Translated and posted on Quilt by cloud nine

Dear Quilt family,
Remember AERA magazine features Yon-sama time to time. Here's the latest one.
Hope you'll enjoy!
cloud nine
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Becoming 'a family' across the border

FANS GET EXCITED WITH HIS NEW DRAMA
Not just regular groupies, the fans of BYJ are family. Getting information, Japan-Korea exchanges, and workshops, through their network. By the time much anticipated drama started, their preparation was completely finished.

Click click. On a Saturday afternoon of the early April, the sound of heels clicked in the expensive residential area of Sirokane Takanawa. The place those madams were heading was a Korean restaurant Gosireh, whose adviser is a Korean popular actor BYJ.

In front of the entrance several tens of middle- aged women were waiting for the arrival of a certain person. There arrived a rather small, middle- aged woman with purple sunglasses. With each everyone shaking hands and hugging, Hee Jung-san, who came to Japan from Korea for the first time, smiled saying kampsa hamnida.

Having had managed her private fun site since before the drama WLS was aired, she is a big name of Korean fans circle. We have appreciated her skills of posting BYJ's photos and video clips since 4 years ago when there wasn't a single magazine for Korean entertainment. She is polite enough to leave her comments to Japanese fans. For us she seems to live in an another world.

Japanese fans, who have registered with her site, invited her to this thank- you party. A woman in her fifties who organized the party has known Hee Jung-san through her two visits to Soul. 'Though I don't understand much Korean but she has been very kind to me. We ate together and walked together arm in arm and we understood each other.'

JAPAN SURPASSES IN YON JOON ACTIVITIES
It's been 5 years since BYJ has captured Japanese fans with WLS in 2003. Except his appearance in 'April Snow' he has hardly appeared on TV and has
lowered his profile in media. While waiting for his next work, the exchanges not only among Japanese fans but between Japanese and Korean fans have become active and their ties became strong.

In recent years, however, the fact that Korean sides had been dispatching the information has changed. The Yon-katsu (the activites related to BYJ) by Japanese fans has been surpassing the one by Korean fans.

BYJ goods such as posters and stuffed toys have full of variety in Japan and those goods are reimported to Korea. In order to see BYJ, Japanese fans travel to the shooting sites in Korea and about this the Korean women in the same generation think 'Those Japanese women are enjoying freedom and luxury. We envy them.'

Actually the reason Hee Jung-san came to Japan on her 2 nights and 3 days tour was to get through Yong Joon exerience which is impossible in Korea.

Before Gosireh, she visited a movie theater in Shinjuku, Wald 9. Prior to the terrestrial broadcasting, two episodes of TWSSG, whose leading actor is BYJ, are being shown there every week. Hee Jung-san came to Japan to see the 17th episode. In Korea TWSSG had finished its broadcasting. Her dream to see BYJ on a big screen came true and she was delighted clapping hands. She was welcomed everywhere she went and received a lot of presents such as hand-made calendars and bags. After her return she wrote in her site, 'These things brought tears to my eyes.'

(to be continued)

Part 2

30,000 MESSAGES TO ONE EPISODE

The current number of fans who have registered with JOB (Japan official board) is over 100,000. There are numerous groups of Yon-tomo (Yong Joon fan friends) or fan circles across Japan. What is the most important is Yong Joon ssi calls his fans family, and our relationship is trustworthy whatever happens. 'Maybe because of this, we are not the rivals who used to be chasing him and once became the talk of the town, but I was able to make many friends with those whom I can trust.' says an office worker (45) who has been a fan for 5 years.

When TWSSG was aired in Korea last September, this woman had enjoyed the drams with a lot of fans on a live commentary on the netfor 4 months.
Even in Japan they were able to watch the drama every Wednesday and Thursday with free of charge on MBC's official site, but the image sometimes froze. Then in a fan circle site, there appeared a post. We will make a live commentary. Some translated the lines, some explained what was going on, and some commented. They all wrote freely while enjoying the drama.

It was so exciting that as much as 30,000 comments were left to one episode that lasted for one hour. This woman volunteered to novelize the story within a few days of the broadcast. As she had to listen to the lines again and again and sometime it took about 10 hours to work for one episode, but she managed to do all episodes. The stories are rather complicated and some fans could not understand with only the commentaries. Just like fans cheered for the world cup games at a sport bar, we only wished to support BYJ who came back to the drama after a long absence. I didn't want any fans to feel left behind. I managed to novelize all the stories having sleepless nights.

The broadcasting TWSSG has started from April 5 on NHK's general channel and it's a 24 episodes fantasy drama based on the mythology and the history. BYJ plays two roles of Damdock, a Kogryo's king, and Fanun, a son of god. He presents dance-like sword fighting scenes and also suffers from a sad love. 'The role that thoroughly shows the dignity of a king who considers his people first is no less a person than BYJ.' says 64 years woman, and she shares this view with a lot more fans.

10 % RISE IN SALE OF TEXTBOOK EXPECTED
BYJ himself said to the director. Please destroy my images showing his enthusiasm, so he ventured to dissipate. Before the drama started quite a few fans had visited the shooting sites and organized the events to study Korean history and culture in order to 갻prepare갽.

Noticing the popularity of the drama, NHK featured the lines from TWSSG in its program Hangul lesson on TV which has started from April. BYJ's drama will be a great motive for learnig. This is what NHK Publication thinks and expects the 10% rise in sale of textbook from last year.

Self-appointed google freak, a female university staff in her late 40s has realized that TWSSG brought more and more male, or young BYJ fans. Since its start on BS hi channel since last December she has enjoyed checking the posts on mixi (a social networking service).

Oh no! Yon-sama is really cool. Do I belong to those ajunmas?"
I wish there were a leader like BYJ in my office.
Finding such remarks by young people she feels like she has rejuvenated.