My, my, my, he sure looks handsome in his army suit..can't wait till he's back and what a brave decision to take a different route...my guy sure is cool.

handsome as always. reminds me of the nine-tailed fox drama he was in looking good as detective.

I had no idea there was an entertainers unit in the army. I hope I don't seem ignorant, but dramabeans or anybody, can you tell me the difference between them?

Do the entertainers do anything differently while in the army?

Wow... he still looks cute as ever... :)... maybe even cuter now...

Glad to hear that he's in active duty.. it seems more "real" and it makes him look more masculine and genuine for going that route instead of joining the entertainment unit (even though I know they play an important role also ;)).

that second pic with the smiley dog is SO ADORABLEEE, i want onee (the dog lol)

i love the fact that JHJ is being as "normal" as possible. he looks happy and healthy... and mighty fine in his suit. lol. nowadays, most male celebs keep on delaying their army duty with so-called health reasons, and then they have a drama and/or a movie to film. if you have health problems, why are you exhausting yourself even more with night and weather shoots? another thing i don't get is the entertainment unit... is it only for celebs? if it is, then why have it? the whole point of army duty is serving your country. celebs or not, everyone needs to be treated the same.

wish i were the dog in the first picture.
he is so darn sexy in his military uniform, and he's the only actor I have seen who managed to retain his sexy, good looks despite the army buzz cut.
glad that he decided to be an active duty soldier forging a path different from that taken by most celebrities. he may not be the first celebrity to do this but he sure is doing a great job as an ordinary soldier because he's been promoted twice already since his enlistment.
congratulations JHJ, your parents must be very proud to have raised a son like you.

Hah....A lot of entertainers dread mandatory military service and I can't blame them bc it takes them out of their hard earned spotlight :( But hopefully when they get out they can kick off to a good new start :)

Woo Hoo!

Kamsahamnida for posting news about about one of my fav. Korean actor!
A million Thanks!

Wow! Still look gorgeous as ever! The army hair cut looks good on him, reminds me of one of his movie. (another soldier one, I think the title was GP). I too, am glad that he enlisted as an ordinary soldier. So proud of him. He sure can carry a uniform with sexiness. :) Can't you tell I'm drooling? *wiping it as I typed this* Funny thing is I was watching "Only You" then decided to click on your page and BAM!!! News about JHJ. So happy!!!
he he hehe he

Wish him all the best!

Thanks for the posting this blurb and update, Javabeans! I have a very very special place for Jo Hyun Jae in my heart, because his Seodonyo with Lee Bo Young was THE FIRST k-drama I ever watched. And I loved the drama, though in hindsight it was probably not as amazing as I thought it was. Nonetheless, JHJ was adorable to my newbie eyes, and I am glad to read that he's actually enjoying and appreciating his army service. He looks great with a crew cut, I can't wait for his return in another year!

wow...he's more handsome than before.....*GUSHES*

@#3 (Blakey) yes, there's a difference between the entertainers unit and the regular unit. in the regular unit, after basic training, the soldiers/trainees are put to different units. they either become part of the air force to learn how to fly lol, or they are put into the active duty unit, which means that they learn to shoot various guns and to fight in an actual war. the entertainment unit doesn't go on to learn this specifics; they just receive basic training and then they are just there to entertain the rest of the soldiers. they don't go on night guard, like jo hyun jae :) i'm glad he's in the regular unit. i kind of find it....cowardly for entertainers to run away from doing their duties by just going into the entertainment unit, not to look down on them or anything, because they do still do drills and stuff...

@ sophia and dramabeans
thank you so much for clarifying everything. i never knew all that before, but I'm glad I know now. Thank you for informing me! ^_^

He definitely looks good in that uniform. I'm not a big fan of JHJ but reading this post, made me see him in a different light. He seems more mature and stronger (character included) now that he is serving the army.

To read about an actor encouraging entertainers to enlist in the army is refreshing. I have read about lots of actors/entertainers trying to dodge or even dread army duty.

Thanks JavaB!

Was lol when i read the words "entertainers' unit"... I was mumbling,
"oohhh...they have an entertainers' unit! So is that like a "get-together" unit of all the cuties and celebs, and a "special task force" to entertain the..umm... enemies?!...."

Good thing JavaB explained further.... ^-^

that link is great. Gave me a good amount of knowledge on Korean Military... i have been curious about the military coz the celebs seem to dread or procastinate their military services....

*sigh* men in uniforms...they always look clean and hot!....

Love this guy ever since Love Letter. I'm so glad to see that he's doing well in his military service

I respect his decision to stay in the regular army. I'm sure he's much stronger (mentally) and mature from it. I think his experience will indirectly benefit his career later.

Looks good and doing great in the Army. Infact saw his movie 'GP 506' awesome horror army flick. But love him most in '3 Daddy 1 Mommy', 'Untold Scandal', 'Only You'..

thanks v much javabeans for this article on JHJ - one of my favorite K actors! he looks good and handsome as always & it's great to see him and hearing from his own words about the military and how he patrols every night! i hope 2 yrs wld go by so fast so we can see them back safe & sound. May God keep them safe in their duties!

more entertainers should enlist. i find that they usually come out of the service looking soooooo much yummier than when they went in. :D

5.5 km daily patrol, no wonder he's looking trim, fit and healthy! seems like his dog has taken on some of JHJ's persona - in that second picture the dog seems to be smiling for the camera too!!!!

he's the sexiest dog trainer i've ever seen. i wouldn't wonder if after he leaves the military he ends up endorsing a dog food product or becoming an advocate of an animal rights group, he looks so in sync with his dogs. he looks so confident and so manly in handling his dogs, and his dogs seem to know who their master is the way they stay confidently by his side.

sophia, you nailed it when you said that entertainers who enlist as entertainment soldiers seem like cowards. it's a bit like cheating too, 'no? like a college graduate taking the exam for a younger brother who's in high school.

JHJ's parents should be commended for giving good advice to their son, and JHJ too for listening to his parents words.

If you've never served in the military and never will, I don't think you're in any place to call someone else cowardly. Easy to judge when you'll never have to do it yourself, huh?

hey, andy, why are you being so defensive? cool it, okay!
i may be a woman, but i am a member of my country's reserve force. i may not be sent to fight in a war, but i do get sent on rescue missions whenever there is a disaster. cowardly, 'no?

I am really glad to see him to be doing fine whilst serving his country. Now, am glad that despite of all the bad rumors about him last year hopefully it is behind him now. He didn’t really answer or justify himself then, however, am satisfied that he didn’t. He just went in and did his work. Like the old saying says “let the action speaks for itself”. Now that I heard this news about him, looking happy, physically fit and seems to be adjusting really well. I couldn’t be happier for him. Not to mention having two promotions that speaks for itself. Going through the hard route just shows his integrity as a man.

Thank you for posting this article and photos. I lept of job and drooled seeing them.
I became JHJ's fan after watching Potato Boy. Love Letter is one of my favorite K-dramas . I am so happy and proud that he chose regular service and that he is doing so well. Can't wait for him to return to acting.

love the second pic - both JHJ and his dog are smiling for the camera!!! so glad to see JHJ happy and healthy!!! so glad too that he decided to become an active duty soldier - he comes across as very responsible, mature and unconcerned about his good looks and star status. he's setting a good example for fellow celebrities. i was really disappointed when some of my fave celebs decided to join the entertainment unit, it made them look less manly in my eyes. i understand about those celebrities who have no choice because they have injuries that prevented them from being regular soldiers, but there are those who kept showing off their perfect bodies (stone hard abs) before their military service and then ended up being entertainment soldiers - what a BIG disappointment!!!

so I salute JHJ for his decision to stay in active duty - stay healthy and keep up the good work! Your fans (me included, of course) miss you so much, and we'll be waiting for your release next year!!!

JHJ fans are pleased to know that he is well, happy and healthy. His decision to stay as an active duty soldier was a good one as proven with his two promotions from Private First Class to Corporal. Hyun Jae is so handsomely gorgeous in his military uniform. He can really carry himself very well with his bearing and stature. Your fans are awaiting for your comeback next year. Congratulations JHJ.

Wow... that's pretty cool. Can't wait til he's back!!

if i am not mistaken, before he started his military service more than a year ago there were malicious speculations about his military enlistment. there were people who maliciously fanned the nasty speculations and there were people foolish enough to believe those speculations. His fans stood by him and continued to support him despite the absence of an explanation from Hyun Jae's camp.

Now it seems that Hyun Jae has proven all his detractors wrong - he enlisted, he stayed on active duty (unlike other celebrities who went the soft route of becoming entertainment soldiers, whatever that is), he is performing his duties with his usual excellent capabilities (he has been promoted twice already, earned bonus leaves for doing well in his duties), he was even injured while carrying out his duties as a dog soldier - but despite all that he has remained happy and positive!

JHJ IS THE MAN!!! and I am very proud to be one of his fans who stood by him and continued to believe in him. Stay healthy and we'll just be here waiting for you when you finish your military service next year.

just saw a picture of Lee Dong Wook before starting his military service and I just noticed something - most celebrities when they first appear in public with their army haircut they are so self-conscious about it. They keep touching their head as if doing so would hide their crew cuts without realizing that the more they touch their head/hair the more people's eyes are drawn to it.

Then I went over pictures of JHJ when he started his military service over a year ago and I didn't see any pictures of him doing that self-conscious move of touching his hair. It is either he is pretty confident of his good looks despite the crew cut, or that he is not that concerned about his looks.

But then I realized that he has no reason to be self-conscious about the crew cut, because he still looks sexy and handsome.

i really admire jhj.i watched all his dramas and movies.he is really a cool guy.so sophisticated, refined and indeed the dream guy of the ladies.take good care of yourself. jhj.we miss you.

i just discovered Jo Hyun Jae thru his drama 3dads 1mom. i have been watching some of his earlier works and he's one great actor (seodongyo, only you, 9-tailed fox, love letter). when will his military service be over? i can't wait to see him in a new drama or movie. in the meantime, JHJ, please take care of yourself. your fans seem to love you so much, that's why i have come to love you too.

so cute!!!! he suits army uniform!

JHJ is positively definitely gorgeous in crew cut. (sigh, he makes me wish I was 30, again). Cheers to him for choosing to be in the regular army unit. For sure, he will be a stronger man and even more beautiful in our eyes. I wish JHJ a well deserved supra-successful career after his army duties. We love you, dude.

Right now JHJ's fans around the world are looking forward to welcoming him to be the great actor again. His fans in Thailand love him so much and want to support his works forever.

U r my star.My favourite korean actor.I like your movies, especially Su Baek Hyang.