Acknowledgement:
Credits and special thanks to Chinese eel HUAMOP and KeunSukChina for their express consent to post the English translation here.
The English translation can be shared to Facebook and Twitter, with the necessary credits as below:
Original Chinese Text & Photos Credits: HUAMOP @ KeunSukChina (http://t.sina.com.cn/keunsukchina)
English translation: http://jangkeunsukforever.wordpress.com/
特别感谢 HUAMOP 和挚爱小帅-张根硕全球中文网准许转载英文翻译版。
英文翻译版准许转载至脸书 Facebook 或推特 Twitter,不过请谨记注明以下:
原文/图片:HUAMOP @ 张根硕全球中文网 http://t.sina.com.cn/keunsukchina
英文翻译:http://jangkeunsukforever.wordpress.com/
————— Note from Aphrael77 —————-
I cannot begin to express how much I thank Huamop and KeunSukChina (KSC) for allowing me to post a translation here, given that the original account in KSC Forum is forbidden to be re-posted in its original form anywhere else.
I have used the time when I should be sleeping, in order to produce this translation accurately to the best of my ability, and this is for Jang Keun Suk, and for all of you out there who love him.
Every time when I read a fan account, my love for JKS grows. The more I see him, observe him and come to understand more of him from various sources, the more I love him. I cannot even begin to guess how much more love can grow, and so I thank the day I got to know JKS, because it marked the start of a budding strong love for a star who is so far, yet so near, for a star who is as human as you and I, and for the first time, loving a star for who he truly is.
And as you read this account, I hope you understand too 🙂
Love,
Aphrael77
————— FAN ACCOUNT —————
29 Jan 2011 FAN-MEETING IN SEOUL
Other eels said, the standard of Jang Keun Suk’s live singing today was extremely high. Those of us in the performance hall were utterly entranced by him. I count myself lucky that the very first JKS performance I attended was super great! Indescribable – I have seen many online videos of JKS’ singing, but his singing today was much, much better than all his previous performances!
After standing for most of the day, I was already feeling faint, so apologies if I cannot describe all the details. I don’t even remember the sequence of the songs he sang. = = sorry.
JKS himself is a treasure trove of words!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I estimate that I have missed out quite a bit of what he said, because my focus was on the interview segment… As for his voice, the atmosphere and feelings, I have no words to describe it.
At around one plus in the afternoon, we arrived at axhall. The first thing we saw was the gigantic-sized performance poster hung outside the venue. Many members were eagerly collecting their official membership card and notebook at the tents beside the venue. There were only two of JKS photographs inside the notebook which was a light peach red. There were many overseas fans at this performance, and I often heard a smattering of Mandarin, Cantonese and also Japanese, and the Japanese eels were mostly mature ladies.
JKS said before that he would distribute Ole candy to eels at the performance, and so he did. When we entered the hall, staff gave each of us a box of Ole candy. The one I got was the lollipop that JKS often ate, so happy!
The hall was really very, very beautiful. It was not very big, and the T stage extension in the centre was very long, so even those eels sitting far behind had the chance of seeing JKS very clearly. Our seating positions were in Area B, not too front and not too far back. We waited for a long time. A big piece of cloth hid the stage from view, and music played continuously in the background. The eels present were very restless, and when it was time for the performance to start, a mixture of screams and continous chanting of “Jang Keun Suk, Jang Keun Suk, Jang Keun Suk” erupted from us.
Yes! The music then changed into the familiar notes of “My Bus”. Suddenly, the curtains on stage dropped, revealing JKS and his band. The stage lights kept flashing, and I couldn’t see the stage clearly. This feeling of being so near but not being able to see anything made me very anxious. I could only see the top half of JKS from amidst the crowd. His hairstyle was similar to the one he sported when he came back from his previous Japan trip; I love this hairstyle! JKS sang “My Bus” with much feeling.
After the song, he introduced his band, who seemed to be fantastic musicians. He also introduced his general plans for this year. He said he wanted to do a Lounge H Asia Tour, encompassing Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand and later he added Malaysia. Eels asked, what about Japan? I nearly fainted at JKS’ mischievous reply that Japan is not part of Asia Tour, because he is planning a Japan performance tour throughout Japan. He also filmed his new MV while he was last in Japan. He will also be undertaking a new movie at the end of the year which he accepted one year ago, and the movie will probably premiere in summer next year. We asked him who the female lead was; many fans were whispering “is it sister Ye Sul”. JKS looked at his manager Kim standing on stage left and gave a reserved answer that he could not tell us because it was not confirmed.
JKS also shared the story about the sweeping changes behind the last episode of “Marry me Mary” (M3), which we all knew already. And the filming for the last episode continued until the very evening of its broadcast, because of the delay caused by the previous horrible script which made the actors say they could not act that, so there was a change in script. He also said something about filming a DVD and photograph book overseas.
When sharing about the release of his album in Japan, he said, “Because I’m still young, I want to try things that I want to do!” He had received the Japanese offer to release an album one year ago, and JKS said frankly that music producers seldom gave actors good songs. So JKS had been waiting, until he heard the song “My Precious”, he then and there decided that he wanted to work with M3 music producer, thus he started to work on his album.
He said that in order to have closer interaction with the fans, he did not invite the media, and that what he told us would “remain a secret between us” and that “it is enough that we know”.
JKS is very busy; he said his schedule is full until December, and that he has only rested for one day since M3 ended. Also, he only slept for one hour before today’s performance, so his shoulders and back were aching. He joked that after 20 years old, he is really getting old now. JKS also told us that Kim has been promoted! Congratulations!
Next, the band exited the stage and Kang Mu-Gyul’s band made their entrance. I don’t know their names – the leader, one who looked liked Kong You and the youngest one. The leader has been on Twitter and Facebook a lot recently. He said that JKS, as the lead actor, naturally had many scenes to film, so it was very tiring. Despite this, JKS has never refused an invitation to go out for drinks, and always drank heartily. The leader felt that JKS was a real man! He related that, no matter how busy they were with filming, they would often continue to drink happily for two hours, then sleep for one hour before going back to filming.
The next funny incident related by the leader was, once, the leader was really drunk, and he was worried about what he should do when he got to the filming set. In the end when he reached the set, he saw JKS was lying on the ground, even more drunk than him! So his worries were laid to rest, hahaha!
JKS said that he and the bandmembers, till now, still take the time to meet up for drinks, and are still in contact with one another as they treasure the strong friendship they had built up.
The bandmember who looked like Kong You is actually a real musician (born in 1970s). JKS praised him for his excellent singing talent, and in return, the guy said that JKS is very humble.
When the youngest bandmate appeared, he got the most cheers. He said that it was his first time acting in a drama, and JKS was of great help to him and taught him a lot. JKS teased the youngest bandmate by saying that although he looked handsome, he looked like one of JKS’ colleagues. I suddenly remembered, really, they look alike! With eels cheering on, JKS pulled his colleague up onto the stage and had the two of them stand together. They really looked like brothers! All of us were laughing madly.
Before Kang Mu-Gyul bandmembers exited the stage, JKS hugged each of them in farewell. Next, JKS sang “My Precious”. His live singing was so fantastic, and we also did ourselves proud by singing together with him.
When JKS was chatting with the fans, we did raise our lightboards occasionally, and we kept discussing when we should shout out our cheer, but JKS was really very chatty. He had so many things to say. When we were about to shout our cheer, he would start talking about another topic, and we could not find a chance to shout our cheer. Then we managed to grab the chance when JKS paused in between his talking, and the three of us shouted in Chinese, “Jang Keun Suk, you are great!” It was such a common, cliché cheer, but it was the only one that JKS understood anyway = = . Who asked him not to learn Chinese? At the time of our cheer, the hall was very quiet, and the others laughed when we finished cheering. And JKS was really …. he did not even acknowledge us or respond to our cheer. When he was singing, we continued to raise our lightboards, and finally managed to attract his attention. Mission accomplished! Satisfied!
After that was the segment where eels asked their questions. One eel asked, who is the female artiste that JKS likes to work with most? Many eels were saying Ha Ji Won. JKS’ reply was Moon Geun Young. He said that MGY’s character was very similar to his. They are the type who do not compromise, so both of them often had their little quarrels and debates during filming. When JKS first got to know MGY, he felt that, oh, so in this world there is someone whose character is so similar to his.
A Chinese eel managed to attract JKS’ attention, haha, well, because the eels around her pushed her out. She asked, “When will ….” JKS couldn’t catch the rest of what she asked, so other eels helped to re-phrase the question in Korean, which is, “When will you drink with eels?” JKS answered, some eels become frightening after they drink, so he dared not drink with them.
Oh yes, JKS also introduced a smartphone application to us – a concept similar to having the official website on the phone. This application allows the user to view his schedule and videos. JKS will also personally upload photographs, for example, live pics of his current working set. He said this is even more practicable than the official website. And once JKS leaves messages, everyone can see them immediately and reply on the spot, like Twitter. However, JKS also asked us not to rely too much on this smartphone application as the main mode of online communication will still be via the official website.
Speaking of the official website, I recall that JKS also raised the issue of members not being able to log in to the official website recently. JKS even asked Kim, how do other artistes solve these log-in problems? Manager Kim replied calmly, other artistes don’t even face this type of problem. Because it is only JKS’ official website that face the problem of high online traffic every day, with millions of visits daily. I can only say, JKS is too popular! Popular until his website cannot take it and become paralysed. Haha!
JKS then started to introduce his last song for the event, which he said is the song he liked best. That’s right, the song is “I will promise you”. We really could not bear to part with him, but we knew that he would definitely come out again for the encore. Haha, after we screamed for a short while for the encore, he re-appeared and sang the song we love, “Hello Hello”.
Today’s performance was simply too fantastic, and coupled with the sound effects of the venue, the whole performance was simply stunning. Towards the end, I forgot which song he was singing then, he walked down from the T-stage extension, probably because he was too engrossed in singing. In front of the T-stage, nearest to the audience, JKS knelt down and, full of feeling, closed his eyes. Wow, he was right in front of us, two metres away. We simply froze and just gazed at him.
There is a limit to what my memory can store … the first round, the fan-meeting had ended. Please look forward to my account of Lounge H performance, coming soon!
Thanks for sharing. I truly understand your feeling when reading a Fan account! I’m touched for the love eels pass on so sincerely to Suk. My love for him grows either… Also, thanks much to Huamop and KSC. With out them ( and all awesome eels) we shouldn’t have enjoyed this moment.
Btw, just wanna let you know. I’m your Blog’s fan yet never post till now. Keep posting. I look forward reading yours stories. Great job!! CrazyCri~
Thanks for sharing. It’s so true that my love for JKS also get deeper every day. Feel like he’s part of mine and his fans are my family…
Thanks a lot for translating! *sigh* Awesome but who’s the guy next to him on the poster?
If I’m not wrong, He’s JKS’ friend (?) called Kurt, who’s part of the Lounge H team.
Have you seen Lounge H event pics where there are 2 DJs (one is JKS and the other, i think, is almost always Kurt?)
Tree-J has also signed Kurt on a contract.
yes, you are right. He is a club DJ and JKS’ friend .
JKS is always with kurt at All Lounge H.
and Kurt have composed songs of Lounge H.
At 29th Lounge H they played two songs.
and Kurt is going to compose two more songs for Japan Lounge H.
Thanks aphrael77 & cutecute! I had never heard of him, he’s not bad either 😉
Wow! Hi!
Thank you SO much for , first sharing from Huamop, THEY WERE VERY KIND, and TO YOU , for translation. I was impressed. And I’m impressed by JGS’s performing, which seemed to be that of a great star. HOPE IT WOULD BE THE SAME FURTHER MORE! Congratulations!
Yup, JKS did so well – I wished I was there!
That girl from Huamop did a great job and I suppose she and you are exosted now. I’ve read the article ” in one breathe”. Now rest and later may be we’ll talk again.Bye!
I want to ask you something: how is it the correct WRITTING , GeunSuk or Keun Suk? I saw both variants but I don’t know which is correct, OR …BOTH? and why ther is this difference?Thank you!
Hi magda,
The initial spelling that first appeared was Jang Geun Suk.
But along the way, the spelling of the name has been officially corrected to Jang Keun Suk, with a ‘K’. (I don’t know corrected by who!) But if you look at recent Lounge H pics, even JKS spells his name with a ‘K’ on his posters etc.
The strange thing is, you know Moon Geun Young who acted in “Mary Stayed Out All Night”?
Their “Geun” is the same word, but MGY spells it with a ‘G’!
My personal opinion (and no offence meant), the Koreans are actually not very fussy about ‘G’ and ‘K’ because the pronunciation is about the same to them.
And the confusion over the name spelling / characterization happens in Chinese language too, where the word “Suk” has 2 variants (an earlier version and the currently accepted one). I think this happens when Korean artistes’ names get translated into English or Chinese 🙂
Hi, today, to you!
Thank you for your kind explanation.You’re right, I observed this too as I try to learn A LITTLE Korean and it’s very hard for a ‘romanic language’ speaker as me to make the difference between pronunciations.For instance they have “dtangshineun” for “you” that can be pronounced “d” or “t”. And the ‘romanji’ alphabet only confuse us as they have also round 2 rules of spelling. Any way I like Korean , but I thought you can give me more information as you live in Asia and have more ties with them. I’VE FINISHED WATCHING “BABY AND ME” TOO. So I can say I’m ‘a real fan’, but you see I’m used to get all the information about a subject I’m interested in a certain moment. Do you mind I ask questions in different matters? Be well?
you’re definitely a good researcher! u can ask me anything u like, though not being an encyclopaedia, my answers may not be right 🙂 anyway, I’ll reply faster on Facebook
Thanks!;) 🙂