bb's ramblings: days of being a BYJ fan... since 2002!

1996-1997 what a year!

Besides, he had also done laser treatment on his eyes earlier, and had to make weekly trips to the hospital for his eye check-up. So, that whole year, going to the hospital was more than a weekly affair for Yong Joon.

Another time, it was also during a hectic CF shooting. They were flying from Canada via Detroit to go back to Seoul and encountered a near-death experience. The plane was shaking quite violently soon after take-off, and passengers were notified that the pilot was flying the plane back to Detroit for checks. Yong Joon had initially thought it was just current and turbulence and did not give much thought to it. But when Yong Joon got off the plane when they landed in Detroit, he realized the seriousness of the problem. The entire front cover of the control station of the plane had disappeared! It’s scary just thinking about it, ya?

Most Chinese believe that you’ll have good luck after you’ve made a narrow escape. 大难不死必有后福，they say... But, yet another accident was ‘waiting’ for him.

In the summer of 1997, Yong Joon would sometimes practice martial arts and unarmed combat with the ‘fighter-actors’ he had gotten to know in First Love. The accident happened after one of these practice sessions. After the session, Yong Joon decided to show off a rather difficult stunt he had just learnt that day. It involved him leaping and giving a kick whilst still in the air. His first try was absolutely beautiful. And because he won praises from the martial arts expert then, he really got into the swing of things and wanted to do it again. But this time, a dull, loud ‘thump’ sounded as he landed on the ground. The sudden, sharp pain made he lose his balance and fall. He was sent to a hospital in Gang-Dong. X-ray and CT scan showed that he had severe bone fracture. Luckily, when the accident happened, a friend by the name of Se Dae Hyun who was present at the scene, had done the necessary to give him emergency aid and immobilize the hurt area. And because of his quick action, Yong Joon escaped having to go under the knife.

So, our poor Yong Joon had not choice but to wear a plaster cast. He was forced to stay at home for a good many months. His condition also meant he could not attend any official activities.

Since he’s pretty much confined to staying at home, Yong Joon decided to spend his time reading fan mail, reading books and also watching movies he liked. Sometimes, he would spend an entire day going through fans’ letters, letters that he previously had no time to read. This way, he would spend his time basking in fans’ encouragement and words of support and love.

Sometimes, he would spend a whole day watching five or six movies. One of the movies he had watched during this time and had left a deep impression was Backbeat, a 1994 movie about the early days of the Beatles.

He also read widely during this time of rest and recuperation. You know how most of his fan sites would have a Yong Joon’s profile? Well, when it came to his favourite books, Ramses and The Story of the Romans are nearly always mentioned. Yup, it was during this period that he read these. He also became good friends with Kim Tae Woo in First Love, that’s the guy who played Chan Woo’s classmate. Yeah, the guy who kept calling Chan Woo 怪物 in the drama. He brought Yong Joon the voluminous The History of Arts & Culture from a Social Perspective. And yes, our Yong Joon read and digested everything with glee and great interest, even the ultra-serious and heavy books.


The Ramses series is actually a five-book suite by French author and Egyptologist, Christian Jacq. The series is about pharaoh Ramses II, whom Jacq admires greatly. The five volumes are 1. The Son of Light, 2. The Temple of a Million Years, 3. The Battle of Kadesh, 4. The Lady of Abu Simbel, and 5. Under the Western Acacia, respectively. Each volume encompasses one aspect of Ramses’ known historical life, woven into a fictional tapestry of the ancient world for an epic of love, life and deceit. The Ramses series is an international bestseller and has been published in over twenty-five countries.

As for the Story of the Romans, funnily enough, this book is listed under the Children section in a lot of bookstores. Then again, I personally also read so-called children’s books. Haha, I like to think people who like children’s books have a kid in us, and we tend to be more imaginative. Anyway, this book is essentially an elementary history of Rome, presenting short stories of the great heroes, mythical and historical, from Aeneas and the founding of Rome to the fall of the western empire.

[bb: Close2yj also mentioned a poetry collection, but sorry, I’m not familiar with poetry and with the translation from A to B to C… I’m not certain which collection it is anymore. But literal translation gave the title as The Love of the Flounder [比目鱼的爱]. So could it be referring to Natasha Trethewey’s Flounder? I really don’t know… Sorry.]

Later, when his injury got better, the scope of his activities also expanded accordingly. He started going fishing and also practicing piano. Quite a nice lifestyle, huh?

If there were any major regret during this period, then it would be that he lost the opportunity to make his foray into movies. And of course, the other ‘sad’ thing was that he had let his fans wait to see him in vain. Well, he had already done his disappearing act after First Love ended its run in Apr 1997. PDs who were seeking him out for new roles told the reporters, “He must have gone missing!” Everyone was frantically searching for him, trying to find out where he was… And… He had gone to somewhere, probably some little town without even so much as a name to do his fishing, his jogging and basically, just to recharge himself. And when he decided to join the real world once again, he made the choice to challenge the big silver screen. Yes, the movies.

To Yong Joon, the movies were something sacred in his acting career. It’s almost like sacred grounds, a dream he yearned for passionately and yet was somewhat afraid to reach out and fulfill it. Towards movie-making, Yong Joon’s stance was he’d much rather not make a movie than to make just any movie. The quality definitely counted loads more for quantity. A thought that I believe he still upholds till today. As early as 1995, Chungmuro [the Hollywood of Korea] had already made him movie offers, but each time, he would say “I’m not ready” and decline them all.

He’d said, “I suppose you could say my feelings towards movies is a case of being ‘feeling way too much’, the love runs too deeply. Therefore, it’s an extremely difficult thing for me to say anything about movies and making movies. As an actor, my ultimate goal is to became a movie actor who’s able to display perfect, flawless acting. Movies… The very thought of it is enough to make my heart beat faster. It’s like a territory that’s so sacred and holy. When my acting’s more matured than what it is now, when I’m able to show better and deeper emotions and flavours, then I will try to challenge the movies. Perhaps I’m being too greedy…”

Maybe First Love gave him the initial self-confidence in his own acting. Maybe it just so happened he came across a script that touched his heart. He, who had always been so selective about accepting script offers, to the point of being fussy, accepted the offer to star in “Scent of a Man”. Once he’s made his choice, he started his usual diligent preparation. Just the original novel alone, he had read it at least five times, to the extent he could practically recite parts from it. He had put in so much of himself to prepare for the role, alas, he could not appear in the movie because of his injury.

It’s indeed sad that he could not have debuted on the big screen then. But I guess to a lot of his fans, they were also very sad that it took another six years before Yong Joon finally made his first movie. Yes, by the time Yong Joon debuted on the big screen with The Untold Scandal, it was already 2003. Of course, with The Untold Scandal, Yong Joon won the Best New Actor and the Most Popular Actor in the Green Dragon Awards, and he also won the Best New Actor in Baeksang Arts Awards. It was already nine years since he first entered showbiz. Well, throughout his acting career, Yong Joon has always taken the slow and steady route, never in a hurry to do anything. With steady steps and remarkable performance, he eventually appeared on the big silver screen to fulfill his long-time dream. All these, achieved with determination, persistence and a hint of stubbornness too.

Yea, I know you would be curious… I looked it up already.

Scent of a Man was directed by Jang Hyeon Su, pictured left. eventually, Kim Seung Woo took up the role of the male lead, since Yong Joon wasn't able to take it up. Yup, the general manager in Hotelier who, subsequently, became Yong Joon’s good friend.

for more information on the movie, please click on the following link: http://www.asianfilms.org/korea/scent.html

There’s a little episode too, during the period Yong Joon was confined to his home to recuperate. Not sure if you’ve heard it already… The reporter Kim Daeoh Ilyo shared this little story in Apr 2005. Here’s how the story went, straight from the reporter's mouth…

The winter of 1997, Yong Joon was resting at home due to his leg injury and he was starting to go through the script offers for his next work. I was fortunate enough to be tasked with the job of following Yong Joon’s daily life to seek newsworthy stuff. And that time, I was using the paparazzi approach. There was once we were all just stationed outside his home, waiting to capture the moment he came out of his home with his clutches and al. So we were shocked to see that he had already walked to the car we were hiding from. I was so surprised I screamed ‘Oh God!’ But he said smilingly to me, ‘Hyeong, no exceptions next time, I won’t do it again in future. But if you all didn’t manage to snap a picture just now, would you like me to go back into the house and walk out again?’ I won’t flatter myself and say he did it because of our good relationship. Had it been some other reporters, I’m sure Yong Joon would treat them just as nicely.

- Reporter Kim Daeoh Ilyo [Sunday] Newspaper 3rd Apr 2005


A picture of Yong Joon when he was recovering at home. Heehee… think he was quite well-fed then…

posted by bb @ 1/10/2006 03:00:00 AM