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Posted in Bi Rain, Jung Ji Hoon
Tags: Bi Rain favorite pics, Jung Ji Hoon, pic of the week
A glimpse into Rain’s world in Berlin.
•February 25, 2010 • 2 Comments
It hurt our feelings terribly when the MBC documentary that showcased Rain’s poignant, painful, and utterly triumphant journey through SPEED RACER, the making of NINJA ASSASSIN, and his return to Asia was yanked off the Internet. How in the world are we supposed to introduce anyone to the inner-workings of his amazing personality and the lessons his life teaches, much less get to know him ourselves, without access to those tools that we cannot get on our own TVs, much less buy?
That’s why this little snippet makes us so happy. It may only be a minute, but it is from that documentary, when Rain and Lee Joon were training and shooting Ninja Assassin. It starts off in the kitchen of their dorm, with Rain fixing the lunch he had so grown to hate. The voice-over journalist was saddened by how demoralized he seemed, and impressed at the same time by how determined Rain was to do what had to be done. He toasted the nuts to make them more palatable, and ended up burning his fingers on the pot. He couldn’t help telling the cameraman how the stuff on his plate made him absolutely sick and that he never wanted to see it again. The snippet ends with Rain and Joon relaxing at a German cafe one afternoon. For a moment, at least, Rain could have a coffee and be an ordinary human being. — Stephe ^@@^
(courtesy of absolutelymblaq)
Rain Television.
•February 25, 2010 • Leave a Comment
For US Clouds who may not be aware… Rain has his own television channel. We kid you not. As we understand it, back last fall, SK Broadband in South Korea got the idea to dedicate a channel of their IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) service to him 24/7, and smart cookies that they are, Rain and J.Tune jumped right on that bandwagon. It features everything from never-before-seen footage of Rain—related dramas, advertisements, concerts, music videos, and spreads of SIX TO FIVE—to new J.Tune talent, all for Rain’s fans to watch exclusively and without time restrictions.
It is the first IPTV channel devoted to a domestic singer. A J.Tune representative stressed that Rain is less concerned about turning a profit and more focused on showing channel viewers aspects of himself that have not been revealed before. » If you wish, you can read the August 2009 article that ran in The Korea Herald HERE. We presume the channel is still going strong, as we have heard nothing to the contrary.
This short broadcast from Rain IPTV is from the 2008 release Rain’s 24 Hours: The Day, a DVD documentary that followed our Magic Feet around at home on one of his off-days. Sorry there are no subtitles, but we do get a visit from close friend Bbaek-Ga. Ha. Enjoy it while it is up! Things are disappearing off of YouTube like crazy. (courtesy of sixtofive1982)
— Stephe ^@@^
Make It Rain!
•February 25, 2010 • Leave a Comment
(Spokane, October 29, 2009) “Need more Rain? To complement the superstar’s recent interview with Anna Coren of CNN’s Talk Asia program, the Kpop Examiner has compiled a series of videos shown in the interview so you, Kpoppers, can see where it all comes from! Rain is a megastar and quickly becoming internationally recognizable due to his films and tours. He has appeared in numerous commercials throughout Asia and is making his way to the US with NINJA ASSASSIN due out next month. So, Stephen Colbert? Got it. Rainism? Done. SPEED RACER? See the preview below. Already seen everything Rain? Then watch it again and enjoy the legend that is/will forever be Rain…”
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Thus began journalist Cameron Granger’s extensive article on our Ji-Hoon that ran in the Spokane Examiner. » If you wish, you can read the entire piece HERE. And don’t forget to follow her link to the Examiner’s Rain showcase: Bad Guy, It’s Raining, How To Avoid The Sun, I’m Coming, the Colbert/Rain dance-off, Rainism, his special MKMF 2008 Return to Korea performance, and a clip from Speed Racer. Not bad at all!
— Stephe ^@@^
Following his lead.
•February 25, 2010 • Leave a Comment
On February 25th of 2010, it was reported that The Cloud, Rain’s official fan club in Korea, donated 30 million Won (around $26,000.) to the people of earthquake-stricken Haiti, in Rain’s name. Ten million of the thirty (around $8,600.) was given to a crew scheduled to go to Haiti for relief work, and the rest was donated to Haitian victims through the community chest of a social service agency.
Around February the 12th of 2010, Benamoo, Rain’s super fan club, donated 3.7 million Won (around $3,200.) to UNICEF for the people of Haiti, also in Rain’s name.
Humanitarian that he is, Rain must be very pleased by this news. We may never know of his own contribution to Haiti’s plight because he’s never chosen to advertise such things, but we don’t need a report to tell us that Rain sent aid to Haiti long ago—that’s the way he is, that is what he does.
We hope all Clouds have tried to do their part for afflicted areas of the world this year. Everyone can’t make huge donations, or hop on planes and do relief work. But you can donate needed items to your local service agencies, organize your own small neighborhood charity drive, or simply take a few moments a day to pray for those who are suffering. A little kindness goes a long, long way. (For a brief list of charity organizations, visit our Cloud Projects page.) — ^@@^
More visuals on Rain in Hokkaido.
•February 24, 2010 • Leave a Comment
How to purchase the March CosmoMen magazine.
•February 24, 2010 • 2 Comments
We’ve been feeling pretty sorry for ourselves and lamenting the fact that, unlike our Sister Clouds in Asia, Cosmo Men isn’t available to us down at the local supermarket or convenience store. Well, halleluia…! The sixtofive1982 news blog has kindly posted a way to purchase Rain in Cosmo online at Innolife.com, and the process looks pretty straightforward. The March issue is about $19 bucks.
How great is it to be a Cloud? Thanks, ladies!
— Stephe ^@@^
Rain as you rarely see him.
•February 24, 2010 • 1 CommentVery casual, very relaxed, one with nature and his surroundings. In the Alps before the start of the Legend of Rainism world tour, on a photo shoot for ELLE magazine. A wonderful documentary indeed. » You can read Rain’s interview about the trip and photo shoot on Funky Downtown HERE.
Rain On Trip, part 1. (Credit: Benamoo / Korean to English: akrain / sub-production: rainalice and CIN / presented by RainLegend.com) — ^@@^
Rain told him to stay strong. And he did.
•February 24, 2010 • 1 Comment
Who would have known, back in 2005, that the young kid overwhelmed by Rain’s presence and hanging onto Rain’s every word would grow up to be… Jun-Ho, of 2PM? Who knew? Rain advised him and the other teens on that Rainy Day in Thailand: “Rather than being handsome, it is better to have a face with character.” And “If you ever give up, if you ever quit, that’s it. Nothing will come after that.” Jun-Ho might have been terribly shy, but he was obviously smart because he burned those words into his memory, made it through the harsh discipline of being under JYP, » fought off the cruelty of many everyday rumors, and turned himself into this:
(courtesy of leeso684)
These moments, back during Rain’s Rainy Day tour, may have helped give Jun-Ho that extra strength. The amazement shining in all of these children’s faces was, indeed, a sight to behold.
Incidentally, there are times when Jun-Ho doesn’t really look like Rain… and then there are times when you would swear the two were separated at birth. When I ran across the cute picture I’ve put at the top of this post, I originally grabbed it because I thought it was RAIN. Nope. Jun-Ho, taken by Chan-Sung.
— Stephe ^@@^
Rain and Hyo-Ri practically dropping at the same time…?
•February 24, 2010 • Leave a Comment
Back at the beginning of February, Internet buzz was created by the announcement that Lee Hyo-Ri would be “coming back” with her fourth album, and that the style would be new and the title song might be a foreign one. » You can revisit that announcement on the K Bites blog (source: Sports Chosun) HERE.
And you all know that the news broke all over the place last week that a new mini-album from Rain would be dropping this coming April, the anniversary month of his 2002 debut. » You can read the story in KBS Global HERE.
Well, here’s an interesting revelation for you: The Daily Hankook (by way of Rain Europe) is reporting that, seeing as Hyo-Ri’s album release is slated for the end of March, the two ultimate superstars and close friends (and we do mean close) will have about a one to two week interval between their releases, and that their fans are highly excited. Will one star trump the other, or will they both be equally successful?
The first Hyo-Ri announcement in the Chosun did say “within two months,” so her drop date does feel consistent. But what a coincidence.
[ *ETA: » Read Battle of the King and Queen of Kpop: Rain vs. Lee Hyori on allkpop HERE. ]
— Stephe ^@@^
Perfect Lover.
•February 23, 2010 • Leave a CommentWell, that IS the name of this fan vid. 😉
— ^@@^ (Courtesy of nlovewiththerain312)
We adore vintage FanClub!
•February 23, 2010 • 2 Comments
And we absolutely love the song “Baby.” What happened with FanClub’s management was simply a tragedy, because as far as we’re concerned, the group should have made it. They had the look, the sound, and the energy. And our Ji-Hoon stood out in a crowd even way back then. His dancing was so SHARP. And his voice… even at that age, he sounded like a grown man while the other boys sounded like, well, boys. (But if they had made it… does that mean our Ji-Hoon would not have become 비 ?)
Enjoy this live performance! As we understand it, this was around 1999, when he was 16 or 17. Rain starts the dancing off front and center, gets the first four lines of the song, and then slides back in with a final, “Check, baby—check, baby—won’t you be mine!” before dominating the right side the rest of the time. With that tall body, ink-black hair, and those long bangs, what a cutie. You just want to take him home.) — Stephe ^@@^
(courtesy of eye0rain)
[update] The mystery of the Reality Rain pop-up solved.
•February 23, 2010 • Leave a CommentClouds across the Internet kindly answered our plea and have translated the pop-up we ran into at » www.realityrain.com: The March 8th event will be an auction to celebrate Rain’s photography.
(translation) Nikon D5000 which is Jeong Ji-Hoon’s one-of-kind camera has been put up at an auction to celebrate his photography, and the auction will begin from Mar.8th, 2010.
Please don’t let the chance pass by!
*Rain’s real name is ‘Jeong Ji-Hoon’* (end translation)
A HUGE thanks to rain bird and Rain Europe, and Ashes at the Indulging In Rain’s World blog. We really appreciate your help. — Stephe ^@@^ 🙂
Rain in Hokkaido.
•February 23, 2010 • 2 Comments
Back a while at the end of January, after the Legend of Rainism tour had left Japan for the second time (the 23rd) and was due in Taiwan (on the 31st), the Internet was abuzz over Rain’s whereabouts, especially after rumors surfaced that he was taking a rest and snowboarding in Hokkaido. There were no confirmed sightings nor anything concrete at the time, so we didn’t report anything though people were really convinced. (We were hoping it was true. That was all we had wanted for him since 2010 rang in—REST.)
Well, here recently, the subject has blown wide open again because the Hokkaido resort Rain did indeed rest at during that time has put the snowboard he autographed for them, and various other things, on display. So, for you Clouds who haven’t run across any pictures yet, here you go!
(Personally, we would have put the snowboard inside a tempered glass shadowbox and secured it to that wall along with the other things—is it nailed down, or can anyone just take it like that? Ah, looks like Rain also signed a parka… maybe the resort should have put it in a display case as well, because that mannequin looks sort of creepy. How many Japanese Clouds have already been to see the display, do you think? Probably a lot of them!)
» See actual Rain photographs HERE, on the Indulging In Rain’s World blog.
— Stephe ^@@^
[video] Backstage at Lotte’s 30th Anniversary.
•February 22, 2010 • Leave a CommentWhat a fan cam. How CLOSE were these women? O.O
(credit: DC // courtesy of ratoka29)
Hot. In more ways than one.
•February 22, 2010 • 2 CommentsThis fan cam was taken at a Lotte concert in late 2008. Rain was fresh out of filming Ninja Assassin—if his hair hadn’t been “Rainism”-cut again, he could have been Raizo on that stage. The audio here is terrible (except for Rain’s singing, which is superb). But I think you’ll all agree that this is certainly worth watching anyway. Seriously. Wow. — ^@@^
(courtesy of caramidori)
More of Nikon’s reality… Rain.
•February 22, 2010 • Leave a CommentWe saw the first new Nikon 30-second spot by Rain back a few weeks, remember? Two additional ones—another 30-sec and a 46-sec CF—have come available, and we have added them to our Commercial Spots page under “Nikon” for your viewing pleasure. They’re actually pretty cute.
* Question: When we visited http://www.realityrain.com, in addition to a commercial film, we also received this pop-up. Can anyone tell us what it’s saying? Is something coming on March 8th? (The photo exhibition isn’t supposed to be until March 12th…) — Stephe ^@@^
[video] And the crowd goes wild…
•February 22, 2010 • Leave a Comment… in another fan cam of Rain’s arrival at Lotte’s 30th Anniversary founding event. Nice footage. — ^@@^
(courtesy of scorpiolabibi)
[video] Rain at the Lotte 30th Anniversary founding event.
•February 22, 2010 • Leave a Comment
Around 10:30 am the morning of the 22nd, Korea time (8:30 pm on the 21st, on the US East coast), in Jamsil.
Quick, but effective. Some guy in the crowd sounded like he was having an absolute fit.
— ^@@^
(courtesy of scorpiolabibi)
Rainy Day Season 2, episode 3.
•February 21, 2010 • Leave a CommentLotte commercial shoot, and Ninja Assassin in America. (Asia 2/20 broadcast. Courtesy of maruborarain0625)
It will be Raining hard in March.
•February 21, 2010 • Leave a Comment(And yes, that is Joon—MBLAQ—bringing up the rear. My, they grow up so fast!) Put up your umbrellas, get out there in the storm, and make sure to get your copy at your favorite newsstand. In fact, buy extras and send some to us in the U.S. There’s nothing like a happy Cloud! 😉
— ^@@^
(credit: Benamoo. source: rain cloud // RainLegend. A member at RainLegend mentioned that, in the third photo, Rain looks a lot like “L” in the popular anime DeathNote. I absolutely agree. Very cool.)
*CLICK on images for larger view.
SixToFive in your face.
•February 21, 2010 • 2 Comments
We are thrilled and thankful to be able to show this to US Clouds and others who had no chance of viewing this on their televisions. What a treasure.
This appears to be Rain’s SixToFive fashion show concert, the launching of the brand, that took place in late December of 2008 in Ilsan, South Korea. This was after Ninja Assassin shooting wrapped in Berlin and Rain was still a little Raizo-thin, not yet back to his normal weight (the fit of his pants leaves very little to the imagination *smile*), and he looked very happy to finally be back on stage. Many celebrities and friends were there to support him—we noticed Hyori and Kim Sun-Ah… who do you recognize?—and the models, Rain, and his dancers were all wearing SixToFive, his personal vision all the way down to the cut of the clothes and the fabrics they are made from.
We think this comes from a recent broadcast in Thailand because all the backstage dialogue, including Rain’s, sounds like it is dubbed over in Thai and the ending credits look Thai as well. (The only thing we know for sure is that it is NOT Korean, Japanese, or Chinese. If anyone recognizes the language, please comment so that we can correct ourselves.)
Do enjoy this very special look at Rain’s amazing SixToFive accomplishment, while it is available! — Stephe ^@@^ (Courtesy of b2b2v.)
Rain’s Fashion Concert, Part 1. “I Do”, and Rain backstage. (The show started with “Fresh Woman”, so this is not the very beginning.)
» Part 2. The fashion show, and more Rain backstage.
» Part 3. “Rainism”, and one of the best “Love Story”s you will ever see.
A healthier Bbaek-Ga!
•February 21, 2010 • Leave a Comment
Allkpop has reported that, in celebration of his successful surgery, Koyote rapper Bbaek-Ga and friend Tablo of Epik High posed for this picture together a few days ago, on the 19th. We are extremely happy to see him doing so well! Surely Rain is relieved and very happy that his close friend is winning his battle with such grace.
Bbaek-Ga… fighting!
» Allkpop article Tablo takes a picture with a healthier Bbaek-Ga HERE.
— Stephe ^@@^
The Nature Republic experience.
•February 21, 2010 • 1 Comment
A little something we found of interest because, being in the States on the East coast, we may have no way of ever experiencing walking into a Nature Republic store and enjoying the products ourselves. Or buying them here.
» A Malaysian mom, who is heavily into cosmetics and great toiletries for the body, goes to Malaysia’s Times Square with her kids for a day of food, movies, and fun. And finds herself in a Nature Republic shop.
» A make-up artist in Singapore reports on the latest Nature Republic products to hit her shores, after accidentally finding herself in an NP shop on Somerset.
— Stephe ^@@^
[video] You can never have too much Rain in New York.
•February 20, 2010 • Leave a CommentRain’s introduction and full “It’s Raining” performance on the Concept Korea stage. He is looking oh, so suave. And we must say that we’ve always thought that his dancers were pretty sexy too. — Stephe ^@@^
(source: Scorpiola/RainLegend, courtesy of roseleafnyy)
Cloudy Day: Fan art, inspired by Rain.
•February 20, 2010 • Leave a Comment“Metal Rain” and “Two of You” by Cloud USA Forum member Melanie of Perth, Australia.
Rain Check.
•February 20, 2010 • 1 Comment
On the 22nd: Rain is scheduled to attend the 30th Anniversary of Lotte Duty Free’s founding at 10:30 am. Location: Lotte Star Avenue and Lotte Hotel in Jamsil. (Source: Cloud Master at rain-jihoon.com and Rain Europe.)
On the 23rd: The legendary group Chicago is literally performing live in Seoul, sponsored by SixToFive.
On the 26th: The National Unity Forum will hold a debate on the subjects of general public art and the Korean Wave (Hallyu). Rain has been invited. (Source: Yonhap News and Rain Europe.)
From March 12-21: Rain’s photo exhibition with Nikon D5000 will be held in ‘Star Cafe’ located on ‘Tree-Lined Street’ (aka Garosoo-gil), Sinsa-dong, Seoul, from 11 am. (Source: High Cut and Rain Europe.) This exhibit is of the personal photos Rain took of fans and of himself during the recent D5000 shoot. Admission will be free of charge.
Today: Rain sang an all important nuptial song at singer/composer Tae-Wan’s (aka C-Luv) private wedding in Seochugu, Yangjae-dong, Seoul. During “I Do”, he had the newlyweds kiss whenever the word appeared in the song. And then he was out of there like a shot. (Source: Connecting Rain To The World blog, Edaily Naver News, and Rain Europe.) Rain and Tae-Wan worked closely on the composition of the Vol. 5 “Rainism” album back in 2008, and have remained friends. Him having fun with Tae-Wan and his new bride probably looked something like this (but with Rain in a nice business suit):
(So cute! — Stephe ^@@^ Courtesy of hmongxiong71)
New on the blog.
•February 20, 2010 • Leave a Comment
* Making of the Nikon D5000, film #2, on our Commercial Spots page.
* More Favorite Pics.
* His Biography: The Reimagining of Rain, by co-founder Terri.
* The CT&T Motor Cars event in Tokyo attended by Rain, on our NEWS & Articles page.
* Fan club Benamoo’s donation to the people of Haiti, in Rain’s name, on our Rain’s Charitable Causes page.
* World Wide Metrics Conversion Calculator, on our Conversion Tools page.
PLEASE NOTE: Our Rain On The Horizon: He’s Coming page has been moved from the WebBlog site and onto our Home page, CloudUSA.org.
Clouds, enjoy! — ^@@^
The Tweet of the day.
•February 19, 2010 • Leave a CommentFrom @followBiRain, identified by @JTCreative6to5 as Rain’s official Twitter (although Internet Tweeters have gone back and forth over the subject of who is who)… the new mini-album IS coming. ^@@^
[breaking news] Rain to release special album this April.
•February 19, 2010 • 1 Comment
This just in today from ghostwriter at allkpop:
J. Tune Entertainment has announced on the 19th that Rain will be releasing a special album this April.
According to J.Tune, this special album will consist of 4 – 5 songs. There are also plans for Rain to release a full-length album later this year in October.
This will be Rain’s new work in 1 year and 6 months after his last album, “Rainism.” Rain had been unable to work on his music in 2009 due to filming and promotion commitments for his Hollywood movie, Ninja Assassin.
A J.Tune representative expressed, “Recording has already been completed for some songs and we are still in the process of collecting songs. The title song will only be decided after we have finished recording all the songs.”
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And that isn’t all, Clouds. J.Tune is also saying that there are plans for an encore concert abroad later this year, as well as Rain’s return to the small screen (surely 2009 is a typo, seeing as the LoR tour did end in January… Please do not let this be an April Fool’s joke.). » You can read the entire post at allkpop HERE. Rain Indonesia seems to have » gotten the story from Yonhap News on Naver. And Rain Europe got their information from Yonhap as well, so… we’re good.
The only thing that could possibly make this news better is if » Double Dragon was producing one of the albums to be released. Clouds, rejoice.
— Stephe ^@@^ 8:25 am EST
[ *ETA: The Yonhap News page, run through Microsoft Translator, gets a thumbs up. ]
Double your pleasure.
•February 19, 2010 • 2 CommentsA most excellent fan made video of “Not a Single Day,” from the Tokyo Dome in 2007 AND Saitama Super Arena in 2009. Rain in stereo! What a great idea. ^@@^
(edited by lunaluna // courtesy of eye0rain)
Bi Yourself topic #4.
•February 19, 2010 • 1 Comment
If there was one thing (or two things, if one is too hard) you could change about Rain, what would it be? Why?
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Several things come easily to my mind at first: changing his past, saving his mother so that he wouldn’t have to suffer without her. Changing his nationality so that he might be more accessible to me. Changing his physiology, dialing his energy down a notch so that he would sleep more and not burn himself out. But no, no, NO—none of these things will do at all because then Rain would no longer be himself.
The emotional void caused by missing his mom so much, his proud Korean blood, his burning his candle at both ends all the time—without all of that, Rain would have developed into an entirely different man. A stranger. Asia may never have embraced him as a son. He might never have met JYP. Without » his “han”, he might have set his standards so low that he ended up quitting without even caring. There would be a Ji-Hoon but probably no Rain.
I love his Korean blood, his pride in Seoul, his beautiful features. I love the way Korean flows off of his tongue. I love his drive, though it does worry me from time to time. It would be stupid to change any of that. So that’s where I stand.
I would, however, change: 1) South Korea. I would put it in the Atlantic off the coast of Georgia, about four and a half hours driving time away. The thought of never seeing a Rain performance or fan meet in my life, because of how far I am from his usual venues, saddens me. 2) His distributors. He needs an American one! Doesn’t J.Tune realize WE want to buy his merchandise and magazines too? — Stephe ^@@^
So… what would you change about Rain, and why?
Cloud USA 
