i agree - worst Birthday ever for JiHoon.
and yes - eww on the smuggling method - though it goes to show how ingenious people can be.

wanna bet this will change the way people are body checked when going through customs???

i am not looking forward to seeing the list of names and wish they would reveal them to get them over and done with so we can all move on.

i get the impression thouygh the press love this sort of thing and will string it out as much as possible

Really sad that this happened...
Really sad for Prince Shin... :(

But then again, he should be responsible for their action.

That's really really a nasty thing. I don't know what to say about it because it's so gross. And I have to say, I liked Joo Ji-hoon in Goong and Antique but... if everything is true... Even the fans should distance from Joo Ji-hoon. Because he has to take the responsibility and fans should not take the part of a defender... There is a point in this story where "fanship" is not a good thing.

i don't know why, but i feel incredibly sorry for Joo Ji Hoon. i hope he can somehow bounce back from this because he's actually a very decent actor.

Javabeans, thank you for clarifying that JJH was NOT caught smuggling or selling the drugs, just using them as different websites were reporting different things. I know I can trust you to get it right. Of course, for JJH's career, that won't really matter as, either way, it's ruined, perhaps forever. I have difficulty drudging up even a bit of sympathy for him because he brought this all on himself. On principle, I am against drugs, using or selling but mostly, I am disappointed at JJH for being so stupid as to think that someone with so much exposure to the public eye as himself he could get away with it unnoticed. On the other hand, I admire him very much as an actor and feel that it will be a great loss to the industry. But then again, after the whole Edison Chen and the leaked X-rated photos scandal, it was predicted that the careers of the women who were in the leaked photos would be over forever but some, like Gillian Chung, have managed to make a comeback of sorts. Maybe in time, the public will be able to forgive him this. But really, does he deserve to be forgiven? I'm in two minds about that. I don't want to be sanctimonious but I find it hard to sympathize.

When I saw this, I was really shocked. I knew that Korean actors do drugs but not popular actors like JiHoon. He had a lot to lose and I think he'll figure it out soon. Struggling actors with no money and name, I can see them doing drugs but JiHoon...it was really stupid in his part.

As for hiding the drugs, I've seen people (on TV) put them in a condom or small balloons and stick it up their rectum. I've seen them put the ballons INSIDE dogs...horrible. I frankly don't see the point in doing drugs. There are more reasonable and better ways to deal with anger, anxiety and all other emotions. As for selling..don't rack up debts if you can't pay it. You see people with nice designer things and you admire them for being so wealthy. You don't see the whole picture...and this situation pretty much sums it up.

Ah, I feel safer already knowing that those crotch-sniffing airport dogs and their trainers are out there keeping us all safe from hard-partying celebrites. Maybe trafficing these substances was the only way this actress could come up with to keep herself from becoming a part of the diner menu for all of those sex-crazed casting directors and executives...

As for drugs being the subject of K-dramas...WHY???

If I really want to see drug use, the consequences of using it, and why people use it...I would watch Intervention on A&E or watch the movie Traffic. It will be better than some fluffed up version in a Kdrama.

I personally can't watch hardcore druggies that shoot up. I always turn the channel or close my eyes during movies.

2009 has really lifted the veil on the Korean entertainment industry, and how difficult it can be for those trying to make it. I'm not talking about JJH, but the one that only a few people probably care about. Yoon Seolhee's life is effectively over. I hope she has family to fall back upon, and has people who can take care of her after she gets out of prison.

I feel a great sadness for those who feel like they gave it their best shot, failed, and now have a ton of people they owe money to, and feel like they have no way out. Or for those who feel like they have no choice but to do things that they wouldn't otherwise do if not for the lure of stardom. I have a good deal of empathy, and I wish things were different for them.

BUT, I don't reserve my empathy for these folks alone. It is hard EVERYWHERE, not just in the entertainment industry. How many people these days are out of work, with or without families to support, and crushed by stress and mounting debt, and failed expectations?

Life is hard for just about everybody, and sometimes we have to reel back our dreams. We can't all be movie stars, music artists, and sports stars. We can't all make it to med school, law school, dental school, work at the big investment banks or management consulting firms. Not everyone finds true love and happiness forever, raising the perfect family and so on. We just try to do our best to survive and be happy.

And kudos and much love to those who try and do things the right way, even if they fail.

-Samsooki

* teary eyed *

JiHoon....Fighting!!!!!!

One in particular is “a famous singer who appears on television talk shows frequently".

> Lee Hyori? o_O

thanks JavaB, for the updates....... *bursting into tears again!*

"I know the situation isn’t funny, but this tidbit is as hilarious as it is gross: Yoon smuggled the drugs past customs by inserting them into a menstrual pad (ewww!), which she then wore over an extra pair of underwear."

Yes, while that is funny in a way its not really all that gross. I don't imagine it was a used sanitary napkin. So essentially it equivalent to putting the drugs into a layer of cotton or gauze..stuffing it between to pair of undies and wearing it around.

Funny story: I had tumors removed from my sinuses at the age of 17 (the good old days)...the surgery was all done through my nose with no cuts to the face so all the wounds were concealed in my sinus cavities. Well wouldn't you now that as gauze/packing material I had a tampon stuck up each nostril for a week........with the strings taped to the side of my nose..........I still laugh when I think about how that looked......painful when they removed them though.

Not sure why I decided to share that....... >.<

Would the military want him? He's a drug user. Wouldn't that automatically disqualify him? I am not Korean and don't know much about Korean military obligations but I am sure being a drug user isn't accepted qualities in an Armed Forces member. Personally, I wouldn't feel safe with him in the military.

Let's hope he gets treatment.

Interesting observation:

I was reading the comments on this story on another K-culture site and a significant number of them were discussing how this behaviour is not a career killer in America and how it's not really a big deal (which isn't to say the writers support drug use)...

Example: "He’ll bounce back, no biggie as long as he isn’t hard core"

However, on the same site, an article which shows a clip from a Girls Generation performance has garnered some harsh criticism! Why you might ask?? Because they were lip-synching and the track skipped...proving that they were not singing live! The horror.

Example: "For reals, American fans would be furious. I’m kinda mad that this is like a benefit concert at a hospital, why not just do it live?"

Interesting priorities for some!

i'm really disappointed by joo ji-hoon, especially after watching his film (antique bakery) which i LIKE so much!! whew....... it adds more to my disappointment.......

i have a bad feeling that there's going to be a suicide story after all of this mess.

"“a famous singer who appears on television talk shows frequently.” "

I wonder who that is :/

And I'm glad Tokyo Tower isn't canceled >.<

As for JJH... no words.

Am I a cynic if I say that this really does not surprise me? I'm more surprised that there aren't more scandals of drug use, sex, videotapes in the Asian entertainment industry like there is in Europe and the US considering how most people love to read about scandals.

I'm sure this will blow over - just look how people re-embraced Britney...

Not gonna lie, that's an ingenuous way to smuggle drugs.

Sucks for JJH, though.. His birthday's gonna be awful. D:

I really wanna know who that singer is. o.o

hahaha
"Tags: bad behavior"
xD

@eveningstar201: well, edison chen himself have made a comeback as well in the hk movie "sniper".

@b020: u have to really look at societal differences. korea really take drug offences really seriously. all the more for an a-lister like jjh.

it may blow over...but it definitely won't take a 'short' time like britney. he may spend his life trying to recover that damaged reputation.

i sincerely wish that korean entertainment won't be as crazy as hong kong or western entertainment. that is one of the reason i dig korean ent.

@iDB@work: that would really suck. i hope those psychiatrists would quickly do something about it. they already have that warning bell.

"Worst. Birthday. Ever."

i think bout the stain upon all his other birthdays to come. i can almost imagine the conversation going:
"oh, remember that one year he canceled his birthday celebration?"
"yeah, he got busted for drug use."

yup, people never forget the worst of others.

"One in particular is “a famous singer who appears on television talk shows frequently.” "

THIS IS NOT GOOD. THIS IS SERIOUSLY NOT GOOD.

i have to brace for the worst to come.

@lenrasoon.

Hael No, my world would come crashing down if it was Hyori. I'm guessing a less well-loved singer....Chaeyeon? Brian?!?! Tei?????!!! The possibilities are endless.

Yoon smuggled the drugs past customs by inserting them into a menstrual pad

OMG that is effin' GROSS!!!

Terribly sad. What are the chances (in percentage) that he can actually save his career?

Sarah, thanks for the update! tag: bad behaviour! LOL

Ooh I just can imagine what will happen when the other names are revealed. Chaos, complete and utter chaos. As for the singer...man, if it's one of the, say, SuJu boys, there's going to be draaaama!

It seems that every year something surprising comes up...and this is definitely one of them...

I was horrified with the ingenious method for smuggling the drug. O.O

It is unfortunate that these young and talented kids must resort or are pressured to such things in order to get into the perfect "shape" or be in the perfect "mode."

The unnamed singer has been described as a “kkot-minam,” aka a pretty boy.

I am thinking Junjin or SJ members.......... Please no to neither of my guesses. :(

Aww, sh*t, there are plenty of pretty boys on variety shows and Sere mentioned the Suju boys which makes me think of Heechul. Please tell me it isn't so!

THe pretty boy is Gdragon xD
KIDDING.
But that would explain the weird hairstyles :]

@31 - That last bit makes me think JunJin of Shinhwa for some reason. Just for the sheer fact that he's on a few reality shows and I consider him a "pretty boy" but I am in now way accusing him (don't want Shinhwa fans on my butt).

As for JJH, I'm still going to be a fan of his. Yes, he made a mistake which a lot of people see as a big mistake and I agree but you can't totally write him off or be an anti for making mistakes. He will definitely be reprimanded and his career will never be the same. I agree with the person (#6) who said he needed to state an apology to his fans, if he still wants those fans to stick with him. Second, he definitely needs to step away from the spotlight and wait till this ordeal passes and the public can move on to the next big scandal. His best bet would be to go ahead with his military service since he has to anyways.

Like Robyn said (#6) Robert Downey Jr. had a history of drug use but is now regarded as one of Hollywood's best actors. People make mistakes and of course Korean Entertainment industry standards are different from Hollywood's but they can't totally write off someone because of a mistake like this. He needs to get the right punishment and then let him continue on with his work if he desires to continue as an actor.

That "pretty boy" is shaking in his boots right now. He'd be shaking even more once he does rehab.

"The unnamed singer has been described as a “kkot-minam,” aka a pretty boy. O_O"

Do they just mean a pretty boy in general... or are they hinting at BOF cast >.>

Doesn't LMH smoke alot, HJ drinks alot, Kim Joon and his dark circles............... yeah I'm getting carried away XD

If it wasn't for the fact that this person is a pretty boy and goes on shows alot, I would have guessed Andre Kim -.-

This is no longer about simply JJH, but now a mystery game of who the other people involved are :O

awww i feel bad for ji hoon even if he deserved it.

what the hell? michael phelps can do pot and nobody cares, but this???

@ Tippy, #18

Yeah, that's really interesting.

I am going through the 2nd episode of Story of A Man. There was a prison scene where Park Yong Ha/Kim Shin where his sister in law visited him and he told her not to visit him anymore and don't even write. Reason being relatives of people doing time are targets too?!

I have some appreciation for Korean's culture and society during my travels there. But obviously not enough to understand why the "down trodden" have very little social standing in this society. Life is hard. But looks like it's even harder in Korea.
I can't help but feel for Sol-hee, Hak Young and JJH and their families, plus those whose names are yet to be mentioned.

Does this mean that these people and their families would have to move to some remote parts of Korea, out of the country perhaps to avoid being ostracized? Would a native Korean enlighten me, please?

oh boy. ecstasy and ketamine? those are some pretty hard drugs ... truthfully speaking, as good as an actor he may have been, he might as well kiss his acting career away.

CRAP!!! Ohh man!!...ok, this is ridic! Well. good thing to know he wasn't selling.

@42, omo -

I've not seen Story of a Man, but generally speaking, in dramas when someone says to another, "don't show your face to me again, don't call, don't write, etc.," it isn't necessarily literal, it is emotive. That is to say, the equivalent English idiomatic expression would be something like "your very presence / the sight of you / even just thinking about you makes me sick." With respect to the English expression, it isn't that the sight of someone actually makes a person physically ill, the phrase "makes me sick" is just an expression that conveys disgust and anger and deep-seated emotional antagonism. Similarly, saying that kind of thing "don't show your face to me again, don't call, don't write, etc." conveys the same basic conveyance of disgust.

And, somewhat interestingly, either way you translate it (figurative or literal), the Korean phrase will have the same basic effect:

If Person A says to Person B, "you disgust me" (the figurative meaning). We can infer that Person B should probably not hang out with Person A.

If Person A says to Person B, "don't show your face to me again" (literal meaning). We can also say that Person B should probably not hang out with Person A.

Now, in Korea, there is an element of shared familial burden with respect to bad things that happen. Actually, now that I think about it, this is true of many cultures not just in Korea, so I don't think it is that uncommon. In New York, for example, if you try to find any extended members of the Madoff family still remaining in various social circles, I doubt you will succeed. They've all gone underground, and for good reason.

-Samsooki

My guess is Kim Hyung Joon from Boys Over Flower...She looks like he's out all the time.

I meant he looks like he's out all the time

I really wish he wouldn't get dropped from the drama. It was MARCH 2008. It's been so long. And he only used it twice. It's really not bad. He seemed like the type to do it anyways. ughhh! I really hope he comes back with stuff. I have a feeling I won't see him for a while.

It'll be interesting to see what sort of deal Yoon Seol-hee got to reveal names. I'm hoping that she wasn't stupid enough to take others down with her for no reason. As for her career being over, seems like there never really was one. Working in Gangnam bars and dealing? Lovely.

It's also interesting how each person's mind works. As soon as I read "a famous singer who appears on television talk shows frequently", I thought of Alex. Don't ask why, no real reason, it just popped into my head.