TBT#17, It's Fortunate, 2010!

                      

                                                                                   

TBT#16 From a 2013 concert

End of November 2013. At that time I still wasn't aware who Jung Dong Ha was, although I started encountering his videos on You Tube, while trying to research Hong Kwang Ho.
In this video clip, the Boohwal guys are on stage behind Dong Ha, but not for long. A month  or so later, the official split between him and the band was announced.

                      

I wonder if he was aware, while singing here, that he would go different path. Such a cute video. He appears to be very self confident. And cute while being in good mood joking a bit..

More good stuff to look forward to - new album soon

This is going to be Jung Dong Ha's album No.3. I suppose albums No.3  are not supposed to be very crucial for singers. It shouldn't make or break  their singing career. I heard that all songs on this album are  written by Dongha himself, and since he is not a very experienced song writer, it appears that this album is a sort of an experiment for him. He probably decided he can afford to take a risk, by trying his writing/composing  ability.  He has gained enough popularity through his TV singing  appearances, like Immortal Song2 and King of Masked Singer, so an album like that should not harm his career at all.  Personally I am not very worried, because regardless whether the album is a commercial success or not, Jung Dong Ha will continue to sing. He will continue testing new waters like he always does. That's why being his fan is so exciting.

    The album is titled "LIFE". My friend Fatma made a very astute observation abut it. She pointed out that his album titles somehow are like continuation. I haven't noticed it, but I think she is right. She wrote: At first I thought the title is too general, then I noticed that all his album titles may be related . The first is BEGIN, it's like when u begin your life, then you have DREAM for the future, then comes LIFE,  like when someone gets hit by the reality, that's why there are songs titled "Alarm" and " Black Hole" in this album.  I think this must be really true, there is a certain concept or idea behind these albums, since the time he started going as a solo artist.              

So then, if this album really reflects a feeling of being hit by the real life, I can understand all the pictures coming with it, that we've seen so far. In all of them Dongha is either pensive or just very serious. Hmmm, but actually all three albums have these kind of pictures. 😊 The professional photographers like to portray Dongha as this mysterious man, deeply lost in his own thought. In reality Dongha is like a gentle sunshine, and not aloof at all. He smiles very readily, and is fun to be around (I think).😊 I have an impression that he is an exceptionally empathic person.

OMG! Another Musical! POE!

These news gave me a real jolt of excitement. A diligent fan of Jung Dong Ha posted the information about his casting, found on Naver Entertainment online site yesterday, September 25th. He will be the main character  in this musical, based on life of Edgar Allan Poe. I never even heard that such musical existed, so I went to search for some information on Google.
But anyway, I immediately thought, how great for Dong Ha to be in this. Knowing that Poe's writings are really dark and full of mystery or even horror, so I thought the musical numbers should be really memorable, probably dramatic, maybe sad, melancholic and desperate. Dong Ha is really good at expressing these kind of emotions.
Dong Ha, will be one of the 3 actors/singers playing Edgar Allan Poe, alternating with them on different days. Here is the first casting news poster:

The note, as translated by Google, says:
 "Actors Kim Su-yong, Chung Dong-ha and Yoon Hyung-ryul were cast in the main character 'Edgar Allan Poe"

Then they continue to present brief info about each actor/singer.
"Jung Dong Ha has been featured in musicals like 'Notre Dame de Paris', 'Turandot' and 'Jack the Ripper', and has won the best actor award in the 2017 Daegu Musical Awards."

Finally they inform that tickets sale starts October 11th, 2017.

The musical will start this year on NOVEMBER 17th! at the Kwanglim Arts center BBCH Hall, in Seoul.

                                                              ***

This is not the first time this musical is played in Korea in that theater. From what I could find online, they had shows in 2015, and 2016.

Here is a note from 2016, which I found in one of the English language Korean sites:
Edgar Allan Poe is a role that most musical actors dream of taking on. The role is known to require a great amount of musical skill, as its songs cover a wide note range and carry many high notes as well. As soon as it was decided the musical would be landing in Korea, many actors expressed their hopes of joining the cast to the production agency.
                                                                       ***
"Edgar Allan POE, was given a world premiere concert production at Abbey Road Studios London in 2003.
It is about the writer of the same name, who is said to represent 19th century America and has been dubbed “America’s Shakespeare.”
‘Edgar Allan Poe’ is about the uncanny life of Edgar Allan Poe, writer of ‘The Black Cat’ and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’. He was a genius who even sowed the seeds of the birth of the legendary detective ‘Sherlock Holmes’, but he himself led a dark life. He endured poverty and depression, his mother’s premature death, a painful breakup with his first love, his young wife’s death, and the jealousy of rival Rufus Griswold.
                                                                                              *** 
The musical features the life of American poet and writer Edgar Allan Poe.
Poe had a gloomy and lonely childhood after his parents died when he was 3, though his literary talent allowed him to make a name for himself. He marries Virginia, but she soon dies. Meanwhile, his rival Griswold tries to ruin his reputation out of jealousy.
The numbers of the musical were some of the last written by the beloved composer, the late Eric Woolfson.
                                                                     ***
 The piece will be directed by Noh Woosung of musicals ‘Sherlock Holmes’ and ‘Cougar’ and be taken over by musical director Kim Sungsu of the musicals ‘Gone with the Wind’ and ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’.
I found some pictures of the venue  when they were playing the show in 2016, with different cast, of course.

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TBT #13 Dong Ha loves Korean nature (2013)

In January 2013, KBS TV station showed a program about Korean nature, where they promoted some areas and places of interest. Jung Dong Ha played was a host and narrator of that show. He has  had an experience as show host, on radio and TV, participating in several of programs of various types.

But this program is very close to my heart, since I am a big lover of nature and outdoors. I was very happy when I discovered these clips, where Jung Dong Ha presents some beautiful places, and different traditions. His speaking voice is well suited for narration.
And here, he even sings a little!!!

TBT#12 Some favorite pictures from 2016

For this throwback Thursday, here are some of my favorite images from my 2016 collection, in random order.
My favorite pictures of Dongha are mostly taken by some excellent fans, either at concerts, or at encounters with fans. Very rarely professional photographers are able to capture his inner beauty, so I usually don't choose those professional photos. Only his dedicated fans, who have known, and followed him for years, are able to capture that special something. I once said that Dongha's face was not very expressive, but obviously I must take that back. Bad fan! Bad fan! Many pictures tell otherwise; he has many expressions. Usually, his face is full of smiles. I also like it a lot when he jokingly makes a very serious face sometimes. Like when he says a joke, and then pretends it wasn't him, or that he didn't really mean it to try to be funny. That is kind of adorable. :)
                                                                                 

                                                                     

       























                                  

        
  

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TBT #10 - the 2016 was fabulous

There are some JDH fans that are extremely nostalgic about his years with Boohwal(2005-2013), and can't get over that nostalgic feeling. They continue to be his fans, but it seems that they still live in the past - they frequently mention that time, post old pictures of much younger Dong Ha, and his videos with the band, as well as his recordings.
I can't relate to this, because I didn't know him. Surely, those were great years for him; years he developed his style. He gained a lot of self confidence through endless concerts, multiple interviews, meetings with fans, and TV appearances. I definitely looked through hundreds of you tube videos of him with Boohwal, with great interest. I could see how much he has evolved since then, and how much the depth of his voice has improved. Yes, he is different now, and I am thankful. Some fans express sadness about his changed voice, and they even think he changed his singing style? But for me, if I encountered him on you tube at that time, I would have just very quickly forgotten him. His voice in the first 5 years or so, was "dinky". I mean, it was thin, and a bit too high pitch. Very similar to many other young Korean singers. Now, his voice is unmistakable, unique sounding. As for the singing style - I don't see much change. He had always been very versatile, rock ballads being his prime genre, but otherwise he would try pretty much any kind of song. I think that maybe Kim Tae Won, his mentor in Boohwal, taught him to not be shy about experimenting. But I also like to think that Jung Dong Ha already had it in him. ^_^
                       
                                                                               *****
When I reminisce  about the past, I frequently think back about the last year.  Last year, 2016,  was fabulous for Jung Dong Ha, and his fans. I am not saying it just because last year I was able to travel to Korea, and see him in a musical, and I even ended up shaking his hand.
The last year was so very exciting because there were so many things going in his singing career, that it was almost difficult to catch a breath. From concerts, to musicals, to TV shows; everything was so awesome! He was so busy with variety of professional activities, and we all loved it.
I will be doing throwback Thursdays 2016, several more times, I have a feeling.  ^_^

                                                                              *****

Recently I found 2 sets of pictures from 2016 concerts in one of my folders. Maybe there are more somewhere on the internet, but I saved only the ones below. So, Dong Ha had three sets of his own concerts , scattered loosely throughout the year. One was the "Dream" tour, in support of his second mini-album. Second, was named something like "Best Musicals", where he sang the musical songs. The third, named "The Artist", consisted of a mix of his songs from IS2, his OSTs, plus some other covers. It seems that the last one was the most fun, but I'm not sure.

In one of those 3 tours, he introduced this funny and cute routine, where he would "undress" on stage. Basically, at some point he would take off his elegant jacket, and then continue to remove his tie, and then reach to his top shirt button, unbutton, open his collar, and expose his neck, with a wide smile. Wow! That, of course caused crazy screams from the fans. Dong Ha himself appeared very amused with this whole situation, so he kept doing it several times. Here are parallel pictures from two different concerts. Yes, he can be naughty like that. LOL.

TBT #9 Wind, wind, wind

I haven't posted anything lately for a few weeks. This is because I'm trying to avoid being fun-girly on this blog. I'm really trying to be as emotionally "detached" as possible from this amazing singer, and I'm trying to stay dignified, or at least not be sentimental. But every time I open these pages to add something, I have to fight the temptation to just gush about him like a 13 yr old.
Recently I've been in such a mood for  gushing and eeing about him, so then I gave up to post anything, because it might make me look weird. Even though Anna in Hungary encouraged me very much, by basically saying that there is nothing wrong with loving a singer from afar, because "love and devotion are ageless", I still feel dubious.
So, for this Throw Back Thursday, I'm sharing one of my many favorite performances by JDH, from Immortal Song2 - Param, param, param (Wind, wind wind).

This was December 2012 - he had only debuted on that TV show in September that same year, but his presence was already very strong. He won the hearts of that audience multiple times in the following years. How not to adore him!?

                      

I wish he would come to give a concert in the US, somewhere withing 500 miles from me...But I don't  think it will happen any time soon. He is so happy in Korea, doing wonderfully, receiving lots of love from fans there. Why would he want to come to the US for? Maybe to give some love to the faithful fans who can't go to Korea?

TBT#7 - Song of hope - 사노라면

TBT 4 - Do You Know-아시나요

This is a very cool video from July of last year. Dong Ha was invited to a radio station, where he sang live. At that time he was suffering from light cold, nevertheless, his voice seems to be unaffected.

The host of the radio show used to be a singer/song writer himself, and he asked Dong Ha to sing one of  his songs, called "Do You Know". It appears to be extremely well known in Korea  The original sound track is playing in the background,  and Dong Ha  at the mic, is reading the lyrics from the sheet of paper. His host seems to be impressed with this rendition of the old song.

Well, I'm impressed. This is not a flashy performance, no tricks, no gimmicks, just pure singing.
This is the only time Dongha sang this, at a request of the original performer. The song fits Dongha perfectly, but since it is very  well known as the other guy's golden hit, I think it's a kind of courtesy not to "steal" it.

       

TBT 3 - This time a ballad - If You Are Like Me

This was a winning performance on Immortal Song2 in June 2015. The song name is "If You Are Like Me"

 
Dongha starts while sitting, like he often does for the beginning parts of some songs. His voice is so soft, and soothing, but you can hear some deep sadness. For about 2/3 of the length of the song he continues in very subdued manner, without his usual belting. A few times his voice goes into higher notes, like a little bit of weeping. Even when he stands up, which usually is followed by his very forceful singing, he continues with tenderness and melancholy. Only for the last minute, he gradually increases the volume, as if he couldn't keep it bottled down, and had to shout out his anguish. Nothing more to say, it was a wonderful performance; everybody agreed.

TBT 2 - Whale Hunt- Immortal Song2 - July 2014

What a fantastic performance this is! I loved it the first time, and I love it now. The instrumental arrangement is great, as with many, many Korean pop songs. They are such creative, and talented musicians. In my mind I can hear clearly the piano, rhythmically imitating the running train.

 But I also have a very personal, emotional connection to this song.
It happened by chance, just like the discovery of Jung Dong Ha! The connection is this:
Last August 2016, I went to South Korea to visit Miki. Miki was living in Songdo-Incheon, teaching English in one of the private schools. But during his first Korean trip, he had lived in Jecheon - little town in the middle of the country. He had befriended a wonderful Korean couple, who had taken him under their wings, and "adopted" him, as their third adult child.
Both of us were invited to visit them in August 2016. We spent 2 and 1/2 days with them, traveling around the area in their van. Mr.Kwon, "the best driver in the world", liked to have the car radio on. I wasn't paying attention to the background music, but at some point, I suddenly heard the familiar tune! It was the Whale Hunt song, a different version, not rock style, sang by a group of men - some kind of old recording. Nevertheless my heart jumped!
And then, Mr. Kwon behind the wheel, burst into singing together with the radio! Therefore, whenever I hear it, I always think about our Jecheon adventures. Forever ♥

              
The first time I heard the song, and the name of it,"Whale Hunt", I was a bit perplexed.
So I asked Miki: "does this song really talk about hunting the whales?" Miki listened to it, and said that yes, but it also is talking about a trip on a train. It talked about jumping on a train, and going to the sea, to catch a whale.
Well, I thought it was a little strange, since to capture a whale, don't you jump on a boat, not a train? I had an inside feeling that there was a different meaning to this song. My online search revealed the lyrics, and reading them, I thought the "whale" must be a metaphor for dreams.

Recently I found some more background information.
The song,  "Gorae Sanyang" is from 1975, by a famous singer  Song Chang-Sik.
The 60-ties and 70-ties were a difficult period for Koreans. I will quote from the blog Not your average K-pop I found  lately.
"(...) lyrics that reflected the depressed period that Korea was going through, under the military government. Folk music, flare jeans, men’s long hair, acoustic guitar were all symbols of defiance in Korea between 60’s and 70’s.
Especially, folk music that liberally spread the message of freedom was the target of military police enforcement. Men with a long hair were caught because they were most likely folk music fans and it meant they would possibly protest against the government. It was a dark, oppressing time (...)
The government excessively censored music and a number of music were banned for ridiculous reasons.(...) “Gorae Sanyang” was banned because of the title of the song, which means “Whale Hunting” in English. But really, the government knew what it implied.(...)In the song, the whale symbolizes the dream and hope. Especially of the young who were trampled, jailed, and even killed by the government because they claimed their civil rights and spread the truth about government corruption.(...)Musicians during this time couldn’t write the lyrics they wanted because of the strict censorship. They had to use metaphors, which unintentionally resulted in beautiful music.(...)

Only a deep sadness no matter how much drinking, singing, and dancing.

Looking around to see what to do, but all I see is people turned their back on.

Leave for the East Sea, take a local train, a third-class seat.                                   

A dream from last night is forgotten when you wake up

But the dream that is remembered is the small, lovely whale

Leave for the East Sea, to catch the whale alive and breathing like a myth

Even though our love would be shattered, even though we would lose everything at once

We have it vividly in our heart, the lovely whale 

I was so impressed when I saw during the performance, that the audience was totally familiar  with the lyrics, and people were mouthing  them together with the singers on stage.
I'm really glad that Jung Dong Ha was a part of such a performance. It was entertaining, yet meaningful.

He's a winner even when he lost

 {EXPLANATION: This post was first written  and was intended to be published in May 2016. I was procrastinating. I had it in the drafts, and I had thought it would keep it's May 2016 date, but as soon as I started editing lately, it automatically switched  to the current date.Ugh.}

                                                                            @ @ @
So. I am quite disappointed with the way things turned out on the recent episode of Immortal Song 2 (episode 245).  Some kind of weird injustice happened. What was the audience thinking, when they gave Jung Dong Ha the LAST place ??!!?? It's unbelievable to me. A travesty really.

It's true, that I'm speaking from the point of view of devoted/enthusiastic/crazy JDH fan, and also from the point of view of someone who likes the particular style of the song he performed.

I was totally pleased, when I only first heard that Dong Ha would be performing a jazzy song. When this day finally came, and I listened to it, and saw the video, I loved it! Not that I would like Dong Ha to always sing in this style, but it was something new to hear him perform  this  kind of  bossanova/smooth jazz/sleepy elevator  song.
I can understand that Korean audience is not very fond of jazz - that's what was explained to me. I can understand that Dongha did not win this time. But he got the least number of votes of all 7 singers! Seriously?
I enjoyed listening to the video multiple times for a few days on You Tube, and I had firmly believed this was one of the most memorable performances of his on that competition.  
Then one evening I decided to view the video clip with my streaming device, on the large screen TV. And, wow, it hit me hard. The song itself is more or less telling a story of a man who who is in deep regret after a break-up. He blames himself for missing a chance for a true love.
Link: Immortal Song 2 YouTube, April2, 2016 "Swamp"

Once I saw it on a large TV screen, I was like struck by lightning.

My face was like this :
I was thinking, "what is going on?" Is that him, that sexy man?"  I just couldn't  take my eyes off of him, looking at that performance. He let himself go completely. He does that often, though not always. But in this video it's so enchanting! I find the video of him singing this song addictive - I especially like to watch the second half, when he is standing by the microphone. 
What is he doing with his body? His whole body is singing! He is swaying, and trembling, doing some weird jumps, and everything! And at the end, he is just smiling to himself. His own singing made him happy. 
I was so under the spell, so mesmerized and so flustered by the impact that video had on me, that the next morning, during a chat with another fan, I expressed myself a little too recklessly, lol. 

The exchange was very excited between  me and the other fan, an here is what I said:
Me:  Yes, I was going to say too, he was jumping...Yes, passionate...
(...)
He was able to express so much with this performance. 
Hopefully the TV viewers could see that clearly.
 (...)
 Maybe it's different for the audience. (comment on the fact that Dong Ha received the LOWEST number of points on that day from the audience in the studio)
(...)
And the veins on his neck! At the end. Awesome!
(...)
I will say something, just about this particular performance . He is very mesmerizing when he performs, because there is something unusual about him, some sort of magnetism. I guess it's called charisma. Charisma on stage - he has it always. But specifically in this video, he is simply sexy as hell.
(...) 
I really do not like to use this expression, but nothing else come to my mind.
I do not have a habit of describing beautiful, or attractive people as sexy. But hey, why deny it, when it's there?


After this dialogue I felt embarrassed, and apologized to my  facebook friend. That girl is way younger, she could be my daughter, and she knows it that I am an old (ish) lady.  I chastised myself for not being able to control what I say. But she said this was nothing offensive, and also referred me to the small video, which showed how other singers in the waiting room backstage reacted to his performance. Wow, singer Hong Ji Min, could not hold back how she felt.                                                     

    

*OMG! I just watched the video clip with English subtitled posted by 이한미 on FB.

 *You were so right, the comments in the waiting room were exactly the same as what I said  yesterday! And look at Hong Ji Min, wow, she saw the exact same thing. 

*I saw everything Hong Ji Min was talking about.

* It feels so STRANGE, that people on two different sides of the Earth Hemisphere would have the same impression, and comment in the same way.

*I had thought I went overboard. I feel better now. 

*This was precious! My reaction to dh performance was unusual, because I'm normally tame and composed. 
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After the Immortal Song 2 Ep. 245 aired on TV, One Hallyu Blog described the performance like this:  
"Veteran rock singer Jung Dong Ha covers Swamp by Jo Kwan Woo, a ballad released in 1994. Dong Ha sits on a chair while his guitarist plays a chilling tune. Dong Ha makes a suave start by using a sultry tone. Like a possessed man, he feels the music while in complete control of his vocals. In the chorus, he continues to play with dynamics, which compels you to keep on listening for more. After a short pause, he does a few powerful adlibs that leaves Sandeul in amazement. He then quickens the pace and stands up to show off his rock roots. That is, belting high notes and transitioning into head voice like a walk in a park. He goes for broke on his last sustained screechy high note to finish the performance."
 

           They sure are right.  He is "like a possessed man" sometimes on stage

Jung Dong Ha is now in the USA !

Ah, the concert that I cannot attend is already tomorrow!
Jung Dong Ha was captured yesterday in the Incheon Airport, heading to LA.

Dong Ha is giving a concert tomorrow at 6 pm, in Agua Caliente Resort and Spa, in the city of Rancho Mirage, California.
 

Street in the Rancho Mirage town

This Agua Caliente appears to be a very cool, and luxurious resort. Situated in a California desert, with mountains around.

I hope Dong Ha has opportunity to relax and enjoy. This concert appears to be a part of some business trip, I think. I hope he is paid well, and that some other arrangements are made for the near future (East Coast visits).
I hear, that more than 10 Korean fans also traveled to California, to attend the concert, and cheer for him. Those Korean fans are so crazy dedicated, and faithful. ^_^ I am almost certain that after the concert, some secret videos will show up. Wheee, I can't wait.
                                                                             ♥   ♥   ♥
Another pleasant news is, that at the LA airport, there were fans waiting for him, and greeted him with flowers and gifts. I'm so happy to hear this. Once you love him, you love him. It can only stop if he drastically changes his personality, and becomes an arrogant jerk.