A Star For Rain

Hong Kong fans bought a STAR in the sky for RAIN homepage : http://usckorea.org/

I really thought for a moment this was a joke, pardon my ignorance. It was the first time I heard about stars being sold and registered to a person willing to pay for it. But someone is soompi confirmed that the Hong Kong fans paid approx. HK30,000 to have the star named after Rain.

Now my only problem is how to locate the said star so I can make a wish....

They Are Back On The Street

Rain will attend gathering on policy to reduce mandatory domestic movie screening days as an actor
28 Jun 06, Innolife
Credit: Rainhk// jinlees@soompi
Ch to Eng: Rayndrop

Artiste Rain(Jeong Jihoon) plans to attend, as a movie actor, the protest gathering against Korean government's plan to reduce the mandatory days for screening of domestic movies in theaters.

Rain will be attending the gathering at University road and Kwanghwamun together with Im Soo Jung and Director Pak Chan Wook, whom he is currently working with together on movie "I'm a Cyborg but that's Ok". 10,000 people are expected to turn up at this gathering.

This mega-event was set up because the government will be reducing the mandatory days for screening of domestic movies in theaters as of 1st July. A member of the committee which is organising the gathering says " Rain will be attending the gathering at University Road, and proceeding with the protesting parade towards Kwanghwamun", "In addition, at 7pm that night, there will be an autograph session with Jang Dong Gun, Jeon Do Yeon and Lee Jun Ki at Kwanghwamun Park."

This day, a decision-making meeting will be held at 5pm at University Road. There after, there will be a protest march from 6pm to 7pm from University Road to Kwanghwamun. The autograph session if from 7 to 7.30pm at Kwanghwamun Park, and cultural activities are estimated to be held from 8pm to 11.30pm.

Reason Why It's Hard To Be Rain's Girlfriend

It seems just about every woman out there has had at least one sweet dream of being the star's girlfriend. But for us simple fans who at one time or the other harbored an illusion to be Rain's special someone, I'm listing some reasons why it can be hard for us to do so. You are welcome to add to this list my friends.

* Your private life will be all over the internet

* All those photos from your childhood till your teen years including those unflattering graduation pictures that you long wanted to burn but dared not because your parents will kill you will be duplicated a million times on the net.

* All your enemies will be more than eager to spill out your most embarrasing moments that you wish never happened.

* The moment you take your vows you will be public enemy no. 1 of the countless other women who desired to be in your shoes.

* Pictures of you buying some expensive bag or trinket will be posted on various forums and message board with comments like "all she does is stay at home and spend the hard earned money of Bi".

* If you are pretty, people will credit the wonders of plastic surgery. If you're not, better steel yourself. You can't imagine the mean things people can say about you.

* Even if you look alright people will still say you are ugly.

* Whenever you happen to have a lovers quarrel you have to keep your mouth shut. Any hint of complaint coming from you will cause a buzz on the web insinuating your impending break-up.

* You must smile at all times, look cross just once and your photo will be splashed accross the tabloids under the headline "Singer Rain's Marriage In Crisis?" Or they will say you are a bitch on the web boards.

* Be on high alert in fending criticisms once his performance level drops during a concert or a showcase.

* Whenever you go the paparrazi will be right behind you. And since people will regognize you, won't be able to go to the nearby convenience store, market or even take out the garbage without make-up and a decent wardrobe.

A Cute Fan Account (Must Share With You)

Fan's Account: Belated Post
Credit: baidu.com//jinlees@soompi
Kr to Ch: Yunrain
Ch to Eng: Rayndrop

This is a belated post by a Korean fan.

Hi everyone, I am XX from the world of Cloud.
It's really nothing special.
In actual fact, wasn't yesterday our Jihoon's birthday?
I'm so happy.
Would like to share a really cute Jihoon's story with everybody.
This story has been hidden in my heart for a really long time.

Yesterday, didn't somebody said they went to JYPE and saw Jihoon at an internet cafe?
That reminded me of this incident...
Because there's no news of Rain now,
So I thought I'll give a drizzle of news to everybody.

But everybody knows, right?
My mind is like a fishnet when I'm writing encounters.
Please forgive me...it's very long...

This happened last winter; been many months now.
It was really weird that day. I went to the movies with **
Ate a lot of stuff,
But somehow, I kept feeling the breeze of cold wind in my heart; felt empty inside.
Momentarily, ** and my eyes met...the fireworks was everywhere.
Going to JYPE that day became our mission.
Hence, we went to JYPE, which we have not visited for a long time.

It was really quiet at the doorfront of JYPE.
We stood for 3 to 4 hours, shivering in the cold wind.
My hands and legs were ice-cold; we were freezing and hungry.
We couldn't take it anymore, so we decided to go fill our stomachs...
Could it be...will Jihoon come?
We went back to JYP.

There were two female students standing at its entrance.
I went up and asked: "Who are you here to see? We are fans of Rain."
That student said, "Rain, he just went out with his dance troupe. Think they said something about going to a roadside stall."
Ah~~ OMG, how could this be!
It's not like I'll die from skipping one meal.
I've lost Jihoon right under my nose.
It shouldn't be like that, not like that *wails*.

I endured my heartache, scratched my head and began my journey home.
Right at this moment, someone came within my eyesight.
Haha...it was his assistant walking by.
Where was he going?
I was wondering, and he suddenly disappeared.
He must have gone to look for Jihoon.
I observed around the vincinity and saw a small eatery ahead.
I tried my luck inside.
Jihoon wasn't there. Only saw an elderly man.

Sobs. I really should go home now.
I was half-thinking, half looking at an internet cafe.
Perhaps he's inside???
This thought hung onto me like a magnet.

It was really strange. I only had that thought in my mind...
So we gingerly pushed open the door of the cybercafe.
I caught the sight of Jisung (one of the dancer) sitting on the right.
At that moment, my heart began thumping wildly. I closed the door and came out.
Then after some thoughts, we decided to walk openly into the cafe.
Anyway, it's not like Jihoon would recognise us.

It's all right. Go in...

After we went in, we discovered Jihoon in the left side.
In such a dim place
He could still shine so brightly
That was a non-smoking area, and sitting on Jihoon's right was the dancer troupe leader.
The staff came over and helped us to look for a place.
We said, "Can we sit over there?"
Then we proceeded towards Jihoon, very openly.
I was sitting on Jihoon's left, ** was sitting in front of him.
When I was sitting down, I was so afraid of being discovered by Jihoon, I was shaking all over.
I thought I was going to get cramps in my hands.
I've never shivered like that before.
Ah~ the person seated right beside me
Is the charismatic star on stage, Jeong Jihoon...

I was so afraid Jihoon would hear my heartbeats, I was panicky for quite a while.
Then I was afraid Jihoon would detect something, so I didn't dare to look at him straight.
Jihoon seemed to have danced for a long time that day.
His hair was all damp.
You can only see such hairstyles in comic books.
Looks almost like the hairstyle in Full House when he was being fed the sushi.
Jeans, and top is the red shirt he wore during the autograph session in Myeongdong
Although our hearts were thumping wildly,
We put in a lot of effort so as not to be detected by Jihoon.
I switched on my computer. The darn computer refused to start up!
No...that won't do. I can't change seats.
After a few tries, the PC finally started up.
No need for discussions, we automatically logged on to the chatroom.
The two of us can't talk, can't call on our phone.
We only chatted online.

The cybercafe was very quiet.
Seems like the only noises were the two of us typing on our keyboard.
What should we do?
It was really comical then. The two of us had our eyes glued to the screen,
our hands dadadada typing on the keyboard.
There was a hint of stifled smiles on our lips.
Perhaps the cybercafe staff were afraid we'll spoil the keyboards?
That day, I thought my eyeballs were going to fall out ...
I faced the front, my eyes were looking sideways...looking at Jihoon...
At the beginning, Jihoon seemed to have felt something.
Because suddenly two girls appeared and seated themselves beside him.
But our excellent acting skills covered everything.
After a while, Jihoon was lost in his game...

They were playing Starcraft.
But Jihoon didn't look like he was very good at it.
He was a team with the dance troupe leader.
Shortly after we went in, the game ended.
Jihoon stood up, clapped his hands
He is so cute...Jihoon's side won the game.
Is the game over? Are they leaving now? No...
I was just shouting in my heart
Then the new game started...

Everybody knows what beautiful hands Jihoon has.
But the look of his hands on the keyboard felt different from when he is dancing
Although not very pretty, I am a girl,
and my hands are considered not bad among the fairer sex.
But they are a far cry compared to the big and fair hand of Jihoon's on the keyboard.
I'm totally ashamed.
My hands looked like claws that belonged to something
Jihoon's hands on the mouse and keyboard looked like pianist hands.
No...even prettier than pianist's hands.
Just one pair of hands was enough to drive a person crazy...

I was looking sideways, trying hard to listen...
Ah~ perfect complexion, tall and straight nose bridge...
At this moment, Jihoon said, "Hyung, you go towards that direction."
That face, that voice, completely...
During this period of time, I tried my best to suppress my crazy heartbeats, and concentrated on chatting.
Jihoon while playing his game, was eating biscuits and having a drink.
How can someone look so cute eating biscuits? It's quite maddening.
The cramps which I put in so much effort to suppress is coming back!

30 minutes later, the game ended.
Jihoon stood up suddenly and began clapping.
He said a few words which almost had me rolling on the floor.
"Ah, I practise singing and dancing every day, and I don't even have time for playing games.
Ah, why am I still so good at gaming?"
I couldn't help but blurted out laughing.

Then he said again:
"I even brought my money along to pay for the game"
As he said this, he took out his wallet, opened it and then close it again.
So cute. So cute...
Then, "Hyungs, I give you more time.
Go back and practise gaming, ah...."
So "cultivated".

After that, they got ready to go back to JYPE's practise room.

To me at that time,
If we weren't Clouds, once we came in and see Jihoon,
We would have exclaimed, "Ah, Rain! it's Rain!"
But Jihoon saw that we had no reactions to him
So he stood up and made his presence known.
Those words he said were telling us,
"I'm Rain. I'm a singer. Don't you know me? I'm Rain. Rain..."

** and I burst out laughing at the same time.
He is so cute, like a big kid...

Jihoon was leaving.
He went back to his seat,
Picked up the biscuit boxes and murmured to himself, "Gotta keep these before we go."
Then he bragged him victory to his hyungs...

Once they stepped out, we both stood up and started to laugh loudly.
Jihoon is so adorable!

For the few 10s of minutes, I was breathing the same air as Jihoon.
Just 30cm apart.
I'm still not dead. I'm still alive. It's a miracle!
You girls must be feeling terrible inside, eh...hahaha
Just for that day, I felt so lucky that Jihoon didn't know me.

** and I happily skipped our way home.
Isn't Jihoon cute?
[Rayndrop: Yes]

Jihoon is so eager to "brag".
I like you more and more...what should I do??!!

His Latest Photo

source: rainhk.com
credits to jinlees of soompi

Rain posted the photos below which was taken in Miami last year at joyplace.

How Rain Celebrated His Birthday

Rain Celebrates Birthday with JY Park and Crew Members
26 Jun 06 Chosun Daily/ Starnews
Credit: Biwithrain// jinlees@soompi

Kr to Ch: Irbi@biwithrain
CH to Eng: Rayndrop

Asian Star, Rain, had a mini celebration with Park Jin Young and staff members of JYPE.

It's Rain's 24th birthday on the 25th. This day, around 8pm, Rain celebrates his birthday at a restaurant in Seoul, Shinsa-dong, with Park Jin Young and more than 10 other staff members from JYPE including his dancers and manager.

Those who attended the party said Rain, who had his party on a Sunday night when the restaurant had the most customers, signed autographs one by one for more than 20 fans who were eating nearby.

At around 10 am that day, Rain was at a Studio in Seoul, Kangnam, doing a photoshoot with Im Soo Jung for "Cyborg"'s publicity posters, so he did not manage to have his traditional kelp soup, a birthday must-have for Koreans, at the start of the day. Fortunately, the soup at the gathering that night happened to be kelp soup, and that marked the beautiful conclusion to his birthday.

Rain's movie is scheduled to wrap up next month. He'll begin recording for his 4th album officially in August.

Rain's Asian Tour

My friends, this photo was said to have been taken from a notebook given out at his Bodokan fan meeting a few weeks ago. The countries listed below are Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, PHILIPPINES, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Now I have a reason to be more hopeful to finally see Rain in person since going to Korea anytime soon is out of the option.

Happy Birthday Rain!

Let this IRISH BLESSING be my prayer for You:
May there always be work for your hands to do.
May your purse always hold a coin or two.
May the sun always shine on your window-pane.
May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near to you.
And may GOD fill your HEART with GLADNESS to CHEER YOU ALWAYS.
Happy Birthday!

When One Moves On

Some of you may be aware or have visited various forums and websites dedicated to Rain. But I limit myself to the links posted here. For the past few days now Rain fans in soompi are having a friendly discussion on the androgynous look (think pantech and his full house look) that he plans to use for his Japan promotion. As expected some are in favor while others prefer that he maintain a more manly appearance especially is he wants to be more active in the western market. In the heat of it all the name of another korean actor Lee Jun ki has been mentioned because he is the best example of man falling under this description.

But to make the long story short, last night a former hard core Bi fan (meaning she's been to most of his concerts if not all, bought all original albums, dramas and whatever items she can get ) turned Jung ki fan made her presence felt in Bi's thread to express her dislike on how she thinks her current "idol" is being bashed by Rain fans. But how can "girly looking" or "androgynous looking" be considered as bashing. It was how the guy was promoted by the korean media and it's how he's being depicted in the promotional write-ups being released to asian writers. Blame his management company then for highlighting that in making their artist stand out.

I can understand if a fan decides to move on and support other stars but shouldn't it be sweeter if you retain good memories of the artist you once adored and just make a smooth transition rather than insinuating "this" and "that" negative things about Rain to friends you made as a Bi fan. Please remember that life is short and harboring negative vibes is bad for one's health.

I rest my case...... happy week-end everyone!

A Love To Kill ~ Guilty!

Rain’s drama A Love To Kill started airing last Monday June 19, 2006 after a very hyped tri-media promotion of the network that brought the rights to the drama. The drama was dubbed in the local dialect “Tagalog” and their names changed as well. Bogku became Rainier, Da Jung is now Jona while Eun Suk was renamed Kathleen.

I have to be upfront in saying that I’ve only watched a few minutes of the pilot episode and that’s about it. Mainly because watching tv is my bonding moment with my daughter and she is more interested in the happenings of America’s Next Top Model Season 4. She allowed me to surf between commercial breaks but I lost interest after two tries and watched reality television instead. I did ask my mother to tune in because she is also of fan of Rain after watching Full House so ratings wise we did contribute *starting to feel guilty*

The following day I got calls and sms messages from friends on their take on the drama. For those like me who already watched the Korean version with an English subtitle they liked how the first and second episode was edited to make the story’s flow more simple to understand. It was therefore a surprise to hear that ratings wise it did not meet our expectations. I will not dwell much on the why’s because a friend of mine already posted her own take on the matter and you can check it here.

It’s just my wish that it will pick-up after a week or until they show him already working as a bodyguard. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Walking Towards the World Stage

"Me? I've never thought of becoming better than anyone"
"Must remember 6 years ago"

Singer Rain, 24 and chosen as part of TIME 100, has the above messages written on the screen of his handphone. That night when he was walking down the red carpet during the NY TIME 100 Party, he suddenly recalled the times when he was a trainee 6 years ago.

27th, in the Seoul office of JYPE. Bi, who is walking in large strides towards the world stage, has a happy smile on his lips.

"My smile recently seems to be very hypocritical." When you are enjoying too much popularity, you tend to be proud and conceited. But this smile and straightforwardness, makes me feel at peace just as per usual.

You have to be very careful when performing on stage, don't you?

"Frequenting the Asian entertainment sector, after being chosen to be in the TIME 100 list, I feel there's really not much changes, except that I'm living in English-speaking countries. When I was in my teenage years, I didn't learn English well, and I'm regretting it now. So now I'm working hard on my English."

"The expectations of people around me have increased. For a better stage and better songs, I keep pushing myself. Now, everyday is the extension of chances non-stop!"

To build your self on honesty and desire, isn't that very tiring? "It is very tiring, I guess!" A sentence that holds so much meaning. Not in a depressed way, but because he has found a way to enjoy his job.

Rain "I've never thought of becoming better or more outstanding that anybody; neither have I thought of outshining anyone. This attitude is very odd. However, when I am onstage and in front of the camera, I naturally feel that I am the best. At that moment, I am not me." *Smile*

"Please do not believe in untruthful rumours"

In the past few days, the stock value of Rain has been going up. His contract fee has gone up to 10-15 billion won. Rain's contract terms with JYPE will be up next year May. From the beginning of this years, rumours of him hopping to another company has been non-stop. The outside parties all have their versions of a story to tell, but the person in question does not say a word.

"Some say that I contacted many companies secretly. That is not true. It troubles me that there are so many people spreading rumours. I still have a year's contract with JYPE, so there are no conclusive answers now. As for Dad contacting many other agencies, that is also an untruthful news. Father and I do not interfere in each other's work."

Your contract fee is 10-15 billion won. What are your thoughts about these figures? "10 Billion won you said? I feel really happy of course, but they are just like bubbles. Because the Asian market influences my entry into the US market, everybody has got high expectations on me. With regards to this meaning, I feel burdened. Now, I only want to think about my work."

His schedule is full all the way until next year. Rain is now filming "I'm a cyborg, is that ok?" directed by Pak Chan Wook. His fourth album is scheduled for release on 15 Oct, and his 5-months Asia Concert Tour to 11 different countries will kick off in December. His entry into US has been postponed to next year.

"I feel that the market structure in Asia is key to entering the US market systematically. If I can amass sufficient popularity in Asia, then it will be easier for me when I enter the US market. Hence, my Asia Concert Tour is the foundation to my entry into the US market. I will definitely go into the US market by mid next- year."

Rain and Director Pak relieves stress with Soju

Recently, Rain has become a Pusan man because he is filming his first movie, "I'm a Cyborg, Is that ok?" directed by Pak Chan Wook. Almost 55% of his time is spent in that place. The day of interview Rain just finished his Fan-meeting at GwangUn University, and will be heading back to Pusan after the interview.

"The movie is based mostly in an asylum. The male actor meets a girl who is kinder than anyone he knows, and he falls in love," he said laughing. This could be a very romantic love comedy.

Talking about Director Pak who he is working with for the first time, Rain said, "He is a very charismatic leader. He has the looks and the capabilities. He is somebody who has a deep understanding of the knowledge of movies. When I feel very stressed up, I'll have a cup of soju with director to release stress. Im Soo Jung, who is like an elder sister, is very amiable as well. She is a senior who can make you feel very comfortable."

When he has time, he prepares for his 4th album. Other JYP, there are also other composers invited to participate in this project.

"The 4th album is a piece of work which I have done my utmost best to complete. In this 4th album, I made many great changes both in terms of my style of music as well as the pictures in it. I, who have been showing the beauty of musculinity until now, will be presenting the neutral-gender look. It's a secret!" *Smile

YONHAP
Journalist Lee Eun Jeng reports (mimi@yna.co.kr)
Credit: Biwithrain// jinlees@soompi

Shoot for Another Pepsi CF

Rain did another shoot for Pepsi this time with 3 artist namely Jolin Tsai of Taiwan, Edison Chen and Louis Koo of Hong Kong. They are photographed here doing an incense burning ceremony to give good luck.



source : cloud china

A Voltes Celebration

I was debating whether to post it here of in my personal blog but after careful thought I chose to do it here. Why? Because it's a celebration of us Rain fans, to be more specific the birthday of all June celebrants in our gang and of course, the man himself Bi. And the second reason is that most of those who knew us frequent this blog more than my personal one but I do hope you check it out too since the link is just one click away *pardon my self promotion ok*

D'day happened last Saturday, June 17 and except for Ai who has to attend a wedding at a province, everyone was present bearing food that can last us for another day at least. And so with our diet forgotten we started with our eating marathon *carbo loading here I go* The only break we had was watching some korean movies on dvd. Don't ask me what titles are but the "action scenes" made for some interesting side comments. It was followed by some Bi clips that made us swoon, sing and dance.

Shortly before 6pm Charity arrived from a week of torture (that's her word not mine) of seminar and immediately started cooking her specialty - chicken and pork adobo. Dra. Remy and Janice came last because of another commitment but seeing them eat made us hungry again so we ate again * it's not nice to let the food go to waste*. Then it was time to blow the candle on our cake, how I wish Bi was with us since the blue candle is for him.

While waiting for the "A Love To Kill Special" to air, we decided to give Rizza a quick call, I swear I can hear her voice crack because she missed our company. It's been a month now but she was still here when we planned our "O" night. And since she was currently online we resumed our conversation on the net. It was in the midst of our chatting when the special started airing so I was busy busy multi-tasking - talking and typing is easy for us ladies right? And yes, the blunder I mentioned in my previous post happened during this time. By the time the special was finished airing it was already 11:00pm but sleep was far from our minds. Good thing Flor bought along two old episodes of X-Man that featured Shinwa with each episode lasting 2 hours. It was such a riot that we can't control our laughter as they went along their antics and games. We were so loud I was praying nobody will come knocking our door asking us to leave. By the time we called it a night it was already 3:00 am.

We forgot to close the curtains so I was woken up by the glare of the sun, geez it's only 7:00 but Tita Susan and Lai are already awake and already had their coffee. Lai decided to play a cd and the first song - what else but FH's 3 bears song. That got everyone standing and shaking their booty, hahaha..... Sadly there's only a few hours left before we had to part but we made the most of it by taking some pictures, we love pictures can't you tell.

Lost In Translation

The entire Voltes Team checked-in at a hotel last night for a joint birthday celebration for 5 of us born this month but that will be another blog entry all together. What made it more memorable was that ABS-CBN, the television station that will show A Love To Kill on Monday made a special last night to introduce Rain to their viewers.

It have to give them credit for a well planned hour long tv special. In fact they really hyped about it that the entire room was buzzing from the sms messages of our non Rain friends who are regular viewers of the said tv network asking we I'm watching. You see I seldom watch shows from that station since I'm a regular of their rival network that aired Full House last year.

Most of the clips were taken from the October 2005 KBS Special where he talked about his beginnings, his family and his dreams. To attract the masses they have it budded in the local dialect Tagalog (yeah it was a major letdown for most of us) but we understand the reason behind it. So while my attention was divided between the special and at the same time chatting online with a friend who is now in Korea for an extended stay the rest of the gang are all eyes and ears in front of the tube. Then I heard the dubbed Rain saying "Hindi na nga ako makalabas kasama ng girlfriend ko" which when translated to english means "I can no longer go out with my girlfriend." You could only imagine the SHOCKED reaction coming from us! Paulette and I looked at each and said "did we actually heard it right?" You see we all watched the original clip and what he actually said was "I can't even have a girlfriend" so you can imagine how our jaws dropped from that wrong translation. True enough, we all began receiving messages asking if its true that Rain already has a girlfriend and who is the LUCKY GIRL. Boy of boy, that certainly created an impact but will it help generate the interest to boost the ratings is still to see.

I Wish I Have Them

Here are photos of the souvenirs given at last nights fan meeting with Cloud Japan. Makes me wish I'm a Cloud member to with a deep pocket so I can afford to go to all his activities *sighs*sighs*

T-shirt

postcard

plastic bag

KNTV magazine

Sharing Some Fan Accounts of His Bodokan Fanmeet

Fan's Account: Bodukan Birthday Party
Credit: Cloudchina// Cha Xiao Ni@ Baidu// Jinlees@soompi Ch to Eng: Rayndrop
photos from cc & baidu and credits to jinlees of soompi

Jihoon was in superb condition today. He was in a fantastic mood, and had so many facial expressions...So cute!!

At the beginning, the large screen played Jihoon's latest news

Eg: PSP game to be released in July; TV broadcast of this birthday party on 14th July; YSMM which will be aired in Japan soon.

Just as we were concentrating on the large screen, the white curtain on the stage fell with a large "BOOM" and dry ice smoke was released from the center of the stage.

We saw JH whom we haven't seen for a long time. He was wearing Jeans and a dark coloured coat.

Jihoon was wearing sunglasses. I quickly took out our light board. Perhaps it's too glaring? Xiaobai saw Jihoon frown. Probably thinking, why is that so glaring even when I'm wearing sunglasses! Then he looked at us for three seconds [Rayndrop: Actually, I think they set rules disallowing the raising of banners and lightboards... sweatingbullets.gif ]. Our lightboard said "CLOUD CHINA"!!

Jihoon started singing Sad Tango

Jihoon didn't dance much right at the start, but when it came to the solo part in the middle of the song, wow...Xiaobai and I were stunt and mezmorised by every movement. Every movement was done perfectly...very smooth indeed!

The funniest part is, Jihoon suddenly did a spilt, and the entire stadium cheered. But when he jumped up, he was a little unstable, so moved backwards a little. Perhaps he was unsatisfied with the fact that he couldn't stand firmly? So Sad Tango was ended was a spilt.

After singing Sad tango, he performed Free Way
He had so many facial expressions and kept doing those cute expressions. Jihoon's lips are so well-defined today...such nice lips..wub.gif
==================

Fan's Account: Bodukan Birthday Party Pt 2
Credit: ca0825@cloud-taiwan Ch to Eng: Rayndrop

Started off with Sad Tango and Free Way
The explosion effect at the beginning gave me a shock

The Q&A session in the middle was super cute:
If you have time for a holiday
1. to spend time with your family
2. Camp with your fans from all over the world
The host asked: Where would you like to go?

Bi's answer: Hot spring....

Rain In Budokan

Here's a photo taken at yesterday's presscon before his fan meeting with Cloud Japan. I have to agree with some fans that he looks tired. I do hope he can get some r&r once he returns to Korea on the 19th since he has no schedule lined up for the whole week.

The Look Of A Cyborg

We all know that Bi's new role in the movie Cyborg is not glamorous so we better get used to his look now before the movie is shown.

source: rainhk
credits to jinlees of soompi

Singer Rain to Perform to Repay Fans

source: KBS Global
Update : Jun 14, 2006 KST 16:26

Asian star Rain is keen on returning the love he has received from his Asian fans. He plans to donate part of proceeds from a concert tour of 11 Asian nations scheduled for December to those same countries through various donation programs.

“It won’t be a simple donation. Rain will involve himself in raising funds and developing donation programs that meet each nation’s needs,” Lee In-Kwang, the president of Star-M Planning, the performance agency in charge of Rain’s Asian tour, said during a phone interview with Yonhap News. “He is now considering building schools to fight illiteracy in China and some Southeast Asian nations, but detailed plans will be made available in September.”

This is not the first time that the top singer has tried helping Asian nations in need. Late last year, he cooperated with the Green Fund, an environmental organization, to build wells in several Asian nations suffering from the absence of proper water supply facilities. He donated all the proceeds from the sales of products promoting him. He will also participate in a Pepsi Cola-sponsored charity for Asian youths in need scheduled to be held in Hong Kong in November.

Meanwhile, a Pepsi commercial featuring Rain, who is Pepsi’s model for Chinese-speaking nations, and U.S. pop diva Christina Aguilera singing a song together against the backdrop of a soccer stadium has been released in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. His agency, JYP Entertainment, said that the two stars were so busy that they separately shot the commercial and recorded the song.

Rain will release his fourth album on Oct. 15 in Korea before embarking on his Asian tour on Dec. 14, which kicks off in Seoul.

A Win By the Red Devils

I hope Rain got to watch last night game of Korea against Togo. It was fun and exciting and judging by his current mood, the boy needs some downtime to just relax and watch the game with his dancers while in Japan. Got more time? Why don't you read my own experience while watching the game which I posted on my personal blog. check out the link here

Rain's Pepsi CF with Christina

credits to plue bleue of rainphilippines for the upload

Rain and Christina Films Commerical for Soft Drinks Together

source: Sina Ent News Journalist Tianya reports
Credit: Baidu.com// jinlees@soompi
Ch to Eng: Rayndrop


Asian Megastar Rain and top pop singer Christina Aguilera sings together and appears jointly in commercial. The two sings interlude song "Da Da Da" and appear together in Pepsi's CF which was aired on the 12th in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan with a football flim as background. Rain was selected by Pepsi to be their model in the Chinese speaking region last December. The commercial is generally as such: A football match is about to start in a football stadium filled with audiences. Suddenly, a voice sings "Da Da Da", so all audiences turn their attention to the large screen. Suddenly, Christina, followed by Rain, jumps out, and the two started singing "Da Da Da". The most interesting part of this commercial is that sitting among the audiences are French national footballer, Henri, Brazil national footballer, Ronaldinho, and other world-famous football stars. After "Da Da Da", Rain hands Christina a Pepsi. Christina opens the can, and the commercial ends. Although the two sing and appear in the commercial together, the recording and filming actually took place individually. On the 13th, Rain's agency, JYPE expressed that Rain and Christina had planned to meet and record the song together, followed by filming of the commercial. However, due to schedule constraints, the plan did not come through. Christina concluded her filming as early as February, while Rain finished his portion of filming and recording in Seoul last month. It is said that Christina saw the end product and was very satisfied. The commercial song "Da Da Da" which the Pepsi commercial was based on was written by female composer, Linda Perry. She also wrote one of Christina's hit song, "Beautiful". At the same time, Rain will kick off his 11 countries "Rain World Tour" Concert in Seoul on the 14th this December. The production house for Rain's concert tour, Star Emplaning announced that part of the concert proceeds will be donated to charity purposes, such as campaigns against illiteracy.

Moves of Rain

Credit: Baidu.com// jinlees@soompi
Ch to Eng: Rayndrop

Rain's dance belongs to the street dance category. In particular, it's broken down into the following main components of street dancing: Popping, Locking, Wave. In between, there may be some House and Jazz styles. His specialty is really popping, followed by locking and wave. House appears in his dance moves pretty often and his dancing language is really quite varied. Within House, you'll find strong accents of latin dance and African tribe dance elements, such as shaking of shoulders, chest and butt etc. Such movements are more difficult, and requires more effort in executing. To a singer who dances as he sings, this is a great physical challenge, and even more so, a test of his ability to control his techniques. In other words, the force used in each movement and breath-control must be well monitored. Otherwise, he'll end up breathless, and probably not being able to hit the notes for his next line.

Generally, performers tend to avoid doing actions like that. Even if they do choose to do them, they'll select one or two movements to be incorporated into their performance, and they'll avoid doing the actions together. Instead, they'll use the movements interchangeably and avoid using them while singing, but execute them more during interludes. This ensures minimal chances of physical damage and is a much more stable and secure way to go. This is especially for LIVE performances, and even more so if it's a solo concert. But this kid plays plays with his limit too much. In order to please his audience, to add to the effects of his performances, to attract more attention and to get the recognition from his fans, he chose to hurt himself and go the risky way. Shaking his shoulders, his chest, his butt, plus the giant leap in the air...he squeezes all the difficult techniques into one routine. He even goes as far as singing as he execute these moves. He's really exerting homself to the utmost, and certainly achieving the shocking effect that he wants to achieve. He is one of the most hardworking, trying and professional artistes I've known, once again, shocking me very much. Although this is not something we should encourage, but his spirit is something worth learning. Come to think of it, it is no wonder he has such results to be proud of today. He is bold and courage with techniques above other. These are definitely qualities needed to achieve success.

Pepsi's Summer Campaign

Rain with Christina A. for Pepsi's Summer Campaign in time for the World Cup 2006. Can't wait to see if there is an actual CF of them together or if Pepsi will come up with any collectible items.











credits to jinlees of soompi
source: baidu

Dae Hanminguk!!!

Have you caught the World Cup Fever yet? I'll be cheering for the Korean Red Devils and it helps that our Rain is showing us how to get into the spirit of the game. Catch their first game against Togo on Tuesday, June 13, check your cable operator for the time.

More Vietnam Concert Info

source: http://www.tuoitre.com.vn/Tianyon/Index.aspx?ArticleID=142505&ChannelID=58
credits to rica of rain[ph]

Although the fans knew well his arrival time, approaching Bi was so difficult. The plane which takes one of 100 most influential people arrives Tan Son Nhat airport at 1:50pm.

As you can imagine, Rain drew thousands of people to the airport to wait for him under the tropical sun at noon, but no one could see him. At around 3:25pm, he went straight to QK7 stadium for rehearsal. Even journalists found difficult to take pictures. At 4:30pm, he came to Omni Hotel, where four rooms had been reserved for him, to take a bit rest. The concert took place at 8:00pm with Rain singing Bad Guy, I Do, How to Avoid the Sun and It's Raining. As a gift to his fans he sang another song "Instead of Saying Good-bye" before concluding his part of the show. You can check out this photo that was originally posted by KimSamSoon's craziie fan of soompi.

Press Conference Photos in Vietnam

One More Before I Go

I feel bad leaving you with those crappy photos so here's some cute photos from Yonhap to enjoy.....

Rain's Arrival Photos in Vietnam

I've been trying hard to find photos of his arrival at the Tan Son Nhat Airport, Vietnam since 2:30pm but it's only now that photos are starting to come in. I'll be going out of the office in a few minutes to meet friends so this is all I can share with you.



credits to thanhnien of soompi

added more photos
credits to http://dienanh.net/forums/showthread.php?t=7408

at the hotel

Rain to Perform in Vietnam

Singer Rain will give a concert on Thursday in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, the origin of the Korean Wave or Korean pop culture craze. Expectations for the first concert to be given there by the talented Korean singer have run so high that some 20,000 tickets sold out just two days after they went on sale on May 29.

But the SK Telecom office in Ho Chi Minh, the organizer of the concert, is still being inundated with calls asking about tickets. SKT arranged the "S-Phone Forever Concert" to celebrate sales of over 500,000 handsets of its CDMA (code division multiple access) S-Phone in Vietnam and distributed invitation tickets to local customers.

It is not only Korean residents and teenage fans in the Vietnamese city who badly want to attend the concert. Rain’s fans in Hanoi have also expressed regret about not being able to attend the concert and expect that they can see him during his Asian tour scheduled late this year.

Besides Rain, Jewelry and Chaeyeon, both also popular in Vietnam, will participate in the concert along with other top Vietnamese singers.

Thanh Nien, the leading local newspaper, reported that Korean singer Rain, who became popular in the country through the hit drama Full House and was named one of 100 most influential people in the world by the U.S. magazine Time, will visit Vietnam.

The Korean cable channels K-MTV and M-Net as well as Vietnam TV will film the concert. Local police say that they will station some 750 police officers around the venue where the concert is to be held and have other officers standing by in case of emergency.

Source: http://english.kbs.co.kr/mcontents/enterta...0187_11692.html
June 7, 2006

A Personal Invitation From Rain

I got an sms message from a friend that Rain's new invite for the Filipinos to watch the Philippine premier of A Love To Kill just came out late this afternoon and he spoke in english. I was so excited and prayed that a vod will come out soon, got my wish so I'm keeping it here for posterity.

A Way To Relieve Boredom

It one of those days when there's not much to do and you are just killing time and pretending to do something productive, thank god I have my blogs to keep me busy. Just picked some random pics that suits my current mood.



Love the expression on his face. Are you feeling the same way I do?










How I wish the facade of Makati Shangri-la looks like this... who knows it might inspire me to do something great. Hahaha, I can almost hear the entire Voltes Team shouting "In your dreams"!





Fine! I hear you load and clear my friends. So how about a game of football. Who can resist that inviting look on his face never mind if I've played another kind of ball....................................
BASKETBALL (aliens what were you thinking?)

Thank's For Keeping Me Company

I started this blog about Rain mainly as an outlet to express my admiration for him. but looking at the latest report from my sitemeter, I was happy to see that I have readers from other countries as well. To you my regular readers I would like to say
I hope you will post your own comments or send me an email. I will be happy to entertain any request, questions or opinions coming from you.

IJUKSA Coming Soon On Philippine TV

Lai sent me an sms message last Saturday that practically screamed her joy at seeing the trailer to announce the coming of Rain's latest drama "IJUKSA" or "A Love To Kill" in one of the countries biggest network. Since I know that by the time I switch channels the short advertisement will be long gone I just asked her to give me a description of how the drama was introduced. Her own words "Mare I'm so happy because they introduced him more as Rain the artist rather than the character he portrayed in the drama". Good thing Rica upped it at youtube so I can see it for myself and I just have to share it with everyone who comes to visit.




Another Rain fan added a korean subtitle to the said trailer so to my korean visitors check out this link

Photos From His Fan Meet Last May 28

I love his jeans and that closet from a fan is cute.


But nothing beats seeing him in an apron. How I wish I was one of those who got to taste the rice cake he made.

Better Get Some Tips

I've been anticipating for June 1 to arrive fast. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it happens to be my birthday but it's for another reason all together. Rain's good friend Cha Tae-Hyun got married yesterday.
Since he's been mentioning a lot about marriage, I hope he took a lot of notes last night from his good friend so he can have a well prepared one when the right moment comes.

Here's a close-up of Bi, good looking yeah?

Ok wave to the fans

Hyung, are you excited? I'm really envious cuz this is what I dream.

I can't wait for my time to get married.... (he looks like he's in dreamland).