ockoala,

your husband went to harvard like samsooki?

then i'm sure your husband will appreciate what happened at The Game in 2004:

http://www.harvardsucks.org/index.php

if your husband ever gives you grief about your alma mater, just remind him who really sucks.

@ 201 kb

Thank you, thank you! You made me laugh out lout this morning, which is quite a feat since I have about 2000 emails waiting for me to attend to. Back to work.....

bspanda & langdon813

you don't know how much i'm suffering today.. i really cried over Jae leaving 2PM. he's the heart and backbone of the group. he's the leader.. and then, all the evil stuff that ppl were doing.. posting about him. he was SEVENTEEN when he wrote this stuff FIVE years ago!!! he has since grown up, matured, and has grown to LOVE korea and being korean in korea instead of being Korean-American in Korea. my heart is breaking for Jae and all the other members of 2PM.

they just look so defeated.. disheartened..

I STILL LOVE MY 2PM BOYS!!!

p.s. langdon813 unni--when i visit my sis in Biloxi, i'll bring mochi ice cream for you!

@199, me

Correcting myself; it's Kim Hyun-joong, because "g's" are important.

@203 lb_tmi

It's a deal! ROAD TRIP!

It really is unconscionable what's been done to Jaebeom over the past few days. I'm glad he's heading for his family and getting away from the madness. If he were my son I'd want to get my arms around him as fast as I possibly could.

@lb_tmi - really... everything u said is exactly how i feel. though jae isn't even my 'favorite' member (hell, u of all people know i love them all), he really is the heart and soul of 2pm. without him, they're lost in a way. he was their leader in the truest sense of the word. these past 4-5 days has been a crazy emotional rollercoaster for me as i've been following the news since it broke and the way it escalated to the ridiculous state it did...blows my mind. and if it blows MY mind, i can't even imagine what it's done to the other members.

@langdon813 and @bspanda - it's ridiculous to the nth degree how out of control this situation was allowed to get. netizen antis have way too much power that shouldn't be allowed them. there's a video of them together at a signing after this whole thing broke, and u can just see...how defeated they look. sure they smile for the pics, but their smiles do not light up their whole face like they normally do.. it is heartbreaking to watch. i'm just glad he is going to have some time with family and friends to get thru this. i have hope that he'll return.

2PM FIGHTING! <3

@bspanda,

"Gee what the hell is wrong with Anti’s in Korea? They organise a petition to get someone to ‘commit suicide’? "

I guess there's at least two ways to look at this. It's obviously a reflection of close public and private life is in Korea due to the Internet. Celebrities and pop stars share so much of themselves online and are part of the same social networks as everybody else. Even if 99% of the people are positive, it only really takes one person to start a wildfire. And in addition, the intensity that even positive fans share with celebrities is collectively much stronger than what we have here.

Another way to look at this . . . Even though this is an extreme version of it, this kinda reflects how Koreans see gyopos. It's a bit like being a guest. As long as your manners are impeccable, they'll mostly hold their tongue about your accent, your clothes, whatever. But once the smallest thing comes out, well you're reminded of your place, even if that smallest thing was a long, long time ago.

You raise some interesting points, Samsooki. My perspective on this whole thing may be a bit different, but not being Korean or Korean-American I don't feel that I can speak to or understand the cultural differences Jaebeom may have faced upon his arrival in Korea. My gut reaction is primarily based on having a 22-year old son myself. You could say this is a cautionary tale, but I don't know of any 17-year old in the world who doesn't go online and say stupid things at least 100 times a day. Nothing's going to change that.

I do think that it would have been basic human decency to acknowledge the ignorance of his youth (certainly at the time that the comments were posted), and allow him to opportunity to defend himself properly and perhaps even offer up something in the way of community service as a way to prove his sincerity and his devotion to the country that has given him so much. Was that ever an option? I have no idea, that's an honest question.

What is indisputable is the fact that thousands upon thousands of people actually signed their names to a document calling for this young man to kill himself. Death as apology? I cannot wrap my head around that at all. Did he flee the country because of this? The question is, why wouldn't he? I'm twice his age and believe me, I wouldn't have been able to get out of there fast enough.

There's also a question in my mind as to whether or not he really did quit the band of his own free will. If he did, then I commend him for such a swift decision to sacrifice his career for the sake of the other band members. I don't see it as running away from the problem, but rather removing himself from the situation because he IS the problem.

But if he didn't leave of his own free will, it just proves that old adage that everyone is expendable in the entertainment industry. There are thousands of other Jaebeoms out there just waiting for this opportunity, and he was thrown under the bus.

Regardless of whether or not Jaebeom left of his own accord, or if he did receive a buyout in exchange for quitting, it doesn't change the fact that he's been with these guys for 5 years, living and eating and sleeping and training with them day in and day out. It can't have been easy for him to leave them behind or for them to watch him go, and that makes me incredibly sad. I can't imagine what the next few weeks and months away from them will be like for him (and vice versa, but at least the other guys still have each other).

My hope is that the US media don't grab on to this and make his life even more miserable. Hopefully he can find some peace at home with his family and the time to figure out where to go from here.

"My perspective on this whole thing may be a bit different, but not being Korean or Korean-American I don’t feel that I can speak to or understand the cultural differences Jaebeom may have faced upon his arrival in Korea."

Not really about cultural differences per se. This is about how gyopos are viewed once they "screw up" in the mother country. When the Figure Skating Championships took place in SoCal, Korean Americans were under fire by Koreans for what they perceive as putting too much pressure on her. As an idol, you're already going to get picked apart for words you flubbed or if you say stuff like "I gotta stick up for being an American (i.e. Brian from Fly to the Sky.)" But they'll mostly tolerate it if you beg for forgiveness for being an ignorant gyopo who loves, loves Korea, which is what most K-Am idols end up doing. With a lot of help from his company, Jaeboom probably could have survived this. But he probably realized that this is not the life for him anymore, esp. since it was a hard, hard struggle to get even this far.

As for the suicide petition, it's stuff like that which is why I don't understand why people even want to go into the idol business. It's vicious, but mostly it's viciously petty. Hell, now those organized troll antifans speak English and live over at Popseoul.

@Samsooki - not a huge fan of kpop, but I do try to follow some of the kpop blogs

From what I can tell, kidols are basically enslaved from the time they debut to when their contract expires. They are controlled by management about what they can wear to monitored cell phones and traced meals. So, is it fair to say that Jaebum didn't man up when it probably wasn't his choice? Or that he 'fled' the country? Is it not human nature to seek the comfort of family in the time of crisis?

Most idols are barely allowed to breathe on their own, let alone make any major decisions for the group. Give the kid some slack.

"From what I can tell, kidols are basically enslaved from the time they debut to when their contract expires."

Ehhh . . depends on which company you sign to. And it goes both ways. SM Entertainment micromanages your life . . . but then they're pretty good at damage control. Maybe they're the best at it. It wouldn't be in JYP's interest for 2PM to fold, but I think JYP (who gives his artists much more freedom and a more profitable business model) is significantly weaker/smaller than SM or YG at managing a crisis like this.

FWIW, I actually think Johnny Entertainment exerts even more control over their boys than SM Entertainment. But the media/image control is pretty fabulous.

On a much happier note, Return of Iljimae is really fantastic. I don't think I'm going to finish it before OT Friday, but I'm certainly going to make a serious effort. I had a meeting tonight and I was afraid I'd nod off, so I stopped by my local coffee shop beforehand to get an extra large vanilla latte. I'm totally wired now so who knows how many episodes I'll knock out tonight!

JYP's touching statement about Jaebeom http://seoulbeats.com/2009/09/jyps-rather-personal-official-statement-on-jaebum/

And Jaebeoms sad homecoming http://seoulbeats.com/2009/09/jaebeoms-home-emotions-overflow/

@tg,

"JYP’s touching statement about Jaebeom http://seoulbeats.com/2009/09/jyps-rather-personal-official-statement-on-jaebum/"

Honestly, I don't know how to feel about his statement. I understand that JYP is trying to portray as a once spoiled, immature brat who grew up and became a much different person. But -- and this is definitely my cultural filter on -- I also found it a little patronizing and condescending. That he was acting like a "typical gyopo" who was struggling and didn't know better, but that there's still a little bit of that rebellious streak in there. It seems that JYP is still angry at his 2PM leader.

Having said that, it's also a very personal, honest statement from JYP and he really didn't have to do this. And, I understand that if I were a native of Korea, I'd might read it as deeply compassionate, even paternal and concerned.

city hall. close to the end of episode 14, when BB has arrived and is walking toward Jo Guk there is a beautiful instrumental piece which is not in the OST of this drama. this exact instrumental piece was also alot at the drama "lovers" and also not included on the OST . does anyone know what is the name of this music and where can i find it?
thank you for your help.