Japan's favorite word is Korean - Honestly

[Steve Bildermann]

The Japanese nickname of a South Korean actor has been chosen "Word of the Year" in Japan. A poll by a magazine affiliated to the Asahi Shinbum found that "Yonsama," an affectionate term used by Japanese fans to refer to the South Korean actor Bae Yong-jun, beat other catchwords to rank first place in its "Word of the Year" vote. Mr. Bae won fame in Japan after his syrupy TV melodrama, "Winter Sonata," aired there.
Mr. Bae, who has not appeared in public for six months, is scheduled to attend a handprinting event at Seoul's Yongsan CGV theater on Nov. 19, and will reportedly participate in an exhibition of photos of himself at a department store from Nov. 20 to 23 in Jamsil. All flights from Tokyo to Seoul from Nov. 18 to 21 have been fully booked by Japanese fans.
Most of Mr. Bae's fans are middle-aged women.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200411/17/200411172248099739900090409041.html

[gomichild]

Save me from this phenomenon...my Japanese Mother-in-law is obsessed with this guy..I'm sick of seeing his face already...

[dimwit]

My 5-year son's favorite word is Kanchou which sounds Korean.....

[cstaylor]

Save me from this phenomenon...my Japanese Mother-in-law is obsessed with this guy..I'm sick of seeing his face already...

I could understand it if he was good looking, but he's relatively plain looking.

[Taro Toporific]

April Snow' sticks to Yonsama's image
Kkorea Herald, Aug 24
Love, betrayal and guilt are some of the feelings movies are particularly adept at conjuring, but things get tricky when the three elements are lumped together solely for one big star. How do you evoke the inner life of a deeply troubled man and his equally distressed, secret lover when what the audiences want is just an innocent smile of the star actor?
"April Snow," directed by Hur Jin-ho, adopts the same melodrama formula of "Winter Sonata," a runaway television hit series that touched off the boom for Korean pop culture, and, more importantly, catapulted actor Bae Yong-joon into almost mythical fame in Asia...

....Even the much-publicized sex scene doesn't have any substance. The movie's promoters feverishly stressed that the main sex scene took nine hours to film, suggesting that exposure level might be higher than normal.
But the actual bed scene between In-su and Seo-young is far from explicit. The camera mainly zooms in on their faces and necks while they make love, and it is puzzling why the director spent so many hours to take such a simple, boring shot.
Perhaps a clue might lie elsewhere. In a news conference held in Seoul on Wednesday, a Japanese reporter said she was much relieved after watching the sex scene, implying that female Japanese fans do not want who they fondly call "Yonsama" to engage in an explicit sex scene because they want to preserve Bae's innocent, sweet boy image....more...

[altar]

I could understand it if he was good looking, but he's relatively plain looking.

Aah! But he is gentle, simple, manly yet romantic and forgiving towards women, features which have disappeared in the Japanese modern male.
I can't stand the guy.
He apparently is in fact really bad tempered since he has beaten his former manager a few times. Not a bad actor though, in good movies like "Scandal".
These Korean tv dramas are soooooooo cheasy they make me sick. If this crap is invading Japanese tv young people must really be pissed. I heard there's a manga entitled "Hate all things Korean" that's become very popular these days.

[amdg]

[leathernick]

I heard there's a manga entitled "Hate all things Korean" that's become very popular these days.

Kenkanryu

[American Oyaji]

I think the guy is gay.

[leathernick]

I think the guy is gay.

aside from that too, i think he looks like harry potter.

[Neo-Rio]

Aah! But he is gentle, simple, manly yet romantic and forgiving towards women, features which have disappeared in the Japanese modern male.
I can't stand the guy.

I second that.

If Japanese men had to be romantic, it would probably kill them.

[altar]

Another stylez to get these Japanese grand mamas wet.
Yeah the rumor about him being violent could be just a smoke screen to cover total gayness. However, although his character in dramas and commercial goes beyond the bearable, I've seen him hold a very good part in "Scandal".

[Reddeville]

When will you folks and other people learn to use your brain about why these desperate J housewives scream and wet their pantsu over bland, no featured, non masculine looking guys like the Korean Jerk who acts as well as the soap sitting in my bathroom?

Think about it. These J broads like feminine actors. Coincidence? These J broads scream and wet their pantsu over Takarazuka - women dressed as men. The women playing the male parts attract throngs of devotees.
That`s fishy - pun intended. There`s a lot of same sex attration in Japan but if it`s disguised as interest in acting or whatever it`s fine.

Fact - J broad housewives don`t have much sex. People blame the husband but if you think about it they`re the ones who banish him from their bed and room. These women are inclined towards other women - not all of them, not most but a significant number. They`re welcome to each other.

[leathernick]

...Think about it. These J broads like feminine actors.

good point there. i guess you can put tom cruise on that list as well...