To Seoul with love

Hi dear sisters ...... Wishing you all and that special 'someone' in my neighbouring country a very warm and peaceful Christmas! Hmmm ...... dreaming of a Seoul trip? Hehe, but Christmas is about family and togetherness, so we are off to Taipei for a few family-bonding days :)

Remember these very noble images from his 'BYJ Classics' CDs? That was Christmas 2006, 3 years ago! How time flies! He still looks every bit as handsome as before. Are you gasping like me?

Have a safe holidays! Please take care, love :)

Glittery pink 2010

Hi Hi sisters ..... Just received this glittery pink BYJ 2010 diary from cloudnine today! Yeah yeah, I am embarassed to reveal that I still have to bother cloudnine to order Japanese stuffs for me from BOFi. Thanks a bundle, dear cloudnine, you are always so helpful :) Oh, I love this year's choices of pink or silver, pink is so glamorous, silver is so elegant @@ Hehe, but I am a pink girl, I don't even have to think twice of what I want :) My lighting is so bad, it doesn't reflect how pretty and glittery it really is @@


Haha, enhancements this year include the very charming bookmark :)

and a very thoughtful pen holder! I have been saying to myself the whole year long, "if only there is a place to hold my pen too in my 2009 diary". Now it really comes true!
Here's the layout of the months and days

As usual, an info page of our handsome man @@

Hehe, the rest are some droolingly handsome pictures of Yong Joon, but cloudnine and I both wonder why they are from Bassini? Aren't those copyrighted by AB? We'd rather see some new shots of our handsome prince, right? @@

Have you ordered your copy through your country's fan site yet?

Btw, I finally dropped by at Gosireh Gon in Ikebukuro this past weekend. It is in the basement food floor in Seibu Department Store. Aiyo, forgot which building again! Just follow the smell la, huh?

If you are familiar with the food floor under a Japanese department store, you know how each deli has its own square floor space with glass display case all around it.
Gosireh Gon occupies half of the square floor space, thus only has 1 side of the counter - see how tight it is? Well ..... price of real estate in Tokyo @@
Errr, since we still had a few other places to go that day, so I didn't buy any food. They sure look delicious and healthy, eh? We just quickly snapped up a few shots before being swarmed by the crowds again :) Hope I can do some taste-testing next time :) Time flies, only one more week to Christmas Eve! Are you ready?

Cold winter, warm reads

Dear sisters ...... Our sister Josephine's academic paper based on her study of Yong Joon is out this month, congratulations! It is published in Karunungan - a journal of philosophy. I still remember Josephine when she first entered her comments here during the airing of TWSSG. She drew many comparisons of Damdeok and Yong Joon, and she always provides us of her philosophical knowledge and thoughts. I knew about her study and writing of an academic paper on Yong Joon but am so grateful that she is sharing it with us, thanks Josephine!

Her paper is entitled :

"Junzi by Confucius and the Archetypes of Carl Jung in Bae Yong Joon and the Winter Sonata" Yes yes, I am pulling out my dictionary at this moment as I am reading the title. A quick glance at the content of the paper indicates that I will be needing it and probably an encyclopedia too. Sigh, I am not a scholar like Josephine and my tiny brain can only hold so much of our handsome prince :( But I am very eager to read about her study on Yong Joon. It will be a very interesting read for me when I am sitting on the plane to Taipei this Christmas :)


For you avid readers, Josephine has also written another knol about self management, change management and leadership based on the drama 'Lovers in Paris'. The knol is titled : "Lovers in Paris, a critique" Hehe, together with Yong Joon's 'Beauty of Korea' book, I think this Christmas Holidays will be filled with the warm thoughts of our handsome prince :)

*Note : According to US copyright laws, the academic papers are owned by Josephine, the journal, the academy and the university, it cannot be posted elsewhere nor translated into other languages without their written permission. Thanks for understanding that I only provide the links. Please feel free to write your comments to Josephine here. Happy reading!

Vitruvian Man

Hi hi sisters .... I dug out this very interesting picture, haha, someone had actually taken the effort to 'size' up Yong Joon! (thanks to the site/sister whom I got it from) Not surprisingly, our handsome prince is perfectly proportioned from head to toes :)

This reminds me of the drawing 'Vitruvian Man' by Leonardo da Vinci in 1487. It is based on the correlations of ideal human proportions with geometry. Based on ancient Roman architect Vitruvius' work, Da Vinci believed the workings of the human body to be an analogy for the workings of the universe. This is part of the long list on his study of the proportions of a (male) human body :

- a palm is the width of four fingers
- a foot is the width of four palms
. . . .
- the length of a man's outspread arms (arm span) is equal to his height
. . . .
- the maximum width of the shoulders is a quarter of a man's height
- the distance from the middle of the chest to the top of the head is a quarter of a man's height
. . . .
- the length of the hand is one-tenth of a man's height
. . . .
the length of a man's foot is one-sixth of his height

Hehe, I think you got the picture here :) Since I do not have the fortune (probably not even in my next life as I know the waiting list is pretty long already) to have such intimate access to our handsome prince. There is no way I can verify if he is a 'Vitruvian Man' or not, maybe you can be the judge here'?

Your verdict? Do we even need to ask? Hope you enjoy :)

Self-management

Dear sisters ........ how are you? It's cold, wet and windy in Tokyo today. I was planning to pay a visit to Gosireh Gon in Ikebukuro today, but decided to stay home. Are you all getting ready for Christmas? Just like to continue my philosophical talk after the '110%' .......

In Korea, Yong Joon’s phenomenal success is being attributed to his sound self-management. Because of this fine and exceptional quality in an actor, he is being sought after as the image of major business corporations and spokesperson for government/social campaigns. We all know Yong Joon is not someone who readily accepts any proposals. In fact, he is synonymous with saying ‘NO’ and is extremely selective on his projects and commitments (otherwise we won’t be sticking our necks out for so long on his next acting :)


However once our handsome prince has committed himself, he does throw his body and soul fiercely into work. Of course we understand Yong Joon has a whole lot more responsibilities and burdens than the average Joe on the street. Say if this ajumma doesn’t cook for a night, the worst case is hubby and son will have to endure a quick Japanese salary man’s meal – the oh-so-convenient obento box! (hehe, which they are secretly clapping their hands anyway :) Or if I don’t rehearse what I am going to say and do in Japanese before I step out of the house, it will be like a 'chicken talking to the duck' scene (hehe, quoting the Chinese saying. Well, you can picture what I mean :) Still, no big consequence for the little me! But our Yonsama is a totally different story - this important man has bookings, events, deadlines, work crews and a whole team of staffs. His every move affects the livelihoods of many people across different industries and triggers rippling effects in Korea and Japan – both economically and socially.


We’ve heard Yong Joon repeated this many times, “Because I am not smart enough, I just have to do my very best”. You know, I truly believe he is not just being modest or fake. He tends to favor projects that he has never attempted before, and carries that desire and humility like a new apprentice. Whenever we think of self-discipline, very often we associate it with rules and limitations on one’s pleasure and freedom. Obviously Yong Joon is a very intelligent man, but his strict self-discipline and ‘perfectionist’ standards would drain too much energy out from him time after time.


Not too long ago, a nice sister told me in an honest manner (or should I add earnest too?) that I say ‘Yes’ too often and tend to exhaust myself. Yes (oops, there I go again!), ever since we decided to move to Japan 2 years ago, life has started to spin at a fast forward mode. We see, we listen, we feel, we learn, we enjoy – as if we have to experience what takes a lifetime to go through. Japan - the place, the culture and the people of course, carries a very special meaning in my heart. Very often, I tend to over commit myself and say ‘Yes’ to too many engagements. Maybe in my case, self-management is more like self-realization of the limitation on my own capabilities – physical, time and family. Like Yong Joon, it’s more prudent to say ‘No’ and focus only on what means the most, then I can really give it 100% and enjoy the experience. Sorry if I don’t make any sense to you, am I trying to justify things to myself? Haha, you bet I am!


As Yong Joon said, “Everything has its own time” (and place, if I may add). I also believe everything (good or bad) happens for a reason, thus everyone who appears in your life (and vice versa) has a reason to be there too. So to my dear sisters, if I haven't written to you for a while, please know that you are always in my heart. Thanks for reading along, please take care!

Giving it 110%

Hi dear sisters ...... haha, BIG warning! This is a kind of boring philosophical piece. If you doze off while reading the words, hehe, just look at his handsome Bassini pictures, huh? Since I haven't posted this last batch, I figure I might as well kill 2 birds with 1 stone :) Here it goes .....

In today’s competitive society where often high achievers are being rewarded and words like ‘ambitious’ and ‘aggressive’ boast positive connotation, you can easily comprehend why world records of all sorts are being broken and young people are constantly striving to push past their own limits. Thus, what you often hear "I’ll give it my 110%!" has become a new unwritten principle for excellence.


Surely, I don’t think anyone sets out to do a task and wants to do a bad job, everyone wants to gives it their best shot and be successful. The fact is : life is hinged on equilibrium. When one extracts 110% out from oneself, somewhere from within has to yield that extra 10%, so that means something is suffering and operating only at a 90% capacity! (so far so good? got the Math right? I know I'm confused already :) That something could be one’s own physical being, mental health, or maybe even the relationship with the loved ones around!


Oh dear, I hope you don’t feel I am preaching or anything as it is not my intention. In fact, I started to contemplate on what our very observant gosijo has thoughtfully shared regarding our handsome prince’s work ethic :

"Another change that seems very recent is wuri Yong Joon’s new realization that pushing himself past his physical limits is not, after all, the best way of doing his very best at all time. I know we’ve admired him greatly for his heroic work ethic. ...... for him to come to the conclusion that “This time I have also learned something from the experience. Managing one’s health to not get sick is part of “to exert one’s full strength to do their utmost"."


Reflecting on what I have been through these past 2 years in Japan. I am like a big (well, more like bulky :) dry sponge, thirsty for any new knowledge and philosophy in the unique Japanese cultures. What normally takes the Japanese a whole lifetime to learn and perfect, I am naïve and inadequate enough to attempt. Needless to say, my story resembles a non-swimmer trying to go upstream against the strong Niagara River currents. Hehe, I can't tell you the ending yet whether I drown under the mighty Fall or reach the destination, you'll know when I leave Japan :) Indeed, trying one’s best doesn’t mean one has to exert to the point past 110%. The threshold for everyone and every task is different, the key is to know one’s limitations, be it personal, circumstantial or environmental.


As Yong Joon realized after his abrupt departure from Japan because of Sepsis disease, knowing the limit of his body is very crucial. When the signals are there indicating dangerous signs of stress and sickness, one needs to stop immediately to re-evaluate and re-prioritize. To myself, I always feel trying my best means at the end of my day or my life, there is nothing to regret about. (Yeah I know it’s not realistic either, who do not have something they don't regret in their lives?) But more importantly, will I learn, like Yong Joon, the 'healthy' way to exert our full strength to do our utmost? And to accept that 100% is good enough!

Hehe, if you reach this point and are still awake, thank you for reading :) Haha, this is just a drill, as the next post will be philosophical too, sorry!

Pictures original from BYJGallery by style

Pretty things up

Hi Hi sisters ...... thank you for your thoughtful response to my last post. Before we further explore Yong Joon's life philosophy and work ethic, I can't resist 'prettying' things up on the first day of the last month of this year :) I know someone will smack my head silly, but I do do do love Yong Joon looking so feminine and sexy in his long hair. So please allow me to admire these newest Face Shop Christmas shots, huh .......







original from BYJGallery by miemi