A Fans encounter with BI during the DHC Event

Dear Fans,

I was very delighted on yesterday since I've chance to see Bi so closely, shaking hand & have the figure.

He was even smiling to me when I shaked his hand.

I never thinking of it & it's like a dream at all.

BI is very gentle, handsome & lovely.

Support him forever & ever.

Cecilia
===================



Here's what she's got!

Ralph Laurent Event

Fresh bake from Ralph Lauren event! ^^

Source: rainhk

Teaser poster for Cyborg revealed

The teaser poster of director Park Chan Wook's new movie 'Cyborg jiman gwenchanah (Cyborg but okay)' was revealed with the two main cast, Lim Soo Jeong and Jeong Ji Hoon.

The photo shoot for the teaser poster took place on Jeong Ji Hoon's birthday this past 25th of June. The poster features the main catchphrase 'This Year's Couple of Shinsegye Mental Hospital' along with Lim Soo Jeong's cunning smile and Jeong Ji Hoon proudly wearing a peculiar paper mask.

'Cyborg jiman gwenchanah (Cyborg but okay)' is a romantic comedy drawing the love story of a girl that believes she is a cyborg (played by Lim Soo Jeong) and a guy who says it doesn't matter if she is a cyborg (played by Jeong Ji Hoon). The movie is scheduled to be released in early December.

Source: http://www.broasia.com/lwboard/lwboard.php?act=view&bid=NEWS&tpl=news&pg=1&no=81

Korean Wave Crisis Materializes

The Korea Broadcasting Station (KBS), which produced the drama “Full House” starring the pop singer ‘Rain’ and the actress Song Hye-gyo, requested a review from the Chinese government last September in order to export the drama to China.

But the Chinese government has given no response even one year into the review. KBS, which expected the two popular stars to make waves, are worried of this unexpected obstacle.

The broadcast industry analyzed that the Chinese government is delaying the review because of the influx of Korean dramas into the country.

Since this year, media exports, including drama and music, have been facing grave difficulties.

According to the ‘Extended Balance of Payments Services (EBOPS)’ issued by the Bank of Korea on September 19, the amount of exports in media contents from January to July this year was $97 million, while imports were $135.4 million, amounting to a loss of $38.4 million.

The Korean Wave crisis predicted within the cultural sector has been proved through statistics.


Korean Wave Crisis Begins-

According to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, in 2004 exports in music, movies, and broadcast content were $162.81 million, with imports of $145.35 million, a gain of $17.46 million. The broadcast program has been making a profit for four straight years since 2002.

With the net profits for broadcast programs increasing each year, the broadcasting industry predicts that the Korean wave will continue for at least a few more years.

But according to the EBOPS created by the Bank of Korea starting from this year, the ‘Korean Wave’ may well turn out to be a ‘Cold Wave’ soon. EBOPS is a statistical method to analyze the trade patterns of 11 service sectors including media, logistics, travel, and communications.

The Bank of Korea said, “Since we started analyses this year, we don’t have data for previous years, but the current data can be seen as an indicator that the Korean wave seems to be ebbing.”

Korean Wave Cools-

The Japan Nihon TV website has a ‘Dramatic Korean Wave’ corner. It is a corner by Nihon TV that introduces Korean dramas already broadcasted or about to be broadcasted, and includes twelve popular Korean dramas such as “Romance in Paris” and “Autumn in My Heart” with the actors, plot, and broadcast date.

But there are no Korean dramas that have been shown since this year. Korean dramas are no longer as popular as before in Japan.

According to the “Report on the Situation and Prospects of Korean Dramas in Japan” produced by the Korean Broadcasting Institute (KBI) in March this year, 36 Japanese broadcasting stations as of February this year showed Korean dramas, a decrease by half since February last year with 64 stations.

Media experts state that it is becoming harder to watch Korean dramas on Japanese terrestrial TV channels.

Lee Man-jae, head of the industry research team of the KBI, said “After Winter Sonata became popular in Japan, dramas with similar plots cropped up, and Korean dramas and movies are rapidly losing its popularity in Japan.”

Korean Wave at a Crossroad

Economists analyzed the current difficulties that the Korean wave faces by saying “Its competitiveness has been marred by bland themes and stories, and importing countries have also strengthened restrictions due to worries on cultural imperialism.”

Exports of audio and video contents have the inherent effect of enhancing a country’s image, and experts point that the losses in this area should not be taken lightly.

Goh Jeong-min, senior researcher of Samsung Economic Research Institute, emphasized, “As Hong Kong has been relegated to the periphery of Asia’s cultural market, the Korean wave will also be cast aside if we don’t enhance our product’s competitiveness,” and added, “The Korean wave should be expanded to include online games and services that combine broadcast and telecommunications.”

source: http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2006092227028

��ͼ��Rain���ݵġ�BMW meets truth������

×éͼ£ºRainÖ÷Ñݵġ¶BMW meets truth¡·ÁÁÏà

http://chinese.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2006/09/15/20060915000022.html

Rain to Launch World Tour in December

The concert will herald the beginning of Rain’s five-month world tour, which will cover 12 countries, including the United States, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, China and Japan. Audiences will be invited to donate money to help physically challenged people.

Rain’s world tour will be produced by globally renowned concert producers including Jamie King, who also produced and choreographed concerts for Madonna, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Rain met with King in July in the United States to discuss the preparations. Other prominent figures involved include Tom Hudak, who produced concerts for The Eagles and Prince, and Roy Bennet, who was in charge of lighting at the U.S. MTV Video Music Awards. The scale and quality of Rain’s upcoming tour will be comparable with the global tours of the world’s top artists, and will likely serve as an opportunity for the domestic performance sector to develop further.

Lee In-kwang, CEO of StarM, which is organizing Rain’s tour, said that the upcoming concert in Seoul will serve as a starting point for Rain’s advancement to the global market, and that the charity aspect of the concert will be its most important part because Rain feels great responsibility as a big star.

He also added that one-fourth of the audience will comprise foreign fans and music experts. Rain will donate a part of his world tour proceeds to needy and starving children in underdeveloped countries. StarM will begin distributing tickets to Rain’s concert nationwide this month.

The Star Power of Seoul's Men

[Photos] The Star Power of Seoul's Men
South Korean men are the latest stars to rise with the "Korean Wave," a trend that has marked growing popularity of South Koreans and South Korean goods in China and throughout Asia

pic 1st : Ryu Siwon
pic 2nd : Fans swoon
pic 3rd : Rain at Madison Square Garden in NY.
pic 4th : Jang Dong Gun
pic 5th : Fans cheer for Korean pop star and actor Rain
pic 6th : Rain's Rainy Day Global tour in 2005

Rain live in Las Vegas, NV Dec 23 & 24,2006 2 SHOWS!!

Rain Bi (korean superstar) live in Las Vegas, Nevada December 24,2006

http://www.koreansi ngerrain. com
http://www.rainjung .com
http://www.rainjeon g.com
http://www.levelhig h.com
http://www.highleve lentertainment. com
http://www.highleve lentertainment. com/events. htm
http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/hkchinesec oncertsinsfbayar ea

Date & Time: 2 SHOWS!!
Saturday night, December 23,2003 @ 8:00pm
Sunday night, December 24,2006 @ 8:00pm

Venue Location:
The Colosseum At Caesars Palace
3570 Las Vegas Blvd South,
Las Vegas, Nevada 89119

http://www.harrahs. com/EventsCalend ar.do?
itemCode=CLV& pageLevel= p&locationCode= CLV&categoryName =ALL_CATEGORIES
&subcategoryName= ALL_SUBCATEGORIE S&startDay= 01&startMonthYea r=12-
2006&endDay= 31&endMonthYear= 12-2006&x= 49&y=8

Ticket Prices:
$261.82, $207.27, $152.73, $89.09

Ticket Outlet Locations:

The Colosseum Box Office At Caesars Palace
3570 Las Vegas Blvd South,
Las Vegas, Nevada 89119
Box Office Numbers:
Box Office :702 866-1400
Group Sales :800 933-7110

Ticketmaster

FIRST SHOW: DECEMBER 23,2006
http://www.ticketma ster.com/ event/0A003D13FE 9A7A9D?
artistid=748767& majorcatid= 10001&minorcatid =1

SECOND SHOW: DECEMBER 24,2006
http://www.ticketma ster.com/ event/0A003D2F09 6AA29D?
artistid=748767& majorcatid= 10001&minorcatid =1

this event update was brought to you by:

http://www.koreansi ngerrain. com
http://www.rainjung .com
http://www.rainjeon g.com
http://www.levelhig h.com
http://www.highleve lentertainment. com
http://www.highleve lentertainment. com/events. htm

RAIN at MYX

Hi back from hibernation. Sorry guys been busy these past few days. Anyway, just want to remind all the Rain Fans out there, please don't forget to vote Rain's Move On song at MYX. You can send in your text vote using the following format:


MYXVOTEMOVEON

then send to 2366.
Aja Aja fighting ladies/gents.

I know that this news is already known to everybody but for those who don't, CLOUD PHILIPPINES is the official Rain Fan Club in the Philippines. For those who would like to be part of the fanclub just go to this site: http://cloudphilippines.com

For those who are already part of the club, welcome and enjoy surfing everyone !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Hope to touch base with you all someday.

Rain: Thou shalt not covet the woman of your friend; It's a tough choice between Friendship and Love

16 Sept 06, Mingbao
Journalist Huang Jin Hwa
Credit: Sammi@biwithrain.com
Ch to Eng: Rayndrop

Rain's first Japanese album was released on Wednesday this week, capturing the 6th position on the Oricon Charts - a testimonial to his uprising popularity in Japan indeed. On the other hand, he also announced his concert in Las Vegas, US coming December. He will also be meeting his Hong Kong fans when he is there for commercial publicity. It's no wonder he appeared all happy as he steped out of the car when he attended the BMW press conference two nights ago.

The short music movie "BMW meets truth" which featured Rain was screened during the press conference, during which, Rain discussed the short movie with his mentor and co-star, JY Park.

"BMW Meets Truth" is a combination of fast cars, movie and music. The short movie lasted for 30 minutes and is based on the main concept of "The truth of life". It speaks of love, friendship and loyalty. In the movie, leading actor Rain must rescue his girlfriend who had been kidnapped, but must make a choice between friendship and love. Rain said if his friend really did snatched his girlfriend, he may just kill his friend. But wehn asked if he'll go after the same woman as his friend, he replied, "Thou shalt not covet thou friend's woman", eliciting a round of laughter from the VIPs present.

As the music director and mentor of Rain, JY Park played the role of a traid leader in the movie. He said laugingly that filming's really tough, and he was covered with cold sweat after the shoot.

Rain visiting Hong Kong on 28th Sep

Additionally, Rain's manager in Hong Kong, Cheng Jiaying, confirmed that Rain will indeed be arriving in Hong Kong on 28th Sep to film a new commercial for the brand of make-up, DHC. Although he'll only be in Hong Kong for a few hours, he will be meeting the media on that day. The company is also busy with arranging for Rain's international fanclub. It is said the membership fee costs about HKD 400.

Sept 2005
=======

(adding 2 shows in Sep)

2005.09.02 Tokyo concert

2005.09.03 Tokyo concert

2005.09.08 RAIN's guerilla concert with B-Boy 4 Fam Square Grand Opening


Time: 18:00-19:20
Venue : Fam Sq, Seoul

2005.09.14 Autograph at Myeong Dong Watson
Time: 3pm
1st 150 customers who has bought LG and
another Rain's commericial cosmetics
products.


2005.09.24 All Star Summit
Super Arena (Near Tokyo)
Rain, LBH, KSW
Yen:1,2000/-


Oct 2005
=======

2005.10.08-09 HK Concert
When: 8pm
Where: Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre - Hall 3 (Wanchai)

2005.10.22 Beijing Concert
Gong Ren Ti Yu Guan

2005.10.29 - "I Love Asia in Seoul" concert, Seoul, Korea


Dec 2005
=======

2005.11.27-2005 Mnet Km Music Video Festival

2005.12.06-Kor_Jap 40years friendship concert


29.12.2005 Taipei Concert (per newspaper, JYPE site has not confirm)


2005.12.29 & 30 Taiwan Concert
Where : Xiao Ju Dan (Taipei)

Rain's Diary on JYPE website

[2004.09.26] Chuseok greeting of Rain from offcial home of Rain

Rain said Chuseok greetings to fans.

How are you? I send my greeting to you. It is been so long.
Tomorrow is Chusok that is national holiday.
The chill of morning and evening shows that fall comes.

I spend these days in busy preparing for 3rd Album.^^
A idea like "Is it 3rd Album already?" comes to me, on the other hand,
I am happy and aflutter because I feel like showing new image to you.

I am making effort to repay your long waiting with fantastic stage.^^
I wanna see you as quickly as possible.

I hope that everyone of you is happy on Chusok, have delicious food much... delicious songpyeon, too.^^

If straight holidays end, please expect new image of Rain.
I'm so aflutter October 8th! Support my comeback, please!

Be happy, be careful about cold.
There aren\'t many days left~ I will come soon!!

Say again, Be happy Chuseok~


(source: www.jeongjihun.com)

Rain's Showcase - 13 Oct 2006

The following notice was posted in JYPE today:

Welcome to “RAIN World Tour?homepage. We are StarM the company organizing “RAIN World Tour Premiere?(showcase) on the 13.Oct.2006. We have come to post this notice now because we thought it is best that we post confirmed matters to avoid confusion.

First of all, we will post contents that you would be most concerned about and upcoming matters will be posted right away.

1. About the location and time of “World Tour Premiere(Showcase)?

We are truly sorry for causing inconvenience to the fans because of the showcase date.

The reason for having the show on a Friday was because of the venue rental. It’s been a very long time since “RAIN?had an individual concert and because he hadn’t released an album for two years the scale got bigger. We have checked venue rental beforehand, but the 13th was the only date available for us. There is a marathon event on the 15th in the morning therefore we had no choice but to do the show on the 13th. (This is because the next event is possible after all the stage and sets are clear.)

It takes several days from installing the set to the rehearsal and finally the show. Therefore, please do understand that it is not possible to confirm a date because there is one or two days free in between.


2. Introduction about the “World Tour Premiere(Showcase)?

This show is a promotion for the 4th album released in two years and the general idea is to introduce to the Korean fans first before going on the “World Tour?

Because it’s not an official concert the tickets are free and we are planning promotions connected with major companies and ticket events to gather audiences and to make admission go smoothly. You can get tickets through promotions and events. Further details will be noticed later. Of course, the first concert of the World Tour will be held in Korea on the 15~16th of December at the Olympic Gymnasium in Seoul. The last concert will be held in Korea.


3. Q&A

If you have any questions about “RAIN World Tour Premiere?showcase) and “RAIN World Tour? please call this number. Calls can be taken from 13:00 today. Thank you for your understanding.

82-2-517-1968, 82-2-518-1968

http://www.jype.com/club

Interview in "Move On" DVD

Credit: biwithrain // baidu.com
Kr to Ch: Mushi @ biwithrain
Ch to Eng: Rayndrop@sexybi

Q: Please tell us about this new single and your thoughts when you first heard it?
JH: I like the music style of "Move On". I think everybody can listen to it in a relaxed way, and that's why I chose this song. I hope everybody will be able to feel the emotions behind the rhythm and lyrics.
The first time I heard it...I thought it was really easy-listening, because it's a slow ballad. I think everybody will like it.

Q: What's charming about this song?
JH: The charms of "Move On" lies with the natural feelings that are expressed to the girlfriend who has left. I don't really know how to say this. But the rhythm of the music is where the charms of the song lies...It's not too strong or too weak. The natural beat itself is a kind of charm.

Q: What's the difference between the first time you heard it and after the song has been arranged...?
JH: After singing it, I thought it was really sad and beautiful.

Q: This is a song about a girl who has fallen for another man. How would you feel if it really happened to you?
JH: Probably very heartbroken. Although I'll be in grief for a long time, I may just keep on waiting.

Q: There's a line in the song "Promise of eternity" Was there a time when you thought "if only this will go on forever"?
JH: During my concert, I've frequently thought, if only this will go on forever.

Q: Concept of the PV?
JH: The concept of this PV is "All in One Shot". No editing, just one shot filming from beginning till end. When everyone watches it, they will be able to experience the natural feel. Plus the rainy scene at the end, I believe all of you will like it.

Q: To fans who have already purchased the CD...
JH: There will be an album released after this third single. You could say its the compilation of all the music released so far. There are songs which everybody will like, and Korean songs which you can learn the language from. You will definitely like it.

CLOUD MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION

Please Note! You need to be a JYPE/ Joyplace member before you can register. If you are not a member yet, please go register now.

Register Here: Joyplace Registration for Foreigner

CLOUD MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION
[Opens 13th Sep]
Credit: JYPE (joyplace.jype.com/rain)

Dear patrons,

I am the staff in charge of the official global fan club, ¡°the cloud¡± of Rain.

In order to help you, our members better carry out your activities of ¡°the cloud¡±, we are now announcing to open up local representatives of the official global fan club, ¡°the cloud¡± of Rain in 12 different regions as follows.

Japan, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam, the U.S.A. and Europe

Sign-up Period : Sept. 13, 2006, Wed. ~ Oct. 13, 2006, Fri.

Event Period : Nov. 1, 2006 through the end of the 4th Series Event of Rain


[Member Benefits]

1) Receive a membership card with the photo of Rain and the logo of [the cloud].

2) A one-time pass to participate in fan meeting exclusively for [cloud] members.

3) Free subscription to online non-periodical [the cloud] webzine.

4) Receive [the cloud] official souvenir one time through mail after sign-up.

5) Participate in [the cloud] community activities and receive information service (currently under renewal)

6) Participate in open programs and events where Rain participates (to be discussed with the sponsoring body)

7) Benefits on domestic and overseas performance of Rain

- [the cloud] group tickets and priority on seats(to be discussed with the local precarious performance agency)

8) Other special benefits


[Membership fee]

1) 50,000 won for Koreans and foreigners living outside Korea

- Membership fee for members living outside Korea is 50,000 won because of the cost for [EMS mailing cost]+[return cost for unreceived items]+[credit card transaction fee]+[Transaction fee over the web] in addition to the basic fee of 25,000 won.

[Sign-up Method]

1) Access http://joyplace.jype.com/

2) Log-in

3) Click the banner to sign up [the cloud]

4) Move on to the sign-up page

5) Accept the Member Agreement

6) Fill out personal data and transaction information

7) Payment

â–º 50,000 won for payment from abroad

- Pay through online credit card transaction with Visa, Master, JCB, AMEX, and Diners.

* The reason we accept only credit card payment for overseas members is because the bank charges 150% the membership fee when wiring from abroad. So we limited the payment method to online credit card transaction that has transaction fee of only less than 5% to reduce the members¡¯ burden.

* In summary, overseas payment accepts only credit card.

Please, note that all other payment methods will result in automatic cancellation.

It's RAINing again in HK in end of Sept!

There is s secret meeting between Rain and his fans~

Korean top star RAIN will step into Hong Kong again at the end of this month, for his DHC spokeman identity, and his fans will definitely flood the venue. So be prepared and queue up earlier to get a good place to watch your idol!

Rain's manager refused to release his schedule in Hong Kong to avoid chaos. Recently Rain is actively involved in the rehearsal of his tour concert , which will be held in the end of this year. The singing part will be in charge by US team, as well as several international producers will join the concert production, including Jamie King who has choreagraphed for Madonna. This tour concert covers 12 cities, namely HK, Taiwan, US, etc.

In October 13, he will join a charity musicshow to warm-up. 40,000 fans are invited for this free musicshow and donate as much as they want. The donation is fully transferred to charity fund to assist the disabled.

On the other hand, JYPE will set up International Fanclub for Rain and it is named 'THE CLOUD".

Source: The Sun Daily & Sina Entertaiment
Up by rainhk.com
Edition & translation by jjbug@MJJH/ rain-malaysia

credit: RainSingapore

Rain to Give Free Concert for 40,000 Fans

Singer Rain will invite some 40,000 fans to a concert free of charge ahead of his world tour slated for December. The organizers of Rain's tour said the concert will take place October 13 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul and that its repertoire and scale will be the same as those of the singer's world tour.

Rain's world tour, entitled "Rain's Coming", is the largest project in scale among worldwide tours ever given by a Korean artist. Rain will perform in major cities of 12 countries, including the United States, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, China and Korea, over a period of five months. The organizers said Rain's upcoming tour will be on par with Madonna's latest tour in terms of scale.

The production crew of Rain's tour will include several high-profile figures, such as choreographer Jamie King, who produced Madonna's "Confession Tour" and choreographed for Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, and world-renowned concert director Dago Gonzales.

According to the organizers of the tour, the purpose of Rain's free-of-charge concert in Seoul is to express the singer's gratitude to his domestic fans ahead of his concerts overseas, because they are the ones who always supported him. The singer will also hold a fund-raising campaign at the concert to help physically challenged people. The audience will be invited to donate as much money as they want for the cause.

Tickets to Rain's concert will be distributed free of charge nationwide beginning late this month.


Source : english.kbs.co.kr... ( English )

MCA to release Rain's Album in the Philippines

Announcement to all Philippine BIers:

"MCA" will locally release Rain's album "Eternal Rain" featuring the single "MOVE ON."

Let's all watch out for it. This should have been discussed last night during the meeting with RainPhilippines but for some reason it was not mentioned. Maybe they forgot to inform the rest of the BIers. Anyway, looking forward to this and hope it will be soon.

CUTE RAIN GIFs from Baidu

These are cute, just like to share to those who were not able to see it yet.

site credit: RainSingapore

Latest announcement from Japan

To members of Japan official fanclub,

As offcial fanclubs, the Korean official webpage and Cloud Japan are always backup for RAIN. After discussions, now the global fanclubs will be set up soon. Previously, fans from other countries such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, etc faced various difficulties when they purchased concert tickets.

From now on, all the fans from every country will enjoy and share the info about RAIN, and the purchasing of concert tickets is much easier, too. Being an official fanclub in Japan, Cloud Japan will try to get a balanced relationship with global fanclubs, in terms of activities, special programmes, etc. Cloud Japan will discuss with the person in charge of global fanclubs.

Regarding the tickets for overseas activities, currently both Cloud Japan and global fanclubs will accept the application. The tickets for showcase and performance of 4th album will be announced later. Thank you for your sopporting!


Chinese translation from ca0825@BiwithRain
English translation by jjbug@MJJH/ rain-malaysia
From: www.rain-malaysia.com

TRANSLATION OF CLOUD MASTER'S MESSAGE @ JYPE

Credit to ÁöÈÆ¢½Åä³¢´Ô(janeytokki) @ JYPE

Dear fans who have treasured and loved JYPE and Rain.

Hello and it is a pleasure to meet you.

I am cloud master who will be working with the International Offical Rain Fanclub 1st Chapter [THE CLOUD].

Since, Rain will go beyond Korea into the other Asian countries with his 4th album,
it is important that Rain's most treasured stregth and family [Cloud]
should prepare to work hard with him.

In this notice I want to briefly tell all of you about Rain's plans
and to tell you more about our plans with the International Fan club [THE CLOUD].

Á¦ÀÌ¿ÍÀÌÇÇ ¿£ÅÍÅ×ÀθÕÆ®¿Í ºñ¸¦ ¾Æ²¸ÁÖ½Ã°í »ç¶ûÇØÁֽô ÆÒ ¿©·¯ºÐ.
¾È³çÇϼ¼¿ä. ¹Ý°©½À´Ï´Ù

ºñÀÇ ±¹³»¿Ü ÅëÇÕ °ø½Ä ÆÒŬ·´ 1±â [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå]¸¦ ´ã´çÇÏ°Ô µÉ
Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå ¸¶½ºÅÍ ÀÔ´Ï´Ù.

¾Æ½Ã¾Æ¸¦ ³Ñ³ªµé ºñÀÇ º»°ÝÀûÀÎ 4Áý È°µ¿¿¡ ¾Õ¼­,
ºñÀÇ ÃÖ°íÀÇ ÁöÁöÀÚÀÌÀÚ °¡Á·ÀÎ °ø½Ä ÆÒŬ·´ [±¸¸§]µµ
ºñ¿Í ÇÔ²² ¶Û Áغñ¸¦ ÇØ¾ß ÇÒ °Í °°Àºµ¥¿ä.

¾Õ¼­, ÆÒ ¿©·¯ºÐµé²² ºñÀÇ ÀÏÁ¤À» ´ë·«ÀûÀ¸·Î Á¤¸®Çص帮°í
´õºÒ¾î °ø½Ä ÆÒŬ·´ [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå]ÀÇ È°µ¿¿¡ ´ëÇÑ Àü¹ÝÀûÀÎ ³»¿ëµµ
Àü´ÞÇص帮°íÀÚ ÇÕ´Ï´Ù.


Looking foward to the release of Rain's 4th album in October,
I am sure many of your are curious about Rain's performances for his album, his show case,
his Asian Tour, and the Global fanclub.

Rain's 4th album will be released with his showcase in October.

During November, Rain will perform on Korean TV and such to promote his 4th album.
On top of that he will be preparing for the Asian Tour and he will also be busy with his duties in other Asian countries which will release his 4th album at the same time.

In December, Rain will be busy with his First Movie premier.
December is also the month in which Rain's Asia Tour begins.
We will be letting you knwo about the definite situations about the Tour through STAR EM, who is organizing the concerts.


10¿ù, ºñÀÇ 4Áý ¹ß¸Å¸¦ ¾ÕµÎ°í ¸¹Àº ÆÒ ¿©·¯ºÐµé²²¼­
ºñÀÇ À½¹Ý È°µ¿À̳ª ¼îÄÉÀ̽º, Äܼ­Æ® Åõ¾î ±×¸®°í ±Û·Î¹ú °ø½Ä ÆÒŬ·´ ¸ðÁý¿¡
´ëÇؼ­µµ ±Ã±ÝÇØÇÏ°í °è½Ç °ÍÀ̶ó »ý°¢µÇ´Âµ¥¿ä.


ºñÀÇ ±¹³» Á¤±Ô 4Áý ¾Ù¹üÀº 10¿ù ¼îÄÉÀ̽º¿Í ÇÔ²² ¹ß¸Å°¡ µÉ ¿¹Á¤ÀÔ´Ï´Ù.

11¿ù Áß¿¡´Â ±¹³» 4Áý ¹æ¼Û È°µ¿°ú Åõ¾î °ø¿¬ ¿¬½ÀÀÌ, ±×¸®°í
µ¿½Ã¿¡ ÇØ¿Ü¿¡¼­´Â °¢Á¾ Çà»çµé·Î ºñ´Â ¹Ù»Û ÀÏÁ¤À» º¸³»°Ô µÉÅÙµ¥¿ä

12¿ù¿¡ µé¾î¼­¸é ºñÀÇ Ã¹ ½ºÅ©¸° µ¥ºß¿Í ÇÔ²² ¿µÈ­ È«º¸ È°µ¿ÀÌ ¿¹Á¤µÇ¾îÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù.
¶ÇÇÑ 12¿ù¿¡´Â ºñÀÇ Äܼ­Æ® Åõ¾î°¡ ½ÃÀ۵Ǵ ½ÃÁ¡À̱⵵ Çѵ¥¿ä
Äܼ­Æ®¿Í °ü·ÃµÈ Á¤È®ÇÑ ÀÏÁ¤Àº È®Á¤ÀÌ µÇ´Â´ë·Î °ø¿¬ ´ëÇà»ç <½ºÅ¸¿¥>À» ÅëÇØ
°øÁöÇص帮µµ·Ï ÇÏ°Ú½À´Ï´Ù

These days Rain is busy recording and practicing his dance moves for the 4th album, but he is also preparing himself for the showcase and tour.

I anticipate the work of Rain's best supporters [THE CLOUD]

[THE CLOUD] will be a Global Offical Rain Fanclub that is organized by JYPE. This year would be its 1st chapter.

Starting September 11, 2006 we plan on taking acceptances through the Main Rain homepage,
and anyone who loves Rain will be able to apply to be part of [THE CLOUD] as long as they fill out an offical form.

Once a fan become a member of the 1st chapter [THE CLOUD],
he or she will automatically be a member of [THE CLOUD] official community,
and the member will be able to be active on the community till the time 1st chapter ends.


ÇöÀç ºñ´Â ³ìÀ½, ¾È¹« ¿¬½À µî Á¤±Ô·Î ±¹³» ¹ß¸ÅµÉ 4Áý ¾Ù¹ü ÀÛ¾÷¿¡
Àü³äÇÏ°í ÀÖ°í, µ¿½Ã¿¡ ¼îÄÉÀ̽º¿Í Åõ¾î ÁغñÁßÀÔ´Ï´Ù.


±×·¡¼­ ºñÀÇ ÃÖ´ë ¼­Æ÷ÅÍÀÎ [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå]µµ º»°ÝÀûÀÎ È°¾àµµ
¾ÕÀ¸·Î ±â´ë°¡ µÇ´Âµ¥¿ä

[´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå]´Â ºñÀÇ ¼Ò¼Ó»ç Á¦ÀÌ¿ÍÀÌÇÇ ¿£ÅÍÅ×ÀθÕÆ®°¡ ¸ðÁýÇÏ´Â
1±â ±Û·Î¹ú °ø½Ä ÆÒŬ·´ÀÇ ¸íĪÀ̱⵵ ÇÕ´Ï´Ù.

9¿ù 11ÀϺÎÅÍ °ø½Ä ȨÆäÀÌÁö¸¦ ÅëÇØ Àü¼¼°èÀûÀ¸·Î µ¿½Ã ¸ðÁýµÉ ¿¹Á¤À̸ç,
ºñ¸¦ ÁÁ¾ÆÇÏ´Â ´©±¸³ª ȨÆäÀÌÁö¿¡¼­ ÀÏÁ¤ÇÑ µî·Ï ¾ç½ÄÀ» ÀÛ¼ºÇϽðí
¹«·á·Î °¡ÀÔÇÏ½Ç ¼ö ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù.

¶ÇÇÑ ºñÀÇ °ø½Ä ÆÒŬ·´ [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå] 1±â ȸ¿øÀÌ µÇ½Ã¸é
Á¦ÀÌ¿ÍÀÌÇÇ È¨ÆäÀÌÁö ³» [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå] °ø½Ä Ä¿¹Â´ÏƼ ȸ¿øÀ¸·Î ÀÚµ¿ µî·ÏµÇ½Ã¸ç,
ÀÌ °÷¿¡¼­ 1±â È°µ¿ÀÌ ³¡³ª´Â ±â°£±îÁö È°µ¿À» ÇÏ°Ô µË´Ï´Ù.

The advantages of being part of the Official Fanclub is as follows:

First, you will be able to purchase products made especially for [THE CLOUD] which contain [THE CLOUD] logo designed by the one and only Rain along with his lip mark.

Secondly, you will be able to participate in the various events help by JYPE which can have prizes.

In addition, you will receive reserved seating for the showcase, Rain's Asia Tour, and any other offline events that Rain is involved in.
(We are working very hard on the fanclub seating for the Asia Tour, but we will inform you very promptly as soon as official decisions are made.)

°ø½Ä ÆÒŬ·´ÀÌ ¹ÞÀ» ÇýÅÃÀº ´ÙÀ½°ú °°½À´Ï´Ù

¿ì¼±, ºñ°¡ Á÷Á¢ µðÀÚÀÎÇÑ [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå]ÀÇ °íÀ¯ ¸¶Å©¿Í
ºñÀÇ ÀÔ¼ú µµÀåÀÌ ÇÔ²² µé¾î°£ Á¦ÀÌ¿ÍÀÌÇÇ [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå] °ø½Ä ÆÒŬ·´ ¹°Ç°À»
±¸¸ÅÇÏ½Ç ¼ö ÀÖ´Â ÀÚ°ÝÀÌ ÁÖ¾îÁý´Ï´Ù.

¶ÇÇÑ ¼Ò¼Ó »ç°¡ Á÷Á¢ Á¦°øÇÏ´Â ÁÖ±âÀûÀÎ ´Ù¾çÇÑ À̺¥Æ®¿¡ Âü¿©ÇÏ°í
´Ù¾çÇÑ ÇüÅ·Πº¸»ó ¶Ç´Â °æÇ°À» ¹ÞÀ¸½Ç ¼ö ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù.

±×¸®°í ¼îÄÉÀ̽º¿Í ºñÀÇ ¾Æ½Ã¾Æ Åõ¾î µî ºñ¿Í °ü·ÃµÈ ¿ÀÇÁ¶óÀÎ Çà»ç ½Ã
ÆÒŬ·´ Àü¿ë Á¼®¿¡ ´Üü°ü¶÷ ÇÏ½Ç ¼ö ÀÖ°Ô µÇ¸ç,
Á¦ÀÌ¿ÍÀÌÇÇ°¡ ÁÖ°üÇÏ´Â ¸ðµç ¿Â ¿ÀÇÁ¶óÀÎ Çà»ç¿¡¼­ °ø½Ä ÆÒŬ·´Àº
¼± ÇýÅÃÀ» ¹Þ°Ô µË´Ï´Ù
(ÇöÀç Åõ¾î °ø¿¬°ú °ü·ÃµÈ ÆÒŬ·´ Á¼® ÇýÅÃÀº ¹ÌÈ®Á¤ »óŸç,
ÆÒŬ·´ ÇýÅÃÀ» µå¸®±â À§Çؼ­ °¢ ³ª¶óº° ´ëÇà»çµé°ú Á¶Á¤ Áß¿¡ ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù)

I also would like to tell you about the setup of the Global Fanclub [THE CLOUD].

First, the countries (Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Phillipine, Hong Kong, Vietnam, United States, and Europe) will each have an Official Rain Fan site in its own language. Then in the MAIN Rain Global Hompage, there will be pictures of each of the above 13 countries' flags which will be linked to each countries' Offical Rain Fansite.

Then the operators of each Offical Rain Fansite will be one of the Offical Operators of the MAIN [THE CLOUD] community.

For fans in Korea, there will be a period to apply to become part of the official operators for the 1st chapter of [THE CLOUD]


¶ÇÇÑ °ø½Ä ±Û·Î¹ú ÆÒŬ·´ [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå]´Â ´ÙÀ½°ú °°Àº ÇüÅ·ΠÀü¼¼°èÀûÀÎ ¸ÁÀ»
°®°Ô µË´Ï´Ù.

¿ì¼±, ¼±Á¤µÈ 13°³±¹(Çѱ¹, ÀϺ», Áß±¹, ű¹, ´ë¸¸, ½Ì°¡Æú, ¸»·¹À̽þÆ, Àεµ³×½Ã¾Æ,
Çʸ®ÇÉ, È«Äá, º£Æ®³², ¹Ì±¹, À¯·´±Ç )¿¡¼­ ÇÑ »çÀÌÆ®¾¿ ºñÀÇ ´ëÇ¥°Ý ÆÒ »çÀÌÆ®¸¦
»ÌÀº ´ÙÀ½, °ø½Ä ȨÆäÀÌÁö ³»¿¡ ±× ³ª¶óÀÇ ±¹±â¸ð¾çÀÇ ¹è³Ê¸¦ °Ç ÈÄ ±× ³ª¶óÀÇ ´ëÇ¥
»çÀÌÆ®¸¦ ¸µÅ©½Ãų ¿¹Á¤ÀÔ´Ï´Ù.

±×¸®°í ÀÌ »çÀÌÆ®ÀÇ ¿î¿µÀÚµéÀº (¿î¿µÀÚµéÀÇ µ¿ÀǸ¦ ¾òÀº ÈÄ) Á¦ÀÌ¿ÍÀÌÇÇ °ø½Ä
ȨÆäÀÌÁö ³» [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå] Ä¿¹Â´ÏƼ ¿î¿µÀÚ·Î ÀÚµ¿ µî±ØµÇ°Ô µË´Ï´Ù.

´Ü, ±¹³»ÀÇ °æ¿ì´Â [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå] 1±â¸¦ ÃÑüÀûÀ¸·Î ¿¬°á, °ü¸®ÇÒ Çѱ¹ ÀÓ¿øÁøÀÌ
¸ðÁýµÉ ¿¹Á¤ÀÔ´Ï´Ù.

Once these official operators are picked, they will be a team who has the responsibility of taking care of [THE CLOUD] community.

Each country's representatives, who are part of the official operators, will be part of [THE CLOUD] online work, but they will also work with JYPE for any offline events. In case of a serious business, these official operators may be present at a meeting where Rain is present.

The picking of the representative Official Rain Fansite and their representative offical operator will be announced in the near future through a different notice.

Once Rain's Global Official Fanclub has finished it's application process, the Offical Homepage for Rain within JYPE will be changed.
Rain's Official Homepage, Personal Mini Hompage, and Official Fanclub Community will be operated as explained below.


±×¸®°í ÀÌ ´ëÇ¥ »çÀÌÆ®¿Í [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå] Ä¿¹Â´ÏƼ¸¦ °øµ¿ ¿î¿µÇÒ
¿î¿µÁøµé¿¡°Ô´Â [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå] ÀÓ¿øÁøÀ¸·Î½á Ã¥ÀÓ°ú ±ÇÇÑÀÌ µ¿½Ã¿¡ ÁÖ¾îÁý´Ï´Ù

°¢ ³ª¶óÀÇ ´ëÇ¥ÀÚµéÀÇ °øµ¿ °ü¸®ÇÏ¿¡ ¿î¿µµÉ Á¦ÀÌ¿ÍÀÌÇÇ ´å ÄÄ ³» [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå]
Ä¿¹Â´ÏƼ´Â ¿Â¶óÀÎ È°µ¿»Ó ¾Æ´Ï¶ó ¿ÀÇÁ¶óÀÎ È°µ¿µµ ÇÔ²² ÀÌ·ç¾îÁú ¿¹Á¤À̸ç,
¿î¿µÁøµéÀÇ ÁÖ±âÀûÀÎ ÃÑȸ ½Ã¿¡´Â, ºñ°¡ Á÷Á¢ Âü¼®ÇÑ ÀÚ¸®¿¡¼­ ȸÀÇ°¡
ÁøÇàµÉ °ÍÀÔ´Ï´Ù.

°¢ »çÀÌÆ® ¼±Á¤°ú ´ëÇ¥ÀÚ, ±×¸®°í ±¹³» ÀÓ¿øÁø ¼±Á¤¿¡ ´ëÇÑ ³»¿ëÀº ÃßÈÄ
°øÁö¸¦ ÅëÇØ ÀÚ¼¼È÷ ¾Ë·Áµå¸®µµ·Ï ÇÏ°Ú½À´Ï´Ù.


±×¸®°í 9¿ù ºñÀÇ ±Û·Î¹ú °ø½Ä ÆÒŬ·´ÀÌ ¸ðÁýµÇ¸é,
µ¿½Ã¿¡ Á¦ÀÌ¿ÍÀÌÇÇ ´å ÄÄ ¾È¿¡ ÀÖ´Â ºñÀÇ °ø°£µµ ÀçÁ¤ºñµÉ ¿¹Á¤Àä.
ºñÀÇ °ø½Ä ȨÆäÀÌÁö, °³ÀÎ ¹Ì´Ï ȨÆäÀÌÁö, °ø½Ä ÆÒŬ·´ Ä¿¹Â´ÏƼ ¼¼ °÷Àº
´ÙÀ½°ú °°Àº ¼º°ÝÀ¸·Î ±¸ºÐµË´Ï´Ù

First, the offical homepage will have the 13 flags that are linked to each country's representative offical fansite.
Also, the banner to apply to be part of [THE CLOUD] will be set up on the offial homepage.
You will also be able to purchase official [THE CLOUD] products through this page.

Rain's personal mini hompage in Joyplace is a space which Rain operates himself
so it will be set up to have Rain's Diary room, Pictures Room, and a Staff Room which
I, the cloud master will be in charge of.

Lastly, Rain's official fanclub [THE CLOUD] community will be organized by
the group of official operators from different countries as a team.
This part is not completely decided but we will let you know when everything is definite.

¿ì¼± °ø½Ä ȨÆäÀÌÁö¿¡´Â ¾ð±ÞÇص帰 ´ë·Î 13°³±¹ÀÇ ±¹±â ¸ð¾çÀÇ ¹è³Ê¿¡ °¢ ³ª¶óÀÇ
´ëÇ¥ »çÀÌÆ®°¡ ¸µÅ©µÉ ¿¹Á¤ÀÔ´Ï´Ù.
¶ÇÇÑ [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå] °¡ÀÔÇϱ⠹è³Ê°¡ ¸ÞÀÎ ÆäÀÌÁö¿¡ ³ëÃâµÇ°í
ÀÌ ¹è³Ê¸¦ ÅëÇØ °ø½Ä ¹°Ç°µµ ±¸¸Å ÇÏ½Ç ¼ö ÀÖ½À´Ï´Ù

ºñÀÇ °³ÀÎ ¹Ì´ÏȨÆäÀÌÁöÀÎ Á¶ÀÌ È¨ÇÇ´Â ºñ°¡ Á÷Á¢ °ü¸®ÇÏ´Â °ø°£ÀÎ ¸¸Å­
ºñÀÇ °³ÀÎ ´ÙÀ̾ ¹æ°ú »çÁø ¹æ ±×¸®°í Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå ¸¶½ºÅÍ°¡ ²Ù¹Ì´Â ½ºÅÇ ¹æÀ¸·Î
³ª´©¾îÁú ¿¹Á¤ÀÔ´Ï´Ù.


³¡À¸·Î ºñÀÇ °ø½Ä ÆÒŬ·´ [´õ Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå] Ä¿¹Â´ÏƼ´Â
°¢ ³ª¶óÀÇ ´ëÇ¥ »çÀÌÆ® ¿î¿µÀÚÀ̸ç Ä¿¹Â´ÏƼ ¿î¿µÀÚµéÀÎ ±¸¸§ ÀÓ¿øÁøµé°ú
³íÀÇÇÑ ÈÄ ¼¼ºÎ ±¸¼ºÇÒ °èȹÀÔ´Ï´Ù.

Well, I feel that maybe this notice have made more people confused because it is out of nowhere.
But cloud master will frequestly put up notices to let you Rain Fans know more about what is going on.

I hope that everyone will be intrigued and excited by all the change that will take place, and I will keep all of you updated with another notice soon.

Please anticipate it.

Thank you very much.


ÀÚ, µÎ¼­¾øÀÌ ³ª°£ ÀÌ °øÁö¸¦ º¸½Ã°í ÆÒ ¿©·¯ºÐµéÀÇ ±Ã±ÝÁõÀÌ ´õ ´Ã¾î³ªÁö ¾Ê¾Ò³ª ÇÏ´Â »ý°¢ÀÌ µå´Âµ¥¿ä.

Ŭ¶ó¿ìµå ¸¶½ºÅÍ°¡ ¸ÅÀϸÅÀÏ ºñÀÇ °ø°£¿¡ ±ÛÀ» ³²±â¸é¼­ ¿©·¯ºÐµé°ú ´ëÈ­Çϵµ·Ï
ÇÏ°Ú½À´Ï´Ù

¾ÕÀ¸·Î ÆîÃÄÁú ´Ù¾çÇÏ°í Àç¹ÌÀÖ´Â ±¸¸§ À̾߱⿡ ¾ÕÀ¸·Î °è¼ÓÀûÀÎ °ü½É ¹Ù¶ó¸ç
À̾ ºÎºÐº°·Î ÀÚ¼¼ÇÑ ³»¿ëÀÇ °øÁö¿Í ÇÔ²² ´Ù½Ã ¿Àµµ·Ï ÇÏ°Ú½À´Ï´Ù

±â´ëÇØÁÖ¼¼¿ä. ^^
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by Rayndrop

Message from JYPE on Phase 4 Korean Clouds
30 Aug 06
Credit: joyplace.jype// biwithrain // baidu

Kr to Jp: ¿µ¿øÈ÷¸¶¿Í¸®@joyplace
Jp to Ch: ca0825@biwithrain
Ch to Eng: rayndrop

Hello everybody. I am the Cloud Master.

After our last announcement, we received many queries from our phase 4 Korean Clouds (rayndrop: meaning Korean Clouds who joined during phase 4 of Cloud recruitment)

This is with regards to the paying membership system for Korean Clouds during phase 4.

The content is about the activities which everybody is concerned about.

First of all, we apologise for not being able to explain the content clearly, causing much anxiety
(rayndrop: Not very sure about this one sentence...)

I believe the two major issues of concern are:

1. The validity period of this Phase 4 Cloud membership, as well as the entitled activities.

2. Will there be a Phase 5 Cloud recruitment?

Let me first address the validity period of this Phase 4 Cloud membership and the activities which these members are entitled to.

Phase 4 Cloud recruitment, which was completed early this year, had adopted a scheme where members pay to join Rain's Korean official fanclub.

This membership is valid until December 2006.

Even as "The Cloud" starts another recruitment activity, members from the phase 4 Cloud recruitment will not be affected.

Phase 4 Cloud members will continue to enjoy a special privilege different from the entitlements of overseas Clouds.

For instance, for activities within Korea, Phase 4 Cloud members will still enjoy priority treatment over other Clouds. Overseas fans will have their other special priviledges.

In other words, Phase 4 Clouds will still enjoy the same privileges you are enjoying now.

Of course, until December this year, you will still enjoy priority treatment even for overseas activities.

This means that within "The Cloud", there will be a differentiation between Overseas fans and Korean fans,
and until the end of this year, Phase 4 Clouds will enjoy priority privileges over all other Korean Clouds.

The second matter is about the possibility of a Phase 5 Cloud recruitment.

First of all, as everyone knows, the significance of "The Cloud"...

is that it is a official fanclub set up to consolidate all local and overseas fans, and that recruitment for "The Cloud" will commence from September 2006.

The activities for "The Cloud" Phase 1 were set to coincide with Rain's 4th Korean album.

After the conclusion of this phase, we plan to commence recruitment for "The Cloud" phase 2.

Recruitment of "The Cloud" phase 2 will be planned to complement the rest of Rain's scheduled activities.

If there is a gap occurs between the recruitments, members of phase 1 will continue to enjoy membership privileges until recruitment for the next phase is completed.

Phase 4 Cloud members will be able to continue attending activities until December 2006.

We are also planning to recruit paid members concurrently with "The Cloud" phase 2 recruitment.

Paid membership is extended to all, not just Korean members.

We will be recruiting paid members starting with the 13 selected countries (or perhaps more).

In other words, Rain's official fanclub will be made up of Clouds with "Free membership" and "Paid Membership".

There will be "The Cloud" (Non-paying membership) and "The Cloud VIP" (Paid membership->tentative title).

Of course, both fanclubs will be housed under the roof Rain's official website "The Cloud".

All these are still in the planning stage, and I believe there could be changes along the way.

We will try to work out better proposals, and eventually select the best plan.

However, at the moment, we would like to clarify with everybody because we hope to clear the doubts of our members as much as possible, to a certain extent.

I believe, with the strength of everybody's thoughts, a better solution will emerge.

JYPE will listen to everyone with an open heart.

We will work harder.

Please continue to give us your constructive feedback and compliments. Thank you!

There will be more discussions. We hope to resolve this with the help of everybody...

All right, I'll stop here for now.

Thanks everybody!

Rain Schedule for September and October 2006

Sept 2006

6 Sept 2006 - Release of 3rd Japanese single "Move On"

http://www.hmv.co.jp/Product/detail.asp?SKU=1301608

13 Sept 2006 - Release of Japanese album "Eternal Rain"

http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail.asp?sku=1266392

http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail.asp?sku=1266387


Oct 2006

13 Oct 2006 - 4th Korean album showcase in Seoul

15 Oct 2006 - Release of 4th Korean album

Japanese Women Catch the 'Korean Wave' Male Celebrities Just Latest Twist in Asia-Wide Craze

By Anthony Faiola
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, August 31, 2006; Page A01

TOKYO -- Thin and gorgeous in a slinky black dress, Mikimoto pearls and a low-slung diamond Tiffany pendant, 26-year-old Kazumi Yoshimura already has looks, cash and accessories. There's only one more thing this single Japanese woman says she needs to find eternal bliss -- a Korean man.

She may just have to take a number and get in line. In recent years, the wild success of male celebrities from South Korea -- sensitive men but totally ripped -- has redefined what Asian women want, from Bangkok to Beijing, from Taipei to Tokyo. Gone are the martial arts movie heroes and the stereotypical macho men of mainstream Asian television. Today, South Korea's trend-setting screen stars and singers dictate everything from what hair gels people use in Vietnam to what jeans are bought in China.

Yet for thousands of smitten Japanese women like Yoshimura, collecting the odd poster or DVD is no longer enough. They've set their sights far higher -- settling for nothing less than a real Seoulmate.

The lovelorn Yoshimura signed up last year with Rakuen Korea, a Japanese-Korean matchmaking service, to find her own Korean bachelor. And she is hardly alone. More than 6,400 female clients have signed up with the company, which says its popularity has skyrocketed since 2004, when "Winter Sonata" became the first of many hot Korean television dramas to hit Japan. Even in Shinjuku ni-chome, Tokyo's biggest gay district, niche bars with names such as Seoul Man have sprouted like sprigs of ginseng in a Pusan autumn.

"South Koreans are so sweet and romantic -- not at all like Japanese guys, who never say 'I love you,' " Yoshimura said as she waited for her blind date, a single Korean man, in the 50th-floor bar of a chic Tokyo skyscraper. A telephone operator who lives with her parents in Hiroshima, she has spent thousands of dollars on her quest for a Korean husband, flying to Seoul 10 times in the past two years and bullet-training to Tokyo for seven blind dates with Korean men.

So far, though, she hasn't found the one she's looking for.

"Maybe I'm living in a fantasy world," she said, pouting her blood-red lips. "Maybe I'm looking for the TV stars I can't really have. But we are all allowed a dream, aren't we?"

In part, the new allure of Korean men can be traced to a larger phenomenon known as the "Korean Wave," a term coined a few years ago by Beijing journalists startled by the growing popularity of South Koreans and South Korean goods in China. Now, the craze for all things Korean has spread across Asia, driving regional sales of everything from cars to kimchi.

Meanwhile, the number of foreign tourists traveling to South Korea leapt from 2.8 million in 2003 to 3.7 million in 2004. The bulk of the growth, South Korean tourism officials say, stemmed from Korean Wave-loving Asian women. Partial statistics for 2005 indicate the feminine tide has not yet let up.

For the South Koreans -- who have long suffered discrimination in Japan and who have hardly been known as sex symbols -- it all comes as something of a shock.

Korean male celebrities are now among the highest-paid actors outside Hollywood. According to the South Korean media, "Winter Sonata" star Bae Yong Jun -- whose character stood by his first love through 10 years of car accidents and amnesia -- is now charging $5 million a film, the steepest price anywhere in Asia. In a few short years, Bae is said to have accumulated a merchandising and acting-fee empire worth an estimated $100 million. At least nine other Korean male stars earn more than $10 million a year, according to a list published in June by the Seoul-based Sports Hankook newspaper.

In Seoul, the neon-lit streets are mobbed these days by visiting Asian women, many sporting rhinestone-studded T-shirts emblazoned with images of their favorite Korean stars. Some fans have been known to stake out famous eateries for hours in the hopes of catching a glimpse of their celluloid beaus.

"It's still a little hard to believe that it's gone this far," said tall, tanned Jang Dong Gun, now one of the highest-paid actors in Asia, during an interview in Seoul.

Jang said he was shocked when, during his first trip to Vietnam in 1998 to promote his new Korean TV drama, thousands of women mobbed his plane at the Hanoi airport and an armada of female fans on motor scooters chased his car all the way to his hotel.

In 2001, the Seoul-based manufacturer Daewoo Electronics hired him as its Vietnam spokesman. Over the past five years, the company said, its refrigerators' market share in Vietnam went from a blip to a robust 34 percent.

"If we can give them a little more joy in their life and show them another side of Korea, than I can only see that as a plus for us and them," he said.

In China, South Korean programs broadcast on government TV networks now account for more than all other foreign programs combined, including those from the United States and Japan, according to South Korean government statistics. Even in Mexico -- land of the telenovela -- a flock of local women stood outside South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun's hotel during a recent visit, holding placards with Korean stars' names. In the United States, the Seoul-based singer Rain played two sold-out nights at Madison Square Garden in 2005. Also last year, sinewy Daniel Dae Kim, the Korean-born actor from the hit show "Lost," was the only Asian to land a spot in People magazine's "Sexiest Men Alive" edition.

Entertainment industry leaders in Seoul credit the phenomenon to good marketing coupled with an uncanny response throughout Asia to the expressive nature of the South Koreans -- long dubbed the Italians of Asia. A hearty diet and two years of forced military duty, industry leaders and fans insist, have also made young South Korean men among the buffest in Asia. Most important, however, has been the South Korean entertainment industry's perfection of the strong, silent type on screen -- typically rich, kind men with coincidentally striking looks and a tendency to shower women with unconditional love.

"It's a type of character that doesn't exist much in Asian movies and television, and now it's what Asian women think Korean men are like," said Kim Ok Hyun, director of Star M, a major star management company in Seoul.

"But to tell you the truth," she said. "I still haven't met a real one who fits that description."

Though the Korean Wave hit Japan relatively late, washing ashore only within the past 24 to 36 months, the country has quickly become the largest market for Korean stars. Bae remains the biggest, but his supremacy is being challenged. Actor Kwon Sang Woo, for instance, is charging $200 for some seats at an upcoming "fan meeting" in Tokyo. Thousands of Japanese are scrambling for a chance to watch him play games with fans, chat and perform little song-and-dance numbers. Some tickets are going for as much as $500 on online auction sites.

Almost all the major Korean male stars have opened lucrative "official stores" in Tokyo. In the three-story boutique of Ryu Siwon, a baby-faced Korean actor-crooner who sings in phonetic Japanese for the local market, the top floor boasts a recreation of his living room, complete with a life-size, high-tech plastic model of Ryu lounging casually on a white leather sofa. It has become a meeting place of sorts for his Japanese fans, where a gaggle of women ages 17 to 61 sat and stared longingly at his statue on a recent afternoon.

Some call it a fad. But Yoshimura -- whose latest blind date turned out to be a slightly paunchy Korean computer programmer -- says she is nevertheless digging in her extraordinarily high heels for the long run.

"I intend to keep looking until I find the right one," she said.

Special correspondent Joohee Cho contributed to this report.

Original source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/30/AR2006083002985.html

Groonet - Top Star Rain, the largest numbers of supporters is born.

English translation by aimen @ rain-asia

The maximum supporters was caused in Korean current Top Star Rain.

Belonging company JYP entertainment of rain decides to making 'THE CLOUD' that is the maximum supporters of rain with an integrated fan club of local and overseas fans of Rain simultaneously, and recruits the members at the same time all over the world through an official homepage on September 11.

The qualification that can purchase 'THE CLOUD' official fan club article that the lip gym of a peculiar mark and rain of 'More Clraud' that designs the elegy directly enters together is given to the members at one official fan club 'THE CLOUD' term of rain.

Moreover, it comes to be able to see the group to the seat only for the fan club of RAIN like a showcase and an Asian tour, etc. at the related off-line event, and JYP comes to be given in an off-line all event all subjectivity by priority.

With all parts of the world net in the birth of prayed official, global fan club 'THE CLOUD' if it is thought it is so come, the representative sites in the country are scheduled to be made the link after the representative fan site of rain is pulled out in 13 countries (South Korea, Japan, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam, United States, and European sphere) first selected by one site after the banner of the national flag pattern of the country is put in an official homepage.

The JYP side clarified "In the JYP homepage managed to joint community of representatives in each country' , saying that "The elegy participates directly at management staff' periodic general meetings" while saying, Clouds 'Not only an online activity but also an off-line activity is scheduled to work out together to the community" more.

On the other hand, rain is scheduled to announce his fourth regular Korean album in the coming October and to have the showcase.

Moreover, in November there will be collective promotional activities for his fourth album, a tour performance. Rain has a busy schedule in overseas various events at the same time. His first movie debut work opening and public relations of the movie of 'I'm Cyborg, but that's OK' of Rain are scheduled in December, and the concert tour starts.

He concentrates on the recording of his fourth regular album, performaces, and the preparation of showcase and the concert tour at the same time.

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Recording in Japan Part 2

Credit: Biwithrain// Jinlees@soompi Jp to Ch: ca0825@ biwithrain Ch to Eng: Rayndrop The people in the picture are producers T-Kura and Michico who are in charge of the recording this time(Song "Baby Baby" which is included in the album), as well as LL Brothers who are in charge of the mixing. Rain rehearsed his songs one by one repeatedly in the studio. Be it pronunciation or the injection of emotions into his singing, each end-product is checked thoroughly. After countless re-recordings, they've finally completed the songs. When Rain is deep in thoughts, like in the photo, nobody can break his concentration. Even the staff around him fell into silent consideration about the album when they saw him. The release dates of his Japanese single and 1st Japanese album clashes with the final stage of his Korean album production. Because of this, Rain may be unable to go to Japan for promotional activities. Hope all Clouds will be able to feel Rain's heartfelt thoughts through his work of music.

Charisma of the Kings: Bi vs JDG, about their coorperation in Giordano CF

This is the first time RAIN and Jang Dong-gun (JDG) worked together in CF, and here it starts the invisible competition between the Kings! A silence battle of their charisma shall be seen in the same CF.

Recently, both of them went for CF photoshoot of a fashion brand. Within this 30-second CF, they will show their unique glamour.

Rain and JDG are the Kings in musical and movie circles, respectively. They admire each other but seldom have the chance to meet up. Now, they finally worked together in this CF, in which fans are happy to see their coorperation. Both of them are proud of this, too. They talked about daily life when they met. The interaction was always going on during the photoshoot, and they even gave suggestions to each other... Age gap of 10 years was not a hurdle to them at all.

Meanwhile, their photoshoot raised great concern in Korean entertainment circle, nobody wanted to miss the chance to see them working together. Although the production team made no public announcement to avoid disturbance, the shooting location was still surrounded by 100 over media staffs and numerous residents.

The CF is mainly talking about Rain & JDG who are car technicians, suddenly take off their uniforms and wear the fashions, enjoying a nice day around.

The temperature on that day was as high as 30 deg Celcius, but they were still smiling and did a good job in shooting, that was why the working atmosphere was alive and enjoyable.

Source: Sina Entertainment
Up by mandy@rainhk.com
Translated by jjbug@MJJH/ rain-malaysia.com

RAIN donates 50 wells to Cambodia

Asian super star, RAIN donates 50 wells to Cambodia areas!

Since December 2005, Rain agreed to coorperate with an environment organisation in a project called "Raining in Asia" (translated from Chinese). They planned to solve the water supply problem in numerous drought areas in Asia. Rain has been consistently supporting the well construction. Now, 50 wells are finally built. The organisation will officially announce the completion of well construction in 30th Aug.

"Raining in Asia" is the first project between Rain and the organisation. The purpose of this project is to build wells in Cambodia areas, where the water supply is severely polluted by industry wastes. Consequently, diseases spread around and causes high mortality rate. According to the organisation, the project will be able to provide clean water to at least 60 thousands residents in Cambodia.

In the meantime, Rain again worked together with the organisation in another project, which targets to build playgrouds and fun parks for the children from lower-class of the society.

In order to collect funds for this project, the organisation is going to sell umbrella with Rain's image, which was specially designed for his "Rainy Day" concerts. All the funds obtained from the selling of "Rainy Day" umbrella will be used in playground contruction for the poor children. Once the construction completed, Rain's handprint will be carved on it


Source: STARNEWS
Translated by liusu33@cloudchina (Kor to Chi)
Up by natlau@rainhk.com
Translated by jjbug@MJJH/ rain-malaysia.com

S. Korean singer becomes a 'friend' of Ralph Lauren

SEOUL, Aug. 31 (Yonhap) -- A popular South Korean singer has been selected to serve as a public relations ambassador for the Ralph Lauren collection from September, the singer's management firm said Thursday.

Bi (Rain), often called the Korean Justin Timberlake, has recently been invited by Ralph Lauren himself to be one of his "Friends" who are supposed to promote his internationally acclaimed fashion brand, JYP Entertainment said.

"This shows that Bi (Rain) is now fully acknowledged as one of the world stars", it said in a statement.

The 24-year-old Korean singer, who has gained popularity in Asia, was named by Time Magazine in April as one of the 100 most influential figures worldwide. He was the first Asian entertainer to hold a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City in February.

"His versatility has appealed to Mr. and Mrs. Laurens. Not only the masculinity, but the tenderness at the same time has attracted the whole Asia. Mr. Lauren is also willing to help his career in the United States", the Korean subsidiary of the Ralph Lauren Corporation also said in the same statement.

"His official schedule as a Ralph Lauren ambassador will be set soon. He will also be called to appear at the Ralph Lauren shows", it said.

Ralph Lauren reportedly has been reluctant so far to select Asian stars as his Friends.

Source : english.yna.co.kr... ( English Chinese Korean )
HanCinema e-news

Japanese Fans of Hallyu Stars Flock to Korea

Thousands of Japanese fans will visit Korea in October to see their favorite hallyu stars.

Asian fans and music experts have recently been invited to a large-scale showcase of singer Rain's fourth album slated for October 13 at Jamsil Stadium. The album will be released concurrently in more than 10 Asian countries on October 15.

Actor/singer Ryoo Si-won, for his part, will hold a fan meeting for his Asian fans October 16 at the Seoul Grand Park, while singer Shin Seung-hoon, who will release his tenth album October 10, will hold a showcase and solo concert October 14-15 at Jamsil Stadium in Seoul.

Thousands of Japanese fans are expected to attend the three events to be held by the top hallyu stars. Rain's agency, JYP Entertainment, said large groups of the singer's fans from Japan, China, Thailand and Taiwan will visit Korea to see the showcase prior to Rain's Asian tour slated for December.

Ryoo's agency, R'S Company, said 1,500 seats of the singer's fan meeting venue, which can accommodate 2,000 people, will be allocated to Japanese fans, while the remaining 500 seats will be occupied by Korean, Chinese, Singaporean and American fans as well as Japanese reporters. Ryoo's fans will also attend the singer's racing competition to be held a day before the fan meeting.

The agency had to limit the number of Japanese fans due to the venue's limited capacity by choosing only 1,500 from thousands of applicants.

Shin's agency said the number of Japanese fans during the singer's concerts in December surpassed one thousand people and will likely reach 600 to one thousand this time.

Travel agencies say reservations for Korea-bound flights from Japan and lodging facilities have been booked to capacity for that timeslot. A person from a travel company specializing in Japan said several Japanese fans will even take flights from Nagoya due to the lack of tickets from Tokyo. He also added that reservations for lodging facilities for that period are filled up as well, and the situation is even more serious as October is traditionally a wedding season in Korea.

Source : english.kbs.co.kr... ( English )

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