Joo Won 주원 [Drama- The Midnight Studio/ 야한(夜限) 사진관]

[Ma OO]

 

 

Am I the only one who still cry while watching this episode? I hope he can join 1n2d as guest after he come back. I want to see Joo Rodin much.

[lavender2love]

 

19 hours ago, kittyna said:

 

 

Second thing is that on the way there and back, I re-watched "Gaksital". I wasn't originally planning on bringing that up, but seeing @lavender2love's shared fanart showing JW in his Lee Kang To get-up reminded me. The show was just as good the second time around as the first, and this time, knowing what to expect, I could actually sit through some of the more intense and violent parts without freaking out and closing my eyes. Also, while I was quite firmly on Team Kang To the first time around, Shunji stood out to me more on this second go. Okay, it's not like I ever disliked Shunji - he's the perfect version of the tragic antagonist - but knowing his full narrative arc makes his downfall that much more painful to watch. It's like watching a train wreck: you want him to turn back, but know he wouldn't - or couldn't.

While I'm on the subject, I also love the costume design in "Gaksital". Yes, I know that historical fashion experts will probably have a heart attack, because it is quite inaccurate as far as 1930s costume is concerned. However, what I loved about the costume design is that although it was, for the most part, anachronistic, they actually did a good job creating the vintage film noir, black-and-white-detective-film vibe throughout. Not to mention that the kimono were absolutely gorgeous, for both male and female characters.

 

@kittyna... you seem very knowledgeable about costumes and the times they are in. You wrote an interesting article in MSG regarding costumes, the hanbok, cheongsam and kimono ( ? )

Anyway please comment on the costume of the day as portrayed by Joo Won. It's interesting the times he was in.Thanks.

 

 

 

[kittyna]

7 hours ago, lavender2love said:

@kittyna... you seem very knowledgeable about costumes and the times they are in. You wrote an interesting article in MSG regarding costumes, the hanbok, cheongsam and kimono ( ? )

Anyway please comment on the costume of the day as portrayed by Joo Won. It's interesting the times he was in.Thanks.

lol - I'm no expert! My interest in historical fashion was mostly focused on 17th to 19th century Europe, so things relating to Asia and/or the 20th century are pretty foreign territory for me still. I only saw some people commenting that the costumes on "Gaksital" were anachronistic, so...yeah.

However, @lavender2love, you're now making me curious to see what those who made such comments were getting at. So forgive me if this rambles on for a bit - I'm thinking "out loud" here as I look things up and draw my own conclusions. I will, however, make a note to stay focused on JW's costumes in particular, even if I stray into other characters every now and then - this is the "Joo Won thread," after all, not the "Bridal Mask" one

Overall, and this is just my personal opinion (real 1930s fashion experts, please help!), JW does a good job wearing various elements of 1930s men's clothing. For instance, from the Wikipedia article 1930–45 in Western fashion, I get this about men's suits from the early 1930s:

"By the early 1930s, the "drape cut" or "London Drape" suit championed by Frederick Scholte, tailor to the Prince of Wales, was taking the world of men's fashion by storm. The new suit was softer and more flexible in construction than the suits of the previous generation; extra fabric in the shoulder and armscye, light padding, a slightly nipped waist, and fuller sleeves tapered at the wrist resulted in a cut with flattering folds or drapes front and back that enhanced a man's figure. The straight leg wide-trousers (the standard size was 23 inches at the cuff) that men had worn in the 1920s also became tapered at the bottom for the first time around 1935."

Now, I'm not an expert on menswear at all - so I can't actually pick apart a photo of a man's suit to find these elements. What I can do, however, is do some sort of visual comparison. So, first of all, here's JW in one of my personal favourites of his suits in "Gaksital":

I love that he looks so debonair in this shot - such a contrast to what's actually happening (he's just bought this suit to attend Damsari's sentencing hearing in Episode 1, back when he was an eager chinilpa [Korean collaborating with the Japanese] who wanted a death penalty). But anyways, I digress. I can see hints at the elements I'd just pointed out, but from what I could tell in this shot, and a number of others, the suit is a bit more tightly fitted than would have been the reality in the early 1930s.

So, for instance, while the Wikipedia article mentions "a slightly nipped waist", the real difference between the shoulder and the waist is smaller than what we see on JW, as can be seen in this 1934 photo of American president Franklin D. Roosevelt:

However, one thing that I noticed the costume designers/stylists on "Gaksital" got consistently wrong...was the trousers. In the first half of the 1930s, when the drama took place, the popular look was for a loosely fitted straight leg, with tapering only becoming popular due to austerity measures in the lead-up to WWII.

You can see the trousers clearly in this photo from 1930s Japan (exact date unspecified). The man on the right appears to have narrower trousers, but that's because he's wrapped the legs with what looks to be puttees of some sort. The man on the left, however, is wearing the look as would have been fashionable: straight and wide-legged.

That, as I'm sure you can tell, is a far cry from how JW and other male actors on "Gaksital" wore their trousers, which were a more modern fitted cut. They did, however, to their credit, get the front pleats right.

This more fitted cut, however, allowed some fanservice, as it gave viewers a good look at the actors' butts

You can see, however, that Park Ki Woong's clothes in the show are, although still catering to a more modern aesthetic than would have been historically accurate, more loosely fitted than JW's.

So, I don't think it's so much that the costume department was unaware of 1930s fashion trends...as they decided to throw this one rule out the window in favour of JW-eye-candy. After all, he's said before in interviews that due to his preferred sports - running, soccer, and swimming - he's got really muscular legs that actually wouldn't fit well in slim-cut pants. So, maybe, they thought they could let this pass since, when it's JW we're talking about, even non-skinny trousers would have looked skinny due to the way they fit tightly on him anyway. So why not just make them tight and let the fans go crazy?

Spoiler

Just an aside that I'm including here since it's not JW-related, per se. One thing I was puzzled by while watching "Gaksital" in terms of costuming was what Oh Mok Dan was wearing. I thought her costume was way too modern for the show, especially since she tended to wear trousers throughout.

However, it turns out that, although not the norm, women in the 1930s did occasionally wear trousers. It was still considered something edgy - and, fitting with general views of modesty, the trousers were, if anything, even more widely cut than men's, as evidenced in this photo from Japan in 1932 (same year "Gaksital" takes place):

Again, I get why things were more closely fitted in "Gaksital" - to give Jin Se Yeon better mobility - but hers is definitely more of a modern-day look than a 1930s one.

EDIT

Just a quick addendum to add another observation - this time about JW rather than the costumes. One thing I've noticed is that he's one of those actors whose looks seem to suit both historical and modern settings. Like...there are some actors who I feel look better in sageuk than in contemporary pieces (e.g. Yoo Ah In and Kim Soo Hyun - okay, they look great in modern fashions, too, but just completely nail historical hanbok!), and others who look better in modern-day dramas than historical ones (e.g. Lee Jong Suk - even he's attested as such in interviews looking back on his one stint in a sageuk, "The Face Reader").

Is it just me or does anyone else think JW looks good in contemporary (e.g. most of his dramas), sageuk (e.g. "My Sassy Girl") AND the stuff in between (e.g. "Gaksital")? I can't really pin my finger on why I think that - I just do. Does anyone else feel the same way, and if so, how would you describe it?

[sagaseed]

@kittyna I really think you are an expert from your detailed discussions of those costumes! 

It never occurred to me the costumes do not suit the time settings. Probably because I was too focused of the acting and story line in Gaksital hahaha

6 hours ago, kittyna said:

Is it just me or does anyone else think JW looks good in contemporary (e.g. most of his dramas), sageuk (e.g. "My Sassy Girl") AND the stuff in between (e.g. "Gaksital")? I can't really pin my finger on why I think that - I just do. Does anyone else feel the same way, and if so, how would you describe it?

 

I absolutely agree! But I can't pin point why though. Me thinks it's simply because of his amazing physique, plus his head and face shape suits all head wears of different shapes and sizes from different time period. He looks very good in white top and white pants too - be in the tight-fitting policeman uniform or the slightly over-sized Gaksital costume. 

 

6 hours ago, kittyna said:

This more fitted cut, however, allowed some fanservice, as it gave viewers a good look at the actors' butts

 

Your mention of butt reminds me of this BTS video. Watch how he managed to charm the kids with his "perky" asset from 4:20 

 

[lavender2love]

 

12 hours ago, kittyna said:

lol - I'm no expert! My interest in historical fashion was mostly focused on 17th to 19th century Europe, so things relating to Asia and/or the 20th century are pretty foreign territory for me still. I only saw some people commenting that the costumes on "Gaksital" were anachronistic, so...yeah.

However, @lavender2love, you're now making me curious to see what those who made such comments were getting at. So forgive me if this rambles on for a bit - I'm thinking "out loud" here as I look things up and draw my own conclusions. I will, however, make a note to stay focused on JW's costumes in particular, even if I stray into other characters every now and then - this is the "Joo Won thread," after all, not the "Bridal Mask" one

Overall, and this is just my personal opinion (real 1930s fashion experts, please help!), JW does a good job wearing various elements of 1930s men's clothing. For instance, from the Wikipedia article 1930–45 in Western fashion, I get this about men's suits from the early 1930s:

"By the early 1930s, the "drape cut" or "London Drape" suit championed by Frederick Scholte, tailor to the Prince of Wales, was taking the world of men's fashion by storm. The new suit was softer and more flexible in construction than the suits of the previous generation; extra fabric in the shoulder and armscye, light padding, a slightly nipped waist, and fuller sleeves tapered at the wrist resulted in a cut with flattering folds or drapes front and back that enhanced a man's figure. The straight leg wide-trousers (the standard size was 23 inches at the cuff) that men had worn in the 1920s also became tapered at the bottom for the first time around 1935."

Now, I'm not an expert on menswear at all - so I can't actually pick apart a photo of a man's suit to find these elements. What I can do, however, is do some sort of visual comparison. So, first of all, here's JW in one of my personal favourites of his suits in "Gaksital":

 

Good job @kittyna.... !! I shall take a look at men's trousers with a more educated mind regarding their measurements and the fashion of the day. Btw , this brings me to mind a " trouser feature " in Yong Pal when TH went to live in the Han Mansion for the first time. Remember @mrdimples " golden teacup " @YourPal, @sagaseed and others? Pervy to the max. It was so funny.

 

 

Quote

 

I love that he looks so debonair in this shot - such a contrast to what's actually happening (he's just bought this suit to attend Damsari's sentencing hearing in Episode 1, back when he was an eager chinilpa [Korean collaborating with the Japanese] who wanted a death penalty). But anyways, I digress. I can see hints at the elements I'd just pointed out, but from what I could tell in this shot, and a number of others, the suit is a bit more tightly fitted than would have been the reality in the early 1930s.

So, for instance, while the Wikipedia article mentions "a slightly nipped waist", the real difference between the shoulder and the waist is smaller than what we see on JW, as can be seen in this 1934 photo of American president Franklin D. Roosevelt:

 

JW looks good in " nipped " waist. The car looks an attractive antique .

Quote

 

However, one thing that I noticed the costume designers/stylists on "Gaksital" got consistently wrong...was the trousers. In the first half of the 1930s, when the drama took place, the popular look was for a loosely fitted straight leg, with tapering only becoming popular due to austerity measures in the lead-up to WWII.

You can see the trousers clearly in this photo from 1930s Japan (exact date unspecified). The man on the right appears to have narrower trousers, but that's because he's wrapped the legs with what looks to be puttees of some sort. The man on the left, however, is wearing the look as would have been fashionable: straight and wide-legged.

 

Yep, for the sake of the butt......  hehe.

 

Quote

 

That, as I'm sure you can tell, is a far cry from how JW and other male actors on "Gaksital" wore their trousers, which were a more modern fitted cut. They did, however, to their credit, get the front pleats right.

 

This more fitted cut, however, allowed some fanservice, as it gave viewers a good look at the actors' butts

 

You can see, however, that Park Ki Woong's clothes in the show are, although still catering to a more modern aesthetic than would have been historically accurate, more loosely fitted than JW's.

 

So, I don't think it's so much that the costume department was unaware of 1930s fashion trends...as they decided to throw this one rule out the window in favour of JW-eye-candy. After all, he's said before in interviews that due to his preferred sports - running, soccer, and swimming - he's got really muscular legs that actually wouldn't fit well in slim-cut pants. So, maybe, they thought they could let this pass since, when it's JW we're talking about, even non-skinny trousers would have looked skinny due to the way they fit tightly on him anyway. So why not just make them tight and let the fans go crazy?

 

@sagaseed.... Wow ....... thank you for that Yong Pal butt video. Sure oozes with sex.

 

Quote

  Reveal hidden contents

Just an aside that I'm including here since it's not JW-related, per se. One thing I was puzzled by while watching "Gaksital" in terms of costuming was what Oh Mok Dan was wearing. I thought her costume was way too modern for the show, especially since she tended to wear trousers throughout.

 

However, it turns out that, although not the norm, women in the 1930s did occasionally wear trousers. It was still considered something edgy - and, fitting with general views of modesty, the trousers were, if anything, even more widely cut than men's, as evidenced in this photo from Japan in 1932 (same year "Gaksital" takes place):

 

Again, I get why things were more closely fitted in "Gaksital" - to give Jin Se Yeon better mobility - but hers is definitely more of a modern-day look than a 1930s one.

EDIT

Just a quick addendum to add another observation - this time about JW rather than the costumes. One thing I've noticed is that he's one of those actors whose looks seem to suit both historical and modern settings. Like...there are some actors who I feel look better in sageuk than in contemporary pieces (e.g. Yoo Ah In and Kim Soo Hyun - okay, they look great in modern fashions, too, but just completely nail historical hanbok!), and others who look better in modern-day dramas than historical ones (e.g. Lee Jong Suk - even he's attested as such in interviews looking back on his one stint in a sageuk, "The Face Reader").

Is it just me or does anyone else think JW looks good in contemporary (e.g. most of his dramas), sageuk (e.g. "My Sassy Girl") AND the stuff in between (e.g. "Gaksital")? I can't really pin my finger on why I think that - I just do. Does anyone else feel the same way, and if so, how would you describe it?

 

Interesting information about modern and traditional clothes.  Agree with you that JW looks good in whatever outfit because of his tall frame and winsome face. Almost every shot of him is photogenic. Hardly get a bad one. He is a eye candy.

Nice hairstyle , goes well with the handsome frown.

[kittyna]

@sagaseed Thanks for sharing the "Yong Pal" behind the scenes video. Butt dodgeball - that's hilarious! I also loved how the kids were like, "Is he "Oppa"?" "No, he's "Samcheon" [Uncle]!" Reminds me of the bit in the "Healing Camp" episode, which was done to promote "Yong Pal", where JW talked about his real-life nephew  

All this talk about physiques and butts (never thought I would ever say that!) reminds me of an interview that JW did in Hong Kong in 2014. I personally really enjoy watching this one, because a lot of the questions are different from the conventional "getting to know a star" sort of topics. Granted, JW's ideal type comes up again (when does it not?), but they also talked about things like Christmas presents (such a cute story to go with it), what he would do if his hypothetical girlfriend were mad at him (not so hypothetical anymore, but it was then!), etc.

The bit in particular I want to point out is when the interviewer asks JW which part of his body he likes best. I don't know if he really liked his eyes the best, because he seemed a bit stumped until the interviewer suggested it, at which point he appeared to just leap at something to talk about. But, he did seem to know for a "fact" that "Fans like my bum the best." Love that he looked so adorably sheepish throughout that segment, too.

As for me personally...in terms of appearance, I like his eyes the best. But the thing that really makes me melt is his voice.

 

10 hours ago, sagaseed said:

I absolutely agree! But I can't pin point why though. Me thinks it's simply because of his amazing physique, plus his head and face shape suits all head wears of different shapes and sizes from different time period.

 

4 hours ago, lavender2love said:

Agree with you that JW looks good in whatever outfit because of his tall frame and winsome face. Almost every shot of him is photogenic. Hardly get a bad one. He is a eye candy.

I'm with you two on the face shape here. The thing about facial features working well in sageuk in particular is that, for me, they have to feel plausible for that time period, without modern-day cosmetic and surgical procedures. JW's facial structure and features are the sort that make me want to believe he's completely natural, which is why I think he's versatile across eras. (By the way, if someone actually knows otherwise, don't be afraid to burst my bubble - I want to know for real.)

And here's where I get really specific, so bear with me.

He's got the pointed jawline that's desirable in the present day, but his broader and more pronounced cheekbones are a feature that I see in more historical depictions and were probably seen as positive traits in the past if not the present. His nose, again, doesn't seem to be the type that's popular for those who've gotten plastic surgery there. The one thing that I'm always iffy about in terms of whether they're natural or not are his eyelids, because double eyelid surgery is so common in South Korea that it's not really considered scandalous or fake if someone had had it done, especially if it happened pre-debut. As far as JW is concerned, though, the way that his eyes are a bit hooded so that he sometimes looks like he has double eyelids, and sometimes looks like he has monolids (because the skin above the crease completely covers the skin below), suggest to me that they're natural - a lot of East Asians I've seen with double eyelids have this characteristic as opposed to a clearly demarcated crease at all times.

Finally, as for JW's height...that's something that I personally think works better in modern as opposed to historical settings. I do think he's got good bodily proportions for Joseon-era hanbok, as seen in "My Sassy Girl", but he sometimes looks comically big compared to the set, other actors, etc.

The hanbok certainly makes him look broader, though - although he does have strong shoulders, JW's not built like the Hallyu stars who have really broad shoulders and chests (e.g. compare how he looks shirtless with people like Ji Chang Wook or Lee Jong Suk, and you'll see what I mean). Rather, I think he's someone who's well-built but a bit straighter from top to bottom, especially with a more muscular bottom half (another actor with a similar build would be Park Hae Jin, for instance). So when he's wearing modern-day clothes, JW looks really well-proportioned. However, with the wider draping and dropped shoulder seams that we see in historical men's hanbok, he ends up looking bigger in the chest and shoulders by virtue of the optical illusion the clothes' cutting creates.

[lavender2love]

@kittyna

" I'm with you two on the face shape here. The thing about facial features working well in sageuk in particular is that, for me, they have to feel plausible for that time period, without modern-day cosmetic and surgical procedures. JW's facial structure and features are the sort that make me want to believe he's completely natural, which is why I think he's versatile across eras. (By the way, if someone actually knows otherwise, don't be afraid to burst my bubble - I want to know for real.)

And here's where I get really specific, so bear with me.

He's got the pointed jawline that's desirable in the present day, but his broader and more pronounced cheekbones are a feature that I see in more historical depictions and were probably seen as positive traits in the past if not the present. His nose, again, doesn't seem to be the type that's popular for those who've gotten plastic surgery there. The one thing that I'm always iffy about in terms of whether they're natural or not are his eyelids, because double eyelid surgery is so common in South Korea that it's not really considered scandalous or fake if someone had had it done, especially if it happened pre-debut. As far as JW is concerned, though, the way that his eyes are a bit hooded so that he sometimes looks like he has double eyelids, and sometimes looks like he has monolids (because the skin above the crease completely covers the skin below), suggest to me that they're natural - a lot of East Asians I've seen with double eyelids have this characteristic as opposed to a clearly demarcated crease at all times."

Whew ..... you got it down to a pat. Good analysis ! You write such observed details. You know PDs love his eyes. They filmed some of the best shots of him with his flashing eyes . Mesmerizing .

I think JW went through phases...but his basic good features stand up to the camera. When he was younger he was all cutesy and full of aegyo and his is that kind of adorable baby face..... pouting, sweet smile, dimples flashing endearingly. When he was nearing his 30s he took on a more manly look like in Yong Pal ( but still keeping his aegyo behind the scene as KinTae Hee remarked.... so adorable ) In the first part he was macho, edgy, masculine . He was athletic too parkouring from roof tops to roof tops.

I can't point to a picture that I like , there are so many..... but I'll just take a sampling..

 

Finally, as for JW's height...that's something that I personally think works better in modern as opposed to historical settings. I do think he's got good bodily proportions for Joseon-era hanbok, as seen in "My Sassy Girl", but he sometimes looks comically big compared to the set, other actors, etc.

The hanbok certainly makes him look broader, though - although he does have strong shoulders, JW's not built like the Hallyu stars who have really broad shoulders and chests (e.g. compare how he looks shirtless with people like Ji Chang Wook or Lee Jong Suk, and you'll see what I mean). Rather, I think he's someone who's well-built but a bit straighter from top to bottom, especially with a more muscular bottom half (another actor with a similar build would be Park Hae Jin, for instance). So when he's wearing modern-day clothes, JW looks really well-proportioned. However, with the wider draping and dropped shoulder seams that we see in historical men's hanbok, he ends up looking bigger in the chest and shoulders by virtue of the optical illusion the clothes' cutting creates.

Thank you for and interesting read..Hehe..... you do know the male physic very well. Body shape and how clothes look on them. You're right JW's built is fine but not like those jaw dropping " chocolate " six packs. Hmmmnnn.... I think of Rain and Seung Song Hoon, so toned, chiselled and awesome.

Heeee he looks big in the chest and bottom.

 

 

 

•  

 

 

[kittyna]

5 hours ago, lavender2love said:

Thank you for and interesting read..Hehe..... you do know the male physic very well. Body shape and how clothes look on them.

lol - Oh, dear. You make it sound like I spend tons of time ogling at pictures of these guys. I don't, I swear!

What I do do, though, is a lot of extrapolation off what others have observed or remarked upon. So, with the examples I'd listed above, it's not so much that I could see these things right off the bat, but rather that once someone else (whether the celebrity himself or a fan) comments on it, I can't un-see it. Thus, when I see JCW or LJS showing up a lot in lists on sites like Allkpop, Soompi or Dramafever that talk about "Celebrities with Broad Shoulders", I know that's a trait people talk about regarding them in particular, and start seeing it for myself. For PHJ, I worked off the way he described himself in an "Entertainment Weekly" interview in 2016. As for JW...tons of sources there: his own comments on his physical fitness goals in interviews (e.g. the bit about how trousers fit came from that), fan-accounts of "Ghost" and fan-meetings on "Joo Won Cuties", etc.

I don't just base things off others' comments, though. After seeing what other fans have had to say, I start looking to see whether I could observe these things on my own, whether I agree with their assessments, etc. That's really the only reason why I could go into any sort of detail as I have in the past several posts.

5 hours ago, lavender2love said:

You're right JW's built is fine but not like those jaw dropping " chocolate " six packs. Hmmmnnn.... I think of Rain and Seung Song Hoon, so toned, chiselled and awesome.

I think another thing that has been helpful on this thread in particular, is that the super-muscular, "chocolate abs" look...really isn't my thing. I know a lot of girls find that attractive, but not me. I prefer someone who's of a more medium build, but still wiry - a flat stomach rather than six-pack abs, for instance.

Nor, while I'm on the subject, am I comfortable seeing the fashion spreads showing male celebrities topless or in other ways that emphasize how "sexy" they are - I just find it objectifying and disrespectful to their persons. I prefer something that hints at fitness without exposing it all for fans to consume - so one of the things I actually like about JW's image is the general lack of overtly sexualized images in photoshoots, fashion spreads, etc., and at least part of that must have been due to his having a different build than the "chocolate abs" ideal.

5 hours ago, lavender2love said:

I think JW went through phases...but his basic good features stand up to the camera. When he was younger he was all cutesy and full of aegyo and his is that kind of adorable baby face..... pouting, sweet smile, dimples flashing endearingly. When he was nearing his 30s he took on a more manly look like in Yong Pal ( but still keeping his aegyo behind the scene as KinTae Hee remarked.... so adorable )

Now this is something I can and do get behind I do like how JW's looks have evolved as he progressed through his 20s, and noticed the shift you were describing, too. For me, the biggest moment that hit me as "Oh, wow - he's grown up!" was seeing his 2016 Mindbridge photos. At that point, there had been a gap in which I'd seen a lot of past photos, dramas, etc., but nothing really in "real time". But when I saw photos like these, I realized that the image of JW I had in my head from shows like 1N2D or "Good Doctor" was really outdated:

EDIT

Changing the subject here for a moment, but I thought these were too good not to share. There are actual advert videos for this October's 15th Grounds Army Festival up on YouTube, besides the ones from the poster shooting. No, we don't get to see JW in these - one looks like it's made up of past footage, and the other's a really cute animated preview of the event - but they're still a good look at what visitors (and viewers from afar) can expect:

 

[airplanegirl]

Assistant Moon from Thursday's recruit graduation ceremony.

Source: Joo Won DC.

[lavender2love]

D-day 541, Thanks Lai.zu. I like this look.

 

[lavender2love]

 

On 8/26/2017 at 4:05 AM, lavender2love said:

Thank you for and interesting read..Hehe..... you do know the male physic very well. Body shape and how clothes look on them.

 

@kittyna said  " lol - Oh, dear. You make it sound like I spend tons of time ogling at pictures of these guys. I don't, I swear! "

Dear @kittyna...... Not at all. I meant it as a compliment. I think it is natural for women to view great bodies. After all men worked hard to attain defined and toned muscles and we see them as fit and strong. Since they are eye candies, they are featured in all kinds of media, print and electronic and people are just lapping them up. So we are inundated with pictures and interviews and get updated all the time and become aware of them by default. Advertisers tease and seduce our minds too of their manly appeal.

Thanks for posting the videos...... more reasons to look forward to Grounds Army Festival.

The young JW.

 

 

[kittyna]

I'd said before that I would continue sharing some of my favourite moments from 1N2D Season 2, so here we go!

For these videos, you'll have to forgive me for some of them just being links. It turns out the KBS Entertain channel on YouTube doesn't allow for videos to be embedded - although sharing the links seems to be fine.

1. When the hyungs stopped by JW's home en route from Seoul to Suwon (The footage is split into three parts, so you'll have to watch them all to see the whole thing)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZA6lkai2nY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljAaApOU67k

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5g1mQuDFEE0

As you watch, you'll find that the actual visit is intercut with footage of Kim Seung Woo and Kim Jong Min making their own way to Suwon (they'd lost a morning challenge, so couldn't travel with the others. Everyone else, though, after JW told them that he and his family lived in Yongin (the name he uses is Suji, but that's a neighbourhood in Yongin), decided to drop by for an impromptu visit/house tour since Yongin was really close to Suwon.

My own favourite moments from this set of scenes:

1. Uhm Tae Woong's playing with a stuffed animal that, according to the caption, is JW's (KBS World translates it as "The [maknae's] old time friend")
2. Lee Su Geun helping JW act out how he behaves around his parents
3. Cha Tae Hyun''s discovery that JW had been reading books on general trivia to improve his knowledge on quizzes, which prompts all the hyungs to test him on the stuff he'd taken notes on. The whole scene is adorable, from CTH''s "Aw...so cute!" reaction, to the other hyungs finding out, to JW running over to stop them in embarrassment and then hiding in the kitchen when that doesn't work, to the hyungs yelling at the PD for stressing JW out with quizzes when he should be spending time memorizing drama scripts instead of random facts. By the way, the two questions they ask him are, "Who are the 4 great holy men in the world?" (Answer: Confucius, Buddha, Socrates and Jesus Christ - I guess it's "4 great holy men" as defined by Koreans), and "What are the three primary colours of light?" (Answer: Red, green, and blue).
4. JW preparing snacks for the hyungs, and even packing some to bring to Suwon for Kim Jong Min, who had missed breakfast due to losing a morning mission

 

2. JW tricks Lee Su Geun and Sung Si Kyung in a number game

For those who are confused: the game is called "Go, Back, Jump", and the rules work as follows:

• Each person has to yell a number in rhythm
• Whoever gets a multiple of 3, however, calls out either "Go!" "Back!" or "Jump!" instead of the number
  • Go = Keep going in the same direction (i.e. the next player is the one that is expected in the sequence)
  • Back = Switch direction (i.e. the next player is actually the one who had just gone before, because play has reversed direction)
  • Jump = Skip over one person (i.e. the next player is the one AFTER the one that would have been expected)
• Keep going until someone either yells out the wrong number, or fails to keep up with the rhythm

 

So what JW does, realizing that he goes third in the group (and, thus, lands on the first multiple of 3), is yell "Back!" every single time it comes to him. So the direction of play keeps switching back and forth for LSG and SSK...while JW guarantees that the multiples of 3 will land on him every single time and he doesn't even have to think about what number he needs to call. You can see in the video how much he loves being able to mess with the hyungs for once - and actually succeeding in throwing them off.

3. JW and the toad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_nrsMSkRwQ&t=49s

Unfortunately, I haven't yet found a video clip of the bromance part of this segment - where LSG decides to stop for a nap in the woods because JW had been pulling all-nighters for "Gaksital" and was dropping from exhaustion in the middle of the afternoon. However, the part that I did find - in which a toad crawls under JW's "pillow" (actually his knapsack) and sticks around nearby until he wakes up - is quite funny. My impression from watching this isn't so much that JW was scared of animals, as he had had no problems playing with the toad prior to falling asleep (it's in the part that I couldn't find - sorry!), but that he tended to startle easily and needed time to take in anything new or unexpected.

I do have more scenes than these ones, but I'll save them for later, since I've already given you all plenty to look at. Enjoy!

[lavender2love]

 

From the D-539 .... that means JW was in MS for about 3 plus months .  From the updates he looks healthy and fit  and of good cheer judging from the smiles.

A shoutout to @flutterby06 .... haven't heard from you in a while. You used to be the lone fan here. Are you slacking ? Haha

 

 

[kittyna]

On 8/26/2017 at 0:51 PM, lavender2love said:

D-day 541, Thanks Lai.zu. I like this look.

Same. JW's look as Cha Yoo Jin in "Nae Il's Cantabile" was some serious fashion eye candy I kept thinking that if there were women's versions of a lot of the things he was wearing, I would snap them up. His costumes there looked appropriate for a 20-something young man who, while a student, was also a quasi-instructor in his role as student conductor, and thus needed to appear more authoritative and sophisticated than someone who was just studying. So...like a more grown-up version of preppy

10 hours ago, lavender2love said:

From the D-539 .... that means JW was in MS for about 3 plus months .  From the updates he looks healthy and fit  and of good cheer judging from the smiles.

Is the D-539 photo from his Cantata Coffee endorsement? Some of the ads for that were just so adorable - especially for people who liked him in "Ojakgyo Brothers", since he was paired with UEE in both cases.

My own personal favourite is the "pop up cafe" version:

 

[lavender2love]

7 hours ago, kittyna said:

Same. JW's look as Cha Yoo Jin in "Nae Il's Cantabile" was some serious fashion eye candy I kept thinking that if there were women's versions of a lot of the things he was wearing, I would snap them up. His costumes there looked appropriate for a 20-something young man who, while a student, was also a quasi-instructor in his role as student conductor, and thus needed to appear more authoritative and sophisticated than someone who was just studying. So...like a more grown-up version of preppy

 

@kittyna.... thanks for pointing out the fashion in this drama. Now just taking a second look. i didn't watch the drama because the girl was so annoying.... I watched the webtoon  hastily instead... the french version. Checks and stripes are fashionable. But I like the dramatic, sophisticated, polished, high society, cultured look of his conductor role.

 

 

 

 

7 hours ago, kittyna said:

Is the D-539 photo from his Cantata Coffee endorsement? Some of the ads for that were just so adorable - especially for people who liked him in "Ojakgyo Brothers", since he was paired with UEE in both cases.

My own personal favourite is the "pop up cafe" version:

 

Also it's the first time I watch this advert....... it's well done. thanks.

 

 

[kittyna]

7 hours ago, lavender2love said:

@kittyna.... thanks for pointing out the fashion in this drama. Now just taking a second look. i didn't watch the drama because the girl was so annoying.... I watched the webtoon  hastily instead... the french version. Checks and stripes are fashionable. But I like the dramatic, sophisticated, polished, high society, cultured look of his conductor role.

He never actually wears the circus-style striped blazer on the show - that was just for the poster. I guess the producers wanted to get the whole "this is based on a manga" thing out there right from the start. JW as Cha Yoo Jin's sense of style was a lot more subtle than that.

Regarding the "dramatic, sophisticated, polished, high society, cultured look of his conductor role", I agree. Although I'll leave the quality of his conducting performance to those more knowledgeable in the field, I did think his style matched.

However, one of my favourite fashion moments from "Nae Il's Cantabile" was also one of my favourite testaments to JW's acting on this show. I couldn't find an embed-able video, so I'll try to set the scene as best I can verbally.

The S Orchestra (which Cha Yoo Jin - JW - conducts) is about to make its debut performance by going up against the school's established orchestra, the A Orchestra. While the students initially wear the standard black-and-white formal clothes associated with classical music performances, Seol Nae Il surprises them with new costumes: black long-sleeved tees with a bright pink "S".

Everyone excitedly changes into the new shirts - except Cha Yoo Jin. His is the Type A personality who likes to play by the rules Thus, by the time they show up on stage for the first time, he's the only one who has kept his suit on, much to the approval of most of the professors (except Professor Stresseman, the founder of the S Orchestra in the first place, who now just thinks Cha Yoo Jin's a stick in the mud with no sense of fun ).

But just after Cha Yoo Jin turns to face the orchestra and the performance is about to begin, he does something unexpected. Still as stone-faced as ever, he briskly takes off his blazer and button-down shirt to reveal....

...That he was secretly wearing the "S" tee all along. (Sneaky guy!)

The rest of the performance goes off without a hitch, earning a standing ovation from the parents in the audience, even if the more conservative faculty were miffed by Cha Yoo Jin's subtle rebellion.

The reason why I say this is one of my favourite JW moments in the show is because, as Cha Yoo Jin, he adopts this really charismatic "Don't mess with me" attitude when he takes off his suit. It's like he's thinking, "Yes, I'm wearing a completely unprofessional T-shirt with a Barbie pink glittery "S" on the back - problem?" I loved that even when he didn't "look" the sophisticated, professional conductor, JW imbued Cha Yoo Jin with that same attitude and bearing that just oozed authority.

Spoiler

And on a completely fashion-oriented note: suits, in my opinion, are a universal equalizer. If you find one that's tailored well for your body, you will look good: whatever your height, weight, build, etc. It's about tailoring more than the person underneath in those cases.

However, a fitted basic tee like the one in this scene is, for me, a more accurate indicator of how someone is built. You can see, for example, by comparing how JW wears it to how Go Kyung Po (the blond violinist next to him) does, that GKP is broader in the shoulders and chest than JW is. Also, you can see that although JW is quite slim here (I think his look as Cha Yoo Jin rivals his look as Gu Ma Jun in "King of Baking, Kim Tak Gu" on that front), he's not skinny, either. Instead, you could see here that he's of the more lean and wiry sort than runway-model-turned-actor thin.

Since you've commented on my perception of the male form, @lavender2love, I've been reading up a bit on some of the proper terminology - in my opinion, JW seems to have what is sometimes called the "trapezoid" shape: broad shoulders tapering to a slimmer waist, but not so broad that he ends up looking too bulky on top (that would be the "inverted triangle" sort of build and is the one that I'd mentioned is really prevalent amongst Hallyu stars). The "trapezoid" build is also the type that can also just shop off the rack for tops - designers see it as an ideal, so just about anything will look good on this sort of upper body shape.

This pic explains it better than me - although according to this one, JW might land somewhere between the "trapezoid" and the "slim curve" build. This graphic is the only place I've seen mentioning that, though, with other sites probably lumping both together under "trapezoid".

 

[lavender2love]

Thank you @kittyna... always an interesting read. You have a lot of ideas. The " trapezoid " shape made me laugh. When I'm less busy I'll look for JW's tapezoid jackets. Or could you do the favour of posting this " perfect " shape?

I noticed you changed your profle picture. Is that a drawing of you ? It looks lovely, a sensitive, artistic and intellectual look. BTW , you do have a bolg but i's not accessible. Keep writing..... you're like a fresh breeze to this thread.

 

 

 

[kittyna]

2 hours ago, lavender2love said:

I noticed you changed your profle picture. Is that a drawing of you ? It looks lovely, a sensitive, artistic and intellectual look. BTW , you do have a bolg but i's not accessible. Keep writing..... you're like a fresh breeze to this thread.

Yep, that's me - I got a painting done while I was in Seoul, at one of those street artists' kiosks that pop up in Hongdae. The artist's name is sungho, but I don't know if he has a website, Instagram, etc.

As for the blog...what do you mean by "it's not accessible"? The way it shows up on my profile, I can see that it's not an active link, but if you copy and paste the URL, it should work. Please let me know if it doesn't so I can fix it. If anyone wants to read it, I do encourage them to do so - I don't just blog about Korea and/or Hallyu, though.

2 hours ago, lavender2love said:

The " trapezoid " shape made me laugh. When I'm less busy I'll look for JW's tapezoid jackets. Or could you do the favour of posting this " perfect " shape?

I'm not sure if there is a particular photo that would show what I meant - or, rather, they all do...?

The open blazer in the screenshots I'd posted in my last post is a good place to start, though. I know that graphic recommended "bomber jackets" for the "trapezoid" and a "trench coat" for the "slim curve", so if that's what you're wanting to see...I'll snoop around and see what I can find. (It won't be from "Nae Il's Cantabile", though - Park Bo Gum gets the massive bomber jacket collection there )

EDIT - Back with pics!

Rather than go with what's suggested by the experts - because I don't have that good of an eye! - I think I'll go what I personally have observed.

For me, what suggests that JW has more of a "trapezoid" or possibly even "slim curve" build is the fact that he can pull off a double-breasted suit.

Because a double-breasted suit visually (I don't know if it's like this in reality) fits more tightly across the chest than a single-breasted suit, it's also less forgiving for any largeness or bulkiness there. Thus, someone with the really broad shoulders, chest, and bulging biceps of, say, a guy who lifts a lot of weights or just has broader shoulder-blades (e.g. Ji Chang Wook would be the latter case, in my opinion), could end up looking constricted or top-heavy in something like this.

It's not like JW doesn't have broad shoulders - you can see from his "Yong Pal" days (which I know for sure you're familiar with, @lavender2love) that he can have them when he wants to. However, the way I see it, muscular and skeletal build are two different things: if an actor's shoulder-blades aren't that broad, working out can broaden his shoulders, but only to an extent - and if that bulk is lost for his next role, that broadness also disappears. That's what I've noticed with JW, at least.

The more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to wonder if that infographic suggested bomber jackets for the "ideal" "trapezoid" build because they are relatively shapeless. Bomber jackets, varsity jackets, etc. will just hang on a person - there's no structure to create the illusion of a more "ideal" shape if the person wearing them didn't have that in the first place. So, like the double-breasted suit, they're not all that forgiving. Too broad on top, and you'll need a larger size and the jacket swallows you up; too wide on the bottom (e.g. those with big bellies) and it just exposes that. However, JW pulls them off quite well, both open and closed:

Of course, however, JW isn't perfect and there are things that don't work for him. For instance, one of the drawbacks of the obsession in Korea with small faces/heads is that if someone's wearing something too bulky, the head-to-body ratio starts looking pretty comical. JW, I've found, falls victim to that fairly easily, in photos where, say, he's wearing a really puffy winter jacket or some of the chunky sweaters he prefers.

[lavender2love]

18 hours ago, kittyna said:

Yep, that's me - I got a painting done while I was in Seoul, at one of those street artists' kiosks that pop up in Hongdae. The artist's name is sungho, but I don't know if he has a website, Instagram, etc.

 

You look good @kittyna Pretty face. 

 

18 hours ago, kittyna said:

As for the blog...what do you mean by "it's not accessible"? The way it shows up on my profile, I can see that it's not an active link, but if you copy and paste the URL, it should work. Please let me know if it doesn't so I can fix it. If anyone wants to read it, I do encourage them to do so - I don't just blog about Korea and/or Hallyu, though.

 

I think I got lazy, Didn't copy and paste. We are a pampered lot wanting the easy way. Will visit it when time eases up.

 

18 hours ago, kittyna said:

I'm not sure if there is a particular photo that would show what I meant - or, rather, they all do...?

The open blazer in the screenshots I'd posted in my last post is a good place to start, though. I know that graphic recommended "bomber jackets" for the "trapezoid" and a "trench coat" for the "slim curve", so if that's what you're wanting to see...I'll snoop around and see what I can find. (It won't be from "Nae Il's Cantabile", though - Park Bo Gum gets the massive bomber jacket collection there )

EDIT - Back with pics!

Rather than go with what's suggested by the experts - because I don't have that good of an eye! - I think I'll go what I personally have observed.

For me, what suggests that JW has more of a "trapezoid" or possibly even "slim curve" build is the fact that he can pull off a double-breasted suit.

 

Yep..... JW looks good in the double breasted suit. Very sharp and sophisticated. He looksso  handsome in all the award nights in his tux.

 

18 hours ago, kittyna said:

 

Because a double-breasted suit visually (I don't know if it's like this in reality) fits more tightly across the chest than a single-breasted suit, it's also less forgiving for any largeness or bulkiness there. Thus, someone with the really broad shoulders, chest, and bulging biceps of, say, a guy who lifts a lot of weights or just has broader shoulder-blades (e.g. Ji Chang Wook would be the latter case, in my opinion), could end up looking constricted or top-heavy in something like this.

It's not like JW doesn't have broad shoulders - you can see from his "Yong Pal" days (which I know for sure you're familiar with, @lavender2love) that he can have them when he wants to. However, the way I see it, muscular and skeletal build are two different things: if an actor's shoulder-blades aren't that broad, working out can broaden his shoulders, but only to an extent - and if that bulk is lost for his next role, that broadness also disappears. That's what I've noticed with JW, at least.

The more I think about it, the more I'm beginning to wonder if that infographic suggested bomber jackets for the "ideal" "trapezoid" build because they are relatively shapeless. Bomber jackets, varsity jackets, etc. will just hang on a person - there's no structure to create the illusion of a more "ideal" shape if the person wearing them didn't have that in the first place. So, like the double-breasted suit, they're not all that forgiving. Too broad on top, and you'll need a larger size and the jacket swallows you up; too wide on the bottom (e.g. those with big bellies) and it just exposes that. However, JW pulls them off quite well, both open and closed:

 

Thanks for the details of shoulders, shapes, jackets etc. Interesting to note what looks good or not. Good work.

What do you think of this unusual departure from his usual style when making public appearances in the pic below? So far I like the pink shirt in one such public event and the purplish (? ) or a pastel colour in one in his press com. Any opinion on his dressing when he was spotted wearing the long straight coat to one of MSG filming ? Quite clearly it shows up his small face just as you described.  

18 hours ago, kittyna said:

 

Of course, however, JW isn't perfect and there are things that don't work for him. For instance, one of the drawbacks of the obsession in Korea with small faces/heads is that if someone's wearing something too bulky, the head-to-body ratio starts looking pretty comical. JW, I've found, falls victim to that fairly easily, in photos where, say, he's wearing a really puffy winter jacket or some of the chunky sweaters he prefers.

 

Now I can't decide if he looks good with glasses .Hmnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn ..... I think he does.

[lavender2love]

Days are rolling by..... !!! Hope his agent is busy looking out for a super drama for him after his discharge.