There was some press earlier this year about Jung Ki possibly starring in a remake of 1997 Chinese melodrama "Story of Romance."

To a Chinese audience (i.e.. since King and the Clown), Jung Ki's charisma and public demeanour recalls a young Leslie Cheung. Pretty, fantastic hair, a little bit bad, and yet exceptionally elegant in public appearance. I don't know how much time he has before he's enlisted, but he could be a superstar in China.

well, at least he's not 'one-off' as I thought he would have been.

The face of Hallyu LJK??
Should that be Rain... too busy with Hollywood perhaps??
But good for him...what a career booster.

@Belleza
“Story of Romance.” he's already rejecting the project 6 months ago.I think he's doing a movie next with my favorite actress.^^

Rain?!

Uh....I don't think so. (And I mean that in the nicest possible way).

Yay! I've got a lot of love for Lee Junki. :]] Especially because I just finished watching The King and the Clown. Glad he's getting recognized. :]]

What a pretty picture. I'd forgotten how good he looked.

rain? haha i prefer junki ^^

i think he's new generation of Hallyu stars. He's really proud of Korea. From what i read in any of his interviews, he always mentioned about his countries and korean culture when he's travel in overseas.

Lee Jun Ki deserves the honor of being "the face of Hallyu". If I didn't see his attraction before, I see it now.

@Belleza

Hmm....I never thought about it, but interesting comparison to Leslie Cheung. Lee Junki did rise to fame with The King and The Clown after all. Leslie had not only the beauty, elegance, flamboyance, charisma and talent (as an actor/singer), he was virtually China's Little Prince with a pureness and heartbreaking vulnerability that made the maternal instinct in us want to protect him from the evilness of the world. Even when he was playing an ultra bitchy and self-destructive character (Days of Being Wild, Happy Together), you couldn't take your eyes off Leslie. Lee Junki may be the next Hallyu star to conquer China, and I want to see what he does next after Time of Dog and Wolf and Iljimae (as I honestly think Lee Junki offers something refreshingly different from the other male Hallyu stars) but to me, there can never be another Leslie. :(

Indeed, Lee Jun Ki's popularity has increased enormously in the past several years.
Selecting him as de face of Hallyu is a wise choice,
congratulation to JunKi!

@Felicity,

I think for me, Junki -- the public figure rather than actor -- has a demeanour that, to one culture, translates to a kind of colonial disposition. The original Cantopop Kings all cultivated a melting plot illusion of worldy and blue blood that never seemed offputting or obtuse (not like Johnny's Entertainment, for example.) It suggested a way of engaging, of finding glamour and glitter from garish things, of a civil and supple way to greet one culture with another. I feel Jun Ki (and his hair!) has that same vibe, and it's unique (and culturally familiar) among the actors/singers who have been promoted in China.

"he was virtually China’s Little Prince with a pureness and heartbreaking vulnerability that made the maternal instinct in us want to protect him from the evilness of the world."

Mm hmm. Very much so. The Rimbaud of idols, capable of an insatiable (and selfish and draining) vulnerability, and yet your mum and your grandmum all loved him. Knew him. Shared ideas on fashion and songs with him.

"but to me, there can never be another Leslie."

Ay, and there can be not another Anita. :(

@nileey
i agree. i got into hallyu through Junki in King and the clown. and he didn't have much after that, i was sort of afraid he'd be a one hit wonder. glad that's not the case. =)

Can't sit and read LJK being compared to Leslie Cheung. Leslie's face is impeccable, whilst LJK's face is debatably aesthetically perfect. I for one didnt find his eyes have the same soulful innocence AND sexiness and engrossing appeal as Leslie's. Don't get me wrong, LJK has a rare charisma and talent I do acknowledge, just not to the sweeping universal scope of Leslie's whom even for ppl any age and gender who don't like him find no fault in his facial features, he still is inarguably the personafication of a classical beauty crossing all boundaries.

Leslie (and Anita) RIP and they will forever be sorely missed.

haha LJK-vs-leslie...oh my lord here we go...
i can't stomach the comparison either, but for something else. leslie was unique in his sense of the outsider, one who never fits in due to his excess, ambition, being a staunch provocateur, some deep-seated melancholy & self-torture, the sense of always looking at the world and everyone through his own veil of vanity, "blues", desperate search for perfect aesthetics...of course he had a longer career to develop these personae through image and roles (so i'm not talking about his private life/self per se), but junki if anything has no complexes to me. leslie, while showing us the world of glamor, was hiding sadness from day 1 (not just the sexuality stuff.)

Wow, didn't know the offhand comparison to Leslie would generate such a response. I am very pleased people here know who he is! :D

I'm actually speaking of 70s/early 80s Leslie -- pre-glitterboy, pre-sad dandy Leslie. When he was to a Chinese audience, simply, beautifully, sometimes awkwardly, a teenage idol learning the act and to act. Sometimes, I just think Junki's budding persona has a similar effect on the Chinese audience.

But it really could be the hair. ;)

^ hi there belleza...um....still vehemently no.

I'm showing my age, but Leslie had never been awkwardly, he may play several during his teenie idol days, but he had this inborn blue-blooded aristocratic aura around him that was almost unique. LJK is unique in his own way, but I honestly do not see any resemblance, not even the hair (esp not the hair)

Esp earlier in Leslie's career, he's actually been through very rough patches, he was ahead of his times almost and he was stereotyped in playboy-ish fluffy roles. Though he's a pop idol, at the ht of his popularity, he was never PG enough to garner fans across the board. it's not till he's in latter stages in his 30s when he's gotten his due credit for his artistry.

Say the parellel of their roles in Farewell my Concubine and The King and the Clown, Leslie's Douzi had that 'I'm too fab/gorgeous to be trapped in this body/life/lover/movie'. This self love-loathing was the essence that projected his character fr its entrapment and that much more haunting than the movie allowed(which was a lacking adaption for me). LJK's Gonggil was brilliant as a character, but it's more servicing as an essential item for the movie than sprouting a life of its own.

And on a very silly note, I do know/hate dated st guys, if were forced to answer hypothetically who they wanna be with if they were gay, Leslie will be up there. But shuddered at the thought of anything intimate with LJK (please dun take that as bashing ;) )

Leslie was the Marlon Brando of Asia. I could watch Days of being Wild forever. Wong Kar Wai is re releasing Ashes of Time where Leslie is phenomenal. Lee Junki is charismatic but nowhere near Leslie yet!

"Wong Kar Wai is re releasing Ashes of Time where Leslie is phenomenal."

Actually it would be nice to get a commercial copy of Ashes of Time where it didn't look like it was recorded from the back of a theatre. ;)

belleza,
Ashes of Time Redux recently premiered at Cannes where WKW is beloved and will soon be playing in theaters. This is the only film I am really excited to see though I have seen it a hundred times ...I own the bad dvd. Can't wait to see it in the theaters and then buy the dvd.

can someone please explain what hallyu means? I see it all the time but have no clue....

Jun Ki:D
I am so happy for him
great booster for fame
more people will know him and like him(:

HOLLE :LEE JUNKI . I LOVE YOU MUCH

just finished watching iljimae
it's awesome
i luv it
lee junki is so talented
time between dog n wolf is also great
oooooohhhhh~~~~~사랑해 이준기

Hope his new movie Hero will be success.

@19 Hallyu = the love for Korean culture. the Korean wave.