movie that was about the underworld, The General’s Son. This was the work of the director Im Kwon Taek who had won an award at the Festival de Cannes. This movie had a total of two sequels after its first successful movie.
The main lead was Park Sang Min, who acted as Jaeho’s best friend in HWRL.

I would suppose Yong Joon in his senior high school days would have loitered around the areas of Donam-dong (just next to the famous fortune tellers), University Street and Jong Ro. The local students were all like that, and those who were more playful would go dancing at No. 3 Jong Ro, and have a drink at the pubs along University Street and Donam-dong. I do not think that Yong Joon was the playful student. In order to prepare for the entrance exam for law school, he would actually move into a temple to study; surely a person like that would not have been a playful or wayward high school student, no?

In Korea, where one sits in school is determined by one’s height. Amongst Yong Joon’s friends there would be quite a number who were playful (High school students who are taller tend to be more playful). So I’m thinking whilst Jang Dong Gun was having a jolly good time in Gangnam, Yong Joon may occasionally be cajoled by his more playful friends to hang around University Street and drink like a university student, or maybe the whole gang would be selling roasted sweet potatoes together.

I’ve also heard that Yong Joon had been asked by his friend to go and sell Chijimi (a type of Korean pancake made from seafood and leeks) at one of those roadside tent stalls. This was perfectly legitimate and decent work; a lot of people who aspired to be performers had done such work before. Yong Joon had never considered being a performer, instead he wanted to be a university student, so why did he start working at the roadside stall?

My guess is that the friend who asked him to go along was aspiring to be an actor. So although Yong Joon did not harbour thoughts of becoming an actor in the beginning, perhaps he was a little influenced by this friend’s thought of “I want to be an actor”.

Then again, because Yong Joon’s old house was just next to that big theatre, Yong Joon was exposed to the performers who tended to gather together there, he might have been influenced by that environment as well.

Yon-sama分析系列 20


大家好！

今天我们试着来回顾一下勇俊的成长历程。勇俊，70年代经历了他的童年时代。让我们从汉城 的江北（勇俊的老家）说起回顾一下那个时代的韩国。当时的韩国人比较穷，每天就是辣白菜就米饭，加上炒鸡蛋，很少有在外面吃饭。汉城的人们一家人一起在外面吃烤肉，是从80年代起才有的。70年代也就是大米饭就辣白菜（笑）。所以30岁以上的韩国人都特别喜欢辣白菜还有炸酱面。韩国的电视剧和电影里经常会有吃炸酱面的戏，因为大家喜欢嘛。我在日本长期驻留的期间最难忍受的就是（想见孩子，其次是）吃不着炸酱面。在东京的话，上野有韩国风格的中国料理店，可以去那里吃呢。。。

勇俊也是一样，一定特别喜欢吃炸酱面吧。我从来没见过30岁以上的韩国人不喜欢吃炸酱面的。虽然炸酱面很便宜，但是那可是童年时代唯一能在外面吃饭的时候吃到的好吃的。炸酱面对于韩国人就好像老面（ra men）对于日本人一样的东西。勇俊现在在LA，那里有Korean town，一定会有韩国店中国店。勇俊现在说不定正在吃炸酱面呢吧。

80年代前段，韩国出现了游戏厅。大家都迷上了那个从日本引进的游戏Space invader。勇俊那时候大概在上初中的1，2年级，但是我想他可能没有进过游戏厅。当时韩国的游戏厅里有好多大人也在玩。我就常去(笑)。初中生的勇俊大概看了电影《ET》和《终结者》而很激动来着。那时的音乐主要是欧美的东西，比如那个Duran Duran就很流行过。初中生的勇俊大概在钟路玩耍过。钟路上有大型的书店和中学生经常集合的面点铺子（吃些Bun shiku jyom, bibim men, 馒头，tokuboki等面食），还有不少电影院。勇俊的老家就在钟路5号街旁边，他肯定经常去钟路玩过。

勇俊上高中的时候韩国正在实行民主自由化，韩国为此变成了个不同的新韩国。随着自由化的影响，韩国的电影和音乐的水准也有了提高。高中生的勇俊，大概纳时候看过的韩国电影是黑社会故事《将军的儿子》。是曾在嘎纳电影节获奖的Yim kuntte导演的作品，这部电影一直拍到第3部。最轰动是在勇俊上高中的时候。主演是《我们》里面和勇俊共演的Park sanmin(石丘)。
我想高中生的勇俊曾在Do nam洞（算命很有名的地方旁边）,大学路，钟路一带玩过吧。当地的高中生都是那样的，特能玩的高中生会在钟路3号街的俱乐部里跳舞，或者在大学路，Donam洞一带的酒吧喝酒。我想勇俊不会是那种贪玩的高中生吧，他能为了准备大学考试，在准备律师资格考试的朋友的介绍下（?），或者一起（？）进到寺庙里用功，所以勇俊肯定不会是贪玩的高中生的了。

但是，因为在韩国学校里是以个子高矮决定座位的，勇俊的朋友里爱玩的高中生一定不少（个子高的高中生大多比较贪玩）。所以我想，张东健在江南狂欢的时候，勇俊也会偶尔给贪玩的朋友邀上，在大学路装成大学生少喝点儿酒，或者和大伙一起卖烤地瓜来着吧。

还听说勇俊被朋友邀上一起在大排档卖过Chijimi（韭菜鸡蛋饼）。这可是正经的打工，想将来做艺人的年青人经常会做这个工。勇俊没想过做艺人，想做大学生来着，怎么也在大排档打工呢？据我推测，这一定是那个邀他去大排档打工的朋友想当艺人来着，勇俊开始虽然没有那个想法，但是受到朋友的影响就也有了“我也当艺人吧”的想法吧。话说回来，勇俊老家的旁边有个很大的剧院，勇俊经常看着那些演戏的人们聚在一起，受到环境的熏陶也不一定。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 21

Hello everybody!

Talking about Yong Joon, he’s in LA now. There’re signs Korea drama could become popular in the United States as well. After a cable station in Chicago started broadcasting “Dae Jang Geum”, they received more than 500 fan letters from non-Korean Americans. This was something that was unprecedented; even the station was surprised at the response.

If the Americans are watching Korean dramas on cable TV, then there’s a high chance that Yong Joon’s Winter Sonata could become a hit in the United States as well.

I’m thinking we do not see much of someone as famous as Jackie Chan in commercials. The current Japanese advertising world seems very eager to engage Yong Joon to endorse products, and this somehow causes me to think of Jackie. Has Yong Joon surpassed Jackie Chan in Japan?

When Yong Joon was in senior high school, the most popular Hong Kong star in Korea was Andy Lau. This is especially prevalent amongst the senior high school students.

Yon-sama分析系列21

投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/07/24 19:30:29　

大家好。

说到勇俊现在在LA，最近韩剧在美国也有点儿要流行的架势。美国芝加哥的某有线电视播放了《大将军》以后，收到500多封美国人（非韩裔的）fan letter。这是没有先例的事情，令美国有线电视的相关人士也大吃一惊。

美国人会通过有线电视看韩剧，这样说来，勇俊的冬恋也许会在美国流行起来吧。
我想起来那个（by77, 翻不好，指大人物的时候这么说法，不是贬义）成龙在日本没有怎么上广告啊。看到日本的广告界这么竞相起用勇俊的情形，我突然就想起了成龙。勇俊在日本，是不是超过了那个成龙了呢？

在勇俊上高中的时候，韩国最红的巨星是香港的刘德华。特别是高中生们，都特别迷刘德华来着

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 22

Hello everybody!

I’ve mentioned in my earlier postings that since his entry into the entertainment industry, Yong Joon is one actor who does not appear much in talk shows or other variety programs. But when I subsequently thought about this issue again, I was thinking perhaps this wasn’t that unusual, especially amongst top-class actors or actresses. Because they are not TV artistes.

Look at Toshirô Mifune (of Rashomon), he has never appeared in entertainment programs on TV. Rentaro Mikuni is also hardly seen on variety programs. There was a famous Korean star, Shin Sonyir (?) who was active in the 60s to 70s; he too had never appeared on TV except for movies. Likewise Han Jin Hee of Hotelier in the 1980s.

From this perspective, Yong Joon was acting in a manner atypical of top stars. All the Korean top stars in the 1990s other than Yong Joon were behaving unusually as they were always appearing on TV! So, why did the Korean top stars of the 90s appearing on TV so often?

There’s obviously a reason. Let’s first look at Choi Min Soo of The Hourglass. He is a graduate of Seoul Arts College. Today, graduates of this college form the bulk of Korea’s entertainment base; but up till the time of Choi Min Soo, this faculty was in the doldrums.

Prior to Choi Min Soo, although there were quite a number of graduates,
the number was still a far cry from the strong situation today. The pioneer of this faculty group is an excellent actor by the name of Shin-gu. Those of you watching KNTV (the Korean channel in Japan) will see him playing the role of landlord in Miskim. It’s a SBS production, quite interesting. (chuckles).

After Shin-gu, there was the Donfan-san (?) who played Sang Hyuk’s father in Winter Sonata and that was about it.

But after Choi Min Soo, there was Hu Joon Ho (Manager Wu in Hotelier),
then there was Ahn Jae Wook, there’re really quite some performers from this college. When you check out any actor’s or actress’ profile or resume, do remember to check if they’re graduates of Seoul Arts College, it sure looks like a part of the Korean wave! (chuckles).

Choi Min Soon would frequently make his appearances in TV variety shows or some interview programs simply because of personal relationship or networking. For instance, a junior who hosted a certain program may say to him, “Senior, I would like to up my viewership rating, can you please appear in my program?” Now, as a senior, it was unlikely that he would turn the junior down.

Another example, there was a superstar in the 1990s, Choi Soo Jong of First Love; he himself started off as the host of a singing program on TV.
He eventually married his co-host, Ha Hee Ra (Sunny Place for the Young?). Choi Soo Jong himself was a TV show host, therefore he would naturally appear on TV frequently.

It was because of stars such as Choi Soo Jong and Choi Min Soo were often seen on TV that I was initially led to think that Yong Joon was the exception since he did not appear on TV much. But in reality, I now think Choi Soo Jong and Choi Min Soo were the exceptions instead. A top star of the more conventional genre should perhaps restrict his appearance
to just TV dramas. This could be a matter of difference in levels of star status.


Yon-sama分析系列22

投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/07/26 18:27:54　

大家好。

我在前面的贴子里曾经说过，勇俊是从进入演艺界起从不上谈话节目或者综合娱乐节目的演员。
但是，后来我又重新想了一下，也许这并不是那么值得称怪的事情，对于一流的演员来说也许并不少见。因为不是电视艺人嘛，日本的三船敏郎（《罗生门》），就从不上电视的娱乐节目。三国连太郎在娱乐节目也见不到。韩国的60年代至70年代的大明星Shin sonyir，除电影以外从来不上电视。80年代的（Hotelier）Han jinhi也同样不上娱乐节目。

这样说来，90年代的韩国除勇俊以外的Top star们（频频上娱乐节目）才奇怪，名演员作派的勇俊反而是正常的了。那么，为什么90年代的韩国Top star们经常上电视的娱乐节目呢？
那也是有缘故的。首先拿《砂时计》的崔民秀来说。他是汉城艺术大学出身。这个大学的出身现在在韩国演艺界里形成了最大的派系。但是，至崔民秀debut为止这个派系一度状态不振。崔民秀之前虽然也有不少这个大学出身的人，但是和现在相比势力（?）没这么强。这个派系的头儿是叫做Shin gu的很棒的演员。看KNTV(日本的韩国频道)会在《波澜万丈miskim》连续剧里看到他（演房东）。SBS出品，还蛮有意思的（笑）。Shin gu的其次就是冬恋里饰演相奕爸爸的donfan-san，再往下就没谁了。自崔民秀登场以后，接下来是许俊浩（Hotelier 吴经理），再接着是安在旭，这个大学出身的人真是不少。看演员简历的时候，查查是不是汉城艺专出身，是身为韩流通不可少的一项哦（笑）。（但是，这个大学的出身者多从事相声搞笑等娱乐节目，在日本有人气的并不多。）

接着说，崔民秀作为汉城艺专出身，为了人际关系的缘故，就会经常出现在电视的综合娱乐节目，采访节目里。打个比方，主持娱乐节目的后辈说，“前辈啊，我想要收视率，请一定在我的节目里露露脸吧”，那作为前辈总不会拒绝吧。

更有甚者，90年代的又一位超级明星，崔秀钟（初恋）,本人就是歌曲节目的主持人出身。他后来和一起主持歌曲节目的女演员夏希罗（Ha Heui-Ra，《年轻人的阳地》？）结婚。崔秀钟本人就是娱乐节目主持人，当然会常上电视。

因为崔秀钟，崔民秀这样的明星常上娱乐节目，所以我曾想不上这类节目的勇俊有些个别。实际上不是，现在我想是崔秀钟，崔民秀才个别，作为Top star的正统派演员也许就应该除电视剧以外不在其他电视节目上出现。我想这也是一种“级别”的东西吧

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 23

I saw the making of the Sony TV commercial on TV today. From the shooting scenes, it was evident that Yong Joon was very serious and focused in his work. Does how rarely Yong Joon jokes when in front of the camera and does how his serious and single-minded approach to his work
have anything to do with his first few dramas?

Yong Joon’s first drama, Love’s Greetings, was made up of a mainly new and budding acting cast. They had to depend solely on their own strength to ensure the drama succeeded. To Yong Joon, this must have had been quite a tremendous pressure at that time. Thereafter, it was Sea Breeze, a commemorative opening drama for PBS (Pusan Broadcasting Station). As this was its opening drama, certainly there would be quite a few people in the team who had absolutely zero TV experience. So even this second drama was like this. This, being PBS’ opening drama, Yong Joon was selected to play the main lead, so he must have had experienced extreme pressure for this drama too.

Yong Joon has always been cast as the main lead since his debut; and not only were his first two dramas rather weak in story, the rest of the cast were also not strong enough. Perhaps that was how and when Yong Joon started thinking that he had to shoulder the success of the TV dramas he acted in.

Up to the time Yong Joon failed in both attempts in the university entrance exams, he had not thought about being an actor. Therefore he never did attend any acting or performing classes, and naturally he also did not have any acting experience as a child. Due to his lack of acting experience, the pressure that he faced in his first two dramas
was presumably and understandably great. I suppose his attitude towards his work was formed then.

When he is with his friends, he can chat and joke just like anyone of us,
but when it comes to work, Yong Joon has always given his best, he is always very serious and never one to horse around at work. The expectations from people around him were and still are high; in order that he did not let anyone down, Yong Joon would devote and dedicate himself completely and totally into work. This is why he hardly jokes at sets during shooting. This has become his distinctive style; even when it is a CF (commercial film) shooting, he will also give nothing but his best.

During the shooting of First Love and HWRL, stories about how hardworking he was and his extra work and effort were aplenty. For First Love, even Yong Joon himself shared in his interview about how hard he had worked on this set. As for HWRL, Director Park had also told the media about Yong Joon’s effort and dedication, so we shall not elaborate here. It was only till Hotelier time that we stopped hearing that much
about how troubled and distressed Yong Joon got over acting and interpretation of the roles. I would reckon that Yong Joon built confidence as an actor in First Love and HWRL.

His co-star in First Love was Choi Soo Jong. So that his acting skills could be on par with this top star of that era, Yong Joon gave everything he had to play the role well. Even Yong Joon himself had said that the effort he put in then was to an extent that it was unbelievable even to himself.

In HWRL, his co-star was Kim Hyeo-soo, she was known to be the best actress in the entire cohort of young performers. Kim Hye-soo started as a child actress, her acting skills were already known to be good since then. Hye-soo was already very active in the TV scene when Yong Joon was still attending senior high school. She was probably someone Yong Joon had thought of as “Whoa! Her acting skill’s great!” during his school days. To co-star with someone of that status, Yong Joon obviously was under pressure to measure up to that too, and therefore he went all out to give his very best too.

During the shooting of HWRL, Director Park had said to Yong Joon numerous times to “relax, please relax a little more”, but Yong Joon just could not relax. To truly study and understand the role that he plays,
to become so immersed that he becomes the very character that he plays
is precisely Yong Joon’s style and approach to acting. Unlike Kwon Hae-hyo (LMH’s staff in WLS) and other actors of this genre whereby their acting gets better the more relaxed they are, Yong Joon simply doesn’t belong to this category.

There were no more rumours of Yong Joon being troubled by his acting or performance after Hotelier. Yong Joon found his niche and gained his confidence in his craft probably over the period from First Love to HWRL.
His acting skills were cemented and established then.

What about the period just before Hotelier when Yong Joon went away to upgrade himself? Was it a sign of his self-confidence too?

Looking at Yong Joon today, he is still his usual serious self, painstakingly trying to pick the right scripts to work with, I sometimes also get the urge to tell him to “hey, relax”. But no, Yong Joon’s personal style is NOT to relax. As fans, we can only wait as Yong Joon take his time to make his decisions.

Choi Ji Woo is planning to visit Japan in the later half of the year. If only Yong Joon would just relax and come to Japan in as carefree a manner.
Yong Joon and BOF are probably fretting over what they can do for Joon’s family in Japan, but everyone will be happy enough that he just come to Japan for fan meetings. That is enough, really.

Relax, kwaen-chan-a-yo, kwaen-chan-a-yo.

Yon-sama分析系列23

投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/07/27 16:47:12　

今天在电视上看到了勇俊拍摄SONY广告的现场。从拍摄现场，勇俊的认真专注的工作态度很清楚地表现出来。勇俊的这种在摄像机前不说玩笑，认真专注的工作态度是否和他的初演作品有关系呢？勇俊的初演作品《爱的问候》，里面多是新人出演，一定要靠自己的力量促成这部作品，对于勇俊来说当时的压力一定非常之大。之后的作品是釜山放送局(PBS)的纪念性放送《海风》。因为是开局纪念，这部剧的制作人员里从没有过电视剧制作经验的人一定不少。这第二部作品也是，作为PBS的开局纪念作品，和釜山毫无关系的自己被选中作主角，勇俊的非成功不可的压力一定也非常大来着。

勇俊，自debut起就演主角，而且开始还是和实力不足的共演者的接连两部弱剧。因此勇俊会在那时就形成了自己出演的作品成败都系在自己身上的责任意识吧。至高考2次失败之前为止勇俊没有想过作演员，也没有上过培养演员的专门学校，当然也没有过作儿童演员的经验。对于这样的勇俊，开始的两部作品的压力是非同一般的吧。我想勇俊对工作的态度是从这个时期起就已经形成了的。和朋友在一起的时候可以谈笑风生说玩笑话，但是对于工作勇俊一直是严肃认真，尽全力去做。周围对于勇俊的期待太大，勇俊为了不负周围的期望，一定拚自己的全力来着。所以在工作现场不会有讲笑话的富余。这成了勇俊的风格，即使现在拍一个广告也是尽全力在做。

拍摄《初恋》和《我们》的时候，关于勇俊排戏“刻苦”的传闻很多。对于《初恋》，在勇俊自己的采访里也能听到，对于《我们》，Park导演在采访里有谈到勇俊的刻苦，这里就不详细说了。没再听说勇俊排戏因为琢磨演技而苦恼的话，我想是从Hotelier开始的。勇俊在《初恋》和《我们》里，建立了作为演员的自信吧。

《初恋》的共演是崔秀钟，勇俊为了和当时的Top star崔秀钟相比自己的演技不至于逊色，竭尽全力来着吧。勇俊自己也曾说过，那时候的刻苦是自己都不能相信的程度。《我们》里面，和勇俊演对手戏的是年轻演员里被评价为演技最好的金慧秀。金慧秀是童星出身，演技从儿童演员起就得到好评。勇俊上高中的时候，慧秀已经在电视剧里活跃。勇俊是和自己还是普通高中生的时候感觉“这个人演技好棒”的人在《我们》里共演，他一定是竭尽全力来着。

《我们》的Park导演对于勇俊当时的表演说了好多回“放松，再放松”的话。但是勇俊当时是轻松不起来的。仔仔细细地研究自己的角色，彻底地成为那个角色正是勇俊的表演风格。越轻松表演越出彩的是权海孝（冬恋的金次长），勇俊不是那样的类型。

Hotelier起没有再听过勇俊为表演烦恼的传闻。勇俊是在从《初恋》至《我们》的期间将自己的演技确立起来了。Hotelier之前的那一段充电期间，是否也是勇俊的自信感的表现呢？对于现在也是仔细挑选出演作品的勇俊，我也想对他说“请放轻松”。但是不放松自己是勇俊的风格，我们作为fans的也只能等待勇俊做出自己的决定了。

崔智友在今年后半段，还会再访日。勇俊也能轻松地来日就好了。正在烦恼该为日本的家族做些什么的勇俊和勇俊事务所，放放松来日本开fan meeting就很好嘛，轻松些，Ken tsan nyo, ken tsan nyo.

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 24

Hello everybody! Thanks for supporting and following my postings.

Winter Sonata is not a typical K-drama, I’ve mentioned this in my earlier posting. A typical K-drama would be something more like First Love and HWRL. In classic K-dramas, you will see the disparity between the rich and the poor and you will also see how a poor man struggles. But the poor man would encounter some unfortunate incidents in the dramas,
such as illnesses, accidents or whatever, and the poor man will fall into the doldrums and not be able to fight back. Under such circumstances, the poor man will then realise the meaning of true love…
Yes, this is how a typical K-drama runs…

A mainstream K-drama will always touch on the social phenomenon or problem of the disparity between the rich versus the poor. I think this has to do with the fact that Korea has gone through wars as well as period of dictatorship, and the Koreans understand deeply how changes in a society
can have huge impact on a person’s life. This is why they prefer to watch TV dramas that bring out such social signs.

When we come across actors or actresses, what are the different ways to categorize them?

1. Performers whom we totally have not seen before
2. Performers whose faces we think we seen somewhere sometime
3. Performers whom we’re certain we’ve seen before, but can’t recall their names
4. Performers whose faces and names we are familiar with
5. Performers whom we are fans of
6. Performers whom we are absolutely crazy about


Let’s take for instance Park Yong-ha of Winter Sonata. He started off as a child actor, but he was no child star. When I first saw him in Winter Sonata, I was thinking to myself that I had seen his face somewhere.
It was until later that I heard how he started acting as a child, then I realized why I had found him vaguely familiar.

As for Jang Dong Gun, although he first played a very small role, I noticed this man and asked myself, “Who is this?” Because he had a handsome face that was not typically Korean, so I started to pay extra attention to him.

When the actress Jeon Ji-Hyun first debuted, I remember thinking to myself how strange it was that her name was so similar to Jeon Do-Yeon. Subsequently, when she shot to stardom in My Sassy Girlfriend,
I had not mixed up her name since.

Yong Joon was cast as the main lead right from his first drama. At that time, I was already wondering why. “How come I’ve not seen this main lead before?” It did not cross my mind that a totally new actor would be cast as the leading actor.

I remember telling myself that as an ardent fan of TV drama, I could not allow myself not to know the names of any leading actors or actresses.
So I made it a point to remember Yong Joon’s name. I did not know that he was a new entrant to the scene, I had thought that he was probably some young actor who was very popular in some other TV show or something.

Actually, I’m not a fan of any particular actor or actress, I watched all sorts and types of TV dramas. Of all that I’ve watched, HWRL left me with the deepest impression. But still, at that time, I had no special feeling or affinity towards Yong Joon other than acknowledging the fact that he was a top star.

I only became a Yong Joon fan from Winter Sonata. I thought his acting in this drama was absolutely outstanding. Winter Sonata had a rather substantial impact on me. Its impact and effects were so huge that I cannot even recall what image I had of Yong Joon prior to this. In the past, the imagery of Yong Joon in my mind, for instance in First Love,
had totally disappeared. When you mentioned Yong Joon, what came to my mind was Min-Hyeon’s face. I’ve seen all the other roles and characters that Yong Joon has played before, but somehow, Min-Hyeon left me with the deepest impression.

Yong Joon himself as an actor did not want to leave his fans with a certain stereotyped image, that was why he chose to be a part of The Untold Scandal (which incidentally was a great production with excellent acting),
but somehow even as he acts in other dramas or movies, I would still see Yong Joon in the visual image of Min-Hyeon.

I, too, would like Yong Joon to experiment with all sorts of works, but at the same time, I also wish for him to act in a drama or movie with the Min-Hyeon type of physical appearance. Are his fans not likely to forget about Min-Hyeon just because he chose not to appear in the image of Min-Hyeon again?

I do not think so. If anyone thinks that Min-Hyeon will be forgotten just because Yong Joon does not appear in that image again, then we would be underestimating the impact of the Min-Hyeon image.

No matter what, and no matter how, fans will not forget the Min-Hyeon
as personified by Yong Joon. This is not to say that Yong Joon has been stereotyped as Min-Hyeon or that this should be his so-called permanent image, it’s just that fans truly, totally, completely love that image of his.
Yong Joon, please take on another production that is of that Min-Hyeon type of image.

Oh please… Please hurry and produce another!

Yon-sama分析系列24

投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/07/28 18:38:18　

大家好。感谢大家对我的投稿的支持。

《冬恋》是不像韩剧的韩剧的话我以前曾经说过，正统派的韩剧是《初恋》，《我们》。正统派的韩剧里会出现贫富差距，穷人奋斗的故事。但是，穷人还会遭遇疾病或者事故，陷于再怎么努力也无法摆脱的困境，在这样的状况下主人公再重新认识什么真爱。。。这通常是正统派韩剧的主题。

正统派韩剧总是会触及以贫富差距为中心的社会问题。我想这是因为韩国曾经历过战争和独裁，韩国人很明白所处社会的变革是如何翻弄个人的人生的道理，所以他们喜欢看社会派的电视剧。

通常，我们大家在看演员的时候是不是这样区别他们的？
1．完全不认识的人
2．好像在哪里见过的面孔的人
3．在哪里见过，认识但是叫不出来名字的人
4．名字和面孔都熟悉的人
5．是那个人的fans
6．是那个人的狂热的fans

比方说《冬恋》里的朴勇河，是儿童演员出身，但不是童星，所以我开始看的时候就想这个人在哪里见过。后来听说是儿童演员出身如何如何，才想，啊。。。所以觉得脸认识嘛。张东健的时候，看到他那不属于韩国人的英俊面孔，初演的虽然是个小角色，我也想着 “这个人是谁？”特别关注来着。女演员全智贤debut的时候，因为觉得名字和那个全度娴很像觉得很怪，后来她因为《我的野蛮女友》红起来以后，就再也没有弄混过她的名字。

勇俊从初演起就是主演，我当时奇怪“这个主演的人，怎么从来没见过”。因为我怎么也没想到会起用新人做主角。当时就觉得“自己作为电视剧fans不能不知道主演的名字”，所以一下子记住了勇俊的名字。我不知道勇俊是新人，还以为是别的节目里正红的年轻演员。

其实我一直不是特别的谁的fans, 淡淡地看了各种各样的电视剧。里面，对《我们》印象最深。那时候，对于勇俊除了觉得是top star以外并没有什么特别的感情。我成为勇俊的fans是从《冬恋》开始的。看到勇俊在《冬恋》里的演技，觉得他真是很了不起。《冬恋》对我的影响太大了，以至于自己对冬恋之前的勇俊是什么印象也想不起来了。过去的，比如说《初恋》里的勇俊的形象都不见了，现在一说勇俊，我脑子里面就会浮现出民亨的面孔。当然，勇俊演的其他角色我也是都看过了的，其中民亨的形象是最强烈的。

勇俊本人作为演员不想给fans留下固定的印象，所以才会拍《丑闻》（很精彩的作品和演技），但是他拍其他的作品，我也会以民亨的形象来看他。我好想勇俊拍各种各样的作品的同时，能再以民亨的外形拍一个电视剧或者电影。难道勇俊不再以民亨的形象出现，他的家族就会忘了民亨吗？我想不会。如果有这样想法的话，那是过低地评价民亨形象的影响力了。无论如何fans是忘不了勇俊的民亨的。这并不是说民亨是勇俊的固定形象，实在是因为fans太喜欢那个形象了。勇俊，请再拍一个民亨形象的作品吧，请快点儿拍吧。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 25

Hello everybody!

Many people in Korean like to say that Yong Joon is not popular in his home country. Why is this so?

Koreans take the ideal of equality very seriously. In The Untold Scandal, the story was about the elite and powerful from the Chosun period, but these so-called elites were not widely accepted by the common folks.
Even Jowon, part of the elite and powerful league himself, did not fancy the elites. Basically, all these stemmed from the fact that these so-called educated elites did not behave as they should have.

In Korean, there was a book titled “Those who Graduated from the Seoul University are out to Ruin Korea” which was a runaway hit. From here, we can see how little the society, the public trust these so-called elites. Many unions and labour associations in Korea, likewise, have expressed their dissatisfaction with the those in power and those of a certain status.
The Koreans’ quest for equal treatment for all can be traced back to history, in that the elites were not to be respected and therefore should not be accorded special status or treatment.

To a large extent, I would imagine that this culture would have influenced the entertainment circuit. Since a long time ago, I’ve had the idea that the Japanese were much better and more skilful in grooming stars. Once someone has been the chosen one, everyone and everything will be set in motion to create the necessary hype and publicity to ensure that this person becomes immensely popular.

There is no such thing in Korea. Many Koreans hold the thinking that
only when someone from the top is dragged down the rungs, then push those below upwards to replace those being pulled down. Therefore, whoever becomes a big star in Korea will invite lots of hostile questions from non-fans, questioning why and what great qualities this new star possessed.

So if you come across a Korean who tells you that Yong Joon is not famous in Korea, try asking, “Is that so? What about Cha Seung Won? Is he famous?”

It is highly likely that the Korean will reply, “Cha Seung Won is very famous!”

But the truth is that although Cha Seung Won is indeed a top class actor,
he is still not quite of a top star status. This is evident of how one would push down Yong Joon who is enjoying immense popularity in Japan,
and push up Cha Seung Won (who is little know in Japan), thus demonstrating the Korean’s strong sense of equality.

If one takes the time to reflect and think, regardless of genre and category, few will argue with me if I say Korea has so far never produced a real super star.

The same goes for the sports arena; they would purpose deflate the value, popularity (and ego?) of stars. (Chuckles) This is something that is fundamentally different from the Japanese society. Perhaps some or even most readers may disagree with my view. Take the example of Chang-Dao Fan-Xiong [happiebb: Sorry, I’ve no idea whose this is, so I just spell out the hanyu pinyin] Most Koreans are sceptical about his popularity in Japan. Traditionally, Koreans’ forte is not in developing and grooming stars. Or rather, perhaps it’s more accurate to say that Koreans
do not even want to build the stardom culture. They seem to believe that it is best that all are equal and that there should be no super stars.

With the rise of K-pop and all things Korean, competition within the Korean entertainment scene has also intensified. As recent as two years ago, Han Suk-kyu of Swiri was still known as the biggest movie star out of Korea, but his most recent two movies were not well-received,
As such, there has been some talk about “Han Suk-kyu is longer a star”.
It really is quite miraculous that an actor such as Yong Joon who does not have that many dramas and movies can enjoy the level of popularity
(no matter how low the Koreans say this level is) as he does now.

So really… how popular is Yong Joon in Korea? Just read the following and you’ll be very clear as to what the answer is. (Chuckles)

1. A recent poll by the inner circle in Korea comprising directors, artiste managers and agents, and others was conducted to rank the most popular stars in Korea yielded the following:
Kwon Sang-woo was first and Bae Yong Joon was second.

2. Yong Joon terminated his participation halfway through the shooting of a TV drama with SBS. Under normal circumstances, SBS would not have thought to engage Yong Joon a second time after what he had done
(happiebb: he literally walked out halfway as he was dissatisfied with the quality of the production.) Well, the broadcasting station also had its pride principles. But SBS has been trying all ways and means to invite Yong Joon to act in their dramas.
Why? Because Yong Joon is really not that famous in Korean??

3. Yong Joon was a winner at the recent Baeksang Art Awards, this is his third win at Baeksang (Not entirely certain if I’ve remembered it correctly, whoever knows, please let me know). The famous Korean star Ahn Sung-ki started as a child actor, he should have over fifty years of acting experience, and even then, he had only won five awards which is of authoritative status in Korea. Yong Joon, only in his early thirties, has shown possibility that he could win as many Baeksang awards as Ahn Sung-ki.

(happiebb: Fumi is right, Yong Joon has won three Baeksang Awards so far. He won Best Actor in 1997 for his portrayal of Chan-woo in First Love,
then he won the Most Popular Actor in 2002, due to the success of Winter Sonata, and most recently, he won the Best Newcomer as Jowon in The Untold Scandal.)

4. These days, many Korean stars want to penetrate the Japanese markets, everybody wants to go to Japan. On the contrary, Yong Joon is most difficult to persuade to visit, other than secret visits. Again why? Because Yong Joon is not popular in Korea?? (Chuckles)

5. Yong Joon, someone who doesn’t appear much on TV, but almost all Koreans know of the existence of a certain Bae Yong Joon. Ha, why again? Because everybody knows Yong Joon is not popular?? (Chuckles)

Yes, yes, Yong Joon is not popular.
Yes, yes, Yong Joon doesn’t appear on TV.

But… why then do some Koreans still care and bear in mind every little thing that relates to Yong Joon? Why then do Koreans tell the Japanese that Yong Joon is not popular in Korea? I don’t quite understand…

6. We can say that since Papa, Yong Joon had not had a drama
that was even remotely unsuccessful. Mmm… Not bad and quite hardworking for someone without fame and popularity, no? Mmm… Although he “does not have popularity”, he still managed to roll out seven incredibly successful and high profile dramas! Oh, please don’t tell me Yong joon is practising magic??

Yon-sama分析系列25

投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/07/30 14:39:45　

大家好！

在韩国，说勇俊没有多少人气的韩国人很多。这究竟是为什么呢？

是因为韩国人的平等意识非常强。《丑闻》里描写的是自朝鲜时代开始的韩国的精英，但是作为社会精英的精英们并没有被百姓们认可。赵元也是身为精英而对精英社会不满的人物，因为自当时起精英就没有作出精英的样子来。在韩国有一本叫做“汉城大学出身的人要毁掉韩国”的书成为畅销书，可见对于精英层的不信任感已经到达了某种程度。韩国的很多工会组织的运动也表现了这种不信任感。韩国人强烈的平等意识来自于精英不被认可为精英（因为历史上，精英没有做出应该有的作为）的状况。

我想这种文化对于演艺界也是有很大影响的。我从前开始就认为日本人很会培养明星。谁当上了明星，周围的人会像过节一样一起来捧。在韩国没有这样的事情。拉上面的人下来，捧下面的人上去，是很多韩国人的想法。所以，谁在韩国成了大明星，fans以外的人很多会是“为什么，那个人有什么好？”的态度。

如果大家遇到说“勇俊，在韩国没名”的韩国人的时候，可以试试这么问，

“是吗？车胜元怎么样？有名吗？”

那那个人多半会说，“车胜元可有名了！”
可是实际上却是，车胜元虽然是主演一级的演员，但是还不能说是大明星的存在。
这就是把在日本处于优势的勇俊说低，而把（在日本基本谁也不认识的）车胜元捧高的所谓平等意识的表现。

仔细想想看，无论在什么领域，韩国人可以说没有出过真正的大明星。体育界也一样，在把大明星压低再压低（笑）。这是和日本人基本点上不同的部分，可能大家不同意我的意见。相反，普通的韩国人对于长岛 繁雄在日本为什么是这么著名的人物持怀疑态度的人很多。韩国人很不擅长培养自己的大明星。或者说，根本就拒绝那种特别的存在。平等最好。

随着亚洲韩流的影响，韩国演艺界的竞争也日渐激烈。《Swuri》的主演韩在圭2年前为止还被称为是最强的电影明星，但由于最近的2部作品接连失败，就被说成“韩在圭已经不是明星了”。像勇俊那样出演不多的演员还常处于人气绝顶的状态实在是个奇迹。

勇俊在韩国没有多少人气（？）看到下面的事实大家就很清楚了（笑）

1．韩国的导演，经纪人等业内人士选出在韩国国内的人气，第一位：权相佑，第二位：裴勇俊。
2．以前勇俊曾经中途停止了SBS电视剧的拍摄。一般说SBS不会再第二次起用勇俊，因为有自尊心在那儿。但是就是这个SBS现在为了起用勇俊拍剧使劲各种办法。因为，勇俊在韩国不怎么有名嘛。
3．勇俊今年在百想艺术节获奖，这是勇俊的第3回获奖（没信心记得对不对，谁给订正一下吧）。韩国的国民级演员安圣基从儿童演员做起，艺龄有50多年吧，共获得了5回这个有权威的百想奖。勇俊，30多岁就有可能达到和安圣基同样的获奖次数。
4．现在在韩国想去日本的明星有非常多，但是勇俊却是怎么叫都不来。除了极机密的访问。是因为，勇俊在韩国没有人气（笑）。
5．勇俊，在电视里不怎么出来，但是只要是韩国人都知道勇俊的存在。因为大家都知道勇俊没有人气（笑）。勇俊是没有人气不上电视的人，但是为什么相当一部分的韩国人还每每把勇俊的事情挂在心上，遇到日本人就说“勇俊，在韩国没名”？我是怎么也想不明白啊。
6．至少说，自《爸爸》以来，勇俊没有出过一部失败作品。没有名气还挺努力的嘛。虽然没有人气还连续出了7部轰动性作品，勇俊该不是会使魔法吧？

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 26

Good morning!

Over the past couple of days, I was standing at the newsstands flipping through Japanese magazines that related to K-drama. Most of them are going for 1500¥, that’s royally expensive! Most of the magazines are pictorial in nature; even if so these magazines were still displayed prominently alongside the other Japanese magazines. I was just standing there reading some of the interviews with Yong Joon. Here, I share with you some of what he said that were particularly memorable or interesting.

1. Yong Joon said, “I’ve never thought of myself as a star.”

I thought this was interesting. Anyone who has been cast as the main lead of a drama would, consciously or otherwise, think of himself as a star. The people around him will also perceive him as a star. In most cases, stars go through a fairly long process before they achieve so-called stardom. Some will start as a child actor, go through a learning process, debut in some dramas as a small role, and will only be cast as the main lead after many years of hard work. Having gone through such a process and given the opportunity to star as the main lead, then the actors will sigh, “Ah, finally I’m amongst the stars.” This is a typical star-route.

Yong Joon has been cast as the main lead since his debut. He said he had never consciously thought of himself as a star. Was he being humble or was he lying? In my view, neither. That is probably what Yong Joon truly thinks. Think about it, he was already the leading male actor since his debut; at that time, the one thing on his mind should be whether he was capable of doing the job, instead of thinking about “hey, I’m a star now!”

Yong Joon is different from Dong Gun and Byung Hun; he came form the poor side of North Hangang. For someone from that modest financial background, it was secondary that he actually became a star right from his debut drama, what was primary was that he found financial stability for his family. With that as the premise, he was compelled to make it.
He had to make it. In a way, it was almost sad. Although since the beginning, Yong Joon already had the leisurely, princely image, his inner self was probably more of someone who desperately needed the work
and therefore would go all out to get the job done.

Does Yong Joon also think that he is not a star, but someone who needs excel in his work in order to stay secured in his job? Most Koreans do not understand what this means. (Chuckles). Personally, I feel that Yong Joon’s honesty has something to do with how he grew up in an environment that could not be described as rich. When it comes to other Korean stars, we would often hear about how they would spend extravagrant amount of money in clubs in Gangnam. But no, not our Yong Joon. We’ve never heard such news or rumours about Yong Joon misbehaving in clubs. There is another difference between Yong Joon and the other Korean stars, that is, he does not have many friends who are in the entertainment industry. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that he hardly hangs out in clubs like other stars.

2. Yong Joon mentioned in an interview that he has been accepting
quite a number of interviews recently and he feels that he has been fairly active in PR.

I could not help but laugh at his statements. Yes, it is true that Yong Joon has accepted interviews from quite a number of Japanese magazines.
But it is typical Yong Joon to actually think and believe that by accepting more interviews than he ever did before was an active PR effort on his part. When his movie, The Untold Scandal, was screened in Japan, he did not visit Japan to do any opening address or PR campaign. To think that a star, an actor would not do anything to promote his latest movie…
This is classic Yong Joon.
He said, “I do act when it is necessary, that’s why recently, I’ve been quite active in accepting interviews.” He is really quite cute.

Japan got to know about Jeon Ji Hyun through the movie, My Sassy Girlfriend. The success of the movie can be directly linked to her aggressive PR effort on the Japanese TV program, News Station. Yong Joon is not someone who would aggressively promote himself or his works through PR. He is someone who feels that he is already very hard at work in terms of PR when all he has done is accept some magazine interviews. He is really quite a unique fellow, very interesting and cute character. I can’t help but break into chuckles again.

3. Yong Joon said if he was really interested to become a big star,
then he would have acted in more dramas or movies, but personally, he was not keen to pursue stardom or fame.

On this point, there are two different camps of people holding different opinions. One group believes that Yong Joon is indeed a star, so there is really no need to take on excessive roles or assignments. Another camp believes in Moiru, that is, Yong Joon should accept more works within a short period to time to increase his popularity.

Let’s take the example of Kwon Sang-woo. He is a perfect example of the Moiru model, that is, accepting more works to increase his exposure and therefore popularity. In addition, Kwon Sang-woo also has quite a number of good friends in the Korean cross-talk or stand-up comic field. These friends of his would usually mention something about him in their acts.
For instance, there is this stand-up comedian called MC Mon, he would often work Kwon Sang-woo’s daily rituals or other interesting happenings into his script. This further heightens the public’s awareness and affinity towards Sang-woo. From here, we can see how different Yong Joon is in terms of pursing popularity.

Yong Joon’s agent representative is Lee-san. He is someone who has always been more interested in movies than TV drama. Yong Joon’s appearance on TV dramas has been on the decline in recent years, could this have anything to do with Lee-san’s personal inclination and aspirations towards movie-making?

Yon-sama分析系列26

投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/07/31 09:48:13　


大家早上好！
前两天，我站着翻了好几本市面上卖的日本的韩剧关联的杂志。这一类的杂志，一般1500日元（相当于100人民币）一本，实在是贵！杂志多是以图片为主，即便这样还和别的日本杂志一样并列。站着翻的某杂志上的勇俊访谈里面，对有几句很有感想，不妨说一说。

1．勇俊说，我从来不认为自己是Star。

我觉得这很有意思。通常作为一部剧的主演一级的人，都会意识到自己是Star，也会被周围的人称作Star。对于其他的艺人通常会有很长的（比如从儿童演员做起）为了成为演员的“学习阶段”，之后以一个小角色电视debut，经过几年努力才能够得到主演的机会。经历了这样一个过程进入主演一级的时候，演员自己也会很感慨“总算进入到Star中间了”。这是通常的成为Star的道路。

勇俊自debut起就是主演，他说没有意识到自己是Star，这是谦虚的话还是谎话呢？我觉得不是谦虚也不是谎话，那是勇俊真实的想法。因为勇俊从debut就是主演，相对于意识到自己成为Star，他更担心的是自己能不能胜任的问题。

勇俊和东健以及秉宪不同，是贫穷的汉城江北出身。对于经济拮据的勇俊来说，电视剧debut与其说是当上了明星的荣耀的事情，还不如说是找到了令自己的家庭生活安定的保障，为此他也非得竭尽全力不可，我想那会是某种悲壮感的情绪吧。Debut的时候起勇俊就是一付贵公子的模样，但是我想他内心是怀着“不要命的工作人”（ ”必殺仕事人” 翻不好）的想法的。

勇俊是不是也想自己不是Star，而是”必殺仕事人”的呢？通常，韩国人是不懂得”必殺仕事人”是什么东西的(笑)。我感觉勇俊的诚实是和他那完全称不上富裕的成长背景有关系的。对于其他的韩国Star们，人们经常会听到有在汉城江南的俱乐部里豪游的传闻，对于勇俊却从来没有听说过这样的话。勇俊的演艺界朋友很少的理由，也跟他和其他的Star们不同，不怎么在江南的俱乐部里玩有关吧。

2．勇俊在采访里说，最近他会经常接受采访，并且以此作为自己积极PR的表现。
这样的发言让我不禁忍俊。确实，勇俊的确接受了不少日本杂志的采访。但是只是这种程度的行动也被他认为是己积极在PR，实在是很像勇俊自己的风格啊。勇俊在《丑闻》日本公开的时候，也没有为了致开幕礼而来日是不是？对于自己的最新的电影作品，他那时竟然什么都没做。那样的勇俊，说“关键的时候我也有行动。所以最近（为了自己的宣传）我会积极地接受采访”，勇俊真是好可爱。

在日本凭《我的野蛮女友》走红的全智贤，出色成绩跟她在日本电视《News Station》里出场为自己积极PR是很有关系的。勇俊却不是很热衷于为自己PR。接受了几个杂志社的采访，就觉得自己PR已经很努力了，让人觉得他真是好可爱，忍俊不禁呢。

3．勇俊说，自己如果想成为大明星的话，会上更多的作品。但是，自己对这样的东西没有多少兴趣。

这个发言是在2的前面，是1，3，2的顺序。
这里会分成两种意见：勇俊不怎么上作品，不愧是Big Star的专家意见也有；说应该做人气Moiru（短期内多上作品，提高人气）的专家也有。比如说，现在正红的权相佑，就是人气Moiru的成功范例。多说一句，相佑的人气还有一个秘诀是，相佑在相声娱乐界有几个好朋友，这几个搞笑的艺人经常会说些相佑日常生活的话。比方说，那个叫做MC Mon的人气艺人，他就经常把相佑日常生活的有趣的事情拿到电视啊广播上去说，使得人们对相佑的亲近感大增。所以说相佑和勇俊的人气的秘诀是相当不同的。

勇俊的经纪人代表李san，原本就是对电影比对电视剧更有兴趣的人士。勇俊的出演作品近年来很少，会不会也和他的经纪人原本就憧憬于电影的世界有关系呢。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 27

Hello everybody!

The Korean fever is now spreading across the whole of Asia like wild fire.
Lately, even Japan and China are also joining this crazy; in fact, I’ve a feeling this is just the beginning. In Japan, people working in the TV circuit have also started to study and analyze Korean drama. Pertinent to this, the Koreans explained it this way: The Japanese have seen how popular Korean dramas are in China, and they want to study Korean drama to understand it better so that they can penetrate the Chinese market. (Chuckles).

Err… how do I say this? I really am not sure, but even in the United States, there is a fraction of people who have started to follow Korean drama. This was similar to the case of hot kimchi, I suppose. I’ve heard that there are some people in the United States who have taken to like kimchi to the extent that they would eat hot kimchi for every meal!

I would suppose with all these developments, it will not be easy for Korean actors and actresses from now on. It’s probably quite the same in most countries, there would be something from the darker underground
in most entertainment circles. Yong Joon has arrived at his current star status today, and yet there has not been much negative press about him,
I would think that this has something to do with the fact that Yong Joon does not associate himself with any of the darker forces or “dirty” parties in the circle. I think it’s about time for other actors and actresses to consider Yong Joon as their role model and start to disassociate themselves from the darker forces. If they happen to succeed Yong Joon to become the next big thing in Japan, they have to ask themselves if their actions and behaviour are befitting that of an international star…

Very often, Yong Joon will be described as a professional (puro). It is perfectly normal for a puro to do things befitting a puro. (Chuckles).
A true professional is a professional even in his daily life. Even in istances when the professional is shielded from the public eyes, the professional should still conduct himself professionally, and not indulge in activities that a star will not be involved in. From this aspect, Yong Joon is truly a professional. Of course, there will be lapses when in a flash of a moment,
Yong Joon will not show his “professional” face. That is his natural, unadorned expression. Yong Joon’s smile during one of these unguarded moments is the best and the most disarming. When he sometimes forgets to put on his professional actor mask, he will display a natural smile that is as innocent and bright as child. In that instant, what we see is not the Yong Joon the professional at work, we’ve had a glimpse of the real Yong Joon.

The next time Yong Joon visits Japan again, I wish to be able to see more of that side of him. I wish to see more of his innocent, happy child-like smiles.

Yong Joon, come Spring, be it Kyushu, Aichi, Tokyo or Osaka, I’m sure it will not be a secret visit. It should be another visit for Yong Joon to meet his family in Japan. Believe me that this news is reliable,
since it’s coming from the Fumi Agency Services…

Yon-sama分析系列27

投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/01 08:45:16　

大家好。

现在，韩流热潮正席卷亚洲。最近在日本和中国也兴起了韩流热潮，而且感觉正在正式展开。日本的电视剧关联人士也正开始研究韩剧。对于这种状况，韩国国内的解释是这样的，日本的电视剧关联人士看到韩剧在中国很受欢迎，也开始研究韩剧，日本的目的是想夺取电视剧在中国的市场。（笑）嗯。。。怎么说呢？我不知道。美国也有一部分人开始了韩剧热。和辣白菜是一样的情形吧。据说在美国人里面，有些（不是多数）辣白菜中毒的人，每天吃饭就是咸饼干就着辣白菜。

韩国的艺人从此要很不容易吧我想。哪个国家可能都一样，演艺界这个地方，里面是有黑暗的，不干净的部分存在的。勇俊成为今天这种地位的巨星，而没有多少关于他的不好的传闻，这是因为勇俊本人和那些演艺界的黑暗不干净的部分是没有相关的。我想韩国的其他的艺人也应该好好思考一下勇俊的作为。如果，勇俊之后是自己在日本大红大紫，自己的一言一行是否符合作为一个国际性Star的标准呢。

经常勇俊被说成是Professional（puro），本身就是puro做puro的事应该是理所当然的嘛（笑）。真正的professional是应该从日常生活起，即使是谁也看不见的部分，也不会有和作为Star不相当的事情。从这种意义上来讲，勇俊是真正的puro。有时候，一瞬间，勇俊会显示不是puro的面孔，那是素颜（本来的面孔）的样子，那时的勇俊的笑脸特别的棒。是像小孩子一样天真烂漫的笑脸。那一瞬间，不是作为Professional的勇俊，而是我们见到真正的勇俊的瞬间。

下一回勇俊再来日本的时候，好想看到更多勇俊的那样孩子一般的欢欣的笑脸。勇俊，到来年春天，是九州，爱知，或者东京，大阪的某个地方，肯定会不是秘密访问，而是为了家族们再次正式地访问日本的。关于这部消息，请大家相信我FUMI侦探事务所是可靠的吧。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 28

Hi everybody! I’ve got a bit more time today.

We can often tell much about a star’s character and personality from what other actors or actresses say about him or her. Basically, they’re all from the same industry, it is unlikely that one will badmouth his or her co-stars, so we will often hear remarks and comments such as, “wonderful”, “a very nice guy”, “quite an interesting character”. As for Yong Joon, the word that keeps coming up from his co-stars is that he’s a gentleman. What do you think of such a description? Well, he obviously must be a gentleman to be described as a gentleman…

It is quite common for actors and actresses to get together for a drink or two. For instance, Kim Min Jong and Ryu Shi Won are known for their ability to drink. In the Korean entertainment circle, when one describes one’s co-star as interesting or a nice guy, chances are the two have gotten together for drinking sessions during the duration of the filming. Such are very common.

Yong Joon has hardly been described as his co-stars as being interesting,
or a nice guy; instead most speak of his gentlemanly ways. That is because Yong Joon does not have the habit of going drinking with his co-stars. Co-stars only see him at work, and they feel that here is a professional who acts in a gentlemanly manner, that’s why the description.

I’ve mentioned before that Yong Joon is a dedicated worker. I think this has to do with the fact that he is an only child. To say that Yong Joon was once very poor is probably a subjective statement, as the definition of poor is subjective in itself. In Seoul, there are a few places where the poorer Koreans live, Yong Joon was not born in such poor districts. But comparing to Jang Dong Gun who was born to a fairly wealthy family,
Yong Joon’s family was not a well-heeled one. I suppose it would be accurate to say Yong Joon’s childhood and teenage years, in terms of financial standing, was that of a normal, typical Korean family. This is my own observation and judgement which is based on where he lived, and not through any confirmed sources. Well, those of you who have watched “Have We Really Loved”, just try to imagine the place where Jaeho lived. This would be quite atypical of how the people in North Hangang lived. But I’ve to say that judging from where he used to live,
his living environment should be better than Jaeho’s.

So what made Yong Joon such a workaholic, other than the environment he grew up in, can also be attributed to the fact that he is the only son.
In Korean, there is this saying about “Dokuchan”. These days, Korea has an even lower population growth rate than Japan, and it is quite common to see only child in a household. But during the time when Yong Joon was born, it was still quite rare to see an only son. Koreans are very particular about filial piety, and as the only son, he shoulders a responsibility so heavy that most other folks can only imagine. His challenge was that he must succeed in his career so that he can take good care of his parents.

The Koreans would inculcate such education into their children since young. If there were three or three other brothers, the pressure would be less. As if one could not make it, there would always be the younger brothers. But as an only son, he has no choice but to make it. In my time, I’ve seen many only sons who had to face the unbearable burden of such pressure. Perhaps the reason why Yong Joon failed in his attempts
at the university entrance exams had to do with the pressure he was under. There really would not be that many people who would be willing to move into a temple just to prepare for exams; from here, we can see how much pressure he was under during that time. He was probably telling himself that he had to get into university no matter what. He had to make it in life in order to provide for his parents. The pressure was probably quite intense. By the way, Korea has only recently worked out
a more comprehensive retirement program for the elderly.

After Yong Joon encountered failure in obtaining a place in the university,
he gained the chance of being cast as the main lead in a TV drama.
It was purely by chance that it happened. We can only imagine how he must have felt at that time. I would guess he was probably feeling a mixture of anticipation and uneasiness. Even now, Yong Joon is already a big star, but he is still not letting himself relax. He upholds himself as a professional even after all these years. Maybe, just maybe, he had not relieved himself of the pressure as the only son. In Winter Sonata, Sang-Hyuk’s mother opposed to him marrying Yu-jin. The Japanese could not seem to understand why and term this as one mystery of the script.
But to the Koreans, this was something perfectly and easily understood.
Both Sang-hyuk and Jun-sang were only sons, so their mothers would naturally be very careful and meticulous when it came to picking a wife for their sons.

In Korea, many stars would accept TV interviews in a half-drunk state
(meaning they may have had too much to drink the night before, and are suffering from a hangover the next day). It is obvious to all viewers that they are still in a semi-muddled state. (Chuckles). Many fans would think that their stars are being themselves, acting natural and would even welcome such appearances. I personally also do not think there’s anything bad about this. But Yong Joon definitely does not belong to this category of stars. Just like everyone knows, Yong Joon would always portray a rather formal stance during interviews. This is also partly why he is always described as being a professional. Some Koreans do not like Yong Joon because of this, he has never acted in any unprofessional way in front of his fans. It will be very difficult for us to see Yong Joon in a confused state. Of course, there are people who criticize how he does not show his natural self in public.

Yong Joon is a serious actor; but there are many people who do not understand his professional style. However, if Korea is to groom and develop more international stars, then they will eventually realise that Yong Joon’s style is the behaviour of a true top star.

Yon-sama分析系列2８

投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/02 17:11:23　
From www.k-plaza.com ぺ・ヨンジュン掲示板　（原文为日文）

大家好。今天我有点儿闲（笑）。

一个艺人的性格也可以从其他的艺人对那个人的评价里窥见一斑。同为艺人通常不会说对方的坏话，所以经常会说对方“很棒”“很好的人”“蛮有趣”的话。勇俊被其他的艺人最经常评价的话是“绅士”。大家怎么想这样的评价呢？那当然，是绅士才被评价为绅士啊。。。

艺人之间经常会一起喝酒。比如金旻钟，柳时元就以很能喝酒闻名。韩国的艺人对共演者评价说，有意思的人，好人的情况，多半是两人在拍摄期间经常一起喝酒来着。是说这样的情况挺多，当然，不是一定就这样。

勇俊不被他的共演者（一部分）说是有趣的人，好人，而被说成是“绅士”，那是因为勇俊通常不和共演者一起喝酒的缘故。共演者也是只在工作现场看到勇俊，觉得他很专业也很绅士，所以就会做出这样的评价。

前面曾经说过勇俊是非常专注于工作的人，我想这是和他是独子的背景有关系的。说勇俊曾经很穷，这样的说法也可以随如何设定贫穷的标准而改变。在汉城有几个贫民街的地方，勇俊绝对不是在贫民街出生的。和富裕家庭出身的张东健相比勇俊的家庭不大富裕，但是如果从整体比较贫穷的过去的汉城地区的江北的标准来考虑，说勇俊少年时期的生活是普通应该是正确的。这是从出身地域做出的判断，并不是针对个人的情报。看了《我们》的诸位，把那里面的（在豪生活的）街的气氛，可以作为汉城江北的普通生活场景来考虑。从富裕程度来讲，勇俊应该比《我们》更宽裕一些。是从居住的地区推断。。。

使勇俊成为“工作狂”的，除了他出生的环境，还要加上他是独生子的事实。韩国语里有Dokuchan的说法。现在出生率比日本还低的韩国基本上都是独生子女了，可是在勇俊出生的年代独生子还是很少见的。韩国人非常重视孝敬父母，作为唯一的儿子肩负有他人难以想象的压力。那是自己一定要事业成功，才能照顾父母的压力。韩国人从小孩的时候起就接受这样的教育长大。如果有其他的兄弟2，3个人在的话，自己如果不行还有弟弟们。。。，但是就自己一个儿子的话就没有其他路可走了。我看到好多像勇俊一样作为独子的年轻人，难以承受这样的压力而痛苦的样子。或者，勇俊大学考试失败，也和他承受的压力太大有关系吧。能为了考试进到寺庙里苦读的人，世上不怎么有的。可见，他感到的巨大压力。无论如何也要上大学，有出息，承担起为父母养老的责任，就是这样的重压吧。顺便说一句，韩国的老年养老金制度是最近才完备起来的。

那样的勇俊大学考试受挫，非常偶然地，而且是突然间一下子成了电视剧的主演，那是一种什么样的心情是可以想象的吧，是期待和不安的感觉吧。所以可以想见成为大明星之后，勇俊依然是毫不放松，彻底地professional的心情。或者，也许他还是没有从独生子的重压下解放出来吧。冬恋里相奕的妈妈为什么反对和惟真的结婚？日本的杂志称之为冬恋之谜里的一个，作为韩国人这是很容易理解的。相奕和俊尚都是独生子，结婚对象的选择做母亲的时非常慎重的。

韩国的很多大明星有时候宿醉（前一晚喝酒，第二天不适的状态）的情况下也会轻松地接受电视采访。一看就还有点儿迷迷糊糊的时候也有（笑），很多Fans会把这个作为自然态，大大欢迎，我个人也不认为有什么不好。但是，勇俊绝对不是能够那样的演员。就像大家知道的那样，勇俊接受采访的时候，总是很正式的形象和态度。这一部分也是被称作Professional的理由之一。不喜欢勇俊的韩国人里面多数可能因为这个不喜欢他，在fans的面前从来不作宿醉的姿态，绝对不会有现出一点儿迷乱的部分，觉得他不是自然态，而批判他的事情也有过。

就是说，勇俊是（严肃认真的）“工作人”，但是不理解他的Professional的人也很多。但是，如果从韩国发出更多的国际性明星的话，大家，也会逐渐意识到勇俊的style才是Top star应该具备的事实。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 29

Recently, there was a case of a Korean actor being arrested for possession of drugs. It is understood that another actor was also arrested in this same case for possession of drugs as well, but he was released shortly after arrest. The Korean media also did not pursue or investigate further on this second actor who was arrested, and subsequently released. This other actor supposedly had the backing of a politics bigwig
and was therefore released due to the pressure from this politician.
The media was also low key on this matter due to the pressure that they faced.

The happening of such cases has a lot to do with the management style of the actors or actresses. Quite a number of actors and actresses try to secure politicians and business men as their fans, so that they can obtain protection from these high profile fans in the event of scandals like this.
Amongst the agents and artiste managers of the bigger stars in Korea,
many use this method to prevent the “eruption” of scandals.

Yong Joon’s management does not operate in this mode. Yong Joon’s management is such that Yong Joon decides on what roles to accept,
whilst his agency team decides on other matters such as overseas trips, product endorsements, etc. The scope and responsibilities between Yong Joon and his agency team are very well defined; this is extremely rare in Korea. This effectively means that Yong Joon is solely responsible
for the effects and outcome of his script selection, and his agency team shoulders the success of his other work. The entire management team gives people the feeling of professionalism. Because of the way Yong Joon has chosen to work and operate, it is highly unlikely that personal relations are used to effect commercial deals or work arrangements.

Yon-sama分析系列29

投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/04 08:30:33
（略去一部，by77）

最近，韩国某艺人因携带毒品而被逮捕，同时被逮捕的还有另外一位持毒的艺人，但不久就获释放，韩国的媒体也未对“另一位”艺人被捕的事实进行报道。据闻是因为这“另一位”艺人有韩国的政界大人物作后台，通过政治方面的压力而获释，并且媒体也受其压力未兴报道。

这类事件的发生和那位艺人的management style颇有相关。Management力图获取政治家及企业家的fans，以便发生丑闻事件的时候通过政治家和企业家来获得保护。韩国的大人物艺人的经纪人里面，以这种方式操作，防止丑闻事件发生的人有很多。

勇俊的management当然不是这种方式。勇俊的management是，关于出演作品全部由勇俊自己决定，作品以外的部分：广告啊访日活动等之类全部由经纪人决定安排。所以勇俊本人和经纪人之间的关系区分得很明确。这韩国的演艺界是很少见的。并且，关于出演作品的效果如何全部由勇俊自己承担责任，作品以外的部分则全部由经纪人负责。勇俊的management整体给人的感觉是很professional，因此，想利用个人的人情关系来促成业务上的事情，也是不大可能的。[size=18][/size]

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 30

Good morning, everybody!

Let’s first share some news. I visited Yong Joon’s official board in Korea yesterday, there were some postings that he was sighted in Korea.

Today, I’ll like to do a comparison between Yong Joon and Jang Dong Gun. It should be quite interesting to do such a comparison. Dong Gun is known as the beautiful man in Korea, whilst Yong Joon is the elegant prince from Korea. This is to say that Dong Gun represents the camp of handsome actors, and Yong Joon is epitome of the princely school of men. To compare these two men is compare actors of two different genre and style.

Let’s start from the beginning. These two men’s entry into the entertainment industry is uncannily similar.

We’ll start with Dong Gun’s debut. Dong Gun’s father was a staff member at MBC and his mother was Miss Korea. I would think that he got his good looks from his beautiful mother? Up to junior high, Dong Gun was always a model student. In fact, he scored a high of 198 points out of 200 for his final exams in junior high. But his performance and results in school started to deteriorate when he got into senior high. After he failed in his three attempts to enter university (although his official announcement said he failed twice), he entered the entertainment circle. So, Dong Gun also did not have any formal acting training prior to that, and he also did nothing to do with the circle. He was just a goodlooking senior high student. That was very similar to Yong Joon’s case. In fact, such cases are very rare in Korea.

Regarding Dong Gun, there is some discrepancy in the information that has been released officially. Yong Joon is actually taller than Dong Gun by 0.5cm, and Dong Gun is older than Yong Joon by 1 year and 6 months.

From the superficial look of things, I would suppose Dong Gun is the top star in Korea. So why is he the top star in Korea, and not Yong Joon?
The reason is because Yong Joon has comparatively less support from Korean male fans aged forty and above. Men who are older than thirty years old tend to watch less lovey-dovey dramas; as such, many of these forty-something men have not really paid attention to Yong Joon’s acting. Besides, Yong Joon hardly appears on TV other than in TV dramas, so these men have not had a good chance to really watch Yong Joon on TV.

In contrast, Dong Gun appeared in movies such as “Friends” and “Brotherhood” that men above forty years old enjoy watching. It is precisely because of this that Dong Gun is lot more popular amongst the men at forty years and above. As for the fairer sex and the other age brackets, their fan base should be quite the same. Of course, in terms of loyal fans, Yong Joon should have a higher absolute number of fans.
But in terms of support from the group of male fans at forty years and above, the top star should be Dong Gun from this aspect.

Outside of Japan, I would assume these two men enjoy the same amount of popularity and support in Asia. If we have to be detailed about things,
then Dong Gun is very strong in Vietnam whilst Yong Joon is more popular in Indonesia. When it comes to Japan, Yong Joon wins, hands down. So on the whole, Dong Gun is more popular in Korea and Yong Joon is more popular overseas. (This is particularly meaningful and significant in Japan.)

Although Dong Gun is considered as the real top star in Korea, but in terms of his appearance and performance fees, he loses out to three to four other male actors. And Yong Joon leads the pack in terms of fees.
Maybe this has something to do with the way Dong Gun accepts work and performance rather readily (and discriminately?) Dong Gun has appeared in many new movies of late, and there have been some unsatisfactory works or even failures out of these productions.

The fact that Yong Joon is very professional has already been mentioned in the earlier parts. Not so long ago, Dong Gun has always been spotted in casual wear and he looks as if one could catch a whiff of alcohol when one goes close to him. (Chuckles, I’m not badmouthing him or anything). Basically, the point here is that Dong Gun is the sort of stars who presents his most natural self and he is a goodlooking man. This is something very different from Yong Joon who is more of a princely, aristocratic style. Perhaps fans has drawn a line between them based on this already.

In terms of management, whenever stars such as Dong Gun and Byung Hun visit Japan, they do not keep their trips a secret, so they are always trailed and tailed by hordes of fans. This is something different in the way they manage their career.

If we draw comparisons from the US actors, then Dong Gun is like Brad Pitt and Yong Joon will be Tom Cruise.

If we draw comparisons from patio and gardens, then Dong Gun personifies the Korean garden and Yong Joon is represented by the Japanese-style garden. (The so-called Korean garden typically retains its natural state and does not have much man-made adornments or modications. You just have to pay a visit to Biwon or Jonmyo to get a clearer idea.)

If we draw comparisons from traditional performing arts, then Dong Gun is like the Korean Pansori and Yong Joon is like Nougaku from Japan.

Yon-sama分析系列30

投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/05 08:26:49


大家早上好！

先说一个情报，我昨天看了一下勇俊的韩国公式网，说勇俊现在正在韩国。有好几个亲眼见到他的人。

今天，我想将勇俊和张东健作一个比较。把这两个人比较一下我想还是蛮有意思的。东健被称为韩国的美男子，勇俊被叫做韩国的贵公子。那就是说东健是美男派演员的代表，勇俊是贵公子派演员的代表。两个人的比较，就是这两种风格演员的比较。

先说，两个人的初入演艺界的过程非常相像。简单介绍一下东健的debut过程，东健，父亲是MBC的社员，母亲是Miss Korea（韩国小姐）出身。东健是因为母亲是大美人才长得那么英俊的吧？至初中为止东健一直都是优等生，高中入试满点200分东健得了198分。但是进了高中以后，东健成绩变坏，大学入试3次都告失败（公开发表是2次失败）高考受挫，而进了演艺界。
东健在之前也没有受到过演技的训练，和演艺界毫无关联，只是一个帅气的高中生。和勇俊是一样的，其实象他们俩的情形在韩国的演艺界是很罕见的。

关于东健，正式发表的材料稍有差错，身高是勇俊高出东健0.5cm，年龄是东健大上勇俊1年零6个月（材料属实）。

从一般性的角度来说，我想在韩国东健是实际上的顶级明星。为什么顶级明星不是勇俊，而是东健呢？理由是，勇俊在韩国40岁以上的男性观众层里获得的支持比较弱。30岁以上的男性不大看恋爱情节的电视剧。因此，现在40岁以上的男性，很多人实际上没有仔细看过勇俊的演技。勇俊还象大家知道的那样，除了电视剧以外不在电视上出现，所以，40岁以上的男性观众可以说没怎么在电视上好好看过勇俊。相比之下，东健在《Chingu》，《Brother Hood》这样很多40岁以上的男性喜欢看的电影里演主角。因为这样的缘故，韩国40岁以上的男性观众层里，东健的人气要比勇俊大得很多。其他的性别，年龄类方面，应该是两个人的人气相当。当然，固定fans的人数方面，勇俊是具压倒性优势的。但是，因为有40岁以上男性观众层的支持率的差，所以如果非要分谁是真正的Top star的话，就暂且说是东健吧。

在日本之外，两个人在亚洲的人气我想是差不多少。如果说有差别的话，东健在越南很强，勇俊在印度尼西亚很旺。在日本，勇俊的人气是压倒性的。总体上来说，东健在韩国的人气略旺，在国外是勇俊的人气更强（在日本的差，很有意义。）

虽然东健被认为是韩国实际上的Top star，但是在出演费上，要输给以勇俊为首的3.4个男演员。这个，也许跟东健很轻易地接受出演作品有关。特别是东健出演的最新作的电影非常多，其中也有几部失败作品。

勇俊的很professional的部分前面已经提到过。东健在前一阵来日的时候是很休闲的服饰，好像靠近的话就会闻到酒气的感觉（笑，不是说坏话哦），就是说，东健是非常自然本色派的明星，并且是美男子。这方面作为贵公子的勇俊是很不相同的。也是从这一点上，fans分开了界限的吧。Management方面，东健啊秉宪来日的时候并不试图保密，所以经常被fans追逐。所以他们的management方面也是有差别的。

如果用美国的演员打比方，那么东健是布拉德 皮特，勇俊是汤姆 克鲁斯。

用庭园打比方的话，东健是韩国式庭园，勇俊是日本式庭园（所谓的韩国式庭园是把自然原样不动地留下来的园子。去Biwon或者Jonmyo看一看就知道）。

从传统艺术来讲，东健是韩国的Pansori，勇俊是日本的能乐。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com 07.08.2004
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.baeyongjune.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 31

Good morning, everybody! I would like to thank everyone for your replies to my series of postings.

Today, I will be talking about the popularity of David Beckham the soccer player in Japan and Yong Joon’s popularity in Japan.

Sometime around the World Cup 2002, the Beckham fever started in japan. Although Beckham’s popularity was premised upon a pretty solid foundation, the Beckham craze lasted about four to five months and that was it. Back then, it all started with the single working ladies in Japan
(or OL, office ladies as we call it). This group of working ladies typically live with their ladies and spend a substantial amount of their pay on themselves (maybe it’s because they don’t give money to their familes. Chuckles.) Therefore at the height of the fever, these single OLs were forking out money to buy pictorial albums or other publications that featured Beckham. They did not even blink when paying as high as ￥5,000 for an album. But this Backham fever did not last very long at all.

The main reason should be because these single OLs who started the craze were not particularly interested in soccer in the first place. In fact, many of them were not even familiar with the rules of the game. They were not watching the game in most instances; they were just busy clicking away at the man with their cameras. They did this to the extent of disturbing the progress of the game and had to be warned. So the very reason why these women were fascinated with Beckham was purely because of his good looks, and not because of his football playing skills.
They liked him for his physical appearance, and not David Beckham the footballer. If I did not remember wrongly, Beckham was aslo referred to as a prince in Japan during that period.

The basis of Yong Joon’s popularity in Japan is fundamentally different
from that of Beckham’s popularity. First of all, Yong Joon’s family are all TV drama fans to begin with. Most of them become his fans because they like his TV works. In the case of Yong Joon, from his physical appearance, his acting ability, his choice of productions and works, his personality and character, and his professionalism and many other aspects are all very well received. Within the family in Japan, there are people who like his looks, there are people who enjoy his acting, there are also people who are moved by how professional he is. And of course, there are also fans who think he is good in absolutely everything! All these are very different from the Beckham phenomenon, which is only based on his physical looks.

The Yong Joon fever started last year and it was not an overnight overmight development. After BS (Japan’s cable TV) screened Winter Sonata, many people became Yong Joon’s fans and the majority of them are housewives. This is something yet again different from Beckham’s fan base which was mainly single working women. In Japan, Yong Joon’s fans are mainly made up of the housewives. In the initial two months when these people became Yong Joon’s fans, they kept it a secret and did not share their liking for this actor with anyone. They merely admired and liked him in silence. This is because the Japanese housewives are mainly very careful and reserved (Chuckles), and they do not usually become a fan just because the actor is handsome. So these fans struggled within themselves in the initial stage when they first began to like Yong Joon.

“Do I really like Yon-sama?”
“Why do I still become so infatuated with such a young actor at this age?”
“Why does my heart beat so quickly?”
“Will this liking for him last or will it go away as quickly as it came?”

Questions such as the above must have flashed through these women’s heads for more than a month. They thought and contemplated about these things. Eventually, they could no longer hide their feelings or suppress their emotions. So Yong Joon’s fans started to be more explicit about their admiration for Yong Joon from last September. They were willing to go to the streets and proclaim “I like Yon-sama.” So… this was not something that was sudden or happened overnight. The Yon-sama phenomenon was after much consideration and contemplation. So these fans have made up their minds about liking him, and will share their feelings with everyone.

From April 2004, Yong Joon continuously made the covers of female magazines. Issue after issue, one will see his face on the covers. This is probably record-breaking. Almost all media and publications had reported on Yong Joon and from last month (July), even men’s magazines in Japan
also started to publish articles on Yong Joon.

Yon-sama分析系列31

日翻中，原文来自
http://www.k-plaza.com/bbs/bbs_kuchikomi/b...shop_id=yongjun
投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/07 07:48:41　


大家早上好。感谢大家对我的“分析”的回贴。

今天，我想就勇俊和足球选手贝克翰姆在日本的人气做一下比较。

2002年的世界杯前后，日本出现了贝克翰姆热。这个热潮持续了4，5个月之后就告结束，虽然至今小贝的人气仍然很有基础。发起贝克翰姆热的主要是日本的单身白领女性（OL）。特别是和父母同住的单身OL们，用在自己身上的零花钱很多（因为不怎么给家里出生活费，笑），所以当时以单身OL为主要购买层的贝克翰姆相册，贵至5000日元一本也卖的很热。但是，贝克翰姆热并没有持续多久。

其中最大的原因是，发起贝克翰姆热的日本单身OL们实际上对足球没有兴趣。甚至好多人对足球的基本规则一窍不通。追小贝的OL们在足球赛场上根本不看球，就是一个劲儿地拍小贝，甚至达到影响球赛进行，受到警告的程度。所以说，贝克翰姆热的基础只是出于单纯地喜欢小贝的帅气的外形，而不是喜欢作为选手的他。我没有记错的话，小贝在日本也被称作过贵公子。

勇俊在日本的人气和小贝是有着本质性区别的。首先，勇俊的家族们基本上都是电视剧迷，大多是因为喜欢勇俊的作品而成为他的fans的。勇俊从外形，演技，作品，性格，以及作为演员的敬业精神等很多方面，都受到全方位的支持。日本的家族里面，有喜欢他的外形的，也有喜欢他的作品的，还有感动于他的敬业态度的，更有觉得他什么都好的，各式各样的喜欢，这和仅仅因为外形帅而对小贝的喜欢是不一样的。

勇俊热是从去年开始的，但并不是突然冒出来的。BS（日本的卫星电视）上播出冬恋以后，好多人就成了勇俊fans，其中大部分是家庭主妇。和小贝的以单身白领女性 fans为主体不同，在日本勇俊fans的核心是主妇阶层。日本身为主妇的勇俊fans，很多人在成为fans的最初的2个月里面谁也没对谁说，只作为自己的秘密（？）来暗自喜欢他。因为日本主妇的性格很谨慎（笑），不会就因为谁长得好就成为他的fans。所以说，勇俊fans的主妇们在最初的2个月左右的时间里翻来覆去考虑很多。

“我是真的喜欢Yon-sama吗？”“为什么到了这个岁数（？）还会迷上年轻的男演员？这么心潮澎湃是为什么？”“这种喜欢会不会马上就变呢？”等等等等，这样想来想去一个多月的功夫就过去了。但是，想来想去，也无法压抑自己的情绪，勇俊fans们终于从去年的9月份开始走上街头，公开地表明“我喜欢Yon-sama”。所以说，这不是一个突发的过程，而是仔仔细细考虑的结果：无论如何都喜欢他，这样的心情一定要给谁说一说。。。

从今年4月起勇俊已经连续5周登上女性周刊杂志的封面，这大概是破纪录的。几乎所有的媒体都对勇俊进行了报道，从上个月起日本的男性专门杂志也开始刊出记载勇俊的文章。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com 07.08.2004
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.joonsfamily.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 32

Good morning, everyone!

I think Yong Joon’s popularity will continue to rise. Traditionally, the celebrity postcards and photograph market has always targeted the high school students in Japan, and even this market has started to use Yong Joon as one of their main thrusts in terms of new products (Yong Joon is not particularly popular amongst the Japanese high school students currently). Up till last year, Yong Joon’s family comprises mainly the housewives; but this year on, the Office Ladies (OL) group who used to worship David Beckham in the past has joined the throes of Yong Joon fans and this OL group has more disposable income than the housewives and they are also more willing to spend money. In Japan, any commercial products that target the OL market will see a rise in their prices, simply because this group of consumers have high purchasing power. For instance, the recent case of Yong Joon’s pictorial album was to be launched at a retail price of 5,000￥ (USD45 or SGD76), but the project was aborted due to copyright issues.

Regarding the talk about being the princely gentleman… The Japanese used this term back in the 1990s to describe some young actors in Hong Kong. Those people in the Japanese entertainment industry or the fans of these Hong Kong stars will probably know about this. However, with the appearance of Yong Joon, I believe the use of this term will be very much restricted and limited from now on. Today in Japan, whoever wants to describe anyone as a prince will have to face comparison with Yong Joon. It is probably not a nice feeling for anyone to be compared with Yong Joon. In Korea, up to the 1980s, the term “handsome actor” was quite widely and commonly used; but since Jang Dong Gun burst onto the scene, we don’t hear many people using this term any more. Now in Korea, whenever anyone mentions handsome actor, this actor will definitely be pitted against Jang Dong Gun for comparison; and whenever anyone mentions the prince, then he will be compared against Yong Joon.

The term “Momjjang” is also beginning to wide more understanding and better comprehension in Japan. In Korea, “Momjjang” actors only started to gain momentum in recent years, but it seems to be losing steam now as the high school girls in Korea start to shift their attention from “Momjjang” actors to “princely” actors. Even before “Momjjang”, there were a few years that Korea went through a “princely” craze. However, the princely image at that time was not exactly Yong Joon’s style, it was more like the characters in Japanese comics that mainly targeted at young girls; they tended to have long flowing hair, looked like they were from the royal family, and of course, they were all very tall, these were the so-called criteria of a prince in Korea during those days. In korea, such “princes” were often referred to as “Terius” (Terius is some Japanese comic characters, I can’t recall the exact name.)

Although Yong Joon sort of falls under the prince category, he did not keep his hair long at that time (Chuckles). Won Bin had long hair when he debut and this probably had something to do with the trend of long-haired prince at that time. If Yong Joon was sensitive and if he bothered about such things as popularity and trends, then he would probably kept his hair long during the period of mid to late 1990s. But, Yong Joon, despite being termed as a prince all the while, had never played by the Terius rules and was never swayed by the trends, he is obviously someone who knows his own mind. And of course, he knows his own mind and knows what he wants very well.

From this, it is apparent that Yong Joon is not an actor who would pursue fads or fashion. And Yong Joon’s fans from the entire Asian region are also not supporting him because of fads or fashion, because we’re no longer high school students (Chuckles).

Yon-sama分析系列32投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/07 08:21:11　

大家早上好。

我想勇俊的人气还会进一步扩展。现在以日本中学生为对象的明信片照片市场，也把勇俊作为主力商品之一（勇俊在日本的中学生里面并没有多少人气）。至去年为止勇俊的家族主要是主妇层，进入今年，比主妇更会花钱，更有购买力的从前贝克翰姆fans的单身OL层也加入到勇俊家族里，声势更为巨大。在日本以单身OL为靶子的商品通常价格都会上涨，因为她们很有购买力。比如最近，就像大家知道的那样，单价高达5000日元的勇俊照片集本来是要上市的，但因著作权的问题而搁浅。

贵公子的说法，在日本的90年代是用来称呼香港的年轻演艺明星的。日本的业内人士或者香港fans的人也许都知道。但是，由于勇俊的登场贵公子这个词我想今后会限定使用了。现在，在日本如果要称呼谁为贵公子的话，肯定人们会将他和勇俊作比较。这对于被比较的人来说也许滋味不大好。在韩国，至80年代美男演员的话经常被使用，但是自张东健登场以来，美男演员的词就不怎么用了。现在，韩国一说美男，就会和东健比较，一说贵公子，就会和勇俊比较。

Monchan这个词在日本也开始被大家了解。韩国的Monchan演员走红是最近的事情，现在已经开始人气下降，韩国的女高中生们的兴趣正开始向贵公子派转变。Monchan之前的几年期间，韩国曾经流行过贵公子热。那时的贵公子不是勇俊的风格，是像日本的少女漫画上的人物，长头发，贵族模样，当然个子要相当高，这就是从前韩国流行的贵公子的条件。在韩国贵公子经常被叫做Terius （Terius是日本漫画人物，名字我没记清楚。）

作为贵公子嫡系的勇俊，那时候却没有作长发的打扮（笑）。元彬debut的时候是长发，跟那时候流行长发的贵公子也许有关。勇俊如果对人气，流行很敏感的话，90年代的中期至后期，他会留起长发作韩国的贵公子打扮也不一定。但是，勇俊却一边原本就被叫做贵公子，一边不去赶Terius的时髦，可见他是个很有主张的人。当然，是非常正解。

从这件事上，可以看出勇俊不是追求一时的热潮的演员。并且，勇俊全亚洲范围的fans，，也不是以一时的冲动来支持他的，因为已经不是高中生了嘛。（笑）

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com 07.08.2004
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.joonsfamily.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 33

Good morning, everyone!

Jandolbat-sama [Truelove77: From what I saw on the official site, the translator’s name should be Young-sun), you’ve collated and translated my ramblings into Korean, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you. I suppose I really should say “hello” to everyone directly on the official site, but because I belong to the old school, so I have no idea how to enter Korean characters via the keyboard. Even when I need to input Korean for work, I normally leave it to the younger staff members, not once have I typed in Korean before, so I’ve absolutely no confidence in this matter. Anyhow, would like to use this platform to greet and thank everyone. Jandolbat-sama, if possible, please translate Parts 31-33 first.

I’ve gone to the Korean official site to have a look today, found some fans’ views about how they thought Yong Joon should visit Japan. I support this view. From the perspective of Japan-Korea ties, Yong Joon’s influence is indeed significant. The Olympics event held in Seoul back in 1988 started the Japanese looking upon Korea with slightly different eyes. Prior to that, one could never find white radish kimchi in Japan other than in Korean town, it was only after the Olympics that the white radish kimchi became a mainstay in the Japanese grocery fare. There were some expectations from the 2002 World Cup would bring about some interest in Korean merchandise or products in Japan; however the Korean Current or Korean Wave then was on an extremely small scale and it lasted only all of four months. [Chuckles] For the past 25 years, my work has centred upon the Japan-Korea relationship, so I’ve an in-depth understanding of such matters.

“Swiri” and “My Sassy Girlfriend” were quite popular in Japan at one time, but in Japan, people who have heard of Han Suk-kyu and Jeon Ji-Hyeon are still limited to their respective fans. The young people in Japan would not know who Jeon Ji-Hyeon is, but once you mention “My Sassy Girlfriend”, then they will go, “Oh… that actress…!”

“Silmido” and “Taegukgi” also did not meet expectations. Kang Je Gyu (bb: Taegukgi or Brotherhood’s director) had previously projected that his movie would be garner an audience of 10 million people in Japan, breaking the record in Korea, but I do not think this is an attainable goal. Although these two movies were rolled out in Japan under fairly favourable conditions, number of screens was also quite substantial, and marketing expenses were not spared as well. The results? Well, the box office takings were just average, nothing to shout home about; looks like the people working on these movies are going to be quite disappointed…

What the Korean movie and TV drama circles do not understand is that the current Korean Wave sweeping across Japan is, in actual fact, Yon-sama craze, so it is impossible for a movie without Yong Joon to draw 10 million viewers in Japan. Despite the physical proximity between the two countries, there still exist a fair number of misunderstanding and misunderstood concepts between Japan and Korea. For instance, the Korean media seems to think that Lee Young Ah is quite popular in Kapan, and the Korean media has been reporting it as thus. However, the truth is not too many people in Japan know about Lee Young Ah. The people who frequent this talkboard are somewhat familiar with Korean issues and trends, so they would naturally know who Lee Young Ah is, but to the average Japanese, this is a totally unfamiliar name.

Other than Yong Joon, lower the rungs of the popularity ladder would be Park Yong Ha and Choi Jiwoo when it comes to Korean actors and actresses. (I’ve written some words here that may come across as impolite to fans of Lee Young Ah. But I also like Young Ah-san, but I do think Young Ah-san needs to take better care of her health). In a popularity survey in Japan, the most popular Asian actress in Japan is Choi Jiwoo, followed by some Hong Kong actresses, Jeon Ji-Hyeon was ranked number eight? I can’t quite recall her exact ranking. Young Ah-san is possibly ranked at around 13 or something, I think. This survey was conducted two months ago; if the same survery were to be carried out now, Son Ye Jin from Summer Scent may rise alittle, I suppose.

This must be the first time in history that the Japanese are so passionate about Korean males (Yong Joon). As for how the Japanese are so concerned towards Korean culture, this is the third time in history since ancient times and since dialogues resumed with South Korea. The Yon-sama phenomena has brought about effects that appear to have surpassed those of the historical events such as the Olympics and the World Cup. My Korean friends, think about this: Korea has invested so much energy and resources into the Seoul Olympics and the World Cup, yet such earth-shattering events failed to bring about the desired effects in Japan; yet through Yong Joon, the effects were achieved.

Yong Joon’s presence in Japan is very real and very significant, to the extent of being used as a political mean (Chuckles, refer to the Prime Minister’s speech). During the period when David Beckham was oh-so-hot, the other players from Italy and Turkey were also quite popular, although Beckham still reigned. The Korean Wave rocking through Japan now is somewhat different from the Korean Wave in other Asian countries now; at the present moment, it is still a Yong Yoon craze. I would suppose in the later half of the year, Lee Byung Hun (now referred to as Byonhoni in Japan) will join the ranks.

In my view, the people working the Korean entertainment circuit do not fully comprehend this.

Moving on to another topic, I’m now working on a project to push for Yong Joon to visit Japan, this is purely on a volunteer basis. As a volunteer, I’m now the overall-in-charge for the project to bring Yon-sama to visit Kyoto. I would like to appeal to all the Korean family to support us in this cause.


Yon-sama分析系列33 （致Jandolbat-sama）

投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/07 09:20:25　

大家早上好！

Jandolbat-sama（by77, 我在官网上看到韩文翻译的署名是youngsun啊），您把我的杂文用韩国语翻译整理出来，在此谨表达我的谢意。本来我应该在韩国公式网上直接问候大家的，但是因为我是老式的人不会打韩国文字，在工作上需要电脑输入韩国文字的时候，也从来都是交给年轻的职员们来做，我自己一次也没有打过韩国文字，所以一点儿自信也没有。借这个机会，请让我在这儿和大家致意。Jandolbat-sama，如果可能的话请先翻译31-33这部分。

今天我去韩国的公式网看了一下，发现好多认为勇俊应该访问日本的意见。我也是赞成这种意见的。从日韩关系考虑，勇俊的影响是非常巨大的。88年的汉城奥运会，使日本国内看待韩国的目光稍稍发生了变化。在那之前日本是没有辣白菜的（除了一部分Korean town之外），奥林匹克以后辣白菜才在日本成为固定商品。2002年的世界杯，曾期待日本国内会出现韩国热之类的东西，但小规模的热潮也只持续了4个月就结束了。（笑）我专门从事日韩关系的工作有25年，所以很了解这方面的事情。

《Swuri》和《我的野蛮女友》曾在日本打响，但是知道韩石圭，全智贤名字的日本人也只限于少数影迷之间。日本的年轻人不会认识全智贤是谁，但是说《我的野蛮女友》里出来的人，就会“哦。。那个人啊”地想起来。《实尾岛》，《太极旗飘扬》也并没有获得预期的成果。Kan jyekyu导演曾宣称要在日本动员1000万以上的观众，打破在韩国创下的纪录，但是我想是达不到的。虽然这两部作品都是在相当好的条件下登场，上映的电影院数目非常之多，宣传也耗资巨大。而结果却普普通通，不红不紫，相关人士也许要有些失望吧。

韩国的电影，电视剧相关人士的一个不大了解的部分是，现在日本的韩流热潮实际上是Yon-sama热潮，勇俊没有参与的电影在日本是不可能动员1000万以上的观众来观看的。日本和韩国是这么近邻的国家，但相互之间的误解其实很多。打个比方说，韩国的媒体好像认为李英爱在日本拥有相当的人气，所以也经常这样报道。但是李英爱在日本却没有多少人知道。经常看这里论坛的人大多是韩国通，所以知道李英爱，但是对于普通的日本人来说，李英爱是完全陌生的名字。除了勇俊，其次在日本有名的韩国演员，我想是朴勇河和崔智友。（这里我写了对李英爱fans很失礼的话。我也很喜欢英爱san，但是英爱san，应该更好地爱惜自己的身体啊（？）。在日本的人气调查，喜欢的亚洲女演员篇里，智友是一枝独秀，其后是香港的演员，全智贤列第8位？正确的记不大清了。英爱san是之后的第13位左右吧我想。这是2个月之前的调查，现在再进行同样的调查的话，孙艺珍（夏日香气）的排名会稍稍上升吧。

日本人对于韩国男性（勇俊）如此热衷，应该是历史上头一回。日本人对于韩国的文化表现出如此的关心，也是自古代和朝鲜通信以来的第3回。Yon-sama效果成为超过了汉城奥运会，世界杯的历史性的东西。韩国的朋友们，请想一想韩国对于汉城奥运会和世界杯投入了多么巨大的努力，然而在日本这些历史性的大事件没有达到的效果，通过勇俊现在正得以实现。

勇俊在日本的存在感实在巨大，甚至被用于政治性的目的（笑，总理的发言）。贝克翰姆热的时候，除了贝克翰姆，意大利的选手，土耳其的伊尔汉选手等也都很有人气，但是到底还是贝克翰姆热。现在的日本的韩流热和其他的亚洲国家还有些区别，现在的阶段，本质上就是勇俊热。我想今年的后半段，李秉宪（在日本称作Byonhoni）热会加入进来。

我觉得韩国的业内人士对于这一部分还理解得不够。

变一下话题，我最近正在做推进勇俊来日访问的工作，是作为志愿者义务参加的。让Yon-sama来九州 的计划，我作为志愿者是这个计划的总负责人。请韩国的家族们支援啊。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com 07.08.2004
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.joonsfamily.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 34

Good morning, everyone! Thanks for reading my random posting.

These days, I keep having a feeling that something’s strange is brewing amongst the Japanese and the Korean media. I can feel it in the air, that they’re getting ready to “attack” Yong Joon. As to why they could be doing something like that, I’ve given it some thought.

Due to the difficulty in getting close to Yong Joon, the press could be getting a little impatient and flustered. The media probably think that once Winter Sonata completes its run on TV in Japan this month, the Yon-sama craze will die down. At that time, if the media rush out reports or articles that lash out at Yong Joon, then between Yong Joon fans and those who do not support him, the papers and magazines will sell out, and by that time, the money will be in their pockets (Chuckles).

While Yong Joon is still so hot and popular now, bashing reports cannot be published, so let’s hold the bashing reports till after Winter Sonata… there should be a some journalists who hold this train of thought. And this would be common to both the Japanese and Korean journalists. Such journalists were not particularly interested in Yong Joon right from the beginning and are probably just thinking to capitalize on his popularity now to write a few articles, but… they have been unable to secure an interview appointment with the man, so what now? So… these journalists would become angry and upset. If these journalists have been following Yong Joon’s career or his entry into the Japanese market, then they would know Yong Joon’s style, that he belongs to the category of actors who are difficult to interview.

Yong Joon wants fans to look upon him as Bae Yong Joon the actor. That’s but of course (Chuckles). Reports on his mother or his family are things that Yong Joon does not fancy. Through Yong Joon, the people in the countries of Japan and Korea are attempting to get to know one another better. But… if our Korean friends happen to see the way the Japanese media are reporting, then they would be wondering if the Japanese media are willing to do anything for money. For this, I think the media needs to understand the significance and meaning of Yong Joon’s presence and the effects he has brought about; after all the media ought to be its own professional pride too.

On the other hand, there are also some positive signs… That is, I’ve got a feeling Yong Joon will be starting on his new work soon. The reason is this, Yong Joon’s manager has mentioned in an interview in Korea about how many script offers they have received and the contents of the scripts, etc. Based on Yong Joon and his managers’ usual style, they will not mention such things to the media unless they are planning a new work soon. One of the script offers being mentioned was a Japan-Korea collaboration of a TV drama which will star a young female superstar. Could it be Miho Nakayama who is very popular in Korea now? (Chuckles)

Once Winter Sonata has completed its run on TV, I believe that the Yon-sama fever will sustain. As for the Korean and some Japanese media who could be planning a Yon-sama-bashing binge after Winter Sonata, well, I can only deduce that they have read the situation wrongly. Currently, in Korea only the second-rated media (I’m referring to those sports papers that specialises in exposes and exaggerated reports) are planning a series of action to “attack” Yong Joon. Perhaps this is their way of getting back at Yong Joon for refusing their interviews.

I’ve discussed about this before, in Korea, there is this tendency of opposing those who are perceived to be strong or in power. April was the time that Yong Joon’s popularity in Japan hit the roof, and at that time, the response from Korea was: “Well, we understand that Jang Dong Fun is very famous in Vietnam, and Kwon Sang Woo is very well-liked in China, that is to say these actors enjoy the same degree of popularity, no?” But come the subsequent month of May, when news of Yong Joon still streamed in endlessly from Japan, the Koreans then realised that BYJ’s popularity in Japan was indeed something extraordinary.

However there still exists a minsunderstood concept within the Korean media and entertainment industry… That is, the Koreans are thinking now that Korean Wave has hit the Japan Isles, and the very first Korean actor to make it big is Bae Yong Joon, then, who will be next? They’re watching in anticipation… But this is all but an misunderstood idea. First of all, yes, with the Korean Wave, the leading actor will presumably change time and time again as one popular actor takes over another… This has been the case with all Asian countries with the exception of Japan. The situation in Japan is completely different. Japan started with Yon-sama craze, then the Korean Wave hit the Isles. Since the sequence of happening is different in Japan, the previous understanding which was based on a different sequence of events would also be wrong if applied to Japan.

In Japan, Yon-sama fans can be categorized into the following:

Those who particularly and only like Yong Joon, but they have very little interest in other Korean works or products that do not concern or involve Yong Joon.
Those who started off liking Yong Joon, then through or because of Yong Joon, start to fancy other Korean actors in addition to Yong Joon.
Those who already have a liking for Korea and amongst the various Korean actors, they like Yong Joon.

With the exception of Yong Joon, the other Korean actors have the support of fans mainly from categories 2 and 3 above. But sadly, with Japan’s 126 million population, there are not too many fans belonging to these two categories.

Within the so-called experts in Korea, there are many people who do not realize that within Yong Joon’s fans, most of them come from the first category. In Japan, Yong Joon can be considered as a premium brand that is immensely popular. In Korea, Yong Joon is also a fairly popular brand. But to say that Yon-sama is one of the Korean brands that are popular in Japan, it is probably more accurate and apt to say that it is because of the Yon-sama brand gaining popularity and recognition in Japan that it has brought about increased interest in Korea as a brand amongst the Japanese.

In my personal view, if the Yon-sama craze comes to an end, then it will also bring about a stop to the whole Korean fever. But… I believe that the Yon-sama fever will continue for quite man years; so the Korean fever will also sustain. In Japan, these is still no successor to Yong Joon.

Yon-sama分析系列34
投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/08 07:57:26　
大家，早上好！感谢大家常常阅读我的随笔。

最近，我感觉日本和韩国的媒体有种奇怪的气氛。好像他们正在进行要抨击勇俊的准备。其原因我考虑了一下。

因为接近勇俊的极度困难，已经有些不耐烦的媒体，认为这个月冬恋在日本放映结束后，勇俊热要稍微平静下来。那时如果登出抨击勇俊的记事，在勇俊的家族和反勇俊的人们之间就会大为热卖，那就可以赚上一笔了（笑）。

勇俊正热的时候抨击的文字不能写，那么冬恋结束以后就写他一笔，作这样想法的记者也许会有一些吧。这种情况日韩是共通的。这样的记者，尤其是一些至今为止对勇俊没有多大兴趣，本想利用这回的勇俊热写几篇出来，但是却采访不到勇俊，这成什么话？而愤愤不平的一些人。因为，如果是从前开始就了解勇俊风格的记者的话，就会知道勇俊本来就是这样类型（很难采访）的演员。

勇俊想让fans以演员裴勇俊来看待自己。那是当然（笑）。有关自己的母亲，家族的报道应该是勇俊最反感的。通过勇俊日韩两国的人们更加试图增进了解。但是，如果看到日本周刊杂志的报道的情形，我想韩国的朋友们会产生：日本的媒体为了钱什么都做的出？的疑问。因此我以为媒体有必要加深对勇俊的存在的认识，媒体应该有作为媒体的自尊（pride）。

但是，同时也有令人欢喜的动向。那就是我有种勇俊在近期就会开始某部作品的预感。理由是，勇俊的经纪人在韩国的采访中曾提到，作品的offer有多少，内容是如何，这样的话。从勇俊和他的经纪人的风格考虑，如果开始就没有出演打算的话，是不会对媒体说这样的话的。其中一个是说，日韩合作的电视剧里日本会有年轻的超级女星出演。该不会是在韩国很受欢迎的中山美穗吧？（笑）

冬恋的放映结束以后，我想勇俊热还是会继续的。对于要在冬恋结束的同时开始对勇俊的抨击的韩国及一部分日本媒体，我只能认为他们是解错了情况。现在，在韩国特别是以3流媒体（以爆内幕料为专门的sports newspaper）为中心有要开始抨击勇俊的行动。这也许是对勇俊的拒绝采访的一种报复吧。

以前也曾写过，在韩国针对于“强者”一定会有“反对势力”登场。4月时在传出勇俊在日本人气绝顶的时候，韩国的人们的反应是“听说张东健在越南著名，权相佑在中国受欢迎，就是说也是同样程度的人气是不是？”。但是，进入5月勇俊关联的消息仍然源源不断地从日本传进来，韩国人这才认识到“BYJ的人气在日本真是不一般啊”。

但是，包括韩国的媒体在内的相关人士们，存在着一个误解。那就是，在韩国通常认为，

在日本韩流热潮产生了，其间最初出名的是裴勇俊，那么，下一个是谁呢？观望中。。。

然而这是个误会。首先，有了韩流热，然后领头的韩国演员一个接一个换，这是日本以外的亚洲国家的情形。日本的情况完全不同。日本是有了Yon-sama热，然后才有了韩流热。顺序颠倒的理解是错误的。

日本的Yon-sama fans分为：
1．特别喜欢勇俊，但是对勇俊以外的韩国作品没有多大兴趣
2．因为特别喜欢勇俊，通过勇俊也喜欢上了勇俊之外的韩国演员
3．以前就喜欢韩国，在各式各样的韩国演员里，也喜欢勇俊

勇俊之外的韩国演员，是受到2，3号类型的fans的支持。遗憾的是，日本1亿2千万人口里，2，3号类型的fans的人数并不多。

韩国的专家里面，也有很多人没有认识到日本的勇俊fans里面1号类型的fans最多这样一个事实。勇俊在日本是受欢迎的高级品牌。韩国品牌虽然也受欢迎，但与其说韩国品牌中的Yon-sama品牌受到欢迎，还不如说是因为Yon-sama品牌的绝顶人气的影响，日本人也开始注目于韩国这个品牌。

我个人认为，勇俊热如果结束了的话，韩流热也会随之结束。但是，我认为勇俊热会持续数年，所以，韩国热也会持续下去。在日本接勇俊班的人还不存在。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com 09.08.2004
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.joonsfamily.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 35

Good morning, everyone!

I visited the Korean official site for a little while today, had a bit of a shock. Firstly, the posting from the previous day regarding Yong Joon’s use of the Japanese language had been deleted. When I saw the posting yesterday, there were ten replies, and they were friendly replies. Why, why was the posting deleted? Is it because the contents of the posting could potentially be something to “attack” Yong Joon with?

Another thing that took me by surprise was that the Japanese fans’ posting on this talkboard yesterday (its contents was about how Yong Joon should work with an agency with substantial strength and clout in Japan) was translated into Korean verbatim on the Korean official board. I feel that it’s a good thing that the Korean official board and this forum have such exchanges and information flow.

In terms of news within Korea, the Korean official board has more of them; however this talk board has more of news and information within Japan. It’s really not a bad thing for these two sites to have exchanges and to pose queries directly; what are your thoughts on this? Besides, Yong Joon himself or his managers will read the postings directly on the Korean official board, so everyone will do well to post information about the happenings in Japan.

I seem to have spoken too much in the prelude… Today, I think let’s talk about Japan, the Japanese language and those significant Japanese sentences. The Japanese language seems to come quite easily for the Koreans (?); but if a Korean makes a statement about how easy Japanese is, then we can also deduce that this person’s grasp of the language is not good enough (Chuckles). Personally, I’ve been learning and practising the Japanese language for over thirty years, and I’ve resided in Japan for a collective fifteen years by now, yet even today I still face difficulty when using Japanese on a daily basis.

In normal instances, a typical Korean will be able to speak Japanese with relative fluency if he or she has lived in Japan for five years and above. One would also feel that one’s command of the language is acceptable by then, and will probably feel that Japanese is not that hard at all. But such thinking is not entirely accurate. The Japanese language is a language that is not easy to master, one cannot understand and appreciate this unless one has stayed in Japan for at least ten years. In Korea, I would be regarded as someone who can converse in Japanese just like the Japanese themselves; however Ido know that there are some differences in the way I pronounce certain words. The Japanese or Koreans who have mastered Japanese will be would be able to tell where I’ve spoken differently from the native Japanese; as for those who cannot tell the difference, it’s a tell-tale sign that their command of the language is not good enough. When I come across people whose Japanese is better than mine, I will say his Japanese is good; when I come across whose command of the language is poorer than mine, I will also tell him directly that his Japanese is not good enough. That is to say, I’ve never slighted Japanese as a language. The nuances and detail in certain sound emphasis and feel of certain words are not easy to master. If it’s purely to reach a state of being able to understand the meaning of the language, then Japanese is probably not difficult, but to go further into a deeper exchange, then Japanese is very difficult.

I’ve asked my good friends who are Japanese about what they think about Yun Son Ha’s Japanese. The answer that I’ve gotten is that her pronounciation is a little awkward and there is also the occasional wrong choice of words. Although this is perfectly natural, but to Yun Son Ha, she should know it herself that due to inaccurate diction or wrong use of certain words, she may cause some serious misunderstanding.

Yong Joon, being a top star within the ranks of the Japanese top stars, I think he does not have anyone close to him who is an expert in all things Japanese. This is something worth worrying about. In reality, there are not many Japanese experts in Korea. Those who do know something about Japan are probably in their seventies now. Because there’re many Japanese experts in Korea in that era, so there were no plans to further develop or groom talents who specialise in Japanese studies or research. But, today those Japanese experts are all in their old age and retired. In the 30s-40s age bracket, there really are very few people who are both fluent in the Japanese language as well as understand the Japanese culture and society. If Yong Joon is considering this issue, then I think it will be helpful to him to engage a Japanese within his Japanese family to work with him.

And we’re not talking about just the Japanese language, as a country, Japan is full of mysteries (Chuckles). Amongst the homeless in Japan, there exists a substantial group of people who would still segregate the combustible rubbish from the non-combustible. In Japan, the media will sometimes collaborate to “attack” a certain actor or actress. When they’re carrying out such a star-bashing, they will totally disregard the opposing voices and just unite in their bashing. (If this is inaccurate, please point out.)

Between the media in Japan and Korea, they will sometimes make use of each other as well. For instance, if a Korean journalist comes to Japan and start spreading the news of “A-san from Korea is now facing bad press due to a certain incident” amongst the Japanese media circle, the Japanese media will follow-up and publish such reports even though the source or the news may not be accurate. Subsequently, the Korean journalists will get wind of this news spreading in Japan, and they will then report it based on “sources from Japan”. Of course, the Koreans may not be completely convinced since the source of the news originate from Japan. But who has to bear the responsibility when such erroneous reports are proven wrong? No one will take responsibility. The Japanese will say they have been misled by the Koreans, and vice versa.


Yon-sama分析系列35
投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/09 08:21:37　

大家早上好!
今天我去韩国的公式网看了一下，有点儿吃了一惊。 首先，昨天有Fans提到的关于勇俊的日语用法的贴被删掉了。那个贴昨天我看到的时候，有10个人回贴，大家都是很善意的回贴。为什么会这样呢？因为那个内容会成为反勇俊一方攻击的对象吗？还有一件令我吃惊的是，昨天日本fans的贴（关于勇俊应该和日本有实力的经纪人事务所合作的内容）原封不动被翻成韩文贴在了公式网上。韩国公式网和这边论坛的交流和情报交换，我感觉是很高兴的事情。今后也希望这里和韩国公式网能够更好地交流。关于韩国国内的情报，韩国公式网的内容比较多，日本国内的情报这里绝对要多些。互相之间直接提问也是不错的，大家想法如何？还有，韩国的公式网勇俊的经纪人或者勇俊本人也会直接看到，这里的大家要能够更多地提供关于日本的情报才好。

前言有点儿说多了。今天，我想就日本，日本语，以及在日本打响的意义的话题说几句。日语对于韩国人来说好像很容易掌握（？）似的，但是如果有韩国人说日语不难这样的话，那么可以认为那个人的日语水平还不够高（笑）。我本人已经学习日语有30来年，在日本的驻留都加起来也有15年，但是到现在我仍然在使用日语的时候大费脑筋。

一般来说，韩国人在日本生活了5年以上的时间，都能够把日语说得比较顺溜。内心也会觉得自己日语可以了，觉得日语一点儿也不难。但是，这样的想法是有偏差的。日语是一种多么难于掌握的语言，不在日本呆上10年以上的时间是不会理解的。我在韩国被认为是“和日本人一样自由地使用日语”，但是我对于自己的日语发音和表达在什么地方有偏差，我自己是知道的。日本人或者日语非常好的韩国人，会听出我发音什么地方有点儿不对，听不出来的说明是日语不很好的人。我对于比自己日语好的人会说他“日语好”，比自己日语差的人也会直接告诉他“日语不够好”。就是说，我没有轻视过日语这一门语言。日语的重音和语感的细微之处是很不容易掌握的。如果仅仅是想达到明白意思的程度，日语也许不难，但是如果要更进一步交流的话，日语是很难的。

我曾经问过日本人的好朋友，觉得尹松河的日语水平如何？得到的回答是偶尔觉得她发音别扭，而且有表达不准确的地方。这虽然是很自然的事情，但是作为尹松河本人来讲，她应该知道由于她的某个错误的发音和表达，有可能引起非常严重的误会这样一个事实。

现在作为日本的TOP里面的TOP STAR的勇俊，我想他身边并没有一个真正精通日本的人。这是一个值得担心的地方。实际上，在韩国研究日本的专家是很少的。了解日本事情的人现在多在70岁以上。过去的韩国那一代人里面，因为日本通很多，所以没有继续培养研究日本的专家。但是，现在那一代人都已经成为高龄，退休了。30，40多岁的人里面，真正精通日语的真正的日本通没有几个。勇俊如果考虑到这个问题的话，在日本的家族里面起用日本人的工作人员我想会很有帮助。

不仅仅是日语，日本这个国家也是有一个有很多谜的国家（笑）。日本的无家可归的流浪汉里面，认认真真地把垃圾分成可燃和不可燃分开扔的人也大有人在。日本的媒体经常会有联手抨击某个艺人（追捕妖女）的事情。即批判某个人的时候，完全无视反对意见，大家联合起来一齐对其发起攻击。（如果有错，请纠正。）

日韩两国的媒体之间，有时候也会互相利用。比如说，韩国的记者到日本来，将“韩国的A-san因为某件事情正受到恶评”的消息在日本媒体里散布。即使情报并不属实，日本的媒体也会将其作为韩国传来的情报加以报道。随后，韩国的记者看到在日本流行的这个消息，又会作为“日本的记事”再报出来。韩国人虽然也会由于是日本的情报并不完全相信。这样的错误报道被揭穿的时候，谁来承担责任呢？谁也不会负责。日本方面会说是韩国的误报，韩国方面会说是日本的误报。

（by77，这一部分后来fumi发贴说因为跟勇俊的话没有直接关系，不必要翻译。但是为了完整性，我还是翻了过来。想到勇俊有可能出演韩国以外的作品，对于使用外语表演的难度，我们也可以有一个认识。）

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com 09.08.2004
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.joonsfamily.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 36

Good morning, everyone!

Amidst the news reports in Japan and Korea, there are many that are not thoroughly researched or verified. Many articles or reports are not unlike the postings that we see in forums or talkboards such as this. However, the media’s influence and effects are substantial and far-reaching, so there are many distorted reports or half-truths.

For instance, there was such a report in Korea, “The Movie ‘The Untold Scandal’ was a disappointment to the Japanese fans. The Yon-sama fever is now dying now. Park Yong Ha is more popular than Yong Joon in Japan. Come autumn after the broadcast of Dae Jang Geum [大长今], there will be a Ji Jin Hee craze in Japan. The relevant parties are now working in preparation for this…” This is a summary of various reports in Korea.

Fans in the Japanese family will probably burst out in laughter upon reading such reports. Because the reports cannot possibly be further from the truth. Although Park Yong Ha is quite popular in Japan (probably thanks for Yong Joon), his popularity is by no means anywhere near Yong Joon’s level of popularity. I’ve caught Park Yong Ha on TV performing at some United Commercial Building. Had it been Yong Joon holding an autograph session in any commercial building in Tokyo, had such news been released, all the areas surrounding that building will probably go into paralysis. The human traffic will be so huge that there will possibly be injuries. This is not an exaggeration. The family here in Japan are smiling to themselves as they read (Chuckles).

I, too, like Ji Jin Hee, but we have to monitor the situation a while longer before it becomes clear if he will make a name for himself in Japan. As for the Korean reports on how the Yon-sama fever will turn into Ji Jin Hee craze, we can only laugh it off. For the moment, the Japanese family reading this very posting now probably have absolutely no idea who Ji Jin Hee is. It is not an easy task to make it big in Japan. Due to the recent Yong Yoon phenomenon, perhaps the Koreans have been overly optimistic in their speculation and thinking.

You will know what I mean just by looking at the examples of Jang Dong Gun and Jeon Ji Hyeon. Dong Gun’s works such as Friends, Brotherhood [Taegukgi] and others have been officially released in Japan, but he is still at a stage whereby his name may be known to some but has yet to attain widespread popularity. As for Ji Hyeon, although her works are popular in Japan, not many Japanese know her name.

The fees Yong Joon commands for commercials and product endorsements are higher than the top most entertainers in Japan by 50%. This is really the top in Japan. If Yong Joon were to visit Japan now, no matter where, I believe there will be about 10,000 people meeting him at the airport. The previous record of 5,000 people will be easily broken. This is quite an admirable and remarkable feat, and such unprecedented craze is unlikely to be repeated on another Korean actor or actress. I think the industry people in Korea have to understand this with more clarity.

Beautiful Days starring Lee Byung Hun is quite popular in Japan. Besides, his new work will be released in Japan soon, and his new movie also stars Choi Jiwoo who is very popular in Japan. So, I think for the later part of this year, Lee Byung Hun will enjoy immense popularity in Japan. Of course, the possibility is nil for any Korean actor to parallel what Yong Joon has attained. I wonder what are the Korean family thinking.

Yong Joon is often described as “an actor who is not popular in Korea”; sadly, the Koreans are the very ones saying such things (Chuckles). What would these people say when they hear news about Lee Byung Hun being popular in Japan, I wonder…

Yon-sama分析系列36
投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/09 10:30:29　

大家早上好！
日本和韩国的娱乐新闻里面，随便报的消息很多。类似论坛里发贴水平的记事相当不少。但是，由于媒体的影响巨大，导致歪曲事实的事例也很多。

比如说，在韩国，有这样的报道“电影《丑闻》令日本的勇俊迷们大为失望。勇俊热现在趋于平静。朴龙河要比勇俊在日本更受欢迎。秋天，《大长今》播放之后，日本会出现Ji jinhi热。现在相关人士正在积极准备中。”。。。这是集合了韩国媒体多篇报道的内容。

日本家族的朋友看到这样的报道，会大笑起来吧。因为和实情相差太多。朴龙河在日本虽然很受欢迎（在勇俊之下吧），但是和勇俊的人气是无法相比的。我曾在电视上看到朴龙河在日本的好像综合商厦的地方唱歌表演的情形。这要是换了勇俊在东京的某商厦举行签名会，如果消息传出去，那个商厦周围马上就会交通瘫痪，人潮汹涌甚至会出现受伤的人吧。这是一点儿不带夸张的说法。这里的日本的家族都看着呢（笑）。

Ji jinhi我也很喜欢，但是他在日本会不会打响还要看情形再说。对于“勇俊热要转为Ji jinhi热”的韩国报道，我们只能以笑报之。比方说现在，读到这里的日本家族的朋友们可能还不知道Ji jinhi是谁呢。在日本打响，不是一件简单的事情。由于勇俊热的影响，韩国的有关人士也许过分乐观了。

看看张东健，全智贤的例子就会明白，东健的《朋友》，《太阳旗飘扬》等作品接连在日本公开放映，但是他在日本仍然是半红不紫的状态；智贤的作品虽然在日本很受欢迎，但是仍然没有几个日本人知道她的名字。

勇俊的广告出演费是比日本的顶尖艺人还多出50%的水平。是日本的TOP。现在勇俊访日的话，无论在哪儿，我想都会有一万人左右聚集机场，此前5000人接机的纪录要被轻易打破吧。这是相当了不起的事情，并且，如此空前的热潮今后对于其他的韩国演员也不大有可能发生，这样一个事实我认为韩国的相关人士是必须要正确理解的。

李秉宪的出演作品《美丽的日子》在日本相当有人气。加上他的最新作品也即将在日本公开，里面有在日本很受欢迎的崔智友出演，所以今年的后半，在日本受欢迎的我想是李秉宪。当然，能够和勇俊相比的韩国演员是不存在的。韩国家族的朋友是怎样想的呢？

勇俊经常被说成是“在韩国没有人气的演员”，说这样话的人，很遗憾都是韩国人（笑）。如果听到李秉宪在日本受欢迎的时候，那些人又会说什么呢？

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com 09.08.2004
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.joonsfamily.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 37

Hello everyone!

Today, friends from the Japanese family can watch Yong Joon’s past works in one sitting. As compared to how the Korean family had to wait for his new work, whilst they watch and re-watch “Have We Really Loved” (HWRL], the Japanese family are in a much more enviable situation.

Talking about the web pages on this website that relate to Yong Joon, we’ve the BYJ forum, the WLS form, the HWRL forum, the First Love forum and the Hotelier forum. Other than the BYJ-related forum topics, others include forum topics on Kim Rae Won, Jand Dong Gun, Ryu Shi Won, Lee Byung Hun, Choi Jiwoo, Won Bon, Park Yong Ha, etc etc etc. As more and more Korean actors become popular in Japan, the number of forum topics will also increase. The Koreans may find this list a little surprising. For instance, they may be wondering why not Kwon Sang Woo? Or maybe they would be wondering why so-and-so is popular in Japan…

In my mind, the factors for becoming popular in Japan would include the quality of the work/s, the exchange with the fans, as well as the actor’s or actress’ attitude. Other than Yong Joon, if we look at the list of Korean stars who are popular in Japan, it will have to be the cast of “Beautiful Days” and WLS who lead the pack. In particular, Ryu Shi Won has gained good reviews and feedback in Japan thanks to his friendly manner during his exchanges with the fans, his decent personality and of course, he does have his own fan base. The Japanese are familiar with Jang Dong Gun and Won Bin as they have acted in many productions of various genres. Actually, I think it is rather unthinkable that Jang Dong Gun is not more popular than he is now in Japan. Dong Gun has a southern face, could it be that such looks are quite common in Japan so much so that there is no newness? The reasons are not immediately clear.

Each of the forum topic here on this website has its own characteristics. For instance, even HRWL and Hotelier topics have distinctly different “personalities”. The BYJ forum consists of Yong Joon’s core fans, even those who do not post or reply to postings will come here to check his latest news. Typically, the Japanese family will visit the BYJ board first, before proceeding to their respective favourite forum based on which of his works they prefer. They would then read others’ postings and reply to the postings. I often post at the forum pages of WLS and HWRL too, but because I’m busy with this Analyzing Yong-sama series now, so I can often be found here these days. (Chuckles).

In my view, amongst Yong Joon’s works, HWRL and First Love are productions that are more representative of Korea’s TV drama as well as the Korean culture and society. The Japanes family will scrutinise the slightest detail when watching the dramas. For instance, what type of fish did MinHyung buy in WLS and there was the toilet in Jaeho’s house in HWRL? The Japanese fans will pay very close attention to such details. If Korean dramas will take reference from the Japanese fans’ postings on such questions and further improve on such details, then I think they will be able to produce even better works.

Because of the Yong Joon fever, the cast who had worked with him have also become quite famous in Japan. Let’s look at Park Sang Min from HWRL. Before, the movie “The General’s Son” in which he was the male lead, was not at all known in Japan; but now because of his appearance in HWRL, this movie has started to gain some awareness and popularity amongst Yong Joon fans in Japan. Kin Hye Soo was also practically unknown in Japan, but she is gaining recognition in Japan because of HWRL. In fact, her new work will be screened in Japan very soon, I would suppose this is the effect from HWRL.

As for me, I became a Yong Joon fan after WLS. Prior to that, strangely enough, for someone who does not usually watch lovey-dovey TV dramas, I had watched Hoterlier, WHRL, and First Love. Other than WLS, the drama that left me with the deepest impression has to be HWRL. Of course, I do remember Hotelier and First Love. But because I was not as besotted with Yong Joon then, so these works merely remained in my memory subconsciously. But after I became a Yong Joon fan, I cannot even recall how I used to perceive Yong Joon as a non-fan. Of course, for Yong Joon the actor, I knew about him from the time of his debut. But it’s because of his excellent performance in WLS that I turned into a fan. And subsequently, the Yong Joon fever raged across Japan; and when I saw the numerous negative reports that originated from Korea, I then started to speak up in this forum.


Yon-sama分析系列37
投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/09 14:55:01　

大家好。
今天，日本家族的朋友们可以把勇俊过去的作品一口气欣赏完。 和韩国的家族们一边等待下一部作品，一边将看过好几遍的《群像》又在看的状态相比，还是比较幸福的。

这边的网站，和勇俊相关的论坛，有裴勇俊论坛，冬恋论坛，群像和初恋论坛，Hotelier论坛。裴勇俊论坛之外，其他的还有金来元论坛，张东健论坛，柳时元论坛，李秉宪论坛，崔智友论坛，元彬论坛，朴龙河论坛等。随着在日本受欢迎的韩国演员的增加，论坛数也在增加。韩国的大家对于这样的名单也许有点儿意外吧？比如会想，为什么没有权想佑？；或者会想，这个人竟然在日本有名？

在日本受欢迎的重要因素我想包括，作品的质量，和fans的交流以及作为演员的态度。从勇俊之外在日本受欢迎的韩流明星们的名单来看，首先是《冬恋》和《美丽的日子》的出演者占多数。其中，柳时元又以和fans交流的亲切态度和性格好而在日本受到好评，并且拥有不少固定的fans。张东健和元彬是因为出演了各式各样的作品而被日本人所熟悉。张东健在日本没有更加出名，在我看来是有些不可思议的事情。东健是南方系的面孔，是不是因为这样的面孔在日本不少见的缘故，没有新鲜感呢？原因不大清楚。
　这边网站的论坛都各具特色，比如说，群像和Hotelier两个论坛之间互相都感觉个性鲜明。BYJ论坛里聚集了勇俊的中心fans，不上贴的人也会在这里查看关于勇俊的消息。日本的勇俊家族经常会先看一看BYJ论坛，然后再去自己喜欢的勇俊作品的论坛，看别人的发言，自己也上贴。我经常是在冬恋和群像论坛上贴，最近因为忙于Yon-sama分析（笑）就常在这里了。

我认为勇俊的作品里面，群像和初恋是比较具有韩剧特点和韩国特色的作品。日本的家族欣赏作品的时候会从非常细微的情节来看。比方说，冬恋里民亨买的是什么鱼？群像里面在豪家的厕所在哪里？类似这样的细节日本的fans都很认真地在看。韩剧如果参考日本家族的质疑部分加以改善的话，我想能作出更好的作品出来。

由于勇俊热的影响，勇俊的合演者在日本也变得有名。比如，群像里的Park sanmin，他主演的《将军的儿子》在日本还不被人知，因为出演了群像最近在日本的勇俊迷里传播开了。金惠秀在日本也是近乎无人知晓，因为群像而开始被人了解。近期就要在日本公开上映她的新作，应该也是受了群像的影响。

我自己是从冬恋以后成为勇俊迷的，那之前，本来不怎么看恋爱电视剧的我，不知道为什么竟然例外地把Hotelier，群像，初恋全部都看过，我除了冬恋以外印象最深的是群像。当然Hotelier和初恋也都记得。虽然当时的我并不是特别迷勇俊，但是这些勇俊的作品都留在了我的记忆里。成了勇俊的Fans之后，Fans之前的我是如何看待勇俊的，现在竟然怎么也想不起来。当然，勇俊作为演员，从他刚Debut的时候起我就知道，是因为他在冬恋里的演技实在出色使我成了他的Fans。那之后，日本也开始了勇俊热，看到当时好多从韩国发端的关于勇俊的恶意传闻传到日本来，我才开始了在论坛上发贴。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com 10.08.2004
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.joonsfamily.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 38 (The First Match)

Good morning everyone!

Today I’d like to organise a competition amongst Alain Delon, David Beckham and Yong Joon. The current Yong Joon fever brings to mind the Alain Delon craze back in the 1970s. The craze was in both Japan and Korea. I also like Alain Delon. I look exactly like him (??). In the name of fairness, let’s “fix” Delon’s age at 40 years old, he was at his best at that time [that’s what I think anyway].

Who’s the Coolest Guy on the Ski Slopes?

Delon would be eliminated straightaway; his image as a mafia is too strong and this somehow contradicts the ambience at a ski resort. Beckham would be a strong contender; but Yong Joon is great with ski boards and his image as MinHyung is really too deeply etched in people’s minds, as such there’s absolutely no one to rival Yong Joon once it comes to a snowing ski slope. So… the winner is Yon-sama!

Who’s the Handsomest Guy in Bathing Trucks by the Seaside?

Once again, Delon would be eliminated immediately. During Delon’s time, actors only relied on looks and not their physique to attract fans, so Delon is better off keeping his clothes fully on. Here again, Beckham is a keen competitor. Will Yong Joon win this match? Just as I’m thinking about this, I look more closely and hey, isn’t that Beckham’s wife standing right next to him? Minus points! So… the winner is Yon-sama!

Who’s the Most Attractive in Suits?

Finally Delon gets his chance to remain in the race. In the movie Borsalino, he was extremely goodlooking in suits. At this point Yong Joon appeared on the scene in a suit; he was the epitome of a successful man in his black suit with red tie. Beckham gave up. It’s still Delon who’s more attractive. Just as this thought flashes through my mind, Yong Joon puts on his glasses. Various women in the audience faint at the sight on Yong Joon in glasses… Yong Joon wins this round! Delon objects loudly, claiming that it’s against the rules to wear glasses. But Fumi the judge sill raises Yong Joon’s hand, proclaiming him to be the winner.

Who Can Eat the Most?

This is a meat-eating contest, and Beckham is very keen to win this round and he wears a confident look on his face. But the seeded player is actually Yong Joon. When it comes to beef, a single Korean can wolf down what will normally take 10 men to finish. Besides, in WLS MinHyung bought so much food and he said, “Even if no one comes, I will finish eating everything. Yes, everything.” MinHyung would not tell a lie. After three short ribs, Beckham could not eat anymore. Yon-sama won this round easily.

The Karaoke Contest

All three of them do not look like they can sing. Yong Joon’s singing? I’ve never heard. Neither have I heard Delon or Beckham sing.

Delon chooses a beautiful French song; what was he singing? I’ve no idea. But watching Delon moved to tears as he sings… mmm… the feel is not bad. Potential winner here.

Beckham chooses a rock song with a strong beat. But he’s not very into the song, so out he goes. Victoria who is standing beside him is jumping and dancing around even more animatedly than Beckham, minus points again!

Yong Joon is someone who always comes prepared, so he has practiced and prepared for the singing. He chooses a slow number that was popular in Korea about 10 years ago. But still… Delon’s tears seem to have an upper hand. Yong Joon senses that he is about to lose this round, decides to give up trying and starts to smile. His smile is like a child’s. And because of that beautiful smile, the entire audience gasp and screams in delight and the commotion is so great that no one can hear Yong Joon sing anymore. As more and more people faint, the police are summoned. The police pleads, “Yon-sama, please, please stop singing, or people will die!”

The singing contest thus comes to a stop, and Fumi the judge announces Yon-sama as the winner. Once again, Delon makes his protest, but Fumi the judge does not understand a single word of French! He consoles Delon in Korean, telling him it’s ok, it’s ok.

Who has the Best Voice?

Beckham loses straightaway. Mrs Beckham protests, but after Fumi discusses with the other two judges, they still come to the conclusion that Beckham does not even qualify to enter the contest. Ah, Delon is downing raw eggs and he looks set to win this round. With his fluent and mesmerising French, he wins much applause. Then it’s Yong Joon’s turn, he only says, “Yu-jin-a”… Aiya! Everyone present starts to cry. As the tears flow freely, the audience cannot even clap as they try hard to hold back their tears.

The bell rings and the match comes to an end. The three judges verdict: 3 vs 0, Yon-sama wins!

Well, we can’t let Yong Joon win everything, can we? Let’s give the other two contestants something to bring home too.

Whose soccer is the best? - Beckham
Whose French is the best? - Delon
Whose can drink the best? Both Beckham and Delon tie at first place


Yon-sama分析系列38 （对抗赛1）
投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/10 08:32:54　

大家早上好！
今天我想搞一个阿兰德龙（简称德龙），贝克翰姆（简称小贝），勇俊（Yon-sama）3个人的对抗比赛。现在的勇俊热，能让我回想起来的就是70年代的阿兰德龙热。日本当然也有过，韩国也是。我也非常喜欢阿兰德龙来着。德龙的脸跟我长得是一模一样啊（？？？？）。为了公平起见，德龙的年纪定位于40岁，那个时候的德龙最酷（依我的判断）。

滑雪场上最帅的是谁？
德龙，一下子就落选了，黑老大的形象过于强烈，和滑雪场的气氛是水火不容。小贝是个强大对手。但是，擅长滑雪板，民亨形象深入人心的勇俊，在下雪的滑雪场是无人能敌的，Yon-sama得胜！

海边的泳装形象最帅的是谁？
德龙一下子又没戏。德龙时代的演员，不是靠体格而是靠脸蛋来决胜负的，德龙还是不脱比较好。这里小贝依然是强敌。勇俊能取胜吗？正这么想着，仔细一看，小贝旁边不是他老婆嘛，扣分。结果，Yon-sama胜出！

穿西装最养眼的是谁？
德龙的机会总算来了。电影Borsalino里面他穿西装的样子，真是帅极了。这时候勇俊身着西装登场了，成功男人的固定装束，黑西装配红领带。小贝弃权了。还是德龙帅啊，正这么想的瞬间，勇俊戴上了眼镜。会场上当时几名女观众晕了过去。。。Yon-sama得胜！德龙大声抗议，戴眼镜是犯规行为，fumi裁判员还是高高举起了Yon-sama的手。

食量大赛
吃肉的食量大赛。小贝总算想要争一争，一付胜券在握的样子。但是，种子选手是勇俊。韩国人吃牛肉一下子能吃10人份。并且，民亨，在冬恋里一下子买了那么多吃的东西，还说“谁也不来的话，我全都吃掉。真的是全部啊”。民亨是不会说谎的。3大块牛排以后小贝也吃不动了，Yon-sama轻松获胜！

卡拉OK大赛
3个人好像都不怎么会唱歌。勇俊的歌声，从来就没听过。德龙和小贝也是。
德龙，以一只意境非常好的法国小曲参赛，唱的什么，听不懂，但是看见德龙动情地流出了眼泪。。。感觉很不错啊。优胜候补。
小贝以节奏强劲的摇滚参赛。但，不是很投入，落选。旁边的维多利亚一边加油一边跳得比小贝还欢，再减几分。
做什么都准备彻底的勇俊，练歌也下了番功夫。选曲是大概10年前，韩国流行的抒情慢歌。但是，好像要输给德龙的眼泪啊。知道自己要输的勇俊，放弃了争夺胜负，像孩子一样地笑了。为了那张笑脸，全会场禁不住叫了出来，歌也听不见了。晕倒者N人，警察也来了。警察：“Yon-sama,求求你了，别唱下去了。要出人命了!”比赛中止，fumi裁判宣布Yon-sama获胜。德龙又在抗议，但是fumi裁判，根本听不懂法国话！用韩国话安慰德龙，ken tsan nyo, ken tsan nyo (差不多，差不多)。

声音最好听的是谁？
小贝立刻落选。小贝夫人在抗议，但是fumi裁判和马副裁，吴副裁协议了一下，还是判小贝没有出场资格。啊，德龙正在喝生鸡蛋，非胜不可的架势。他用那流畅的迷人的法语，赢得了全场的热烈鼓掌。勇俊登场了，只说了一句：“惟真啊（yujin na---）”，啊呀，全会场的人都哭起来了。泣不成声，拍手也不能够。

钟声响了，比赛结束。3个裁判的判定结果，3比0，Yon-sama的胜利！

也不能光让勇俊胜，也给另外2个人胜利的机会吧。
足球最棒的是谁？——小贝
法语最棒的是谁？——德龙
最能喝酒的是谁？——小贝和德龙并列冠军。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com 10.08.2004
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.joonsfamily.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 38 (The Second Match)

Okay, here’s the second match. There are four Yong Joons at the scene – MinHyung from WLS, Dong Hyuk from Hotelier, Jaeho from HWRL and Chan Woo from First Love. Which of them would the Korean actresses choose? [These are all based on my imagination…]

Choi Jiwoo [WLS]: I like men who are very capable and competent. Looks are not that important, but gosh, all of them are so handsome! Should I pick MinHyung or Dong Hyul? MinHyung gives people a feeling that he’s very gentle. Mmm… I still think Dong Hyuk’s the best.

Jeon Ji Hyeon [My Sassy Girlfriend]: I like dynamic men. All men should be dynamic and full of energy, shouldn’t they? Wow… Chan Woo, how dashing! He’ good at fighting too, and his build is just momjjang. Chan Woo, I’ve made my decision, it’s you!

Lee Young Ah [Dae Jang Geum]: The real me is quite different from the image that you see on TV, I’m actually very lively (This is true). In TV dramas and movies, I’ve never accepted any kissing scenes, this is also my manager’s idea. In reality I like men who are a little on the wild side. So… I’ll pick Chan Woo.

Kim Hye Soo [HWRL]: Mmm… If only he’s a little taller… As tall as Dong Gun would be nice. What? Dong Dun is actually not as tall as Yong Joon? Really? Dong Gun was only 179.5cm when he was in college? How did you know that? Childhood friends? Oh… So that’s the case. But maybe he’s grown taller after graduating from college? Maybe Fumi-san also over-declared his height too, no? Added an extra 2cm in your passport? But why? You’re not an actor. Mmm… If it’s me, I would think better to choose someone smart, so I’ll go for Dong Hyuk, I suppose.

Yun Son Ha [HWRL]: Boku… Ah, what? Manager-san? What? I can’t use boku? Oh no… (Trying hard to cover up her mistake but in vain.

[“Boku” is “I” in Japanese, but “boku” is mainly used by young men, whilst young girls are supposed to use “atashi”]

Well… I like men with gentle personalities. Ya ya… Oh… Everyone of them them is so goodlooking! I think gentle men are stil the best! MinHyung’s the best! Ya ya… [I’ve seen her in Japanese TV and her image of always going ‘ya ya…’ has really stuck to my mind. But she doesn’t behave like this in Korea.]

Song Hye-Kyo [An Autumn’s Tale]: I really like Byung Hun, so I think I’ll choose someone like him. Out of the four of them, who’s the closest to Byung Hun? Let’s hear what Fumi-san has to say about this.

Fumi-san: Hard to tell, nobody’s really like Byung Hun (Chuckles). Byung Hun is very manly and a little wild too, yet he’s not lacking in terms of sensitivity. Mmm… I suppose in terms of character, the closest should be Jaeho.

Song Yun-a [Hotelier]: I like interesting and humourous men, and of course they must be highly capable. Me? I look like I’m hiding my real age? Fumi-san, don’t talk ill about me (Chuckles). [In real life, Yon-a is actually a very nice girl with a good character. But somehow she looks older than her age.] Out of the four, who’s the most interesting? I think it’s MinHyung. I… I like MnHyung!

As for me, Fumi, I like Jaeho the most. MinHyung is a perfect specimen of what a man should be, and therefore he’s an object of jealousy (Chuckles).

Yon-sama分析系列38（对抗赛2）
投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/10 1134　
(略去回答提问的部分)

好，下面是对抗赛2。这里有4个勇俊出场。《冬恋》的民亨，《情定返亩停度合瘛返脑诤溃冻趿怠返牟佑睢：呐敲腔嵫≡衲囊桓瞿兀浚ㄈ鞠胂螅?p>崔智友：我喜欢工作能干的人。长相不是很重要，但是这几位都好帅啊！选民亨还是东贤呢？民亨是很温柔的感觉。嗯，我还是觉得东贤最棒！

全智贤：我喜欢有魄力的男人。男人就是要有魄力不是？哇。。。灿宇，好帅！打仗也厉害，身体也棒Momchan。灿宇，我决定就是你了!

李英爱（大长今）：我平时和电视上的形象可不一样，很活泼的（这是真的）电视剧，电影里我是绝对不拍接吻戏的，这也是经纪人的主意。实际上我喜欢的男人的类型是有点儿野性的。还是选灿宇吧！

金惠秀（群像）：嗯。。。我觉得个子稍微再高点儿就好了。。。像东健那么高，嗯？什么？东健其实没有勇俊高？是吗？东健高三的时候179.5cm来着？你怎么知道？小时候的朋友？哦。。。这样啊。但是，高中毕业以后可能长个子了呢？fumi-san也虚报身高了吗？护照上多写了2cm？为什么呢？又不是艺人。嗯。。这个啊，要是我，还是觉得脑袋聪明的好，选东贤吧？

尹松河（群像，炫秀）：僕（我，男性用语）啊，什么？manager-san？不能说僕? 呀——怎么办，呀-呀--（想这样呀呀地掩饰，结果失败）
我呢，喜欢性格温柔的人。呀-呀—怎么好？大家都那么帅！还是温柔的男人好呢，民亨最好！怎么办，呀-呀--（看尹松河在日本的综艺节目里，经常呀呀—的印象非常强烈。在韩国她可不是这个样子的）

宋惠乔（秋天的童话等）：我真的是很喜欢秉宪。所以还是想选像秉宪那样的人。4个人里面，最接近秉宪的是谁呢？听一下fumi-san的意见吧。
Fumi：不好说啊。谁也不像啊（笑）秉宪，很男人，有些野性，但又不乏纤细之处，嗯，从性格上讲是在豪吧。

宋允儿（情定）：我喜欢有趣的人，当然要能干的才好。我？看起来隐瞒了年龄？fumi-san,不要说我的坏话哦（笑）（允儿实际上是性格非常好的人。但是，怎么看着实际年龄要更大些）4个人里面，最有趣的是谁呢？还是民亨吧？我，最喜欢民亨！

我，fumi，最中意的是在豪。民亨作为完美的男人是我妒忌的对象（笑）。

Original posting in Japanese by: fumi / www.k-plaza.com 11.08.2004
Translated into Chinese by: truelove77 / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English by: happiebb / www.joonsfamily.com

Analyzing Yon-Sama - Part 39

Good morning everyone! I had initially planned to take a break today from the Analzying Yon-sama series, but somehow if I don’t write something, I can’t seem to get the day started. So let’s just pen a few lines (Chuckles).

Let’s try out the lines from WLS on those stars who have active forum boards here. Would like to see how they compare to Yong Joon. The lines are:

MinHyung: Why? Why do you keep thinking about a dead person? Why can’t you forget about someone who’s already dead? Why don’t you just forget him and let him go.

Yujin: Why? Why does this matter to you?

MinHyung: Because I love you.

That’s it, very simple lines [May differ from the original script].

Let’s start with Lee Byung Hun. The same lines as above, but I will add comments to demonstrate the acting skills.

Lee Byung Hun’s performance,
(He uses deadly piercing eyes that are a little scary and stares hard at Yujin’s face) Why? Why? Why do you keep thinking about a dead person? (Pauses slightly; then shifts his gaze away from Yujin’s face) Why can’t you forget about someone who’s already dead? Why don’t you just forget him and let him go.

Yujin: Why? Why does this matter to you?

MinHyung: (Shifts his eyes back onto Yujin’s face) Because I (Here, a very very very long pause as he ‘speaks’ to Yujin with his eyes) Because I love you (He says this very slowly, at a speed than much slower than the beginning of the sentence).

Ryu Shi Won to take on the role of MinHyung,
MinHyung: (With teary eyes) Why? Why? Why do you keep thinking about a dead person? (He says the first part very quickly in a single breath. His eyes rest on Yujin) (Then he paues and more tears fill his eyes) Please, Please forget him.

Yujin: Why? Why does this matter to you?

MinHyung: (Eyes unwavering, and he looks as if he is about to cry out loud) I… I… (he looks away from Yujin and pauses a long time before continuing) I can’t say, I can’t tell you. Please think about it yourself. (Then he calls out ‘Cut!’, Ryu Shi Won is really a good man!)

Jang Dong Gun as MinHyung,
MinHyung: (Although his eyes also rest pon Yujin’s eyes, but what’s different here is that he will be trying to confirm if the other party is staring at his handsome face intensely. He will only speak after he is certain that Yujin has taken a good look at him) Why? Why can’t you forget about someone who’s dead? Why? (Notice how the lines have been simplified.)

Yujin: Why? Why does this matter to you?

MinHyung: (Pauses. When playing out a scene with Dong Gun, the other party will usually become nervous due to Dong Gun’s intensity. Dong Gun verifies that that Yujin is indeed getting nervous and jittery. Then his eyes become even quite intimidating, even scary.) I love you. (He will say this slowly and meanwhile, his eyes becomes bigger and scarier.)

Park Yong Ha as MinHyung,

MinHyung: (He looks a little upset, but there is tenderness in his eyes) Why? Why do you keep thinking about a dead person? Please forget him. (The he becomes uncertain where to look and his eyes start to shift around trying to ascertain where the cameras are).

Yujin: Why? Why does this matter to you?

MinHyung: (His eyes flit from here, there, everywhere before resting on Yujin’s eyes. He looks like he’s angry) Because I love you so much! (Then he cries).

Kim Rae Won as MinHyung,
MinHyung: (With a smiling face, his eyes flit over Yujin’s face, not fixed at any part of her face in particular) Why you (He pauses for a long time) cannot forget someone who’s already dead? It’s better to forget him.

Yujin: Why? Why does this matter to you?

MinHyung: (Wears a refreshing smile on his face as his eyes continue to flit around) I do love you. Forget that person. (His tone is light and relaxed and he is still wearing a smiling face).

Won Bin as MinHyung,
There’s something unusual with Won Bin’s voice and the way he speaks. Particularly when it comes to important occasions, his voice will become hoarse and he will read out each and every word in the script clearly.

MinHyung: (His eyes look straight into Yujin’s. Although his gaze is resting upon Yujin’s eyes, but somehow it seems as if he has captured the entire Yujin in his eyes) W.. Why? A person who has passed away (He pauses), why can’t you forget about him? Please tell me!

Yujin: Why? Why does this matter to you?

MinHyung: B-e-c-a-u-s-e I l-o-v-e y-o-u. (word by word, character by character, he says each word. He speaks as though his is biting his teeth as he is talking)

Now, Yong Joon as MinHyung,
Amongst all of them, Yong Joon quite possibly is the one who speaks with the fastest speed. [In WLS] He did not pause in the lines. The feel is the words exploded out of him. He thought about it for a while, and then said the words out in a single breath. Whenever Yong Joon is something that is very serious, his eyes will not scare or intimidate people, it’s like something deep and mysterious, his eyes let you feel that there’s something deep and possibly emotional there. It’s something that’s hard to describe with mere words, and this is precisely what’s so special and unique about Yong Joon. When those eyes look at you and capture you, don’t exactly know why, but you will cry, you will smile, you will immerse yourself in sheer happiness, there’s no room left in your brain for logical thinking. Because he said it all in one breath, and he said it quickly. He said, love you, so… when you’re on the receiving end of this, your entire head will go blank and you are incapable of any thoughts no more. At this time, you cannot be holding anything in your hands, because they will surely fall out of your hands. Since this [the night of MinHyung’s confession], for one whole day, Yujin could not say anything, could not think anything, could not eat or drink anything, she was just like a mummy. So… if Yong Joon confesses his love for you, you have to be careful, because you can’t eat anything after that, and that’s bad for your health.

Yon-sama分析系列39
投稿者： ふみ　/　投稿日： 2004/08/11 08:28:53
　
大家早上好！今天本来要Yon-sama分析放假一天的，但是好像不写点儿什么就不想干活儿，那就再写几句吧。（笑）

《冬恋》里的台词让这边论坛活跃的韩流Star们轮流说一遍，和勇俊比一比试试。说的台词是，
民亨：为什么，你总是忘不掉已经死去的人呢？忘掉他吧。
惟真：为什么你那么在意这件事呢？
民亨：因为我爱你。
简单说就是这样内容的台词（和原作可能相当不一样）。

首先，让李秉宪表演一下。台词内容一样，用临时穿插的解说来表现演技。

李秉宪的表演：
（用有点儿可怕？的眼睛盯住惟真的脸）为什么你要想着死去的人？（稍微，停顿）（把目光从惟真的脸上移开）忘掉已经死去的人吧。
惟真：为什么你要在意这件事呢？
民亨：（目光转回，看着惟真的眼睛）因为我（长长的，长长的停顿，用眼睛说）因为我爱着你！（缓缓地，比前面的都要慢的语速）。

柳时元来扮演民亨，
民亨（含着泪的眼睛）为什么，为什么，为什么你忘不掉死去的人呢？（快速地，一口气说出来。视线对着惟真的眼睛）（停顿，眼中更加盈满泪水）请你，忘掉他吧！
惟真：为什么你要在意这件事呢？
民亨（视线不动，马上就要哭出来的眼睛和表情）我，我（移开视线，停顿好长时间）我无法说。请你自己想（叫停。柳时元实在是个好人啊。）

张东健演民亨，
民亨：（虽然视线是惟真的眼睛，但是和其他演员不同，是在确认对方是不是在认真看自己的英俊的脸。在确认惟真已经足够好好地看着自己了以后）为什么你忘不掉死去的人呢？为什么？（台词被简化）
惟真：为什么你要在乎这件事呢？
民亨：（停顿。和东健拍戏的时候，通常合演者会因为他英气逼人而紧张。东健确认惟真是有点儿紧张。紧张的惟真。目光Ö