hotelier: comeback after 2 yrs
bb: this round, i decided to first translate close2yj's version, she's written two parts. then after that, might do another post encompassing my thoughts on hotelier, as well as adding the tidbits that close2yj didn't cover in her two parts. will also post some behind-the-scene pics later, as well as the pictures that wuri yong joon had supposedly taken during hotelier days.Original in Chinese: Close2yj / www.loveyongjoon.com
Translated into English: Happiebb
Pics & VODs contributed by: Happiebb
Hotelier: The Comeback [Part 1 of 2]
In the two years he disappeared from the public’s prying eyes, people had initially thought that was just one of his ‘blank out’ periods. You know, how he would disappear for sometime, then come back to take on a new role in some new drama. They’d thought it was just his habit at work. But more than a year had come and gone, there’s still no sign, no news of him. During this time, there would be the occasional rumor that he’s accepted some new drama or whatsoever, but each time the rumor proved to be just that, a rumor. Slowly, even the rumors stopped, as people started to speculate that he wasn’t going to return to showbiz.
Everyone was guessing and speculating, waiting impatiently for some news. But Yong Joon chose to maintain his usual silence. He focused on nothing else but his studies. As an entertainer, an actor, to go away for such a protracted period of time would be detrimental to his popularity. In fact, once people start to think that an actor is not going to come back, soon this actor will be forgotten. After all, this is showbiz we’re talking about, a place with easy and extremely short memories. There’s always something, or someone new to attract attention. An actor who has no news for so long would have no exposure, no space in the media… soon to be forgotten. You know what people say, out of sight, out of mind.
But the audience and the fans did not forget him. In the many polls and popularity contests, Bae Yong Joon who had ‘vanished into thin air’ for two years still made it to the charts. Producers and directors too did not forget him. During this time, tens of scripts and offers still found their way to him. His manager was extremely frustrated and anxious, he just couldn’t wait to just sign Yong Joon up with something. Anything.
Eventually, Yong Joon’s name appeared on the cast of an MBC drama, Hotelier.
Hotelier first aired in Korea on 4th April 2001. The storyline revolved around the acquisition of an established hotel in Seoul, Walker Hill. You guys should know by now this is a real hotel in Seoul, right? Yea, it’s Sheraton Walker Hill. It’s a fast-paced story that depicted vivid characters and the challenges they faced both at work and in love. In the drama, Yong Joon played an M&A specialist Frank Shin Dong Hyuk, someone who looked cold and proud on the outside, but possessed a lonely soul inside.
When Yong Joon was asked why he had rejected all the other love calls and decided to star in Hotelier, he had said, “In the past I used to make all the decisions myself. But this time, I decided to listen to the suggestions of the people around me. But most importantly, the director of this drama is someone I personally like, and that’s Jang Yong Woo.” Yong Joon had met with PD Jang a year ago, and PD Jang had noted the details of the meeting on paper, including the date, time, place and the contents of their conversation. His serious, careful and meticulous manner left Yong Joon with a deep impression. “During that time, I had already decided that to work with PD Jang once the opportunity arose.”
BYJ is Back,
Familiar and yet with Something New….
Bae Yong Joon who had been out of the public’s eyes from two years reappeared on the TV screens. Presented in front of the TV audience was no longer the sunshine boy who’s a little rash, a little impulsive. Instead they saw a wise, matured gentlemanly hotel-hunter with keen judgement, Shin Dong Hyuk.
In order to successfully create the image of a successful man of the society, to demonstrate the intelligence and sharpness of Shin Dong Hyuk, Yong Joon embarked on a active exercise regime. In addition to the two-hour basic training everyday, he also did not drink liquor, sometimes not even water, after 6pm. His manager would prescribe diet plans according to his calorie intake and exercise volume each day. If he had to miss any basic training sessions due to heavy workload, Bae yong Joon would still make it a point to jog for thirty minutes before going to bed, no matter how late it was. It was with such perseverance, detemination and strict regime that his weight went from 82kg to 74kg within three months. That lean but muscular body was perfect without even an ounce of fat. Even the men had to be envious. And it was also through his hard work that we got to see that classic swimming pool in Hotelier, you know that scene where it captured all our eyes, our breaths and of course our hearts.
The transformation in physical appearance was just one small part of the whole scheme of things. What drew even more eyeballs was the change in Yong Joon’s entire aura. In a matter of two years, he showed us a Bae Yong Joon who was more mature, more attractive and mesmerizing. The look in his eyes seemed calmer and more confident. The change in him was more than just the path a boy took to become a man.
From his smile, his eyes and his expressions, we could read so much more in this man. Based on his rich life experiences, he was able to create and sculpt himself in the role he was supposed to play. The two years of being a full-time student seemed to have little to do with his showbiz life, but yet it appeared that some deeper things were given a chance to settle down in him and take shape during those two years. Something that went into the essence of the man.
The Shin Dong Hyuk as portrayed by Bae Yong Joon was a man of total charisma and magnetic appeal. His coolness, confidence, decisiveness, intelligence made him stand out from all others. His every move and gesture was arresting appeal in motion. His performance was so convincing that countless TV audience began to see Shin Dong Hyuk as the epitome of a successful man who’s able to move mountains. Shin Dong Hyuk basically gave life, body and soul to the word ‘elite’.
Once more, the TV audience were captured and enraptured by him. Even though Shin Dong Hyuk was the second male lead in the drama, but because of how arresting his portrayal was, it resulted in the culmination of all attention onto Shin Dong Hyuk in the second half of the drama, bringing out the conflicts and the highlights of the plot. He became the star, the soul of the drama. In fact, the scriptwriter even revolutionalized the way Korean drama storylines had always been like. Traditionally, the second male lead, no matter how sincere and earnest and deep in his love for the first female lead, would nearly always be relegated to the role of just being an obstacle to the main couple. But the scriptwriter decided to change the script and Shin Dong Hyuk ended up with the first female lead.
A famous Shanghainese writer described Shin Dong Hyuk as the perfect third party in love relationships, as he embodied looks, wits and real love into one perfect man. [上海小说家潘向黎说的，说申东贤是完美的插足者]
When it was aired, Hotelier did remarkably well in terms of TV ratings, averaging between 20-30%. Its highest was 39.9%. Not sure if you know, but SBS’ Beautiful Days was aired during the same time as MBC’s Hotelier and these two dramas were competing very intensely back in 2001, in fact, the performance of both dramas were quite neck-to-neck. Undoubtedly Hotelier was a success. Bae Yong Joon’s comeback after two years via this drama was a successful one, as he won the audience’s hearts all over again. As with a lot of things are with him, this comeback was a perfect one.
and here i share some of the media pics as well as pics taken from the press conference for hotelier.
and... i've uploaded some hotelier-related clips on my youtube account.
* click here for the making of that church scene.
* click here for a fan's recording at the shooting site, sheraton walkerhill in seoul.
* and this is a must-see! click here for the making of that swimming pool scene!
* another must-see! click here for the program where the main hotelier cast were interviewed. don't miss wuri yong joon trying to mimic song yunah. the operative word here is 'trying'. no, he didn't succeed, hee...
* and... if you understand korean or chinese, don't miss this! click here to hear the truth behind the kissing scene. gasp! the famous passageway kissing scene didn't actually happen.
p.s. if you're new to my blog, you have to check out the rest of YJ's trail. it's a mighty long read, but i promise you it's a good read. or you've just missed the part where i blogged about his two years in uni, click here. it's really really interesting, okie?
posted by bb @ 7/05/2006 08:21:00 PM
14 Comments:
thanks bb for doing hotelier this time. i'm sure all fans from the US watching hotelier now will be happy to read this post of yours.
shin dong hyuk is so sexy and appealing.
btw, i don't know how many times i kept pressing the rewind button in the scene where frank shin was at the prison talking to the guy in english and at the phone inside his villa. love hearing yong joon speak in english ^ ^
frankly speaking...
his pronunciation back then was really dissappointing. i was like 'huh?' turning the volume higher 'huh? what?'
but that was 2001. im really glad he has improved alot n he is trying evday. believe me if u speak to him in english he can ustand u perfectly provided that u don speak as fast as michelle does ^^
oopps forgot to say thank u tim..
bb ar...thank u ahh...
oh how i know he ustand? well i was 'told' hehe ~ssshhh~~
hiya, liezle,
ya, i agree with yokee, his english in hotelier's abit not-so-good.... but yea, love to hear him speak in a language i actually can understand :p
you didn't see first love, right? he sprouted one big chunk of english in there too? he was quite clear, i thought... but honestly, i don't think anyone speaks that slowly in real life...
mmm... sure hope the US fans will enjoy this and that old interview i just posted. since most of them are new fans, they probably haven't read those.
yokee ah...
i wish i can have a chance to actually speak with him lor :p
but he's so painfully shy and pretty self-conscious too, i think... might not be easy for him to open his golden mouth to speak in english la... :p
Thanks bb for this post. Especially in the interview, he appeared so nervous as if he's a rookie, so humble! The Korean fans really deserve a big reward, being so patient and supportive after almost 2 years of his absence! I feel so selfish compared to them, I am getting so restless just missing him for only a few weeks.
He looked like a big brother to Song Hekyo, love those pictures!
Thanks.
Love this bb! Thanks! I was impressed with his English in Hotlier like Yokee. I thought it was good and you say he has gotten better, great!
I loved the mv on the pool scene. Flutters my heart!
But what is the jest of the laughs on the talk show between the GM Actor and YongJoon and then YoonJoon and actress who played Mgr Suh? You don't need to be detailed just the jest. YongJoon really laughed. I love his natural laugh!
Thanks for sharing!
well from what i was told he tries to speak as much as possible.
oh chan woo's english...my~
i can tell he memorized each and every word la. like u say nobody speak that slowly. n mind u that was really a BIG chunk of english he spoke in there ^^
oh wait that reminds me of something...i actually heard him saying 'please to meet you'
haha since there's no ball tonite i'll babble about that when i come home tonite ^^
jaime
glad you like those pics, will be posting more when i do Part 2....
mrs a,
busy now... not sure which part you're talking about. busy now, will rewatch it later tonight and try to solve the mystery for you, k?
or... does anyone have a ready answer?
yokee, pls babble away :p
no hurry. Actually seen this earlier and didn't want to bring it up as I know how busy you are BB. Okay, so don't worry about it or go out of your way. You got alot to do! :)
I love his natural laugh and smile.
dear mrs a and bb,
I think I remember the Hotelier Reunion TV show, may I give it a shot?
They played a game for the cast to tell each other's good and weak points (in a humourous way, not as serious as strength and weaknesses). Kim Seung Woo (GM)who's a relaxed and humourous person, treats YJ as a younger brother. He said when he told Yong Joon he looked particularly handsome that day. Instead of just saying "thank you" and that's the end of it, Yong Joon would not leave Kim alone and would follow him the whole day keeps confirming "do I really look handsome today?". Yong Joon was so embarassed, he childishly hit Kim's arm lightly and hid himself behind the card. Let us assure you our handsome prince, you look "out of this world" gorgeous, ok?
Between YJ and Song Yoona (his love in Hotelier), YJ said Song's good point is also her weak point. She is too nice and accomodating, and ends up always saying yes to whatever request goes her way. YJ said this act is being viewed by others as a "silly person" (I don't know if idiot is too strong a word cause I'm sure YJ meant it in a nice way). Now, it's Song's turn to be embarassed.
mrs a, is this the part you want to know? If not, please let me know and we'll try again.
Hope bb you don't mind me answering this, cause I think you are busy preparing Part 2 for us? Love reading it. No pressure, though.
haiyo, jaime...
of course i won't mind that you've answered that question. hee, i don't have proprietary rights to all the BYJ-related questions, you know...? yea, your interpretation is precise and correct, so thank you much much :)
and mrs a, me too me too, love to hear him laugh. haha, it's so contagious that most of the time, i find myself smiling or laughing along with him :)
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