How come most of the fanmeetings we hear about are in Japan? How come korean entertainers want to branch out in Japan?

Yeah..Why do they want to branch out in japan? I've noticed it before but only thought to ask it now since someone's asking it too. hehe :)

the gown she's wearing in the last picture, is it some sort of modern hanbok?

Yes..that's a real question? Why Japan?? I understand that some of the fans are in Japan as well...but MOST of them are in Korea, right??
Its kind of funny ..

Um...they want to branch out in Japan because....money? Seems pretty obvious.

It would be interesting if American culture had something like this. I guess the closest we've got is comic-con, but that's just talk-show. Hm.

OoOOOoooo, her hanbok thing is interesting.. I really like that colour. *a sucker for burgundy* :3

I've always liked Eun-hye. She's not the greatest actress, but I always enjoy watching her, and she seems like she'd be a fun person to meet in real life. ^^

Eun Hye unnie looks soo pretty in these pictures...Especially the last picture :) I really like the "modern" hanbok that she's wearing! The Japanese fans said that she sang Perhaps Love (from the Goong ost) at the fanmeet...I have always wanted to hear her sing it...Btw the Lady Casltle casting is really taking a long time...It's been more than three months already no? Anyways I can't wait to watch it. By the way, are you going to watch Lady Castle JAVABEANS?

Re - Japan Fanmeeting

Just some ideas -
Investment. Up coming projects (Drama/Movie, Release of Album) checks out the fanbase. Publicity both sides of the ocean. Few quiet meetings with the Investors/Buyers.

Supply and Demand. Test the waters for future sales/release or showing in cinemas or/and on TV ( + many of the above )

Fan Control. Fans can be involed in smaller numbers, in Korea this could lead to huge turnouts. ( + many of the above )
After a fanmeeting in Japan the Korean Fans will be sure to turnout at the next event in their home country. Clever Marketing.

Sure as eggs, IF Shin Hye Sung came here I would shell out to get to see/hear him.

Im guessing they like meeting fans in Japan and Im assuming they get paid quite a bit by organisers for these meetings.

As for Lady Castle it seems a bit iffy for me, I don't want her first project in two years to be mediocre, she's talented enough, I hope its good.

last outfit, modern hanbok -- spectacular. just wish her hair was up to match the look of the dress.

I suppose they go to Japan because they can make more money?

Particularily for singers, usually more popular/top singers in Japan sell more albums than in Korea (Some people can sell up to 100,000 first day/wk, while in Korea... not so easily.) And they have more concerts, more audience are able to go = earn more.
For actors, I guess that could be the same. I guess they just use whatever popularity they have to make money.

Either way, she looks pretty ^^

She looks super pretty but for some reason tired.
I'm excited for her comeback :]

She looks nice with the hair extensions...she should really grow her hair back like that.
Anyway, she's 24?!! R U sure about that? erm...i believe she was born in 1981, that makes her 28.

@ hmmmmm Yoon Eun Hye was born on October 3, 1984

She looks great with long hair, like an angel.
I just love YEH! She just hasthis aura that makes you melt.

YEH is still as pretty as ever.
Can't wait to watch her in Lady Castle, I really miss her acting. Although, yeah, I hope the drama will be able to complement her talent.

Love the color of the hanbok. Dang, why didn't I get a burgundy one? :(

Still no word on the male lead for Lady Castle?

oh i love the ruffled sleeves on that b&w dress
and the hanbok is awesome, too.

"How come korean entertainers want to branch out in Japan?"

The Japanese market is over THREE times the size of the Korean market.

Having popularity in Japan not only translates to more $$ for the star, it also ensures that the star's future projects will get financed (many Korean productions lose $$ unless they get a distribution deal in Japan).

It's the same reason why so many British and Australian (and to a lesser extent New Zealand and South African) actors end up in the US.

The added benefit for them is that there is no language barrier so they can also be cast as Americans.

I'm guessing many Korean celebrities have fanmeetings in Japan because:
1) geographically speaking, it's close to Korea
2) the Hallyu wave is big there
3) it's quite profitable

i think that's why a lot of kpop singers release music there too. idk. and i agree, YEH is really pretty and her dress in the last picture is gorgeous. =)

Lady Castle.... ask Hyun Bin to act beside her.. heeee ..... the male lead is still undecided yet right...

Greeting from California Yeh. U have a fan base in Cali, i hope to start a fan club here soon. I'm busy rght now but I hope I can get my buddies to help me out soon. We luv you!

I've only seen her in Coffee Prince, but i really liked the job she did in it! I was very impressed with her and Gong Yoo.

Better them branching out in Japan - where they are appreciated and the yen comes in handy - then trying to branch out in USA (where they are paid peanuts and they have to do stupid things and/or do stuff that they would never do for their fans in Asia). Hint : Rain & Se7en.

I think that Yoon Eun Hye is pretty awesome as an actress.

What's interesting is that I was pre-disposed against her because of her k-pop background coming as a cute face replacement in Baby VOX, so had she sucked in Goong, I would have written her off then.

But she actually held her own in Goong initially (which held my interest enough to continue to watch), and then she more than held her own as her character showed flashes of brilliance as the series progressed. I was pretty darn surprised, and I found that she had that "something special" thing, the "it" that made her the center of attention. I'm still not sure what that "it" is, but there is no question that YEH had it.

Then came Coffee Prince, and in the beginning, I was a bit annoyed by the character of Go Eun Chan because it was mostly slapstick and silly. But as the series progressed, YEH brought a fresh maturity the role that was surprising to me, completely unexpected. YEH is a young actress, and to see the range she has shown is pretty special. Maybe a lot of it is the writing, the ideas and the directing that has made her seem even better than she really is, but it is hard to argue against her abilities at this point.

I know what you mean, JB. Never thought there would a be a lot of haters in your blog (especially about some actors...).

YEH's still looking pretty after all these years. I hope she does a movie, not just a series.

And how come most Korean stars don't visit the Philippines (or other southeast asian countries) for fanmeetings? Nah. Just wondering. I know money is involved and knowing the Philippine industry, I wouldn't expect much, unless a Kactor is really, really famous there. I only mentioned it cause Kdramas are very popular back there.

She looks fantastic in the last photo...that is one gorgeous hanbok style dress!! Very pretty indeed!

Question? Why do a lot of fan meetings centre around the star's birthday?? Is this typical of Korea only?

@14 hmmm, YEH was born on Oct 1984, so JB got her age right :)

there's just something about YEH that draws you in. I agree with Samsooki, she has that "it" factor.... something that one can't develop no matter how hard one tries.
I think that's what separates her from a pool of equally good actors. So many good actors in the field but only a handful who possess innate gift to draw or even own the viewers' attention....
can't wait for Lady Castle, I hope her extension is an indication that LC production is in progress already ;)

She looks so beautiful in the first photo!

I have high expectations for Lady Castle, I hope it turns out a great k-drama.

About the last burgundy dress:

I thought it an empire-waist dress.
Not a hanbok, are there sleeve-less hanboks? I don't know.

Either way, it's a great dress, very flattering.

I notice that Yoon Eun-hye attracts a lot of polar opposite opinions (not only on this site). You either LOVE her or HATE her. I don't see a lot of in between actually.

I love Yoon Eun-hye like crazy, and CoffeE Prince will never be dethroned as my favorite drama of all time (and let me tell you I've seen hundreds of dramas, started watching when I was like 5 lol) but I wish she would get her teeth fixed
That sounds awful but I just have this weird obseession for nice teeth.
But other than that I <3 her!

Ditto, Gracegracegrace. I wish she'd spend some of her money on dental work. Should have done that on her paycheck. She's already blessed with so many physical assets without any enhancements (I think). Nice teeth will make her perfect - to me, at least.

^maybe she doesn't aspire to be perfect.
There are people out there who are happy with the way they are and confident enough about themselves.
I think it's admirable that she's not like one of those celebs who's obsessed about looking perfect.
She's adorable just the way she is and her imperfections makes her more human. Besides, she doesn't need to look perfect, her personality makes up for every imperfection.

i love her! her bunny teeth are kawaii!
Lady Castle please give us some details!

I have to disagree w/ Samsooki.

YEH totally overacted and overdid the whole "cutesy" thing in "Goong" (which probably why it was such a hit w/ teenieboppers) - but I chalk much of that to the script and direction from the PD.

Otoh, in the film "The Legend of Seven Cutter" (which I think YEH filmed before
"Goong" ) YEH played a tomboy and one could clearly see that she had the charisma and raw talent to succeed as an actress, even tho she was a bit raw (YEH was the best part of the film and I had no idea who she was when I watched it - so no bias there).

As for CP, I never thought YEH's Go Eun Chan was "slapstick" or "silly" - yeah, there was constant humor about GEC's unending appetite and strength throughout CP, but I just found that simply hilarious due to all the prior commentary about YEH's prodigious appetite and strength during her run on X-Man.

The difference in YEH's acting from Goong and CP was night and day (it probably helped that CP had a much better script/dialogue, as well as a more talented director).

And I agree that YEH has that special charisma/"it" quality that only a few other Korean actresses have (such as Jeon Ji Hyun and Shin Min Ah). This was evident early on from her appearance on X-Man (it's no coincidence that the ratings for X-Man started to slide once YEH left the show).

I am actually glad she has not fixed her teeth. She gives other talented actors/actresses out there a reason to keep trying to make it in the business. There are enough obsessions already regarding actors/actresses having perfect or near perfect faces and bodies. Granted those are somewhat important since it attracts viewers, it's just refreshing to see she is confident about her appearance and does not let it affect her talent.

And maybe I'm responding about this because I have imperfect teeth too (not always but since my wisdom tooth came out) and have come to terms with the imperfection....though sometimes I still wish it doesn't show so bad in pictures!

@36, bd -

Heh. if I agree with you, but you disagree with me, does that mean that I disagree with myself?

Your points are good, but I'm not sure which parts are ones you disagree with me. Maybe we disagree with her portrayal of Shin Chae Kyung in Goong. I also think it was a little bit over the top and cutesy at parts, but that was part of the story. It starts off with "what if Korea was a constitutional monarchy and what if the crown prince was bound to marry a commoner"? With that kind of beginning, and Kang Nam (there is no such thing as "over the top") Gil thrown in, and the fact that it is based off of a comic book, I am guessing they started down that road. Drama characters often change as the filming progresses, as actors get more comfortable with one another and start to develop their own ideas about how to play the roles.

If you watched the post drama interviews and other special stuff that are in the DVD box set, you might remember that JJH and YEH did not get along in the beginning, from the first sit-down walkthrough of the script, and it took a long time for them to be able to talk to each other about how they felt the roles were progressing. So, given the circumstances, I think that YEH did a good job in Goong, and I can imagine how badly the character of Shin Chae Kyung could have ended up. I would have had no qualms about stopping Goong and just buying something else.

@ cosmopolite
You know I noticed that too people either like or her or don't liker her
It's either one or the other when I here or read people talk about her

I like her teeth, she's normal just like us, she doesn't fix what she was born with (I have no problem with stars getting surgery though because it's their body what right do I have to call the plastic)

I find her acting endearing, I can't stop watching her because I know each time she's improving. There's a lot of actresses in Korea who don't even improve they stay the same and the only reason some people watch them is because of their face and how appealing they look when they act.

Honestly?

I'm not a big fan of hers. I don't think she's that attractive. I'm not flaming her, by any means, just saying that she's not my cup of tea.

And I don't understand why, either (I mean, why don't I find her appealing?). She was okay in Goong, I mean, I liked her WHILE I was watching Goong. Maybe my irritation with her character spilled over onto the actress? Main reason why I still haven't watched Coffee Prince. I'm just not that big of a fan.

But I do have irrational dislike towards a lot of actors (and at least I can admit that it's irrational!). For example, HATE Sienna Miller (but that might be because she was with my main man, Jude Law). Also, HATE Kate Bosworth (which is strange because I didn't mind her before she dated Orlando Bloom, but even after I stopped finding Bloom attractive, which was a WHILE ago, I still don't really like her).

Hmm. . .I think this also stems from seeing a lot of 'actors' do all these promotional things, but without any merit, you know? Like Kate Bosworth. Not a great actor, yet she shows up to all these events all the time. I don't get it. Why? Also Garcelle Bu'something. She hasn't been in anything since the 90's! Why does she show up to all the fashion and awards?

Eh, this was a long post. Anyways, I don't really dislike YEH, I just haven't had any reason to really like her. I'm hoping she does a project that I get really invested in.

love her hanbok.

im looking fwd to her new drama!

"And I don’t understand why, either (I mean, why don’t I find her appealing?). She was okay in Goong, I mean, I liked her WHILE I was watching Goong. Maybe my irritation with her character spilled over onto the actress? Main reason why I still haven’t watched Coffee Prince. I’m just not that big of a fan."

- mishane -

Don't go what you saw in Goong - YEH's acting wasn't that great and the drama really wasn't that good.

CP and YEH's acting as Eun Chan are on a totally diff. level (CP starts a little slow but gets really good around ep 6).

For instance, my only exposure to Gong Yoo prior to CP was his role as the school bully in "My Tutor Friend" and his lead role in "Spy Girl" - needless to say, I was underwhelmed.

GY's role as Han Gyul in CP totally changed my opinion of him as an actor (it's amazing what a good role in a very good series can do w/ one's impression of an actor).

she is a good actress and endearing on a personal level too! her acting in CP was amazing - she and Gong Yoo are the reasons why i can re-watch the series when i'm bored and want some "comfort food"

She's gorgeous, especially in that last picture. <333
I can't wait to see her new drama; Coffee Prince was so, so, soooooooo long ago.

i LOVE goong!!!! I thought her acting was great. I mean she did mentioned in the drama that sometime her "acting happy" was just a front to cover up her loneliness. Its one of my all time favorite drama! And she does not need to fix her teeth. It adds character to her personality. It's people like you, that makes everyone feel that they need to get "worked on". shame on you!

i like her!!! there...i like her...she's very talented and pretty. you can put her in any character and in any genre..she does it soo well. i find her crying scenes really cute!!! she's like a 2 year old kid when she cries in her dramas...rreally ...such a cutie..