I suppose some of you already know I recently went on my fourth trip to Korea,
and for the past week, I had been trying to write about the trip.
Frankly, before the trip, I had told myself, no, no, no trip report this time around.
Unless… Unless I actually got to meet Yong Joon.
That was what I had told myself before leaving on the trip.
Ha, then as things would have it, I actually did get to meet Yong Joon this trip.
So… sighs…
And I know a few of our fellow fans out there are actually very keen to hear about this trip.
And some have emailed me, or left messages on Quilt to ask me about it.
I know, I know… And believe me, I do want to share.
But I’m not a professional writer, so I can’t just pick up the pen,
or in this case, switch on the computer and just start to write.
I need to be in the right mood in order to start writing.
And frankly, wasn’t in the right frame of mind to write at all for the past few days.
And suddenly, this afternoon, I actually feel like writing something.
And instead of starting with the trip report, I decided to pen my own Bae-journey.
Frankly, I know how long-winded I can be :oops:
have a sinking feeling this is gonna be another one of those oh-so-long passages.
If you ask me, I actually don’t really care if nobody reads this.
I just feel like penning down my thoughts as a Bae fan thus far.
This will be my present to myself.
One day, years later, when I pick up this passage and read it again,
I will probably smile at my own foolishness,
fancy chasing after a movie star at this age…
But I do want a keepsake of these foolish days,
these days of feeling like a young and excitable girl again.
I doubt very much that I will ever come across another entertainer
who will make me feel this way ever again.
Yong Joon is and will remain very special to me,
so I want to write down these thoughts before they all fade away one day.
So… if you’ve time, I invite you to come along with me on this very personal Bae journey.
But if you have not the time, then it’s okay too.
‘Cause like I said, this is more for myself…
Part 1 How It All Started [late 2002]:
What an ordinary looking man with such funny hair!
Part 2 My First Trip to Korea [Feb 2003]:
Breathing the same air as him! Missed Opportunity!
Part 3 My Second Trip to Korea [Oct 2003]
I Saw Him! I Saw Him! I Saw Him!
Part 4 How Translation Became a Part of My Life [Mar 2004]
Coming Out of the Closet… And Thank You, Joanne! Thank You, Quilt!
Part 5 Missing Him in Singapore;
Seeing Him in Hong Kong [Mar 2004]
Part 6 My Third Trip to Korea [Nov 2004]
I Saw Him Again! And Thank You, Lovely Korean Fans
Part 7 My Japan Trip [Dec 2004]
Suddenly I’ve Friends in Japan Too!
Part 8 My Fourth Trip to Korea [Feb 2005]
Finally, A Picture! And Samcheok Highlights….
Part 9 Some Thoughts
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
You can share the link to this posting though... :wink:
[b]01/05/2005
i had honestly thought that i wouldnt be going over to korea so soon, probably not until April Snow's due out in korea in september anyway,
but i went again..!
my fifth trip to korea happened becoz of the Super Live charity concert
which was held partly for charity and partly for the movie.
so off i went again, 19th-25th april 2005.
here're some related links of this trip:
A Picture Diary of My Korea Trip [19th - 25th April 2005]
http://happiebb.blogspot.com/2005/07/pictu...korea-trip.html
April Snow Concert: bb's ramblings
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.p...972807465608cf2
Full Version: My Very Personal Bae Journey
Part 1 How It All Started [late 2002]:
What an ordinary looking man with such funny hair!
Okay, first things first… My ID.
I understand some of you have problem pronouncing or remembering it.
Here’s how it goes.
It’s happiebb, pronounced hap-py-b-b…
Get it? It’s actually happie = happy, bb, well, bb is just bb.
So to make things easier, you may just call me bb.
Now I’m the sort of person who throws herself 100%,
no, make that 200% into work.
Yup, a workaholic, they say.
I was putting in twelve to fifteen hours’ work everyday for years…
So you can imagine, I hardly had much time to sleep, let alone play.
I hardly took holidays and when I did,
it was either stealing a short trip to Kuala Lumpur (love love love the food!)
or shopping in Hong Kong.
When I had more time, I loved to spend time in Melbourne
where I did my masters degree some four years back.
I was what people would possibly describe as fairly westernised.
Yup, grew up with American sitcoms, British pop music and basically Western movies.
Taiwanese sob TV stories didn’t and still don’t much for me,
and I think Hong Kong movies are generally slapstick,
although I do adore the brooding Tony Leung.
Tony Leung, one of my fave actors...
So… when the sunny island of Singapore was torched ablaze by Korean dramas
like Autumn in My Heart, I shrugged and said, “What’s so interesting about that?”
I had categorically lumped all K-dramas with the taiwanese sob stories.
Hit Drama: Autumn in My Heart
Then one Saturday night in the later part of 2002,
I came home after some drinks with friends and found my mother watching TV.
Yes, the TV was screening Winter Sonata.
Sorry, had I known that this certain Korean man called Bae Yong Joon
would subsequently become so important in my life
I would have made it a point to remember that date.
I don’t even know which episode it was then.
‘Cause I had gone to a pub earlier, my hair was stinking of cigarette smoke.
I decided to wash my hair that night.
So, while waiting for my hair to dry, what else could I do?
Yes, I watched TV.
I can still remember that particular episode was when Yujin got drunk in a bar
and MinHyung brought her back to his hotel.
I remember thinking to myself why on earth was this drama such a hit
when both the male and female leads were such ordinary looking.
And you all must agree with me that
that scene did not bring out the best of either one of them.
I mean, Yujin was dead drunk and uttering nonsense;
for heaven’s sake, she could not even remember where she lived!
And MinHyung, well, he was not exactly pleasing in that scene,
remember how he almost kissed her
and then said some sarcastic stuff to Yujin about wanting to seduce him?
So… altogether an ominous start to my Bae journey…
Winter Sonata aka Winter Love Story [WLS]
But despite this, I was actually intrigued by the story.
So the next Saturday I made it a point to come home earlier to catch the drama.
Still, there was no answer as to whether Jun-Sahng and MinHyung were the same person!
Now I’m not exactly a very patient soul, so the next day,
I rushed to a disc shop and bought myself a set of Winter Sonata.
Ha, I can still remember my set came with a bonus soundtrack!
[Err... I eventually got myself 2 VCD sets & a DVD set of WLS...
and... please don't ask me how many times I've watched WLS!]
And I guess you could say the rest is history…
Whoever bothers to read this story of mine must be a Bae fan herself or himself,
so you can totally understand how I was hooked onto this certain Korean man
once I started to watch Winter Sonata.
Soon enough, I was asking myself
why I didn’t fall for him straightaway that night when I was waiting for my hair to dry!
Really! I still can’t pinpoint exactly at which point
I fell head over heels for this Bae Yong Joon person.
Was it when he pushed Yujin’s head away on that bus on the first day of school?
Or was it when he teased her about not sleeping in school?
Or when he helped Yujin put on her shoes over the brick wall?
Or was it that enigmatic smile of his when Yujin was chiding him
over the PA system about not turning up for his shift?
Or maybe it was how his icy-cold demeanour started to crumble at Yujin’s warmth?
I’ve no idea. I only knew in an instant, I was a goner.
Jun-Sahng
Now you have to remember that he was not as popular then as he is now.
So there wasn’t too much news and information about him.
And… although I’ve always been using the internet, it was always for work.
And since it’s work, I never had to input any Chinese characters,
so it didn't even cross my mind I could actually do a search for his name in Chinese!
I found Quilt pretty early
and I suppose this is why Quilt will always have a special place in my heart.
I was so hungry for news and Quilt fuelled and fed my ferocious appetite
for more and more news about him.
I’m a Capricorn, I mean, I really am exactly how they describe a Capricorn to be.
Conservative, sensible, responsible and all that jazz….
So even in my younger days, I was never besotted with any movie stars.
When my best friends in school were raving on and on
about Tom Cruise and Norwegian boy group, AHA
(Ha, those who remember this one-album wonder would be able to guess how old I am…),
I was never moved.
So how could a mature young(?) lady who was supposedly going places in her career
be swept away by a man whose language I couldn’t and still can’t even understand???
Tom Cruise in Top Gun
AHA... Remember "Take On Me" and "The Sun Never Shines on TV"?
After Winter Sonata, I was hungry for more of Bae Yong Joon.
It was not easy to find his works then.
But I managed… I scoured all the VCD shops in town, and I shopped in Hong Kong.
So todate, other than Six Steps to Separation and Sunny Place of the Youth,
I own at least one set of everything he has acted in.
I was ridiculously hooked. And sad to say, appears that I'm still hooked.
Of course, like all of you, I started to like only Bae Yong Joon the actor in the beginning…
Then as I read more and more about him, impressions began to form in my head
about what sort of man he is.
And ha, the more one knows about him, the more one loves him! Agree?
So… that’s it… the Bae-addiction grew and never did cease.
From someone who had never really given much thought at all to Korea,
I started to be interested in the country.
And now, I love Korean food, I understand a little about their culture and history,
and I’m also beginning to take Korean lessons.
Why? So that I can understand the environment Yong Joon grew up in,
so that I know what foods he eats, etc etc etc…
I would really love it if I can understand every word that he says.
Or better yet, if only I can read and write in Korean
so that there’s a better chance of him reading my posting on the Official Board.
I guess none of this is new to fellow fans out there.
These are what we all dream about and hope for, right?
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
What an ordinary looking man with such funny hair!
Okay, first things first… My ID.
I understand some of you have problem pronouncing or remembering it.
Here’s how it goes.
It’s happiebb, pronounced hap-py-b-b…
Get it? It’s actually happie = happy, bb, well, bb is just bb.
So to make things easier, you may just call me bb.
Now I’m the sort of person who throws herself 100%,
no, make that 200% into work.
Yup, a workaholic, they say.
I was putting in twelve to fifteen hours’ work everyday for years…
So you can imagine, I hardly had much time to sleep, let alone play.
I hardly took holidays and when I did,
it was either stealing a short trip to Kuala Lumpur (love love love the food!)
or shopping in Hong Kong.
When I had more time, I loved to spend time in Melbourne
where I did my masters degree some four years back.
I was what people would possibly describe as fairly westernised.
Yup, grew up with American sitcoms, British pop music and basically Western movies.
Taiwanese sob TV stories didn’t and still don’t much for me,
and I think Hong Kong movies are generally slapstick,
although I do adore the brooding Tony Leung.
Tony Leung, one of my fave actors...
So… when the sunny island of Singapore was torched ablaze by Korean dramas
like Autumn in My Heart, I shrugged and said, “What’s so interesting about that?”
I had categorically lumped all K-dramas with the taiwanese sob stories.
Hit Drama: Autumn in My Heart
Then one Saturday night in the later part of 2002,
I came home after some drinks with friends and found my mother watching TV.
Yes, the TV was screening Winter Sonata.
Sorry, had I known that this certain Korean man called Bae Yong Joon
would subsequently become so important in my life
I would have made it a point to remember that date.
I don’t even know which episode it was then.
‘Cause I had gone to a pub earlier, my hair was stinking of cigarette smoke.
I decided to wash my hair that night.
So, while waiting for my hair to dry, what else could I do?
Yes, I watched TV.
I can still remember that particular episode was when Yujin got drunk in a bar
and MinHyung brought her back to his hotel.
I remember thinking to myself why on earth was this drama such a hit
when both the male and female leads were such ordinary looking.
And you all must agree with me that
that scene did not bring out the best of either one of them.
I mean, Yujin was dead drunk and uttering nonsense;
for heaven’s sake, she could not even remember where she lived!
And MinHyung, well, he was not exactly pleasing in that scene,
remember how he almost kissed her
and then said some sarcastic stuff to Yujin about wanting to seduce him?
So… altogether an ominous start to my Bae journey…
Winter Sonata aka Winter Love Story [WLS]
But despite this, I was actually intrigued by the story.
So the next Saturday I made it a point to come home earlier to catch the drama.
Still, there was no answer as to whether Jun-Sahng and MinHyung were the same person!
Now I’m not exactly a very patient soul, so the next day,
I rushed to a disc shop and bought myself a set of Winter Sonata.
Ha, I can still remember my set came with a bonus soundtrack!
[Err... I eventually got myself 2 VCD sets & a DVD set of WLS...
and... please don't ask me how many times I've watched WLS!]
And I guess you could say the rest is history…
Whoever bothers to read this story of mine must be a Bae fan herself or himself,
so you can totally understand how I was hooked onto this certain Korean man
once I started to watch Winter Sonata.
Soon enough, I was asking myself
why I didn’t fall for him straightaway that night when I was waiting for my hair to dry!
Really! I still can’t pinpoint exactly at which point
I fell head over heels for this Bae Yong Joon person.
Was it when he pushed Yujin’s head away on that bus on the first day of school?
Or was it when he teased her about not sleeping in school?
Or when he helped Yujin put on her shoes over the brick wall?
Or was it that enigmatic smile of his when Yujin was chiding him
over the PA system about not turning up for his shift?
Or maybe it was how his icy-cold demeanour started to crumble at Yujin’s warmth?
I’ve no idea. I only knew in an instant, I was a goner.
Jun-Sahng
Now you have to remember that he was not as popular then as he is now.
So there wasn’t too much news and information about him.
And… although I’ve always been using the internet, it was always for work.
And since it’s work, I never had to input any Chinese characters,
so it didn't even cross my mind I could actually do a search for his name in Chinese!
I found Quilt pretty early
and I suppose this is why Quilt will always have a special place in my heart.
I was so hungry for news and Quilt fuelled and fed my ferocious appetite
for more and more news about him.
I’m a Capricorn, I mean, I really am exactly how they describe a Capricorn to be.
Conservative, sensible, responsible and all that jazz….
So even in my younger days, I was never besotted with any movie stars.
When my best friends in school were raving on and on
about Tom Cruise and Norwegian boy group, AHA
(Ha, those who remember this one-album wonder would be able to guess how old I am…),
I was never moved.
So how could a mature young(?) lady who was supposedly going places in her career
be swept away by a man whose language I couldn’t and still can’t even understand???
Tom Cruise in Top Gun
AHA... Remember "Take On Me" and "The Sun Never Shines on TV"?
After Winter Sonata, I was hungry for more of Bae Yong Joon.
It was not easy to find his works then.
But I managed… I scoured all the VCD shops in town, and I shopped in Hong Kong.
So todate, other than Six Steps to Separation and Sunny Place of the Youth,
I own at least one set of everything he has acted in.
I was ridiculously hooked. And sad to say, appears that I'm still hooked.
Of course, like all of you, I started to like only Bae Yong Joon the actor in the beginning…
Then as I read more and more about him, impressions began to form in my head
about what sort of man he is.
And ha, the more one knows about him, the more one loves him! Agree?
So… that’s it… the Bae-addiction grew and never did cease.
From someone who had never really given much thought at all to Korea,
I started to be interested in the country.
And now, I love Korean food, I understand a little about their culture and history,
and I’m also beginning to take Korean lessons.
Why? So that I can understand the environment Yong Joon grew up in,
so that I know what foods he eats, etc etc etc…
I would really love it if I can understand every word that he says.
Or better yet, if only I can read and write in Korean
so that there’s a better chance of him reading my posting on the Official Board.
I guess none of this is new to fellow fans out there.
These are what we all dream about and hope for, right?
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Part 2 My First Trip to Korea [Feb 2003]:
Breathing the same air as him! Missed Opportunity!
It did not take me long to start wishing for a trip to Korea.
So during Chinese New Year 2003, I went on a packaged tour with a good friend.
It was a packaged tour that included going to Busan, Jeju Island as well as Seoul.
And my friend and I extended a couple more days in Seoul on our own.
Imagine… Someone who has never, ever thought of visiting Korea
suddenly wanted to go there…
And I picked a wonderful time too,
it was winter the first time I stepped onto the very land where Yong Joon lives…
I remember the tour started with Busan, and I can still remember
our first stop in Busan was to a park that I can’t recall the name.
I can remember this otherwise nondescript park
because there was an old artist there drawing portraits for people.
And on display was a sketch of MinHyung he had done previously.
Although I know it was just a sketch, but… I remember getting all excited over it.
You have to bear in mind that at that time,
I was quite a new fan and Korea only meant one thing to me.
Korea = Bae Yong Joon.
BYJ sketch, Busan, Feb 2003
Some pictures of Busan, Feb 2003
I think the next stop after Busan was to Jeju Island.
And the moment I stepped into the arrival hall of the airport,
I was greeted by a large LG Telecom poster.
Yong Joon was smiling right at me.
I cannot put into words what went through my head when I saw it,
but it was wonderful. Really.
I truly felt happy just knowing that I’m in the very same country he was!
I know, I know, it’s silly, but that was what I truly felt.
BYJ poster at Jeju Airport, Feb 2003
By then some of the other people in our same tour group already knew of my K-love.
Yes, that man by the name of Bae Yong Joon.
And they kept teasing me throughout the trip… But it was good fun.
And they also helped me look out for all things BYJ,
and pointed out to me whenever they saw anything that related to him.
Ha, one very sweet guy in the group even helped me ask for extra paper bags
with Yong Joon’s face when he bought something from Old & New store.
I was eternally grateful.
And yes, I still have the paperbags from the Winter Collection 2003.
That trip was also the first time I saw snow.
I remember we were on the way up to Mt Sorak when I witnessed my first snowfall.
What an experience!
And… of course we visited the ski resorts, we went to two, in fact.
One was Alps Ski Resort and the other Daemyung Ski Resort.
And at Alps, hehe, I spotted a gigantic signboard of Yong Joon!
Yong Joon up at the Alps. Feb 2003!
And during our extended stay,
I also dragged my friend to Sheraton Walker Hill naturally…
But we didn’t really have much time to cover the other shooting sites.
But that’s ok, I had to leave something out so that I could go to Korea again, right?
There’s something I needed to share about this first trip to Korea.
The itinerary had arranged that we spent sometime in MyungDong,
one of the main shopping areas in Seoul, one of the weekdays.
If I remember correctly, it was 6th Feb 2003, a Thursday.
The place, in particular one of the streets, was very very very packed.
I remember saying to my friend
I could not understand how the place could be so crowded on a weekday, daytime…
And then I came to know that Yong Joon was holding an autograph session
in a newly-opened Old & New store there.
But it was too late by the time I knew it,
there were no more numbers to be given out.
But… I was delighted all the same,
that I was actually in the same place as he was on the day, at the same time.
Of course, I tried to catch a glimpse of him,
but it was really packed and I could not really manage to squeeze in at all.
But to a Bae-fan, it was still something to be excited over.
Imagine, I was already so excited at the thought
of being in the same country as he was, and that day,
I was actually in the same street as him!
Though a missed opportunity, but I came home still feeling rather elated.
Here, sharing some pictures taken during my first trip to Korea.
Jeju Island, Yong du San or Dragon Head Mountain, Feb 2003
Jeju Island, Hallasan, Feb 2003
Alps Ski Resort, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/daemyungskiresort1.jpg[/img]
Daemyung Ski Resort, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/daemyungskiresort3.jpg[/img]
Night ski at Daemyung Ski Resort, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/everlandbandgals2.jpg[/img]
Everland, Band Girls, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/everlandtiger.jpg[/img]
Everland, Safari Land, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/mtsoraknpark1.jpg[/img]
Mount Sorak National Park, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sorakbuddhaatshinheungsatemple.jpg[/img]
Mount Sorak, Shin Heung Sa Temple, Buddha Statue, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/suwonkoreanvillage.jpg[/img]
Suwon Korean Village, Traditional House, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/worldcupstadiumint.jpg[/img]
World Cup Stadium, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sinchoncafe.jpg[/img]
Nice 3-storey café in Sincho, Feb 2003. And no, that’s not me…!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/namdaemuncandystall2.jpg[/img]
Namdaemun, shops selling candies & chocolates for Valentine’s Day, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/namdaemunpigshankstall1.jpg[/img]
Namdaemun, roadside stalls selling pig trotters, Feb 2003
All in, I had a wonderful, wonderful time in Korea!
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Breathing the same air as him! Missed Opportunity!
It did not take me long to start wishing for a trip to Korea.
So during Chinese New Year 2003, I went on a packaged tour with a good friend.
It was a packaged tour that included going to Busan, Jeju Island as well as Seoul.
And my friend and I extended a couple more days in Seoul on our own.
Imagine… Someone who has never, ever thought of visiting Korea
suddenly wanted to go there…
And I picked a wonderful time too,
it was winter the first time I stepped onto the very land where Yong Joon lives…
I remember the tour started with Busan, and I can still remember
our first stop in Busan was to a park that I can’t recall the name.
I can remember this otherwise nondescript park
because there was an old artist there drawing portraits for people.
And on display was a sketch of MinHyung he had done previously.
Although I know it was just a sketch, but… I remember getting all excited over it.
You have to bear in mind that at that time,
I was quite a new fan and Korea only meant one thing to me.
Korea = Bae Yong Joon.
BYJ sketch, Busan, Feb 2003
Some pictures of Busan, Feb 2003
I think the next stop after Busan was to Jeju Island.
And the moment I stepped into the arrival hall of the airport,
I was greeted by a large LG Telecom poster.
Yong Joon was smiling right at me.
I cannot put into words what went through my head when I saw it,
but it was wonderful. Really.
I truly felt happy just knowing that I’m in the very same country he was!
I know, I know, it’s silly, but that was what I truly felt.
BYJ poster at Jeju Airport, Feb 2003
By then some of the other people in our same tour group already knew of my K-love.
Yes, that man by the name of Bae Yong Joon.
And they kept teasing me throughout the trip… But it was good fun.
And they also helped me look out for all things BYJ,
and pointed out to me whenever they saw anything that related to him.
Ha, one very sweet guy in the group even helped me ask for extra paper bags
with Yong Joon’s face when he bought something from Old & New store.
I was eternally grateful.
And yes, I still have the paperbags from the Winter Collection 2003.
That trip was also the first time I saw snow.
I remember we were on the way up to Mt Sorak when I witnessed my first snowfall.
What an experience!
And… of course we visited the ski resorts, we went to two, in fact.
One was Alps Ski Resort and the other Daemyung Ski Resort.
And at Alps, hehe, I spotted a gigantic signboard of Yong Joon!
Yong Joon up at the Alps. Feb 2003!
And during our extended stay,
I also dragged my friend to Sheraton Walker Hill naturally…
But we didn’t really have much time to cover the other shooting sites.
But that’s ok, I had to leave something out so that I could go to Korea again, right?
There’s something I needed to share about this first trip to Korea.
The itinerary had arranged that we spent sometime in MyungDong,
one of the main shopping areas in Seoul, one of the weekdays.
If I remember correctly, it was 6th Feb 2003, a Thursday.
The place, in particular one of the streets, was very very very packed.
I remember saying to my friend
I could not understand how the place could be so crowded on a weekday, daytime…
And then I came to know that Yong Joon was holding an autograph session
in a newly-opened Old & New store there.
But it was too late by the time I knew it,
there were no more numbers to be given out.
But… I was delighted all the same,
that I was actually in the same place as he was on the day, at the same time.
Of course, I tried to catch a glimpse of him,
but it was really packed and I could not really manage to squeeze in at all.
But to a Bae-fan, it was still something to be excited over.
Imagine, I was already so excited at the thought
of being in the same country as he was, and that day,
I was actually in the same street as him!
Though a missed opportunity, but I came home still feeling rather elated.
Here, sharing some pictures taken during my first trip to Korea.
Jeju Island, Yong du San or Dragon Head Mountain, Feb 2003
Jeju Island, Hallasan, Feb 2003
Alps Ski Resort, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/daemyungskiresort1.jpg[/img]
Daemyung Ski Resort, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/daemyungskiresort3.jpg[/img]
Night ski at Daemyung Ski Resort, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/everlandbandgals2.jpg[/img]
Everland, Band Girls, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/everlandtiger.jpg[/img]
Everland, Safari Land, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/mtsoraknpark1.jpg[/img]
Mount Sorak National Park, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sorakbuddhaatshinheungsatemple.jpg[/img]
Mount Sorak, Shin Heung Sa Temple, Buddha Statue, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/suwonkoreanvillage.jpg[/img]
Suwon Korean Village, Traditional House, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/worldcupstadiumint.jpg[/img]
World Cup Stadium, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sinchoncafe.jpg[/img]
Nice 3-storey café in Sincho, Feb 2003. And no, that’s not me…!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/namdaemuncandystall2.jpg[/img]
Namdaemun, shops selling candies & chocolates for Valentine’s Day, Feb 2003
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/namdaemunpigshankstall1.jpg[/img]
Namdaemun, roadside stalls selling pig trotters, Feb 2003
All in, I had a wonderful, wonderful time in Korea!
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Part 3 My Second Trip to Korea [Oct 2003]
I Saw Him! I Saw Him! I Saw Him!
My second trip to Korea was in October 2003.
Frankly, by then I was a real fan.
I mean, I had already watched every drama I could get me hands on,
and I had practically read every single news article on the Quilt.
And I had also discovered the Chinese website, www.loveyongjoon.com,
where many fellow fans from China have spun yarns after yarns
of beautiful essays and wonderful odes to this certain Korean actor.
So between Quilt and www.loveyongjoon.com,
not only was I able to find news about Yong Joon,
I also took heart in the fact that I wasn’t alone in this love for Yong Joon.
But all this while, I was a low-profile fan.
I mean, yes, I visited these two websites almost everyday,
but I never posted or replied to any posting.
Well, I guess in the beginning, I felt almost ashamed
that I was so besotted with a movie star.
I mean, it was and still is the first time ever in my life
that I was so attracted to a celebrity who doesn’t even know of my existence!
Only my four closest friends knew then.
So naturally I did not join any fan club or whatsoever.
Actually it was sort of fun. I was in my own world, in a sense.
It’s like I had specially carved a certain part of my world
to accommodate all things that related to Yong Joon.
I revelled in the private and very personal pleasure of him,
watching his dramas over and over again, learning more and more about him,
and smiling secretly to myself when I saw magazines with his pictures,
and breaking into big toothy grins when I heard people talk about him…
It was fun.
I felt like a young girl having a secret crush that no one knew about.
A closet fan, I definitely was.
Then, I held a rather senior position in the company I worked for,
so all the more I could not let known that I was a fan of Yong Joon.
So you will not find any trace of him in my office,
no handsome pictures staring back at me from my computer,
no Yong Joon mugs, or whatsoever.
But like I said, I was enjoying my personal journey as a Bae fan.
In the year 2003, when October neared, I started to toy with the idea
of flying to Korea just to watch his maiden movie, The Untold Scandal.
At that time, not that many Korean movies were screened in Singapore
and I was wondering if Scandal would ever even make its way here.
If it came censored for the mass audience,
then I would not be able to see the movie in its full glory,
or blush blush, I would not be able to see Yong Joon in his full glory.
And if it were not to censor it, then the market would be so small,
they might not even bring it in.
No! I told myself the risk of not being able
to watch his very first foray into the big silver screen was much too high.
So… I decided to grab my best-est friend, a non-fan, and off to Seoul we went.
The Untold Scandal: The main cast offering prayers before the shooting commenced
Since I had already joined a packaged tour when I went to Korea earlier in 2003,
we decided to just spend our week in Seoul, free and easy.
Actually, I bought my friend the trip to Korea as a birthday trip for her.
Anyway, I will just focus on the highlight of the trip, the movie…
No, actually, I saw him I saw him I saw him!
Now in case some of you are not familiar with the way
movies are being released in Korea, this is how:
Whenever a new movie is out,
it is quite common for fan clubs to organise bunggae.
A bunggae is just fans gathering together to watch the movie
of the actor or actress they all like.
It is also quite common for actors and actresses
to conduct stage greetings to promote their new movies.
So, what happens is that for the initial few days when a new movie is released,
actors or actresses either singly or jointly,
will appear either before the movie begins or after the movie ends
to thank the audience for their support.
They typically will not stay long, maybe five to ten minutes.
And sometimes, when an actor or actress knows
that his or her fan club is having a bunggae,
he or she may make an appearance, sometimes impromptu.
Now mind you… I did not know this back in October 2003.
I had decided to go to Korea then just to show support for Yong Joon,
because it’s his first movie.
And also because he had taken such a brave step in the choice of script and role.
I had wanted to show my support.
Regardless of the fact that I know he would not know
that I, happiebb, had flown to Korea just for him, I wanted to do it anyhow.
Haha, when I went to the travel agency to collect my air tickets,
the counter staff had asked me why I was going to Korea.
I said, “To watch a movie.”
It felt so good saying that! Haha…
Anyway, I did not know a single soul or fellow fan from Singapore, let alone elsewhere.
Suddenly I had to come out of my protected BYJ-world, come out of my cocoon
and contact Korean fans to help me secure a ticket for the bunggae.
Someone did help me, thank God.
And frankly up to the time I left Changi Airport for Seoul,
in fact up to the time I stepped into the CineCity in Kangnam on 3rd Oct 2003,
I still had absolutely no idea what a bunggae was.
But I had guessed that it was probably a fans’ gathering of some sort…
And I was also not expecting Yong Joon at all. Really, not at all.
Anyway, 3rd October was the third or fourth day of our week-long trip then.
I can still remember being extremely excited the night before the movie.
I was afraid that my friend and I would oversleep and miss the whole thing.
I was so worried I barely slept at all that night.
The next morning, we woke up on time and made our way to CineCity in good time.
Movie promo banner on CineCity Building in Kangnam
Now at this point, I’ve to remind you again that up to that point,
I was not exposed to any fans’ activities of any sort.
So what greeted me on the floor that I was supposed to collect my tickets
was quite a shock to me.
Well, first of all, there were a lot of women there.
Really. I don’t remember seeing any man there,
save perhaps for those who were working behind the drinks stalls.
And it was quite packed, and people were talking around me all the time.
Now I’m usually someone who shies away from chattering crowds and all,
but somehow that morning, I was actually feeling excited at the mayhem around me.
Some women were taking pictures with the movie posters,
some were busy helping out with the movie posters
that the fan club had managed to secure for distribution to the fans,
some were queuing for their movie tickets and freebies.
And quite an efficient-looking team was working out the logistics
of identifying who’s who in the queue
and giving out their respective tickets and freebies.
And most of the others were just standing around, chattering with their friends.
Most of the fans there that morning were Koreans
and they were naturally conversing in Korean.
It was all very exciting to me.
Hey, this was the country that my beloved Yong Joon lives!
And hey, this was the very language that my beloved Yong Joon speaks!
And occasionally I would hear a smattering
of English, or Mandarin, or even Cantonese.
I was not surprised,
I had read on the net that the fan clubs from Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan
and I’m not sure where else had formed groups and were there too.
In fact, I had heard that these guys were going to Busan
to watch the movie at PIFF [Pusan International Film Festival] too!
Oh, forgot to mention that each fan
also got a goodie bag for attending that bunggae.
I think there was a Scandal poster for everyone,
and there was a name badge with Yong Joon’s picture in Scandal as well.
Also, there were also some postcards with his pictures.
I did not know it then, but later I realised that the postcards
were for us to write our comments and feeling after watching the movie,
and I think the fan club would arrange to collect these postcards
and forward them to Yong Joon.
Too bad I didn’t know it then…
I brought the cards back with me to Singapore…!
The fan club gave away posters of these two different designs during the bunggae.
I later understand these posters were not supplied by the film distributor,
the posters were from Yong Joon himself!
Anyway, let’s go back to the main point of this part…
After my friend and I collected our tickets,
we waited for the time when we could enter the cinema.
Once we were inside, I was actually quite disappointed.
The cinema had three sections, just like many cinema,
a bigger section running down the middle,
and two smaller sections at the two sides.
We were given aisle seats by the side of the right section,
meaning the two seats of the right section closest to the middle section.
And we were the third last row.
I remember complaining to my friend why was it
that we were allocated seats so behind and so sideways
when I had actually requested for the tickets quite ahead of time.
And I think the fan club had even prepared a box of food for everyone.
Very sweet! I had long read about how special Yong Joon fans were,
and I had experienced it firsthand
when they were so helpful in helping me to arrange the tickets.
And now this…!
Anyhow, we just settled down and readied ourselves for the movie.
I was getting a little apprehensive at the time.
I mean, that was Yong Joon’s first movie,
and it was quite a drastic change from his usual roles in the TV drama.
Not only was he appearing in a period drama,
he was challenging a playboy role.
I hoped he did well, and I hoped his fans
as well as the public could watch the movie with an open mind.
While waiting for the movie to start, the Korean lady
who was sitting next to us was very friendly and nice.
She said to me in halting English that Yong Joon lives in xxx-dong,
very near to this Kangnam Cineplex.
A sudden thought crossed my mind….
Would Yong Joon know about this bunggae?
Would Yong Joon appear???
Before any other thought crossed my mind,
I heard a sudden commotion coming from outside the cinema.
Remember we were sitting very near the exit?
I looked back and before I knew it, Yong Joon was walking into the cinema!
I had taken the aisle seat and by the time I steadied my eyes,
he was already standing right beside me.
He was less than a palm’s distance from me!
I was in total shock.
I mean, he wasn’t supposed to appear and he did!
He was in a pink round-neck sweater with white stripes
and blue cargo pants
[frankly, I was too stunned to notice what colour his pants were,
I only realised it was blue when I saw the pictures afterwards].
He was wearing brown shades.
That was the first time I actually saw him in the flesh.
He looked tall and strong. Not particularly stout, but strong.
His face was surprisingly small
and yes, it looked every bit as gentle and fair and handsome
and charming and wonderful and… as it did on your TV screen.
Thank God my friend was not a fan.
So while my thoughts were going haywire and my heart was close to failing me,
she was in good mental shape.
She pushed and nudged me to chase him all the way to the front
and take some pictures.
Meanwhile she had already gone forward and touched him on the chest!
Not fully realizing what I was doing, I just mirrored what my friend did.
So I reached out to touch his chest too. It was a very brief moment.
And to this day, I still had no idea why I did it.
Blush blush. But well, if you really have to know,
his chest felt, err… solid and nice..?
Anyhow, most of us were very surprised at his sudden appearance.
Really, he had not said that he would come, but he came anyway…
A lot of people were screaming, shouting,
or generally making inaudible sounds of “oohs” and “aahs”.
He was at the front of the cinema by now,
but he could not speak because of the noise.
I saw him put his [lovely!] finger to his [even lovelier] lips to signal to us
to quiet down so that he could speak.
Then everyone started to do the hush sound,
and some peace and quiet returned so that we could hear our prince speak.
Naturally, I did not understand a word of what he said.
But that did not reduce any pleasure of hearing him first-hand.
His voice was as lovely as in the dramas that we’ve watched countless times.
It was not too high, not too low,
a very nice manly baritone coated with a velvety film of sweetness.
Just perfect!
I thought I could drown in the sight of this handsome man
with such lovely voice. Really.
At one point, he suddenly stopped all movement and speech.
Then he raised one hand to rub at his eyes.
Everyone started to wonder if he was so touched
by our warm support that he was tearing.
I still don’t have an answer to this one.
But the ever-optimistic part of me prefers to think that it was so.
I like to believe that he was touched,
and that made my flying over there all the more worthwhile.
Before I knew it, everything was over. He had left.
I do know why it didn’t occur to me to chase after him when he left.
I just didn’t. But I can remember very vividly that when he left,
I felt something that I had never felt before.
I felt as though Yong Joon had taken my heart away with him
when he walked out of the cinema that day.
Later… I read online that what he said that day was:
Thank you all for your close attention to my movie.
And thank you for all loving and supporting me so much.
In the days to come, I will produce even better works for everyone.
In all honesty, my heart was beating so quickly when the movie started.
I don’t think I was able to concentrate on the movie
for at least the first twenty minutes.
A lot of thoughts were swimming in my head: Oh my god, I saw him!
Why didn’t I run after him?
Oh my, what colour were his pants? Why didn’t I notice it?
What on earth was he saying just now?
Why didn’t I take more pictures?
Why didn’t I grab his hand when he walked past him?
Where was he going after the stage greeting?
I’m not sure how long it was before I was able to pull myself together
to concentrate on the movie.
And I’ve to also share with you that there were no subtitles whatsoever,
and even though I had watched Dangerous Liaison,
it was still not easy to understand the movie 100%.
But anyhow, I subsequently bought the DVD
and I also watched the movie on the big screen in Hong Kong as well as Singapore.
Here, I share some pictures either from the movie or related to the movie.
So… that was it, my first time seeing him close up in person.
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
I Saw Him! I Saw Him! I Saw Him!
My second trip to Korea was in October 2003.
Frankly, by then I was a real fan.
I mean, I had already watched every drama I could get me hands on,
and I had practically read every single news article on the Quilt.
And I had also discovered the Chinese website, www.loveyongjoon.com,
where many fellow fans from China have spun yarns after yarns
of beautiful essays and wonderful odes to this certain Korean actor.
So between Quilt and www.loveyongjoon.com,
not only was I able to find news about Yong Joon,
I also took heart in the fact that I wasn’t alone in this love for Yong Joon.
But all this while, I was a low-profile fan.
I mean, yes, I visited these two websites almost everyday,
but I never posted or replied to any posting.
Well, I guess in the beginning, I felt almost ashamed
that I was so besotted with a movie star.
I mean, it was and still is the first time ever in my life
that I was so attracted to a celebrity who doesn’t even know of my existence!
Only my four closest friends knew then.
So naturally I did not join any fan club or whatsoever.
Actually it was sort of fun. I was in my own world, in a sense.
It’s like I had specially carved a certain part of my world
to accommodate all things that related to Yong Joon.
I revelled in the private and very personal pleasure of him,
watching his dramas over and over again, learning more and more about him,
and smiling secretly to myself when I saw magazines with his pictures,
and breaking into big toothy grins when I heard people talk about him…
It was fun.
I felt like a young girl having a secret crush that no one knew about.
A closet fan, I definitely was.
Then, I held a rather senior position in the company I worked for,
so all the more I could not let known that I was a fan of Yong Joon.
So you will not find any trace of him in my office,
no handsome pictures staring back at me from my computer,
no Yong Joon mugs, or whatsoever.
But like I said, I was enjoying my personal journey as a Bae fan.
In the year 2003, when October neared, I started to toy with the idea
of flying to Korea just to watch his maiden movie, The Untold Scandal.
At that time, not that many Korean movies were screened in Singapore
and I was wondering if Scandal would ever even make its way here.
If it came censored for the mass audience,
then I would not be able to see the movie in its full glory,
or blush blush, I would not be able to see Yong Joon in his full glory.
And if it were not to censor it, then the market would be so small,
they might not even bring it in.
No! I told myself the risk of not being able
to watch his very first foray into the big silver screen was much too high.
So… I decided to grab my best-est friend, a non-fan, and off to Seoul we went.
The Untold Scandal: The main cast offering prayers before the shooting commenced
Since I had already joined a packaged tour when I went to Korea earlier in 2003,
we decided to just spend our week in Seoul, free and easy.
Actually, I bought my friend the trip to Korea as a birthday trip for her.
Anyway, I will just focus on the highlight of the trip, the movie…
No, actually, I saw him I saw him I saw him!
Now in case some of you are not familiar with the way
movies are being released in Korea, this is how:
Whenever a new movie is out,
it is quite common for fan clubs to organise bunggae.
A bunggae is just fans gathering together to watch the movie
of the actor or actress they all like.
It is also quite common for actors and actresses
to conduct stage greetings to promote their new movies.
So, what happens is that for the initial few days when a new movie is released,
actors or actresses either singly or jointly,
will appear either before the movie begins or after the movie ends
to thank the audience for their support.
They typically will not stay long, maybe five to ten minutes.
And sometimes, when an actor or actress knows
that his or her fan club is having a bunggae,
he or she may make an appearance, sometimes impromptu.
Now mind you… I did not know this back in October 2003.
I had decided to go to Korea then just to show support for Yong Joon,
because it’s his first movie.
And also because he had taken such a brave step in the choice of script and role.
I had wanted to show my support.
Regardless of the fact that I know he would not know
that I, happiebb, had flown to Korea just for him, I wanted to do it anyhow.
Haha, when I went to the travel agency to collect my air tickets,
the counter staff had asked me why I was going to Korea.
I said, “To watch a movie.”
It felt so good saying that! Haha…
Anyway, I did not know a single soul or fellow fan from Singapore, let alone elsewhere.
Suddenly I had to come out of my protected BYJ-world, come out of my cocoon
and contact Korean fans to help me secure a ticket for the bunggae.
Someone did help me, thank God.
And frankly up to the time I left Changi Airport for Seoul,
in fact up to the time I stepped into the CineCity in Kangnam on 3rd Oct 2003,
I still had absolutely no idea what a bunggae was.
But I had guessed that it was probably a fans’ gathering of some sort…
And I was also not expecting Yong Joon at all. Really, not at all.
Anyway, 3rd October was the third or fourth day of our week-long trip then.
I can still remember being extremely excited the night before the movie.
I was afraid that my friend and I would oversleep and miss the whole thing.
I was so worried I barely slept at all that night.
The next morning, we woke up on time and made our way to CineCity in good time.
Movie promo banner on CineCity Building in Kangnam
Now at this point, I’ve to remind you again that up to that point,
I was not exposed to any fans’ activities of any sort.
So what greeted me on the floor that I was supposed to collect my tickets
was quite a shock to me.
Well, first of all, there were a lot of women there.
Really. I don’t remember seeing any man there,
save perhaps for those who were working behind the drinks stalls.
And it was quite packed, and people were talking around me all the time.
Now I’m usually someone who shies away from chattering crowds and all,
but somehow that morning, I was actually feeling excited at the mayhem around me.
Some women were taking pictures with the movie posters,
some were busy helping out with the movie posters
that the fan club had managed to secure for distribution to the fans,
some were queuing for their movie tickets and freebies.
And quite an efficient-looking team was working out the logistics
of identifying who’s who in the queue
and giving out their respective tickets and freebies.
And most of the others were just standing around, chattering with their friends.
Most of the fans there that morning were Koreans
and they were naturally conversing in Korean.
It was all very exciting to me.
Hey, this was the country that my beloved Yong Joon lives!
And hey, this was the very language that my beloved Yong Joon speaks!
And occasionally I would hear a smattering
of English, or Mandarin, or even Cantonese.
I was not surprised,
I had read on the net that the fan clubs from Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan
and I’m not sure where else had formed groups and were there too.
In fact, I had heard that these guys were going to Busan
to watch the movie at PIFF [Pusan International Film Festival] too!
Oh, forgot to mention that each fan
also got a goodie bag for attending that bunggae.
I think there was a Scandal poster for everyone,
and there was a name badge with Yong Joon’s picture in Scandal as well.
Also, there were also some postcards with his pictures.
I did not know it then, but later I realised that the postcards
were for us to write our comments and feeling after watching the movie,
and I think the fan club would arrange to collect these postcards
and forward them to Yong Joon.
Too bad I didn’t know it then…
I brought the cards back with me to Singapore…!
The fan club gave away posters of these two different designs during the bunggae.
I later understand these posters were not supplied by the film distributor,
the posters were from Yong Joon himself!
Anyway, let’s go back to the main point of this part…
After my friend and I collected our tickets,
we waited for the time when we could enter the cinema.
Once we were inside, I was actually quite disappointed.
The cinema had three sections, just like many cinema,
a bigger section running down the middle,
and two smaller sections at the two sides.
We were given aisle seats by the side of the right section,
meaning the two seats of the right section closest to the middle section.
And we were the third last row.
I remember complaining to my friend why was it
that we were allocated seats so behind and so sideways
when I had actually requested for the tickets quite ahead of time.
And I think the fan club had even prepared a box of food for everyone.
Very sweet! I had long read about how special Yong Joon fans were,
and I had experienced it firsthand
when they were so helpful in helping me to arrange the tickets.
And now this…!
Anyhow, we just settled down and readied ourselves for the movie.
I was getting a little apprehensive at the time.
I mean, that was Yong Joon’s first movie,
and it was quite a drastic change from his usual roles in the TV drama.
Not only was he appearing in a period drama,
he was challenging a playboy role.
I hoped he did well, and I hoped his fans
as well as the public could watch the movie with an open mind.
While waiting for the movie to start, the Korean lady
who was sitting next to us was very friendly and nice.
She said to me in halting English that Yong Joon lives in xxx-dong,
very near to this Kangnam Cineplex.
A sudden thought crossed my mind….
Would Yong Joon know about this bunggae?
Would Yong Joon appear???
Before any other thought crossed my mind,
I heard a sudden commotion coming from outside the cinema.
Remember we were sitting very near the exit?
I looked back and before I knew it, Yong Joon was walking into the cinema!
I had taken the aisle seat and by the time I steadied my eyes,
he was already standing right beside me.
He was less than a palm’s distance from me!
I was in total shock.
I mean, he wasn’t supposed to appear and he did!
He was in a pink round-neck sweater with white stripes
and blue cargo pants
[frankly, I was too stunned to notice what colour his pants were,
I only realised it was blue when I saw the pictures afterwards].
He was wearing brown shades.
That was the first time I actually saw him in the flesh.
He looked tall and strong. Not particularly stout, but strong.
His face was surprisingly small
and yes, it looked every bit as gentle and fair and handsome
and charming and wonderful and… as it did on your TV screen.
Thank God my friend was not a fan.
So while my thoughts were going haywire and my heart was close to failing me,
she was in good mental shape.
She pushed and nudged me to chase him all the way to the front
and take some pictures.
Meanwhile she had already gone forward and touched him on the chest!
Not fully realizing what I was doing, I just mirrored what my friend did.
So I reached out to touch his chest too. It was a very brief moment.
And to this day, I still had no idea why I did it.
Blush blush. But well, if you really have to know,
his chest felt, err… solid and nice..?
Anyhow, most of us were very surprised at his sudden appearance.
Really, he had not said that he would come, but he came anyway…
A lot of people were screaming, shouting,
or generally making inaudible sounds of “oohs” and “aahs”.
He was at the front of the cinema by now,
but he could not speak because of the noise.
I saw him put his [lovely!] finger to his [even lovelier] lips to signal to us
to quiet down so that he could speak.
Then everyone started to do the hush sound,
and some peace and quiet returned so that we could hear our prince speak.
Naturally, I did not understand a word of what he said.
But that did not reduce any pleasure of hearing him first-hand.
His voice was as lovely as in the dramas that we’ve watched countless times.
It was not too high, not too low,
a very nice manly baritone coated with a velvety film of sweetness.
Just perfect!
I thought I could drown in the sight of this handsome man
with such lovely voice. Really.
At one point, he suddenly stopped all movement and speech.
Then he raised one hand to rub at his eyes.
Everyone started to wonder if he was so touched
by our warm support that he was tearing.
I still don’t have an answer to this one.
But the ever-optimistic part of me prefers to think that it was so.
I like to believe that he was touched,
and that made my flying over there all the more worthwhile.
Before I knew it, everything was over. He had left.
I do know why it didn’t occur to me to chase after him when he left.
I just didn’t. But I can remember very vividly that when he left,
I felt something that I had never felt before.
I felt as though Yong Joon had taken my heart away with him
when he walked out of the cinema that day.
Later… I read online that what he said that day was:
Thank you all for your close attention to my movie.
And thank you for all loving and supporting me so much.
In the days to come, I will produce even better works for everyone.
In all honesty, my heart was beating so quickly when the movie started.
I don’t think I was able to concentrate on the movie
for at least the first twenty minutes.
A lot of thoughts were swimming in my head: Oh my god, I saw him!
Why didn’t I run after him?
Oh my, what colour were his pants? Why didn’t I notice it?
What on earth was he saying just now?
Why didn’t I take more pictures?
Why didn’t I grab his hand when he walked past him?
Where was he going after the stage greeting?
I’m not sure how long it was before I was able to pull myself together
to concentrate on the movie.
And I’ve to also share with you that there were no subtitles whatsoever,
and even though I had watched Dangerous Liaison,
it was still not easy to understand the movie 100%.
But anyhow, I subsequently bought the DVD
and I also watched the movie on the big screen in Hong Kong as well as Singapore.
Here, I share some pictures either from the movie or related to the movie.
So… that was it, my first time seeing him close up in person.
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Part 4 How Translation Became a Part of My Life [Mar 2004]
Coming Out of the Closet… And Thank You, Joanne! Thank You, Quilt!
Having experienced first hand the warmth and helpfulness of the fans,
I started wondering if there was something I could do.
I feel I was gaining much from Quilt and www.loveyongjoon.com.
I started to explore a little about Yong Joon fans
and it was then that I started to get an inkling
that his fans are somewhat different from other fans.
They tend to be more mature and more intellectual.
Many are not teenyboppers; instead they are well educated women
and while some are homemakers, yet others are professionals.
Quilt was launched on 2nd April 2002 by three lovely Korean ladies,
Hyeon, Joanne and Won.
At that time, some parts of Asia had started
to awaken to the magic of Yong Joon’s smile;
I think it started with Taiwan.
The Taiwanese fans first discovered Yong Joon in Hotelier.
But news about him was scarce
and whatever little news there were, they were mostly in Korean.
So these three ladies thought that an international platform
would be good to help spread the love for this man.
That’s the idea behind Quilt, or at least that’s how I understand it.
These ladies lovingly created this site and maintained it till this day,
gaining from strength to strength.
They were and still are very quick to bring us news
and information about Yong Joon, in English.
And from here, other fans would translate the news into Chinese,
or whatever language for their own home sites.
I truly appreciate what Quilt has done.
Though Won and Hyeon are unable to spend as much time here as they did previously,
Joanne has still been translating news for us religiously.
Frankly, without Quilt, many of us would be in the dark
about what’s happening in Yong Joon’s life.
Let me take this opportunity to thank the Quilt team,
the administrators, the regular contributors
as well as those of you who visit the site regularly and lend your silent support.
Over at www.loveyongjoon.com,
the other site that I frequent on a regular basis,
I’ve derived much joy and pleasure from the beautiful writing there.
The essays that sang praises to Yong Joon,
the passages that analysed the dramas,
and the fan fiction that added to my joy…
I suddenly felt that I was always on the receiving end of things.
I started to wonder if there was something,
anything I could do to contribute.
So in early 2003, I decided to join the translation team
at www.loveyongjoon.com.
Why, you may ask?
Well, simply because I love, love, love what I was reading on there,
and so I decided to try my hand at translating them into English,
so that more fellow fans could share the beauty of these passages
penned so lovingly and tenderly.
But alas… before I knew it,
I was doing more English-to-Chinese translation than the other way around!
Regardless, it has been more than a year of translation work for me.
And if you ask me what if I’ve any regrets, well, I suppose not.
Frankly, what takes a reader minutes to read
may mean hours of translation for us, especially since I’m an amateur,
never did translation in my entire life before Yong Joon.
And because of him, I did things that I never did before.
For the first time, I learnt how to input Chinese characters into the computer.
For the first time, I logged onto MSN Messenger.
I love how my love for Yong Joon has rekindled my interest
in the Chinese language...
Visiting the Quilt, reading news and postings,
deciding which postings need to be translated into Chinese,
assigning the work to the rest of the translation team,
and actually doing the translation myself…
All these have become a part of my life.
And seriously, translating names of places and people is not easy,
and sometimes the translating may involve some further research
and this take up time.
Like many of you out there,
I hold a full-time job and work is really demanding.
So many times, I wonder why I’m doing this.
I mean, for god’s sake, Yong Joon doesn’t even know I exist!
Why do I stay up night after night doing translation?
And believe me, the Bae-fever will not die down easily
if you have to read news articles about him day in, day out.
The more you learn about this man, the more in love you will be with him.
So, you tell me, how on earth do I rid this obsession?
Sighs…
Here are some of my fave articles translated:
BYJ, Clearly in a Class of His Own
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.p...2811&highlight=
Lost in Winter Love Story
http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/view.php...sc=asc&no=10602
Nobody Can Be Like You
http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/view.php...sc=asc&no=10601
Celebrating loveyongjoon.com’s 2nd Anniversary [14 Feb 2005]
http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/view.php...sc=asc&no=10557
Fan Fiction: [HWRL or WJS] An Alternative: The Right to Love
http://www.baeyongjune.com/freeboard/fanfiction.htm [Page 10 onwards]
Fan Fiction: That First Snow
http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/view.php...esc=asc&no=4262
The Truth Behind the Accident
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.p...2533&highlight=
Anyhow, back to my point in this part of my Bae journey.
So… there you have it, translation has become a part of my life now.
And let me share something with you, I take my hat off to Joanne.
She has been such an inspiration to me.
She has been doing translating for far longer than I have been.
And she translates the majority of the news here,
while I only read everything, but translate some of what Joanne translates,
the rest I will assign to my fellow team members.
And I sometimes feel the workload is so heavy.
So many times, I want to give it all up.
But each time, I would think of people like Joanne.
She, too, holds a full time job and she does a lot more than I do,
and she does it for a longer time than I have.
I’ve gotten so much from her, I should continue her good work.
So I egg myself to go on.
And to repay her time and effort and selfless contribution,
I thought one of the best ways is to continue her good work.
By translating what she has translated,
we're stretching her contribution even further.
So, thank you, Joanne.
Thank you, Hyeon and thank you, Won.
And of course, Amei, Fumi, Mariko, Masayo, Mclara, Myonne, Satovic,
Tiffany, Tomato99, Yoon, Youngsun and the rest as well.
Since I now do translation, it is near impossible to keep an ultra low profile.
How to? I’ve to post my translation, isn’t it?
So the year 2004 is a remarkably different year
from the period when I first became a fan.
I become a lot more active from 2004 onwards. And I’m glad for it.
Before I end off this part, I would like to share with all a very meaningful article
that a Korean journalist has written about Yong Joon’s fans.
It was translated into English by Yoon; do take the time to read it:
Epicenter of Yonsama fever- BYJ's Korean fans
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=2854
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Coming Out of the Closet… And Thank You, Joanne! Thank You, Quilt!
Having experienced first hand the warmth and helpfulness of the fans,
I started wondering if there was something I could do.
I feel I was gaining much from Quilt and www.loveyongjoon.com.
I started to explore a little about Yong Joon fans
and it was then that I started to get an inkling
that his fans are somewhat different from other fans.
They tend to be more mature and more intellectual.
Many are not teenyboppers; instead they are well educated women
and while some are homemakers, yet others are professionals.
Quilt was launched on 2nd April 2002 by three lovely Korean ladies,
Hyeon, Joanne and Won.
At that time, some parts of Asia had started
to awaken to the magic of Yong Joon’s smile;
I think it started with Taiwan.
The Taiwanese fans first discovered Yong Joon in Hotelier.
But news about him was scarce
and whatever little news there were, they were mostly in Korean.
So these three ladies thought that an international platform
would be good to help spread the love for this man.
That’s the idea behind Quilt, or at least that’s how I understand it.
These ladies lovingly created this site and maintained it till this day,
gaining from strength to strength.
They were and still are very quick to bring us news
and information about Yong Joon, in English.
And from here, other fans would translate the news into Chinese,
or whatever language for their own home sites.
I truly appreciate what Quilt has done.
Though Won and Hyeon are unable to spend as much time here as they did previously,
Joanne has still been translating news for us religiously.
Frankly, without Quilt, many of us would be in the dark
about what’s happening in Yong Joon’s life.
Let me take this opportunity to thank the Quilt team,
the administrators, the regular contributors
as well as those of you who visit the site regularly and lend your silent support.
Over at www.loveyongjoon.com,
the other site that I frequent on a regular basis,
I’ve derived much joy and pleasure from the beautiful writing there.
The essays that sang praises to Yong Joon,
the passages that analysed the dramas,
and the fan fiction that added to my joy…
I suddenly felt that I was always on the receiving end of things.
I started to wonder if there was something,
anything I could do to contribute.
So in early 2003, I decided to join the translation team
at www.loveyongjoon.com.
Why, you may ask?
Well, simply because I love, love, love what I was reading on there,
and so I decided to try my hand at translating them into English,
so that more fellow fans could share the beauty of these passages
penned so lovingly and tenderly.
But alas… before I knew it,
I was doing more English-to-Chinese translation than the other way around!
Regardless, it has been more than a year of translation work for me.
And if you ask me what if I’ve any regrets, well, I suppose not.
Frankly, what takes a reader minutes to read
may mean hours of translation for us, especially since I’m an amateur,
never did translation in my entire life before Yong Joon.
And because of him, I did things that I never did before.
For the first time, I learnt how to input Chinese characters into the computer.
For the first time, I logged onto MSN Messenger.
I love how my love for Yong Joon has rekindled my interest
in the Chinese language...
Visiting the Quilt, reading news and postings,
deciding which postings need to be translated into Chinese,
assigning the work to the rest of the translation team,
and actually doing the translation myself…
All these have become a part of my life.
And seriously, translating names of places and people is not easy,
and sometimes the translating may involve some further research
and this take up time.
Like many of you out there,
I hold a full-time job and work is really demanding.
So many times, I wonder why I’m doing this.
I mean, for god’s sake, Yong Joon doesn’t even know I exist!
Why do I stay up night after night doing translation?
And believe me, the Bae-fever will not die down easily
if you have to read news articles about him day in, day out.
The more you learn about this man, the more in love you will be with him.
So, you tell me, how on earth do I rid this obsession?
Sighs…
Here are some of my fave articles translated:
BYJ, Clearly in a Class of His Own
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.p...2811&highlight=
Lost in Winter Love Story
http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/view.php...sc=asc&no=10602
Nobody Can Be Like You
http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/view.php...sc=asc&no=10601
Celebrating loveyongjoon.com’s 2nd Anniversary [14 Feb 2005]
http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/view.php...sc=asc&no=10557
Fan Fiction: [HWRL or WJS] An Alternative: The Right to Love
http://www.baeyongjune.com/freeboard/fanfiction.htm [Page 10 onwards]
Fan Fiction: That First Snow
http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/view.php...esc=asc&no=4262
The Truth Behind the Accident
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.p...2533&highlight=
Anyhow, back to my point in this part of my Bae journey.
So… there you have it, translation has become a part of my life now.
And let me share something with you, I take my hat off to Joanne.
She has been such an inspiration to me.
She has been doing translating for far longer than I have been.
And she translates the majority of the news here,
while I only read everything, but translate some of what Joanne translates,
the rest I will assign to my fellow team members.
And I sometimes feel the workload is so heavy.
So many times, I want to give it all up.
But each time, I would think of people like Joanne.
She, too, holds a full time job and she does a lot more than I do,
and she does it for a longer time than I have.
I’ve gotten so much from her, I should continue her good work.
So I egg myself to go on.
And to repay her time and effort and selfless contribution,
I thought one of the best ways is to continue her good work.
By translating what she has translated,
we're stretching her contribution even further.
So, thank you, Joanne.
Thank you, Hyeon and thank you, Won.
And of course, Amei, Fumi, Mariko, Masayo, Mclara, Myonne, Satovic,
Tiffany, Tomato99, Yoon, Youngsun and the rest as well.
Since I now do translation, it is near impossible to keep an ultra low profile.
How to? I’ve to post my translation, isn’t it?
So the year 2004 is a remarkably different year
from the period when I first became a fan.
I become a lot more active from 2004 onwards. And I’m glad for it.
Before I end off this part, I would like to share with all a very meaningful article
that a Korean journalist has written about Yong Joon’s fans.
It was translated into English by Yoon; do take the time to read it:
Epicenter of Yonsama fever- BYJ's Korean fans
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=2854
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Part 5 Missing Him in Singapore;
Seeing Him in Hong Kong [Mar 2004]
But so far… I had only used my ID happiebb in cyberspace,
and I had not attended any gatherings or activities.
So although I was out of my cocoon,
I was still a faceless person behind an ID.
Then came the news of his Asian tour to promote The Untold Scandal.
I had to see him again!
Oh, at this point, I’d better give you a word of caution.
You must be prepared that after you’ve seen him once,
you will most definitely want to see him again.
And again. And again.
I was so excited that he was coming to the sunny island of Singapore!
Then I started to worry…
What if the event was open only to members of Joonsfamily?
I was not a member! So I frantically tried to sign up….
Only to realise that I would be out-stationed when he was coming!
Am not sure if you guys know, but BOF [or is it Yong Joon, I’m not sure…]
has a habit of deciding or releasing information at the very, very last minute,
leaving us the fans with little reaction time.
So I was frantically trying to find out
if my Hong Kong trip would coincide with his trip.
Mind you, I was going there for a very important presentation,
it was our annual budget presentation for the new financial year,
and the preparation before the trip was pretty heavy,
yet my mind was constantly distracted by a certain Korean man!
Thank God it all eventually worked out fine.
His trip to Hong Kong was after my big presentation,
I was able to attend the bunggae [more posters!] and also the Fans’ Session.
Some pictures from the event:
I do want to take this opportunity to thank the Hong Kong sisters
for putting together such a memorable event.
And special thanks goes to Helen and Katherina
who helped me with the tickets for the bunggae and gathering.
Anyhow that was the second time I saw Yong Joon in the flesh.
And he was every bit as tall, good-looking and attractive
as I remembered, if not more!
I will not dwell long on the fans’ session,
as I would guess that most of you would have already seen
the many recounts, pictures
and I would suppose a fair number of you have watched the DVD too.
But I do want to share my thoughts about something… his voice.
You know, I really really love this voice.
When he speaks,
it’s as if someone is coating some nice and warm chocolate around you,
enveloping you in its sweetness in a cool night.
It’s got a resounding feel to it, and haha, don’t laugh,
I can almost imagine hearing echoes whenever I hear him speak in real life.
His manner of speech is measured, kindda slow and steady…
And you would feel as if he’s really very sincere
and wanting to reach out to you.
And it’s as if he’s speaking to no one else, but you. Just you. Sighs…
Okay, this Hong Kong episode holds special meaning to me,
because that was the first time I actually met fellow fans in the flesh.
Strange huh, that the first fans I met were not Singaporean fans.
I saw Helen and Kat, although I doubt I made much of an impression.
My interaction with them was minimal, merely collecting tickets and stuff.
During that trip, I also met with a few fans from www.loveyongjoon.com.
I had met up with Luckone, owow, Piaoyao and Sister Zhang
over drinks the night after the fans’ gathering.
It felt kindda strange,
because all this while I had been sheltered behind the ID happiebb.
I was just a faceless person behind the ID.
But having met these fellow fans seemed to give some realism
to the whole thing. I mean, I was never ever a star-chaser,
and the happiebb persona had, up to that point,
been quite a separate part of my real life.
It was like I was made up of two people,
the real me going through the real life,
and then there’s happiebb who only exists in cyberspace and Yong Joon world.
So that was the first time
I had allowed the two aspects of my life to merge, to come together.
I’m not sure if you guys would understand what I’m saying.
My work was rather stressful and workload was heavy.
Really heavy.
I suppose whenever I felt so tired and needed an outlet,
I would auto-switch to happiebb,
especially when I was working late into the night.
Switching into happiebb mode means I become the Yong Joon fan,
the translator, the one without stress…
And now, allowing happiebb to cross over to my real life felt strange.
But that was just a fleeting moment.
When I came back to Singapore, everything was about the same.
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Seeing Him in Hong Kong [Mar 2004]
But so far… I had only used my ID happiebb in cyberspace,
and I had not attended any gatherings or activities.
So although I was out of my cocoon,
I was still a faceless person behind an ID.
Then came the news of his Asian tour to promote The Untold Scandal.
I had to see him again!
Oh, at this point, I’d better give you a word of caution.
You must be prepared that after you’ve seen him once,
you will most definitely want to see him again.
And again. And again.
I was so excited that he was coming to the sunny island of Singapore!
Then I started to worry…
What if the event was open only to members of Joonsfamily?
I was not a member! So I frantically tried to sign up….
Only to realise that I would be out-stationed when he was coming!
Am not sure if you guys know, but BOF [or is it Yong Joon, I’m not sure…]
has a habit of deciding or releasing information at the very, very last minute,
leaving us the fans with little reaction time.
So I was frantically trying to find out
if my Hong Kong trip would coincide with his trip.
Mind you, I was going there for a very important presentation,
it was our annual budget presentation for the new financial year,
and the preparation before the trip was pretty heavy,
yet my mind was constantly distracted by a certain Korean man!
Thank God it all eventually worked out fine.
His trip to Hong Kong was after my big presentation,
I was able to attend the bunggae [more posters!] and also the Fans’ Session.
Some pictures from the event:
I do want to take this opportunity to thank the Hong Kong sisters
for putting together such a memorable event.
And special thanks goes to Helen and Katherina
who helped me with the tickets for the bunggae and gathering.
Anyhow that was the second time I saw Yong Joon in the flesh.
And he was every bit as tall, good-looking and attractive
as I remembered, if not more!
I will not dwell long on the fans’ session,
as I would guess that most of you would have already seen
the many recounts, pictures
and I would suppose a fair number of you have watched the DVD too.
But I do want to share my thoughts about something… his voice.
You know, I really really love this voice.
When he speaks,
it’s as if someone is coating some nice and warm chocolate around you,
enveloping you in its sweetness in a cool night.
It’s got a resounding feel to it, and haha, don’t laugh,
I can almost imagine hearing echoes whenever I hear him speak in real life.
His manner of speech is measured, kindda slow and steady…
And you would feel as if he’s really very sincere
and wanting to reach out to you.
And it’s as if he’s speaking to no one else, but you. Just you. Sighs…
Okay, this Hong Kong episode holds special meaning to me,
because that was the first time I actually met fellow fans in the flesh.
Strange huh, that the first fans I met were not Singaporean fans.
I saw Helen and Kat, although I doubt I made much of an impression.
My interaction with them was minimal, merely collecting tickets and stuff.
During that trip, I also met with a few fans from www.loveyongjoon.com.
I had met up with Luckone, owow, Piaoyao and Sister Zhang
over drinks the night after the fans’ gathering.
It felt kindda strange,
because all this while I had been sheltered behind the ID happiebb.
I was just a faceless person behind the ID.
But having met these fellow fans seemed to give some realism
to the whole thing. I mean, I was never ever a star-chaser,
and the happiebb persona had, up to that point,
been quite a separate part of my real life.
It was like I was made up of two people,
the real me going through the real life,
and then there’s happiebb who only exists in cyberspace and Yong Joon world.
So that was the first time
I had allowed the two aspects of my life to merge, to come together.
I’m not sure if you guys would understand what I’m saying.
My work was rather stressful and workload was heavy.
Really heavy.
I suppose whenever I felt so tired and needed an outlet,
I would auto-switch to happiebb,
especially when I was working late into the night.
Switching into happiebb mode means I become the Yong Joon fan,
the translator, the one without stress…
And now, allowing happiebb to cross over to my real life felt strange.
But that was just a fleeting moment.
When I came back to Singapore, everything was about the same.
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Part 6 My Third Trip to Korea [Nov 2004]
I Saw Him Again! And Thank You, Lovely Korean Fans
Heehee… don’t have to write much here as well,
because I’ve already written about this trip of mine previously…
Please refer to this link:
Sneaks into My Seoul Trip [10 – 20 Nov 2004]
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=2377
After coming back from Seoul with my precious Image,
I wrote an open letter to all fellow fans,
and would like to post the link here to complete this leg of my Bae journey.
An Open Letter to Fellow Fans [on the Image]
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=2376
But here are some more pictures taken on this trip to share with all:
This is the signage that greets visitors when they arrive at Nami Island]
There’s an ice-cream stall there
and they actually put up a poster of Jun-Sahng and Yujin.
Did you see the strawberry cone ice-cream
that they stall owner has superimposed into Yujin’s hand?
This is the gift shop on Nami Island. The guy was quite nice.
Not only was he helpful, he also gave me some free postcards of WLS!
The WLS eatery… Omo, I’m missing the kimchi fried rice!
It’s wonderful to be eating in this place,
coz WLS pictures are pasted all over the wall, all over the place…
Sighs… Imagine, looking into Yong Joon’s eyes
as you tuck into your kimchi fried rice!
A WLS structure on Nami Island
This is a WLS signage on Nami Island
Scenary at Nami Island
One more shot of the scenary at Nami Island
Hunting down Jun-Sahng’s house at Chun Cheon…
Not so hard, thanks to WLS boom in Japan…
Just look out for WLS signages in Japanese along the road!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/chuncheon_hse_entrance.jpg[/img]
The entrance to Jun-Sahng’s house at Chun Cheon
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/chuncheon_hse_interior.jpg[/img]
The interior of Jun-Sahng’s house at Chun Cheon
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/chuncheon_street.jpg[/img]
That street where Yujin waited in vain for Jun-Sahng on 31st Dec…
And yes yes yes, it’s on this trip that I saw Yong Joon for the third time!
Go read my trip report if you haven’t already done so!
Yes, yes, this was the Blue Dragon Handprinting Ceremony last November.
Sneaks into My Seoul Trip [10 – 20 Nov 2004]
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=2377
I was sitting very near the stage, so I could see him quite close-up….
He looked absolutely gorgeous in his black suit that afternoon!
I couldn’t take my eyes off him for a minute!
It was as if it was just him, the other artistes were non-existent in my eyes!
Sorry the pictures didn’t come out clearly…
That’s because the very, very excited Japanese fans sitting right behind me
would tap on my shoulder or grab me
whenever Yong Joon did something cute, which was very often!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_outside.jpg[/img]
The mayhem outside the theatre just before the event.
The area was very small, and it was really packed,
with fans with tickets to the event, with fans without tickets, with media…
Gosh, it was so, so, so packed
I thought I wouldn’t be able to get past the crowd to get into the theatre!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_emcee.jpg[/img]
The emcee of the event announcing the arrival of the four actors and actresses.
Basically, this event was to mark the start
of the Green Dragon Film Festival 2004,
and the organiser had invited the following winners of 2003
to this Handprinting Ceremony:
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Newcomer [Male]
- Best Newcomer [Female]
As you all would know, Yong Joon was the best male rookie for 2003
with his maiden movie, The Untold Scandal.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj_onstage.jpg[/img]
Yong Joon was the first to go on-stage…
Boy, was he tall! And boy, was he dashing!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CG_byj1.jpg[/img]
I love this picture! He’s wetting his lips, so cute!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj2.jpg[/img]
He looked adorable in this one too, like a kid!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj3.jpg[/img]
Doesn’t he look like a naughty boy in class in this picture?
He looked as if he was trying to see what his classmate was writing…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj4.jpg[/img]
Yong Joon, listening attentively…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj5.jpg[/img]
Yong Joon as if he was looking right at me, into my eyes… Ahh…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj6.jpg[/img]
Yong Joon, with his trademark wave.
Noticed how he couldn’t seem to be able to straighten his little pinkie?
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj7.jpg[/img]
There… Yong Joon with his handprint!
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
I Saw Him Again! And Thank You, Lovely Korean Fans
Heehee… don’t have to write much here as well,
because I’ve already written about this trip of mine previously…
Please refer to this link:
Sneaks into My Seoul Trip [10 – 20 Nov 2004]
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=2377
After coming back from Seoul with my precious Image,
I wrote an open letter to all fellow fans,
and would like to post the link here to complete this leg of my Bae journey.
An Open Letter to Fellow Fans [on the Image]
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=2376
But here are some more pictures taken on this trip to share with all:
This is the signage that greets visitors when they arrive at Nami Island]
There’s an ice-cream stall there
and they actually put up a poster of Jun-Sahng and Yujin.
Did you see the strawberry cone ice-cream
that they stall owner has superimposed into Yujin’s hand?
This is the gift shop on Nami Island. The guy was quite nice.
Not only was he helpful, he also gave me some free postcards of WLS!
The WLS eatery… Omo, I’m missing the kimchi fried rice!
It’s wonderful to be eating in this place,
coz WLS pictures are pasted all over the wall, all over the place…
Sighs… Imagine, looking into Yong Joon’s eyes
as you tuck into your kimchi fried rice!
A WLS structure on Nami Island
This is a WLS signage on Nami Island
Scenary at Nami Island
One more shot of the scenary at Nami Island
Hunting down Jun-Sahng’s house at Chun Cheon…
Not so hard, thanks to WLS boom in Japan…
Just look out for WLS signages in Japanese along the road!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/chuncheon_hse_entrance.jpg[/img]
The entrance to Jun-Sahng’s house at Chun Cheon
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/chuncheon_hse_interior.jpg[/img]
The interior of Jun-Sahng’s house at Chun Cheon
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/chuncheon_street.jpg[/img]
That street where Yujin waited in vain for Jun-Sahng on 31st Dec…
And yes yes yes, it’s on this trip that I saw Yong Joon for the third time!
Go read my trip report if you haven’t already done so!
Yes, yes, this was the Blue Dragon Handprinting Ceremony last November.
Sneaks into My Seoul Trip [10 – 20 Nov 2004]
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=2377
I was sitting very near the stage, so I could see him quite close-up….
He looked absolutely gorgeous in his black suit that afternoon!
I couldn’t take my eyes off him for a minute!
It was as if it was just him, the other artistes were non-existent in my eyes!
Sorry the pictures didn’t come out clearly…
That’s because the very, very excited Japanese fans sitting right behind me
would tap on my shoulder or grab me
whenever Yong Joon did something cute, which was very often!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_outside.jpg[/img]
The mayhem outside the theatre just before the event.
The area was very small, and it was really packed,
with fans with tickets to the event, with fans without tickets, with media…
Gosh, it was so, so, so packed
I thought I wouldn’t be able to get past the crowd to get into the theatre!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_emcee.jpg[/img]
The emcee of the event announcing the arrival of the four actors and actresses.
Basically, this event was to mark the start
of the Green Dragon Film Festival 2004,
and the organiser had invited the following winners of 2003
to this Handprinting Ceremony:
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Newcomer [Male]
- Best Newcomer [Female]
As you all would know, Yong Joon was the best male rookie for 2003
with his maiden movie, The Untold Scandal.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj_onstage.jpg[/img]
Yong Joon was the first to go on-stage…
Boy, was he tall! And boy, was he dashing!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CG_byj1.jpg[/img]
I love this picture! He’s wetting his lips, so cute!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj2.jpg[/img]
He looked adorable in this one too, like a kid!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj3.jpg[/img]
Doesn’t he look like a naughty boy in class in this picture?
He looked as if he was trying to see what his classmate was writing…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj4.jpg[/img]
Yong Joon, listening attentively…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj5.jpg[/img]
Yong Joon as if he was looking right at me, into my eyes… Ahh…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj6.jpg[/img]
Yong Joon, with his trademark wave.
Noticed how he couldn’t seem to be able to straighten his little pinkie?
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/CGV_byj7.jpg[/img]
There… Yong Joon with his handprint!
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Part 7 My Japan Trip [Dec 2004]
Suddenly I’ve Friends in Japan Too!
And Closing the Year…
Haha… I’ve also written about my Japan trip when I came back last year,
so again, no need to write much here… Go read it at this link:
My Japan Trip & A Thank You Message
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=2660
And here are two translations that I’ve done that I wish to share with all.
Unknowingly I’ve Fallen for You
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=2731
This piece was written by a Chinese fan
to commemorate Yong Joon’s tenth anniversary in the entertainment business.
In this essay, the writer spoke about Yong Joon’s significant works
through the decade and shared earnestly how she was touched
by the characters he played, as well as the man himself.
It takes us through a wonderful journey of his 10-year career in showbiz.
Bae Yong Joon, 2004
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=3014
This piece was also written by a Chinese fan,
and she brought us through the year 2004.
2004 was a dramatically significant year for Yong Joon,
and by reading this article, we got to relive the year again.
A wonderful recount of a year worth remembering.
All said, the year 2004 was a rather interesting year.
By that time I had been a fan for more than two years and still counting…
Because of Yong Joon, I had visited Korea three times
and had also started to acquire a keen interest in the Korean culture
as well as language.
And with the year closing in,
I had thought that my next trip to Korea would be sometime in September,
when his second movie, Going Out, was screened.
Never in my wildest dream did I dream that
I would be heading to Korea so soon again!
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Suddenly I’ve Friends in Japan Too!
And Closing the Year…
Haha… I’ve also written about my Japan trip when I came back last year,
so again, no need to write much here… Go read it at this link:
My Japan Trip & A Thank You Message
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=2660
And here are two translations that I’ve done that I wish to share with all.
Unknowingly I’ve Fallen for You
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=2731
This piece was written by a Chinese fan
to commemorate Yong Joon’s tenth anniversary in the entertainment business.
In this essay, the writer spoke about Yong Joon’s significant works
through the decade and shared earnestly how she was touched
by the characters he played, as well as the man himself.
It takes us through a wonderful journey of his 10-year career in showbiz.
Bae Yong Joon, 2004
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=3014
This piece was also written by a Chinese fan,
and she brought us through the year 2004.
2004 was a dramatically significant year for Yong Joon,
and by reading this article, we got to relive the year again.
A wonderful recount of a year worth remembering.
All said, the year 2004 was a rather interesting year.
By that time I had been a fan for more than two years and still counting…
Because of Yong Joon, I had visited Korea three times
and had also started to acquire a keen interest in the Korean culture
as well as language.
And with the year closing in,
I had thought that my next trip to Korea would be sometime in September,
when his second movie, Going Out, was screened.
Never in my wildest dream did I dream that
I would be heading to Korea so soon again!
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Part 8 My Fourth Trip to Korea [Feb 2005]
Finally, A Picture! And Samcheok Highlights….
Now like I’ve mentioned before, I ain’t active in fans’ activities at all.
I’ve only attended the Scandal bunggae and the fans’ meeting in Hong Kong
and frankly, did not interact much with the fans at all.
I suppose at that time I was quite adamant in keeping myself incognito!
Haha…
Oh, I also attended one other event here in Singapore, rephrase…
I’ve attended only one other event here in Singapore.
That's the time when fans gathered to celebrate Yong Joon’s birthday last August.
But it was a simple gathering, just people coming together to have lunch,
then there was a lucky draw and cake-cutting.
I went alone and it was, honestly, kindda awkward.
The only soul I knew was Tiffany.
And although I had email exchanges with Tiffany for a while already,
we had never met. But of course I knew how she looked like,
because her pictures were quite literally splashed all over the media
the time when Yong Joon was in town.
And yes, yes, she was one of those lucky enough
to have gotten a hug from the man!
So how could I not know how she looked like?
I was and still am so green with envy!
I will leave it to you to guess which picture it was that made me a green-eyed monster…
And no prizes for getting it right too.
Anyway, it was only after that one and only gathering that I attended
that I started to know Tiffany a little more.
Had tea [actually she had tea, I’m a coffee person…] a few times
and actually, I like her. And no, no, no, don’t get me wrong.
She’s married and I’m straight.
It was over one such catch-up session with her in early January
when I was lamenting over how I wished I could be heading to Korea again.
Ya, I know, I know… I just went in November
and was yearning, craving, dying to go again.
Somehow I’ve this thing about Korea.
I just enjoy going there, being there.
One thing you may wanna know about me is that I really love the cooler climate.
Ya, am one of those born in the wrong region.
I mean, how cool can it get than here in Singapore?
So I was dreaming about snow,
I was dreaming about the nice, cold weather in the sweltering heat of Singapore.
Nami Island, in the winter months, 2005.
Not many things can be more satisfying for a Yong Joon fan
than to soak in the wintry atmosphere…
And… it was then that Tiffany told me that a few of the Joonsfamily ladies
were planning to go at the end of the month.
On the spur of the moment,
I impulsively asked her to check with them if they minded that I tagged along.
It was really an impulse.
The words were out of my mouth before I realised.
On hindsight, it was a pretty forward move, and risky too.
Now, we all know what makes or breaks a trip is actually the travelling companions.
There I was, asking to go on a trip with people I didn't even know.
Anyhow Tiffany was nice and kind as usual and she asked them.
Next thing I knew I was going to Korea.
I’m sure the ladies also had reservations.
I mean, they had no idea at all what I looked like,
let alone what kind of person I was.
What if I was very difficult? What if… What if…?
I will spare you the details,
but suffice to say we all decided to take a risk and we went.
Five of us went on this trip.
With their permission,
I now will share with you the names of the people who went on this trip.
Other than yours truly, Julie, Lina, Lynn and Ros went too.
Now in case you didn’t know,
Lynn and Ros are actually committee members [CMs] of Joonsfamily.
Before we even went on the trip,
the five of us had quite a few things in common already.
We’re all Singaporeans, we’re all Yong Joon fans,
and we all have been to Korea quite a few times already.
And the reason for making those Korea trips in the past was always for
Yong Joon.
Before the trip, with the exception of Julie,
the four of us met once to go through the itinerary.
It was a free and easy trip, so naturally it would entail some planning.
That was the first time I met my travelling companions.
Ha, it’s quite funny actually.
I could only recognise Ros, having seen her during that birthday gathering.
Anyhow, I had to wait for her to arrive at the meeting place
before realising that the other two ladies were already there
and i had walked past them twice without knowing.
Our trip was 30th Jan to 7th Feb 2005.
A few days before we were due to fly to Korea,
I read on the Quilt that a Japanese magazine had published some information
about the possible shooting sites in Samcheok.
At that point, we had not quite decided if we were going to Samcheok,
although I had a good mind to.
And I knew that one or two of the ladies would not mind going too.
Well, the news was that shooting would commence from 10th Feb 2005,
after the Lunar New Year.
But I had wanted to see Samcheok before it got all commercialised.
I’ve no doubts at all that the movie would bring
busloads after busloads of tourists and fans in time to come.
I kindda had wanted to see it the way Director Hsu had seen it.
You know, see Samcheok before it got all commercialised and hyped up.
So even though shooting had not started,
implying that the cast would not be there till after the new year,
I was still very keen to go.
So I emailed to a few of my closer Japanese friends,
seeking their help to go through that Japanese magazine
and see if there was anything that might be useful for my trip.
I wrote to them three days before our trip,
not exactly leaving them with much time.
But Mclara came to our rescue.
And I know that she stayed up late just to translate the information for me.
Thank you, thank you, Mclara!
The Japanese magazine had pretty much tried to find out
the possible filming sites for the movie at Samcheok
and the information was actually quite comprehensive,
it even came with a map that Mclara kindly forwarded to me as well.
Mclara subsequently posted this translation on the Quilt as well,
the link is as follows, just in case you're interested:
http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/view.php...sc=asc&no=10099
So, off to Korea we went…
Since we were there for about a week,
we actually did quite a fair bit of things, it was quite an eventful trip.
But here, I will only give a pictorial report, or a summary of the trip:
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Day 1
30th Jan 2005 [Sun]
- Met Lynn & Ros at the airport a few hours ahead of time.
- Went over the itinerary again.
- Decided to make the trip to Samcheok; overnight trip 3rd & 4th Feb 2005.
- Extremely jealous of Ros’ ultra-long eyelashes;
vowed to cut them off when she was sleeping.
- Extremely tickled by Ros’ two forefingers.
One of them was of Yong Joon as per Jowon in Scandal,
and the other was of Yong Joon as per MinHyung in WLS.
- Lina and Julie came later. Met Julie for the first time.
- Flight was slightly delayed.
Day 2
31st Jan 2005 [Mon]
BOF / Lotte Duty Free
Despite having gone to Korea three times in the past,
I had never visited BOF office.
Like what Tiffany said in her JF Diary, http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=1871,
BOF office is like a pilgrimage for all Yong Joon fans.
So… how could I not go,
especially since I’ve the familiar hands of my fellow fans
to guide me to the oh-so-elusive BOF?
Some pictures of BOF to share:
We also went to Lotte at Jamsil that day.
As all Yong Joon fans would know by now,
there’s a little BYJ merchandise corner on the 10th floor
which incidentally is the Duty Free floor
that Yong Joon happens to be the spokesperson for.
Here’s one picture taken in this BYJ corner:
Some of the BYJ merchandise on sale at Lotte.
Day 3
1st Feb 2005 [Tue]
It was a very, very cold day…
Mr Park who runs the motel we were staying at
told us that the temperature was minus 12 degrees that day,
but he said the weather report said it'd actually feel like it was minus 26 degrees.
Go figure…
But I was enjoying the cold… Sighs…
If only Singapore, too, has four seasons.
Anyway we took it quite easy this day with some light shopping
at Coex and MyeongDong.
Day 4
2nd Feb 2005 [Wed]
WLS Land @ Jamsil Stadium
I had read on Quilt that a WLS theme park had just opened at the Jamsil area,
so we decided to check it out.
We were in luck.
The park was only due to open the next day,
but most of the exhibits were ready.
So not only were we able to get into WLS Land for free,
we also had the entire place to ourselves!
WLS Land is made up of two parts.
The front comprises various tents depicting the various scenes from WLS.
And all around the place, you can also see visuals from the hit drama.
Here’re some pictures:
The entrance to WLS Land.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS4.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS5.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS6.jpg[/img]
You will see a lot of visuals from WLS all around the front portion of WLS Land.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS7.jpg[/img]
Taken inside one of the tents;
re-creating the dinner scene MinHyung & Yujin had at the ski resort.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS8.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS9.jpg[/img]
Taken inside yet another tent;
these are reminiscent of Jun-Sahng and Yujin’s high school days.
Ah… the scent and taste of first love, so bittersweet…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS11.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS10.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS12.jpg[/img]
Taken inside a big, big tent.
When we popped our heads inside, we realised that this was actually an eatery.
Once again, you will be surrounded by WLS visuals and drama pictures.
At one end of this tent is a recreation of the balcony area of the house at Oedo,
you know the last scene in WLS when MinHyung & Yujin reunited?
There’s a standee of Jun-Sahng & Yujin
with a slot for you to pop out your head and pretend to be Yujin!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS13.jpg[/img]
And how the WLS Land be complete without the little snowmen?
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS14.jpg[/img]
Guess which naughty fellow went to put the poor little snowmen up on the tree??
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS15.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS16.jpg[/img]
And if you want to take away a piece of WLS, you can!
Just pop into this merchandise tent where they sell WLS and BYJ merchandise.
Note that you can buy some of the merchandise
available at Lotte Duty Free Zone here as well.
So we spent the day happily snapping away at WLS Land in the day.
We had planned to catch a movie at Coex that evening.
Well, I’m sure some of you would have heard this saying
that a certain Lee Dong Gun reminds people of a younger Yong Joon?
Yup, we had bought tickets the day before to catch his new movie,
My Boyfriend Type B.
So off we went towards Coex from WLS Land.
Only to realise that I had lost my camera when I reached Coex.
I had bought my camera for barely six months and yup, I had lost it.
It wasn’t just the monetary loss,
I had lost all the pictures taken for the past couple of days too.
At that point, I was frankly very upset and was on the verge of crying.
Also because I had helped Lina and Ros take pictures with my camera too.
I felt so awful I could die.
But I didn’t cry.
I remember thinking that this was a group holiday
and I really should be considerate and not affect others’ mood.
I tried to console myself.
At least I lost it on the third day of the trip,
and not at the end of the trip.
That would probably have been more painful.
I was also a rather practical person.
I remember telling Ros this:
If crying would help bring my camera back,
I would flood the city of Seoul.
Anyway, it was 5pm when I realised I had lost my camera,
the tickets we had bought for the show My Boyfriend Type B was 7pm.
The next day we were supposed to go to Samcheok
and I really wanted to take pictures there.
So I made a quick decision to buy a new camera.
But I had wanted to buy a Casio,
and such a big mall like Coex actually did not carry Casio cameras!
Found out that I could get Casio cameras from TechnoMart.
So I had less than two hours to get to TechnoMart to buy my camera
and make it back to Coex for the 7pm movie.
And it was peak hour. My heart was racing.
I decided to make a run for it anyway.
I would not have time to go get a camera
before we set off for Samcheok the next morning.
At this point, I would like to thank Ros who accompanied me to TechnoMart
and helped me bargain too!
I was so used to the fixed price practice here in Singapore
that I forgot all about bargaining.
And she could have left me to manage on my own,
after all, I did say I was okay. But she was nice.
And she was with me all the way.
And we made it back for the movie in good time;
we even had time to eat dinner before the movie.
Thanks, Ros!
Day 5
3rd Feb 2005 [Thu]
Samcheok!
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
We rented a jumbo taxi for the overnight trip to Samcheok.
Surprisingly, the jumbo taxi was spacious enough to accommodate
the five of us and the driver quite comfortably.
Mind you, I’m not exactly Twiggy, yes, yes, I’m a big girl.
The journey was supposed to be a four-hour drive from Seoul.
We set off at about 8am and targeted to reach Samcheok sometime after noon.
By the way, Tiffany had told us over the phone that
she had read some news article saying that filming for Going Out
had been brought forward to 4th Feb, instead of 10th Feb.
So… we wondered…
Would there be an opportunity to see Yong Joon after all…?
Here’s a picture taken along the way to Samcheok:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/otwsamcheok2.jpg[/img]
Once we got to Samcheok, we were too excited to check into the hotel first.
We made the driver take us to Samcheok Hospital first.
He must be thinking we’re such weird souls…
Fancy travelling all the way from Seoul
and the first place we wanted to go was the hospital!
But you cannot even start to imagine our excitement
as we tried to match the building against the map that Mclara emailed me.
And yes!
We finally ascertained that that’s the building, that’s Samcheok Hospital.
So we got off the vehicle and checked out the place.
Here’re some of our first shots of the hospital:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samhospital1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samhospital2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samhospital3.jpg[/img]
The shooting area is behind these closed doors...
According to the information I received from Mclara,
the shooting would be on the third level of the hospital.
So… up the stairs Ros and I went
while the rest of the ladies checked out other parts of the hospital.
And yes! We found the door leading to the shooting area!
But too bad, it was out of bounds for us.
Could only satisfy our curiosity by taking a picture of the door.
Hehe, I remember wondering
if Yong Joon could be behind those closed doors at that time…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samhospital4.jpg[/img]
The windows on that level were all blocked. Couldn’t see a thing…
Now according to the Japanese article,
there was a motel opposite the hospital where the crew would stay.
And also, it suspected that in the movie,
the two main characters played by Yong Joon and Sohn Yejin
would also be staying in this motel
since their spouses were admitted into the hospital.
So, naturally, we went to check it out too.
And indeed there was a motel right across the street from the hospital!
It’s Samufun Motel. Again, here’re some pictures:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sammotel1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sammotel2.jpg[/img]
And guess what we spotted right outside the motel??
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/makeupvehoutsidemotel.jpg[/img]
We saw a purple vehicle that had “MAKEUP BOX” written on it.
So… would this be where the cast had their makeup done?
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/crewcoachoutsidemotel.jpg[/img]
Then we saw a coach used to ferry the crew for the movie.
It was all getting very exciting!
Remember, at that point, we were not quite sure
if shooting was really going to start the following day,
so we could not be sure if Yong Joon was already there.
But all the signs seemed to be telling us that filming would start soon.
We went into the motel to try and find out more.
On the pretext of checking availability and rates, we stepped inside.
What we gathered was that there were actually rooms available,
but the motel operator was probably instructed not to rent out any rooms.
They probably paid for exclusive use.
And it was pretty obvious we were foreigners
and were unlikely to really have sick relatives or friends in the hospital.
So we were told no, they had no rooms to rent out to us.
But while there, we saw a list pasted on the counter.
It said CREW LIST.
What followed was a list of names and their respective room numbers.
Just when I was getting ready to try and take a picture of that,
a very fierce-looking man came into sight.
I halted whatever I was doing and we quickly got out of there.
The Japanese magazine article that Mclara helped translate for me
mentioned that there could be an influx of visitors to the shooting site
and it was best to make reservations for the hotel two weeks ahead.
Worried that we might not be able to get rooms, we decided to check in first.
From the information Mclara gave me,
it would appear that Yong Joon would be staying at the Palace Tourist Hotel.
At this point, I would like to say that in an attempt to protect Yong Joon’s privacy
and to minimise disruption to the shooting,
I will not be giving any additional or private information
other than those that are already public knowledge.
So I'm sorry, won't be able to share more info or photos...
but I'm sure you'll all understand.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/palacehotel1.jpg[/img]
This is the entrance of the hotel; and heehee, that’s our jumbo taxi!
All the rooms in this hotel face the sea.
Although it was winter and kindda cold, the first thing we did
when we checked into the rooms were to open up the balcony doors.
The view was magnificent!
And it was a wonderful thought,
that this beautiful seaview would be what Yong Joon wakes up to
every morning when he’s shooting here… Mmm…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/palacehotel2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/palacehotel3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/palacehotel4.jpg[/img]
Taken from the balcony of our hotel room.
It was about 3pm when we checked into the hotel.
Unsure of what to do next in Samcheok,
we told our driver to go do whatever he needed to do
and be back to get us from the hotel at 5pm.
Then the five of us gathered in one of the rooms and just lazed around.
I remember I was going through Mclara’s notes
and discussing with the ladies where else we should go in Samcheok.
At some point, Lina went to stand at the balcony.
And… she said she spotted two male joggers…
We were not too interested at first,
but went to check out at the balcony anyway.
Sure enough, there were two men jogging along the slope of the coastline
right outside our hotel. One of them was in a cap.
But I thought neither of them looked like Yong Joon.
Then again… it was dreadfully cold and it’s near the hotel…
Who in his right frame of mind would be jogging at that time?
So… We decided that if it was indeed Yong Joon,
they would probably made a U-turn back to the hotel.
So we told ourselves that we would go down to the lobby to check out
when the two men turned around to jog back towards the hotel.
So there we stood and waited.
Yes! The men turned around!
So we grabbed our coats, scarves, gloves, whatever…
and scrambled downstairs.
Out in the cold we stood,
watching as the men came closer, closer and yet closer…
Was it him? Was it really him???
No, it wasn’t.
A little disappointed, we turned back into the hotel.
Then I discovered a free Internet area at the side of the hotel lobby.
Since we had not had access to the net for the past few days,
three of us decided to check our email
as well as surf to see if we could find any Yong joon-related news.
So while Lynn, Ros and I were surfing,
Julie and Lina sat at the front of the lobby to chat and wait for us.
That was slightly past 3pm.
Time passed quickly.
Before we knew it, more than an hour had passed.
And during that time, I managed to log onto Quilt and loveyongjoon.com.
Don’t think I can survive long without Internet access…
My God, how the net has taken over my life!
Well, anyhow, we managed to confirm that
the movie would indeed start shooting on 4th feb, which was the next day.
So it was highly likely that the cast had already arrived.
But… the six million dollar question was: Where was Yong Joon?
4.30pm.
I started to feel a little guilty
about making the two ladies wait for us for so long while we surfed.
And since the driver was coming to get us at 5pm,
I told Lynn and Ros to rejoin the other two ladies.
So the five of us sat at the front lobby
and waited for our driver to come and pick us.
And at that time, there were a handful of Japanese fans
hanging around in the lobby as well.
Then Lina said she was getting a little hungry.
Since there was still at least a good twenty minutes before our transport came,
and we weren’t sure what time we would be having dinner,
we told her to go back up to the room to grab something to eat.
Lina wasn’t gone for too long before we heard slight commotion.
Suddenly the Japanese fans were all running out the hotel.
We naturally followed. And we saw Manager Yang!
He was walking from the side entrance of the hotel
towards the main entrance of the hotel with another man.
Our hearts started to beat faster…
Usually if you can see Manager Yang,
it would mean Yong Joon is probably somewhere near too.
So…?
Before any logical thoughts could form,
a vehicle came from the side entrance of the hotel
and drove past the main entrance where we were standing.
And suddenly the right rear window rolled down.
A head popped out.
Not just any head, it was Yong Joon!
He waved at us in our general direction before rolling up the window again.
It was a very, very, very brief moment.
But very, very, very exciting.
Then the vehicle stopped about ten metres from the main entrance.
The Japanese fans were getting excited and screaming alittle,
and they surged forward towards the vehicle
only to be stopped by a man who got down from the vehicle.
I’m not certain what he said, it was in Japanese.
I think he probably told them to step back.
Then he went back into the car and the fans did not move forward anymore.
All this while, the four of us were standing slightly behind the Japanese fans,
but we were quite calm, no screams, no surging forward.
We were just watching, hoping Yong Joon would come out of the vehicle
once he saw that there weren't so many fans,
and that the fans were behaving quite calmly.
Meanwhile, Manager Yang had gone back into the hotel, am not sure why,
and he was being besieged with requests for photos from the fans.
Haha, sure seems like he’s a celebrity too…!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byjyang.jpg[/img]
Now I would have you know that photographs don’t do Manager Yang justice.
He is much, much, much better looking in person!
Really! I just love his brown eyes! Quite swoon-worthy!
Okay, okay, I’ll go back to the main point of this story… Sorry!
Back to the vehicle Yong Joon was in.
No, no, sorry, girls, to protect his privacy,
I will not be posting any picture of the vehicle which I know belongs to him.
He did not roll down the window again.
And not longer after, the vehicle drove away.
But we noticed that it did not drive away immediately,
it actually stopped somewhere down the lower part of the slope
as if it was waiting for some people.
And just then Sohn Yejin appeared.
Two of us had the good fortune of taking a picture with the lovely young lady.
She looked very sweet and pretty in person.
And she smelt nice!
I thought she smelt of fresh flowers in bloom. Lovely!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/syj1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/syj2.jpg[/img]
Just then we realised that our driver had arrived.
And meanwhile, Sohn Yejin had gotten into a car and so had Manager Yang.
Think there were a total of three or four vehicles in all.
And since they were all ready to leave for wherever,
the vehicle Yong Joon was in also started to move again.
But our friend Lina was still upstairs! It was quite a crazy moment!
While we were all wondering what’s taking her so long to come down,
none of us were willing to run back up to get her.
And her cellphone was with us, so we couldn’t call her.
And we’re nice enough people not to dessert our friend
and go chase after some Korean hunk.
Yes, I’m being completely honest here.
At no point did it cross our minds to just leave without our friend.
But I’ll admit that during those ten minutes,
there was quite a fair bit of cursing and swearing.
Am pretty sure Lina’s ears itched during those ten minutes. Arghhh….!
We then decided to all hop into our vehicle to wait for Lina.
We told the driver to start the engine.
Meanwhile, Ros waited at the lobby for Lina to come down.
And not long after the last vehicle of Yong Joon’s entourage left the hotel,
Lina finally came down.
Ros and Lina quickly got into the vehicle and we started to follow the last vehicle!
Actually we didn’t stop to think about what we were doing,
we didn’t even discuss.
Instinctively, we just did the first thing that came to mind.
Yong Joon’s entourage did not go far.
In fact, the vehicles stopped at the open carpark near the hospital.
We stopped our car too.
And… frankly, the next minutes were a blur to me.
I did try checking with the other ladies,
but none of us could remember too clearly what happened exactly.
So in the next few paragraphs, some details might have been missed,
and some sequence might have jumbled up.
But I’m sure you’ll all forgive me, right?
I mean, how on earth is a girl supposed to keep a clear mind
when Yong Joon’s around?
To cut the story short, everyone got out of his or her respective vehicles.
And we went towards Yong Joon
and took our turns to shake his hand and take our pictures with him.
It was all very quick;
it was not as if we had a conversation in the parking lot or anything like that.
And we even forgot to take a group picture with him. Silly us!
And... one more thing...
when he saw us get out of our jumbo taxi to walk towards him,
he actually looked quite pleased and happy to see us.
At no point did he show any sign of annoyance.
In fact, he broke into a big, wide grin when he saw us,
and that smile did not leave his face the entire time.
And a couple of us in our little group swore that when he was walking off,
he turned towards our direction and smiled at us before heading off.
Let me try and describe how he looked then.
Yong Joon looked really good.
I mean, he looked really, really, really good.
He’s tall and he looked lean and strong.
He’s very fair and did not look as if he was wearing any makeup.
His hair was cut shorter and the colour was a rather deep shade of brown.
Sidetrack a little here, I actually prefer him with medium to dark brown hair.
I’ve always thought MinHyung’s hair colour was a tad too light.
He was wearing shades, as usual.
The overall feel was that he’s naturally good-looking,
and the dressing style was simple yet classic and elegant.
The way I would imagine Yong Joon in real life.
Just… Just perfect, I guess.
He was in a black turtleneck with a nice black jacket.
It was a military-styled jacket,
and he paired it with a pair of comfortable-looking blue jeans.
He was not wearing gloves.
And he had a huge camera with him.
He’s every bit as good-looking as he looks in his pictures.
No, actually he looked much better than in the pictures.
His voice was velvety smooth as usual, and when he spoke,
it felt as though he was caressing you with his voice.
And long after he’s gone,
I swear I could still hear his voice ringing in my head with echoes!
Don’t laugh!
I’ll post some pictures here…
I’ve to crop our faces out though,
don’t think the ladies want their faces splashed all over the net.
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byj1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byj2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byj3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byj4.jpg[/img]
One more picture that MyDaily took of him on the same day.
[img]http://homeimg.mydaily.co.kr/home1_20050204092912.jpg[/img]
Not sure if you guys have read an interview with Director Hsu about this movie.
In that interview, he mentioned why he had chosen Samcheok
as the backdrop for this movie.
Anyway, he mentioned two key sites in this interview.
One was a Japanese-style café and the other was Jukseoru Pavilion.
So basically when we saw the cast and crew that day,
they were actually checking out the various places
where they would be doing their filming.
This carpark was actually right outside Jukseoru
and the café was located at the side of the carpark.
After we had taken pictures with Yong Joon,
the team proceeded into Jukseoru.
We decided since we were already very blessed to have seen him
and have our pictures taken with him, we did not want to disturb his work.
So we did not follow them into Jukseoru even though it was open to public.
And when they came out, they went into the café.
Again, we did not follow them when they went to these two places.
What we did instead was we would go into Jukseoru after they came out,
and then we went into the café after they left.
So we were always behind them.
But mind you, we were not following them closely
or stalking them in case that’s what you’re thinking.
We kept a very, very, very respectable distance.
And from one place to the other, the entire entourage went on foot.
It was quite amazing to see Yong Joon walk along the road
without anyone going up to him for autograph.
He was able to walk openly on the open streets in a carefree manner,
there were no other fans in sight other than us.
I felt happy and relieved for him.
Anyway, like I said, we were quite a distance from him,
and even when we zoomed in to take his pictures with our cameras,
the pictures did not come out clear.
But that’s okay.
I think what’s more important was for him to rest his mind
and concentrate on his work.
Instead of having to worry about fans or paparazzi.
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byjgrp1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byjgrp2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byjgrp3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byjgrp4.jpg[/img]
Here are some pictures that we’ve taken at Jukseoru and the café.
Enjoy!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/jukseoru1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/jukseoru2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/jukseoru3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/jukseou4.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafe1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafe2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafe3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafe4.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafe5.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafe6.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafebyj.jpg[/img]
And of course, when we went in,
we asked where Yong Joon sat when he was there earlier…
Here!
And naturally all of us took turns to sit on the exact same spot
he was sitting and took pictures!
After that, we decided to be rational and not stalk or follow him.
So we went to have dinner instead.
Now Samcheok is quite famous for its seafood,
so we went to have some seafood.
We had a good dinner that night,
and the proprietor also came to sit with us for awhile.
Hehe, he even gave us one free fish!
Okay, before I forget, the king crab was fantastic!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/crab.jpg[/img]
A flipping good dinner! [private joke...]
We had our dinner in a private room
and it was only when dinner was over we realised that we were in Room 4!
You all know that Yong Joon is known as Yon-sama in Japan, right?
And “yon” means four in Japanese! Haha…!
The night was still young,
so we decided to check out the jazz bar mentioned in the Japanese magazine.
We had actually gone there in the daytime, but it was closed.
Anyhow, we popped in to have a look.
It was a very small drinking place on the second level of a corner shophouse.
The name of the place is Bicycle Thief,
and it’s actually run by a rather cool-looking dude
who left the police force some three years ago.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/bar1.jpg[/img]
This was how the place looked like from the outside
when we went there in the daytime.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/bar2.jpg[/img]
Once you stepped into the bar,
you would see black-and-white stills from classic movies.
Straightaway you can tell that the owner of this place loves music
and perhaps old movies as well. Cool….
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/bar3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/bar4.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/bar5.jpg[/img]
More pictures of how the place looked like…
Actually it’s a really small place, only five tables. But very cozy.
It’s kindda quaint, with a bicycle hanging on one wall.
All around you, you would see the wall plastered with notes
that customers scribbled and pinned up all through the years.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/bar6.jpg[/img]
The owner of the bar told us this was where Yong Joon sat when he came by.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/barman.jpg[/img]
This guy’s the owner!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/barmen.jpg[/img]
When we went to the bar, it was still pretty early,
the night owls were not out yet.
Other than us, there was just one other man.
Yup, the guy in white tee and jacket in this picture.
Turned out he’s the Korean correspondent for the Japanese magazine, Josei Jishin.
He was there to cover the possible filming sites the movie Going Out might use.
Anyway, he asked to snap our picture and three of us obliged.
And the very next week, our picture
[Lina, Ros & myself, together with the owner of the bar]
appeared in a two-page full-colour report on Samcheok!
The caption under our picture read Singaporean tourists in Samcheok.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/barmsg1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/barmsg2.jpg[/img]
Can you see the Joonsfamily running along the edge of the message?
Heehee… We had to add it in...!
And how could we leave the bar
without leaving our very own message for Yong Joon?
So we got some paper and pen and started to pen our message to him.
After we finished,
we looked around for an appropriate [read = conspicuous, unmissable]
spot to pin our message.
There was a dartboard, there’s just one, in the bar
and there was a message stuck on the bull’s eye.
So… we happily removed that message
and replaced it with our Yong Joon message!
And as if that’s not enough, we went to ask the bar owner for help.
Well, basically, we told him to point out our message to Yong Joon
when he next came by again!
That night, I slept very well. I’m sure the other four ladies did too.
After all, although we did not plan it,
we all got to meet our Prince Charming that day.
Day 6
4th Feb 2005 [Fri]
I Left my Heart in Samcheok…
Have you heard?
One of the best things about Samcheok is the sunrise.
We were lucky we woke up early enough to enjoy the sunrise.
And for those of you who may not be making a trip there so soon,
we took some pictures to share with you too…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samsunrise1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samsunrise2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samsunrise3.jpg[/img]
These were all taken near the side entrance of the hotel.
That morning was not an easy one, at least it wasn’t easy for me.
There were a few decisions to make.
First of all, Yong Joon was there in Samcheok
and we were supposed to leave for Seoul that day.
So… decision one, did we really want to head back to Seoul
when he’s there in Samcheok?
I mean, I could have easily stayed back, at least for another day?
Then I told myself I had gone to Samcheok to see what the place had to offer,
and it was sheer luck and by fluke that we got to see him.
That should be enough.
He had work to do there. I tried putting myself in his shoes.
Surely it's distracting if fans were hovering around the shooting sites, right?
Perhaps things wouldn't be so bad in the case of indoor shooting,
but surely there would be some outdoor shooting…
And to have people watching would affect the actors’ and actresses’ moods.
It would be harder for them to concentrate on their tasks at hand,
for them to get into their respective roles.
And if Yong Joon had so many fans waiting to see him and all,
he had to still remain civil and polite after shooting,
no matter how tired, how mentally drained he would be at the end of a shooting.
And if he had so many fans, as compared to the rest of the cast,
would it also cause some unnecessary friction or discomfort
between Yong Joon and the rest?
So I had already made my own mind up. I wasn’t going to stay.
I was leaving for Seoul that day.
Mind you, it really wasn’t an easy decision.
Then came the next question.
What should we do that morning and afternoon before we left for Seoul?
It appeared that each of us had different ideas what we wanted to do.
Some of us wanted to explore the rest of Samcheok,
yet others wanted to wait in the hotel for Yong Joon to appear,
and perhaps follow him to wherever he might be having his first shooting.
Eventually we decided to take in some sights.
We thought we would check out the famous Hwanseon Caves of Samcheok
before going to the hospital
to see if we could catch one last glimpse of Yong Joon before heading off.
But not before we did something nice in the name of Joons Family.
Tiffany had called us that morning
to see if we could arrange to send some flowers to Yong Joon
to send our wishes for the crank-in of the movie.
So after we had breakfast, off to the florist we went!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/flowers1.jpg[/img]
This picture was from the catalogue.
Anyhow, we chose this design,
but got the florist to add one more tier of roses.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/flowers2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/flowers3.jpg[/img]
This is the card that we got to accompany the flower.
I know, I know, it’s not exactly very nice,
but believe me, this was the nicest of them all…
Noticed the two ultra-cute forefingers holding down the card in the first picture?
Yes, those’re Ros’ nails!
Anyway, we got the florist to send the flowers over to the hospital
where we knew they would be starting their first shooting for the movie.
We heard the first shooting was scheduled at the hospital at 7pm that night.
Anyway, I believe these’re from that first evening’s shooting…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/firstshootingA.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/firstshootingB.jpg[/img]
[img]http://imgnews.naver.com/image/117/2005/02/05/200502050846170100_1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://imgnews.naver.com/image/117/2005/02/05/200502050922110100_1.jpg[/img]
So… what did we do after we bought flowers? We went for exercise!
Seriously… we went to Hwanseon Caves
and we walked miles and miles and miles…
The Japanese article mentioned that there’s a possibility
that there would be some shooting done in the caves as well.
Now... Julie, don't kill me if they end up not shooting at the caves!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave2.jpg[/img]
Basically, you have to walk up seemingly endless flights of stairs
to reach the entrance of the cave. Believe me, it’s not easy.
Each time you thought that’s the end of all the staircase climbing,
you did a turn and another flight of stairs would miraculously
appear before your eyes.
And there would be signages at every point to remind
not how much you’ve conquered…
I was reading all the signs as how far we had to walk out later…
Sighs… I’m one of those whose only form of exercise
was and still is shopping in Orchard…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave4.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave5.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave6.jpg[/img]
After we spent more than a couple of hours trekking up
endless flights of staircase to reach the entrance of the cave,
we found the highlight of the trip - the caves!
Once you’re inside the caves, there’re quite a few bridges and stuff.
At the Valley of Hope, there’s this Bridge of Love,
cross it and go on up some more you will come to the Summit of Hope.
And here, there’s an interesting phenomenon.
There’s a hollow up in the ceiling of the cave in the shape of a heart.
The light will shine through this hollow,
giving a natural heart-shaped glow. It’s really quite pretty.
At one point, we reached this bridge called Bridge of Hell,
not sure if Ros was over-traumatised by the climb up to the caves,
but somehow... Bridge of Hell became "helluva bridge".
We could not hold back our laughter when she said that's helluva bridge
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave7.jpg[/img]
Finally! Entrance to the cave!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave8.jpg[/img]
The famous Bridge of Love…
Apparently many lovers would stand on the Bridge of Love
and exchange promises of love under the glowing heart…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave10.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave9.jpg[/img]
These two shots were taken on our way down from the caves…
Must have snowed before we arrived in Samcheok….
After the caves, we decided to turn around to the hospital just for one last look
before heading back to Seoul.
Nope, we did not see Yong Joon,
although we did manage see the still dashing Manager Yang
and IMX President Son, whom one of us mentioned was cute-looking...
Some more pictures of Samcheok before we headed back to Seoul:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/surrounds1.jpg[/img]
Back to Samcheok Hospital.
Noticed that they had cleared the carpark of all cars.
When we went the day before, the carpark was still open to public parking.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/surrounds5.jpg[/img]
Saw some media hanging around the carpark area; “waiting for action”?
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/surrounds2.jpg[/img]
And… Funny…!
I could've sworn there was no opening to this wall the day before!
We returned to the hospital premises
and saw that the crew had created a new opening at the side of the hospital.
Seems like they would be using this newly-created access point for the movie…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/surrounds3.jpg[/img]
The immediate surrounding of the hospital area.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/surrounds4.jpg[/img]
Another picture of the immediate surrounding of the hospital area.
And on the way back to Seoul, we also checked out Samcheok Beach.
I had read somewhere that there would be some scenes
between Yong Joon and Sohn Yejin along the beach…
Haha, think the news article mentioned “The Beach of Adultery”…
Here’re some shots:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sambeach1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sambeach2.jpg[/img]
So… although we had left Samcheok physically,
our hearts were still there…
Day 7
5th Feb 2005 [Sat]
This day, our group split up to do our own things that day.
I met up with Korean fan, Youngsun, and we had great fun catching up.
And being a true-blue Singaporean, I did some shopping too…
Bought more Mickey Mouse stuff…
Okay, okay, other than Yong Joon, I do like Mickey Mouse too!
Day 8
6th Feb 2005 [Sun]
Star-Gazing: LDH & HJH!
More shopping… Went to Dongdaemun on this day.
But… before I forget, let me share that we actually saw two stars.
Yes, we saw Lee Dong Gun and Han Ji Hae
who were doing stage greeting for their new movie, My Boyfriend Type B,
which incidentally would probably start a trend of
everyone trying to act like Superman when they're taking bubble lifts
when it's screened here in Singapore! :wink:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/LDG.jpg[/img]
Lee Dong Gun, outside the cinema theatre.
Sorry, don’t have any good shots of HJH.
Day 9
7th Feb 2005 [Mon]
Then it was time to go… So sad!
But… at the airport, we saw one more star!
Song Yunah was shooting Hong Kong Express at Incheon Airport!
And now in case it slipped your mind for the moment,
she's the actress starring opposite Yong Joon in Hotelier. Remember?
She's tall and slim and very pretty in person.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sya1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sya2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sya3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sya4.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sya5.jpg[/img]
You could say it was a great trip, rather eventful.
We definitely got more than what we bargained for…
And hahahaha… a picture with Yong Joon at last!
I was so exhilarated I couldn’t stop smiling for days when I came back…
And the ladies were nice travelling companions too… Except for one thing.
They don’t eat very much and I’m the sort who’s ALWAYS hungry.
Food didn’t feature very highly on our trip,
which was quite a dramatic change from my other trips
where food was nearly always one of the major highlights.
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Finally, A Picture! And Samcheok Highlights….
Now like I’ve mentioned before, I ain’t active in fans’ activities at all.
I’ve only attended the Scandal bunggae and the fans’ meeting in Hong Kong
and frankly, did not interact much with the fans at all.
I suppose at that time I was quite adamant in keeping myself incognito!
Haha…
Oh, I also attended one other event here in Singapore, rephrase…
I’ve attended only one other event here in Singapore.
That's the time when fans gathered to celebrate Yong Joon’s birthday last August.
But it was a simple gathering, just people coming together to have lunch,
then there was a lucky draw and cake-cutting.
I went alone and it was, honestly, kindda awkward.
The only soul I knew was Tiffany.
And although I had email exchanges with Tiffany for a while already,
we had never met. But of course I knew how she looked like,
because her pictures were quite literally splashed all over the media
the time when Yong Joon was in town.
And yes, yes, she was one of those lucky enough
to have gotten a hug from the man!
So how could I not know how she looked like?
I was and still am so green with envy!
I will leave it to you to guess which picture it was that made me a green-eyed monster…
And no prizes for getting it right too.
Anyway, it was only after that one and only gathering that I attended
that I started to know Tiffany a little more.
Had tea [actually she had tea, I’m a coffee person…] a few times
and actually, I like her. And no, no, no, don’t get me wrong.
She’s married and I’m straight.
It was over one such catch-up session with her in early January
when I was lamenting over how I wished I could be heading to Korea again.
Ya, I know, I know… I just went in November
and was yearning, craving, dying to go again.
Somehow I’ve this thing about Korea.
I just enjoy going there, being there.
One thing you may wanna know about me is that I really love the cooler climate.
Ya, am one of those born in the wrong region.
I mean, how cool can it get than here in Singapore?
So I was dreaming about snow,
I was dreaming about the nice, cold weather in the sweltering heat of Singapore.
Nami Island, in the winter months, 2005.
Not many things can be more satisfying for a Yong Joon fan
than to soak in the wintry atmosphere…
And… it was then that Tiffany told me that a few of the Joonsfamily ladies
were planning to go at the end of the month.
On the spur of the moment,
I impulsively asked her to check with them if they minded that I tagged along.
It was really an impulse.
The words were out of my mouth before I realised.
On hindsight, it was a pretty forward move, and risky too.
Now, we all know what makes or breaks a trip is actually the travelling companions.
There I was, asking to go on a trip with people I didn't even know.
Anyhow Tiffany was nice and kind as usual and she asked them.
Next thing I knew I was going to Korea.
I’m sure the ladies also had reservations.
I mean, they had no idea at all what I looked like,
let alone what kind of person I was.
What if I was very difficult? What if… What if…?
I will spare you the details,
but suffice to say we all decided to take a risk and we went.
Five of us went on this trip.
With their permission,
I now will share with you the names of the people who went on this trip.
Other than yours truly, Julie, Lina, Lynn and Ros went too.
Now in case you didn’t know,
Lynn and Ros are actually committee members [CMs] of Joonsfamily.
Before we even went on the trip,
the five of us had quite a few things in common already.
We’re all Singaporeans, we’re all Yong Joon fans,
and we all have been to Korea quite a few times already.
And the reason for making those Korea trips in the past was always for
Yong Joon.
Before the trip, with the exception of Julie,
the four of us met once to go through the itinerary.
It was a free and easy trip, so naturally it would entail some planning.
That was the first time I met my travelling companions.
Ha, it’s quite funny actually.
I could only recognise Ros, having seen her during that birthday gathering.
Anyhow, I had to wait for her to arrive at the meeting place
before realising that the other two ladies were already there
and i had walked past them twice without knowing.
Our trip was 30th Jan to 7th Feb 2005.
A few days before we were due to fly to Korea,
I read on the Quilt that a Japanese magazine had published some information
about the possible shooting sites in Samcheok.
At that point, we had not quite decided if we were going to Samcheok,
although I had a good mind to.
And I knew that one or two of the ladies would not mind going too.
Well, the news was that shooting would commence from 10th Feb 2005,
after the Lunar New Year.
But I had wanted to see Samcheok before it got all commercialised.
I’ve no doubts at all that the movie would bring
busloads after busloads of tourists and fans in time to come.
I kindda had wanted to see it the way Director Hsu had seen it.
You know, see Samcheok before it got all commercialised and hyped up.
So even though shooting had not started,
implying that the cast would not be there till after the new year,
I was still very keen to go.
So I emailed to a few of my closer Japanese friends,
seeking their help to go through that Japanese magazine
and see if there was anything that might be useful for my trip.
I wrote to them three days before our trip,
not exactly leaving them with much time.
But Mclara came to our rescue.
And I know that she stayed up late just to translate the information for me.
Thank you, thank you, Mclara!
The Japanese magazine had pretty much tried to find out
the possible filming sites for the movie at Samcheok
and the information was actually quite comprehensive,
it even came with a map that Mclara kindly forwarded to me as well.
Mclara subsequently posted this translation on the Quilt as well,
the link is as follows, just in case you're interested:
http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/view.php...sc=asc&no=10099
So, off to Korea we went…
Since we were there for about a week,
we actually did quite a fair bit of things, it was quite an eventful trip.
But here, I will only give a pictorial report, or a summary of the trip:
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Day 1
30th Jan 2005 [Sun]
- Met Lynn & Ros at the airport a few hours ahead of time.
- Went over the itinerary again.
- Decided to make the trip to Samcheok; overnight trip 3rd & 4th Feb 2005.
- Extremely jealous of Ros’ ultra-long eyelashes;
vowed to cut them off when she was sleeping.
- Extremely tickled by Ros’ two forefingers.
One of them was of Yong Joon as per Jowon in Scandal,
and the other was of Yong Joon as per MinHyung in WLS.
- Lina and Julie came later. Met Julie for the first time.
- Flight was slightly delayed.
Day 2
31st Jan 2005 [Mon]
BOF / Lotte Duty Free
Despite having gone to Korea three times in the past,
I had never visited BOF office.
Like what Tiffany said in her JF Diary, http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=1871,
BOF office is like a pilgrimage for all Yong Joon fans.
So… how could I not go,
especially since I’ve the familiar hands of my fellow fans
to guide me to the oh-so-elusive BOF?
Some pictures of BOF to share:
We also went to Lotte at Jamsil that day.
As all Yong Joon fans would know by now,
there’s a little BYJ merchandise corner on the 10th floor
which incidentally is the Duty Free floor
that Yong Joon happens to be the spokesperson for.
Here’s one picture taken in this BYJ corner:
Some of the BYJ merchandise on sale at Lotte.
Day 3
1st Feb 2005 [Tue]
It was a very, very cold day…
Mr Park who runs the motel we were staying at
told us that the temperature was minus 12 degrees that day,
but he said the weather report said it'd actually feel like it was minus 26 degrees.
Go figure…
But I was enjoying the cold… Sighs…
If only Singapore, too, has four seasons.
Anyway we took it quite easy this day with some light shopping
at Coex and MyeongDong.
Day 4
2nd Feb 2005 [Wed]
WLS Land @ Jamsil Stadium
I had read on Quilt that a WLS theme park had just opened at the Jamsil area,
so we decided to check it out.
We were in luck.
The park was only due to open the next day,
but most of the exhibits were ready.
So not only were we able to get into WLS Land for free,
we also had the entire place to ourselves!
WLS Land is made up of two parts.
The front comprises various tents depicting the various scenes from WLS.
And all around the place, you can also see visuals from the hit drama.
Here’re some pictures:
The entrance to WLS Land.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS4.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS5.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS6.jpg[/img]
You will see a lot of visuals from WLS all around the front portion of WLS Land.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS7.jpg[/img]
Taken inside one of the tents;
re-creating the dinner scene MinHyung & Yujin had at the ski resort.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS8.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS9.jpg[/img]
Taken inside yet another tent;
these are reminiscent of Jun-Sahng and Yujin’s high school days.
Ah… the scent and taste of first love, so bittersweet…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS11.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS10.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS12.jpg[/img]
Taken inside a big, big tent.
When we popped our heads inside, we realised that this was actually an eatery.
Once again, you will be surrounded by WLS visuals and drama pictures.
At one end of this tent is a recreation of the balcony area of the house at Oedo,
you know the last scene in WLS when MinHyung & Yujin reunited?
There’s a standee of Jun-Sahng & Yujin
with a slot for you to pop out your head and pretend to be Yujin!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS13.jpg[/img]
And how the WLS Land be complete without the little snowmen?
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS14.jpg[/img]
Guess which naughty fellow went to put the poor little snowmen up on the tree??
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS15.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/WLS16.jpg[/img]
And if you want to take away a piece of WLS, you can!
Just pop into this merchandise tent where they sell WLS and BYJ merchandise.
Note that you can buy some of the merchandise
available at Lotte Duty Free Zone here as well.
So we spent the day happily snapping away at WLS Land in the day.
We had planned to catch a movie at Coex that evening.
Well, I’m sure some of you would have heard this saying
that a certain Lee Dong Gun reminds people of a younger Yong Joon?
Yup, we had bought tickets the day before to catch his new movie,
My Boyfriend Type B.
So off we went towards Coex from WLS Land.
Only to realise that I had lost my camera when I reached Coex.
I had bought my camera for barely six months and yup, I had lost it.
It wasn’t just the monetary loss,
I had lost all the pictures taken for the past couple of days too.
At that point, I was frankly very upset and was on the verge of crying.
Also because I had helped Lina and Ros take pictures with my camera too.
I felt so awful I could die.
But I didn’t cry.
I remember thinking that this was a group holiday
and I really should be considerate and not affect others’ mood.
I tried to console myself.
At least I lost it on the third day of the trip,
and not at the end of the trip.
That would probably have been more painful.
I was also a rather practical person.
I remember telling Ros this:
If crying would help bring my camera back,
I would flood the city of Seoul.
Anyway, it was 5pm when I realised I had lost my camera,
the tickets we had bought for the show My Boyfriend Type B was 7pm.
The next day we were supposed to go to Samcheok
and I really wanted to take pictures there.
So I made a quick decision to buy a new camera.
But I had wanted to buy a Casio,
and such a big mall like Coex actually did not carry Casio cameras!
Found out that I could get Casio cameras from TechnoMart.
So I had less than two hours to get to TechnoMart to buy my camera
and make it back to Coex for the 7pm movie.
And it was peak hour. My heart was racing.
I decided to make a run for it anyway.
I would not have time to go get a camera
before we set off for Samcheok the next morning.
At this point, I would like to thank Ros who accompanied me to TechnoMart
and helped me bargain too!
I was so used to the fixed price practice here in Singapore
that I forgot all about bargaining.
And she could have left me to manage on my own,
after all, I did say I was okay. But she was nice.
And she was with me all the way.
And we made it back for the movie in good time;
we even had time to eat dinner before the movie.
Thanks, Ros!
Day 5
3rd Feb 2005 [Thu]
Samcheok!
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
We rented a jumbo taxi for the overnight trip to Samcheok.
Surprisingly, the jumbo taxi was spacious enough to accommodate
the five of us and the driver quite comfortably.
Mind you, I’m not exactly Twiggy, yes, yes, I’m a big girl.
The journey was supposed to be a four-hour drive from Seoul.
We set off at about 8am and targeted to reach Samcheok sometime after noon.
By the way, Tiffany had told us over the phone that
she had read some news article saying that filming for Going Out
had been brought forward to 4th Feb, instead of 10th Feb.
So… we wondered…
Would there be an opportunity to see Yong Joon after all…?
Here’s a picture taken along the way to Samcheok:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/otwsamcheok2.jpg[/img]
Once we got to Samcheok, we were too excited to check into the hotel first.
We made the driver take us to Samcheok Hospital first.
He must be thinking we’re such weird souls…
Fancy travelling all the way from Seoul
and the first place we wanted to go was the hospital!
But you cannot even start to imagine our excitement
as we tried to match the building against the map that Mclara emailed me.
And yes!
We finally ascertained that that’s the building, that’s Samcheok Hospital.
So we got off the vehicle and checked out the place.
Here’re some of our first shots of the hospital:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samhospital1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samhospital2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samhospital3.jpg[/img]
The shooting area is behind these closed doors...
According to the information I received from Mclara,
the shooting would be on the third level of the hospital.
So… up the stairs Ros and I went
while the rest of the ladies checked out other parts of the hospital.
And yes! We found the door leading to the shooting area!
But too bad, it was out of bounds for us.
Could only satisfy our curiosity by taking a picture of the door.
Hehe, I remember wondering
if Yong Joon could be behind those closed doors at that time…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samhospital4.jpg[/img]
The windows on that level were all blocked. Couldn’t see a thing…
Now according to the Japanese article,
there was a motel opposite the hospital where the crew would stay.
And also, it suspected that in the movie,
the two main characters played by Yong Joon and Sohn Yejin
would also be staying in this motel
since their spouses were admitted into the hospital.
So, naturally, we went to check it out too.
And indeed there was a motel right across the street from the hospital!
It’s Samufun Motel. Again, here’re some pictures:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sammotel1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sammotel2.jpg[/img]
And guess what we spotted right outside the motel??
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/makeupvehoutsidemotel.jpg[/img]
We saw a purple vehicle that had “MAKEUP BOX” written on it.
So… would this be where the cast had their makeup done?
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/crewcoachoutsidemotel.jpg[/img]
Then we saw a coach used to ferry the crew for the movie.
It was all getting very exciting!
Remember, at that point, we were not quite sure
if shooting was really going to start the following day,
so we could not be sure if Yong Joon was already there.
But all the signs seemed to be telling us that filming would start soon.
We went into the motel to try and find out more.
On the pretext of checking availability and rates, we stepped inside.
What we gathered was that there were actually rooms available,
but the motel operator was probably instructed not to rent out any rooms.
They probably paid for exclusive use.
And it was pretty obvious we were foreigners
and were unlikely to really have sick relatives or friends in the hospital.
So we were told no, they had no rooms to rent out to us.
But while there, we saw a list pasted on the counter.
It said CREW LIST.
What followed was a list of names and their respective room numbers.
Just when I was getting ready to try and take a picture of that,
a very fierce-looking man came into sight.
I halted whatever I was doing and we quickly got out of there.
The Japanese magazine article that Mclara helped translate for me
mentioned that there could be an influx of visitors to the shooting site
and it was best to make reservations for the hotel two weeks ahead.
Worried that we might not be able to get rooms, we decided to check in first.
From the information Mclara gave me,
it would appear that Yong Joon would be staying at the Palace Tourist Hotel.
At this point, I would like to say that in an attempt to protect Yong Joon’s privacy
and to minimise disruption to the shooting,
I will not be giving any additional or private information
other than those that are already public knowledge.
So I'm sorry, won't be able to share more info or photos...
but I'm sure you'll all understand.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/palacehotel1.jpg[/img]
This is the entrance of the hotel; and heehee, that’s our jumbo taxi!
All the rooms in this hotel face the sea.
Although it was winter and kindda cold, the first thing we did
when we checked into the rooms were to open up the balcony doors.
The view was magnificent!
And it was a wonderful thought,
that this beautiful seaview would be what Yong Joon wakes up to
every morning when he’s shooting here… Mmm…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/palacehotel2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/palacehotel3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/palacehotel4.jpg[/img]
Taken from the balcony of our hotel room.
It was about 3pm when we checked into the hotel.
Unsure of what to do next in Samcheok,
we told our driver to go do whatever he needed to do
and be back to get us from the hotel at 5pm.
Then the five of us gathered in one of the rooms and just lazed around.
I remember I was going through Mclara’s notes
and discussing with the ladies where else we should go in Samcheok.
At some point, Lina went to stand at the balcony.
And… she said she spotted two male joggers…
We were not too interested at first,
but went to check out at the balcony anyway.
Sure enough, there were two men jogging along the slope of the coastline
right outside our hotel. One of them was in a cap.
But I thought neither of them looked like Yong Joon.
Then again… it was dreadfully cold and it’s near the hotel…
Who in his right frame of mind would be jogging at that time?
So… We decided that if it was indeed Yong Joon,
they would probably made a U-turn back to the hotel.
So we told ourselves that we would go down to the lobby to check out
when the two men turned around to jog back towards the hotel.
So there we stood and waited.
Yes! The men turned around!
So we grabbed our coats, scarves, gloves, whatever…
and scrambled downstairs.
Out in the cold we stood,
watching as the men came closer, closer and yet closer…
Was it him? Was it really him???
No, it wasn’t.
A little disappointed, we turned back into the hotel.
Then I discovered a free Internet area at the side of the hotel lobby.
Since we had not had access to the net for the past few days,
three of us decided to check our email
as well as surf to see if we could find any Yong joon-related news.
So while Lynn, Ros and I were surfing,
Julie and Lina sat at the front of the lobby to chat and wait for us.
That was slightly past 3pm.
Time passed quickly.
Before we knew it, more than an hour had passed.
And during that time, I managed to log onto Quilt and loveyongjoon.com.
Don’t think I can survive long without Internet access…
My God, how the net has taken over my life!
Well, anyhow, we managed to confirm that
the movie would indeed start shooting on 4th feb, which was the next day.
So it was highly likely that the cast had already arrived.
But… the six million dollar question was: Where was Yong Joon?
4.30pm.
I started to feel a little guilty
about making the two ladies wait for us for so long while we surfed.
And since the driver was coming to get us at 5pm,
I told Lynn and Ros to rejoin the other two ladies.
So the five of us sat at the front lobby
and waited for our driver to come and pick us.
And at that time, there were a handful of Japanese fans
hanging around in the lobby as well.
Then Lina said she was getting a little hungry.
Since there was still at least a good twenty minutes before our transport came,
and we weren’t sure what time we would be having dinner,
we told her to go back up to the room to grab something to eat.
Lina wasn’t gone for too long before we heard slight commotion.
Suddenly the Japanese fans were all running out the hotel.
We naturally followed. And we saw Manager Yang!
He was walking from the side entrance of the hotel
towards the main entrance of the hotel with another man.
Our hearts started to beat faster…
Usually if you can see Manager Yang,
it would mean Yong Joon is probably somewhere near too.
So…?
Before any logical thoughts could form,
a vehicle came from the side entrance of the hotel
and drove past the main entrance where we were standing.
And suddenly the right rear window rolled down.
A head popped out.
Not just any head, it was Yong Joon!
He waved at us in our general direction before rolling up the window again.
It was a very, very, very brief moment.
But very, very, very exciting.
Then the vehicle stopped about ten metres from the main entrance.
The Japanese fans were getting excited and screaming alittle,
and they surged forward towards the vehicle
only to be stopped by a man who got down from the vehicle.
I’m not certain what he said, it was in Japanese.
I think he probably told them to step back.
Then he went back into the car and the fans did not move forward anymore.
All this while, the four of us were standing slightly behind the Japanese fans,
but we were quite calm, no screams, no surging forward.
We were just watching, hoping Yong Joon would come out of the vehicle
once he saw that there weren't so many fans,
and that the fans were behaving quite calmly.
Meanwhile, Manager Yang had gone back into the hotel, am not sure why,
and he was being besieged with requests for photos from the fans.
Haha, sure seems like he’s a celebrity too…!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byjyang.jpg[/img]
Now I would have you know that photographs don’t do Manager Yang justice.
He is much, much, much better looking in person!
Really! I just love his brown eyes! Quite swoon-worthy!
Okay, okay, I’ll go back to the main point of this story… Sorry!
Back to the vehicle Yong Joon was in.
No, no, sorry, girls, to protect his privacy,
I will not be posting any picture of the vehicle which I know belongs to him.
He did not roll down the window again.
And not longer after, the vehicle drove away.
But we noticed that it did not drive away immediately,
it actually stopped somewhere down the lower part of the slope
as if it was waiting for some people.
And just then Sohn Yejin appeared.
Two of us had the good fortune of taking a picture with the lovely young lady.
She looked very sweet and pretty in person.
And she smelt nice!
I thought she smelt of fresh flowers in bloom. Lovely!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/syj1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/syj2.jpg[/img]
Just then we realised that our driver had arrived.
And meanwhile, Sohn Yejin had gotten into a car and so had Manager Yang.
Think there were a total of three or four vehicles in all.
And since they were all ready to leave for wherever,
the vehicle Yong Joon was in also started to move again.
But our friend Lina was still upstairs! It was quite a crazy moment!
While we were all wondering what’s taking her so long to come down,
none of us were willing to run back up to get her.
And her cellphone was with us, so we couldn’t call her.
And we’re nice enough people not to dessert our friend
and go chase after some Korean hunk.
Yes, I’m being completely honest here.
At no point did it cross our minds to just leave without our friend.
But I’ll admit that during those ten minutes,
there was quite a fair bit of cursing and swearing.
Am pretty sure Lina’s ears itched during those ten minutes. Arghhh….!
We then decided to all hop into our vehicle to wait for Lina.
We told the driver to start the engine.
Meanwhile, Ros waited at the lobby for Lina to come down.
And not long after the last vehicle of Yong Joon’s entourage left the hotel,
Lina finally came down.
Ros and Lina quickly got into the vehicle and we started to follow the last vehicle!
Actually we didn’t stop to think about what we were doing,
we didn’t even discuss.
Instinctively, we just did the first thing that came to mind.
Yong Joon’s entourage did not go far.
In fact, the vehicles stopped at the open carpark near the hospital.
We stopped our car too.
And… frankly, the next minutes were a blur to me.
I did try checking with the other ladies,
but none of us could remember too clearly what happened exactly.
So in the next few paragraphs, some details might have been missed,
and some sequence might have jumbled up.
But I’m sure you’ll all forgive me, right?
I mean, how on earth is a girl supposed to keep a clear mind
when Yong Joon’s around?
To cut the story short, everyone got out of his or her respective vehicles.
And we went towards Yong Joon
and took our turns to shake his hand and take our pictures with him.
It was all very quick;
it was not as if we had a conversation in the parking lot or anything like that.
And we even forgot to take a group picture with him. Silly us!
And... one more thing...
when he saw us get out of our jumbo taxi to walk towards him,
he actually looked quite pleased and happy to see us.
At no point did he show any sign of annoyance.
In fact, he broke into a big, wide grin when he saw us,
and that smile did not leave his face the entire time.
And a couple of us in our little group swore that when he was walking off,
he turned towards our direction and smiled at us before heading off.
Let me try and describe how he looked then.
Yong Joon looked really good.
I mean, he looked really, really, really good.
He’s tall and he looked lean and strong.
He’s very fair and did not look as if he was wearing any makeup.
His hair was cut shorter and the colour was a rather deep shade of brown.
Sidetrack a little here, I actually prefer him with medium to dark brown hair.
I’ve always thought MinHyung’s hair colour was a tad too light.
He was wearing shades, as usual.
The overall feel was that he’s naturally good-looking,
and the dressing style was simple yet classic and elegant.
The way I would imagine Yong Joon in real life.
Just… Just perfect, I guess.
He was in a black turtleneck with a nice black jacket.
It was a military-styled jacket,
and he paired it with a pair of comfortable-looking blue jeans.
He was not wearing gloves.
And he had a huge camera with him.
He’s every bit as good-looking as he looks in his pictures.
No, actually he looked much better than in the pictures.
His voice was velvety smooth as usual, and when he spoke,
it felt as though he was caressing you with his voice.
And long after he’s gone,
I swear I could still hear his voice ringing in my head with echoes!
Don’t laugh!
I’ll post some pictures here…
I’ve to crop our faces out though,
don’t think the ladies want their faces splashed all over the net.
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byj1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byj2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byj3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byj4.jpg[/img]
One more picture that MyDaily took of him on the same day.
[img]http://homeimg.mydaily.co.kr/home1_20050204092912.jpg[/img]
Not sure if you guys have read an interview with Director Hsu about this movie.
In that interview, he mentioned why he had chosen Samcheok
as the backdrop for this movie.
Anyway, he mentioned two key sites in this interview.
One was a Japanese-style café and the other was Jukseoru Pavilion.
So basically when we saw the cast and crew that day,
they were actually checking out the various places
where they would be doing their filming.
This carpark was actually right outside Jukseoru
and the café was located at the side of the carpark.
After we had taken pictures with Yong Joon,
the team proceeded into Jukseoru.
We decided since we were already very blessed to have seen him
and have our pictures taken with him, we did not want to disturb his work.
So we did not follow them into Jukseoru even though it was open to public.
And when they came out, they went into the café.
Again, we did not follow them when they went to these two places.
What we did instead was we would go into Jukseoru after they came out,
and then we went into the café after they left.
So we were always behind them.
But mind you, we were not following them closely
or stalking them in case that’s what you’re thinking.
We kept a very, very, very respectable distance.
And from one place to the other, the entire entourage went on foot.
It was quite amazing to see Yong Joon walk along the road
without anyone going up to him for autograph.
He was able to walk openly on the open streets in a carefree manner,
there were no other fans in sight other than us.
I felt happy and relieved for him.
Anyway, like I said, we were quite a distance from him,
and even when we zoomed in to take his pictures with our cameras,
the pictures did not come out clear.
But that’s okay.
I think what’s more important was for him to rest his mind
and concentrate on his work.
Instead of having to worry about fans or paparazzi.
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byjgrp1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byjgrp2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byjgrp3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/byjgrp4.jpg[/img]
Here are some pictures that we’ve taken at Jukseoru and the café.
Enjoy!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/jukseoru1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/jukseoru2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/jukseoru3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/jukseou4.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafe1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafe2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafe3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafe4.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafe5.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafe6.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cafebyj.jpg[/img]
And of course, when we went in,
we asked where Yong Joon sat when he was there earlier…
Here!
And naturally all of us took turns to sit on the exact same spot
he was sitting and took pictures!
After that, we decided to be rational and not stalk or follow him.
So we went to have dinner instead.
Now Samcheok is quite famous for its seafood,
so we went to have some seafood.
We had a good dinner that night,
and the proprietor also came to sit with us for awhile.
Hehe, he even gave us one free fish!
Okay, before I forget, the king crab was fantastic!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/crab.jpg[/img]
A flipping good dinner! [private joke...]
We had our dinner in a private room
and it was only when dinner was over we realised that we were in Room 4!
You all know that Yong Joon is known as Yon-sama in Japan, right?
And “yon” means four in Japanese! Haha…!
The night was still young,
so we decided to check out the jazz bar mentioned in the Japanese magazine.
We had actually gone there in the daytime, but it was closed.
Anyhow, we popped in to have a look.
It was a very small drinking place on the second level of a corner shophouse.
The name of the place is Bicycle Thief,
and it’s actually run by a rather cool-looking dude
who left the police force some three years ago.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/bar1.jpg[/img]
This was how the place looked like from the outside
when we went there in the daytime.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/bar2.jpg[/img]
Once you stepped into the bar,
you would see black-and-white stills from classic movies.
Straightaway you can tell that the owner of this place loves music
and perhaps old movies as well. Cool….
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/bar3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/bar4.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/bar5.jpg[/img]
More pictures of how the place looked like…
Actually it’s a really small place, only five tables. But very cozy.
It’s kindda quaint, with a bicycle hanging on one wall.
All around you, you would see the wall plastered with notes
that customers scribbled and pinned up all through the years.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/bar6.jpg[/img]
The owner of the bar told us this was where Yong Joon sat when he came by.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/barman.jpg[/img]
This guy’s the owner!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/barmen.jpg[/img]
When we went to the bar, it was still pretty early,
the night owls were not out yet.
Other than us, there was just one other man.
Yup, the guy in white tee and jacket in this picture.
Turned out he’s the Korean correspondent for the Japanese magazine, Josei Jishin.
He was there to cover the possible filming sites the movie Going Out might use.
Anyway, he asked to snap our picture and three of us obliged.
And the very next week, our picture
[Lina, Ros & myself, together with the owner of the bar]
appeared in a two-page full-colour report on Samcheok!
The caption under our picture read Singaporean tourists in Samcheok.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/barmsg1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/barmsg2.jpg[/img]
Can you see the Joonsfamily running along the edge of the message?
Heehee… We had to add it in...!
And how could we leave the bar
without leaving our very own message for Yong Joon?
So we got some paper and pen and started to pen our message to him.
After we finished,
we looked around for an appropriate [read = conspicuous, unmissable]
spot to pin our message.
There was a dartboard, there’s just one, in the bar
and there was a message stuck on the bull’s eye.
So… we happily removed that message
and replaced it with our Yong Joon message!
And as if that’s not enough, we went to ask the bar owner for help.
Well, basically, we told him to point out our message to Yong Joon
when he next came by again!
That night, I slept very well. I’m sure the other four ladies did too.
After all, although we did not plan it,
we all got to meet our Prince Charming that day.
Day 6
4th Feb 2005 [Fri]
I Left my Heart in Samcheok…
Have you heard?
One of the best things about Samcheok is the sunrise.
We were lucky we woke up early enough to enjoy the sunrise.
And for those of you who may not be making a trip there so soon,
we took some pictures to share with you too…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samsunrise1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samsunrise2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/samsunrise3.jpg[/img]
These were all taken near the side entrance of the hotel.
That morning was not an easy one, at least it wasn’t easy for me.
There were a few decisions to make.
First of all, Yong Joon was there in Samcheok
and we were supposed to leave for Seoul that day.
So… decision one, did we really want to head back to Seoul
when he’s there in Samcheok?
I mean, I could have easily stayed back, at least for another day?
Then I told myself I had gone to Samcheok to see what the place had to offer,
and it was sheer luck and by fluke that we got to see him.
That should be enough.
He had work to do there. I tried putting myself in his shoes.
Surely it's distracting if fans were hovering around the shooting sites, right?
Perhaps things wouldn't be so bad in the case of indoor shooting,
but surely there would be some outdoor shooting…
And to have people watching would affect the actors’ and actresses’ moods.
It would be harder for them to concentrate on their tasks at hand,
for them to get into their respective roles.
And if Yong Joon had so many fans waiting to see him and all,
he had to still remain civil and polite after shooting,
no matter how tired, how mentally drained he would be at the end of a shooting.
And if he had so many fans, as compared to the rest of the cast,
would it also cause some unnecessary friction or discomfort
between Yong Joon and the rest?
So I had already made my own mind up. I wasn’t going to stay.
I was leaving for Seoul that day.
Mind you, it really wasn’t an easy decision.
Then came the next question.
What should we do that morning and afternoon before we left for Seoul?
It appeared that each of us had different ideas what we wanted to do.
Some of us wanted to explore the rest of Samcheok,
yet others wanted to wait in the hotel for Yong Joon to appear,
and perhaps follow him to wherever he might be having his first shooting.
Eventually we decided to take in some sights.
We thought we would check out the famous Hwanseon Caves of Samcheok
before going to the hospital
to see if we could catch one last glimpse of Yong Joon before heading off.
But not before we did something nice in the name of Joons Family.
Tiffany had called us that morning
to see if we could arrange to send some flowers to Yong Joon
to send our wishes for the crank-in of the movie.
So after we had breakfast, off to the florist we went!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/flowers1.jpg[/img]
This picture was from the catalogue.
Anyhow, we chose this design,
but got the florist to add one more tier of roses.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/flowers2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/flowers3.jpg[/img]
This is the card that we got to accompany the flower.
I know, I know, it’s not exactly very nice,
but believe me, this was the nicest of them all…
Noticed the two ultra-cute forefingers holding down the card in the first picture?
Yes, those’re Ros’ nails!
Anyway, we got the florist to send the flowers over to the hospital
where we knew they would be starting their first shooting for the movie.
We heard the first shooting was scheduled at the hospital at 7pm that night.
Anyway, I believe these’re from that first evening’s shooting…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/firstshootingA.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/firstshootingB.jpg[/img]
[img]http://imgnews.naver.com/image/117/2005/02/05/200502050846170100_1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://imgnews.naver.com/image/117/2005/02/05/200502050922110100_1.jpg[/img]
So… what did we do after we bought flowers? We went for exercise!
Seriously… we went to Hwanseon Caves
and we walked miles and miles and miles…
The Japanese article mentioned that there’s a possibility
that there would be some shooting done in the caves as well.
Now... Julie, don't kill me if they end up not shooting at the caves!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave2.jpg[/img]
Basically, you have to walk up seemingly endless flights of stairs
to reach the entrance of the cave. Believe me, it’s not easy.
Each time you thought that’s the end of all the staircase climbing,
you did a turn and another flight of stairs would miraculously
appear before your eyes.
And there would be signages at every point to remind
not how much you’ve conquered…
I was reading all the signs as how far we had to walk out later…
Sighs… I’m one of those whose only form of exercise
was and still is shopping in Orchard…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave4.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave5.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave6.jpg[/img]
After we spent more than a couple of hours trekking up
endless flights of staircase to reach the entrance of the cave,
we found the highlight of the trip - the caves!
Once you’re inside the caves, there’re quite a few bridges and stuff.
At the Valley of Hope, there’s this Bridge of Love,
cross it and go on up some more you will come to the Summit of Hope.
And here, there’s an interesting phenomenon.
There’s a hollow up in the ceiling of the cave in the shape of a heart.
The light will shine through this hollow,
giving a natural heart-shaped glow. It’s really quite pretty.
At one point, we reached this bridge called Bridge of Hell,
not sure if Ros was over-traumatised by the climb up to the caves,
but somehow... Bridge of Hell became "helluva bridge".
We could not hold back our laughter when she said that's helluva bridge
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave7.jpg[/img]
Finally! Entrance to the cave!
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave8.jpg[/img]
The famous Bridge of Love…
Apparently many lovers would stand on the Bridge of Love
and exchange promises of love under the glowing heart…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave10.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/cave9.jpg[/img]
These two shots were taken on our way down from the caves…
Must have snowed before we arrived in Samcheok….
After the caves, we decided to turn around to the hospital just for one last look
before heading back to Seoul.
Nope, we did not see Yong Joon,
although we did manage see the still dashing Manager Yang
and IMX President Son, whom one of us mentioned was cute-looking...
Some more pictures of Samcheok before we headed back to Seoul:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/surrounds1.jpg[/img]
Back to Samcheok Hospital.
Noticed that they had cleared the carpark of all cars.
When we went the day before, the carpark was still open to public parking.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/surrounds5.jpg[/img]
Saw some media hanging around the carpark area; “waiting for action”?
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/surrounds2.jpg[/img]
And… Funny…!
I could've sworn there was no opening to this wall the day before!
We returned to the hospital premises
and saw that the crew had created a new opening at the side of the hospital.
Seems like they would be using this newly-created access point for the movie…
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/surrounds3.jpg[/img]
The immediate surrounding of the hospital area.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/surrounds4.jpg[/img]
Another picture of the immediate surrounding of the hospital area.
And on the way back to Seoul, we also checked out Samcheok Beach.
I had read somewhere that there would be some scenes
between Yong Joon and Sohn Yejin along the beach…
Haha, think the news article mentioned “The Beach of Adultery”…
Here’re some shots:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sambeach1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sambeach2.jpg[/img]
So… although we had left Samcheok physically,
our hearts were still there…
Day 7
5th Feb 2005 [Sat]
This day, our group split up to do our own things that day.
I met up with Korean fan, Youngsun, and we had great fun catching up.
And being a true-blue Singaporean, I did some shopping too…
Bought more Mickey Mouse stuff…
Okay, okay, other than Yong Joon, I do like Mickey Mouse too!
Day 8
6th Feb 2005 [Sun]
Star-Gazing: LDH & HJH!
More shopping… Went to Dongdaemun on this day.
But… before I forget, let me share that we actually saw two stars.
Yes, we saw Lee Dong Gun and Han Ji Hae
who were doing stage greeting for their new movie, My Boyfriend Type B,
which incidentally would probably start a trend of
everyone trying to act like Superman when they're taking bubble lifts
when it's screened here in Singapore! :wink:
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/LDG.jpg[/img]
Lee Dong Gun, outside the cinema theatre.
Sorry, don’t have any good shots of HJH.
Day 9
7th Feb 2005 [Mon]
Then it was time to go… So sad!
But… at the airport, we saw one more star!
Song Yunah was shooting Hong Kong Express at Incheon Airport!
And now in case it slipped your mind for the moment,
she's the actress starring opposite Yong Joon in Hotelier. Remember?
She's tall and slim and very pretty in person.
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sya1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sya2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sya3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sya4.jpg[/img]
[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happiebb/sya5.jpg[/img]
You could say it was a great trip, rather eventful.
We definitely got more than what we bargained for…
And hahahaha… a picture with Yong Joon at last!
I was so exhilarated I couldn’t stop smiling for days when I came back…
And the ladies were nice travelling companions too… Except for one thing.
They don’t eat very much and I’m the sort who’s ALWAYS hungry.
Food didn’t feature very highly on our trip,
which was quite a dramatic change from my other trips
where food was nearly always one of the major highlights.
** And hey, pls do not repost any part of this story or the pics without permission...
Part 9 Some Thoughts
About Visiting him in Samcheok
I’m sure you guys have all read the BOF notice about Yong Joon’s request
for us to refrain from going to Samcheok.
I know it’s hard to resist;
remember, I’m a fan too,
so I understand how hard it is to curb your raging heart to go see him there.
Especially when we think about how long we have to wait
before we get to see him again.
But please do try. Do try and refrain yourself.
In all honesty, I hesitated quite a fair bit about sharing the Samcheok trip.
I mean, how much should I share?
If I tell all, would it cause more trouble for him
as more fans will go once they know where the possible shooting sites are?
Of course, the media will do it, even if I don’t share.
So I decided to share whatever’s already available in the media,
and also share our own experience when we met him.
Do understand that I’m just trying to protect his privacy as much as possible,
so that he can concentrate on making the movie.
I know some of you may be thinking I’m contradicting myself,
since I also went to Samcheok. But no…
Before we left, the news was the movie was starting only on 10th feb,
and we went to samcheok on 3rd & 4th feb.
When we decided to go, we were prepared that the shooting hadn't started,
we just wanted to experience the place before too many fans go
and the whole place becomes too "commercialised".
But as luck would have it, the shooting started earlier, on 4th feb,
so he was already there on 3rd feb when we were in Samcheok.
And it was by chance that we saw him...
Really. I mean, we could have easily missed him that day at the hotel lobby…
We could have been up in our rooms, or having tea, or whatever…
And later the next day, we could have made the decision to stay on
in Samcheok just in case we got to see him again...
I had nothing specific to do in Seoul anyway.
But we made the rather painful decision to head back to Seoul
on his first day of shooting.
Why? Because we didnt want to disturb him.
There would be some scenes that would be shot outdoors,
and if there're so many fans standing around to watch,
it would be hard for the cast and crew to concentrate.
And after the shooting, when he's so tired,
he still has to make time and talk to the fans who have been waiting.
We all know he's very nice to fans...
So... we didn't want to become a burden to him.
So we left.
It was painful and difficult... knowing that he's there in Samcheok,
but we headed back to seoul. But I still think we did the right thing.
Some Random Thoughts on Yong Joon
I subscribe to the belief no one is a saint, and no one is perfect.
Yong Joon is only mortal and I’m sure he’s not perfect either.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again.
Many cynics or non-fans have commented that Yong Joon is nothing but a show.
How can anyone be so gentle and well-mannered and nice ALL the time?
Well, my take is this: For the past decade he’s been in show business,
his image has always been such.
It’s quite likely that he IS really as how he appears to us.
And in any case, even if he’s only acting out a role of being a perfect gentleman
and that he’s not really like this in real life,
he still deserves my respect and admiration.
Ten long years and he has not slipped up even once.
Then he’s a true professional.
So either way, he’s still admirable. At least to me.
I would like to appeal to all not to put Yong Joon on a pedestal,
not to worship as if he’s God and can do no wrong.
He’s just human, of flesh and blood.
I’m sure he has his own insecurities and hang-ups.
I’m sure he errs too.
My worry is that if you start to think he’s such a wonderful being
who can do no wrong, then…
disappointment may hit you big time once you finally realise he errs too.
I’m not saying that I know some dark secrets of his that you don’t know.
I’m just saying, don’t add to his pressure,
don’t see him through rose-tinted glasses.
Of course, this is just my personal view.
Well, anything, one thing’s for sure.
This is a man who knows his own strengths and weaknesses,
and this is a man who knows his own mind. Yes, no one is perfect.
But I like how he tries to better himself.
Time and again, he would challenge himself
and surpass his own expectations and limits.
He seemingly does not pit himself against others,
his aim is always to do better than he did the past time.
This is something that a lot of us tend to miss out in our daily lives.
Anyhow, I’ve always thought that he’s a man who takes life too seriously.
I would really like to see him lighten up a little.
Don’t be so hard on himself. You know, live a little.
But at least in the past couple of years, we’ve seen him relaxing some.
In the past, he was very cautious about maintaining a certain veil,
about projecting a certain perfect image.
But these couple of years,
we’re beginning to see more of the real Yong Joon emerging.
And that’s nice.
Also, if a person’s so self-conscious,
it can be hard to be a truly good actor as well.
He has to learn to let go more in order to experience more,
and so that he can portray inner emotions better.
Anyway, I see traits in Yong Joon that I truly respect
and I do take my hat off to him.
His perseverance, his determination, his self-discipline,
his generosity, his sincerity, his professionalism.
Mmm… Things to learn from this man.
Some Very Personal Thoughts
All of us have our low moments. Me too.
Sometimes in the wee hours of the morning,
I find myself still up translating Joanne’s news into Chinese.
Quite many times I would find myself still “working” at 2am or even 3am.
On average, there would be something to translate everyday,
at least one article or one posting.
My personal record was seven articles in a day.
And in my low moments,
I would really get frustrated and ask myself, why?
Now, I’m not writing this to garner support, sympathy, praises or whatsoever.
Really, I’m not. Since this is my personal Bae journey,
I owe it to myself to be honest.
This is the only reason why I’m pouring my heart out for all to see.
So, don’t get me wrong.
But each time, the selfish side of me would lose the argument
and my fingers would be flying across the keyboard
with the translation work again.
You see, Yong Joon did not ask me to do translation.
I decided to do it out of my own accord.
So I just have to remind myself that
it’s because of how special this certain Korean actor is to me,
how he has made me experience things that I’ve never gone through before,
how I’ve gotten to know more friends [though mostly in cyberspace]
because of him,
and how much joy I myself have derived from other fellow fans’ postings…
So I would be convinced and motivated to go on again,
And I think I’ve been blessed enough in my Bae journey.
Let me recount all my encounters with him, close or otherwise.
The first time I went to Korea,
I managed to end up in the same street as he did at the exact same moment.
Though I did not manage to see him, I felt close to him.
Then I saw him at the Scandal bunggae in Seoul in October 2003.
Although it was a very brief moment,
he was so close to me when he walked into the cinema.
Then at the Hong Kong fans’ session in March 2004,
I was seated not too far back, so I could see him quite clearly.
And then in November 2004, I was able to get into the Handprinting Event
and my seat was actually the second row!
And then I managed to get a picture taken with him in February 2005.
So… I’ve seen him a total of four times now.
And each time, I managed to get closer and closer.
And if you can recall my Bae journey,
you will realise that other than the Hong Kong fans’ session,
none of the other times that I saw him was planned.
It was either through sheer luck or by fluke that I managed to see him.
So, I guess I’m already fairly blessed,
since I do know of quite a number of fans who have not even seen him once.
I really should be thankful.
And you know what?
When I was sharing my Japan trip in December last year,
I joked that my Christmas wish would be to take a picture with him.
And in less than three months, the wish came true.
So… don’t give up. Wishes and Dreams do come true.
Guess what’s my next wish?
[size=18]A hug.
I want a real good bear hug from Yong Joon.
About Visiting him in Samcheok
I’m sure you guys have all read the BOF notice about Yong Joon’s request
for us to refrain from going to Samcheok.
I know it’s hard to resist;
remember, I’m a fan too,
so I understand how hard it is to curb your raging heart to go see him there.
Especially when we think about how long we have to wait
before we get to see him again.
But please do try. Do try and refrain yourself.
In all honesty, I hesitated quite a fair bit about sharing the Samcheok trip.
I mean, how much should I share?
If I tell all, would it cause more trouble for him
as more fans will go once they know where the possible shooting sites are?
Of course, the media will do it, even if I don’t share.
So I decided to share whatever’s already available in the media,
and also share our own experience when we met him.
Do understand that I’m just trying to protect his privacy as much as possible,
so that he can concentrate on making the movie.
I know some of you may be thinking I’m contradicting myself,
since I also went to Samcheok. But no…
Before we left, the news was the movie was starting only on 10th feb,
and we went to samcheok on 3rd & 4th feb.
When we decided to go, we were prepared that the shooting hadn't started,
we just wanted to experience the place before too many fans go
and the whole place becomes too "commercialised".
But as luck would have it, the shooting started earlier, on 4th feb,
so he was already there on 3rd feb when we were in Samcheok.
And it was by chance that we saw him...
Really. I mean, we could have easily missed him that day at the hotel lobby…
We could have been up in our rooms, or having tea, or whatever…
And later the next day, we could have made the decision to stay on
in Samcheok just in case we got to see him again...
I had nothing specific to do in Seoul anyway.
But we made the rather painful decision to head back to Seoul
on his first day of shooting.
Why? Because we didnt want to disturb him.
There would be some scenes that would be shot outdoors,
and if there're so many fans standing around to watch,
it would be hard for the cast and crew to concentrate.
And after the shooting, when he's so tired,
he still has to make time and talk to the fans who have been waiting.
We all know he's very nice to fans...
So... we didn't want to become a burden to him.
So we left.
It was painful and difficult... knowing that he's there in Samcheok,
but we headed back to seoul. But I still think we did the right thing.
Some Random Thoughts on Yong Joon
I subscribe to the belief no one is a saint, and no one is perfect.
Yong Joon is only mortal and I’m sure he’s not perfect either.
I’ve said this before and I’ll say this again.
Many cynics or non-fans have commented that Yong Joon is nothing but a show.
How can anyone be so gentle and well-mannered and nice ALL the time?
Well, my take is this: For the past decade he’s been in show business,
his image has always been such.
It’s quite likely that he IS really as how he appears to us.
And in any case, even if he’s only acting out a role of being a perfect gentleman
and that he’s not really like this in real life,
he still deserves my respect and admiration.
Ten long years and he has not slipped up even once.
Then he’s a true professional.
So either way, he’s still admirable. At least to me.
I would like to appeal to all not to put Yong Joon on a pedestal,
not to worship as if he’s God and can do no wrong.
He’s just human, of flesh and blood.
I’m sure he has his own insecurities and hang-ups.
I’m sure he errs too.
My worry is that if you start to think he’s such a wonderful being
who can do no wrong, then…
disappointment may hit you big time once you finally realise he errs too.
I’m not saying that I know some dark secrets of his that you don’t know.
I’m just saying, don’t add to his pressure,
don’t see him through rose-tinted glasses.
Of course, this is just my personal view.
Well, anything, one thing’s for sure.
This is a man who knows his own strengths and weaknesses,
and this is a man who knows his own mind. Yes, no one is perfect.
But I like how he tries to better himself.
Time and again, he would challenge himself
and surpass his own expectations and limits.
He seemingly does not pit himself against others,
his aim is always to do better than he did the past time.
This is something that a lot of us tend to miss out in our daily lives.
Anyhow, I’ve always thought that he’s a man who takes life too seriously.
I would really like to see him lighten up a little.
Don’t be so hard on himself. You know, live a little.
But at least in the past couple of years, we’ve seen him relaxing some.
In the past, he was very cautious about maintaining a certain veil,
about projecting a certain perfect image.
But these couple of years,
we’re beginning to see more of the real Yong Joon emerging.
And that’s nice.
Also, if a person’s so self-conscious,
it can be hard to be a truly good actor as well.
He has to learn to let go more in order to experience more,
and so that he can portray inner emotions better.
Anyway, I see traits in Yong Joon that I truly respect
and I do take my hat off to him.
His perseverance, his determination, his self-discipline,
his generosity, his sincerity, his professionalism.
Mmm… Things to learn from this man.
Some Very Personal Thoughts
All of us have our low moments. Me too.
Sometimes in the wee hours of the morning,
I find myself still up translating Joanne’s news into Chinese.
Quite many times I would find myself still “working” at 2am or even 3am.
On average, there would be something to translate everyday,
at least one article or one posting.
My personal record was seven articles in a day.
And in my low moments,
I would really get frustrated and ask myself, why?
Now, I’m not writing this to garner support, sympathy, praises or whatsoever.
Really, I’m not. Since this is my personal Bae journey,
I owe it to myself to be honest.
This is the only reason why I’m pouring my heart out for all to see.
So, don’t get me wrong.
But each time, the selfish side of me would lose the argument
and my fingers would be flying across the keyboard
with the translation work again.
You see, Yong Joon did not ask me to do translation.
I decided to do it out of my own accord.
So I just have to remind myself that
it’s because of how special this certain Korean actor is to me,
how he has made me experience things that I’ve never gone through before,
how I’ve gotten to know more friends [though mostly in cyberspace]
because of him,
and how much joy I myself have derived from other fellow fans’ postings…
So I would be convinced and motivated to go on again,
And I think I’ve been blessed enough in my Bae journey.
Let me recount all my encounters with him, close or otherwise.
The first time I went to Korea,
I managed to end up in the same street as he did at the exact same moment.
Though I did not manage to see him, I felt close to him.
Then I saw him at the Scandal bunggae in Seoul in October 2003.
Although it was a very brief moment,
he was so close to me when he walked into the cinema.
Then at the Hong Kong fans’ session in March 2004,
I was seated not too far back, so I could see him quite clearly.
And then in November 2004, I was able to get into the Handprinting Event
and my seat was actually the second row!
And then I managed to get a picture taken with him in February 2005.
So… I’ve seen him a total of four times now.
And each time, I managed to get closer and closer.
And if you can recall my Bae journey,
you will realise that other than the Hong Kong fans’ session,
none of the other times that I saw him was planned.
It was either through sheer luck or by fluke that I managed to see him.
So, I guess I’m already fairly blessed,
since I do know of quite a number of fans who have not even seen him once.
I really should be thankful.
And you know what?
When I was sharing my Japan trip in December last year,
I joked that my Christmas wish would be to take a picture with him.
And in less than three months, the wish came true.
So… don’t give up. Wishes and Dreams do come true.
Guess what’s my next wish?
[size=18]A hug.
I want a real good bear hug from Yong Joon.
phew...! finally... i've finished my bae journey,
including posting the trip report on my most recent samcheok trip.
hope you guys have enjoyed walking alongside me
as i recount the days of the past two-odd years of being a bae fan.
thanks for reading,
and do share your thoughts with me.
or better yet, pen your own bae journey too.
p.s. my oh my... this has gotta be my longest posting ever...!
p.p.s calling julie, lina, lynn & ros...!
if you gals have any other pictures that you wanna share, do add on...!
including posting the trip report on my most recent samcheok trip.
hope you guys have enjoyed walking alongside me
as i recount the days of the past two-odd years of being a bae fan.
thanks for reading,
and do share your thoughts with me.
or better yet, pen your own bae journey too.
p.s. my oh my... this has gotta be my longest posting ever...!
p.p.s calling julie, lina, lynn & ros...!
if you gals have any other pictures that you wanna share, do add on...!
Happibb!
You did it and it's a great job. It is really a very personal journey but I enjoy reading it so much. Can't wait to hear about the rest. Reading it makes me think of my own personal journey.
Ahh... the memories of it... 3 years of bgeing a BYJ fan...
Maybe I should write about my journey one of these days too, something to tell my grandchildren..
It is still amazing what one Korean actor called Bae Yong Joon did to us.
You did it and it's a great job. It is really a very personal journey but I enjoy reading it so much. Can't wait to hear about the rest. Reading it makes me think of my own personal journey.
Ahh... the memories of it... 3 years of bgeing a BYJ fan...
Maybe I should write about my journey one of these days too, something to tell my grandchildren..
It is still amazing what one Korean actor called Bae Yong Joon did to us.
Yoz.. happieBB
What a nice write up...
Am waiting for the samchoek story...
kee kee
What a nice write up...
Am waiting for the samchoek story...
kee kee
happiebb, thanks for sharing your personal story, cant wait to read your part 8, 9, 10, .....100 keke 
first of all congratulations bb ^^
this was really a great write up. i can tell u for sure i wont be able to write like that haha..
cos even after writing so long u can still find the appropriate words and terms to describe things...
i will be all lost in the thesaurus should i have written that far
wow..ur first touch on him was on the chest ???? :shock:
u din know why u did it?? haha i can ustand that one ^^
well my first 'meet' with him was also in the same place as u did but i got hold of his hand for
about few seconds n was so close to him that i din know when to let go or what to do
n worst of all for the first time i that i met him i forgot to tell him my name !!!
cos i was only able to say 3 words at that very moment....BAE YONG JOON !
anyway all in all it was a wonderful 'journey' too for me reading ur journey ^^
and to all the other gals congrats ^^
and to lina....r u going to show me ur pic with him and him???
this was really a great write up. i can tell u for sure i wont be able to write like that haha..
cos even after writing so long u can still find the appropriate words and terms to describe things...
i will be all lost in the thesaurus should i have written that far
wow..ur first touch on him was on the chest ???? :shock:
u din know why u did it?? haha i can ustand that one ^^
well my first 'meet' with him was also in the same place as u did but i got hold of his hand for
about few seconds n was so close to him that i din know when to let go or what to do
n worst of all for the first time i that i met him i forgot to tell him my name !!!
cos i was only able to say 3 words at that very moment....BAE YONG JOON !
anyway all in all it was a wonderful 'journey' too for me reading ur journey ^^
and to all the other gals congrats ^^
and to lina....r u going to show me ur pic with him and him???
Yoz.. happieBB..
Thanks for the write up..
U say all in my mind.. hahahahaa
Wish him success in his movie...
CHeers!
Ros
Thanks for the write up..
U say all in my mind.. hahahahaa
Wish him success in his movie...
CHeers!
Ros
tks BB for sharing yr interesting n wonderful trip.... u all ready got a good time there... n wat a great year to start off...
sigh... for the rest of us we just hv to wait n wait, hope n hope he will come for his new movie promotion.
cheers :wink:
sigh... for the rest of us we just hv to wait n wait, hope n hope he will come for his new movie promotion.
cheers :wink:
bb...
What a great article!!! Really enjoy your Bae Journey...BUT reading your writing makes me miss HIM more....... 
What a great article!!!
Really enjoy your Bae Journey...BUT reading your writing makes me miss HIM more.......
QUOTE (tiffany)
Ahh... the memories of it... 3 years of bgeing a BYJ fan...
Maybe I should write about my journey one of these days too,
something to tell my grandchildren.. :D
Maybe I should write about my journey one of these days too,
something to tell my grandchildren.. :D
yes yes yes... write write write... pls pls pls!
QUOTE (Webmaster)
Yoz.. happieBB
Am waiting for the samchoek story...
kee kee
Am waiting for the samchoek story...
kee kee
all done... pls do read it... :!:
i spent quite a lot of time writing & sorting thru the photos, you know...?
QUOTE (jos)
happiebb, thanks for sharing your personal story, cant wait to read your part 8, 9, 10, .....100 keke
My oh my... aint we getting greedy here...? Part 100?
i shudder at the very thought of it!
QUOTE (yokee)
first of all congratulations bb ^^
this was really a great write up. i can tell u for sure i wont be able to write like that haha..
cos even after writing so long u can still find the appropriate words and terms to describe things...
i will be all lost in the thesaurus should i have written that far :P
wow..ur first touch on him was on the chest ???? :shock:
u din know why u did it?? haha i can ustand that one ^^
well my first 'meet' with him was also in the same place as u did but i got hold of his hand for
about few seconds n was so close to him that i din know when to let go or what to do :P
n worst of all for the first time i that i met him i forgot to tell him my name !!!
cos i was only able to say 3 words at that very moment....BAE YONG JOON !
anyway all in all it was a wonderful 'journey' too for me reading ur journey ^^
and to all the other gals congrats ^^
and to lina....r u going to show me ur pic with him and him??? :lol:
this was really a great write up. i can tell u for sure i wont be able to write like that haha..
cos even after writing so long u can still find the appropriate words and terms to describe things...
i will be all lost in the thesaurus should i have written that far :P
wow..ur first touch on him was on the chest ???? :shock:
u din know why u did it?? haha i can ustand that one ^^
well my first 'meet' with him was also in the same place as u did but i got hold of his hand for
about few seconds n was so close to him that i din know when to let go or what to do :P
n worst of all for the first time i that i met him i forgot to tell him my name !!!
cos i was only able to say 3 words at that very moment....BAE YONG JOON !
anyway all in all it was a wonderful 'journey' too for me reading ur journey ^^
and to all the other gals congrats ^^
and to lina....r u going to show me ur pic with him and him??? :lol:
hi, you're not alone... i didn't tell him my name too...
okay! next time i see him, i will tell him my name and i still want my hug..!
QUOTE (Webmaster)
Yoz.. happieBB..
Thanks for the write up..
U say all in my mind.. hahahahaa
Wish him success in his movie...
CHeers!
Ros
Thanks for the write up..
U say all in my mind.. hahahahaa
Wish him success in his movie...
CHeers!
Ros
yup yup, wishing him all the best for the new movie, he definitely has my support...!
and haha... still can't get over "that helluva bridge"...
QUOTE (Von)
tks BB for sharing yr interesting n wonderful trip.... u all ready got a good time there... n wat a great year to start off...
sigh... for the rest of us we just hv to wait n wait, hope n hope he will come for his new movie promotion.
cheers :wink:
sigh... for the rest of us we just hv to wait n wait, hope n hope he will come for his new movie promotion.
cheers :wink:
yup, i'm also wishing & praying for him to come our way soon...! :wink:
QUOTE (tigger)
bb...
What a great article!!! :D Really enjoy your Bae Journey...BUT reading your writing makes me miss HIM more.......
What a great article!!! :D Really enjoy your Bae Journey...BUT reading your writing makes me miss HIM more.......
ha... you should've gone on this trip with us...
keep hearing fellow fans mention your name,
& it's making me want to meet you.
yea, i miss him too... sob sob...
Happiebb:
Hahaha! What's the incentive? I've still got to finish translating Fumi's HWRL... :mrgreen:
Now, I'm green with envy. I don't have a proper photo with him!!!!
[size=26]WWWAAIIIILLLLLLLLL
:cry: :cry: :cry:
QUOTE
yes yes yes... write write write... pls pls pls!
Hahaha! What's the incentive? I've still got to finish translating Fumi's HWRL... :mrgreen:
Now, I'm green with envy. I don't have a proper photo with him!!!!
[size=26]WWWAAIIIILLLLLLLLL
:cry: :cry: :cry:
QUOTE (tiffany)
Happiebb:
Hahaha! What'e the incentive? I've still got to finish translating Fumi's HWRL... :mrgreen:
Now, I'm green with envy. I don't have a proper photo with him!!!! [size=24]WAAIIIILLLLLLLLL
:cry: :cry: :cry:
QUOTE
yes yes yes... write write write... pls pls pls!
Hahaha! What'e the incentive? I've still got to finish translating Fumi's HWRL... :mrgreen:
Now, I'm green with envy. I don't have a proper photo with him!!!! [size=24]WAAIIIILLLLLLLLL
:cry: :cry: :cry:
haha... someone was reminding me yesterday
that i'd stopped translating fumi's analyzing yon-sama series...
you're in the same boat as me...!
aiyo... asked for incentive somemore...
it's your gift to yourself and to your fellow fans la...
ok... you work on getting a proper photo with him,
i will work on telling him my name + a good strong hug + a photo of us hugging..!
let me add something:
in samcheok, on the day we were going back to seoul(i.e.4th feb), we were outside samcheok hospital. We saw 2 young girls and were telling each other that they must be Sohn Ye Jin's fans. We asked them to help us to take a pic of the 5 of us infront of the hospital. They obliged and took a good shot for us.
After that we asked both of them : "Sohn Ye Jin's fans?"
The reply was: "Yon-Sama fans"!
We were like, are you sure..both of them doesn't look older than 15(or maybe even younger). They said yes.................Who says Yong Joon only attract aunties or women above 40????????
hope some reporters do read this message and stop saying that Yong Joon only attract women above 40s.
in samcheok, on the day we were going back to seoul(i.e.4th feb), we were outside samcheok hospital. We saw 2 young girls and were telling each other that they must be Sohn Ye Jin's fans. We asked them to help us to take a pic of the 5 of us infront of the hospital. They obliged and took a good shot for us.
After that we asked both of them : "Sohn Ye Jin's fans?"
The reply was: "Yon-Sama fans"!
We were like, are you sure..both of them doesn't look older than 15(or maybe even younger). They said yes.................Who says Yong Joon only attract aunties or women above 40????????
hope some reporters do read this message and stop saying that Yong Joon only attract women above 40s.
Hi bb,
Thanks for sharing your bae journey and the samcheok reports, which reminds me of my own bae journey more than 2 years ago. Not only do you write well, you take great photos as well! You know you've a following of fans and I'm one of them. What's next?
ssbs
Thanks for sharing your bae journey and the samcheok reports, which reminds me of my own bae journey more than 2 years ago. Not only do you write well, you take great photos as well! You know you've a following of fans and I'm one of them. What's next?
ssbs
QUOTE (sheil)
Hi bb,
Thanks for sharing your bae journey and the samcheok reports, which reminds me of my own bae journey more than 2 years ago. Not only do you write well, you take great photos as well! You know you've a following of fans and I'm one of them. What's next? :D
ssbs
Thanks for sharing your bae journey and the samcheok reports, which reminds me of my own bae journey more than 2 years ago. Not only do you write well, you take great photos as well! You know you've a following of fans and I'm one of them. What's next? :D
ssbs
like i always say, the pleasure's in the sharing....
and for fellow fans out there who have yet to meet yong joon in person,
i hope to be able to share what i've experienced with them...
and sheil, thanks for your kind kind words...
am glad you've enjoyed walking alongside me on my bae journey.
and some of the pictures were taken by my other travelling companions,
must say they take pretty good pictures too...
sorry i couldn't share more pictures as most of them have ME inside
[not that you don't know how i look... but....]
huh? i've a following of fans??? :roll:
bb: just wanna repost youngsun's korean translation of Part 8 for future reference...
maybe one day i'll be able to understand what she wrote...
14591
[번역] 싱가포르팬 happiebb님의 삼척여행 후기 (용준님과 사진을!)
잔돌밭 youngsun 2005.03.02
울님들 안녕하세요^^
오늘은 싱가포르팬 happiebb님의 글 '나의 배용준 여행'의 일부를 소개하려고 합니다.
그녀의 많은 영문, 중문 번역글로 공식에서도 그녀를 알고 있는 분이 많으리라 생각됩니다.
2년 반에 걸친 용준군의 팬생활을 하면서 그간 그녀가 느꼈던 여러가지 감동적인 생각과 경험을 적은 초장문의 글 중
최근 그녀와 용준군이 만났던 삼척행 후기인 8부를 번역해 보았습니다.
처음에는 8부와 함께 9부까지 번역해 올리고 싶었지만 8부 번역에 시간을 많이 뺏겨
팬들의 삼척방문, 용준군, 그리고 팬생활에 대한 그녀의 생각을 밝힌 9부는 아쉽게도 접게 되었습니다.
작년 11월 그녀의 한국 여행을 담은 6부와
12월 일본행 후기인 7부는 이미 공식에 번역 소개한 바가 있습니다.
나머지 글들도 놓치기 아까운 것들입니다.
관심이 있으신 분들은 영문싸이트인 Joonsfamily의 게시물
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=3103 를 보시기 바랍니다.
눈내리는 삼월의 아침입니다.
삼월의 눈도 이렇게 가슴 설레이는데 'April Snow'라면 얼마나 경이롭고도 아쉬울까요!
3월, 좋은일 가득하시기 바랍니다^^
2005년 3월 2일 잔돌밭youngsun
****************************
여러분 안녕하세요.
나는 배용준 팬이란 어떤 것인가에 대한 내 생각을 글로 써보고 싶다는 생각을 쭈욱 하고 있었습니다.
2년여에 걸친 배용준과의 여행이 내 삶 여기저기에 영향을 미쳤고,
과거에는 상상도 하지 못했던 장소로 나를 불러 들였으며,
새 친구들을 만들어 주었습니다.
이런 일이 벌어지리라고는
2년반전 내가 한국 배우에 끌린 그 당시에는 전혀 예상치 못했죠.
어쨌든... 지금까지 나의 배용준여행은 즐거웠습니다.
이 배용준 중독증이 언제까지 지속될지는 알 수 없지만
이런 감정이 사라지기 전에 글로 남겨야겠다고 생각했습니다.
어느날 할머니가 된 내가 이 글을 읽으며 빙그레 웃음을 짓겠지요.
[나의 배용준 여행기...] 전편은
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.p...#50640;서 읽을 수 있습니다.
지금 전편을 다 읽을 시간이 없는 분은
이 글 8부에서 내가 용준님을 만난 최근의 삼척행 후기를 봐주시기 바랍니다.
태양의 나라 싱가포르에서
happiebb
p.s.: 배용준 여행은 내가 중국어로 번역해 www.loveyongjoon.com에 올리겠습니다.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
★★ 이 글과 사진은 불펌입니다!!! ★★
원문: happiebb(www.joonsfamily.com)/ My Very Personal Bae Journey Part8
한글 번역: 잔돌밭youngsun
[8부: 네번째 한국 여행(2005년 2월)
마침내 찍은 사진! 그리고 삼척의 하일라이트...]
내가 앞에서 언급했듯이 나는 현실적으로 직접 뛰는 행동형 팬은 절대 아니다.
서울 스캔들 벙개와 홍콩 팬미팅만 참가했을 뿐, 솔직이 팬들과의 교류 또한 많지 않았다.
그당시 나는 자신을 드러내지 않는다는 입장에 철저했다! 하하하...
아, 내가 참석한 또 하나의 행사가 있다는 것을 깜빡했다...
이곳 싱가포르에서의 행사도 하나 참가했다.
지난 8월 용준님 생일을 축하하기 위한 팬모임이었다.
그러나 그날은 사람들이 점심을 함께 하면서 경품뽑기와 생일케익 커팅을 한 단순한 모임이었다.
난 혼자 갔고, 솔직히 좀 어색했다.
내가 아는 사람이라곤 Tiffany뿐이었다.
Tiffany와는 이미 한동안 이메일을 주고 받는 사이였지만 직접 만난 적은 없었다.
물론 그녀의 생김새는 알고 있었다.
용준님의 싱가포르 방문시 언론에 그녀의 사진이 문자 그대로 도배를 했던 것이다.
더구나 그녀는 그의 포옹을 받은 몇 명 안되는 행운녀 중 하나가 아닌가!
그러니 그녀 모습을 모를 수가 없다!
난 그 때도 지금도 부러움으로 배가 아프다^^
http://www.5151.net/starclub/picture/%C5%E...%A1/b562290.jpg
나를 질투의 화신으로 만든 사진이 어느 것인지는 여러분의 판단에 맡긴다...
맞춘 분에 대한 상품은 없지만...
어쨌든 그 유일한 싱가포르 모임에 참가하고 나서 Tiffany에 대해서 나는 조금 더 알게 되었다.
그녀와 몇번 차를 나누었고(실제로 그녀는 차를 마셨고, 나는 커피를 즐겼다), 난 그녀가 좋아졌다.
아, 절대로 엉뚱한 상상은 마시길...!
그녀는 기혼이고, 난 품행방정한 독신여성이다.
1월 초 그녀와 그런 만남에서 나는 한국에 다시 가고 싶다는 아쉬움을 토로했다.
11월에 다녀 온 내가 또 가고 싶어 안달하며 죽을 지경이라는 것이
여러분에게는 얼마나 어이없는 비명으로 들릴지는 잘 안다
어쨌든 한국에 대한 나의 느낌은 이렇다.
한국에 가는 것이, 거기 있다는 사실이 그냥 좋다.
한나 더 보탠다면 난 차가운 날씨가 정말 좋다.
그렇다, 내가 태어나야 할 곳은 여기가 아니었다.
싱가포르보다 더 더운 지역이 있을까?
그래서 나는 눈을 꿈꾸어 왔고,
푹푹 찌는 싱가포르의 더위 속에서 근사한 차가운 날씨를 꿈꾸어 왔던 것이다.
http://www.seoulnavi.com/area/images/right...2/a_s782_38.jpg
http://www.seoulnavi.com/area/images/right...2/a_s782_34.jpg
http://www.seoulnavi.com/area/images/right...2/a_s782_33.jpg
2005년 겨울철의 남이섬
배용준 팬에게 겨울 기분에 젖어보는 것보다 좋은 것은 별로 없을 듯하다...
그런데...
그때 Tiffany가 Joonsfamily 회원 몇 명이 1월 말 한국에 갈 예정이라는 말을 했다.
그순간 충동적으로 나는 내가 따라 붙어도 될지 그들에게 물어 봐 달라고 Tiffany에게 부탁했다.
정말 충동적이었다.
내가 무슨말을 하고 있는지 깨닫기도 전에 그 말이 입밖으로 튀어나갔다.
돌이켜 생각해 보니, 상당히 섣부르고도 위험한 행동이었다.
여행이 즐거운 것이 될지 엉망이 될지는 실제로 여행 동료에 달려 있음은 모두가 아는 사실이다.
그런데 난 생면부지의 사람들과 여행을 하겠다고 부탁을 하고 있었던 것이다.
어쨌든 Tiffany는 언제나처럼 친절하게도 그들에게 물어보아 주었다.
그 다음은 내가 한국행에 나서고 있었다.
분명 그녀들 또한 나와의 동행을 망설였으리라.
내가 어떤 사람인가는 말할 것도 없이 어떻게 생겼는지 조차 몰랐던 그들이었다.
내가 대단히 까다로운 사람이라면 어쩌지? 행여 이런 사람은 아닐까..? 또는..?
자세한 내용은 생략하고
어쨌든 우리 모두는 위험을 감수하고 동행을 하기로 했다는 것만 밝혀둔다.
이번 여행의 일행은 5명이었다.
이들의 동의를 얻어 그 이름을 밝혀 본다.
나, Julie, Lina, Lynn, 그리고 Ros가 함께 갔다.
여러분의 편의를 위해 Lynn과 Ros는 Joonsfamily의 운영진임을 밝힌다.
여행을 떠나기 전 이미
우리 다섯은 꽤 여러가지 공통점을 가지고 있었다.
모두 싱가포르인이고, 용준님 팬이며,
우리 모두는 이미 한국을 몇번 다녀온 터였다.
그리고 과거의 그 모든 한국 여행이 오직 용준님 때문이었다.
여행전 일정을 의논하기 위해 Julie를 뺀 우리 4명은 한번 만났다.
여행사에 매이지 않은 자유로운 여행이라 당연히 우리끼리의 계획이 필요했다.
그날 처음으로 여행 동반자를 만난 것이다. 정말 터무니 없는 일이다.
나는 Ros만 알아 보았는데, 생일 모임에서 그녀를 보았던 터였다.
어쨌든 그녀의 도착을 기다려야만 했고, 그 때서야 다른 두명은 먼저 와 있었다는 것을 알게 되었다.
우리의 여행일정은 2005년 1월 30일부터 2월 7일까지였다.
한국으로 떠나기 며칠전
한 일본잡지에 삼척 촬영 예정지에 관한 정보가 실렸다는 소식을 퀼트에서 보았다.
그때만 해도 우리가 삼척에 갈 것인지 결정을 보지 못했다. 내 마음이야 굴뚝같았지만...
그리고 일행의 한두명은 삼척행에 반대가 아니라는 것을 알고 있었다.
그리고 촬영은 설날후인 2005년 2월 10일부터 시작한다는 소식이었다.
그런데 나는 촬영때문에 상업화될지 모르는 삼척의 본래 모습을 보고 싶었다.
영화 때문에 앞으로 삼척을 찾는 여행객과 팬들이 바리바리 쏟아져 들어 올 것은 불보듯 뻔했다.
나는 허감독이 본 삼척의 모습을 보고 싶었다.
그래서 촬영이 시작되지 않는다고 해도,
그러므로 설 전에는 배우들이 거기에 없으리라는 것에도 불구하고,
난 정말 가보고 싶었다.
그래서 나는 가까운 몇몇 일본 친구들에게 이메일을 보냈다.
그 일본 잡지를 살펴보고 우리 여행에 유용한 정보가 있는지 알려달라는 도움을 청했다.
그들에게 이메일을 보낸 것은 여행 출발 3일전이라 시간적으로 여유가 없었다.
그런데 Mclara가 도움의 손길을 보내왔다.
우리에게 보낼 정보를 번역하려고 그녀는 밤늦게까지 컴퓨터 앞에 앉아 있었으리라.
고맙고, 또 고맙다!
삼척 촬영 예정지에 대한 정보를 찾기 위해 그 잡지는 애를 많이 쓴 흔적이 역력했고
정보도 상당히 종합적이었다.
지도도 딸려 있었는데 Mclara가 고맙게도 그것도 전송해 주었다.
그 후 Mclara는 이 번역물을 퀼트에도 올렸는데
관심있는 분들을 위해 여기 링크를 적었다.
http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/view.php...sc=asc&no=10099
그렇게 우린 한국으로 출발했다...
한국에 일주일 정도 있었기 때문에
할 일도 많았고, 사건도 많았다.
그러나 여기에는 사진을 주로 하는 보고문, 즉 요약된 여행기만 올리려고 한다.
<2005년 1월 30일 일요일/ 첫날>
- 이륙 몇시간전 공항에서 Lynn과 Ros를 만났다.
- 여행일정을 다시 한번 검토하다
- 1박2일의 삼척행을 결정하다(2월 3, 4일)
- Ros의 길디 긴 속눈썹에 배가 아파 그녀가 잠든 사이 잘라버리겠다고 결심하다
- Ros의 손톱 2개 때문에 배를 잡았다. 하나는 스캔들의 조원인 용준님 모습이고
또 하나는 겨울연가 민형의 모습이었다
- Lina와 Julie는 늦었다. Julie를 처음 보다
<2005년 1월 31일 월요일/ 둘째날: BOF / 롯데 면세점>
이미 한국을 세번 방문했음에도 나는 아직 BOF 사무실에 가본 적이 없었다.
Tiffany가 그녀의 Joonsfamily 다이어리(http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=1871)에서 밝혔듯이
BOF 사무실은 배용준팬에게는 순례지같다.
그러니 어찌 내가 외면할 수 있겠는가?
특히나 접근하기 힘든 BOF로 나를 인도해줄 동료 팬들의 친근한 손길이 있음에랴!
BOF 사진 몇 장을 소개한다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/BOF1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/BOF2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/BOF3.jpg
그날 잠실 롯데백화점에도 갔다.
지금은 모든 배용준팬이 알고 있듯이
그곳 10층 면세점 한 옆에 작은 배용준 상품 코너가 있다.
용준님은 롯데 면세점 모델이기도 하다.
이 BYJ 코너에서 찍은 사진 한점을 소개한다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...iebb/lotte1.jpg
롯데에서 팔고 있는 배용준 상품
<2005년 2월 1일 화요일/ 셋째날>
무지 무지 추운날이다...
우리가 묵은 모텔 주인인 박씨는 그날 기온이 영하12도지만
일기예보에서 말하는 체감온도는 영하26도라고 우리에게 일러 주었다.
상상해 보시길...
그러나 난 추위를 즐기고 있었다...
에휴... 싱가포르에 4계의 구분만 있어도 얼마나 좋을까!
어쨌든 우리는 그날 코엑스와 명동에서 가벼운 쇼핑을 하며 편안한 하루를 보냈다.
<2005년 2월 2일 수요일/ 넷째날: 잠실 스타디움의 겨울연가 랜드>
난 퀼트에서 겨울연가 테마파크가 최근 잠실지역에 오픈했다는 기사를 읽었다.
그래서 우리는 그곳을 살펴보기로 했다
행운이 우리를 따랐다.
테마파크 오픈은 내일이었지만 대부분의 전시물이 이미 그 자리에 들어와 있었다.
그래서 우리는 공짜로 겨울연가 랜드에 들어갈 수 있었을 뿐만아니라
그곳을 우리가 독차지했다!
겨울연가 랜드는 두 부분으로 이루어 졌다.
앞부분은 겨울연가의 여러 장면을 꾸며 놓은 여러개의 텐트로 구성되어 있다.
그리고 그곳을 삥둘러 드라마 사진을 볼 수 있다
사진 몇점을 소개 한다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS1.jpg
겨울연가 랜드 입구
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS6.jpg
겨울연가 랜드 앞부분에는 많은 사진이 걸려 있다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS7.jpg
한 텐트의 내부 사진
민형과 유진의 스키장 저녁식사 장면을 재현
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS9.jpg
또 한 텐트 내부 사진
준상과 유진의 고교시절 회상물
아... 달콤하고도 쌉싸름한 첫사랑의 향취...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS11.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS10.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS12.jpg
대형 텐트 내부 사진
불쑥 들어간 우리 앞에 나타난 것은 식당이었다.
다시 한번 우리는 겨울연가 사진들로 에워싸였다.
텐트 한쪽 끝에는 민형과 유진이 다시 만난 외도 불가능의 집 발코니를 재현해 놓았다.
준상과 유진의 판넬이 세워져 있고
구멍이 뚫려 있어 여러분이 머리를 넣으면 유진이 될 수 있다!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS13.jpg
꼬마 눈사람이 없는 겨울연가 랜드를 상상할 수 있는가?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS14.jpg
어떤 개구진 사람이 이 불쌍한 꼬마눈사람을 나무 위에 올려 놓았을까?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS15.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS16.jpg
겨울연가의 일부를 가져 가고 싶은가?
그렇다면 겨울연가와 배용준 상품을 팔고 있는 이 가게를 들러 보길.
롯데 면세점에서 구할 수 있는 상품의 일부를 여기서도 살 수 있다.
이렇게 낮에는 겨울연가 랜드에서 사진을 찍어가며 행복한 시간을 보냈다.
그날 저녁 우리는 코엑스에서 영화를 볼 계획이었다.
음, 여러분중 이동건이란 스타가 배용준 주니어라는 말을 들어본 적이 있을 게다.
바로 그의 새 영화 B형 남자친구를 보기 위해 우리는 전날 표를 사두었다.
겨울연가 랜드에서 코엑스를 향해 우리는 떠났다.
코엑스에 도착한 나는 카메라가 없어졌다는 사실을 깨달았다.
이 카메라를 산 지는 6개월도 채 안됐는데 그것을 잃어버린 것이다.
단순한 금전적 손실만이 아니었다.
지난 며칠간 찍은 사진도 모두 잃어 버린 것이다.
솔직히 그 때 나는 대단히 마음이 상해 엉엉 울고 싶었다.
Lina와 Ros의 사진도 내 카메라로 같이 찍었기 때문에 정말 죽고 싶을 정도로 암울했다.
그러나 난 울지 않았다.
우린 단체 휴가 중이라고 날 타일렀던 기억이 난다.
다른 사람을 생각해야 하고, 그들의 기분을 망쳐서 안된다는 것도...
난 자신을 추스리려고 애를 썼다.
어쨌든 여행 3일째이고 여행이 끝나기까지는 아직 날짜가 남았다.
여행이 끝날 무렵 이런일이 생겼다면 훨씬 더 힘들었으리라.
난 또한 현실적인 편이다.
그 때 Ros에게 한 말이 생각난다.
"울어서 카메라가 돌아 온다면 내 눈물로 서울시에 홍수가 날 거야"
어쨌든 내가 카메라가 없어진 것을 알게 된 것은 오후 5시였고, 영화는 7시 시작이었다.
다음날은 삼척으로 가기로 되어 있었고 거기서 사진을 꼭 찍고 싶었다.
그래서 새 카메라를 사기로 결정했다.
난 카지오 카메라를 사고 싶었는데 코엑스같은 큰 마켓에 카지오 카메라가 없었다!
테크노마트에서 카지오 카메라를 구입할 수 있다는 것을 알게 되었다.
테크노마트에 가서 카메라를 사고 코엑스에서 7시 영화를 보기까지 두시간도 채 남지 않았다.
그리고 러시아워 때였다. 내 마음은 급했다.
어떻게든 그것을 구하기로 했다.
내일 아침 삼척으로 떠나기 전 카메라를 구할 길은 지금 말고는 달리 없었다.
여기서 나는 테크노마트까지 동행해 주고 흥정까지 도와준 Ros에게 감사를 표하고 싶다!
나는 이곳 싱가포르의 정찰제에 익숙해 있기 때문에 흥정할 생각은 까마득히 잊고 있었다.
그녀가 흥정에 관여하지 않고 날 내버려 두었다면 난 그냥 OK했을 것이다. 그녀는 도움은 고마왔다.
그리고 그녀는 계속 내 곁을 지켜 주었다.
영화에 늦지 않게 돌아 왔다. 영화 보기 전에 저녁 먹을 여유조차 있었다.
Ros, 고마와!
<2005년 2월 3일 목요일/ 닷새째: 삼척!>
1박 2일의 삼척행을 위해 점보 택시를 빌렸다.
놀랍게도 점보택시가 우리 5명과 기사까지 편안히 탈 수 있을 만큼 공간이 넓었다.
내가 Twiggy처럼 말랐다는 생각은 하지 마실길! 실제로 난 덩치깨나 있는 여자다.
서울에서 4시간 거리의 여행이라고 했다.
아침 8시에 출발한 우리는 정오를 지나서 삼척에 도착할 생각이었다.
그런데 Tiffany가 전화로 외출 촬영이 2월 10일이 아니라 4일로 앞당겨졌다는 소식을 읽었다고 전해 주었다.
그래서...우리는 조바심이 났다...
과연 용준님을 볼 수 있을까..?
삼척 가는 중에 찍은 사진이다
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...twsamcheok2.jpg
삼척에 도착한 우리는 몹시나 들떠 있었고, 호텔을 정하기 앞서 할 일이 있었다.
택시 기사에게 우선 삼척병원으로 가지고 했다.
그는 우리를 이상한 여자들이라고 생각했을 것이다.
서울에서부터 먼 길을 와서는 대뜸 병원부터 가자고 했으니 말이다!
Mclara가 이메일로 보내준 지도로 병원을 찾느라고 법석인 우리들의 모습이
여러분들로서는 쉽게 상상하기 힘들 것이다.
그래 저거야! 마침내 우리는 삼척병원을 찾아냈다.
우리는 차에서 내려 그 곳을 둘러 보았다.
그때 병원에서 찍은 사진을 소개한다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...amhospital1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...amhospital2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...amhospital3.jpg
촬영장은 이 닫힌 문 뒤에 있다.
Mclara로부터 얻은 정보에 의하면
촬영은 이 병원 3층에서 한다고 한다.
그래서 다른 일행이 병원의 다른 부분을 살피는 동안 Ros와 나는 계단을 올라갔다.
그리고 우리는 촬영장으로 통하는 문을 찾아냈다.
그러나 유감스럽게도 우리가 접근할 수 없는 장소였다.
닫힌 문의 사진을 찍는 것으로 우리의 호기심을 달래는 수밖에 없었다.
그 때 용준님이 그 닫힌 문 뒤에 있을까 하고 궁금해 했던 기억이 난다, 헤헤...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...amhospital4.jpg
그 층의 창은 모두 블라인드가 내려져 있었다. 아무것도 볼 수 없었다...
일본 잡지 기사에 의하면
스탭이 머무는 모텔이 병원 건너편에 있었다.
그리고 그 기사에는 영화에서
배용준과 손예진이 입원한 각자의 배우자때문에 이 모텔에 머물게 된다는 것이다.
당연히 우리는 모텔을 살피러 갔다.
병원에서 바로 길 건너편에 모텔이 정말로 있었다.
삼흥모텔이다. 여기 사진 몇 점이 있다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...b/sammotel1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...b/sammotel2.jpg
모텔 밖에서 우리가 무엇을 보았는지 아는가?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...utsidemotel.jpg
"MAKEUP BOX" 라고 씌여진 자주색 차를 보았다.
그러니... 배우들이 이곳에서 분장을 하는 것일까?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...utsidemotel.jpg
그리고 우리는 영화 스탭을 나르는 버스를 보았다.
모든게 정말 흥미로왔다!
그 때는 촬영이 정말로 내일 시작되는 잘 알지 못하던 때다.
그래서 용준님이 이미 그곳에 와 있는지도 확신이 서지 않았다.
그러나 모든 징후는 촬영이 임박했음을 알리고 있었다.
좀 더 알아 보려고 모텔로 갔다.
빈 방이 있는지, 가격이 얼마인지를 알아 본다는 핑계로 우리는 안으로 들어갔다.
우리는 빈방이 있다는 것을 알았지만
모텔 주인이 방을 빌려주지 말라는 지시를 누군가로부터 받은 듯한 느낌이었다.
그들이 전용 요금을 지불한지도 모른다.
그리고 외국인임이 분명한 우리한테 실제로 병원에 입원한 친척이나 친구가 있을 것같지 않았으리라.
그래서 우리는 거절 당했다. 우리에게 빌려줄 방이 없다는 것이다.
그런데 거기 있는 동안 우리는 카운터에 붙어 있는 리스트를 보았다.
'스탭 리스트'라고 적혀 있었다.
거기에는 스탭의 이름과 배당된 방 번호가 적혀 있었다.
내가 그 리스트의 사진을 찍으려고 하는데 험상궃은 얼굴의 남자가 시야에 들어왔다.
난 하던 동작을 멈추었고, 우리 일행은 재빨리 그곳에서 빠져 나왔다.
Mclara가 나를 위해 번역해준 일본 잡지 기사에는
촬영장에 방문객들이 밀려들 것이므로 호텔 예약은 2주전에 하는 것이 최선이라고 했다.
방을 구하지 못하리라는 걱정이 들어 일단 체크인을 하기로 했다.
그 정보에는 용준님이 Palace Tourist Hotel에 머물 것이라고 했다.
용준님의 사생활을 보호하고 촬영장에서의 소란을 최소화하기 위해
이미 알려진 정보 외 추가적이거나 개인적인 정보는 여기에서 쓰지 않겠다는 내 입장을 밝힌다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...alacehotel1.jpg
호텔 입구와 우리의 점보 택시^^
이 호텔의 모든 방은 바다를 보고 있다.
겨울이고 추운 날이었음에도 체크인한 순간 우리는 발코니 문을 열었다.
전망은 멋졌다!
그리고 용준님이 이곳에서 촬영하는 동안 매일 아침 눈을 뜨면
이 아름다운 바다경치를 보리라는 생각에 감탄사가 절로 나왔다... 음...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...alacehotel2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...alacehotel3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...alacehotel4.jpg
호텔 발코니에서 찍은 사진
우리가 호텔에 체크인 한 것은 오후 3시경이었다.
삼척에서의 다음 일정을 정하지 못한 우리는
우리 기사에게 자유시간을 주면서 오후 5시에 호텔로 돌아 오라고 일렀다.
그리고 우리 다섯은 한 방에 모여서 한가한 시간을 보냈다.
Mclara의 메모를 살펴 보면서 일행과 삼척에서 살펴 볼 곳을 의논했던 기억이 난다.
언제부터인가 Lina가 발코니에 나갔다.
그리고... 그녀가 남자 두명이 조깅을 하고 있다고 말했다...
처음에 우리는 그 말에 별 관심이 없었지만 어쨌든 발코니로 나가 살펴보기로 했다.
호텔 바로 바깥의 해안선 둔덕을 따라 두 남자의 조깅하는 모습이 보였다.
한 사람은 캡을 쓰고 있었다.
내 눈에는 두 사람 모두 용준님처럼 보이지 않았다.
문득 이런 생각이 들었다... 지독히도 추운 날이고, 또 호텔 옆이다...
제 정신이 있는 사람이라면 어느 누가 이런 때 조깅을 한단 말인가?
그래서 우리는 정말로 용준님이라면 호텔로 되돌아 올 것이라 생각하고
그들이 턴을 해 호텔 쪽으로 돌아 올 때쯤 로비로 내려가서 살펴 보자고 했다.
우리는 발코니에 서서 기다렸다.
좋았어! 그 사람들이 몸을 돌렸다!
그 순간 우리는 외투, 머플러, 장갑, 무엇이든 손에 잡히는 대로 꿰차고...
아래층으로 내달았다.
바깥 추위 속에 서서 우리는 점점 다가오는 그들을 바라 보았다.
그일까? 정말로 그일까???
아니었다.
약간 실망한 채 우리는 호텔로 되돌아 왔다.
그 때 나는 호텔 로비 한쪽에 무료로 쓸 수 있는 인터넷 구역을 발견했다.
지난 며칠동안 인터넷에 접속할 수 없었던 터라 우리 셋은 이메일 체크도 하고
용준님 관련 소식을 찾을 수 있는지 서핑을 하기로 했다.
그래서 Lynn, Ros, 그리고 내가 서핑을 하는 동안
Julie와 Lina는 프란트 로비에 앉아서 이야기를 나누었다.
오후 3시를 살짝 넘고 있었다.
시간은 빨리 흘렀다.
어느새 한시간이 훌쩍 지났다.
그동안 나는 퀼트와 loveyongjoon.com에 로그인했다.
장시간 인터넷을 못한다면 살 수 없으리라는 생각이 들었다.
맙소사, 넷이 내 삶에 얼마나 깊이 박혀 있는지!
어쨌든 영화촬영이 2월 4일 시작된다는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 바로 다음날이다.
그러므로 출연배우들이 이미 도착했을 가능성은 높았다.
그러나...도대체 우리의 용준님은 어디에 있는 것일까?
오후 4시 30분
우리가 웹서핑에 빠져 나머지 일행 2명을 너무 기다리게 한다는 죄책감이 들기 시작했다.
그래서 나는 Lynn과 Ros에게 5시에 택시 기사가 우리를 데리러 올 것이니 나머지 일행에게 가보자고 말했다.
우리 다섯은 프란트 로비에 앉아서 기사가 우리를 데리러 와 주기를 기다렸다.
그무렵 너댓명의 일본 팬이 로비에서 서성이고 있었다.
그때 Lina가 배가 좀 고프다고 했다.
우리 차가 오려면 20분 넘게 남았고 또 저녁을 언제 먹게 될지 몰라서
그녀보고 우리 방에 올라가 먹을 것을 좀 챙겨 오라고 했다.
Lina가 올라간 지 얼마 되지 않은 때 약간의 동요가 느껴졌다.
갑자기 일본 팬들이 전부 호텔 바깥으로 달리고 있었다.
우리도 무조건 따라갔다. 그리고 양이사님을 보았다!
다른 사람 한명과 함께 호텔 옆문에서 중앙 입구 쪽으로 걸어오고 있었다.
우리의 심장박동이 빨라졌다...
통상 양이사님을 본다는 것은 용준님이 근처에 있다는 것을 의미하는 것이다.
그러므로...?
내 생각이 제 모습을 갖추기 전에 .
호텔 옆문으로부터 차가 한대 들어와 우리가 서 있는 중앙 입구를 지나쳤다.
갑자기 뒷차창이 스르르 내려 갔다.
불쑥 머리가 바깥으로 나왔다.
아무나의 머리ᄳ
maybe one day i'll be able to understand what she wrote...
14591
[번역] 싱가포르팬 happiebb님의 삼척여행 후기 (용준님과 사진을!)
잔돌밭 youngsun 2005.03.02
울님들 안녕하세요^^
오늘은 싱가포르팬 happiebb님의 글 '나의 배용준 여행'의 일부를 소개하려고 합니다.
그녀의 많은 영문, 중문 번역글로 공식에서도 그녀를 알고 있는 분이 많으리라 생각됩니다.
2년 반에 걸친 용준군의 팬생활을 하면서 그간 그녀가 느꼈던 여러가지 감동적인 생각과 경험을 적은 초장문의 글 중
최근 그녀와 용준군이 만났던 삼척행 후기인 8부를 번역해 보았습니다.
처음에는 8부와 함께 9부까지 번역해 올리고 싶었지만 8부 번역에 시간을 많이 뺏겨
팬들의 삼척방문, 용준군, 그리고 팬생활에 대한 그녀의 생각을 밝힌 9부는 아쉽게도 접게 되었습니다.
작년 11월 그녀의 한국 여행을 담은 6부와
12월 일본행 후기인 7부는 이미 공식에 번역 소개한 바가 있습니다.
나머지 글들도 놓치기 아까운 것들입니다.
관심이 있으신 분들은 영문싸이트인 Joonsfamily의 게시물
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=3103 를 보시기 바랍니다.
눈내리는 삼월의 아침입니다.
삼월의 눈도 이렇게 가슴 설레이는데 'April Snow'라면 얼마나 경이롭고도 아쉬울까요!
3월, 좋은일 가득하시기 바랍니다^^
2005년 3월 2일 잔돌밭youngsun
****************************
여러분 안녕하세요.
나는 배용준 팬이란 어떤 것인가에 대한 내 생각을 글로 써보고 싶다는 생각을 쭈욱 하고 있었습니다.
2년여에 걸친 배용준과의 여행이 내 삶 여기저기에 영향을 미쳤고,
과거에는 상상도 하지 못했던 장소로 나를 불러 들였으며,
새 친구들을 만들어 주었습니다.
이런 일이 벌어지리라고는
2년반전 내가 한국 배우에 끌린 그 당시에는 전혀 예상치 못했죠.
어쨌든... 지금까지 나의 배용준여행은 즐거웠습니다.
이 배용준 중독증이 언제까지 지속될지는 알 수 없지만
이런 감정이 사라지기 전에 글로 남겨야겠다고 생각했습니다.
어느날 할머니가 된 내가 이 글을 읽으며 빙그레 웃음을 짓겠지요.
[나의 배용준 여행기...] 전편은
http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.p...#50640;서 읽을 수 있습니다.
지금 전편을 다 읽을 시간이 없는 분은
이 글 8부에서 내가 용준님을 만난 최근의 삼척행 후기를 봐주시기 바랍니다.
태양의 나라 싱가포르에서
happiebb
p.s.: 배용준 여행은 내가 중국어로 번역해 www.loveyongjoon.com에 올리겠습니다.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
★★ 이 글과 사진은 불펌입니다!!! ★★
원문: happiebb(www.joonsfamily.com)/ My Very Personal Bae Journey Part8
한글 번역: 잔돌밭youngsun
[8부: 네번째 한국 여행(2005년 2월)
마침내 찍은 사진! 그리고 삼척의 하일라이트...]
내가 앞에서 언급했듯이 나는 현실적으로 직접 뛰는 행동형 팬은 절대 아니다.
서울 스캔들 벙개와 홍콩 팬미팅만 참가했을 뿐, 솔직이 팬들과의 교류 또한 많지 않았다.
그당시 나는 자신을 드러내지 않는다는 입장에 철저했다! 하하하...
아, 내가 참석한 또 하나의 행사가 있다는 것을 깜빡했다...
이곳 싱가포르에서의 행사도 하나 참가했다.
지난 8월 용준님 생일을 축하하기 위한 팬모임이었다.
그러나 그날은 사람들이 점심을 함께 하면서 경품뽑기와 생일케익 커팅을 한 단순한 모임이었다.
난 혼자 갔고, 솔직히 좀 어색했다.
내가 아는 사람이라곤 Tiffany뿐이었다.
Tiffany와는 이미 한동안 이메일을 주고 받는 사이였지만 직접 만난 적은 없었다.
물론 그녀의 생김새는 알고 있었다.
용준님의 싱가포르 방문시 언론에 그녀의 사진이 문자 그대로 도배를 했던 것이다.
더구나 그녀는 그의 포옹을 받은 몇 명 안되는 행운녀 중 하나가 아닌가!
그러니 그녀 모습을 모를 수가 없다!
난 그 때도 지금도 부러움으로 배가 아프다^^
http://www.5151.net/starclub/picture/%C5%E...%A1/b562290.jpg
나를 질투의 화신으로 만든 사진이 어느 것인지는 여러분의 판단에 맡긴다...
맞춘 분에 대한 상품은 없지만...
어쨌든 그 유일한 싱가포르 모임에 참가하고 나서 Tiffany에 대해서 나는 조금 더 알게 되었다.
그녀와 몇번 차를 나누었고(실제로 그녀는 차를 마셨고, 나는 커피를 즐겼다), 난 그녀가 좋아졌다.
아, 절대로 엉뚱한 상상은 마시길...!
그녀는 기혼이고, 난 품행방정한 독신여성이다.
1월 초 그녀와 그런 만남에서 나는 한국에 다시 가고 싶다는 아쉬움을 토로했다.
11월에 다녀 온 내가 또 가고 싶어 안달하며 죽을 지경이라는 것이
여러분에게는 얼마나 어이없는 비명으로 들릴지는 잘 안다
어쨌든 한국에 대한 나의 느낌은 이렇다.
한국에 가는 것이, 거기 있다는 사실이 그냥 좋다.
한나 더 보탠다면 난 차가운 날씨가 정말 좋다.
그렇다, 내가 태어나야 할 곳은 여기가 아니었다.
싱가포르보다 더 더운 지역이 있을까?
그래서 나는 눈을 꿈꾸어 왔고,
푹푹 찌는 싱가포르의 더위 속에서 근사한 차가운 날씨를 꿈꾸어 왔던 것이다.
http://www.seoulnavi.com/area/images/right...2/a_s782_38.jpg
http://www.seoulnavi.com/area/images/right...2/a_s782_34.jpg
http://www.seoulnavi.com/area/images/right...2/a_s782_33.jpg
2005년 겨울철의 남이섬
배용준 팬에게 겨울 기분에 젖어보는 것보다 좋은 것은 별로 없을 듯하다...
그런데...
그때 Tiffany가 Joonsfamily 회원 몇 명이 1월 말 한국에 갈 예정이라는 말을 했다.
그순간 충동적으로 나는 내가 따라 붙어도 될지 그들에게 물어 봐 달라고 Tiffany에게 부탁했다.
정말 충동적이었다.
내가 무슨말을 하고 있는지 깨닫기도 전에 그 말이 입밖으로 튀어나갔다.
돌이켜 생각해 보니, 상당히 섣부르고도 위험한 행동이었다.
여행이 즐거운 것이 될지 엉망이 될지는 실제로 여행 동료에 달려 있음은 모두가 아는 사실이다.
그런데 난 생면부지의 사람들과 여행을 하겠다고 부탁을 하고 있었던 것이다.
어쨌든 Tiffany는 언제나처럼 친절하게도 그들에게 물어보아 주었다.
그 다음은 내가 한국행에 나서고 있었다.
분명 그녀들 또한 나와의 동행을 망설였으리라.
내가 어떤 사람인가는 말할 것도 없이 어떻게 생겼는지 조차 몰랐던 그들이었다.
내가 대단히 까다로운 사람이라면 어쩌지? 행여 이런 사람은 아닐까..? 또는..?
자세한 내용은 생략하고
어쨌든 우리 모두는 위험을 감수하고 동행을 하기로 했다는 것만 밝혀둔다.
이번 여행의 일행은 5명이었다.
이들의 동의를 얻어 그 이름을 밝혀 본다.
나, Julie, Lina, Lynn, 그리고 Ros가 함께 갔다.
여러분의 편의를 위해 Lynn과 Ros는 Joonsfamily의 운영진임을 밝힌다.
여행을 떠나기 전 이미
우리 다섯은 꽤 여러가지 공통점을 가지고 있었다.
모두 싱가포르인이고, 용준님 팬이며,
우리 모두는 이미 한국을 몇번 다녀온 터였다.
그리고 과거의 그 모든 한국 여행이 오직 용준님 때문이었다.
여행전 일정을 의논하기 위해 Julie를 뺀 우리 4명은 한번 만났다.
여행사에 매이지 않은 자유로운 여행이라 당연히 우리끼리의 계획이 필요했다.
그날 처음으로 여행 동반자를 만난 것이다. 정말 터무니 없는 일이다.
나는 Ros만 알아 보았는데, 생일 모임에서 그녀를 보았던 터였다.
어쨌든 그녀의 도착을 기다려야만 했고, 그 때서야 다른 두명은 먼저 와 있었다는 것을 알게 되었다.
우리의 여행일정은 2005년 1월 30일부터 2월 7일까지였다.
한국으로 떠나기 며칠전
한 일본잡지에 삼척 촬영 예정지에 관한 정보가 실렸다는 소식을 퀼트에서 보았다.
그때만 해도 우리가 삼척에 갈 것인지 결정을 보지 못했다. 내 마음이야 굴뚝같았지만...
그리고 일행의 한두명은 삼척행에 반대가 아니라는 것을 알고 있었다.
그리고 촬영은 설날후인 2005년 2월 10일부터 시작한다는 소식이었다.
그런데 나는 촬영때문에 상업화될지 모르는 삼척의 본래 모습을 보고 싶었다.
영화 때문에 앞으로 삼척을 찾는 여행객과 팬들이 바리바리 쏟아져 들어 올 것은 불보듯 뻔했다.
나는 허감독이 본 삼척의 모습을 보고 싶었다.
그래서 촬영이 시작되지 않는다고 해도,
그러므로 설 전에는 배우들이 거기에 없으리라는 것에도 불구하고,
난 정말 가보고 싶었다.
그래서 나는 가까운 몇몇 일본 친구들에게 이메일을 보냈다.
그 일본 잡지를 살펴보고 우리 여행에 유용한 정보가 있는지 알려달라는 도움을 청했다.
그들에게 이메일을 보낸 것은 여행 출발 3일전이라 시간적으로 여유가 없었다.
그런데 Mclara가 도움의 손길을 보내왔다.
우리에게 보낼 정보를 번역하려고 그녀는 밤늦게까지 컴퓨터 앞에 앉아 있었으리라.
고맙고, 또 고맙다!
삼척 촬영 예정지에 대한 정보를 찾기 위해 그 잡지는 애를 많이 쓴 흔적이 역력했고
정보도 상당히 종합적이었다.
지도도 딸려 있었는데 Mclara가 고맙게도 그것도 전송해 주었다.
그 후 Mclara는 이 번역물을 퀼트에도 올렸는데
관심있는 분들을 위해 여기 링크를 적었다.
http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/view.php...sc=asc&no=10099
그렇게 우린 한국으로 출발했다...
한국에 일주일 정도 있었기 때문에
할 일도 많았고, 사건도 많았다.
그러나 여기에는 사진을 주로 하는 보고문, 즉 요약된 여행기만 올리려고 한다.
<2005년 1월 30일 일요일/ 첫날>
- 이륙 몇시간전 공항에서 Lynn과 Ros를 만났다.
- 여행일정을 다시 한번 검토하다
- 1박2일의 삼척행을 결정하다(2월 3, 4일)
- Ros의 길디 긴 속눈썹에 배가 아파 그녀가 잠든 사이 잘라버리겠다고 결심하다
- Ros의 손톱 2개 때문에 배를 잡았다. 하나는 스캔들의 조원인 용준님 모습이고
또 하나는 겨울연가 민형의 모습이었다
- Lina와 Julie는 늦었다. Julie를 처음 보다
<2005년 1월 31일 월요일/ 둘째날: BOF / 롯데 면세점>
이미 한국을 세번 방문했음에도 나는 아직 BOF 사무실에 가본 적이 없었다.
Tiffany가 그녀의 Joonsfamily 다이어리(http://www.joonsfamily.com/cms/viewtopic.php?t=1871)에서 밝혔듯이
BOF 사무실은 배용준팬에게는 순례지같다.
그러니 어찌 내가 외면할 수 있겠는가?
특히나 접근하기 힘든 BOF로 나를 인도해줄 동료 팬들의 친근한 손길이 있음에랴!
BOF 사진 몇 장을 소개한다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/BOF1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/BOF2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/BOF3.jpg
그날 잠실 롯데백화점에도 갔다.
지금은 모든 배용준팬이 알고 있듯이
그곳 10층 면세점 한 옆에 작은 배용준 상품 코너가 있다.
용준님은 롯데 면세점 모델이기도 하다.
이 BYJ 코너에서 찍은 사진 한점을 소개한다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...iebb/lotte1.jpg
롯데에서 팔고 있는 배용준 상품
<2005년 2월 1일 화요일/ 셋째날>
무지 무지 추운날이다...
우리가 묵은 모텔 주인인 박씨는 그날 기온이 영하12도지만
일기예보에서 말하는 체감온도는 영하26도라고 우리에게 일러 주었다.
상상해 보시길...
그러나 난 추위를 즐기고 있었다...
에휴... 싱가포르에 4계의 구분만 있어도 얼마나 좋을까!
어쨌든 우리는 그날 코엑스와 명동에서 가벼운 쇼핑을 하며 편안한 하루를 보냈다.
<2005년 2월 2일 수요일/ 넷째날: 잠실 스타디움의 겨울연가 랜드>
난 퀼트에서 겨울연가 테마파크가 최근 잠실지역에 오픈했다는 기사를 읽었다.
그래서 우리는 그곳을 살펴보기로 했다
행운이 우리를 따랐다.
테마파크 오픈은 내일이었지만 대부분의 전시물이 이미 그 자리에 들어와 있었다.
그래서 우리는 공짜로 겨울연가 랜드에 들어갈 수 있었을 뿐만아니라
그곳을 우리가 독차지했다!
겨울연가 랜드는 두 부분으로 이루어 졌다.
앞부분은 겨울연가의 여러 장면을 꾸며 놓은 여러개의 텐트로 구성되어 있다.
그리고 그곳을 삥둘러 드라마 사진을 볼 수 있다
사진 몇점을 소개 한다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS1.jpg
겨울연가 랜드 입구
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS4.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS6.jpg
겨울연가 랜드 앞부분에는 많은 사진이 걸려 있다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS7.jpg
한 텐트의 내부 사진
민형과 유진의 스키장 저녁식사 장면을 재현
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS8.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...ppiebb/WLS9.jpg
또 한 텐트 내부 사진
준상과 유진의 고교시절 회상물
아... 달콤하고도 쌉싸름한 첫사랑의 향취...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS11.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS10.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS12.jpg
대형 텐트 내부 사진
불쑥 들어간 우리 앞에 나타난 것은 식당이었다.
다시 한번 우리는 겨울연가 사진들로 에워싸였다.
텐트 한쪽 끝에는 민형과 유진이 다시 만난 외도 불가능의 집 발코니를 재현해 놓았다.
준상과 유진의 판넬이 세워져 있고
구멍이 뚫려 있어 여러분이 머리를 넣으면 유진이 될 수 있다!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS13.jpg
꼬마 눈사람이 없는 겨울연가 랜드를 상상할 수 있는가?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS14.jpg
어떤 개구진 사람이 이 불쌍한 꼬마눈사람을 나무 위에 올려 놓았을까?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS15.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...piebb/WLS16.jpg
겨울연가의 일부를 가져 가고 싶은가?
그렇다면 겨울연가와 배용준 상품을 팔고 있는 이 가게를 들러 보길.
롯데 면세점에서 구할 수 있는 상품의 일부를 여기서도 살 수 있다.
이렇게 낮에는 겨울연가 랜드에서 사진을 찍어가며 행복한 시간을 보냈다.
그날 저녁 우리는 코엑스에서 영화를 볼 계획이었다.
음, 여러분중 이동건이란 스타가 배용준 주니어라는 말을 들어본 적이 있을 게다.
바로 그의 새 영화 B형 남자친구를 보기 위해 우리는 전날 표를 사두었다.
겨울연가 랜드에서 코엑스를 향해 우리는 떠났다.
코엑스에 도착한 나는 카메라가 없어졌다는 사실을 깨달았다.
이 카메라를 산 지는 6개월도 채 안됐는데 그것을 잃어버린 것이다.
단순한 금전적 손실만이 아니었다.
지난 며칠간 찍은 사진도 모두 잃어 버린 것이다.
솔직히 그 때 나는 대단히 마음이 상해 엉엉 울고 싶었다.
Lina와 Ros의 사진도 내 카메라로 같이 찍었기 때문에 정말 죽고 싶을 정도로 암울했다.
그러나 난 울지 않았다.
우린 단체 휴가 중이라고 날 타일렀던 기억이 난다.
다른 사람을 생각해야 하고, 그들의 기분을 망쳐서 안된다는 것도...
난 자신을 추스리려고 애를 썼다.
어쨌든 여행 3일째이고 여행이 끝나기까지는 아직 날짜가 남았다.
여행이 끝날 무렵 이런일이 생겼다면 훨씬 더 힘들었으리라.
난 또한 현실적인 편이다.
그 때 Ros에게 한 말이 생각난다.
"울어서 카메라가 돌아 온다면 내 눈물로 서울시에 홍수가 날 거야"
어쨌든 내가 카메라가 없어진 것을 알게 된 것은 오후 5시였고, 영화는 7시 시작이었다.
다음날은 삼척으로 가기로 되어 있었고 거기서 사진을 꼭 찍고 싶었다.
그래서 새 카메라를 사기로 결정했다.
난 카지오 카메라를 사고 싶었는데 코엑스같은 큰 마켓에 카지오 카메라가 없었다!
테크노마트에서 카지오 카메라를 구입할 수 있다는 것을 알게 되었다.
테크노마트에 가서 카메라를 사고 코엑스에서 7시 영화를 보기까지 두시간도 채 남지 않았다.
그리고 러시아워 때였다. 내 마음은 급했다.
어떻게든 그것을 구하기로 했다.
내일 아침 삼척으로 떠나기 전 카메라를 구할 길은 지금 말고는 달리 없었다.
여기서 나는 테크노마트까지 동행해 주고 흥정까지 도와준 Ros에게 감사를 표하고 싶다!
나는 이곳 싱가포르의 정찰제에 익숙해 있기 때문에 흥정할 생각은 까마득히 잊고 있었다.
그녀가 흥정에 관여하지 않고 날 내버려 두었다면 난 그냥 OK했을 것이다. 그녀는 도움은 고마왔다.
그리고 그녀는 계속 내 곁을 지켜 주었다.
영화에 늦지 않게 돌아 왔다. 영화 보기 전에 저녁 먹을 여유조차 있었다.
Ros, 고마와!
<2005년 2월 3일 목요일/ 닷새째: 삼척!>
1박 2일의 삼척행을 위해 점보 택시를 빌렸다.
놀랍게도 점보택시가 우리 5명과 기사까지 편안히 탈 수 있을 만큼 공간이 넓었다.
내가 Twiggy처럼 말랐다는 생각은 하지 마실길! 실제로 난 덩치깨나 있는 여자다.
서울에서 4시간 거리의 여행이라고 했다.
아침 8시에 출발한 우리는 정오를 지나서 삼척에 도착할 생각이었다.
그런데 Tiffany가 전화로 외출 촬영이 2월 10일이 아니라 4일로 앞당겨졌다는 소식을 읽었다고 전해 주었다.
그래서...우리는 조바심이 났다...
과연 용준님을 볼 수 있을까..?
삼척 가는 중에 찍은 사진이다
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...twsamcheok2.jpg
삼척에 도착한 우리는 몹시나 들떠 있었고, 호텔을 정하기 앞서 할 일이 있었다.
택시 기사에게 우선 삼척병원으로 가지고 했다.
그는 우리를 이상한 여자들이라고 생각했을 것이다.
서울에서부터 먼 길을 와서는 대뜸 병원부터 가자고 했으니 말이다!
Mclara가 이메일로 보내준 지도로 병원을 찾느라고 법석인 우리들의 모습이
여러분들로서는 쉽게 상상하기 힘들 것이다.
그래 저거야! 마침내 우리는 삼척병원을 찾아냈다.
우리는 차에서 내려 그 곳을 둘러 보았다.
그때 병원에서 찍은 사진을 소개한다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...amhospital1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...amhospital2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...amhospital3.jpg
촬영장은 이 닫힌 문 뒤에 있다.
Mclara로부터 얻은 정보에 의하면
촬영은 이 병원 3층에서 한다고 한다.
그래서 다른 일행이 병원의 다른 부분을 살피는 동안 Ros와 나는 계단을 올라갔다.
그리고 우리는 촬영장으로 통하는 문을 찾아냈다.
그러나 유감스럽게도 우리가 접근할 수 없는 장소였다.
닫힌 문의 사진을 찍는 것으로 우리의 호기심을 달래는 수밖에 없었다.
그 때 용준님이 그 닫힌 문 뒤에 있을까 하고 궁금해 했던 기억이 난다, 헤헤...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...amhospital4.jpg
그 층의 창은 모두 블라인드가 내려져 있었다. 아무것도 볼 수 없었다...
일본 잡지 기사에 의하면
스탭이 머무는 모텔이 병원 건너편에 있었다.
그리고 그 기사에는 영화에서
배용준과 손예진이 입원한 각자의 배우자때문에 이 모텔에 머물게 된다는 것이다.
당연히 우리는 모텔을 살피러 갔다.
병원에서 바로 길 건너편에 모텔이 정말로 있었다.
삼흥모텔이다. 여기 사진 몇 점이 있다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...b/sammotel1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...b/sammotel2.jpg
모텔 밖에서 우리가 무엇을 보았는지 아는가?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...utsidemotel.jpg
"MAKEUP BOX" 라고 씌여진 자주색 차를 보았다.
그러니... 배우들이 이곳에서 분장을 하는 것일까?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...utsidemotel.jpg
그리고 우리는 영화 스탭을 나르는 버스를 보았다.
모든게 정말 흥미로왔다!
그 때는 촬영이 정말로 내일 시작되는 잘 알지 못하던 때다.
그래서 용준님이 이미 그곳에 와 있는지도 확신이 서지 않았다.
그러나 모든 징후는 촬영이 임박했음을 알리고 있었다.
좀 더 알아 보려고 모텔로 갔다.
빈 방이 있는지, 가격이 얼마인지를 알아 본다는 핑계로 우리는 안으로 들어갔다.
우리는 빈방이 있다는 것을 알았지만
모텔 주인이 방을 빌려주지 말라는 지시를 누군가로부터 받은 듯한 느낌이었다.
그들이 전용 요금을 지불한지도 모른다.
그리고 외국인임이 분명한 우리한테 실제로 병원에 입원한 친척이나 친구가 있을 것같지 않았으리라.
그래서 우리는 거절 당했다. 우리에게 빌려줄 방이 없다는 것이다.
그런데 거기 있는 동안 우리는 카운터에 붙어 있는 리스트를 보았다.
'스탭 리스트'라고 적혀 있었다.
거기에는 스탭의 이름과 배당된 방 번호가 적혀 있었다.
내가 그 리스트의 사진을 찍으려고 하는데 험상궃은 얼굴의 남자가 시야에 들어왔다.
난 하던 동작을 멈추었고, 우리 일행은 재빨리 그곳에서 빠져 나왔다.
Mclara가 나를 위해 번역해준 일본 잡지 기사에는
촬영장에 방문객들이 밀려들 것이므로 호텔 예약은 2주전에 하는 것이 최선이라고 했다.
방을 구하지 못하리라는 걱정이 들어 일단 체크인을 하기로 했다.
그 정보에는 용준님이 Palace Tourist Hotel에 머물 것이라고 했다.
용준님의 사생활을 보호하고 촬영장에서의 소란을 최소화하기 위해
이미 알려진 정보 외 추가적이거나 개인적인 정보는 여기에서 쓰지 않겠다는 내 입장을 밝힌다.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...alacehotel1.jpg
호텔 입구와 우리의 점보 택시^^
이 호텔의 모든 방은 바다를 보고 있다.
겨울이고 추운 날이었음에도 체크인한 순간 우리는 발코니 문을 열었다.
전망은 멋졌다!
그리고 용준님이 이곳에서 촬영하는 동안 매일 아침 눈을 뜨면
이 아름다운 바다경치를 보리라는 생각에 감탄사가 절로 나왔다... 음...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...alacehotel2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...alacehotel3.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v41/happ...alacehotel4.jpg
호텔 발코니에서 찍은 사진
우리가 호텔에 체크인 한 것은 오후 3시경이었다.
삼척에서의 다음 일정을 정하지 못한 우리는
우리 기사에게 자유시간을 주면서 오후 5시에 호텔로 돌아 오라고 일렀다.
그리고 우리 다섯은 한 방에 모여서 한가한 시간을 보냈다.
Mclara의 메모를 살펴 보면서 일행과 삼척에서 살펴 볼 곳을 의논했던 기억이 난다.
언제부터인가 Lina가 발코니에 나갔다.
그리고... 그녀가 남자 두명이 조깅을 하고 있다고 말했다...
처음에 우리는 그 말에 별 관심이 없었지만 어쨌든 발코니로 나가 살펴보기로 했다.
호텔 바로 바깥의 해안선 둔덕을 따라 두 남자의 조깅하는 모습이 보였다.
한 사람은 캡을 쓰고 있었다.
내 눈에는 두 사람 모두 용준님처럼 보이지 않았다.
문득 이런 생각이 들었다... 지독히도 추운 날이고, 또 호텔 옆이다...
제 정신이 있는 사람이라면 어느 누가 이런 때 조깅을 한단 말인가?
그래서 우리는 정말로 용준님이라면 호텔로 되돌아 올 것이라 생각하고
그들이 턴을 해 호텔 쪽으로 돌아 올 때쯤 로비로 내려가서 살펴 보자고 했다.
우리는 발코니에 서서 기다렸다.
좋았어! 그 사람들이 몸을 돌렸다!
그 순간 우리는 외투, 머플러, 장갑, 무엇이든 손에 잡히는 대로 꿰차고...
아래층으로 내달았다.
바깥 추위 속에 서서 우리는 점점 다가오는 그들을 바라 보았다.
그일까? 정말로 그일까???
아니었다.
약간 실망한 채 우리는 호텔로 되돌아 왔다.
그 때 나는 호텔 로비 한쪽에 무료로 쓸 수 있는 인터넷 구역을 발견했다.
지난 며칠동안 인터넷에 접속할 수 없었던 터라 우리 셋은 이메일 체크도 하고
용준님 관련 소식을 찾을 수 있는지 서핑을 하기로 했다.
그래서 Lynn, Ros, 그리고 내가 서핑을 하는 동안
Julie와 Lina는 프란트 로비에 앉아서 이야기를 나누었다.
오후 3시를 살짝 넘고 있었다.
시간은 빨리 흘렀다.
어느새 한시간이 훌쩍 지났다.
그동안 나는 퀼트와 loveyongjoon.com에 로그인했다.
장시간 인터넷을 못한다면 살 수 없으리라는 생각이 들었다.
맙소사, 넷이 내 삶에 얼마나 깊이 박혀 있는지!
어쨌든 영화촬영이 2월 4일 시작된다는 것을 확인할 수 있었다. 바로 다음날이다.
그러므로 출연배우들이 이미 도착했을 가능성은 높았다.
그러나...도대체 우리의 용준님은 어디에 있는 것일까?
오후 4시 30분
우리가 웹서핑에 빠져 나머지 일행 2명을 너무 기다리게 한다는 죄책감이 들기 시작했다.
그래서 나는 Lynn과 Ros에게 5시에 택시 기사가 우리를 데리러 올 것이니 나머지 일행에게 가보자고 말했다.
우리 다섯은 프란트 로비에 앉아서 기사가 우리를 데리러 와 주기를 기다렸다.
그무렵 너댓명의 일본 팬이 로비에서 서성이고 있었다.
그때 Lina가 배가 좀 고프다고 했다.
우리 차가 오려면 20분 넘게 남았고 또 저녁을 언제 먹게 될지 몰라서
그녀보고 우리 방에 올라가 먹을 것을 좀 챙겨 오라고 했다.
Lina가 올라간 지 얼마 되지 않은 때 약간의 동요가 느껴졌다.
갑자기 일본 팬들이 전부 호텔 바깥으로 달리고 있었다.
우리도 무조건 따라갔다. 그리고 양이사님을 보았다!
다른 사람 한명과 함께 호텔 옆문에서 중앙 입구 쪽으로 걸어오고 있었다.
우리의 심장박동이 빨라졌다...
통상 양이사님을 본다는 것은 용준님이 근처에 있다는 것을 의미하는 것이다.
그러므로...?
내 생각이 제 모습을 갖추기 전에 .
호텔 옆문으로부터 차가 한대 들어와 우리가 서 있는 중앙 입구를 지나쳤다.
갑자기 뒷차창이 스르르 내려 갔다.
불쑥 머리가 바깥으로 나왔다.
아무나의 머리ᄳ
Dear bb,
Thank you for the sharing. I'm a professional too. Before I saw BYJ in WLS, I never knew that I could become a fun someday! I used to teasing the funs who seemed have nothing else to do. I had some favorite stars before, but they are just movie stars, means I like their roles, skills, etc. I never have to put my emotion to whatever they do or not do until …
The first time my friend recommended WLS to me, I didn’t even think that I could finish watching it because I believe that I’m a very rational person …
I was attracted by YJ just at the first sight of him… I couldn't tell exactly why, but his lonely back made me feel I want to hold him, giving him all my love …
Starting from there, I watched hotelier, barefoot, have we ever loved, first love, love greeting … I lost myself …
My friends started to tease me now! But I don’t care, instead I’m very happy for it. YJ has changed myself. I did learn how to love a person so tender, so involved from YJ and all his fans too.
Thank you for all your input and love to his family …
Thank you for the sharing. I'm a professional too. Before I saw BYJ in WLS, I never knew that I could become a fun someday! I used to teasing the funs who seemed have nothing else to do. I had some favorite stars before, but they are just movie stars, means I like their roles, skills, etc. I never have to put my emotion to whatever they do or not do until …
The first time my friend recommended WLS to me, I didn’t even think that I could finish watching it because I believe that I’m a very rational person …
I was attracted by YJ just at the first sight of him… I couldn't tell exactly why, but his lonely back made me feel I want to hold him, giving him all my love …
Starting from there, I watched hotelier, barefoot, have we ever loved, first love, love greeting … I lost myself …
My friends started to tease me now! But I don’t care, instead I’m very happy for it. YJ has changed myself. I did learn how to love a person so tender, so involved from YJ and all his fans too.
Thank you for all your input and love to his family …
happiebb (the lucky girl),
It's my first time to write something here!
I still not yet finish your story, just pick something from your Samcheok trip. Be honest, I jealous you!!! :x
I was suprised indeed why you were there but I thought that it was proper to visit him just before the shooting date. I didn't push you to share because I understand your struggle in your heart. It's great you know what to do now!
Thanks for your sharing especially the photos of him. When you have finished your Chinese writing, could you please permit me to put the link in our website??
Love,
Juli
It's my first time to write something here!
I still not yet finish your story, just pick something from your Samcheok trip. Be honest, I jealous you!!! :x
I was suprised indeed why you were there but I thought that it was proper to visit him just before the shooting date. I didn't push you to share because I understand your struggle in your heart. It's great you know what to do now!
Thanks for your sharing especially the photos of him. When you have finished your Chinese writing, could you please permit me to put the link in our website??
Love,
Juli
Hi happiebb,
What a great write up!!! Well done!!!
Enjoy reading every bit of it....
but i'm green with envy & also jealous lor!!!
I really missed the chance......sob! sob! sob!
I should've gone together with u gals! SIGH!!!
I miss him so much!
Thanks for sharing bb.
What a great write up!!! Well done!!!
Enjoy reading every bit of it....
but i'm green with envy & also jealous lor!!!
I really missed the chance......sob! sob! sob!
I should've gone together with u gals! SIGH!!!
I miss him so much!
Thanks for sharing bb.
QUOTE (juliali)
Dear bb,
Thank you for the sharing. I'm a professional too. Before I saw BYJ in WLS, I never knew that I could become a fun someday! I used to teasing the funs who seemed have nothing else to do. I had some favorite stars before, but they are just movie stars, means I like their roles, skills, etc. I never have to put my emotion to whatever they do or not do until …
The first time my friend recommended WLS to me, I didn’t even think that I could finish watching it because I believe that I’m a very rational person …
I was attracted by YJ just at the first sight of him… I couldn't tell exactly why, but his lonely back made me feel I want to hold him, giving him all my love …
Starting from there, I watched hotelier, barefoot, have we ever loved, first love, love greeting … I lost myself …
My friends started to tease me now! But I don’t care, instead I’m very happy for it. YJ has changed myself. I did learn how to love a person so tender, so involved from YJ and all his fans too.
Thank you for all your input and love to his family …
Thank you for the sharing. I'm a professional too. Before I saw BYJ in WLS, I never knew that I could become a fun someday! I used to teasing the funs who seemed have nothing else to do. I had some favorite stars before, but they are just movie stars, means I like their roles, skills, etc. I never have to put my emotion to whatever they do or not do until …
The first time my friend recommended WLS to me, I didn’t even think that I could finish watching it because I believe that I’m a very rational person …
I was attracted by YJ just at the first sight of him… I couldn't tell exactly why, but his lonely back made me feel I want to hold him, giving him all my love …
Starting from there, I watched hotelier, barefoot, have we ever loved, first love, love greeting … I lost myself …
My friends started to tease me now! But I don’t care, instead I’m very happy for it. YJ has changed myself. I did learn how to love a person so tender, so involved from YJ and all his fans too.
Thank you for all your input and love to his family …
hi juliali,
thanks for leaving me a reply here... i guess quite a lot of fellow fans can fully comprehend what i went thru coz it's pretty much the same for them too...
ah yes.. that backview of his... you know, a lot of chinese fans have written about this as well? said there's just something about looking at him from the back... he looks so lonely it makes our heart ache, and want to reach out and hold him.
anyway, glad that yong joon has made you a happier gal!
QUOTE (Juli)
happiebb (the lucky girl),
It's my first time to write something here! :)
I still not yet finish your story, just pick something from your Samcheok trip. Be honest, I jealous you!!! :x
I was suprised indeed why you were there but I thought that it was proper to visit him just before the shooting date. I didn't push you to share because I understand your struggle in your heart. It's great you know what to do now!
Thanks for your sharing especially the photos of him. When you have finished your Chinese writing, could you please permit me to put the link in our website??
Love,
Juli
It's my first time to write something here! :)
I still not yet finish your story, just pick something from your Samcheok trip. Be honest, I jealous you!!! :x
I was suprised indeed why you were there but I thought that it was proper to visit him just before the shooting date. I didn't push you to share because I understand your struggle in your heart. It's great you know what to do now!
Thanks for your sharing especially the photos of him. When you have finished your Chinese writing, could you please permit me to put the link in our website??
Love,
Juli
hi juli,
this is precisely why i would like people to read the story
and not just look at the pictures from samcheok :wink:
we did not go there to visit him or whatever,
it was a trip to see samcheok, the shooting site....
and just happened that filming was brought forward
and yong joon was there a day ahead of filming... so...
sure, you can put the link on your website,
it's: http://loveyongjoon.11138.net:19728/bbs/to...&start=0&show=0
there're a total of 9 parts, and i've translated up to Part 4 now,
can't say for sure when i can complete everything...
haha... am regretting writing such a long posting now....
i forgot about having to translate it...
anyway yong joon's pictures from parts 6 & 8 are up on the chinese link already,
so you can go ahead and post the link now if you like.
QUOTE (esther)
Hi happiebb,
What a great write up!!! Well done!!!
Enjoy reading every bit of it....
but i'm green with envy & also jealous lor!!!
I really missed the chance......sob! sob! sob!
I should've gone together with u gals! SIGH!!!
I miss him so much!
Thanks for sharing bb.
What a great write up!!! Well done!!!
Enjoy reading every bit of it....
but i'm green with envy & also jealous lor!!!
I really missed the chance......sob! sob! sob!
I should've gone together with u gals! SIGH!!!
I miss him so much!
Thanks for sharing bb.
hi esther,
glad you've enjoyed the posting...
well, even though you were not there with us physically,
but i told the samcheok story in a chronological order
so that people reading can almost feel like they were there with us
every step of the way...
haha... ya, i sure wish you gals also try going to the caves,
there sure are many, many, many, many steps! :roll:
hi happiebb,
thanks for giving us all your personal account on byj. it is indeed a feat to remember all the details complete with all the pictures ably written in a narrative way.
it's like a storybook that allowed us to know more about you, the man and all the events that transpired, led your feet to those places, took pictures, met him in flesh and live up to these days with such beautiful memories to relish. one day, it's good to have a book launching about your personal bae journey, having BYJ as your guest.
just like the rest, am also wishing (again!!!) that i could go back there in my own clandestine way..
~mistyred
thanks for giving us all your personal account on byj. it is indeed a feat to remember all the details complete with all the pictures ably written in a narrative way.
it's like a storybook that allowed us to know more about you, the man and all the events that transpired, led your feet to those places, took pictures, met him in flesh and live up to these days with such beautiful memories to relish. one day, it's good to have a book launching about your personal bae journey, having BYJ as your guest.
just like the rest, am also wishing (again!!!) that i could go back there in my own clandestine way..
~mistyred
Hi Happiebb,
What a wonderful write up.It cetainly leave us with envy of your many encounter with him. However, I believe all this do not come by chance. It is through your sheer determination and resourcefulness. Keep up the good spirit 8)
You took great pictures too. BTW I am hunting for a digi cam (see how backdated I am) was considering a Casio and saw your posting that you only wanted to buy Casio when in Korea. Must be a good choice :wink:
Cheers!
Cyn
What a wonderful write up.It cetainly leave us with envy of your many encounter with him. However, I believe all this do not come by chance. It is through your sheer determination and resourcefulness. Keep up the good spirit 8)
You took great pictures too. BTW I am hunting for a digi cam (see how backdated I am) was considering a Casio and saw your posting that you only wanted to buy Casio when in Korea. Must be a good choice :wink:
Cheers!
Cyn
QUOTE (mistyred)
hi happiebb,
thanks for giving us all your personal account on byj. it is indeed a feat to remember all the details complete with all the pictures ably written in a narrative way.
it's like a storybook that allowed us to know more about you, the man and all the events that transpired, led your feet to those places, took pictures, met him in flesh and live up to these days with such beautiful memories to relish. one day, it's good to have a book launching about your personal bae journey, having BYJ as your guest.
just like the rest, am also wishing (again!!!) that i could go back there in my own clandestine way..
~mistyred
thanks for giving us all your personal account on byj. it is indeed a feat to remember all the details complete with all the pictures ably written in a narrative way.
it's like a storybook that allowed us to know more about you, the man and all the events that transpired, led your feet to those places, took pictures, met him in flesh and live up to these days with such beautiful memories to relish. one day, it's good to have a book launching about your personal bae journey, having BYJ as your guest.
just like the rest, am also wishing (again!!!) that i could go back there in my own clandestine way..
~mistyred
haha... am thinking to print out a personal copy of this journal, complete with pictures.... pictures with me inside... :wink:
would be nice to be able to flip the pages, much like a photo album.
anyway, hope you've enjoyed sharing my journey.
QUOTE (Cyn)
Hi Happiebb,
What a wonderful write up.It cetainly leave us with envy of your many encounter with him. However, I believe all this do not come by chance. It is through your sheer determination and resourcefulness. Keep up the good spirit 8)
You took great pictures too. BTW I am hunting for a digi cam (see how backdated I am) was considering a Casio and saw your posting that you only wanted to buy Casio when in Korea. Must be a good choice :wink:
Cheers!
Cyn
What a wonderful write up.It cetainly leave us with envy of your many encounter with him. However, I believe all this do not come by chance. It is through your sheer determination and resourcefulness. Keep up the good spirit 8)
You took great pictures too. BTW I am hunting for a digi cam (see how backdated I am) was considering a Casio and saw your posting that you only wanted to buy Casio when in Korea. Must be a good choice :wink:
Cheers!
Cyn
hi hi cyn,
thanks for spending time to read my personal account, hope i didn't bore you that much with all those details... i saw a fellow fan print out Part 8 without pictures, and believe me, i was totally shocked at how thick it was! just Part 8 and without pictures, and it was already so thick. it was only then that i truly realised how much i've written.... so sorry to have made you ladies read through so much of my ramblings...
haha, i wanted to buy a casio exilim, coz the one i had lost was a casio as well. i was thinking since i already have a set of the charger, cables, etc, i might as well buy back the same brand, so that i can have an extra set of accessories.
the one i lost was a 3million megapixels and i bought a 5million megapixels one from korea. i find casio easy to use... i'm not so good with electronic gadgets, so prefer something quite idiot-proof.
a friend of mine uses a sony cybershot, he highly recommends it as well...
This is a "lo-fi" version of our main content. To view the full version with more information, formatting and images, please click here.