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Summary
Four South Korean superstars, who helped trigger a Korean pop culture boom in Asia, got together in Tokyo and mesmerized tens of thousands of Japanese fans at a recent quartet performance. South Korean actors Lee Byung-hun, Jang Dong-gun, Song Seung-heon and Won Bin gathered at Tokyo Dome last week for an event entitled the Korean Wave's Four Cards.It was the first time that South Korea's top four celebrities shared a stage in Japan. Some 60,000 fans, mostly middle-aged females, flocked to the baseball stadium in downtown Tokyo to see their idols first-hand. The show's high-priced tickets, costing 15,800 yen ($177 US dollars), didn't deter these fans. At the centre of the four-hour frenzy was Lee Byung-hun, 39, who played Storm Shadow, a charismatic swordsman, in the 2009 Hollywood blockbuster G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.Recently, Lee has also received additional media attention due to a lawsuit filed by his ex-girlfriend, who claims that Lee had made a false promise of marriage. Jang Dong-gun, 37, established his fame in Japan with his 2004 film The Brothers, a tragic drama of two Korean brothers during the Korean War.South Korean drama sensation Song Seung-heon, 33, has also been popular among Japanese female fans with his recent television series East of Eden aired across Japan earlier this year. The four Adonises entertained the crowd as they joked with each other, sang favorite songs and recited short stories. For many fans, though, being able to watch the four stars on the same stage seemed to be satisfying enough. I'm happy I could see today's show because it's a rare chance to see the four stars at one place, said Yumiko Ishima, a 26-year-old fan who paid a few extra hundred dollars for the bullet train from Nagoya to Tokyo. But there were others who wished to see more. Although it was interesting, the show was not that impressive compared to what I'd expected, said Eiko Sakakibara, a 55-year-old fan. In an exclusive interview with Reuters Television, Jang Dong-gun said he hoped the events would refuel the Korean pop culture boom in Japan, which some say is losing its momentum.It's a rare chance that screen stars like us can directly meet a lot of fans. I hope this event will re-energise the 'Korean Wave' in Japan, said Jang.Jang said Korean actors have unique charms to appeal to the international audience. Korean actors have toughness -- a big element of male attractiveness -- and smoothness at the same time. In other words, they have the 'smooth charisma, said Jang. The veteran actor with 18 years of experience in show business attributed his and other Korean actors' success on the international stage to domestic fans in Korea, who Jang says often spur the actors with harsh criticism.When Korean fans talk about popular television dramas or movies, they almost always bring up criticisms over the actors' acting styles. I think no other countries in the world would demand such high standards of actors or actresses like they do in Korea. Such an environment forces us to push ourselves to try harder to meet the expectations, which consequently enhances our acting skills, he said. Jang has gained fame across Asia with Chinese epic fantasy film The Promise in 2005.Now he's trying to take a step further and break into the western markets in 2010 with his next film, The Warrior's Way, a fantasy action movie, co-starring Kate Bosworth. Jang played a sword master in that movie.
