BYJ Danced in Hip Hop Club

Oct. 29, 2009

So happy to heard that my "Honey Baeb" Yong Joon ssi can at least dance a little, LOL...

Source: Translated and posted by Suehan in
BYJ Quilt/ Freeboard # 14663 last Oct. 20 '09

Hi everyone,

Korean entertainers appeared on the MBC program, “Come and Play’ on the 19 th of October and shared their experiences with BYJ. Boonseongbae nim posted the clip on the café byjintoronto website and I reposted it below with a brief description. Please enjoy.

Ko, third from the left wearing glasses and a black t-shirt, said that he and Park Jin Young are close friends and that PJY visits his store often. One day, Park showed up with BYJ and they all went to the hip-hop club where PJY frequently attends. He saw BYJ dancing there and then mimicked how BYJ danced. He said that BYJ’s hair was long at that time making him move his hair to the back of his ears while he was dancing.

Lee, second from the right in the sailor clothing, said that he played an online game with BYJ in the PC room. He said that BYJ’s management company and his management company both went to the PC room to play Starcraft. Lee was able to attack BYJ’s virtual house.

(Shin, fourth from the left and right next to Ko, shared his experience with Park Yong Ha)

The first person from the right said that he appeared in BYJ’s movie, “April Snow”.

Koh Young Wook so cute mimicking the moves of BYJ...

Koh says he went clubbing with Bae Yong-Joon

http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?sec=ent10&idxno=2009102102063512328
jesskim@asiae.co.kr jesskim@asiae.co.kr

Article Date October 21, 2009 02:16

Actor Bae Yong-joon [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

Koh Young-wook, member of formerly hit group Roo'ra, said he has been to a club with top Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon.

Koh made the remark on MBC's entertainment show "Let's Play" broadcast on Monday, saying that he went to a hip-hop club with Bae who was friends with Park Jin-young, founder and CEO of talent house JYP Entertainment.

"Park and I were also close so he used to come often to my club, but he once came with Bae and we all went to a hip-hop club," Koh explained, imitating Bae's dance moves.

Rapper Lee Ha-neul of group DJ DOC, who also appeared on the show, shared his experience with the actor, saying that he once played Starcraft with Bae. "I fired a nuclear bomb to his team," Lee taunted.

Member Gil of hip-hop group Leessang, however, said everyone is below him since he appeared in the movie "April Snow" which Bae starred in.

Jessica Kim jesskim@asiae.co.kr
<Ⓒ 10Asia All rights reserved>

Thanks to Boonseongbae nim of Cafe BYJ in Toronto, Suehan of BYJ Quilt,
Jessica Kim of 10Asia and TinyPic for the Video from MBC.

A Public Notice From BOF For The Family

Oct. 28, 2009

Hi Everyone,

I'm back, he he he, so happy that I'm back... Thanks God our computer was cured, LOL.
I miss BYJ so much and everyone. I was so left behind in any thing, so lots to catch up and to reply.... and I apologize to those who sent me messages and comment that I didn't replied right away.

Now I have to repost here first the notice in KOB for the "family" yesterday about the condition of BYJ.


Kwon Ohkyeong posted this on the Talk Box of BYJ's official home.
And Joanne in BYJ Quilt/ freeboard #14674 - Oct.28 '09

[BOF Public Notice] To dear family

10/27/09

To: dear family


How are you. This is BOF.

In these days, we make generous smile at beautifully tinted autumn leaves, even while straightening up clothes due to cold wind.
Do all dear family spend bountiful Autumn?

We are to say in the public notice, just because there have been many family who are worried about and interested in Mr. BYJ's health since he came home from Japan.
After returning from Japan, Mr. BYJ is taking a plenty of rest and getting treatment as directed by a hospital.
Fortunately, he has improved a lot thanks to dear family and he appears to be far healthier than before.
Nowadays, he exercises a little by little for speedy recovery of health, and he works on planned schedules a little by little.
Until he completely recovers his health, not only he himself of course, but we also will work hard with our best efforts in the future too.

Our hearts feel sorry for unexpectedly causing many dear family worry.
Hoping that you watch Mr. BYJ's quick recovery with warm interests from now on also, we wish all dear family also pay attention to health and have active time in cooled down weather.

Thank you.

Respectfully, BOF

KEYEAST - To Merge With Subsidiary...

Oct. 18, 2009

Source: Keyeast inc. news from press release

[KEYEAST]KEYEAST (054780) decides to merge
with subsidiary,BOF

2009.10.16

BOF, will continue on as the leading management company.
The new entity will not issue any new shares and keep the share ratio at 1:0.
Synergies between the companies are expected to maximize goal achievements.

Asian cultural content company KEYEAST (054780) merged with its subsidiary company, BOF, on October 15, 2009.

BOF is the leading entertainment company focusing on management and promotions of actors and artists in several projects representing top talents such as, Bae Yong Joon, Lee Na Young, Choi Kang Hee, Park Ye Jin, Hong Suh Yeon, E Jiah and Bong Tae Gyu.
Recent projects over the past year have recorded over 180 billion won in net income for the management company.

* BOF Financial Status (Unit : 1 million won)
Assets Debt Net Assets Revenue Net Income
Based on audit report for 2008 11,957 10,382 1,575 17,988 122
Based on 1st half report for 2009 9,479 7,197 2,282 10,158 707

KEYEAST and BOF respectively, 3,545 won (par value 500 won) and 30,796 won (face value 10,000 won). The calculated merged share ratio has been rated at the price per share of 1:8.5722073.
KEYEAST retains 100% of shares of the merger without issuance of new shares at the ratio of 1:0.

KEYEAST President, Kim Ki Hong
"BOF's management and KEYEAST's dynamic culture/entertainment content business will power the new entity with a merging of its integrated management resources, more stable revenue and profitability, cross-sales network to maximize cooperation and create synergies."
"The synergy of business and profit expansion is expected to lead to improved corporate value in enhancing the value for our shareholders."

KEYEAST recently finished the successful merge with the Japanese company, Digital Adventure, in the first half of the year to secure a profit valuation of 95 billion won, published Bae Yong Joon's photo-travel essay "Discovering the Beauty of Korea" and along with the Korea National Tourism Organization launched the OFFICIAL travel business of Key To Korea with great interest and momentum.

KEYEAST inc.

Thanks to miemi of BYJ Gallery for the photos

[INTERVIEW] Bae Yong-joon At 10asia

OCT. 16, 2009

Sources:
http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009100917073135089
http://www.asiae.co.kr/news/view.htm?idxno=2009101318223057073

Editor in Chief : Beck Una one@10asia.co.kr
2009.10.15 00:28

Korean actor and author Bae Yong-joon at the publication event for his book "Discovering the Beauty of Korea" held at Tokyo Dome on September 30, 2009 [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

Since some time ago, we started to think of Bae Yong-joon as a set face. During the two years after MBC TV series “The Story of the First King's Four Gods” aired, what reminded us of his presence were a few commercials and the frequent tourists who visited from across the ocean.

Therefore, the opportunity to have a conversation face-to-face with Bae Yong-joon, the guy with the exact same smile on panels in the streets of Myungdong, was all the more interesting and rare.

This is a record of the interview held after the event celebrating the publication of his photo essay "Discovering the Beauty of Korea" at Tokyo Dome on September 30. What was originally a short tea-time talk turned into an interview that lasted much longer than an hour.

The whole time, Bae created moments of "actual communication” -- those which cannot be written down but only expressed through either a smile, question, joke or a serious look. We hope this record becomes the first key to opening the door to the “human Bae Yong-joon” that we all thought we knew but, in fact, did not.

10: There are people who expect you to expand your career into the global market and everything in our generation is flowing toward digital. But when we look at you, we get a feeling that you are rather going against such currents. Why are you more interested in Korean things rather than global ones, and in working on a book which is, in nature, closer to analog than digital?
Bae: I always felt bad when my family [meaning his fans] would visit Korea to see me and all they would see is the set. And after I finished shooting “The Story of the First King's Four Gods”, I was lying in the hospital when I started to wonder about several things including 'What is it that surrounds me that got me where I am today?' The present is a sum of the past and I reflected back upon that past because I wanted to learn how I had spent that time and what got me where I am now. Also, I don't think there is anyone who is not interested in their own culture, but I thought, if we expand just a little bit more on that interest, we can enjoy our culture and even improve on it too. Ultimately, I think looking back on the past is the answer to creating something new.

10: What I realized here in Japan is that your presence is so much greater than it is in Korea.
Bae:Honestly in Korea, (pointing to journalists) people here don’t give me the credit. (laugh) I think the public can only react to how the press makes them react. The reason I started to ask that the word "Hallyu" not be used is that I think it’s better to go in the direction where it seems we are exchanging our cultures rather than using a one-sided word like that. The articles written in Korea are all read and written in Japan also. So if we think a little more about what’s best for our country, and for ourselves, I think we'll be much happier.

Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

10: But there seems to be some difference in your popularity in Korea and Japan.
Bae: You mean to say that I'm not popular in Korea, right? (laugh) But I have enough family [fans] in Korea too. In fact, I teared up because I felt so sorry and heartbroken for people who came to the Tokyo Dome event from Korea.

10: You wrote postcards for your fans at the Tokyo Dome event celebrating the publication of “Discovering”. Are such events your own ideas?
Bae: Yes, I can’t dance or sing for them even though my heart wants to because I don’t have the ability to deliver [my feelings] in such ways. And I can’t show them my acting. So the postcard was one of the tools I used to deliver my feelings and express my thoughts. I actually wanted to talk to them in Japanese, but when I got sick with a fever running as high as 40 degrees, I forgot everything I had studied.

10: Besides the fact that you published a book, it was impressive how you set traditional Korean performances on stage at the event, like the haegeum, samulnori and traditional dances. But you probably need to have some sense of duty or responsibility in order to promote traditional Korean culture and encourage cultural exchange in such ways.
Bae: Without a doubt, I think someone may be leading me on to do this in some parts. And the funny thing is, it’s my families that make me think those thoughts and have those feelings. When I hear people say, “You are really incredible because you did such and such”, I feel like I both want to and have to do more. When I first came to Japan a few years ago, a Korean-Japanese person started crying and thanked me, and at that moment I thought, “There must be something I can do, however meager it may be. There’s going to be stuff that I need to do and do more of.” I know I actually don’t have to feel that way, but I do and I can’t help it. Nobody is making me -- I think it's just in my nature.

10: Even so, you couldn't have written what you wrote in “Discovering” if you didn't have a close interest and affection for traditional culture. What was most difficult for you while writing it?
Bae: If you count the time I studied, it took about a year and a half to complete the book. I started with buying all the books in every field that were out in stores and studied them. I had to research everything and wonder whether it was all accurate information and whether the information was told differently elsewhere. So for those parts, I met with the masters from each field and wrote what I learned from them, based on the trust that what they said is accurate. I always carried a recorder with me to record their ideas and thoughts, and I would listen to them again when I got home. But since I am not a writer, it was very hard to express my feelings and thoughts. I didn't get much sleep for about three months, and the publisher ended up having to proofread and revise it in three days because I was holding onto it until the very last minute. So there are some typos in the book.

Korean actor Bae Yong-joon [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

10: Despite all that trouble you went through, did you feel a different sort of joy from writing compared to when you act or take pictures?
Bae: When I’m acting, there definitely are times that I really feel something is there, although it’s not very often. I think it’s the same with writing. There are times when I look at what I wrote and go, “Wow, how did I think up something like that?” (laugh)

10: Which part, for example?
Bae: The passage I recited at the Tokyo Dome event about the random thoughts that came to mind at Miruksa Temple. And the part where I wrote that the emotion of “human affection” is deeply penetrated into our food, clothing and shelter. I actually said to myself, “Wow, did I really think that!” (laugh) But I don’t think I'll be able to write another book in the future. It's so hard. That's why I said I'd focus on photographs if I publish another book but it's also because with this book, I’m quite disappointed with the photos. I took the photos first and wrote later while working on the book. But when I started writing, I realized I needed certain photos. So I wrote down which photos I needed, but I stayed up night after night writing and couldn't go back to take those pictures.

10: You included a lot of photographs that you took yourself in the book but it's necessary to do a certain amount of studying to reach the level of becoming a photographer with professionalism.
Bae: The technical aspect of photography isn't actually that difficult. What I feel is important, is the sensibility. I use the camera to take pictures, but it’s my really heart and not my fingers that press down on the shutter. When my heart allows that moment to be captured, that brief moment is when I click on the shutter so I think sensibility is more important than technique. And I don’t do much digital work. I use film because when I use a digital camera (pointing to a photographer in front of him), I press away on the shutter like that. Thinking that one of them would turn out alright. (laugh)

10: You usually don’t really expose yourself but in the book, there are many pictures of you joking and goofing around with people.
Bae:I could never write this book without exposing myself. I’m not a professional writer, so I couldn't make that stuff up. So who I am on the inside came out just as it is. After I had stayed up all night, I would send a text message to my staff and colleagues saying, “I’m going to sleep now. Feel like throwing up.” Or sometimes I would just text, “Barf!” (laugh)

10: What kind of person are you seen as in every day life by people around you and your acquaintances?
Bae: I’m a straightforward person. If someone makes a mistake, I talk about it right way and that’s it. But if the mistake is repeated, I get angry and scold them. So they're scared of me, but still I think they trust me and rely on me a lot.

10: I heard you’re planning to publish an English edition of “Discovering”.
Bae: I’m planning on printing an English version and I want to make one in braille too. The braille version would be produced for charity, not for sale. But the trickiest thing about printing braille is figuring out how to express the photographs.

Hallyu star Bae Yong-joon [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

10: Can you tell us the reason your agency and BOF International, the Japan subsidiary of KIST where you are the biggest shareholder, merged with Digital Adventure? And how that is going to affect the tourism business in Japan?
Bae: To be honest, I’m really not interested in business. There was a period when I was, but I think there are too many limits in what I can do so I don’t think it’s my kind of work. Now -- I don’t know how long I’ll be an actor -- but I want to be a farmer, a lacquer artist and sculptor.

10: Do you really have a detailed plan about becoming a farmer?
Bae: I don’t have a detailed plan but when you say it out loud and dream about it, I think it comes true. So I constantly talk about it if there is something I want to do. This is the first time that I’ve made it public in front of reporters about wanting to become a farmer, but it’s been about five years since I started talking about it. And I’m very interested in the environment too. I’m reading books to learn about farming, but you don't achieve anything in your life on your own. It also doesn't happen overnight so sometime in the future, I believe I am going to be surrounded by people who share my dreams.

10: You don’t seem all that interested in business, yet you keep presenting a variety of ideas. What personally inspires you?
Bae: I think everything comes from books. When I was a kid, I was very shy so I read a lot of books. And for a while, I didn’t have any time to read. But then I started staying home almost all the time, so I started reading again. And like I wrote in my book that you can learn a lot of things at museums, I get a lot of ideas from past cultural heritage, or what we call traditional culture.

Bae in front of animation illustration for "Winter Sonata" [BeckUna/10Asia]

10: What is your average day like?
Bae: It's not fun. (laugh) If I went to bed early the previous night, I wake up around 7 or 8 in the morning. If I was up working late, then I would get up around 10 or 11 a.m. and have a cup of tea. Then I would work out for about an hour, take a shower, read books... Sometimes I make pottery and lacquer too.

10: You shot a commercial with the famous tagline “You are a man who has everything”. Can you tell us about the things that you think you lack in or need, and what kind of life that you want in the long run?
Bae: What I need -- a wife? (laugh) In the book, I wrote about “The Gateless Gate” which is tended to by Zen monks. In order to enter the Gate, you have to fill yourself with a lot of things to rid yourself of them. When I thought about that while I was sitting at home, I realized the owner of that space was the furniture, not me. So I thought, some day I will get rid of all this and have less and less of everything. That time may come sooner than expected, and I think I may be much happier living with the feeling that I lack in some things rather than having a lot of things and living the high life. So I’m thinking about cutting down and getting rid of a lot of things.

10: You were already a star before “Winter Sonata” became a hit in 2002, but you became a top star throughout all of Asia after it. Does your current life sometimes still seem surreal to you?
Bae: Not really. To tell you the truth, it’s been that way ever since I debuted so there is nothing that I'm not used to. The difference is that now when I go somewhere, people from the travel agency bring people to where I am. Oh, but that doesn’t mean that I go to strange places. (laugh) So it doesn’t matter, but I am a little disappointed about the lack of freedom.

10: You’ve been through some changes during the past seven years. So even acting for the same role in dubbing for the animation version of “Winter Sonata” must have felt different.
Bae:I actually was a bit hesitant at first when I heard about the animation. I was convinced that doing the same work was -- I’m sorry to say this -- not going to be interesting or exciting for me. But when I got home and read the script from the beginning, I suddenly felt like I wanted to be in love. It’s embarrassing to talk about your own work like this, but I realized once again that “Winter Sonata” was a really good drama. How can anyone take over someone’s heart like this, so completely? I wanted to re-live those emotions and act again. So I said I would do it right away, but it has been seven years and there are some things, like my voice, that have changed. But I try to just go back to that same moment. I also believe I can.

Korean actor Bae Yong-joon [BeckUna/10Asia]

10: For some time, when choosing your work, it looked like you were trying to avoid roles that gave off a sweet or soft feeling, like the role you played in “Winter Sonata”. What sort of changes made you feel like you wanted to be in love again?
Bae: I had never traveled on a trip after making my debut and started shooting dramas. I was always on set. When people asked me what I did in 2002, I would say “Winter Sonata”. When they asked what I did in 1999, I would answer “Did We Really Love?“. So those dramas weren’t just work for me, they were a part of my life. I think my heart opened up a little when I went on this trip and felt a lot of things. I had planned to go to Chuncheon by myself to take pictures before I got sick. I had never felt this way before, but I think I started thinking those things and gained the will to do so from working on the book.

10: A lot of people are probably wondering what your next work or next step will be. As an actor, is there something specific that you desire?
Bae: Actually no, not “as an actor”. I have no plans about becoming a certain kind of actor or going to Hollywood. I just want to do my best every moment with what I am given.

10: Having been to cultural heritage sites like Miruksa Temple, you must feel that time, such as a thousand years, is fleeting. Have you ever thought about what you would be if you were born a thousand years ago?
Bae: Umm… I thought more about the different kind of life that our ancestors would have lived. The reason I thought about it is because I heard that it took over a year of planning and then over two years to restore Miruksa Temple. Which means it is that difficult to restore even with all the modern science technology that we have. So I thought a lot about how they could have built such architectural structures back in those days. And how much time they had in discovering themselves having just books and nature around them -- no TVs or newspapers. And I think that could be the reason a human’s abilities improved. So then I thought, if we keep trying ourselves, we could leave behind an improved culture for out future generations as well.

10: Then in thousand years, if people were to write about a person named Bae Yong-joon, what would you want written about you?
Bae: (After contemplation) Seriously, I haven’t thought about that yet. I don’t know if people would write about me, but I’ll think about it and let you know over the phone.

Editor in Chief : Beck Una one@10asia.co.kr
Reporter : Choi Ji-Eun five@10asia.co.kr
Photographer : Lee Jin-hyuk eleven@10asia.co.kr
Editor : Lynn Kim lynn2878@asiae.co.kr, Lee Ji-Hye seven@10asia.co.kr
<ⓒ10Asia All rights reserved>

The DATV Red Carpet last Oct. 1, 2009

Oct. 13, 2009

An Impressions Of A Fan

Oct. 11, 2009

Thanks to Gosijo for her writings about her impression towards BYJ on the nights of the Tokyo Dome Event. I'm sure it's not Gosijo alone felt this way, but almost or even all of the guest of that event.

Impressions – Travel…

[co-posted KOB & Quilt]
by gosijo / 2009.10.01


Once again I will share my impressions on the Tokyo Dome event, #2 this time, focusing on Travel in Search of the Beauty of Korea, our dear BYJ’s book. Even if I later discover that my memory is not quite correct, even if I could understand neither the Korean or Japanese spoken onstage and have yet to read or hear translations (except for one), I hope you will take this post as representing what I felt, what came to mind as I reflected over my extraordinary day before going to sleep last night.

Unlike the Anime event, this one was, first and foremost, about Yong Joon addressing us, his kajok, his family, and telling us about his journey. I would say that I was most touched by the following four portions of the event. These were not consecutive but, rather, interspersed with beautiful musical and dance performances as well as question and answer segments with the hosts and artisans in attendance.

1) Yong Joon-nim reading to us in Korean a page from his book.
It sounded exquisitely poetic to me, highly philosophical as well. His delivery was like a warm shawl made of rich brocade wrapping around our shoulders and keeping us nice and warm.

2) Yong Joon-nim reading in Japanese another page from his book.
Here again, we felt his strong wish to act as a bridge between the two cultures through heartfelt and sincere exchange.

3) Yong Joon-nim sitting on a park bench and writing a postcard to us.
He did this in Japanese script and even I could see that he didn’t hesitate but rather formed each character with sure and precise strokes. Those sitting close to me told me his calligraphy was excellent.

Watching each word form and each idea take shape touched our hearts deeply; it felt like watching over his shoulder as he wrote to each and every one of us. For me, this was the most beautiful part of the event even if I did not know what he was writing at the time. Later, I met a Japanese sister for the first time, Whilst, and she translated Yong Joon’s message. He spoke of returning to us from his travels after seeing beautiful sights, hearing beautiful sounds and tasting delicious food, all the while keeping us, his “kajok” in his heart.

Many in the audience had tears in their eyes as they read these words.

4) The procession around the arena with Yong Joon-nim carried as a king in an open palanquin.

Although I felt sorry for family sitting higher up, I was lucky to be quite close to where he passed, closer to the balloon of the day before, and see him facing our way, his eyes brushing over our group for quite some time. Even though his eyes did not meet mine, I sent him my silent message, added it to everyone’s around me, and it was clear that this happened repeatedly all the way around and that he “heard” us and was deeply touched.




The Anime event of the night before lasted two delightful hours but this one went on for nearly three and a half hours. Close to half this time, our dear YJ was present and shown on the giant screens, and we could read all the shifts in his expression, shifts that we all recognize like those of our nearest and dearest. In addition, we could hear all the familiar inflections in his voice, from his initial sigh of being overwhelmed by our love for him, “aaaahhhh”, from his reflective “mmmmm” or “ah” before answering each question, to his laugh bubbling up, to the answers he chose to deliver in a quieter, more intimate tone here and there.

And once again, I was privileged to be invited to a pan-national dinner hosted by one of the Japanese groups, and to meet sisters I had previously met only online as well as many others whom I had never encountered before.
What a fitting cap to an unforgettable day!

P.S.: please feel free to re-post.