Bae Yong Joon

Infobox actor
name = Bae Yong Joon
birthname =
birthdate = birth date and age|1972|8|29
location = Seoul, South Korea
deathdate =
deathplace =
othername =
occupation = Actor
yearsactive = 1995—present
spouse =
homepage = Infobox Korean name


imagesize = 150px
title = Korean name
hangul = 배용준
hanja = 裵勇俊
rr = Bae Yong-jun
mr = Pae Yong-chun
tablewidth = 254
color = khaki

Bae Yong Joon (born August 29 1972 in Seoul, South Korea), is a South Korean actor best known for his roles in numerous television dramas. He is also known as the abbreviated BYJ to many of his fans, or as "Yon-sama" (ヨン様), with the "sama" being an honorific suffix in Japanese.

Early and private life

Born in Mapo-gu, Seoul, he was educated in Il-mun Preschool and Myung-il Elementary School. He eventually went to study in PaiChai Middle School and Hanyoung High School. [ [http://www.baeyongjune.com/chinese/profile/profile.htm Profile of BYJ's quilt] ]

Bae Yong acknowledged that he had a girlfriend named Lee Sa Gang (aka Sagan Lee, Sagang Lee) , and a photograph of her has since been distributed on the Internet. [ [http://groups.msn.com/endlesslovewebportal Endless Love Web Portal] ] However, according to a 2005 edition of the I-weekly, a MediaCorp owned magazine in Singapore, Bae has since separated from Lee, citing personal reasons. He has since decided to keep his marital status private. [ [http://www.i-weekly.sg/thisweek/index.htm I-Weekly] ] Sources, notably HanCinema, maintain that Bae is still single. [ [http://www.hancinema.net/korean_Bae_Yong-joon.php Bae Yong-joon (배용준)] ]

Bae's agency, BOF, reported that Bae's apartment at Samseong-dong, Seoul caught fire on May 7 around 8:00 p.m., due to a short circuit. The house was empty when the fire broke out, thus causing no injuries. However, the fire caused damages costing up to 10 million won. [ [http://baeyongjun.blogsome.com/2006/05/31/fire-breaks-out-at-actor-bae-yong-joons-house/ Fire Breaks Out at Actor Bae Yong-joon’s House] ]

Acting career

Bae went onto his film debut in "PpilKu" in 1994. He later went on to star in dramas like "Salut D'Amour" and "Six Steps to Separation" in late 1994 and 1995 respectively.

He first garnered critical acclaim after appearing in a supporting role on "Sunny Place of the Young," where he played the role of the heir to a cosmetics company and best friend of the leading actor, played by Lee Jong Won. Through this role, Bae first gained his now-famous 'regal' image. His next acclaimed role was in "First Love," where he played the role of "Chan-woo," a smart, young man with checkered past, who drops out of law school to join a gang to seek revenge for his family's misfortunes.

After 1999, Bae decided to step away from acting to focus on his education at Sung Kyun Kwan University, where he majored in film studies.

In 2001, he returned to the small screen, appearing in Hotelier. At this time, Bae decided to let his hair grow long, as evidenced from photographs posted in fan sites.

Bae became world-famous as his next dramatic role, "Winter Sonata," despite the fact that it was a TV drama and not a movie, razed all of Japan with as much as 20% of the country watching it. This popularity gave both Bae and his co-star Choi Ji-woo a chance to shift their main stage from Korea to Japan. Other Korean movies and dramas also became quite popular following the Winter Sonata craze. Bae's role as Kang Jun-sang in Winter Sonata made him the main spotlight of the Korean Wave.

Bae also managed to get a deeper foothold into the Japanese and Southeast Asian market after he starred in the movie "Untold Scandal" as Jo Won.

Fan craze

According to the [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4825403/site/newsweek/ May 3, 2005 issue of "NEWSWEEK" (Asian International Edition)] , Bae's fan base covers a wide range of Asian female demographics, including middle aged and married women who mob him when he pays a visit to a particular Asian country. "Newsweek" also notes that "Japanese women are taking up the study of Korean language and history" because of Bae.

November 2004 Japan visit

In 2004, Bae released a photo book "" during a four and 1/2-day tour in Japan to commemorate the tenth year of his acting career. After touring Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Phuket, Bae arrived at Narita Airport nearby Tokyo on November 25, where an estimated 5,000 fans awaited him, with some fans having camped out at the airport terminal awaiting his arrival. 350 police officers and 70 anti-riot agents were also on hand to control the crowd. During his public appearances thousands of fans showed up to greet him, and in some cases mob scenes ensued as they swarmed the car he rode in, which even resulted in one fan suffering an injury which required medical attention from paramedics.

August 2005 Taiwan visit

During an August 2005 visit to Taiwan, Bae went to the hospital to see a cancer-stricken fan, who is a mother and who has drawn hundreds of Bae's portraits ( [http://news.chinatimes.com/Chinatimes/Moment/newfocus-index/0,3687,940820016+94082013+0+091311,00.html# "China Times" (Chinese language), August 20, 2005] and [http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/detail.asp?ID=67225&GRP=B "China Post", August 20, 2005] ).

Wikipedia controversy

In 2006, Koh Gyudhae of Hankooki, along with a segment of Bae's fans criticized Wikipedia's article on Bae, citing privacy reasons. Koh went further by voicing his view that "unnecessary" information should be removed. Following the publication of the newspaper, edits included the removal of "incorrect" information. [ [http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bae_Yong_Joon&diff=59581570&oldid=59415660] ] [ [http://www.baeyongjune.com/zboard/zboard.php?id=news_latest&page=1&category=&sn=off&ss=on&sc=on&keyword=wikipedia&select_arrange=headnum&desc=asc&no=1581 Article about Bae Yong Joon and Wikipedia factuality concerns BYJ "Oops! My privacy...", affronted with exposure] "(Note: Information was taken from this site, but the article has since been removed.")]

Trivia

The hanja in his name are: 裵 (gown); 勇 (brave); 俊 (capable).

Filmography

Films

* 2005: "April Snow"
* 2003: "Untold Scandal"
* 1995: "PpilKu"

Drama

* 2007: "The Story of the First King's Four Gods" (MBC)
* 2007: "Hotelier (TV Asahi)" (TV Asahi) - Shin Dong Hyuk, Frank
* 2002: "Winter Sonata" ("Winter Love Story", KBS) - Kang Jun-sang/Lee Min-hyung
* 2001: "Hotelier" (MBC) - Shin Dong Hyuk, Frank
* 1999: "Did We Really Love?" ("True To Love" MBC) - Gang Jae-ho
* 1998: "The Barefooted Youth" (KBS)
* 1997: "First Love" (KBS) - Sung Chan-woo
* 1996: "Papa" (KBS) - Choi Hyun-jun
* 1995: "A Sunny Place of The Young" (KBS)
* 1995: "Sea Breeze" (PSB) Jang Moo-hyung
* 1995: "Six Steps to Separation" (KBS)
* 1994: "Salut D'Amour" ("Love Greeting") (KBS) - Kim Yong-min

Anime アニメ

* 2009: "Winter Sonata" (Key East, Total Promotion)

Television commercials

* 1995: LOTTE Gana, nongshim ZEC, MAYPOLE
* 1996: Kwail Nara, LG group, Dong Yang cosmetic
* 1997: LG group, HITE beer
* 1998: LG group etc
* 1999: FRJ
* 2001: JM Global Water Purifier, Kye-Mong-Sa (Press), Old & New, LoReal (Perfume)
* 2002: LG Telecom, LG Home Shopping, LG Card, Korea Investment Trust, Kolon ManStar, Old & New, Halla Millate
* 2003: Ray Ban Glasses, Taster's Choice, LG Whisen, LG Telecom, LG Card, Kolon ManStar, Old & New
* 2004: Taster's Choice, Oronamin C, LOTTE Flavono, Sony handycam, Lotte Almond, Sony Cybershot, AU by KDDI, Daihatsu Mira, LG La La La (films available online at http://byj.co.kr )
* 2005: Taster's Choice, Lotte Rummy and Bacchus chocolates, Keangnam (builders), Coca-Cola 7-Flavor Tea, Lotte Almond
* 2006: Hyundai Sonata, Eastern Home Shopping Network, Secom Security Systems, Keangnam
* 2007: Secom, Megane Ichiba
* 2008: Megane Ichiba, Viliv

Awards

* 2007: MBC drama awards: Daesang (Grand Prix) award
* 2007: MBC drama awards: Best couple( with lee ji ah) in The Legend
* 2007: MBC drama awards: Popularity award
* 2004: 40th Baeksang: Rookie Award
* 2003: Blue Dragon: Best Newcomer & Popular Star award
* 2002: KBS Drama: Popular Actor Award & Best Actor Award
* 2002: 38th Bak Sang: Popularity award
* 1997: 33rd Bak Sang: Popularity award
* 1996: KBS Drama: The Excellent Actor Award & The Popular Actor Award
* 1995: KBS Drama: Rookie Award & Photogenic Award

Books

* 2004:
* 2005: 100 Days of Bae Yong Joon
* 2007: BYJ Family Book

See also

* List of Koreans
* Contemporary culture of South Korea
* Korean wave

References

* [http://www.baeyongjoonfans.ya.st] (BaeYongJoon's Mexico Family)

External links

* [http://gbreak.com/index/Bae_Yong_Jun Bae Yong Jun Profile, Video, Photo]
* [http://www.byj.co.kr/ Bae Yong Joon’s official homepage]
*cite news |last=Brasor|first=Philip|title=Bae Yong Joon, superstar, how many hits have you had so far?|url=http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ff20080131r1.html|publisher=The Japan Times|date=2008-01-27|accessdate=2008-01-31
*cite news |title=Celebrity: A Hunk o' Love: If his television role brings out the screaming teen in middle-aged women, that's OK with Bae Yong Joon|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4825403/site/newsweek/|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20040603154952/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4825403/site/newsweek/|publisher=Newsweek|year=2004|archivedate=2004-06-03|accessdate=2008-01-31|language=English
*
* [http://www.shortshorts.org/asia/en/program/pg_e.html Shortshorts]
* [http://www.yongjoon1.com yongjoon1.com] (metablog, Japanese)