* ADDED: Three new widgets in our blog sidebar, linking you to new Rain drama information as it comes available on KBS‘s Runaway home page, HanCinema‘s Runaway home page, and our Cloud USA Forum‘s Runaway info thread. Just look to your right → and go down ↓ (or up ↑, depending on this post’s location) to “TV Guide: Showing In Asia.” Stay informed!
* REFRESHED: All of our fan site home pages. Gotta keep things tight and up to speed, you know. Terri, take a bow. You are one hard-working Rain Cloud. 😀
°
As a matter of fact, now is probably a great time to begin introducing the various pages on our fan site and media blog. There are so many that surely you couldn’t have gotten to them all, right? So let me help.
Today we’ll go to the beginning. Why not? For those of you who haven’t yet had time to explore, I give you our Cloud USA:
Our pics pages are updated weekly, so keep your radar on. The home page, Rain’s schedule, and the Korean Culture page are refreshed with new information as it happens. Do enjoy, everyone! ‘Til next time…
Enjoy these cute backstage captures from the Japanese LoR DVD.
We thought, when we saw them, that these were from an LoR rehearsal, but we weren’t sure if they’d been captured from the fan video we posted back in April (below) or from somewhere else. (Thanks for that tip, scorpiola.)
— Stephe ^@@^
(images: raincloudHK)
“Ignore the Yoyogi Stadium file name… it’s Saitama, folks!”
Rain Bi LoR, set to Back To The Basic’s “One.” (credit: DC / courtesy of ratoka @YT)
Asia broadcast 8/28. Continuation from last week… Rain runs his rehearsal at ZEPP Tokyo Hall, and he means business.
First it’s all about getting the It’s Raining performance tightened up and completely ready. I do so love having that live mic, and catching Rain going in and out of song at a whim. His voice is so beautiful, even when he’s only rehearsing and paying half-attention to some other detail. Mm.
And then we move on to— oh, excuse me! Oh, oh, oh! That sexy back! And sexy backside! Nice going, camera man. *clearing throat* Er, as I was saying… and then we move on to the fine-tuning of Handshake, that beautifully magnificent song, as well as Escaping The Sun. Sing it, Rain!
LOL! Okay, we’ve seen Ji-Hoon “accidentally on purpose” poke himself in the eye with his sunglasses many times for the camera, during the Love Story era in particular. So when it appeared that he truly accidentally did it here, the look of disbelief on his face cracked me up. He is freakin’ hilarious.
Have much fun with these visuals, Clouds. — Stephe ^@@^
(courtesy of ratoka @YT)
(brief translations by rain bird @rain-eu.)
0:54
Hey! (his assistants) you should have put a mike in here.
1:07
Once again.
1:20
Rainism music has to be played soon after its prelude. There shouldn’t be any gap between the beginning of Rainism music and its prelude.
1:40
Yes, well exactly!
1:45
You can do it like this.
1:46~1:58
My stand mike was suppose to be up on the upper stage by now. Please play the last part of ‘It’s Raining’.
2:14~2:34
The stand mike should be going up while the lights go out.
2:42~
Please play the music where ‘Stop’ comes out.
4:23
Female dancers should go up to the next level.
4:51
I’ll rise to my feet.
5:01~5:07
I’ll climb the stairs during the last phase, taking it easy. I’ll cue the director where I’m supposed to climb the upper stage.
0:01~0:16
My stand mike was supposed to be up on the upper stage by now. Hyung! (director), please go ahead without paying attention to me.
0:21~0:22
Please mark this spot with blue tape so I can check it out again. Also, somebody should tell me not to come here just below this spot when I climb up here.
0:44~0:55
Please cue me soon after the lights go out. I’ll go to the back when the lights are ready. Please play the music when I raise my hand in this way.
1:41
There is a lyric that goes, ‘You Know’, I’ll keep using the hand mike until that part.
1:57~2:32
I need the interpreter’s help. He has to interpret for the audience whenever I speak Korean during the concert. Please bring him a hand mike. This is when the interpreter begins to interpret, and he should keep on waiting for a chance to interpret.
2:41~3;14
” ‘Love’ is like that. I’m doing my best although I’m not very good at Japanese. I’m sure you know what I’m going to sing next time.” (where interpretation is needed) Please play the music right when I wear sunglasses after finishing speaking.
3:17~3:35
Good job! Thanks a million. That’s the shots. If you could do that again tomorrow, I’d appreciate it.
Would you mind seeing what we’re doing? (to other staffs looking at the rehearsal)
Do you think I’ve put you in an awkward position? (The staffs : No, not at all.)
The latest advert... which makes a LOT more sense than the first two.
Now that the major problems with this seem to have been ironed out (we say “seem” because J.Tune has yet to officially say anything about the event, still), and now that exactly what the show is seems a lot clearer, we’ll bring this news to you.
As it was, something felt off from the get-go, because full-blown Rain tours and concerts don’t happen without Rain and J.Tune doing extensive planning, extensive marketing, and shouting about the show from the rooftops so that as many tickets as possible are sold. Nor have things such as non-themed posters, mosh pits, or generic advertising been used (unless we’re all sitting here with some type of selective amnesia). The biggest red flag of all was J.Tune saying Huh? What Rain concert? I mean, how much bigger of a flag do you need?
Now, as we understand it, the organizations behind this show are some of the most reputable in the Philippines, and that’s good to know. And that’s why we don’t understand why the show, just recently named Intensity, was advertised as a bona fide Back To The Basic event rather than what it really is: their event at the Mall of Asia, where Rain and others will make guest appearances. No, they didn’t state that it was a B2TB concert right out, but let’s be real—when you use a B2TB image from Rain’s Love Tour and put RAIN: LIVE IN MANILA! on it, or Do You Think It’s Gonna RAIN on Sept. 11, that’s what you’re saying and you know it. Every site from here to Timbuktu was shouting OMG a Rain Tour in Manila when they ran into it, and still are! That wasn’t necessary. Rain’s name even as a guest anywhere on any poster will sell tickets like gangbusters.
(The “MBLAQ’s in & out” business says point blank that someone was counting their chickens before they hatched.)
The good thing about all of this? Rain’s Filipino Clouds and fans will finally get to see him on their home turf, and that is wonderful. They’ve waited for a long time, and they deserve this. What they didn’t deserve was the ridiculous confusion that has blown up the Internet these past weeks, which could have been completely avoided. Cloud Philippines has been dragged through hell, and fans are lucky indeed that they managed to get the tickets they did in the midst of all the indecision they were forced to endure.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed and will anxiously await word from our Filipino sisters on how the show goes.
Word on the street is… this location, the Dancing Water Theater in Macao, is the site where a romantic kissing scene in Runaway S.1 Plan B has been filmed. A romantic Rain kissing scene. So. Which lucky lady do you think played the Vertical Mambo with Ji-Woo here, eh?
Jin-Yi (Na-Young) seems the obvious guess… but not necessarily, not with a female detective and a femme fatale trying to hunt him down. And on top of that, the newest character Hwai (to be played by Josie Ho) will also be chasing Ji-Woo! That’s four and counting.
… Rain, Kim Yu-Na, and Lee Byung-Hun, and information on their individual Hip Korea specials.
(Rain’s biography leads to an Error Message. I’ve reported the problem on Discovery Channel’s site feedback. Honestly, I don’t know why the man has so many problems with having decent bios online. :/)
KBS 8/27/2010 — The soon-to-be-released drama “The Fugitive: Plan B” is drawing great attention not only in Korea but also in Asia with its star-studded cast. A press event for the show was held in Macau on August 24 at the fervent request from the local media.
Some 60 reporters from 40 media outlets flocked to the event attended by director Gwak Jung-hwan and cast stars Rain, Daniel Henney, Lee Jung-jin, Lee Na-young and Yun Jin-seo.
Particularly enthusiastic interest was given to Rain, a global star who has made his name in Hollywood as well as Korea, with a surge of camera flashes going off as he was introduced.
A source at the event said that most of the reporters were excited to see the stars in person. “I felt proud to see how popular and sought-after Korean stars are,” he added.
“The Fugitive: Plan B” is written by Chun Seung-il, who is once again to work with director Kwak after their recent mega-hit KBS2 drama “The Slave Hunters” (Chuno). It will succeed “Bread, Love and Dreams” in late September.
Writer: KBSi Jin Yeong-ju
Copyright ⓒ KBS & KBSi – Illegal reproduction & distribution is banned.
Rain giving an escalator in Macao a lot of class. — ^@@^ (images: yanleeli)
°
Rain in the August 25th edition of the SingTao Daily, in New York.
This is a Chinese newspaper in New York. This article is very big. It took about half of the whole page, so I couldn’t scan it because it’s bigger than my scanner.
— scorpiola
°
Sorry, we haven’t gotten tired of these just yet. Fresh Runaway S1. Plan B press conference pics from Macao. (rainHK / raincloudHK / as tagged)
To the outraged: Obscene?? Please grow up and stop being so silly. 😦
— Stephe ^@@^
K Bites 8/26/2010 — Rain criticised for outfit with prints at a sensitive area…?
Rain gets criticised for his fashion once again.
Rain attended the press conference for his upcoming drama ‘Fugitive’ on 24th August in Mikao City Of Dream. And he was seen with a smart looking dark suit. But when the camera flashes from the reporters’ cameras went on, it was seen that there is special print on his pants just below his belt. Since the prints are at a sensitive area, many netizens had also uploaded the photos of him during the event on online community site criticising the outfit to be obscene.
Meanwhile, the production team of the drama had came out to clarify, “The prints were not placed there on purpose. It was already there when we got it. As for the criticisms against the outfit online, we were taken aback too.”
Source: JoongAng News
°
And by the way… nicely done, Na-Young. I didn’t particularly care for the dress, but she wears it well and that gorgeous fabric does have a nice Chinese flavor to it.
Eiffel In Seoul 8/27/2010 — Lee Na Young wears Miu Miu to Fugitive press conference in Macau
Upcoming KBS melodrama, Fugitive held a press conference on August 25, 2010 in Macau. Cast members, Rain, Lee Na Young (이나영), Yoon Jin Seo (윤진서), Lee Jeong Jin (이정진) as well as Daniel Henney were in attendance.
Actress Lee Na Young (이나영) wore a dress from Miu Miu Fall/Winter 2010 collection. She completed the look with tan heels.
Nice to see Lee Na Young (이나영) back on the red carpet! She’s the second to wear Miu Miu but I’m not a huge fan of the dress. The dress looks a little heavy on her but she definitely has the height for it. Love it or hate it?
Besides Rain who will star as the male main lead, expect high profile cast members like Daniel Henney, Gong Hyo Jin (공효진) as well as international actors like Naoto Takenaka, Uehara Takako and Eric Tsang. MBLAQ will also make a cameo in the drama.
Fugitive is set to premiere on September 29, replacing Baker King, Kim Tak Goo via KBS.
I peeked at the closed voting page back on the 25th, when the voting app was still up, and unless things changed after that, I saw that Rain took 3rd in his category (the star you want to be), behind HyoRi, and that MBLAQ was just edged out of the top spot in their category (#1 male singer) by 2AM. (If these were not the final results, please let us know. Thanks!)
Neither Rain nor MBLAQ could be at the ceremony because, as you know, they are overseas right now getting stuff done in a major way. Their images were still sprinkled throughout the broadcast because of their nominations, however.
Follow Rain as he shares his 2005 odyssey at the MTV Japan Video Music Awards.
Enjoy a really NICE It’s Raining performance (grab a long feel from the dancer on your right, heheh), and then… “And the Best Buzz Asia from Korea is…비!!!!” Get on up there and get your award, Ji-Hoon. Give them just a little English, Korean, and Japanese while you’re at it. 😀
And then we head backstage, after which Rain closes out the show.
Have fun with this, Clouds. Check you later.
— Stephe ^@@^
RAIN Video music AWARDS JAPAN 2005, parts 1 and 2. (credit: MTV / courtesy of mamirain @YT)
The cast and director of upcoming KBS TV series “Fugitive” held a press conference in Macau yesterday, according to a press release by the show’s producer on Wednesday.
The drama, about a hefty sum of money popping up sixty years after it disappeared during the Korean War, features other high-profile cast members including Yoon Son-ha, Kong Hyeong-jin and international actors Naoto Takenaka, Uehara Takako and Eric Tsang.
Filming for the show has taken place in various Asian cities such as Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama. The cast and crew will be in the Philippines for the next shoot.
Today’s installment… I’m unloading a picture after a long time… 🙂 This is just the picture of Jihoon hyung that you’ve always wanted. The director is also in the picture. (haha)
The drama shooting kept everyone up all night. With the director having more responsibilities than other people, he got less sleep than everyone else. When the director fell fast asleep… Jihoon hyung whipped his camera out and caught the shot… 🙂
I also took a picture of what was going on…
Even in that funny situation, with effort we quietly managed not to laugh…
“Runaway” in Japan story http://twitpic.com/2i22hy Source: gall.dcinside.com Original translation: rain bird @Rain-eu. Rewording: Stephe @CloudUSA
Fresh stuff from the August 24th Runaway press conference in Macao. If an English translation becomes available for this news spot, we’ll be sure to post it. — Stephe ^@@^
(video credit: 优酷娱乐 @youku / courtesy of ratoka @YT)
°
(images: tom.com, sina, yule.sohu, tungstar, ratoka / source blog: OnlyRain)
Of all the “Only You’ performances, this jewel is one I’m sure I haven’t put up yet.
Do enjoy Rain live on MBC from October 2008. He’s fresh from wrapping up Ninja Assassin filming in Berlin here, and was so happy to have his hair cut and to be back on stage performing again that you can literally hear it in his voice. And see it in his movements.
… at the upcoming drama’s press conference today, August 24. (We would have announced that the press conference was coming, but previous media reports didn’t bother specifying whether it would take place in August or September— just on the 24th before Runaway aired in Korea.)
According to some Runaway staff’s Twitters, the PC was a complete success, with reporters from China, Hong Kong, and Macao in attendance.
Tweets about Rain getting tanned obviously weren’t exaggerations. The man looks deliciously brown here, doesn’t he? His skin is simply beautiful against the gray fabric of that suit.
Wow. 🙂
— Stephe ^@@^
8/24/10 MingPao News: <S1. Plan B> Press Con in Macau. (credit: mingpao.com / courtesy of scorpiolabibi @YT)
(Chinese → English translation by scorpiola / [^@@^])
Rain feels sad for HK victims in Manila massacre
Rain, Lee Na Young, Daniel Henney, Lee Jung Jin, Yoo Jin Seo, and Director Kwok Jung Hwan attended a press conference in Macau today to promote their upcoming drama 《도망자》(《S1. Plan B》). The drama has already been filmed in several countries. Director revealed that after the filming in Macau ends at the end of this month, they’d move to Philippines (where the massacre of Hong Kong tourists hijacked by a gunman just happened) to continue the drama’s filming. Rain was being asked if he worries about his safety. He said he actually didn’t know about this before[hand]. No matter if Korean or Hong Kong people were in that tour bus, he feels very sad for them. However, scenes in Philippines are very important to the drama, so they must go even [if] it’s dangerous.
(Note: Before it had been officially confirmed that the bus was from a Hong Kong tourist agency, there were rumors that Korean tourists were in that bus instead of HK tourists [when] the hijacking happened. That’s why Rain mentions Korean [people] in his answer to the question.)
(images: Rain Europe / DC Rain Gallery / takungpao, wenweipo, & metrohk @raincloudHK)
The Man with a yummy Tan, during Runaway filming. (Yes, I’m making a big deal of it now because soon enough, it will fade and be gone. So let me enjoy it. Thanks!)
— Stephe ^@@^
Fan cam “Rain in Macau” set to “One.” (courtesy of maggieshum @YT)
Who can ever forget THIS? Heck, it still makes me weep, to this day. Bless his heart, and him trying to sing after all that.
What an achievement. Ji-Hoon’s most bittersweet moment in history. *applause*
— Stephe ^@@^
Rain wins the coveted Daesang Award in 2004, English-subbed. (courtesy of rainslegend @YT. Please respect the hard work of the subbing team and do NOT re-upload to other YouTube channels. Post/embed anywhere you’d like, and kindly credit RainLegend.com. Thanks!)
Are things even SLOWER now than when the ridiculous “Rain lied about his height” controversy that shocked the entire world cropped up?
°
* Writeup #1: Rain is staying overseas and filming for so long because he’s trying to avoid going in the army. Oh, really? When he’s already been quoted as saying—
“As a Korean man, I believe that it is only natural to be dutiful to my country and enlist into military service…I will go within the next year.”
—back in May 2010?
*buzzer noise* Try again.
* Writeup #2: Rain and BbaekGa have proven themselves to be close friends. No kidding. We knew that » from Rain’s comments last year, back when BbaekGa was diagnosed with the brain tumor that forced his discharge from the army.
*buzzer noise* Try again.
* Writeup #3: BbaekGa’s personal pic (of him and Rain on the streets of Japan) is attracting tremendous interest. We would never have guessed. *heavy on the sarcasm* Of course it is! And that’s not “news.” *buzzer noise*
°
Well, at least the Asian media is trying, I guess. Which is more than I can say for the U.S. media, who (with the exclusion of MTV this spring and summer) love to ignore Rain. And then constantly get his facts wrong when they do deign to mention the man. *sigh*
(original translation by rain bird @Rain-eu. / reworded by Stephe @CloudUSA)
Kolleen Park, daughter of a Korean father and German mother, is a famous musical director in Korea.
Q: I’ve heard you were Rain’s music teacher.
Park: Rain made it big as soon as he debuted, so it was a long time before he learned from me. Something interesting from when we met for the first time… He somewhat lacked in singing ability compared to other singers then. I didn’t know who he was at first, so I told him, “I believe you’ll be a good dancer.”
(mimicking Rain’s voice on screen: “But I’m not just a good dancer, I also have remarkable singing skills.”)
Q: What do you think about who he is now?
Park: I’ve noticed that his singing ability has tremendously improved. He’s done quite well for himself. In every interview, I’ve said about him, “When I see him being very active and vigorous in his field, I think he’s such a good person.” I should have helped him much more.
[Cloud USA] When I first saw only the top part of this image on the Rain Blogosphere, I thought… How cool! But it almost looks… planned, instead of random. As if somebody did it on purpose.
I mean, check that out. The pictures of Rain, Na-Young, Daniel, and Jung-Jin are the officially released stills from when the drama was announced. There are just the right amount of photos from the past, new and aged maps, handwritten notes (one about a Japan Airlines flight), and… is that a concert picture on the lower right?
It’s just to orderly. You can see everything, and it doesn’t really reveal anything that you don’t already know…
Indeed. Rather than the partial image being a “behind the scenes” shot from a Runaway production planning board, it turns out to be a KBS 2 promotional still set up to look like a planning board.
Rain’s Love Story performances have always been bittersweet, poignant, and sad, and they’ve gotten you right in the heart where it hurts. This one, however, at last year’s Lotte Family Concert, gets a little sexy. Um. Those wandering hands. Doesn’t matter where they land, a happy microphone… a happier mic stand… or wherever. Yowza.
Enjoy.
— Stephe ^@@^
Lotte Family Concert, April 2009. (credit: rainfan.com / courtesy of Rainx0x0x0 @YT)
Behind every Cloud is a silver lining. His name is RAIN.
Cloud USA (EST. January 21, 2010) is a promotional/fan site where all English-speaking Rain Clouds of every age and ethnicity around the globe can share in their love of JI-HOON JUNG, the talented Korean artist known the world over as RAIN [비] (Bi). We want to provide a comprehensive introduction of Rain to those who may not know much about him, as well as help increase his presence in North America.
We also would like to further the popularity of Korean art and culture in the United States.
ENGLISH SPEAKERS FROM ALL COUNTRIES ARE WELCOME HERE. We hope you will visit and participate often!
Cloud USA
c/o Terri Robinson & Stephe Thornton
P.O. Box 1506
Mableton, GA 30126
EMAIL:cloudusa [at] gmail [dot] com
No copyright infringement intended; all videos (embedded or linked; there are NO uploads) and images remain the property of RAIN and their respective owners and are used for promotional purposes of Rain only.
Cloud USA 
Sometimes it’s enough to make you cry.
•August 24, 2010 • 1 Comment"Seriously...?"
What is up with the news this week?
Are things even SLOWER now than when the ridiculous “Rain lied about his height” controversy that shocked the entire world cropped up?
°
* Writeup #1: Rain is staying overseas and filming for so long because he’s trying to avoid going in the army. Oh, really? When he’s already been quoted as saying—
—back in May 2010?
*buzzer noise* Try again.
* Writeup #2: Rain and BbaekGa have proven themselves to be close friends. No kidding. We knew that » from Rain’s comments last year, back when BbaekGa was diagnosed with the brain tumor that forced his discharge from the army.
*buzzer noise* Try again.
* Writeup #3: BbaekGa’s personal pic (of him and Rain on the streets of Japan) is attracting tremendous interest. We would never have guessed. *heavy on the sarcasm* Of course it is! And that’s not “news.” *buzzer noise*
°
Well, at least the Asian media is trying, I guess. Which is more than I can say for the U.S. media, who (with the exclusion of MTV this spring and summer) love to ignore Rain. And then constantly get his facts wrong when they do deign to mention the man. *sigh*
— stephe @cloudusa.wordpress.com ^@@^
www.cloudusa.org
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Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain News, Cloud USA
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