Watch BYJ - Bae Yong Joon - South Korean Actor Online | Actor

Bae Yong Joon

Posted on 01. Aug, 2009 in Actor

Bae Yong-joon (born August 29, 1972 in Seoul, South Korea), is a South Korean actor best known for his roles in numerous television dramas. He is also known as the abbreviated BYJ to many of his fans, or as Yon-sama (ヨン様), with the “sama” being an honorific suffix in Japanese.

Biography

Born in Mapo-gu, Seoul, he was educated in Il-mun Preschool and Myung-il Elementary School. He eventually went to study in PaiChai Middle School and Hanyoung High School.

Bae Yong acknowledged that he had a girlfriend named Lee Sa Gang (aka Sagan Lee, Sagang Lee) , and a photograph of her has since been distributed on the Internet. However, according to a 2005 edition of the I-weekly, a MediaCorp owned magazine in Singapore, Bae has since separated from Lee, citing personal reasons. He has since decided to keep his marital status private. Sources, notably HanCinema, maintain that Bae is still single.

Bae’s agency, BOF, reported that Bae’s apartment at Samseong-dong, Seoul caught fire on May 7 around 8:00 p.m., due to a short circuit. The house was empty when the fire broke out, thus causing no injuries. However, the fire caused damages costing up to 10 million won.

Bae 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.

He first garnered critical acclaim after appearing in a supporting role on Sunny Place of the Young, where he played the role of the heir to a cosmetics company and best friend of the leading actor, played by Lee Jong Won. Through this role, Bae first gained his now-famous ‘regal’ image. His next acclaimed role was in First Love, where he played the role of Chan-woo, a smart, young man with checkered past, who drops out of law school to join a gang to seek revenge for his family’s misfortunes.

After 1999, Bae decided to step away from acting to focus on his education at Sung Kyun Kwan University, where he majored in film studies.

In 2001, he returned to the small screen, appearing in Hotelier. At this time, Bae decided to let his hair grow long, as evidenced from photographs posted in fan sites.

Bae became world-famous as his next dramatic role, “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 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 Winter Sonata craze. Bae’s role as Kang Jun-sang in Winter Sonata made him the main spotlight of the Korean Wave.

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.

Other Information

Name: 배용준 / Bae Yong Jun
Japanese nickname: ヨン様 / Yon-sama
Profession: Actor
Birthdate: 1972-Aug-29
Birthplace: Mapo, Seoul, South Korea
Height: 181cm
Weight: 78kg
Star sign: Virgo
Blood type: RH+ O

Television

The Legend (MBC, 2007) – This drama portrays the life of the 19th king of Goguryeo, Hwanwoong, who was sent from the heavens to make the world a better place. He falls in love with Saeoh and gives her the joojak necklace; however, Kajin becomes jealous since Saeoh has given birth to Hwanwoong’s son. She takes the baby and throws him off a cliff. Saeoh, thinking that her son had died, is overcome with grief and turns into the black joojak to destroy the world. Hwanwoong is the only one who could stop her. Afterwords, Hwanwoong returns to the Heavens and prophecizes that 2000 years later, the true Joo Shin king will come to Earth. With the help of the four gods, he will rebuild Joo Shin.
Hotelier (TV Asahi, 2007,)
Winter Sonata (KBS2, 2002)
Hotelier (MBC, 2001) – Jin Young (Song Yun Ah), a very open-minded and energetic woman, worked for the Seoul Hotel. Her ex-boyfriend Tae Joon (Kim Seung Woo) resigned and had left for Vegas three years earlier due to an unfortunate incident w/ a guest. The owner of the hotel had always believed in Tae Joon even more so than his own son, Young Jae (Park Jung Chul). When he died of a heart attack, his wife realized that Jin Young must go to Vegas to bring Tae Joon back so he could help run the hotel, which was falling into pieces. Their rival, Kim Book Man (Han Jin Hee), was determined to acquire the Seoul Hotel.
Did We Really Love? (MBC, 1999)
First Love (KBS, 1997) – Choi Soo Jung has the role of the older brother of Bae Yong Joon in a drama that gives us the impact of having love for the first time. He plays the role of Sung Chan Hyuk who is gifted with artistic talent. Bae Yong Joon plays the character of Sung Chanwoo, who gives in his secret first love to his older brother and tries to become “a seed ofthewheat” by sacrificing himself for the family’s happiness instead of going after his own ambition.
Papa (KBS, 1996)
A Sunny Place of the Young (KBS, 1995)
The Six Steps Toward a Separation (KBS, 1995)
Sea Breeze (PSB, 1995)
Salut D’Amour (Love Greeting) (KBS, 1994)
Barefoot Days (KBS2, 1994)