Noble prince 贵公子

Hi hi sisters .... the Japanese Golden Week has started today and this is like the busiest (and longest) holidays in Japan. Unlike in most parts of the world, Japan does not have Christmas Holidays, so a lot of people are taking this week to travel. Since we will be leaving in 2 months, we decide to stay put and enjoy our few precious moments here (even though I sooooooo wish to go to Seoul one more time), sob sob!

Hehe you remember he was wearing a pinstripes suit in Gosireh Fua opening, huh? I dig up this set of pictures of Yong Joon, also in pinstripes suit. Think it was back in 2003 Untold Scandal premiere in Korea? He really looks like a noble, walks like a noble, speaks like a noble and smiles like a noble! (haha, not that I know any nobles, but I've seen some on TV) Hehe that's why the media termed him - 贵公子 : ) Enjoy ......

pictures credited as shown

Third time's a charm

Hi hi sisters ..... it really is a 'live happily ever after' dream ending for our beloved drama. After going through life and death, heartbreak and separation, the handsome prince and pretty princess will finally be walking the rest of their lives together hand in hand. Hehe of course, this is just acting and drama, but we all believe in 'happy ending' for everything in life, don't we?


Incidentally, you know this is not the first time Yong Joon and CJW dressed up in wedding costumes, eh? You remember this very heartwrenching private ceremony, interrupted so rudely by SangHyuk? I still can't believe how MinHyung thought he could get away with marrying his 'so thought' half-sister?! Imagine the pain and desperation in his heart :(



Hahaha, you think I forget, don't you? They say : the third time is a charm! They were in wedding costumes one more time walking the catwalk in Andre Kim's fashion show in Sydney 2002. Hehe, no comment on the clothes itself, but the groom sure looked mighty gorgeous to me @@ What do you think?


pictures credited as shown

Memory of the Journey album

Hi Hi sisters .... am supposed to have lunch at Gosireh Fua in Lotte Hotel today, but didn't feel well therefore couldn't go, sob sob! Since I can't share that experience with you, maybe I can show you something else. I received this BOFi package a couple of weeks ago .....

Tada! It's the Bae Yong Joon Photo Album - 'Memory of the Journey' in search of Beauty of Korea. The name is quite a mouthful, huh?The left is the photo album, the right is the album pocket.

The size of this album is very generous - 22.5cm x 28cm, with over 75 pages of colored photo (quite a lot of them are close up shots too) @@ I hope it's ok to show a few samples here, hehe my shots are bad enough to be worth any reproduction anyway .. .....

See, if you can't read Korean or Japanese from his 'In Search of Beauty of Korea' book, this photo album is sort of like a 'pictorial substitute' (IMHO). By looking at the pictures, you can get a feel of his experience - his curiosity, his attentiveness, his sincerity - in this journey.

Hehe, sort of on the side : I always wondered about the sneakers that Yong Joon wore during his travel as I am curious how he could keep the white sole so clean?? Haha, now you know I am a clean freak too. I finally noticed the label on the sole in a picture that he sat down on the steps. It's the Lanvin hi-top suede sneakers 2008. Apparently these are highly sought-after fashion sneakers, hehe, much like its handsome owner :)

I know I know, I am silly enough to even look at the soles of his shoes! Hope you enjoy :)

TWSSG I - 千年の愛

Hi Hi sisters ....... last week, cloudnine and I watched the first chapter of the TWSSG movie in Toho cinema. To ensure we had a perfect view of the handsome Damdeok, I even ran to the cinema 2 days prior to showing and reserved the best seats in the house (hehe, and can’t help patting myself on the back for acting so quickly this time :)


On the morning of the showing, I was expecting crowds of BYJ fans gathered in the lobby, chatting and busy taking pictures of Yonsama's poster (much like the time when I watched Winter Sonata during my visit here in summer 2007) Aye? …… “Did I mix up the dates? Where is everybody?” I was wondering. I double-checked my ticket again, yup, it’s today. “But why is it so empty?” I guess 25 out of 165 seats can safely be considered as ‘empty’, right? My heart was dropping, has everybody forgotten? (Trust me, Toho cinema has shown Winter Sonata, Barefooted Youth and Papa before and it was always full house) I came up quickly with my own justification..… it could be the fact that the movie has been showing everyday since April 10 in many cinemas across Japan. Or as cloudnine explained to me that most fans would go on Wednesday, ‘ladies day’, which they pay only 1000 instead of 1800 yen for a movie, therefore Thursday is usually quiet. Arayso …… before I had time to analyze further, the theme song of TWSSG started playing and I was eager to watch the handsome Damdeok again!

第1章：千年の愛
The movie began with the drama-ending which the teary King Damdeok speaking to Kiha, who had turned into a black sujak. Then the story was directed back to 2000 years ago on the mythology of Lord Hwangwoon, Gajin and Sae-oh. The director was basically re-telling the story as in the drama – plot by plot, scene by scene in the same order. From the title "Thousands Year's Love", I thought there would be more emphasis on the love relationships, emotions and sensitivity revolving around the characters. Maybe I have misunderstood the intention of this project, there was no new perspective, no new scenes as I was hoping for. The re-editing from 6 hours of drama to 2 hours seemed choppy at times as certain scenes went too fast and you felt like something was not explained in between (of course for BYJ fans like us, we can practically recite the dialogue backwards :) I wonder for someone who has never watched the drama before, if they are able to follow what happened.

For example, this romantic scene showing Lord Hwangwoon’s attraction and courting of Sea-oh was skipped. which made it quite abrupt when Hwangwoon (out of nowhere) declared to his aboji that Sa-oh would bear his child and be the mother of Earth??
By the same token : the scene when Hwangwoon cured Gajin from her injury which led to her falling in love with him was also skipped - which made it hard to explain Gajin's jealous eyes as she watched Hwangwoon kissing Sae-oh??
Having said that, TWSSG is TWSSG. We all know it's a magnificent production with the best cast and crew from Korea. The drama has a heavy historical element init and the story has to be told. There are a lot of plots and it's certainly not an easy task to condense and re-edit 21 episodes into a 4 parts movie. Hehe, the good news is a condensed version means they have cut out a lot of non-BYJ scenes and the frequency of Yong Joon showing up is so much more higher. Hehe, not to give away too much details, the ending scene is Kiha embracing the teary Damdeok in the wooden shed. Now in this scene, they did show a new angle shooting from Damdeok's back for a few more seconds :) All in all, there is really no NEW surprise in this movie so far, if that's what you are looking for. For fans who miss Yong Joon and like to see his acting, I guess it's a wonderful outing with your Bae sisters :)

Chapter 2 ：すれちがいの運命 (The Destiny of Missing Encounter) will be showing starting May 8!

kaichoo or haiyuo

Hi hi sisters ..... So many times, I sat down and tried to blog, but my other interests usually took over. I comfort myself that "Well, if Yonsama can disappear for months without a word to his fans, then what's the significance of the 'little me' blogging or not?" Yeah, I know I shouldn't think this way, because blogging is a very personal decision. Everyone blogs for different reason and enjoyment and I respect that. My reason is to record this beautiful journey down and share with my BYJ sisters. This is also my own 'little' way to support him. It's what Yong Joon has accomplished in the past that filled and re-played in my memory. As for what he will do in the future? Well, I'll just leave a blank space in the corner of my mind for him to fill. It's beyond my control, BUT it's definitely within that handsome guy's capability. So Yong Joon, please please start acting :)

Hehe, I was a little bit, juz a bit, worry that our Yong Joon is looking more and more like a kaichoo (CEO) than a haiyuo (actor) here ......

Hahaha, I dare not mention ajussi or I will be squashed to a piece of gum :)

But my 'tongseng', who saw him at Lotte Hotel opening, reassured me that he is 'very handsome'! (and she is not even his fan) That's makes me very happy :) Look at him, kakko ii (cool) desu ne!

Every inch like a superstar @@

It is revealed in the latest issue of Josei Jishin that Yong Joon went to a spa resort in Hakone - XIV Hakone Rikyu - opened in March 2010. This is an exclusive VIP club resort, the same series as the Tokyo Baycourt club he stayed in Tokyo Odaiba. Hehe, I guess it's safe to disclose this info as they know we are not going to dash over here to apply for membership anytime soon :)

It is said that Yong Joon stayed in the top level suite (needless to say). I just post the best suite they show in the site, maybe Yong Joon stayed in an even more luxurious suite, I can't imagine!
with its own private onsen, of course. Who can be so lucky to be sitting in the same onsen as Yong Joon (flapping my eyelashes)?? and a grand view of the Hakone mountain range filled with cherry blossoms, how beautiful @@
It is reported that Yong Joon enjoyed an 80-minutes facial esthe in the resort's famous Swiss anti-aging clinic.

You mean he's going to look even younger? The world is not fair! I am not sure how accurate this is, I was told that Yong Joon also played golf in Nagano before he returned to Korea last weekend. So, looks like a really relaxing trip for our handsome prince. Where's next?

Thanks to miemi and style for posting in BYJGallery

Sherlock-ing Yonsama

Hi hi sisters ....... how're your days? I always enjoy reading Sherlock Holmes when I was a child, so I was eager to watch the new 'Sherlock Holmes' movie in the weekend. It just seems like these days if the movie is not about 'saving the world from being destroyed', then the plot is not grand enough. The Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson have turned into fighters and jokers here, not the English gentlemen and great detectives that I was familiar with :(

Well, my detective skill has nothing to boast about either. The handsome 'suspect' has been walking on the same piece of land for a week now, but there isn't a trace of where he is! All we know so far is he caused chaos in a new restaurant in Kinshicho Lotte Hotel ...

then he stopped traffic on the way to a hospital in Kanagawa prefecture
Suffice to say, he stole many female hearts in Japan and around the world. Now, can't say that detective Jaime didn't try her darnest to apprehend this culprit ....... I did stake out at his favourite hangout, Gosireh, during one lunch hour.

Hehe, even tried out his new 'bait' - the beautiful skin lunch course (ginseng chicken)! Oh, so yummy and full of collagen :) Too bad I was wearing kimono that day and had to nibble like a proper lady, otherwise I would have gobbled up everything on the plates. This beautiful Sunday, hubby and I strolled past his DA office on our way to Sakura viewing. Was hoping for the odd chance that he might drop by the office. What?! NOT a single person working on Sunday afternoon?? Hmmmm ..... I think I have to report this to the handsome CEO :)

So, this concludes my Yonsama tracking in Tokyo for now, stay tune for my next report :)

Publicized moves

Hi hi sisters ....... when they declared 'top secret', they really mean top secret, huh? Nobody knows where he goes, what business he has in Tokyo? Or is he still in Tokyo or off to some remote mountains soaking in an onsen already?? Hehe regardless, it's so nice to see him coming out in good shape. Btw congrats moichan, I am happy that you finally have your wish of seeing Yong Joon closer :) Just recap his 'publicized' moves :

Hisashi buri desu ne!
Lottel Hotel opening
Gorsireh Hwa greeting those ultra-lucky fans

Checking out Sky Tree @@ Hahaha, talk about Sky Tree ...... when I read the news of him looking out at the Sky Tree from Lotte Hotel room, I thought that was an English error. I thought "Why does Yong Joon want to see the skyline and trees in Kinshicho while there are much better views elsewhere in Tokyo??" Sky Tree is actually the newest, tallest structure in Japan - a digital communications tower, how ignorant of me!

Next, his charity business and visit to a hospital in Kanagawa prefecture.

Washing his hands before entering ICU

Never was handwashing so interesting to look at @@
Serious matter deserves serious expression!

He sure knows his power as a celebrity - bringing public awareness to this charitable cause. What's your next move, handsome?
Thanks to baidu/fongfong4 for sharing.