Kim Nam jin Come-back?

Kim, Nam jin "strong force"

Okay, so years ago I 'liked' Kim Nam jin on Facebook, and this morning while browsing through the new 'pages' there, I eventually came across this post :

김남진 (Kim Nam Jin, キム・ナムジン)[관능의법칙 시사회]

김남진 '우월한 모델 포스'[포토]
media.daum.net
[엑스포츠뉴스 = 김성진 기자] 4일 오후 서울 광진구 자양동 롯데시네마 건대입구점에서 열린 영화 '관능의 법칙' VIP시사회에 김남진이 포즈를 취하고 있다.

Below is the translated (of course) from Hangul version at their Daum.Media website, of which I'm not a member and didn't feel the need to 'create' or 'join', but that isn't the point.

The point is, I'm unable to find anything in real English about him or the movie/drama and haven't been able to for quite some time now. Is this just a picture of him appearing at the Premiere? He's not actually IN the movie but just invited to watch?

Regardless of his age, his status over where he lives, whatever, I adore this man and always have. As some of you may know, my intro to K-Do and very first drama watched was A Thousand Years of Love starring him and another of my favorites, So Ji sup.

Since then I have grown to love, adore, admire, loathe, detest, and come to realistic terms with a host of leading men and women, dramas, movies, and their writers.

Still, nothing can ever compare with that eye-opening moment in life, can it? Which is why I keep a light shining brightly for my Oppa, Nam jin.

I discovered awhile back that he became this sports ambassador of sorts and ended up walking away from (or being dissed by) the model/actor limelight. Again, I have no idea what the truth is because it was impossible to find or understand anything about the guy online.

Yes, I've seen his video

JAURIM(자우림) - 스물다섯, 스물하나

and I even read that he's married - though like everything else about the guy - the facts are sketchy and vague - nonexistent practically. When? To whom? Pictures?

Below I've posted what I could obtain from the Facebook nod, and it would appear my long-awaited wish might finally be coming true? Sir Nam jin will be acting in a movie? With another of my favorites, Miss Jung hwa?

I sure hope it's true, and I hope even more that the REAL title evolves as quickly as my anticipations, and that someone - somewhere will bother to sub the entire thing for me and let me watch it somewhere down the line.

Please don't let this be just another 'Hey, I showed up for another Premiere but I'm not starring in the movie!' publicity shot. Sigh - this might end up being my Where's Waldo chapter in life. What ever happened to this guy, and why isn't he doing anything anymore? Page after page I turn searching and searching for answers that never appear before my eyes.

Excerpt from: Daum

Uhm Jung Hwa, Moon Sori, jominsu 40 actresses, including the representative of the Republic of Korea and the colorful cast of 'Singles',' Some Like It Hot 'and delicately pierce the psychology of women's new director of gwonchilin anticipated film "Law of sensuality' is coming is scheduled to open on the 13th.

[executive Edaily gimhanjun reporter news@tvdaily.co.kr] providing news and press releases news@tvdaily.co.kr [Copyright ⓒ Korean * to *新World Entertainment specializes in online media executive Edaily (www. tvdaily.co.kr) / all rights reserved]

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Shadows in the Palace / 궁녀

2007 Korean movie (horror is the bill) that starred Kim Nam jin as the main nemesis, yet he didn't get any billing at aznv.tv - go figure.

I'm not into horror, scary, occult, voodoo, what-have-you that gives me the creeps and keeps me up at night.

KIM NAM JIN, though!

I had to watch it despite the fear and reservations in my weak heart.

It turned out not to be as horrifying as I anticipated, and everyone at aznv.tv had a hard time understanding the ending, when the wrist or palm was slit - no one seemed to know what it was meant to symbolize.

It's an old-time piece about a nurse who gets killed, or is hanged, or she hangs herself after something bad happened to her, and her ghost continues to haunt the palace - and if I'm not mistaken, she possesses a concubine when this movie begins.

It was noir in the sense that a lot of the scenes took place after dark, leaving the viewer to squint at the screen a majority of the time so as not to miss anything.

Kim's character was a bad-boy palace guard (or something), and he was the one messing with all the pretty ladies, making them sad or angry when he'd love & leave them.

BOY did he die a miserable, if not gruesome death.

Wait - is that a spoiler?

I don't think so - you have to watch this one to judge for yourself.

I just tuned in to stare at Kim for a few hours. ^.^

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Ice Girl / 그녀가 돌아왔다

It's late, but I just finished watching ICE GIRL, and I better blog now, or I might forget what to say.

I chose this drama on Mysoju because it starred KIM NAM JIN, one of my favorite Korean actors. I made it as far as episode seven when I couldn't take it anymore, and I quit the show.

I've figured out by now that the producers must think that unless something tragic happens, no one will be interested. The love story at the beginning was adorable, but it pissed me off that she had to have a rare heart defect and would die. SIGH! An abused concept that actually causes the REVERSE affect on someone like me. I lose interest in stories with this common denominator, and I'm sure I'm not alone, too.

The reason that I stopped watching after episode six completed was because I couldn't TAKE it anymore! What did the beautiful, young orphan Jung Ha-Rok DO to deserve the heart wrenching treatment that he endured all that time? He was very cute, by the way.




Park JinWoo

When I saw the pathetic waste that he became 25 years later, I felt like I might die. My sense of righteousness screamed inside my head, a squelched sob ached inside my throat, and my eyes grew sore from the unshed tears that blurred my vision. What did Jung Ha-Rok DO to have to be forced to live that sort of unjustifiable existence?

Maybe it's because of my own, pitiful existence that I hate so much to see anyone else have to go through the daily BS that I live with that has me rail against such an injustice, I don't know. It's bad enough that there are no answers, or even cures for my own meaningless life, so why should I be forced to have to watch it unfold on anyone else? I couldn't take it anymore, so I stopped watching ICE GIRL. But, after more than a month, I decided to give it another chance. When I quit watching, it was because I couldn't figure out a single way that Jung Ha-Rok would EVER find the happiness that he sought with Kim So-ryung. And then, as it began to turn around for him, it kind a made me feel creepy inside. He needed to let go of his past and start to live for himself, so it was NOT going to help him to get together with the new So-ryung.

This was the first drama that I ever watched where I did not want to see my hero, Ajushi KIM get the girl. In fact, I almost resented the fact that he played a part in his own father's heartache. OH!!! And when they started that bullsh*t about older men and younger women, I wanted to scream. Creepy or gross is 65 & 20, yes? Age is a number, the heart is an organ, and COMPATIBILITY has everything to do with happiness in love. People who think this way must ALSO agree that race, religion, and social status are determining factors in love as well.

SHAME on narrow-minded, prejudiced people like that!

ICE GIRL was not the worst drama that I ever saw, but it was not something that I would ever watch again. I don't even know that I'd recommend it to friends. It was the worst drama that I ever saw Ajushi KIM in, that's for sure! I've been crunching the numbers for awhile too, and it still makes no sense to me how a twenty-four year old can be a Doctor. Isn't it EIGHT years of med school, and THEN you become an intern, or are things different in Korea? Maybe my Ajushi was a genius or something, who knows.

Genius or not, bad drama or not ... he'll always be a Korean drama draw for me.


Kim Nam Jin

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Tropical Nights in December

12월의 열대야 / 12 Wolui Yeoldaeya




Wow.

I requested this one on Mysoju, and it didn't take them long to post, either. I'm so happy that they did! I SOOO lust after Ajushi KIM! Ok, so I guess I actually lust after A LOT of Korean men. But, there is something fascinating about KIM NAM JIN that keeps me coming back for more.


Sigh

Some Korean dramas take their queues from other stories, like My Lovely Sam-soon was modeled after the movie Bridget Jones' Diary, and TNID is unabashedly modeled after Cinderella. They even made sure to have Young-sim's children watch a video of Cinderella, and she read the story to her little girl, too.

Young-sim's hairstyle made me think about Audrey Hepburn's character in Sabrina (starring Humphrey Bogart)

This was good!!! I mean, it was worth watching, it had an interesting plot, and the characters drew me in almost immediately! I was hooked on this show from the first episode, and though I had issues with VEOH a few times, it all worked out and I was able to watch TNID in it's entirety.

I'd like to throttle the idiot that thought to use YELLOW subtitles at the very end, though!!!

Speaking of the end ... WTF? Leave it to Korean writers to NEVER fail in their efforts to PISS ME OFF!!! How can you dare to put your name on things like this? How can you write such FABULOUS work, and then CHUCK IT at the very end?
Damn it, I wanted to see Young-sim in PARIS, taking the lifetime trip that her love could not. I wanted to see TEN YEARS LATER (the time that Ji-hwan took to destroy his doting wife's life) when estranged husband & wife reconcile! For crying out loud, couldn't you AT LEAST have sent her up to GOLDEN MOUNTAIN to spread his ashes?

As touching, moving, and spell-binding as this drama was for me, it stunned me to have not shed tears when Park Jung-woo died. Maybe it was the late night hour that made me too tired? I knew that he'd pass, so I wasn't surprised? It could have been because the entire DRAMA caused me to shed tears that I had little left to offer our poor, forlorn hero at the bitter-sweet end? I may never know.

If Ji-hwan was to ask that his wife think about his feelings ONE MORE TIME, I probably would have sent a heavy object through the computer screen. It's that male chauvinist attitude that makes me want to SCREAM while pulling out my own, precious hair. How can you frickin' look in a MIRROR, let alone ask something so asinine? And yet, toward the end of the show, I began to root for this guy, and I honestly hoped that young-sim would return to her husband. I truly believe in forgiving mistakes, and even those as insurmountable as the one that he made.

NO ONE is as resilient or unbreakable as young-sim, I'm afraid. NO ONE can take the kind of abuse that she did for a WEEK, let alone ten years. It would have made more sense to have the marriage three or five years old, and not ten. And the father-in-law's sudden CHIVALRY toward the end left me feeling quite confused. Ten years later, and you're just NOW going to voice an opinion about your bitch-hag of a wife's cruel and unusual treatment toward one of your daughter's-in-law? WHY? Why the sudden change in attitude, when for ten LONG years, you let it happen? See, three years would have fit better, not TEN.

I'm pretty sure the EVER-PRESENT MESSAGE in this particular drama was that to get married young (like 20 is too young to wed), to have pre-marital sex (there it is again!), and to show fidelity toward the family had to be driven home SOMEHOW.

I really, truly liked this drama, and despite it's flaws, I will probably watch it again some day. Can anyone explain the title to me, though? I know they met in August, and that it was supposed to be hot at the time (though their clothing didn't indicate anything of the sort). What was so tropical, or even WARM about this drama?

Do you suppose they had sex before he died? Implied or otherwise, I can never tell for sure with these Korean dramas unless I actually see them between the sheets.

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Hwangtaejaui Cheotsarang - Prince's First Love

황태자의 첫사랑 / Hwang-tae-ja-ui Cheot-sa-rang / First Love of the Prince / A Prince's First Love



Now, I'll be honest and admit that the only reason I watched this drama was because it starred KIM NAM JIN ~ to me, the FINEST looking Korean Male Actor on the PLANET. Now, I didn't say that he's the greatest actor, that's he's the most-popular actor, or even that I'm madly in love with him. I said he's the FINEST LOOKING KOREAN MALE ACTOR ON THE FACE OF THIS PLANET.



the Face, the Bod, the Eyes, and the Voice ... Ajushi KIM has got it goin' ON!

The title of this drama gave away the ending, and because of my prejudice against him, I did not like, I did not WANT to like the Prince (Cha Tae Hyun). When he did the skit in drag (he makes a damn, fine woman!) I had to change my opinion of him, though.

As MOST Korean dramas go, this one tended to drag on in places, and I'm sorry, but the female lead, (Sung Yu Ri) is pretty, but VERY annoying. She's too girly for the parts they give her, and the way that she constantly bites down on her lower lip makes me want to SMACK her.

I knew it would be too much to ask to see Ajushi KIM with a bared chest, or in a bathing suit, too. The first time that I ever saw him, was when I watched 1,000 Years of Love, and he was half-naked LOTS of times! Yippee!

Prince's First Love was a good story, though. As long as I can stare at Oppa KIM, who cares what else is going on? I spent a majority of the time pausing the screen to take pictures of him, and this is my favorite:



I bet you'll never guess WHY, either!

My only REAL complaint is that they used unprofessional foreigners to portray ENGLISH-SPEAKING tourists or hosts. Is it nepotism, or do the studio executives just pull white people off the street and ask them to play these characters for chump change?? I hope "I" get that lucky when I visit Korea!! At least I'd speak proper ENGLISH for them!

Here's another favorite of Ajushi Kim:



Prince's First Love is worth watching for the breath-taking scenery, Kim Nam Jin, and the pretty theme music. I might watch it again, in the dead of winter, when I'm so OVER the cold & snow that I want to run away to a tropical locale and become a hermit that lives on the beach.

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Hallyu is Hell Yeah!

excerpts from Wikipedia...

"...The Korean wave refers to the recent surge of popularity (in) South Korean popular culture in other countries, especially Asian countries."

The term "Hallyu" (한류, 韓流, 韩流) was coined in mid 1999 by Beijing journalists startled by the growing popularity of South Koreans and South Korean goods in China.

(from Wikipedia...)

"...Success of Korean dramas, a market dominated by the youth, can be attributed to good looking actors and actresses who embody a number of traits that are very familiar to regular drama viewers and popular fantasies among women. Portrayed sensitivity and depth among male characters in Korean dramas attracts much of the female drama viewers."

Hee Hee.

(from Wikipedia...)

"...Korean male celebrities are now among the highest-paid actors outside Hollywood. According to the South Korean media, Winter Sonata star Bae Yong Joon is now charging $5 million a film, the highest in Asia, not counting Jacky Chan and Jet Li, who received US$14 million for the Chinese film 'Warlords' and more for Hollywood films. At least nine other Korean male stars earn more than $10 million a year."

Y'know ... with so many of them out there now, doesn't it seem a bit foolish to make such a demand, considering Mr. Bae isn't the ONLY hot-ass Korean in the biz?

Now, THIS is funny ...

(from Wikipedia...)

"...In 2005, there were signs of a nascent backlash against the "Korean wave", initiated by Asian men who resented the "beautifying" of Korea by the media. The growing "Hallyu" wave mainly attracted female viewers, who become increasingly attracted to Korean male actors."

Jealousy ... I LOVE IT!! And, isn't it ironic, how the human mind works? I mean, up until this point, did those, same men EVER care about what a woman felt?

Can you hear the fellas in Asia, whining about something this ridiculous to their better half?

"C'mon baby! Life is boring, I suck, and this is as good as it gets 'til we die. What's so wrong with that? Why you wonna go & CHANGE things?"

Strange, too, that the tension between those, three nations (China, Korea, and Japan) has not changed much since before World War II, and yet the world keeps spinning.

As a woman, I'm naturally curious. What do you suppose Wikipedia would have to say about Hallyu if the situation were reversed, and it was the female of the actor species that happened to be the ones to burst onto the scene, to drive an entire race of starry-eyed men stark, raving mad? Should I believe that some Southeast Asian government officials would have still felt the need to threaten such evasive action as to BAN Korean broadcasts? Or, would there ever have been the need for the creation of a Japanese Manga that exploits the hateful propagation of all things Korean?

I doubt it.

You go, Song Il Gook! Pull back hard and sling those mighty, Jumong arrows at the silly critics while I bask in the glorious sunshine at a hotel on Fiji, sipping Coffee Prince specials.

Hyun Bin honey, come rub me down with some lotion. And DO keep bitching about how much weight I've gained.

That's right, force me to summon the REAL prince, Kim Nam Jin, to kick your spoiled, sexy ass from one end of this beach to the other.

And, while y'all are duking it out, Mr. bad-ass, cool name, Oh Ji Ho, will you please do something about Mr. Henney? That dazzling smile is about as blinding as the noon day sun. Thank you, incredible.

You two, exquisite sculptures just stand there and flex those muscles for me, while I gaze upon cutie-pie Lee Min Ki, who has graciously volunteered to keep that feather fan in motion.

Why has it suddenly become so hot around here, anyway?

"Hey! Kwon Hae Hyo! Get me another Mai-Tai, babe!"

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