Song Il Kook 송일국

[KonaBeans]

Actor Song Il-Kook visited Burkina Faso, known as the ‘land of honest people’ via the ‘Long Journey on the Road for Hope’.

Song Il-Kook visited  Burkina Faso, a country located in the inland of Northern Africa and under the French ruling as a territory. It gained independence in 1960 but has been suffering from coup d'états and internal wars. 

Eventually, suffering from the extreme chaos and disorder, Burkina Faso could not escape from the poverty and hunger and became one of the five poorest countries in the world.

A silent disaster came upon the poorest country, which was the worst draught in history. It has not rained in Burkina Faso for the past few years and due to the repeating bad harvests, almost all families are suffering from the severe shortage of food. In the situation where people either pick up the animals’ droppings to eat or starve, Song Il-Kook could not deliver any words of solace to the people there.
 
Things get even worse in the northern part of Burkina Faso. One day, all of a sudden, Ayuba lost his eyesight and could not walk anymore. Ayuba is a child who just crawls around with two hands and spends all day sitting alone in the front yard.

However, Ayuba’s wish is not going to the hospital nor attending school. All he wants is just one meal that he can eat until he cannot eat anymore. Late in the evening, Song Il-Kook visited Ayuba’s house and gave him some food and became friends with him.

Since the children don’t have enough to eat even one meal, they don’t have any money to buy a single tablet of antibiotics. Seeing them lose their dreams and hopes in the abyss of the poverty and disease, Song Il-Kook was crying in his heart.

Through his interview with “Road for Hope”, Song Il-Kook was saying “Those children are happy as long as they’re alive and they study very hard. I’m sure they do have hopes in their hearts too”, showing his sad heart.

He met with children who have been hiding all their lives at a center located in a remote area. Children with diseases from lack of protein result in rotting of flesh in the face. Even after the treatments, the deformation and scars on the faces still remain and those are impossible to get rid of.

While listening to the children who are recovering from the wounds and starting to dream of the future, Song Il-Kook could see the possibilities and a future for Burkina Faso. He also participated in the emergency recovery activities of providing food by visiting the villages.

In addition, only 25 percent of the children of Burkina Faso can realistically go to schools because there are definitely not enough schools and cannot afford to attend. Song Il-Kook presented a Hope Center which will grow the dreams of the children and provide food to them.


by KonaBeans via NATE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'd like to make another call to donate to "Road for Hope" (via Children Fund) in the name of "Song IL-Kook International Fans" in honor of Mr. Song Il-Kook.  This will serve the purpose of helping children in undeveloped countries as well as a birthday present to Mr. Song. 

So far, we have a very generous donation of $10,000 (ten thousand dollars) from a business man in HongKong, who also knows SIK well.  Also from fans from US (including Hawaii), Romania, Iran, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, China, HongKong... We would like to have as much participation as possible.  Any amount is welcome, your participation is more important.  We will have all the donor names (not amount) listed on the Birthday card for Mr. Song; and you will be informed of the progress.  The Certificate of Donation and Birthday Card will be present to Mr. Song at the BD/FM on September 23, 2012.  I'm certain that this would mean a lot to him.  Details have been discussed in our Chinese's friend website songilkook.com.  Last day to accept donation is August 25, 2012.

Please send me PM or konnabeans@gmail.com if you could contribute to this cause.  Thank you.

http://youtu.be/TYkOZJkTRpQ

[Guest sig-Hadise]

2012-07-19] By Mewre in songilkook.com

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My Dear Gabi , I listened to your song . Thanks a lot . I love it . :-*

[Guest elisabeta]

Hello dear SIKers !!!
Thank you for updates and photos posted !We look forward to hearing about a new movie.
We all hope as soon ....Hadise, happy birthday!
I finished watching Stairway to Heaven.
Is a serial  as say Ardently "romance  dramas which will make you smile and cry". I liked but resembles   with Autumn in My Heart and Winter Sonata.
I still watch Water Bloom (ep 21).I love this series  more and more.
I must say that all these k-dramas I see them but do not want to revisit them.
Sik's films only I wish to see again and again....Why?
Because they are special.
Because he is a very good professional.
Because he is a great talent and a wonderful man.
I wish you all the best !

I like that smile...

[Guest erinnys]

I want to say something to.

About the BF.....I was extremely touched by the pictures that I saw. All those children under SIK wings...they realy made me cry...and SIK, how touchefull he was and affected to....No words to descbribe more.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Dear Kona, thank you for remind us the great FF..it was a interesting movie and I loved Ho-tae

:x

About SIK`s family situation (wifey)...well, I am agree with you. He knows what he does..it`s better this way, and the fact she he is a normal person, I think that, this was a plus for her gaining SIK`s heart. I guess that he wanted to fall in love with a normal person. And about his father`s story...well, as we all know, he isn`t a personality like his mother..that`s why the reporters don`t ask to much about him.

Gabi, you know...I am addicted to with Jumong. I am waking up each mornig to not loose any episode (this the second time for me watching Jumong)....doesn`t matter how tired I am, I just wake up no matter.

@-)

Sig-Hadise, you`re wellcome dear. Thanks for the lovely pic....It is indeed very beautiful.

Love you SIK-ers!!!!!!!!

Hope to "see" you soon!

 

[charmy2]

Hello wonderful SIKers!  :x  :-h

Kona, your new avatar is SHOCKING!   ) 
HWJ, you're only on epi 13 of FF?  where have you been?!  :-O
SIG, I guess you had a wonderful birthday?  \:D/

[moon-gal]

SIG- Happy Belated Birthday.

Irina-Welcome

[ardently]

HADISE, belated Happy Birthday.  Just logged in to Soompi today.

KONA, comments taken and understood.  

BTW, I read your email just today.  I had a three-days off and left my laptop at work.  Anyway, I'm back now and has already made a reply.  Please, open your email now.  Thanks.

[KonaBeans]

Kona, your new avatar is SHOCKING!   ) 

[ardently]

KONA, it has always been my pleasure to share something, not only to SIK but for the less fortunate people.  If we could spend a couple of dollars to buy him flowers for his Bday, what more for this samaritan cause?  Thanks to you and to everyone who responds to your call.

Is that you, Kona?  The lady in your avatar?

[ajie_vallejos]

hello sikers...thanks kona for those pics...sik is so handsome as ever...luv him so much!!  :x

[alex1999]

Hi all SIKers, Sorry for not posting earlier. I've had problem with Soompi posting lately. I have read this thread every day though.

Dear Hadise, Happy belated birthday. Hope it is too late to say yet. Wishing you all the best in all aspects.

Dear Kona, Thank you for all photos and news. Love love photos of FF. I love this drama. It's so heartwarming.

Dear Celia, Thank you for photos of Cheongsanri March. Love love photos of students with our guy. He is so friendly and nice to them.

Dear HWJ, The good scene is coming up. If my memory is not wrong, it is ep 14.

Dear Gabi, thank you for EoTS OST. I did not make much progress last week. Only finished ep 21. Agree that it is a great drama and made him shine.

High wave to all SIKers!

[Guest florimama]

Hello my dears SIK-ers,

Thank you for all your comments.

Song Il Kook dear to have completed another in rich frames of the project's agenda.

I once watch Jumong which are 6 episodes then, pending the new project of SIK.
I I review KOTW or EOTS.

Good health and soon.
I love you all.
Once in love, in love forever
><

[Guest xiaomeihuili]

Hi SIKers! >- ) )
 Article from Japanese magazine : "Hallyu PIA" (August issue)



photos from gantan, GeNtLe


***************************************************************************************************************************************
 [if I describe this drama in one word --- “the drama that makes people’s heart warm”.]

This is the drama that I exactly realized the performance in which you ease yourself off is difficult.

By the name Song Il Kook, we first associate the image of his grave appearence in historical dramas, or a cool action play with his well-built physique. But in this piece by the pair of director Park Jan-hong and script-writer Kim Ji-u, who produced “Devil”and “Resurrection”, the dramas which created a lot of enthusiast, he is a little bit different. In this heart-warming and healing drama “Cheonjiin (Heaven Earth and Man)”, set in the restaurant Cheonjiin, famous for its kimchi, he plays a character Ki Ho-tae, who though he is a gangstar but is with a strong sense of justice. Ki Ho-tae has an absolute sense of taste, once he ate it, he can guess all the ingredients of the dish. In the first place, we asked him how he decided to participate this drama.
――― I have been interested in the pair of director Park Jan-hong and script-writer Kim Ji-u for a long time. I wanted to play in their drama. And the character which requested this time is not the grave character I’ve played until then, but a character with a light touch. So I decided without hesitation.
Though he decided his appearance in this drama right away, but he said it was not easy to play the character Ki Ho-tae. Because Ki Ho-tae is not simply a light character but he got a number of things inside him, the secret of his birth etc..
――― It was really difficult. The most hard for me was to ease myself off. I thought it was easy, but once I actually played it, it was terribly hard. There are actors who are good at such performances. I earnestly feel it is really hard performances.
In this drama, Ki Ho-tae has a special ability for taste. I am curious to know that the real Song Il Kook is sensitive to the taste or not. He answered with laugh : “ I’m absolutely not sensitive. Quantity is always more important for me than its taste.” So the person he investigated with studying his role was the person closest to him, his wife.
 ――― I’m not so sensitive to the taste, so always prefer quantity to quality, and I like a dish that contains various foodstuff in one like bibim-pak. But my wife has a developed palate. I could understand how the gourmet respond to the taste by studying my wife. This drama is differentiated from a simple cooking drama, no special villain, able to feel the warmth of people and healed by that, so to say a “healing-drama”. After the shooting of this drama, how does he think about this drama and his play.
――― Our real life is same as the drama, though there are bad people of course, but they have their reason and their circumstances as well…. If I describe this drama in one word --- “the drama that makes people’s heart warm”. I can say this about all of my pieces, after finish shooting, there is only repentance. In the first, we all start the shooting with full of energy, but after the shooting, always think that I should have performed the character to a maximum extent.
 This drama attracted the attention not only to the performance transformation of Song Il Kook, but to the beautiful-looking and delicious-looking Korean dishes. All the dishes were delicious, but he was more astonished by the painful procedure to make one dish than its taste. The most impressive dish for him was walnut porridge.
――― I learned a lot of things during the shooting of this drama, especially I learned that doing things at such extent. Above all, I was really astonished when they cooked the walnut porridge. If you open the walnut-shell, there’s a walnut with thin skin. They soaked them in the water and peeled the thin skin. Doing this peeling procedure, walnut’s astringent flavour would gone and the smooth walnut flavour will be emphasized, I heard. I was really astonished to learn the procedure required such great care. Cheonjiin, the shooting place of this drama “Cheonjiin (Heaven Earth and Man)”, is said to be the place that director Park Jan-hong went all over the country to search and found that. We asked his impression to do the shooting in that splendid Korean house (Han-ok). He showed us the landscape pictures of Cheonjiin shot by his own cell-phone, and told to us with great enthusiasm.
――― It was really nice. It is not the sets built for the shooting, but the existing real place. It was perfect right into the inside of the house. So I stayed in the room prepared as my dressingroom even though I did not have shootings. I really love viewing from the window of that room. I did not go anywhere though I finish my shooting, so you must understand how I loved that room. In Jeoun-ju (전주), where Cheonjiin is located, there is Korean House Village (Han-ok ma-eul) and is famous for its delicious Korean dishes.
The atmosphere of the shooting site was always very nice with the splendid location and delicious dishes. The drama shooted in that circumstances, “Cheonjiin (Heaven Earth and Man)”. What is the highlight of this drama selected by him?
――― I’ve heard that Korean dishes attracts high interest in Japan. In this drama, there appears Korean dishes, which are not known even by Korean people. I think it is informative with these dishes. The story associated with these dishes, tell the story through the dishes and heal psychological wound with dishes. Please watch these points of this drama.

****************************************************************************************************

And for me, this footnote is only a short memo but a huge information for me!!

*****Footnote of this page*****
[ His next project will be a historical drama?]
We asked Song Il Kook, who is considering several projects but has not decided the next one, what is the genre of dramas in which he wants to participate. He answered ; “ I have not been riding horse for a long while, I am dying to ride horse. Perhaps I’ll play a historical drama again.”

Hurray! Il Kook nim!!

[Guest ilenaz]

Dear SIKers,Hello ^ ^

Dear Hadise,although it's a bit late ...Happy birthday   ,wish you always all the best!(so sorry for such a belated note)

Dear Huilli,thank you so much for the translation,looking forward to meet you again on Sept!

Dear Kona,thanks for the news and videos of the Road for hope program,i hope we could watch th whole video too!

Dear all,as always,thanks for your all good efforts!

Good luck!

 

[ardently]

HUILLI, thanks so much for the translated interview.  Can I post it in my blog? With your name in the credits, of course.

I can see that SIK is very comfortable now mentioning his wife in some of his interviews, unlike before.  Good for him and his fans.  We learn more about the wifey and how they live their married life. 

The last part of the interview is the best.  It's clear now that he's considering doing another historical drama.  Maybe he realized that after Kingdom of the Winds, he had not received any more acting awards and his popularity had lessened.  I'm a fan of SIK but not a biased one.  I see things as I perceive them in reality.  He is more loved by the viewers in historical dramas than in the modern ones. 

[Guest xiaomeihuili]

Ardent, sure, it's OK, please use my translation for your blog.
There's another article in "Eisei-gekijou program guide"(Satelite-theatre program guide), No.172(August).






pictures from gantan, GeNtLe

translation of the interview :

――― “Jumong”, “Kingdom of the Wind” and “A Man Called God”, the well-known charismatic character Song Il Kook chose this drama as his new project, a family drama “Cheonjiin (Heaven Earth and Man)”. We asked the reason why he decided to appear in this drama.

First there was an offer from the director Park Jan-hong. He is the director who directed the masterpiece dramas like “Resurrection” and “Devil” with the script-writer Kim Ji-u. Actually I have been hoping to appear in the drama written by the playwright Kim Ji-u for a long time. And the role of this drama is not that grave character that I’ve been playing, and more like light character. I wanted to play a light role, so I decided to take part in this drama.

――― In this drama, he plays Ki Ho-tae, who lives in the world of gangstars.

 He has a rough tongue and has lived a self-willed life, but he has an “absolute taste” for foods. I myself totally don’t have sense of taste --- completely prefer quantity to quality. (laugh) It is rather my wife who is fastidious to taste than me. So as for the response of a person who has absolute taste, I learned a lot of things from my wife. One day we went to a sushi restaurant, where they mixed lemon juice with wasabi, my wife correctly guessed that! Anyway, thanks to her, I realized the existence of the absolute taste and it helped me to study for the role. Incidentally I do not cook at all, usually. (laugh)

――― The shooting site of this drama, the restaurant “Cheonjiin ”, was set at the  “capital of foods” Jeoun-ju in Korea. Are there any episodes at the shooting site?

 Speaking of the episode, we cooked and ate jeon (or jijimi) using all the leftovers of the shooting. Of course the cooking team cooked it, not me. (laugh) The deliciousness of that jeon still lingers in my memory.

――― Since the Korean title of this drama is “Balhyo Gajok (Fermented family)”, various kimchis appear in this drama. Which kimchi do you recommend?

 After all I love baeju kimchi (Chinese/napa cabbage kimchi). As it is the most basic kimchi. For Japanese people I recommend baek kimchi (white kimchi), which is not hot.

――― Please give a comment to Japanese audience who will watch this drama soon.

 This is a heart-warming drama set at the restaurant “Cheongjiin”, where the people who got wound mentally would come together and heal their wounds through various dishes. In every episode, a new kimchi will appear. And I think Japanese audiences will know about rare Korean dishes that even Korean people does not know much. I hope this drama will be watched by many audiences.

************************************************************************************************

Again here, SIK referred to his wife. You are right, Ardent, as SIK became a father of his loving triplets, he must get rid of some kind of mental restraint which tied him down in these years. It is really good for him, I think it means that he becomes a more mature person, and I love him more!

[ajie_vallejos]

thanks xiaomeihuili for that article...i would love to see him in a historical drama again...he's so handsome  :x

[ardently]

HUILLI, thanks for your permission.  The articles are now posted in my blog for all the fans to see.  I have now almost 18,000 views and 4,250 people who visited my site.  I want to believe that they are all SIK fans since most of the articles in my blog are all about him.  Like me, I'm sure you'll be happy to share your works with them.

KONA, your works are also there.  Thank you so much, guys.

The wifey is slowly getting my approval.  She seemed to be doing her job well and our man speaks high of her.  I can read between SIK's lines how happy and contented he is with his married life now.  In spite of her work as a prosecutor, she still finds time to cook for him and take care of the triplets.  What a woman.

[Guest sig-Hadise]

Hello , Dear Fans Gentle songilgook :\">


Dear elisa , Dear charmy , Dear moon-gal . Dear erinnys . Dear ardently , Dear nazanin ,

Dear alex , thank you very much for your friendship . :-*



My uni kona , Thanks for sharing nice video. :-*


My Dear huili , Thanks , it was lovely . :-*

HADISE, belated Happy Birthday.  Just logged in to Soompi today.

[celiap]

HUILI, Thank you so much for these two interviews. I have already translated and posted them on my blog. Deeply grateful =D>