MANIFESTO

If you're a daily visitor to our blog, you might be wondering why there was no new post yesterday (5/20/09).

Could it be:

1. We've run out of ideas, so nothing more to write about.

2. Our blog has run into some problems.

3. Editor is in the air (incommunicado).

4. We're on strike (in protest).

Answer: ALL of the above

(not really 1. -- we still have plenty to write about JHJ, but we're suffering from temporary mental fatigue.)

Recently something happened that made us very unhappy. And disclosing it here might make us disappear from the world of JHJ, as someone put it. Now we're not afraid because: 1. we don't buckle under pressure, and 2. JHJ is in our hearts, so there's no way we can lose one another.

Our blog has been in existence for exactly 100 days. If you've watched a lot of Korean dramas, you'll know young lovers like to celebrate their 100 days together. (I suppose 100 days is a long time in a relationship nowadays.) We're celebrating our first 100 days in a special way (no cakes or flowers, sorry!) by declaring our Manifesto -- why and how we manage our blog -- our raison d'etre (reason for existence).

My blog partner M and I are ordinary JHJ fans. We have no fan club as our base. We are just a two-women team. In the normal course of things, we would have gone to our separate graves never crossing paths (since we live in different parts of the world.) But because of JHJ we've met. Our shared love for JHJ makes us want to do something for him, for those fans of his who can read only English, so more people will get to know him -- because he deserves it. Now I'm a shy person (and so is M) who would always stand at the back in a group photo (unlike JHJ who says in a Q & A that he usually stands in the centre) [See our earlier post "Everything you want to know about JHJ (and much, much more)"]. Sometimes you don't see me at all because everybody is taller than me; other times I get pushed to the front. What I'm trying to say is: If it hadn't been for JHJ, wild horses could not have dragged me out of my "retirement". It's all M's fault, she said: "Why don't we start our own fan club?" (since we don't quite fit in the others.) "M & M?" I replied, "No, thanks! I don't like crowds. Solitaire is my favourite game."

We then considered starting a blog. With a blog we don't have to see anybody, or deal with anybody (we thought.) A strange phenomenon in today's world is -- every other person has his/her own blog, even though sometimes even they themselves don't know what they're blabbing about. Just as some people love the sound of their own voice, others love to see themselves in print (especially if they are unpublished writers who think they deserve better.) We knew nothing about how to start a blog. In January when I was in the U.S., I asked my brother who is an amateur photographer and who has a website. He said it's easy; all you have to do is pay for one. I was busy with other things, so this was relegated to the back of my mind.

The day before I left the U.S., my brother called to ask if I had a Google account, and then, almost as an afterthought, "What's the name of that Korean actor?" Half an hour later he called again when I was vacuuming (almost didn't hear the call) and said: "OK, I've registered a blog for you. Free and very user-friendly. Just go in and play around with it.........and oh! BTW, found a good-looking photo of the chap and posted it on your blog." It wasn't until late afternoon that I had time to access my blog for the first time. One look and I almost had a heart attack! I found myself staring at a photo of Jo Hyun-Jae in military uniform (from the press conference of "G.P.506") and underneath it, the caption: "South Korea promotes JHJ to Lieutenant-General". I felt like murdering my brother! He was a naughty little boy and now he's a mischievous middle-aged man. I called his home at once; his wife said he's out walking the dog. I called his cell phone but there was no answer. (He'd left his phone at home.) I was in a panic. I was scared this could get JHJ in trouble. I am near-computer-illiterate. I had never even been in a blog. I clicked everything in sight, and after what seemed an eternity, the caption disappeared (and so did the photo.) I wasn't sure if my blog was still there. Then my brother called. I gave him a piece of my mind in no uncertain terms. (He's my younger brother.) He said: "What's the big deal? Who believes anything on the internet?" I said: "Some people might. You don't joke about military business. JHJ is only Private Second Class and you've promoted him to Lieutenant-General!"

I am actually very grateful to my brother for registering this blog for me. If it hadn't been for him, I wouldn't be writing this now. If you've ever wondered why our blog is called "Jo-Hyun-Jae", that's because "Jo Hyun Jae" was already taken. My brother has lived in the west for the greater part of his life, and he has no idea Korean surnames come first (like Chinese surnames.) He does not know which is which, whether JO or JAE is the last name, so to be safe he just hyphens everything. Only recently did I learn who owns "Jo Hyun Jae", and she's not even using it. I suppose "What's mine is mine, so nobody else can have it." I don't understand such mentality.

The blog remained empty for a few weeks until, on a lark, M and I decided to go to JHJ's photo exhibition in Osaka in February. We garnered plenty of first-hand material, so we decided to launch our blog with "We spent Valentine's Day with JHJ". Writing comes easily to me; I just write what is in my heart. What you see is what you get. My partner M is a near-computer-genius (compared to me.) She is also a good writer (though she doesn't know it.) We make a perfect team. So there we were scribbling away, working hard to build up our blog, learning something new every day, immersed in the world of JHJ (but we do have a life of our own; we're experts at multi-tasking.) We would be on cloud nine whenever we discover a new Follower, read a new comment, or receive a new e-mail. Someone suggests we add a new feature to register the number of hits on our blog each day. What for? Even if we are the only two people reading our blog, we would still carry on (for as long as we can.) Now M and I are both people of high esteem but no ego. We're not doing this for fame or fortune -- we don't need the first and we have enough of the second (we lead very simple lives; we're very low-maintenance.)

We're very happy every day locating news of JHJ, translating them into English, choosing the pictures to go with them, and writing on our own favourite topics. Even before JHJ's birthday on May 9, anticipation was in the air -- everybody was expecting his new photos. Except for one photo of JHJ and his camp-mates, released during his first weeks of training, there has been nothing for nine months. On one of his rare days out, JHJ gave us a photo of his military uniform. What a wry sense of humour! He must know that Chinese saying: "Seeing his things makes you think of that person." When he was on leave in late April, JHJ did not leave a message for his fans, so expectation was really boiling over.

Then on the evening of May 13, our Japanese "spy" (she's a darling!) sent me an URGENT e-mail: "Go to JHJ FC RIGHT NOW! Pics out!" There he was! Three gorgeous photos of JHJ in his military uniform. I frantically SKYPE(d) M and we immediately got to work. Now I'd like to state categorically that we're not in the habit of lifting anything from the Official JHJ Fan Club website (which is not exactly a treasure trove.) But this is special! Everybody has been so looking forward to these photos. Every JHJ fan wants to know what he looks like now. M and I discussed it for ten minutes and decided to stick our necks out. The photos and report were posted on the official website at 6:30 p.m., and we posted ours at 8 p.m.

Almost immediately the responses poured in. JHJ fans were all so happy to see him looking so fit and healthy -- "every inch a soldier", as one put it. We were very gratified we made the day (or night) of so many JHJ fans. I must confess to one oversight, however -- in our excitement and eagerness, we forgot to add: "For copyright reasons, please do not reproduce or transfer photos." (which we did first thing the next morning.)

Our elation was short-lived -- the next morning we were taken to task! We were told we should not have posted the photos, that anything on the official website was for members only. I immediately wrote to the Official Fan Club for clarification, twice, in fact. I asked if we're allowed to post their photos and news on our blog.* I don't remember signing anything when we enrolled, but then we didn't register online (like other members.) We did it in person at the JHJ photo exhibition in Osaka in February. (Read about this in our first post "We spent Valentine's Day with JHJ (Part 1)".) All we had to do was give our personal particulars, and the fan club staff on site took care of the paperwork (or rather, computer work.) We immediately checked the small print of the Official Fan Club website, and sure enough, there's a clause that says (in standard legalese) reports and photos may not be reproduced without permission. (Of course it's in Japanese, and we can't even read Japanese! Thank God for translation gadgets!) Then why is it that we see these so-called "exclusive" photos occasionally appearing in various JHJ websites in the last several months?

Now we are law-abiding citizens -- we respect intellectual property; we do not infringe copyright. One of our readers suggested we upload the OST of JHJ's dramas and we replied we could not do that. I know you can find songs from JHJ's CD on the web, but don't ask me how they got there. I was worried. I wanted to consult our in-house counsel (my son, Ha!Ha!) who's unfortunately in another time zone and it's the middle of the night where he is. I checked the official website again and (shock!) found the photos GONE! (Later, the report was also deleted.) Gosh! What have we done? I immediately removed our post on the latest JHJ photos (just to be on the safe side.) Our post was on for only about 16 hours, but (Oh! the power of the internet!) those JHJ photos have already been transferred all over the place. The reaction from JHJ fans everywhere was the same -- everybody was happy to see him looking so well.

It's been seven days since our blog removed those JHJ photos, but they are still on display on several JHJ websites, some openly, some restricted (to their fan club members.) The reason given for not publishing those photos was JHJ's interest must be protected. (We have no quarrel with that.) Unscrupulous people could use his image for illegal purposes, that is, producing souvenirs without paying JHJ royalties. Now I wonder whether the manufacturers of those JHJ souvenirs we bought in Seoul on our recent visit paid royalties to JHJ or his management company Star n Hit. That singing cup with the tune of "Like the wind by your side", the posters, the mouse pads, the calendars, the mugs, etc. etc., even the umbrella -- everything that uses his image -- Is JHJ being ripped off?

Apparently it all boils down to one thing -- If you want to see JHJ, pay. Become a member of the Official JHJ Fan Club and you can get the latest news (extremely scant) and photos (first new ones in several months.) Quite a few people I know wanted to join but could not get past the hurdles. Why do they make it so difficult for non-Japanese? Don't they want more people to join? If we had not been so persistent in Osaka, we would not have made it either. From the number on our membership cards, we know roughly how many members they have, but we're not telling. Has anyone ever wondered why the official fan club of a Korean actor is in Japan? We have our theory, but we're not sharing.

Now regarding other websites' practice of "saving" these photos for their own paying members, what can I say? We paid a fee to join the Japan Official JHJ Fan Club. We found these photos. (Yes, we had a scoop; we were the first!) We shared them with JHJ fans all over the world. And we have become persona non grata. We commit the "crime"; they enjoy the spoils. Other people take "our" photos and made them their own and are raking in the profits. You take a photo from the internet, crop off the original name and put your own label, and it becomes yours? These photos belong to the Official JHJ Fan Club, but the photos I took at the JHJ photo exhibition in Osaka received the same treatment. We found them circulating on the internet with some other websites' name stamped on them. We may be new kids on the block but we're not born yesterday. Such things are just not kosher, if you know this expression.

We're thoroughly disillusioned (Read: seething mad! but we have to maintain our dignity), just not enough to throw in the towel. What keep us going are the e-mails and messages we receive from JHJ fans from Canada, U.S.A., England, Austria, Germany, Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Indonesia.......and counting. We may be just a new blog on a Korean actor, but we take the high road. We create most of our material, instead of just recycling. Our articles are original, not translations from the Korean fan clubs. We write from the heart; we don't just churn out mediocre stuff. We don't allow anybody to post anything. We exercise editorial control and we maintain high standards. We welcome contributions, but we have a strict screening process -- we accept only the best. You don't have to be able to write flawless English (we can fix that), but your heart has to be in the right place. We only issue one or two posts a day (except when there is breaking news); we believe in quality, not quantity. We operate by professional journalistic standards: we double-check (even triple-check) our sources before we put out any news. Some websites are copying our themes and topics (without any acknowledgement.) Since "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery", we must be doing something right.

We are on good terms with the various fan clubs (actually we don't know that many; we don't socialize.) We don't get involved in fan club politics. All of the JHJ fans we've met are really nice people, all working tirelessly on his behalf. If they cannot get along (turf war? personality conflict?) it's none of our business. We don't ally ourselves with anybody; we are free agents. We just do our own thing. We work independently; we are beholden to no one (except JHJ.)

JHJ has given us so much joy in our otherwise boring lives that we just want to share the joy, to spread his dream in the sky (as he puts it in his song.) At the end of "A Frozen Flower" (Did you read my review on May 14?) when they are both mortally wounded, the King asks Hong Lim: "Tell me: Have you ever loved me? if only for one day, one moment?" I ask you now: "Did you miss us? (yesterday when we're off), if only for one instant?"


* We received a reply from the Official JHJ Fan Club on May 18, confirming photos and such may not be posted anywhere else.

P.S. New JHJ photos and a video were posted on the Official JHJ Fan Club website on May 18, and another 3 videos on May 19 and the last video on May 20. Are we sharing this time? Nah! Once bitten, twice shy.