Bae Yong-joon
Bae Yong Jun (born August 291972), is a South Korean actor. He is also known as the abbreviated BYJ to many of his loyal fans, or as Yon-sama (ヨン様) in Japan.
Early life
Born in Mapo-gu, Seoul, to Bae Yung (배영), Song Ki-Ok (송기옥, 宋基玉), he was educated in Il-mun Preschool and Myung-il Elementary School. In his school days, Bae was a very quiet boy with few friends. He eventually went to study in Baejae Middle School and Hanyoung High School. He has a sister, Bae Eun-Chuk (배윤축).
Acting career
After graduating from the FTM (Film, TV & Multimedia) department in the school of arts in the Sungkyunkwan University, Bae later went onto his film debut in PpilKu in 1994. He later went on to star in dramas like "Salut D'Amour" and "Six Steps to Separation" in late 1994 and 1995 respectively.
However, it was not until he starred as Jae-Ho in "True To Love" that he made his first breakthrough. But Bae, being ambitious in venturing out in his acting business, soon was acting in dramas of better quality like "Hotelier". At this time, Bae decided to let his hair grow long.
In 2002, Bae truly managed to expand his acting business to Japan. "Winter Sonata," despite the fact that it was a TV drama and not a movie, razed all of Japan with as much as 20% of the country watching it. This popularity really gave both Bae and his co-star Choi Ji-woo a chance to shift their main stage from Korea to Japan. Other Korean movies and dramas also became quite popular following the fever.
Bae also managed to get a deeper foothold into the Japanese and Southeast Asian market after he starred in the movie Untold Scandal as Jo Won. However, due to the fact that there are several strong sexual scenes in the movie, it did not appeal to the public nearly as much as "Winter Sonata".
After making a tour to Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Phuket in 2004, Bae released his biography during his hysterical 4 1/2-day tour in Japan, where The Image: Volume 1 to commemorate the 10th year of his acting career.
Since 2004, he has been the spokesman for the Japanese pizza chain Pizza-La. Past girlfriends of Bae include Lee San-Gang.
Fan craze
According to the May 3, 2005 issue of Newsweek (Asian International Edition), Bae's fan base covers a wide range of Asian female demographics, including middle aged and married women who mob him when he pays a visit to a particular Asian country. Newsweek also notes that "Japanese women are taking up the study of Korean language and history" because of Bae. During an August 2005 visit to Taiwan, Bae went to the hospital to see a cancer-striken fan, who is a mother and who has drawn hundreds of Bae's potraits (China Times (Chinese language), August 20, 2005 and China Post, August 20, 2005).
Drama
- 2005: The Story of the First King's Four Gods (MBC)
- 2002: Winter Sonata (Winter Love Story, KBS)
- 2001: Hotelier (MBC)
- 1999: True To Love (MBC)
- 1998: The Barefooted Youth (KBS)
- 1997: First Love (KBS)
- 1996: Papa (KBS)
- 1995: A Sunny Place of The Young (KBS)
- 1995: Sea Breeze (PSB)
- 1995: Six Steps to Separation (KBS)
- 1994: Salut D'Amour (Love Greeting) (KBS)
Filmography
- 2005: April Snow
- 2003: Untold Scandal
- 1994: PpilKu
Awards
- 2004: 40th Baeksang: Rookie Award
- 2003: Blue Dragon: Best Newcomer & Popular Star award
- 2002: KBS Drama: Popular Actor Award & Best Actor Award
- 2002: 38th Bak Sang: Popularity award
- 1997: 33rd Bak Sang: Popularity award
- 1996: KBS Drama: The Excellent Actor Award & The Popular Actor Award
- 1995: KBS Drama: Rookie Award & Photogenic Award
Books
- 2004: The Image: Volume 1
Statistics
- Height: 181cm
- Weight: 78kg
- Blood Type: O
- Religion: Roman Catholic
