Chinese Printed Articles (translated)
19.02.05 Lian He Wan Bao - 1 Day after LBH arrives in Singapore
19.02.2005Lian He Wan Bao
Korea’s Most Perfect Man – Lee Byung Hun
Seeing his fans’ wild welcome, Lee Byung Hun graciously removed his sunglasses, waving to people with appreciation
Fans, upon seeing the hero of their hearts, screamed continually, causing uproar in the airport
Chen Shan Ya reporting
Wu Wei Guo, Wu Qing Shun photography
Hong Kong fans ambushed the airport, trying to touch Lee Byung Hun’s hand
The first to welcome Lee Byung Hun were 12 Hong Kong fans who were able to touch their idol’s hand!
Korean Heavenly King Lee Byung Hun, finally reached Singapore at around 6:40pm SG time to the warmest of welcome from his fans.
The flight KE641 that he was on landed earlier than schedule, and in addition to Lee-oppa being in a hurry, a group of fans who “flew” from their offices after work missed a glimpse of their idol.
On the other hand, as early as 6pm, there were already a group of 12 Hong Kong super fans who were lying in wait outside the arrival area for the passengers of Flight KE641, planning to welcome their idol with wreaths of bright smiles as soon as he stepped off the plane!
Amongst them, one of them, Jennifer (50 years old), reached Singapore at around 4:30pm last afternoon. She said, the other 10 people are all members of Lee Byung Hun’s Hong Kong fan club, and that included a 70 year old fan Liang Rui Fen.
The group reached Singapore last afternoon, yet did not go through customs, opting to give a grand welcome to Lee Byung Hun who is visiting Singapore for the first time.
6:40pm. The hero of all the fans’ hearts wearing a white long-sleeved shirt, jeans and sunglasses appeared, driving the fans into a frenzy!
Although Lee Byung Hun was surrounded by his staff and security personnel, fans did not lose any opportunity to get in ‘touch’ with their idol. In their joy, some were able to shake his hand; others took videos to capture this momentous event. 70 year old Liang Rui Fen although old in age but not in agility, and she was able to hand him a box of chocolates.
And Lee Byung Hun, upon seeing the joy of his fans, also couldn’t resist smiling and shaking the hands reaching out to him, despite the barrier formed by the security personnel. He exemplified the rare rapport and friendliness that is so seldom found in stars.
Jennifer said with joy, “His hair has grown long, and it’s a little messy, but it still has its own charm… He’s better looking in person than on screen, and totally mesmerising!”
Another member Grace had the luck to be able to shake his hand, in the end she did not let go for about 5 minutes; if you were her, would you be able to bear to let go?
Hong Kong 70 year old grandmother flies to Singapore to gift her idol with a “Golden Rooster”
Afraid to have regrets if she did not come, 70 year old grandmother Liang Rui Fen specially flies to Singapore to gift her idol with a “Golden Rooster”.
She viewed <Beautiful Days> last year, and ever since fell in thrall of him. She said candidly, “I see him as my son!”
She then joined his Hong Kong fan club. Yesterday, being able to see him in person for the first time and being able to shake his hand, she feels elated and happy.
“I have no idea when I’ll be able to meet him next, so if I didn’t come with the other members, I’m afraid I’ll regret it!”
First time seeing her idol, Liang Rui Fen especially brought a “Golden Rooster” statuette as a meeting gift: “This is a gold-plated ornamental piece.” She hopes that 35 year old Lee Byung Hun will have luck shining upon him in this Rooster year, and may he accomplish great strides in his career!
Fans desperately hope for some “alone” time with their idol
Lee Byung Hun’s fans from Singapore and Hong Kong prepared a whole horde of gifts for their idol, and their only worry is that they would be unable to give them to him in person.
A representative of LBH.SG told our reporters, “We have requested from Innoform, hoping to have some “alone” time with Lee Byung Hun, so as to personally hand him our gifts.”
She expressed that the local fans have prepared some hampers of local delicacies like barbequed pork, red wine (which Lee Byung Hun reportedly likes to drink), but to date had not received any confirmation from the company. “We are still hoping that the company can arrange something for us!”
Representing the Hong Kong fans, Jennifer also expressed that they had come all the way from Hong Kong to Singapore; everyone had brought gifts, and thus hoped to give them personally to their idol.
She said, “I myself have brought a DVD, within which I have compiled all his past video snippets, and the other fans have brought letters, and hand-knitted scarves, all we are lacking now is a meeting opportunity.”
Heartfelt thoughts: After becoming famous, loss of one’s personal identity
The main objective of Lee Byung Hun’s trip to Singapore is for the promotion of “Brave” and “Human” DVD set.
This set, LBH DVD Box, was first launched last November and comprises 2 DVDs, “Brave” which contains interviews with Lee Byung Hun regarding his childhood and his 14 year acting career, and “Human” which contains snippets of his performances and Byung Hun filmed in a carefree environment.
In the interviews in “Brave”, Lee Byung Hun shows some of his innermost feelings when talking about becoming an actor.
He says, “After becoming recognised, I have gained both fame and wealth, but at the same time, have lost many intangible things, and have lost myself.”
He also sincerely says, “I have lost my real self; in the process of portraying the different characters, sometimes I can’t quite figure myself out. Whenever I’m asked what kind of person I am, I completely cannot find any words at all to describe myself.”
He expresses, being known as a superstar; having to live up to great expectations; gives him a heavy burden to bear, and he fears that he will let those around him down.
His idol is Jackie Chan
From Lee Byung Hun’s schooldays, he started to idolise international superstar Jackie Chan. He says, “I wish I can be like Jackie Chan!”
During the interview, Lee Byung Hun revealed, “The first Jackie Chan movie I saw was <Drunken Fists>. After watching the movie, I wrote down in the first page of my diary, “I want to be like Jackie Chan!”
Around a hundred fans turned up at the airport
Fan club members dressed in pink, screaming Lee Byung Hun’s name, the affable star obligingly took off his sunglasses to greet everyone!
Around a hundred fans turned up at the airport yesterday evening to welcome their idol; amongst which a number were from the Singapore fan club LBH.SG as well as fans from Japan and some Malay fans.
Lee Byung Hun’s appeal seems to cross all boundaries of age and race; looking across the crowd, one can see young girls of 20 as well as matrons of 30 to 40…
As soon as the plane carrying their idol landed, the arrival hall erupted with screams from ecstatic fans. When Lee Byung Hun emerged with a smiling face, the emotions from the fans reached new heights and the usually sedate airport became a place of frenzied activity.
Some continually snapped away on cameras, while some disregarded the security barrier and ran forward to present flowers, while some simply stretched out longing hands to touch their idol or even his clothes.
Although Lee Byung Hun did linger a while to smile and wave at his fans, it was still not enough for them. They ended up chasing him all the way until he entered a black Mercedes where some gave up the chase. However there were at least 4 carloads of fans that chased after him by car until he alighted at his hotel.
Lee Byung Hun enjoys spicy food, including Malay food and satay
Lee Byung Hun enjoys spicy food! Malay food, mee goreng, satay, otah, he tried everything!
At around 8pm last night, Lee Byung Hun together with Innoform staff and his staff went to a seafood centre to taste local food and he was finally able to try the dish he wanted to try: Chilli crabs!
According to reports, Lee Byung Hun likes spicy food and can take a lot of chilli in his food. Although he has the status of a superstar, his tastes run to the ‘simple’ – in yesterday’s menu, besides the chilli crab that he wanted to try, the rest of the menu comprised of local delights like Malay food, mee goring, satay, otah etc.
For example, the peanut sauce for the satay, the chilli in otah or the sambal chilli presented no challenge to Lee Byung Hun; he even added green chilli to his meal.
The publicists expressed that while he was eating; he praised the food; mingled with the staff and crew and personally shook hands and greeted each and every member of staff. “He has totally no airs about him at all, he is extremely affable.”
And yesterday, there were some fans who took up vigil at the hotel, seeing that Lee Byung Hun was going out for dinner, they booked cars to chase after him, but the publicists expressed that the fans were well-behaved; they simply wanted to see more of their idol.
A monk gave him his name
“Lee Byung Hun”, this name was given to him by a monk.
In the “Brave” DVD, he revealed that when he was young, his father gave him a name (which he cannot recall now) but one day, young Byung Hun and his mother were out, and they met a monk. The monk said to his mother that he seemed to be a not-bad child, and then he told my mother that I should have the name “Lee Byung Hun”.
During the interview clips, Lee Byung Hun spoke with fervour and assurance, including his childhood experiences and how he entered the entertainment industry. If you want to know how Byung Hun was as a child, and to better understand his voyage in the industry, why not take a look at “Brave”?
*Translated by Wei Lin 21.02.05*
posted by Wei Lin | 11:09 AM
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