Senkichi curry udon

Hi hi ....... hmmmm, feeling a bit hungry and wondering what I should make myself for lunch? Ahhhh, I suddenly remember some pictures I downloaded a few weeks ago. Hehe, this sure looks tempting, slurp slurp :)

If you haven't seen this yet, this is one of the delicious meals that Yong Joon had during his 'Dream High' tour.

This curry udon shop apparently is in Ginza but I have never seen it before?? Must be on one of the many side streets, it's called Senkichi.

Just like his favourite little ramen shop in Shibuya, this udon shop looks pretty local to me, kind of like a 'eat and run' place.

Hehe as usual, he seemed to have his back facing outside. It is said that the servers did not recognize Yonsama at first, at least not until he took off his sunglasses. Well well, looks like our Japanese sisters have another destination to explore now :)

Pictures reposted from BYJGallery - tomochang, thanks!

Nikkan Sports Interview

Hi hi .... our dear cloudnine was busy at work again! She translated the interview that Yong Joon gave to Nikkan Sports while he was in Tokyo. As usual, he puts in a lot of thoughts and sincerity in his response. Furthermore, you can feel his regrets towards his fans for not being able to show us more acting. Obviously his health is still not 100% as before, hope you'll get there soon, Yong Joon! Thanks cloudnine for always thinking of us :) Here it is ........

Nikkan Sports September 13 ‘Exclusive Interview with BYJ’
Here’s an exclusive interview with a Korean actor Bae Yong Joon (39).

While he was in Japan for the drama ‘Dream High’ Dvd release event, the interview with Nikkan Sports took place in a staff room of Saitama Super Arena. It’s seven years since the big hit of ‘Winter Sonata’ in 2004. The actor, who laid the foundation of the prosperity of Korean entertainment and who has been a permanent top star himself, told us frankly about who he is now. ( Interviewer; Hayato Kubo)

Q: You must be tired after the event. It’s been a while since you met your family (fans) , how do you feel now?

A: I’m most grateful and at the same time I feel sorry. Due to my health problem I was very sorry for not appearing much in the drama. I’m deeply sorry even for today’s event, because if I could sing or dance like my juniors I would have shown it. I wish to show my work as an actor, but it has not been decided yet, I feel terribly sorry for this too.

Q: For ‘Dream High’ you joined not only as an actor but also as a producer, how did you find it?

A: It was my first attempt, which put me in a different position from acting. I think I could see the parts which I had missed while I was working only as an actor. Also about the drama I could acquire the broader understanding and which was very helpful for acting. What I had no chance to see as only an actor , this time from a viewpoint of a production company I was able to see, and that is for example how the direction was and how the staff were working. Actors tend to be quite selfish on the set inevitably. For them acting is above everything else and building up character’s emotions is very important. So actors really don’t notice other things. Now I can look over such parts, but this doesn’t mean I don’t focus on my character or acting. I had no idea how much it costs to produce a drama, however now I understand how much we need.

Q: If you have an another chance, would you like to work as a producer again?

A: If I do so, my family might say something to me (laughs). For the time being I will be a full-time actor, however as for ‘Dream High 2’ I wish to be involved in the project at least. Actually here (in the dressing room of Saitama Arena) JYP and I were having a kind of meeting about the story. The theme for the drama is ‘dream’. In the event being asked ‘What is a dream?’, I answered that for me it’s a high ideal which I can’t reach. In the true sense fulfilling dreams or saying that the dream came true are very serious matter and difficult to do. It’s something like reaching an unreachable state of mind, that is what we call in Buddhism ‘attaining an enlightened state of mind’ I think. In today’s event JYP suggested me to become a director, which I consider one of my dreams rather than a goal. I have no idea if it’s possible or not, but for me it’s my dream.

Q: We are living in a tough world, difficult times in many ways. For young people it’s getting harder to pursue their dreams. For those people what kind of advice would you give?

A: I suppose young people don’t know much about the world yet. They just have no idea about what kind of jobs are there or, what kind of jobs they can do, so at any rate I want them to try a lot of things. I want them to make efforts to try anything. This may be called curiosity and I want them to see various things and feel them. Above all the most important thing is to do their best at this moment. Doing their utmost efforts now will lead them to their future, and it will also bring their dreams into shape. It will be a process to understand what dreams are .

Q: Fans who came to the event and who didn’t both care about how you will appear in the next work. About your new work do you mind sharing as much as possible at this stage?

A: First I will work on the ‘Dream High 2’ project and in addition I will return to my day job. I’m making my utmost effort in order to start shooting at the earliest possible time. However as there is nothing concrete, I can’t tell you anything, but I think I will do a drama.

Q: While you were filming the drama TWSSG you broke the ligament of the index finger, injured the cervical spine and shoulder ligament. Early this year you were hospitalized due to a herniated disk. How are you feeling now?

A: Actually I haven’t fully recovered yet. From old times they say ‘Health is above everything else’ , or ‘If you are in good health, you can do anything.’
These words deeply pierced me to the heart now. I vaguely thought that I would get well with time, but then I found that I hardly recovered just with time. So in order to really get healthy I’m making various efforts now.

The whole interview will be carried on a Asian entertainment Magazine ‘Choa’, 4th issue to be out on September 20th.

Picture from BYJGallery - miemi, thanks!

Dream High Event - II

Hi sisters .... let's continue with cloudnine's account of the event, shall we? She asked us to acknowledge Kei-san, who delivers Yon-sama mail almost daily. Her account is based on Kei-san's mail of Sep. 4 extra edition and of Sep. 5. Thanks cloudnine and Kei-san.

Next session was ‘Lucky Draw’

Yong Joon offered the pair of glasses he used in the drama, autographed.
JYP offered his favorite headphone with his autogaraph. I happened to be sitting close to a lady who won the glasses, so I asked her to show me the glasses.

Then two gentlemen left the stage and the talk show by the students began.
Among the NG scenes we watched, there was a scene in which Suzy’s nose was running. Su Hyun who was sitting next to Suzy was twittering “Aigo, aigo” He was so cute.

‘My best scene’ picked by each of them was introduced one by one. Both Tae Gyon and Woo Yong picked their first appearances in the drama, action scene of Tae Gyon and Woo Yong’s speaking English scene. Su Hyun picked his crying scene. (Sorry I don’t remember which one Suzy picked.)

There was also ‘Lucky Draw’ by those young cast.
Suzy offered her favorite ear rings, Su Hyun a pair of shoes he wore in the drama and Kirin Art School uniforms were offered by Tae Gyon and Woo Yong.

The event was coming to an end.

In closing the cast and audience together sang ‘Dream High’ theme song. Then on the screens Yong Joon and JYP who were watching the arena from backstage appeared. They came out of the dressing room and headed to the stage led by Mr. Shin who was holding a flashlight. Both of them looked very cool. By this time audience got very excited.

They were welcomed by the students.
Everyone made a farewell speech and Yong Joon was the last speaker.
He said “Thank you everyone for watching us for a long time . Next time we will do our best in the production of Dream High 2. I thank very much cast and staff for giving their best.”

Finally with Yong Joon’s call of ‘Se no – here we go’ we all shouted ‘Dream High!’

Thanks to all Japanese and Korean sisters for sharing the pictures.

Dream High Event - I

Hi hi ...... I am so grateful to cloudnine for her kindness. Knowing how exhausted she must feel from all the excitement, she still did a detailed writeup of the event so promptly. Thanks so much cloudnine for your selflessness and love for Yong Joon and the family :)

As you know, the concert took place on September 4 in Saitama Super Arena with 12000 in attendance.

Part 1

Five students, Tae Gyon, Woo Yong, So Hyun , Suzy, and Joo, appeared on stage and started to sing ‘Dream High’ theme song in Korean. I first thought Joo was there instead of IU, but she herself was in D.H., who played a role of an aggressive student (who told a lie to be a solo dancer at entrance ceremony, and Baek Hee put a thumbtack into her shoe remember?)
They introduced themselves in Japanese, but Suzy had a little trouble and others cheered her saying ‘yukkuri- slowly’.

They sang and danced very well. Suzy was in a lavender color dress and Joo, was in a mini pink dress, very cute girls. Two of 2pm wore black leather suits and Su Hyun was in a black suit with a tie.

After the opening, JYP appeared and sang solo in Japanese, which was quite good too. Then ‘My Valentine’ by 2pm boys, ‘Winter Child’ by two girls, and ‘Dreaming’ by Su Hyun followed. There was also a ‘dance battle’ by 3 dancers centering JYP. I’m sure one of the boys was Woo Yong but the other was not Tae Gyon. He has been suffering from his leg injury for the past few days and he ended up with a wheel chair (I heard) on the final stage of 2pm’s ‘Hands Up’ tour in Seoul which took place the previous day. The camera didn’t catch the third dancer anyway.
The show time was only 30 minutes and there was about 30 minutes break before the part 2.

Part 2

Mc was a young Japanese lady, Saki Yagi, who was known as a bilingual (Korean and Japanese) announcer from Osaka. First 4 students(3 boys and Suzi) appeared, then JYP, and finally wuri Yong Joon who was welcomed by the furious applause. BYJ fans today seemed to shout out louder than usual so that they won’t be defeated in spirits by young K-pop fans, hehe.
Each of the cast again greeted with a message in Japanese.
So we heard Yon-sama speak Japanese after a long time.

“Everyone of my family I’m very happy to see you. I’v been very much
worried about Japanese people so I am relieved to see your smiles today. Today let us spend a fun time together.”

I’m sure all of us were moved with his words, but also felt that his Japanese was not as good as before.

Then ‘Talk Show’ time with JYP and BYJ

Q(mc) How do you feel being together?
BYJ Today I’m here very relaxed being together with JYP.
I usually become nervous on stage, but this time with JYP by my
side, I feel comfortable.

Q How did you find working for D.H. as a producer?
BYJ I have always wanted to have such a school. Then there was a person who introduced me to JYP who had the same idea. We met up and decided to produce D.H together. Without “Ji Yong’ (this was how BYJ actually addressed JYP) Dream High was impossible.

Q How do you find JYP as your partner?
BYJ As I have no experience in production, it’s not flattery but I’m quite sure that without him this drama could not be accomplished. He is a reassuring partner indeed.

Q What was your message through the drama?
BYJ People can grow or comfort each other through music and dance.
I wish the drama will encourage people to make a start for their dreams and passions

Q How did you find JYP as an actor?
JYP cuts in Japanese “How do you do, I’m an actor JYP.” (laughs)
BYJ For me JYP is a big threat. (laughs)

Q What did you do for your character as the head director?
BYJ (in Japanese) I did research a lot. (then switched to Korean) To tell
the truth I feel sorry that I was not able to do my best. Because of the injury I got before, I had to give up my appearance halfway. I really wanted to continue to the end. For this I am very sorry.

Q Still you showed your presence.
BYJ Thank you

Q For JYP what kind of person is BYJ?
JYP We are very close friends. He has a fault but he is also very adorable. I want to protect him. (BYJ pats JYP on the shoulder bashfully.)

Q At what kind of occasion do you want to protect BYJ?
JYP I’m quite straightforward about what I say, however, Yong Jooni takes time to think about what to say or how to say while giving thoughts to his counterpart. I wish he would speak out more freely.
BYJ From now on I will say what I want to say to you. (laughs)

Q Will you give a message to those who follow their dreams?
BYJ It is very hard to do. I think goals and dreams are quite similar, but dreams are something we can’t reach. Bur because we have dreams, we try to accomplish our goals one by one.

Next session was an announcement of ‘Best 5 scenes’ selected by the fans.

No. 1 Ha Myon, head director plays the piano in an audition. (ep.1)
No.2 Kiss in the Ferris wheel in Nagoya (ep. 10)
No. 3 Mr. Jing Mann (English teacher) versus Jason (ep.9)
No. 4 Students sing and dance ‘Genie’ of Girls Generation to encourage Guku’s senior. (ep. 5)
No. 5 Head director visits Mr. Jin Mann at his house. (ep.2)

JYP This was a very first scene for me to shoot. BYJ taught me in details line by line about its meaning and the character, which helped me a lot. I thought BYJ will be a good director.
One thing, in the scene (ep.2) when I shook hands with BYJ, it was right after I scratched my hip so I feel very sorry.
BYJ I almost tried to withdraw my hands. (laughs)

Mc From now I would like you to answer the questions by the fans.
Q If there were Kirin Art School, would like to go?
BYJ Yes, of course. I will practice singing and dancing hard and wish to be like Ji Yong.
JYP I am a good looking actor. (laugh)
BYJ After looking at his face for a while, he looks handsome.

(to be continued)
Pictures posted from BYJGallery by style and Polaris - courtesy of Asahi and Oricon, thanks to all the sisters for sharing.

Still Yonsama!

Haha, I guess I don't have to re-iterate the commotion when our prince arrived at Haneda Airport - fans squeaked, squealed, screamed and he responded by smiling, greeting, bowing, waving, even blowing kisses :)   

To be honest, with Yong Joon's long absence and the increasing popularity of younger K-pop idols in Japan, I thought the fans' passion for him would cool down somewhat with time. But Yonsama is Yonsama, he sets standards and creates phenomenon, he is indeed a class of his own!

Let's see, 50 fans on board the same flight, 100 police officers, 200 security guards, 1000 (some reports 3000) fans inside the terminal, 1500 outside .....

Yes yes, our dear cloudnine is as diligent and loyal as always, she was patiently waiting at Haneda to welcome our prince too. If you remember well that she struck gold last December when Yong Joon and KHJ stood very close to her outside the airport for the longest time? Hehe, this time our dear moichan and pallet also wish to rub some of this luck off cloudnine, all 3 ladies were waiting outside of Haneda terminal. From cloudnine and Pallet's account, when Yong Joon's car slowly passed in front of them, he laid eyes on the drawings that Pallet san was holding up and even recognized it @@ Lucky lucky Pallet san, great work! You ladies all deserve every single second of his attention :) Good luck everyone at the Dream High Event today!

Him at long last!

Omo omo, our dear Yong Joon at long last! He is heading to Tokyo for the Dream High event now, the handsome prince almost takes my breath away!

He looks absolutely stunning, so cool with his denim jacket and leather carry-on

How do you like his new hair style? so young and hip @@

You miss his warm and tender smile? I do I do!

Have a safe flight Yong Joon, have fun!
Repost from BYJGallery - polaris, thanks for sharing.

Tonkatsu celebration

Hi Hi sisters ..... doesn't this birthday cake look delicious? Thanks to cloudnine (or NO thanks cause this tempts me too much :) for sending me a picture of this super cute cake from her Japanese sisters' BYJ birthday party! Can you count the 39 burning candles on the cake? Haha miahnae Yong Joon, I think we have to call the fire department in!

Cloudnine shared with me that Kiyomi san and 32 of the 'April Snow & Now' sisters got together at Mai-sen Tonkatsu Restaurant in OmoteSando Hills to celebrate our prince's birthday. Remember, this is the place that Yong Joon and Kim Hyung Joon dined in during their Tokyo Hohoemi charity event last December. For those sisters who are not familiar with Japanese food, tonkatsu is deep fried pork cutlet with a very fluffy and crispy coating, served with shredded cabbage and specially prepared sauce, yum yum :)  I guess this is the 'in' spot for BYJ gathering these days. Hehe Yong Joon, bet you also have a craving for tonkatsu now, right?   

FYI the link is http://mai-sen.com/restaurant/ , thanks cloudnine for always sharing!

Happy 39th Birthday!

Dear Yong Joon, it's been a while. Have you been well? You have been keeping quiet for many months now, I hope you are enjoying the peaceful life you always long for. Eventhough I have not written much about you, you and your dear BYJ family are never too far from my heart. On your birthday, I wish you health and happiness, and continue to pursue your dreams in life. Love :)

Wine and People

Hi hi ... remember that wine sommelier friend of Yong Joon - Atom? He occasionally blogs about his outings with Yong Joon - may it be a night out in town or away on an overseas trip. Thanks to him, we get bits and pieces of where our handsome man roams about and what 'good' he is up to :)


Atom san apparently has written a book on (whatelse but) wine and looks like Yong Joon has also played a role in it. As you can see from the cover(?), they were dining in Gorilla. Looks like there will be some kind of promotional event too. Hehe, I just translate the words in the pictures here .....

"A wine journey together with Atom in Gorilla in the Kitchen
Bae Yong Joon san's sommelier Atom san, his book 'Wine and People'
Commemoration of simultaneous release in Japan and Korea. Special Event!!"


" 1. At Bae Yong Joon san's Gorilla in the Kitchen, Atom san's recommended wine and special cuisine will be served. *Special cuisine will be identical to what is served to Bae Yong Joon san in the book 'Wine and People'

2. Atom san will reveal inside conversation with Bae Yong Joon san and Kim Hyung Joon san during his 'Wine and People' interviews.

3. Handshaking with Atom san and picture taking (by blog cameraman?) - 4 per person. The picture taking will use the same background as what Bae Yong Joon san was in.

4. Participants will have Atom san's autograph in both the Japanese and Korean version of 'Wine and People' as presents."

Hehe done, correct me as you see fit, ok? Thanks to polaris from BYJ Gallery for the pictures.

Post Papa's Day

It's a different Father's Day this year - I do not have my papa to celebrate with anymore. No matter how others say time passes and things will heal, it seems that the pain lingers on like the scent from an extinguished candle. Instead of healing, I'd say old distant memories are merely being clouded by new recent ones, much like the moon being masked by moving clouds. As the dark clouds drift away, the brightness of the moon reveals itself again. Behind that active schedule and smiling face, the sense of loss of a parent still feels like a part of myself is forever gone. Wish you were still here, papa!

'Dream High' coming to Tokyo

Haha, seems like Yonsama has heard my grumbling yesterday. Cloudnine just told me that the handsome one will be taking his entire 'Dream High' cast to Tokyo this September, hurray!

Dream High Premium Event
September 4, 2011
Saitama Arena
First show from 1:00 p.m.
Second from 5:30 p.m.
BYJ, JYP, IU, Suzy, Kim Su Hyon and two boys from 2PM (Tae Gyon and Woo Yong)


From cloudnine's info so far : "Seems only those who buy D.H. Dvd Box (1,2) will be invited. 20,000 tickets are prepared and the dvd set costs 35,700 yen. The first reservation period is from noon today (June 9) to July 15 and the second reservation period is from August 8 to 14 and it's 'first come first served'. We don't know yet that tickets will be sold in the ordinary market."

I sure hope that some tickets are reserved for overseas fans, but then come to think of it, this is a bonus gift for purchasing the Japanese DVD set, and the seats are quite limited. Hmmm, do I even have a chance? Since the fans will be for Yonsama and all the young idols, it should be a really energetic and dazzling event @@ Thanks cloudnine for sharing :)

Dry spell

Hi hi sisters ....... it really has not been easy for fan sites' administrators and us bloggers lately : the Japanese sisters call this the 'Ice Age', I call it the 'Dry Spell'. Basically, other than the rare sightings of him going to restaurants and salon, or the occasional mentioning of him in people's twitters (thanks to the diligent effort of suehan), there is no concrete news, no project plans; nothing for us fans to even have a faint hope of seeing our handsome man in any artistic capacity, sob sob :(


But come to think of it, everything has its own time and its own course. I remember when I knew about Yong Joon back in 2005, he is already the top Hallyu star in Asia. Everywhere he went in Korea, Japan and even the US, he was swamped by adoring fans, curious onlookers and security guards. He even expressed that he was quite affected by this lack of freedom and privacy. With him fading gradually from the limelight after TWSSG, he had the chance to pursue his dreams like the 'Beauty of Korea' and 'Dream High'. This long period of absence from his fans not only gives Yong Joon the time to recover from his neck injury, it also gives him his deserved space to live a 'normal' life, doing what average people do like going out for coffee or taking a Sunday drive (hehe of course, his Sunday drive is in his flashy Ferrari :) Whether his long absence is pre-planned or not, the BIG question now is : When will he come back?

Hehe, as I said, there is really nothing to report on. So, I just post some letter arts that Japanese sister Conan created, thanks!

Hopes and Connections

Hi hi .... sigh, I had another problem with Blogger lately which prevented me from publishing post, glad that it's resolved now, phew! This is late news, for those who want to follow up on how Yong Joon's generous donation of 1 billion won for the Japanese disaster relief is being put to use, I received this heartwarming piece of writeup translated by our diligent cloudnine, thank you so much :)

"I'm attaching the translation of the writing about BYJ's medical aid cars sent for the victims of earthquake and tsunami. It was witten by an actress-turned nurse and healthcare counselor, Mitsuko Ishii and posted in Yomiuri Newspapaer blog - yomiDr. http://www.ishiimitsuko.net/ " - Thanks cloudnine!

BYJ’s cars run in Fukushima

Cars donated by Mr. Bae Yong Joon are now running around Fukushima. (Three cars have left Tokyo.)
　
I think I wrote before that my thesis adviser at the graduate school was from Fukushima, and one day this professor said, “An foreign actor is going to donate three medical aid cars to our NPO” I found out later that it was a Korean wave star Mr. Bae Yong Joon.

It was shortly after the earthquake that Mr. Bae proposed to make a monetary donation of 75,000,000 yen to Cabinet Office for the blankets and three cars.

Then it was officially announced that the cars would be sent to the NPO, for which the professor takes on the position of the chairman. It took a while for the cars to complete its interior renovation as well as the exterior work that includes the name of St. Luke’s College of Nursing, names of volunteers, and its project name of ‘Hopes and Connections’, but on May 8th all three cars were delivered to the headquarter of the NPO.

I drove one of those cars to Soma City’s health center in Fukushima and left it to the nurses of the mental care team. We had a press conference there and told that as one of St. Luke’s College of Nursing projects, using this car ‘Hopes and Connections’ project will continue through next March to support mental care of Fukushima people. Areas to be covered are Iwaki City, Soma City, and Koriyama City. Each city has its car. Whenever it was necessary, based on administrative directions, the cars should be used for any medical aid purposes.

Looking back on the past days when I was terribly worried over how we could provide medical support in a long run and also how we should design the contents of medical aid with cars, I remember visiting my alma mater, St. Luke’s College of Nursing. It was a day toward the end of March.

When I actually saw those three cars, not the ones on design paper, they were just splendor and my hearts was full of deep emotion. I was really surprised to see BYJ’s fans who came over to see us off on the day of our departure. His popularity is great indeed.

We have created the official site of ‘Hopes and Connections’. We’ll have to start fund raising. We are planning to post the video clips of running cars, so please visit our site ‘Hopes and Connections’ - URL http://kiboutokizuna.jp/index.html

Zen ...

Hi hi ..... read from his staff blog that Yong Joon is currently doing "Indian Yoga" to help with his rehabilitation. Hmmmm ..... I don't know much about Yoga even though over 50% of the women around me swear by it! Could it be something like this??

A holistic setting,
a relaxed posture,
a focused mind,
and a flexible body.
Ready? Now turn and bend ....
lower ...
even lower (Help!) ...
CLUCK!! (sound of bone cracking)

Master, I think you've just cured my shoulder pain :)
original from cafe.daum.net/byjgallery by 권오경 (from his 'Beauty of Korea' documentary)

Sakura 2011

Hi hi sisters ...... Amid all the grim news in the past weeks, cloudnine reminded me that Sakura is in full bloom in Tokyo. Thanks cloudnine for sending me this picture :)

I'll add a few more here .... BEWARE, looking at Sakura can become addictive! (hehe, pretty much like looking at our handsome prince :) pictures are reposted from leotamaki.com, forenglishfans.blogspot.com, thebeehive.net respectively, hope you enjoy :)