Bae Yong-joon is a South Korean actor best known for his roles in numerous television dramas

Korean drama

Korean drama refers to televised dramas, in a miniseries format, produced in the Korean language. Many of these dramas have become popular throughout Asia and have contributed to the general phenomenon of the Korean wave, known as "Hallyu", and also "Drama Fever" in some countries...

 and one of the first kkonminam

Kkonminam

Since the mid 2000s the term kkonminam has been commonly used in South Korea to refer to positively vain young male pop idols with a great sense of personal style and fashion. To the Western eye they may seem effeminate, in part because they are often shown with some make-up, such as eye-liner or...

 icons. He is known as Yon-sama (ヨン様) to his Japanese fans.

Early and private life

Born in Mapo-gu

Mapo-gu

Mapo-gu is a gu, or district, within Seoul, South Korea. It lies northwest of the Han River. Several universities and government buildings are located here. Mapo is especially well-known for the Hongdae club district around Hongik University. Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 1, Line 5, and Line 6...

, Seoul, he was educated in Il-mun Preschool and Myung-il Elementary School. He eventually went to study in PaiChai Middle School and Hanyoung High School.

Bae Yong-jun acknowledged that he had a girlfriend named Lee Sa-gang (aka Sagan Lee, Sagang Lee, 이사강), and a photograph of her has since been distributed on the Internet. However, according to a 2005 edition of the I-weekly, a MediaCorp

MediaCorp

Media Corporation of Singapore, better known as MediaCorp, is a group of commercial media companies in Singapore, with business interests in television and radio broadcasting, interactive media, and, to a lesser extent, print publishing and film-making....

 owned magazine in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, Bae has since separated from Lee, citing personal reasons. He has since decided to keep his marital status private. Sources, notably HanCinema, maintain that Bae is still single.

Bae's agency, KeyEast, reported that Bae's apartment at Samseong-dong

Samseong-dong

Samseong-Dong is a ward of Gangnam-gu in Seoul, South Korea.-See also:*COEX Convention & Exhibition Center*POSCO*Bongeunsa*Dong of Gangnam-gu*Kimchi Field Museum-External links:...

, Seoul caught fire on May 7, 2006 around 8:00 p.m., due to a short circuit. The house was empty when the fire broke out, thus causing no injuries. However, the fire caused damages costing up to 10 million won.

August 2005 Taiwan visit

During an August 2005 visit to Taiwan on a 3 day visit to promote April Snow

April Snow

April Snow is a 2005 Korean romance film. Filming commenced on February 4, 2005 under the director Hur Jin-ho. The film was released in September 2005. Despite not making a profit in its country of origin, the film was a box-office success in several other Asian countries, owing mostly to the...

. Bae went to the hospital to see a cancer-stricken fan, who is a mother and who has drawn hundreds of Bae's portraits

TV series

• 1994: Salut D'Amour
  Salut D'Amour (TV series)
  Salut D'Amour, also known as Love Greeting, despite its French name, is a South Korean television series produced by KBS in 1994 and broadcast on KBS2 from November 1994 to April 1995. The drama has a total of twenty five episodes.-Synopsis:...
  
  (Love Greeting) (KBS) - Kim Yong-min
• 1995: A Sunny Place of The Young (KBS)
• 1995: Sea Breeze (PSB) - Jang Moo-hyung
• 1995: Six Steps to Separation (KBS)
• 1996: Papa (KBS) - Choi Hyun-jun
• 1997: First Love
  First Love (drama)
  First Love is a 66-episode television drama produced and broadcast by KBS2 between September 1996 and January 1997 on Thursday nights. It stars popular actors Bae Yong Joon and Choi Su Jong.-Synopsis:...
  
  (KBS) - Sung Chan-woo
• 1999: Did We Really Love?
  Did We Really Love?
  Did We Really Love? is a South Korean drama series broadcast by MBC in 1999. Starring Korean superstar Bae Yong Joon, the series portrays the struggles between love, happiness, and the pursuit of material success.- Plot summary :This story is about three people, Jae-Ho, Shih-Yung and Suk-Ho...
  
  (True To Love MBC) - Kang Jae-ho
• 1998: The Barefooted Youth (KBS)
• 2001: Hotelier (MBC) - Shin Dong Hyuk, Frank
• 2002: Winter Sonata
  Winter Sonata
  Winter Sonata is a South Korean television drama series broadcast by KBS in 2002. It is the second part of the Endless Love installment directed by Yoon Seok-Ho...
  
  (Winter Love Story, KBS) - Kang Jun-sang / Lee Min-hyung
• 2007: The Story of the First King's Four Gods (MBC) - King Damdeok / King Gwanggaeto (Jyushin)
• 2011: Dream High (cameo—Jung Ha-Myung)

Television commercials

• 1995: LOTTE Gana, nongshim, ZEC, MAYPOLE
• 1996: Kwail Nara, LG group, Dong Yang cosmetic, MAYPOLE, LETXES('96-'97)
• 1997: LG group, HITE beer, MAYPOLE,
• 1998: LG group etc.
• 1999: FRJ
• 2001: JM Global Water Purifier, Kye-Mong-Sa (Press), Old & New, LoReal (Perfume), OXYGENE_Lanvin Oxygene Homme
• 2002: LG Telecom, LG Home Shopping, LG Card, Korea Investment Trust, Kolon ManStar, Old & New, Halla Millate,
• 2003: Ray Ban Glasses, Taster's Choice, LG Whisen, LG Telecom, LG Card, Kolon ManStar, Old & New, Keangnam,
• 2004: Taster's Choice, Oronamin C, LOTTE Flavono, Sony handycam, Lotte Almond, Sony Cybershot, AU by KDDI, Daihatsu Mira, LG La La La (films available online at http://byj.co.kr ),Keangnam, Old & New, Lotte-DutyFree(on-air in Japan)
• 2005: Taster's Choice, Lotte Rummy and Bacchus chocolates, Keangnam (builders), Japan Coca-Cola 7-Flavor Tea, Lotte Almond, PIZZA-LA, Toushinn(Taiwn), Hyundai Sonata
• 2006: Hyundai Sonata
  Hyundai Sonata
  The Hyundai Sonata is a mid-size car/full-size car manufactured and marketed globally by Hyundai Motor Company. From the sixth generation onwards, it is known as the i45 in the Australian, Singaporean and New Zealand markets...
  
  , Eastern Home Shopping Network, Secom Security Systems, Keangnam,
• 2007: Secom, Megane Ichiba, Keangnam, Lotte-DutyFree
• 2008: Megane Ichiba, Viliv, The Face Shop, Sinfanbank
• 2009: Arnaldo Bassini (http://www.abmen.co.kr/default.asp), The Face Shop, Megane Ichiba
• 2010: Arnaldo Bassini,The Face Shop, Megane Ichiba

Books

• 2004: The Image: Volume 1
  The Image: Volume 1
  The Image: Volume 1 is a book commemorating the 10th year of Bae Yong Joon's career as an actor. On his tour of Japan between November 25 and November 29, 2004, Bae officially launched his book....
  
  
• 2005: 100 Days of Bae Yong-joon
• 2007: BYJ Family Book
• 2009: Journey in Search of Korea's Beauty

Awards

• 1995: KBS Drama: Rookie Award & Photogenic Award
• 1996: KBS Drama: The Excellent Actor Award & The Popular Actor Award
• 1997: 33rd Bak Sang: Popularity award
• 2002: KBS Drama: Popular Actor Award & Best Actor Award
• 2002: 38th Bak Sang: Popularity award
• 2003: Blue Dragon: Best Newcomer & Popular Star award
• 2004: 40th Baeksang: Rookie Award
• 2007: MBC drama awards: Daesang award
• 2007: MBC drama awards: Best couple( with lee ji ah) in The Legend
• 2007: MBC drama awards: Popularity award

Wikipedia controversy

In 2006, Koh Gyudhae of Hankooki, along with a segment of Bae's fans criticized Wikipedia's article on Bae, citing privacy reasons. Koh went further by voicing his view that "unnecessary" information should be removed. Following the publication of the newspaper, edits included the removal of "incorrect" information.

External links

• Bae Yong-joon’s official homepage
• yongjoon1.com (metablog, Japanese)