— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
“Discovery Channel/Hip Korea Rain”, penciled by artist Nao. Posted by raimy @The Cloud Photo Board.
Cloudy Day: Fan art, inspired by Rain.
•January 30, 2013 • 7 Comments[68/91 weeks done][song of the wk][calendar] 비 Yourself Open Thread for 1/29 – 2/4.
•January 29, 2013 • 16 Comments
(Rain at the 20th Mechanized Army Division Consol Train on 12/4, as posted by HIM Military Culture Mag yesterday. )
» Cloud USA Yellow Ribbon for Rain Calendar: DOWNLOAD it (for free).
» You can visit the previous Open Thread HERE. And of course, don’t forget that our Cloud USA Forum is a most excellent place for Rain love, fan communication, and self-expression. By the way — have you left a message for JiHoon on The Cloud today? Our Project page for newbies on how to register for and USE the Official Cloud Rain Fan Club site in S.Korea is HERE.)
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Getting to the bottom of RAINmaggedon 2013
» [article][Asian Junkie] Rain, his military service controversy, and the misguided netizen witch-hunt.
» [The Cloud] News & Fan Account Summary of Rain at the 2013 Walkathon.
» [article] Rain: “I would just serve on the front right now if I could.”
Because we wouldn’t give Korean netizens a glass of water right now if they were on fire. » [LOL] Our U.S. Netizens on Rain & Kim Tae Hee.
» [English Translation] Consolatory Train Performances Provide a Special Strength.
The Center for Military Human Rights is concerned about Rain’s treatment and that of his fellow soldiers. » Tweets abound: Dignity for Soldiers.
The Korean Media is now purposely ignoring official updated statements from the military and Rain’s management, and continuing to only print misinformation and the early untruths to feed the witch-hunt on Rain, and thus, their ratings. The Korean Media in general gives new meaning to the term “bottom-feeding.” » [articles] Rain’s lodging issues explained.
The verdict is in, and the earth is saved from destruction. » [article] Rain who violated the decree on military service, is placed under a period of probation of one week.
» [article] The shattering of men’s fantasy: The betrayal of Kim Tae Hee.
» [article] Defense Ministry: Rain’s total vacation days are 27. Official Army duties overnight = 44.
» [interview summary] Rep. Shin In Gyun: Singer Rain’s “71 days of leave time” is a distortion.
» [opinion] From Stephe’s desk: Rain has been the object of a “witch-hunt” worthy of Salem.
» [editorial] Business as usual: Rain under fire by the Media and his countrymen for going on a date.
RAIN SUPPORT
By Snail Mail: » [info][Cloud USA] Operation: Tie A Yellow Ribbon. We’re well into the homestretch. Let’s finish this strong!
Through the ROK military (at DEMA): [info] Overseas fans: Please leave a message of support for Corporal Rain on DEMA’s website.
By Twitter and/or Facebook: As of this moment, 6555 yellow ribbons for Rain have been added to Twitter and Facebook icons since the Brigade was started. Amazing! Thanks for supporting our favorite corporal during his military service and for letting him know you’ll be waiting when he gets home! » For a brief read about the meaning of the Yellow Ribbon, go to our previous post HERE.
For information on where to send handwritten cards and letters to
상병 (sangbyeong) Corporal Jung JiHoon/Rain, please see our previous post HERE (military). For cards, letters, and gifts, do see our post HERE (office admin).
» Rain’s official website. » RAINY Entertainment’s official Twitter.
» R2B: Return To Base official social media sites. » Rain’s official YouTube channel AND » Facebook page.
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SONG OF THE WEEK: “Not A Single Day (Harudo) 하루도”, Track 5 on his Vol. 4 album Rain’s World (2006). This has been an old favorite for many years across the Rainiverse, and he knows it, because he’s included it in every concert tour since the song hit back in the day. If you’ve never had the chance to read the lyrics, some English subs are HERE. The song lyrics have also been translated into Turkish, Spanish, and probably Japanese and some other languages, so hit YouTube up for those subs and enjoy this smooth, heartbreaking tune.
(video courtesy of soorain @YT.)
Rain is Eternal. Where clouds stay gathered, rain will always come. It is inevitable.
— Stephe ^@@^
[Eng trans][Spanish text] Rain introduced to citizens in Venezuelan newspaper on January 26.
•January 29, 2013 • 14 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
Wow. We are loving this.
There are a few corrections to be made, but they are minor, and in any case journalist Saavedra has done a better job at fact-finding than the news media right there in South Korea with Rain. Go figure! 🙂
°
(Image credit: mina07)
[English translation by mina07 @The Cloud English Talk Board / Corrections by Stephe ^@@^]
JUNG JI HOON, HALLYU STAR AMBASSADOR IN AND OUT OF ASIA. RAIN IS THE ONLY KOREAN ARTIST WHO HAS WON AN MTV AWARD.
Jung Ji Hoon is a singer, actor and model, he is 30 years old and was born in South Korea. Popularly known as BI in Korea, in Japan as Yu, etc. He is an artist whose has had great success in and out of Asia.
Demonstrating his talent for singing, and dancing, Rain goal was to become a singer.
In 2000 when he had begun to build his future as an artist, he had to struggle with the sickness and subsequent death of his mother because of her diabetic condition.
That same year he was hired as an apprentice by JYP ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY directed by Park Jin-Young, despite not having the required standard appearance for artists, he started as a backup dancer.
Rain debuted in April 2002 with the promotional songs “Bad Guy” and “Handshake” belonging to his first album BAD GUY. {Rain’s first album was n001. ^@@^}
In 2003 he made his television debut in the drama Sang Doo! Let’s go to school! after the success of his start as a singer and actor, he released his second album HOW TO AVOID THE SUN.
MORE THAN JUST A SIMPLE DRIZZLE: In 2004 starred in the title role of the drama Full House. His performance in the drama that was broadcast in over 16 countries including Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Turkey, Israel and the United States, impulsed Rain’s career to new levels and earned him the award for “Best Actor” at the KBS Acting Awards.
In April 2006, Rain was among the 100 most influential people in the world chosen by TIME magazine on the web.
In October he releases his fourth album called RAIN’S WORLD and starred in his first film, I’m a cyborg, but that’s ok. Film that won the “Alfred Bauer Award” at the International Film Festival of Berlin. He also won for “Best Newcomer” in Baesksang Awards.
In September of that same year he promoted ETERNAL RAIN, his first Japanese album and three months later he began his tour, Rain’s Coming in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, The United States, at Madison Square Garden (New York) and Coliseum at Caesars Palace (Las Vegas) and Canada.
Rain became the first Korean Artist to perform a concert in the largest auditorium in Japan, Tokyo Dome.
In 2007 he also appeared on the list of the world’s most beautiful people by People Magazine.
He appeared again in the online survey among the most influential in the world of TIME magazine.
After leaving JYP Entertainment, Rain started his own company J Tunes Entertainment, known as Rainy Entertainment. {It’s called J. Tune Entertainment — with NO “s”. Also, J. Tune and RAINY Entertainment are two different companies. ^@@^}
LIKE A THUNDERSTORM: In October of 2008 Rain released his fifth album in Korea named “Rainism” a controversial album with interpretable sexual references.
That same year he appeared in his first American film, Speed Racer, of the Wachowski Brothers. In 2009 he starred NINJA ASSASSIN. In October to promote his fifth album he began his tour in Asia THE LEGEND OF RAINISM.
In 2010 he became the first Korean Artist and the fourth Asian to win an award at the MTV Movie Awards, for his role as Raizo in NINJA ASSASSIN—getting the award “BIGGEST BADASS STAR AWARD”.
In April Rain promoted a mini album called Back to the Basic and from early September to late December he starred in the television series The Fugitive Plan B, show emitted by the KBS2. In October he represented his country at the 7th Asia Song Festival organized by the Korea Foundation for International Exchange.
He joined the mandatory military service on October 11, 2011, he performed his last concert “The Best Show” in September of that year. In March 2012 he was transferred as a PR private for DEMA and in April was appointed Honorary Ambassador of the Army.
Rain’s 2013 began a little bit rough, in adjacent to the revelation of his relationship with actress Kim Tae Hee, rumors began to emerge of a possible favoritism for having “excessive vacation days” and he faced controversy for being photographed with his uniform on and not wearing his beret. However, his image is being restored after the incidents were explained and practically dismissed by a representative of DEMA, his fans—called clouds—expect the artist to complete his military service in July of this year.
Journalist Nayzai Saavedra
2001 Journal Arts & Entertainment
Saturday January 26, 2013.
Caracas Venezuela.
[Spanish text provided by mina07 @The Cloud English Talk Board]
JUNG JI HOON EMBAJADOR ESTRELLA DE HALLYU DENTRO Y FUERA DE ASIA. RAIN ES EL UNICO COREANO QUE HA GANADO UN PREMIO MTV AWARDS.
Jung Ji Hoon es un cantante, actor y modelo de 30 años nacido en Corea del Sur. Conocido popularmente como BI en Corea, en Japón Yu, etc. y Rain en occidente es un artista integral que ha marcado su carrera figurando con gran éxito dentro y fuera del continente asiático.
Demostrando su talento para el canto, y el baile, Rain se fijo como meta convertirse en un cantante.
En el 2000 cuando había empezado a construir su futuro como artista, tuvo que luchar con el deterioro y posterior muerte de su madre debido a su condición de diabetes.
Ese mismo año también fue contratado COMO APRENDIZ DE LA COMPAÑIA JYP ENTERTAIMENT-DIRIGIDA por Park Jin Young- a pesar de no cumplir con la apariencia estándar requerida para los artistas, y se desempeño como bailarín de apoyo.
Rain debutó en abril del 2002 con las canciones promocionales “Bad Guy” y “Handshake” pertenecientes a su primer álbum BAD GUY.
En el 2003 hizo su debut en televisión en el drama Sang Doo! Let’s go to school! tras el éxito de su inicio como cantante y actor lanzó su segundo álbum HOW TO AVOID THE SUN.
MÁS QUE UNA SIMPLE LLOVISNA en el 2004 actuó en el papel protagónico del drama Full House. Su desempeño en la novela que fue trasmitida en mas 16 países en los que figuran Tailandia, Hong Kong, China, Japón, Turquía, Israel y Estados Unidos. Impulso la carrera de Rain a niveles insospechados y le valió el premio al “Mejor Actor” en los KBS Acting Awards.
En abril de 2006 Rain figuró entre las 100 personas más influyentes del mundo según la revista TIME en la web.
En octubre lanza su cuarto álbum llamado RAIN’S WORLD y protagonizó su primera película, I’m a cyborg, but that’s ok. Film que ganó el “Alfred Bauer Award” en el festival internacional de cine de Berlin. Además ganó como “Mejor actor revelación” en los Baesksang Awards.
En septiembre del mismo año promocionó ETERNAL RAIN, su primer álbum en japonés y tres meses después inicia su gira, Rain’s Coming por Singapour, Malasia, Tailandia, Vietnam, China, Japón, Taiwán, Australia, Estados Unidos-en el Madison Square Garden (New York) y en Coliseum at Caesars Palace (Las Vegas) y Canadá
Rain se convirtió en el primer coreano en realizar un concierto en el auditorio más grande de Japón, Tokyo Dome.
En el 2007 también apareció en el listado de las personas más hermosas del mundo de la revista People .
Además volvió a figurar en la encuesta en línea entre las personas más influyentes del mundo de la revista TIME.
Tras haber finalizado con JYP Entertaiment, Rain creó su propia compania J TUNES Entertaiment, conocida anteriormente como Rainy Entertaiment.
COMO UNA TORMENTA ELÉCTRICA en octubre de 2008 Rain lanza su quinto álbum en Corea que llevó por nombre “Rainism”, contraversial por su interpretable referencia sexual.
Ese mismo año también actuó en su primera película americana, Speed Racer, de los hermanos Wachowski. En 2009 protagonizó NINJA ASSASSIN. En octubre en apoyo a su quinto álbum comenzó su gira por ASIA THE LEYEND OF TOUR RAINISM.
EN 2010 se convirtió en el primer coreano y el cuarto asiático en ganar un premio en los MTV Movie Awards- por su papel de Raizo en NINJA ASSASSIN- obteniendo el galardón “BIGGEST BADASS AWARD”.
En abril Rain promocionó un mini álbum llamado Back to the Basic y desde principios de septiembre hasta finales de diciembre protagonizó la serie de televisión The Fugitive Plan B, emitida por la señal de la KBS2. En octubre representó a su país en el 7mo Asia Song Festival organizado por la fundación Corea para el Intercambio Internacional.
Ingreso al servicio militar obligatorio el 11 de octubre del 2011, llevando a cabo sus últimos conciertos “The Best Show” en septiembre de ese mismo año. En marzo de 2012 fue trasladado como soldado de Relaciones Publicas en la agencia de Defensa para servicios de Información Pública (DEMA) Y en abril fue nombrado Embajador Honorario del Ejército.
Rain inicio el 2013 con el pie izquierdo y es junto a la revelación de su relación con la famosa actriz Kim Tae Hee empezaron a surgir rumores de posible favoritismo por tener “excesivas vacaciones” y por ser fotografiado con su uniforme y sin boina. Sin embargo, su imagen está siendo restablecida después de los incidentes fueron explicados y prácticamente desestimados por un representante del DEMA, sus fanáticas-llamadas nubes- esperan que el artista complete su servicio militar en julio de este año.
Periodista Nayzai Saavedra
Arte y Espectáculo Diario 2001
Sábado 26 de enero de 2013.
Caracas Venezuela.
[images] Rain at the Love of Country Walkathon with Seoulite. (1/19/13)
•January 29, 2013 • 1 Comment— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
Look at the Walkathon pictures on that blog. That trail went a LONG way. Whew.
(Images credit: Bi-um / 비움 / sooiniq @Naver blogs)
[images] HIM Mag: Rain at the Army 20th Mechanized Infantry Division Consolatory Train (12/4).
•January 29, 2013 • 4 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
Yesterday, the 28th, HIM Military Culture Magazine online posted their images of Rain riding the very last Consolatory Train show for this past season, at the Yangpyeong indoor gym. (Yes, I know it says 12/6 in HIM’s post, but according to DEMA and our records it was 12/4.) Don’t forget to scroll down the page at HIM and click on the white and blue hand to “like” the post. Thanks!
(Source credit: HIM mag @tistory)
On this, your 3rd Anniversary…
•January 28, 2013 • 14 CommentsFrom our lovely and talented YouTube moderator JJ. How we admire her. ♥ — Stephe ^@@^
Happy Belated Birthday, Cloud USA
•January 27, 2013 • 48 Comments
~Cloud Cover by Terri :-}, Managing Editor
Well, can you believe it, Clouds? Things got so crazy at the beginning of the year, both in Rain’s world and in our own private lives, that we just now slowed down enough to remember that three years ago, on January 21, 2010, Cloud USA was born.
It was an easy delivery of what was initially meant to be just a little blog space where Stephe and I could gush about one of our favorite stars without people looking at us funny. And yet the baby that was born could not be held back and was soon being talked about all over the world by other English-speaking Clouds who needed the same kind of place and who found a home here at Cloud USA.
At three years old, Cloud USA has finally left the “terrible twos” behind and is toddling its way towards what we hope will be a long and happy future. We still aren’t quite sure exactly where or how we fit in Rain’s world, but all we can say is we are terribly happy to be here.
Many thanks to all of you out there who have joined us in our journey and who are helping us help Rain reach his goal of becoming world renowned. We are honored by your presence, awed by your spirit and humbled by your grace.
Always,
Terri :-} and Stephe ^@@^ @ CloudUSA.org
New to Cloud USA? Find out all about us by visiting:
- Our “About Us” webpage
- Our “Who We Are” blogpage
- Our “Standing in the Rain” blogpages: both Terri’s and Stephe’s pages have been updated for our 3rd Anniversary
(Note: The image below was used as Cloud USA’s first homepage. In the beginning that’s all we had. An image and an idea. On the homepage was this pic and a button that said : ENTER. LOL. Did we have any idea what we were getting into? No. Do we have any regrets? Never.)
[images][links][Eng trans][fan cam] Revisiting October 2011: Rain interviewed at the Mayfield Hotel & Resort.
•January 26, 2013 • 2 Comments— Posted and compiled by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
As you all may recall, right before his enlistment, Rain arrived at Gimpo Airport in Seoul from Busan City and gave SBS’s Hanbam TV an exclusive interview about his career, his preferences, getting ready for the Army, etc.
It took place on the grounds of the Mayfield Hotel & Resort, and as usual, he was charming and pretty doggone funny, always cracking a joke, haha. 🙂 My favorite parts in particular were 1) the hostess breaking down “Busan Woman” right there in the airport, 2) when she tries to pick a string or some lint off of his shirt for him and almost gets a nipple instead, and 3) Rain hugging his girl group cardboard cut-outs so no one would take them away from him. ROFL!
Seeing as the interview videos on Youtube have either been scrubbed off or blocked in the U.S., here are two full interview video clips out of China and Japan. (They’re both the same, so you only have to choose one.)
For the English translation of the interview, please revisit our previous post from 10/13/2011 HERE: [ETA video links][ETA Eng trans][clips] Rain’s interview segment on Hanbam TV.
And a Bonus: Check out this fan cam from Gimpo Airport. When we saw it, we were like, Okay. Look here. When Rain is trying to do an interview for network TV and you’re lucky enough to be there to witness it, do him a big favor and don’t flub it up. Give the man some room, stay in the crowd shots, don’t grab at him, and try not to breathe all down his neck. Sheesh. LOL!
(Fan cam credited to: Min / rainloverpi0418)
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And more… (Images of Rain’s Hanbam TV interview courtesy of The Mayfield Hotel & Resort @Facebook)
[English translation of the Mayfield Hotel’s Facebook post by 화니]
-World star Rain in Hotel Mayfield the day before his enlistment-
World star ‘Rain’ enlisted in the army while his more than 1,000 fans were bidding a tearful farewell to him and sending him their unconditional support last October 11th.
SBS TV’s Midnight Entertainment conducted an interview with him in Hotel Mayfiled before his enlistment. This was his last public appearance before he got his hair cut. We’ll look forward to seeing him again in good health after his discharge, and we can expect to see much more of him in the future.
Rain fighting~
[clip][English] Rain reaches the Love of Country Walkathon finish line in record time. (1/19/13)
•January 25, 2013 • 9 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
See what I mean? And it’s not just Arirang. The Media never updates all the misinformation that it spewed in the early days of RAINmageddon 2013. They always say, Rain who just got off probation for his misconduct with Kim Tae Hee, and they never ADD, oh and by the way, he only took 27 vacation days, folks, that particular rumor was bogus.
They’re so pathetic.
(Source credit: Arirang / courtesy of scorpiolabi1 @YT.)
[ETA 1/25/13][clip][learning Korean] More footage of Rain at the 1st Korean Citizens Love of Country Walkathon. (1/19/13)
•January 24, 2013 • 3 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
(Video source credit: Hamban TV / courtesy of ratoka @vimeo)
(Images source credit: DC Rain Gall)
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*{Edited to Add 1/25/13: I was wondering what Rain and the youngster were talking about right BEFORE the 2:50 marker, especially since there was a sweat bead of embarrassment beside what Rain said. Well, thanks to a translation by 화니 on The Cloud, it appears that Rain supposedly asked the kid if he recognized him, and the poor, innocent kid supposedly said, “I think I’ve seen you somewhere, but I can’t place you.” Then Rain whipped out the chocolate. LOL! Aw, that makes it even cuter. kekekeke! Thanks to Rain’s official SOOMPI Thread (Acting Endeavors) for the tip. 🙂 ^@@^ }
Minute marker 2:50 – 3:06 : The Power of Chocolate!
This little section just tickled me to death. I would like to have given you a direct translation, but all of the English that came out of the online translators was nonsense. Sorry for that. The gist of what seems to have happened is this, as best as I can tell…
The kid starts talking to Rain as they’re walking, and then Rain slips him something. The most important words on the screen are SOLDIER ( 군인 , gun-in) and, in brown letters, CHOCOLATE (초콜릿, cho-kol-lit). 🙂
The Media then asks the kid if he liked walking with big brother/senior (형, hyeong, hyung) Jung JiHoon, or was big brother Jung JiHoon doing well on the walk, or something to that effect. And the kid gives Rain the thumbs up. 좋아요~ (joh-ayo). “It’s good!” “Okay!”
Unable to help himself, Rain smiles the smile of a satisfied dad who has made a son happy. 아빠미소.. 초콜릿의힘!! (appa-miso.. chokollit-uihim!!) A Dad smile.. the power of chocolate!!
Aw. So cute. ♥ — Stephe ^@@^
[article][Asian Junkie] Rain, his military service controversy, and the misguided netizen witch-hunt.
•January 24, 2013 • 26 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
Editor IATFB of Asian Junkie wrote:
Well, the actual point of contention for netizens seems to be whether special treatment for celebrity soldiers should even exist to begin with, and while that issue isn’t directly the fault of Rain — since he likely isn’t being treated any different in terms of his actual duties than a litany of other celebrities now and in the past — the nature of his scandal (dating a famous celebrity) has made him the face of the issue nevertheless. As such, he’s taken an unfair brunt of the public outcry because people needed a scapegoat to thrust their existing woes on.
With the utter frustration we’ve been feeling lately because of what we’ve perceived as South Korea’s inexplicable “hatred” of Rain, this statement (and the entire article) gives us a lot of interesting food for thought.
It’s also given us a somewhat clearer look into the minds of its netizens. What do you all think? ^@@^
°
Asian Junkie 1/23/2013 — written by IATFB
Rain, his military service controversy, and the misguided netizen witch hunt
The outrage at Rain — that stems from accusations of negligence in regards to his military duties — has subsided a bit, but it doesn’t change the fact that this could follow him for a while, as military service is not something that affects just the insulated world of K-pop, but Korea as a whole, which is why controversies like these really end up hurting celebrities (commercials/brand/whatever).
For whatever reason though, I feel like international mainstream sites haven’t been giving international fans all the details of the situation. People seem confused about what the problem actually is and why Rain is getting such hatred, thus resulting in them rushing to condemn either him or netizens. My goal here is to explore what has actually happened and what people really have a problem with.
—–
Initially, I understood both sides to an extent. I knew why netizens were pissed at him, and I assumed he was getting special treatment, but I shrugged it off as the status quo, basically.
Well, it turns out his treatment wasn’t that special after all.
Note: These translations are from a fan site. However, not only are they legit translations but there are corroborating sources on the same stories.
The authorities have issued a statement clarifying their position regarding the controversy that has arisen regarding whether the singer Rain(age 31, Jung Ji Hoon), known to be in a romantic relationship with actress ‘Kim Tae Hee’, received special preferential treatment during his military service.
On the 4th, the MBC TV show entitled ‘Section TV Entertainment Communications’ (hereafter referred to as “Section”) reported on the controversy regarding the special preferential treatment Rain allegedly received as an entertainment soldier.
According to the report made by Dispatch, Rain went on dates with ‘Kim Tae-Hee’ as frequently as around once a week since last November, while on overnight or daytime leave. Immediately following the report, there was a deluge of critical comments on the internet claiming that “The military granted Rain preferential treatment as an entertainment soldier.”
In actuality, the average number of days that an ordinary soldier receives for vacation is 44 days. Entertainment soldiers receive an average of 75 days, which is around 1.7 times more.
So basically, he didn’t do much out of the ordinary at all for his position, but he’s now the face for the public’s outrage.
The military could have left the situation at that, but they went even further, basically saying outright that their wrath is being misplaced.
In a phone call with Joy News 24 on the morning of the 3rd, Mr. ‘Shin In Gyun’ commented that “There appears to be a tendency to escalate this issue into a severe witch hunt in a manner that reminds me of past incidents involving Tablo and Tajinyo. It’s necessary to evaluate the situation more level-headedly” and disclosed the results of his research.
According to Representative Shin, as had been disclosed by the Defense Agency for Public Information Services, Corporal ‘Jung Ji Hoon’ received a total of 17 days of reward vacations and 10 overnight leaves granted based on individual performance and 44 days of overnight leaves for the performance of work duties in the 10 month period he worked as an entertainment soldier in the Defense Ministry beginning in March of last year, making a sum total of 71 days of vacations or overnight leaves.
Representative Shin explained the reasons for the leaves in detail, arguing that “It is incorrect for the media to exaggerate based on this data to give the impression that Corporal ‘Jung Ji Hoon’ used as much as 71 days of vacation or leave days.”
We’re all familiar with how the Internet can be, especially when the issue at hand invokes strong emotions. As such, the reaction isn’t a surprise, but a lot of it is still undeserved.
Of course, that’s not to say that Rain has been completely without fault.
Corporal ‘Jung Ji Hoon’ (singer Rain) who violated the decree on military service in the process of dating with his girl girlfriend while off the base for official military duties, has been placed under a period of probation of one week. The degree of the punishment for him is the lowest among ordinary private soldiers.
Therefore, corporal Jung must take time for self-examination by writing letters of apology, only in designated areas inside the Defense Media Agency where he belongs, for a week from tomorrow. He’ll sleep and eat in the same place as his soldier mates do, but he will be excluded from all the usual training schedules. He is alleged to have not raised any particular objection to their decision.
Before this, a Defense Ministry officer said, “Rain violated the degree on military service four times by moving alone not led by any military official in charge while off the base for official military duties and by not wearing his beret.”
In a nutshell though, his punishment was light because he didn’t actually do much wrong other than not wearing his hat and being given rides home by Kim Tae Hee on four occasions.
So why the outrage? Because they’re calling for punishment that revolves around the assumption that he has been taking extra vacation days, getting preferential treatment, and all sorts of stuff that didn’t actually happen, at least as far as his own role in the military goes.
—–
Speaking of his role, one factor that can’t be explained away is Rain’s transfer to the celebrity soldier division to begin with.
Rain will transfer from the 5th division’s recruitment training center to the Ministry of National Defense as a PR agent. An associate told enews on March 8, “Rain is expected to come to the Ministry of National Defense around March 13. I believe discussions are currently being made on the work Rain will do there.”
Rain enlisted into the army last October opting to serve in a regular army unit and was sent to the 5th division’s recruitment training center. However on February 17 he applied for the Ministry of National Defense’s recruitment for its PR recruitment and was accepted as a PR agent on February 23.
This news was confirmed and reported by Rain fan sites themselves at the time.
So while he’s certainly not responsible for how he’s represented in the media right now, he did make the choice to become a celebrity soldier.
So why is that significant, right?
Well, the actual point of contention for netizens seems to be whether special treatment for celebrity soldiers should even exist to begin with, and while that issue isn’t directly the fault of Rain — since he likely isn’t being treated any different in terms of his actual duties than a litany of other celebrities now and in the past — the nature of his scandal (dating a famous celebrity) has made him the face of the issue nevertheless. As such, he’s taken an unfair brunt of the public outcry because people needed a scapegoat to thrust their existing woes on.
The mixture of circumstances has led to confusion in international circles, but I think this article paints a fair overall picture of what has actually happened with the issue at hand. Basically, people feel slighted by the unfair circumstances created for the privileged and have chosen Rain’s case to make their point on. While I understand and support their general cause, using him as their personal pinata is both unproductive and ironically unfair to him.
Trying to kill Rain’s career is going to do little to change things in the long-term, and I think it actually distracts the public from the actual catalyst within this issue: their problem with how the military runs mandatory service.
[Cloud USA video] One and Only.
•January 23, 2013 • 3 Comments^@@^ Bi, Rain -One and Only— (Credit and edit: JJ @Cloud USA / CloudUSAChannel @YT / Music: Adele, “One and Only”)
[clip][Eng trans] Entertainers in the R.O.K. Army: Experiencing culture and art activities in uniform.
•January 23, 2013 • 2 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
This Y-Star News segment features the six celebrity soldiers who starred in the military musical “The Promise” on January 4, plus Rain, KCM, and Yoo Geon (who was discharged December 1).
(Video source credit: ystarnews @YT.)
(English translation of references to Rain by 화니)
~0:14
Unlike in the past, when male entertainers put their careers on hold to serve in the amy, they have lately been much seen doing culture and art activities in their uniforms. Please stay tuned.
3:45~4:04
Meanwhile, Rain who was disciplined for taking off his beret, etc. after the rumors of his romance with actress ‘Kim Tae Hee’, showed himself in public for the first time after his probation period by participating in ‘the 1st Love Of Country Walkathon With Seoulite’ held last 19th.
4:05~4:37
[Rain] : “Loyalty! Hello, this is Corporal ‘Jung Ji Hoon’ belonging to Defense Media Agency. I’ve come to participate in the event that is to look back upon “1.21 Attack” which happened 45years ago when armed agents infiltrated into the country. It’s great to be here at this significant event where there are many of citizens of Seoul who are inspired to participate, and I’ll do my best to do my duties today. Loyalty! Thank you.”
4:39~4:53
Rain gave a brief greeting in front of reporters before the event, and took a hands on approach to participate in the event after he cut a ribbon, and he concluded the event by being the first to breast {cross} the tape {finish line} in the race.
4:56~
21 months, the term of military service, won’t be a long time for fans because they have many opportunities to meet their stars through many military events.
Anyway, we’ll look forward to seeing the stars again in good health.
[info][DVD box art] R2B Return to Base: Just call it “Black Eagle” in North America.
•January 23, 2013 • 12 Comments— Written and compiled by: Stephe Thornton, CloudUSA.org ^@@^
North American DVD box art for BLACK EAGLE. Source Credit: CJ Entertainment America.
TAKE THE BATTLE TO THE SKIES!
Dear Rain fans and movie-watchers in the U.S.A. and Canada, and English-speakers all over the world, fire up your engines! The DVD release of Rain’s R2B: Return to Base, specifically tailored for North America, is approaching the tarmac.
Black Eagle will be presented in widescreen and 5.1 Dolby Digital sound, with an English-dubbed version as well as the original South Korean version with English subtitles. Special features include “Sortie’s Ready! 500 Days of Filming,” “Pilot G-Force Test”, “Characters” featurettes behind-the-scenes, outtakes, and trailers.
The North American DVD will be for purchase and for rent. According to CJ Entertainment America‘s PR team, Black Eagle will be made available at major retailers like Best Buy, Apple iTunes, and also Redbox and other rental networks, which means that the March 12 release will be more widespread and accessible to the general market (action movie fans in addition to Rain fans).
From the upcoming CJ Entertainment America press release:
“After pulling a dangerous, daredevil stunt at an air show, hotshot elite Air Force pilot Tae-hun (Jung Ji-hoon, aka “Rain,”Ninja Assassin, Speed Racer) is kicked off the military’s top-notch Black Eagle air team and demoted into combat.
Arriving at his new unit, the talented but reckless fighter is quickly popular with the majority of the squad, even sparking a heated romance with the lovely Se-yeong, the wing’s best technician, whose faulty hearing is the only thing keeping her out of the air. But Tae-hun’s brash ways soon cause tension with the unit’s own ace top gun, the strait-laced Cheol-hui (Yu Jun-sang, In Another Country, The Day He Arrives).
When a North Korean MIG fighter enters their air space, a reconnaissance mission erupts into a fierce dogfight, leaving one team member dead and another missing. Now, with just minutes to pull off the biggest airborne mission in history, they must set aside their differences and lead the way to rescue their comrade and prevent war…”
R2B: Return to Base was released as a summer blockbuster in theaters in its home country of South Korea back on August 15, 2012, and soon after, began a premiere odyssey around the world with stops in the U.S.A., Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, VietNam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, England, and Scotland (so far). It premiered in theaters as R2B: Return to Base, Soar Into The Sun, Return To Base, and Black Eagle (R2B: Return to Base), depending on the country it landed in. CJ Entertainment’s Korean PR team made the Region 3 version available for purchase online from YesAsia some time ago, and now we’re to have our very own Region 1 version that doesn’t need any special equipment.
It came to our attention several weeks ago that the DVD was being offered for pre-order on Amazon.com. However, as CJ’s official pre-order date is February 5, and Amazon has no DVD cover art as of this post, we cannot vouch for the validity of that at this time.
The official North American trailer will be released soon, so please stand by for more to come down the pike.
Huge thanks to CJ Entertainment America and their PR team for sending us this information.
— Stephe @cloudusa.wordpress.com / CloudUSA.org
Black Eagle
CJ Entertainment America
Genre: Action/Drama
Language: Korean With English Dub/Subtitles
Not Rated
Format: DVD Only
Running Time: Approx.115 Minutes (Plus Special Features)
Suggested Retail Price: $26.98
Pre-Order Date: February 5, 2013
Release Date: March 12, 2013
Catalog #: 411CJ
UPC Code: #851339004111
Tie A Yellow Ribbon: Cloud Hungary.
•January 23, 2013 • 3 Comments— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
The Hungarian Clouds are tying a Yellow Ribbon. They look like soldiers marching off to defend Rain, don’t they? Thanks for sending your pictures, Clouds! 🙂
(courtesy of Harudo11, Hungary)
[quickie][fan made] Look what we just shared on Facebook…
•January 23, 2013 • Leave a Comment^@@^ Rain ~[MV]~Proud of True Color Corporal JiHoon~ Look At You~ (Credit and edit: BiRain625 @YT. Contains fan art by: rainthetreasure. Known music: Miley Cyrus, “When I Look at You”)
[67/91 weeks done][song of the wk][calendar] 비 Yourself Open Thread for 1/22 – 1/28.
•January 22, 2013 • 18 Comments
» Cloud USA Yellow Ribbon for Rain Calendar: DOWNLOAD it (for free).
» You can visit the previous Open Thread HERE. And of course, don’t forget that our Cloud USA Forum is a most excellent place for Rain love, fan communication, and self-expression. By the way — have you left a message for JiHoon on The Cloud today? Our Project page for newbies on how to register for and USE the Official Cloud Rain Fan Club site in S.Korea is HERE.)
°
Getting to the bottom of RAINmaggedon 2013
» [The Cloud] News & Fan Account Summary of Rain at the 2013 Walkathon
» [article] Rain: “I would just serve on the front right now if I could.”
Because we wouldn’t give Korean netizens a glass of water right now if they were on fire. » [LOL] Our U.S. Netizens on Rain & Kim Tae Hee.
» [English Translation] Consolatory Train Performances Provide a Special Strength.
The Center for Military Human Rights is concerned about Rain’s treatment and that of his fellow soldiers. » Tweets abound: Dignity for Soldiers.
The Korean Media is now purposely ignoring official updated statements from the military and Rain’s management, and continuing to only print misinformation and the early untruths to feed the witch-hunt on Rain, and thus, their ratings. The Korean Media in general gives new meaning to the term “bottom-feeding.” » [articles] Rain’s lodging issues explained.
The verdict is in, and the earth is saved from destruction. » [article] Rain who violated the decree on military service, is placed under a period of probation of one week.
» [article] The shattering of men’s fantasy: The betrayal of Kim Tae Hee.
» [article] Defense Ministry: Rain’s total vacation days are 27. Official Army duties overnight = 44.
» [interview summary] Rep. Shin In Gyun: Singer Rain’s “71 days of leave time” is a distortion.
» [opinion] From Stephe’s desk: Rain has been the object of a “witch-hunt” worthy of Salem.
» [editorial] Business as usual: Rain under fire by the Media and his countrymen for going on a date.
RAIN SUPPORT
By Snail Mail: » [info][Cloud USA] Operation: Tie A Yellow Ribbon.
Through the ROK military (at DEMA): [info] Overseas fans: Please leave a message of support for Corporal Rain on DEMA’s website.
By Twitter and/or Facebook: As of this moment, 6550 yellow ribbons for Rain have been added to Twitter and Facebook icons since the Brigade was started. Amazing! Thanks for supporting our favorite corporal during his military service and for letting him know you’ll be waiting when he gets home! » For a brief read about the meaning of the Yellow Ribbon, go to our previous post HERE.
For information on where to send handwritten cards and letters to
상병 (sangbyeong) Corporal Jung JiHoon/Rain, please see our previous post HERE (military). For cards, letters, and gifts, do see our post HERE (office admin).
» Rain’s official website. » RAINY Entertainment’s official Twitter.
» R2B: Return To Base official social media sites. » Rain’s official YouTube channel AND » Facebook page.
°
SONG OF THE WEEK: “With U”, Track 3 on Rain’s Vol.4 album Rain’s World (2006). This song is also forever linked to Rain’s brilliant work as mental patient “Park Ilsoon” in the international award-winning film, I’m A Cyborg But That’s OK (2006). Behold, the music video below! Love it.
(video courtesy of SweetAznTreat @YT.)
Rain is Eternal. Where clouds stay gathered, rain will always come. It is inevitable.
— Stephe ^@@^
[The Cloud] News & Fan Account Summary of Rain at the 2013 Walkathon
•January 21, 2013 • 16 Comments
~Cloud Cover by Terri :-}, Managing Editor
Lovely Clouds,
Many thanks to huhuhuhu, from The Cloud, for writing up this summary of the news and fan accounts from the Walkathon event on January 19th. I’m reposting her entire report here (minus pics; click on the news links to see the pics) for those of you who have trouble accessing Rain News on The Cloud.
It is a sweet report.
Terri :-}
Summary [of] the various news and fan accounts about the 19 January 2013 Walkathon Event
Source from DC, Twitter etc. and various news reports. Many thanks to those who contributed.
The massive news that churned out had been pleasantly positive. It seemed the witch hunt monger media failed to impair our prince.
http://news.nate.com/view/20130119n06596
The news said as DEMA announced very late (a day prior to the event) that our prince will participate in the event, citizens who missed the walkathon quota rumbled with discontent as they lined up to watch the ribbon cutting ceremony. A man who applied early gazed around the swarm of people and told the reporter that he did not know our prince was coming. One Japanese female tourist said she was planning a tour to the nearby palace. When the guide told her it’s possible to see our prince, she quickly dashed over, her face beamed with excitement as she talked. Many fans holding boards with cheering messages also caught people’s attention.
Dozens of media agencies couldn’t relax even for one moment as they wanted to cover every single move of our prince.
The media probably expected our prince to look haggard, drained. Instead, he stood tall and dignified, and they were surprised. Perhaps that’s why the adjective “bright” came up in numerous reports.
http://news.nate.com/view/20130119n07900
This news said our prince’s face was somewhat gaunt, but he looked bright as he smiled to reporters and citizens. He himself was crowded by people and could hardly walk, but he was more concerned about those around him and kept cautioning them to be careful. It was warm and touching.
We are not biased about the beauty and the dignity of our prince^^. Here were some of the headlines:
http://news.nate.com/view/20130119n07480
“Bi’s sculptured beauty, even Kim Tee Hee loves”
http://news.nate.com/view/20130119n05332
“Bi’s killing smiles”
http://news.nate.com/view/20130119n05333
http://news.nate.com/view/20130119n05322
Bi, “Face of the dignified Korean Army”
http://news.nate.com/view/20130119n07255
Kim Tae Hee’s man, Bi “So handsome”
http://news.nate.com/view/20130119n05324
Bi, “the beautiful face while giving way”
http://news.nate.com/view/20130119n05099
Bi, “impressive military salute, participating in the Love Our Country Walkathon”
Our prince has much more than just good looks. When he saw a reporter almost falling, he intuitively offered his hand.
A fan who watched the ribbon cutting ceremony had a similar experience. She was almost tripped by a reporter who tossed his case trying to follow our prince. Our prince kept reminding people to be careful, cautioning them there was a pillar behind etc.
The fan said when our prince was suddenly so close to her, her mind was totally blank. Seeing our much slimmed down prince, she called out instinctively “Oppa, fighting”. Our prince responded with a smile and said, “yes, thank you”. The fan said she’s the one who should thank our prince.
And that’s basically what all the fans felt – they were truly grateful to our prince. Our worries, our agony somehow got “healed” seeing his graceful composure (which some reporters described as nervousness.) He tried his best to comfort his clouds, to acknowledge them, and to show his appreciation.
Another fan wrote that whenever fans cheered our prince, he looked at them and said thank you. She was behind our prince, but as he thanked her he even turned to shake hands with her. She felt it was not a handshake, but a signal between our prince and his cloud. It all happened so suddenly she couldn’t remember much, except the eyes of our prince as he looked at her. She couldn’t help thinking that our prince must be going through a hard time, (just like we did), but he did not show it at all. He walked in big strides. He was very warm and nice to the citizens. Seeing these, the fan gained much strength and felt very blessed.
It was no surprise therefore when we saw our prince wearing the watch the clouds gave him as a gift when we sent him off to the army. The signal and the communication without words. (See pic below post. :-})
A fan was able to participate in the walkathon. She wrote that as our prince walked up the slope and was spotted by people who were exercising there, they flocked over to see him, complimenting incessantly at the same time. Those citizens who walked together with our prince also cheered him. The reaction of the public somehow had this “healing” effect to her, who originally was only planning to show her support.
And perhaps the most wonderful thing and the best healing came from the account of a high school student.
News reported that our prince was the first one to reach the finishing line. Despite the fact that the walkathon was delayed by an hour or so, our prince reached the final destination 20 minutes ahead of the estimated arrival time. The staff confirmed that our prince was the first, and said his excellent attitude brought a successful ending to the event.
However a high school student said she was actually slightly ahead of our prince. Unfortunately when all the media flocked over she was being washed away (probably that’s why our prince took her first place^^)
But the student had much more to compensate for this first place. She said our prince talked to her, asked her which year she’s studying, and gave her lots of encouragement. She was very impressed with the humane nature of our prince. It’s not just with her. She wrote that when our prince was walking up the slope, he greeted the passersby and some lucky ones even got hugs.
And she [got to take] a few photos with our prince:
At the very end of her account, this student wrote: whether he is a soldier, or a civilian, Rain is the most admirable person in our country. Thank you, Rain and I have become your fan.
I hope this summary will also have some healing effect to all of you who care to read, and hope it will ease some of your worry, anxiety over the past 2-3 weeks.
And my biggest thanks to our prince, for being who you always are! We are proud of you!
[past messages from Rain] Revisiting 2005: Rain’s thoughts upon turning 24.
•January 21, 2013 • 8 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
There are several things to note while reading this personal letter from Rain to his Clouds at his 24th birthday fan meet and the things he said after reading the letter:
1. As always, he clearly separates Jung JiHoon and RAIN the entertainer.
2. He wants us to consider him a human being, not a Deity.
3. He hopes he can continue to make us happy as years go by, even through the times we’re all moms and grandmothers.
This is why I am a Cloud. ^@@^
°
Rain’s letter and talking at his 24th Birthday Party, 6/25/2005
Posted by: Cin @Rain Legend, 6/23/2008
Translation by: Genevieve @FanRain, from a recording by cloud9
RAIN’s letter at his 24th Birthday party – June 25, 2005
I hope you all have been fine. I do not know how to express the nervous feelings I have every time I write a letter. Perhaps you wouldn’t understand. It surely has been a long time to see you.
I missed you and thought about you. I wonder if you did the same? Perhaps you felt the same, I believe.
First of all, I want to express my gratitude to you. I am so happy with the fact that so many people have come to celebrate my birthday. Not only from Korea but also from overseas, Hong Kong, China, Japan, Taiwan… I thank you all for coming over to the party.
Since I’ve been loved so much by all of you, I contemplate what I can do to return your love. And I still do…
As you love and cherish singer RAIN, I will work hard to show you how I also cherish and love you. My expression of gratitude will be shown through an improved self, thus, please don’t forget that showing improved self is a token of my love to you.
Although I’ve written down words like “I love you, I like you, Thank you, I appreciate your support”, I think there sure are important things more than words. Some things never can be expressed by words.
I want you to just watch me, and see and feel how I am doing my best. All right?
Now, it’s RAIN’s 24th birthday party! Are you having a good time?
Yes, that’s good! Wish you a safe trip back home.
I hope this day, the 25th of June is a long memorable day for you. Don’t forget that today is not coming back. Make a future today!
Thank you!
Rain
RAIN’s talk after the fan letter reading
“There’s a saying…
I want to tell you that the work I’m doing now is a kind of job. It might be… how shall I put it… it might be an endowed work. Thus, what I can give you is…
In fact, entertainers are not public officials. Entertainers are people who give you pleasant times. When you feel low or depressed, we can give you hope, I think.
An entertainer can approach you as an ordinary person. In fact, entertainers also use toilets… We also want to be in a romantic relationship, and sometimes can do something wrong.
Um, so I want you to regard me as an ordinary person.
And as the fan letter said, I do think I am a very lucky person.
But, the only thing I can do for you is to work hard to achieve my goal. That is, even some 30 or 40 years later when you become a mother or a grand mother of a family, I want you to remember me when you see rain falling from the sky. I want to be remembered as, ‘a young man who once had a passion (for his work) that made me happy.’”
—
(Cloud Taiwan in the house! Clip courtesy of Cloud Taiwan / biblueberry11)
[video link][Eng trans] Rain at the Love of Country Walkathon with Seoulite. (1/19/13)
•January 21, 2013 • 6 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
So, the military had originally told reporters that they would be able to interview Rain that day? Really?? Wow. Whoever put a stop to that didn’t find that in the least amusing, I’m sure. And you wonder why we scream about him being unfairly used all the time instead of them letting him just be Corporal Jung. O__o
°
Nate News / Y News 1/20/2013 — VIDEO LINK: Rain at the Love of Country Walkathon with Seoulite
[English translation by 화니]
~0:12
Singer Rain serving in the army appeared at his first official event for the first time after his probation period. The event was crowded with thousands of reporters and fans. When reporters asked him questions on his current status after he was submitted to a disciplinary measure, he wouldn’t answer any of them.
0:15~0:35
Corporal ‘Jung Ji Hoon’ known as Rain, who was disciplined for dating with his girlfriend and actress ‘Kim Tae Hee’ while off the base for official military duties, showed himself in public four days after his probation period.
This event was to look back upon an attack which happened in 1968 when armed agents infiltrated into the country.
0:37~0:56
[Rain] : “I’ve come to participate in the event that is to look back upon “1.21 Attack” which happened 45years ago when armed agents infiltrated into the country. With many citizens of Seoul in attendance, I’ll do my best to do my duties. Loyalty!”
0:58~1:14
It was plain to see Rain was nervous throughout the event, and no matter what reporters asked, he didn’t say a word while walking along the areas where the armed agents infiltrated. When asked how he would serve in the army for the remainder of his military serve, he just said the same thing, “I’ll try harder from now on.”
1:15~1:23
[Rain] : “Thank you very much for inviting me along, and I think what is important is not the outcome of the game but participation. I’ll do my best. Thank you. Loyalty!”
1:26~28
[A reporter] : “This is your first official event after your probation period. Please say a few words about it.”
1:29~1:39
Military authorities, who originally notified reporters that there would be an interview with Corporal Jung, were keeping him, isolating him from reporters throughout the event.
1:40~
Military authorities expressed, “There’s a lot of controversy about what entertainment soldiers have received preferential treatment, so we are being careful about this.” However, there is widespread criticism of their policy to use the solider at the center of the controversy, not long after his probation period, for publicity purposes.
The FIRST thing Rain will do when he wakes up on July 10, 2013 is…
•January 21, 2013 • 16 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
…THIS. 🙂
(The Fugitive: Plan B clip courtesy of happym7.)
[ETA clip][Oops] Dude, where’s your hat?
•January 20, 2013 • 30 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
*Edited to Add: So. Are all R.O.K. Army personnel required to wear head coverings outside and in public when in uniform, or not? Which is it? And if this photographer is not military personnel, why the heck is he in uniform? *tsk, tsk, tsk*
Maybe that’s another reason Rain was “unforthcoming” to the Media—he had personnel without a hat on right in his face, and the Media obviously thought nothing of it. LOL! ^@@^
(Video source credit: sportsseoultv @YT.)
—
ORIGINAL POST
This had better not be a soldier.
(Corporal Rain speaks at the 1st Seoul Citizens Love of Country Walkathon. Images credited to Media as tagged.)
For the record, Rain is still “Corporal” Jung Ji-Hoon
•January 20, 2013 • 5 Comments
~Cloud Cover by Terri :-}, Managing Editor
For all of those people out there who were wondering: NO Rain has NOT been demoted.
Sheesh.
Terri :-}
We see your true colors, and that’s why we love you.
•January 20, 2013 • 22 Comments
~Cloud Cover by Terri :-}, Managing Editor
Sooooo.
After almost two weeks of being ripped apart by Korean news reporters and bashed by netizens all over the world, what does Rain do? He jumps to the aid of a reporter who slips and almost falls down in front of him. And he does it without even thinking and with a smile on his face.
Ji Hoon, all I can say is you are a far better person than most of us will ever be.
Terri :-}
[Video courtesy of SSTVnews on YouTube — (slip/trip occurs 36 seconds into the video)]
[clips][Eng trans] Rain at the 1st Seoul Citizens Love of Country Walkathon. (1/19/13).
•January 19, 2013 • 6 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
For an image gallery and an additional clip, » see our previous post HERE.
(Source credit: YTN / courtesy of ratoka @YT)
(Source credit: SSTV / SSTVnews @YT.)
(Source credit: Chosun TV / courtesy of ratoka @YT.)
(Source credit: My Daily / courtesy of ratoka @YT.
(English translation by 화니)
1:01~1:28
“Hello, this is Corporal ‘Jung Ji Hoon’ belonging to Defense Media Agency.
This event is to look back upon “1.21 Attack” which happened 45 years ago when the armed agents infiltrated into the country, and to remember the day.
Thank you all for coming, and it’s great to be here at this significant event where there are many of you who are inspired to participate. I’ll do my best to do my duty today.”
[images][clip] Rain at the 1st Seoul Citizens Love of Country Walkathon. (1/19/13)
•January 19, 2013 • 18 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
Gosh. So handsome (whisker alert!). And as popular as ever. (Checking to see that all the hats are ON. They don’t want me to catch even ONE out of place.)
(Images credited to Media as tagged)
Even after being slaughtered by Media for years, and having just been witch-hunted, misrepresented, and misquoted to death by them, the man STILL immediately reacts when a cameraman almost breaks his neck. Nice save, Corporal JiHoon. Says a lot about your character.^@@^
(Clip source credit: TV Daily / News Nate/ courtesy of ratoka @YT)
[articles] Rain appears at his first official event after his probation period. “It’s great to be here.” (1/19/13)
•January 19, 2013 • 8 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
Was “very unforthcoming about what had happened”? Good for him, because talking only results in his words being intentionally twisted and misconstrued. As far as I’m concerned, he should never speak to any of you ever again.
°
News Nate 1/19/2013 — [English translation by 화니]
Rain appears at his first official event for the first time after his probation period. “It’s great to be here.”
Rain (his real name, Jung Ji Hoon) serving in the army appeared at his first official event for the first time after his probation period.
Rain participated in ‘the 1st Love Of Country Walkathon With Seoulite’ in Seoul Kyungbok High School on the morning of the 19th and briskly greeted people. “Loyalty. Hello, this is Coporal ‘Jung Ji Hoon’ belonging to the Ministry of Defence.”
Rain who looked so manly in his uniform and green beret, briefly stated his feelings about his participation in the event with a comparatively serene expression, “It’s great to be here at the event structured to look back upon ‘1.21 Attack’ which happened 45 years ago when the armed agents infiltrated into the Blue House and to bring the security for the country to people’s attention. I’ll be walking with citizens of Seoul as best I can.”
This event was going to run for about 3 hours from 12:30pm, but started thirty minutes late due to unavoidable circumstances. Soldiers, their families, citizens of Seoul, etc. walked about five kilometers, following the roads, from Kyungbok High School to Samchung Park.
Recently, Rain violated the decree on military service in the process of dating with actress ‘Kim Tae Hee’ while off the base for official military duties and didn’t wear his beret as regulated during his leave and that’s why he was placed under a period of probation of one week.
Source : http://news.nate.com/view/20130119n04782?mid=e0102
English translation by 화니
°
News Nate / Osen 1/19/2013 — [English translation by 화니]
Rain appears at his first official event, looking thinner than before. “I’ll do my best.”
Singer Rain (his real name, Jung Ji Hoon) made an appearance at an official event for the first time after he was placed under probation, looking thinner than before.
Rain participated in ‘the 1st Love Of Country Walkathon With Seoulite’ held in Kyungbok High School, Jongro-gu, Seoul, on the 19th, which was his first official event after his probation period.
On the day, Rain started to talk, “Loyalty! Hello, this is Jung Ji Hoon.” And he sketched out the event briefly and gave a brief greeting, “I’m honored to be with citizens of Seoul. I’ll do my best.”
He looked more thinner than before, showing a serene expression on his face while crowds of reporters and fans swarmed around to see him. In particular, he was very unforthcoming about what had happened and rushed off to carry out his duties faithfully.
Source : Osen : http://news.nate.com/view/20130119n04630?mid=e0102
Photp credit http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=25&bcmSeq=5&seq=54234&page=1&searchType=title&searchStr=
English translation by 화니
[quickie][fan made] Look what we just shared on Facebook…
•January 18, 2013 • 8 CommentsOh, how we love this! Wonderful, Yuko! ♥ ^@@^ (Credit and edit: yuko @rainstorm)
Tie A Yellow Ribbon: BiThatWay.
•January 18, 2013 • Leave a Comment— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
BiThatWay is sending a Yellow Ribbon. Way to go, girl! Thanks for sharing your pic with us. 🙂
(courtesy of BiThatWay, a.k.a. Vicki Lynne, in Texas, USA)
Tie A Yellow Ribbon: MDWomack.
•January 17, 2013 • 3 Comments— Cloud cover by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
Cloud USA Forum moderator MD is tying a Yellow Ribbon. Looks like a golden ribbon bouquet! Aw. Thanks for sending your pic, girl. 🙂
(courtesy of MDWomack, a.k.a. Dasiey, in North Carolina, USA)
[info] Overseas fans: Please leave a message of support for Corporal Rain on DEMA’s website
•January 16, 2013 • 82 Comments
~Cloud Cover by Terri :-}, Managing Editor
[ETA instructions on how to find Rain’s Profile Page on DEMA’s website: To locate Rain’s profile page on DEMA all you have to do is go to DEMA’s home page here: http://dema.mil.kr/. Then, scroll down a little bit and look to your left. You will see a slideshow of all of the PR soldiers. It looks like this:
Click the right or left arrow to find Rain’s photo and click on it. That will take you to Rain’s profile page. Scroll down and you will see all of the messages from Rain’s Clouds that The Cloud members are posting for overseas fans. You’ll also see messages in Hangul that Rain’s Korean fans have left him. To date there are 226 PAGES of messages. So, there’s a lot to read. Have fun reading them and looking for your own messages. Terri :-}]
Lovely Clouds,
Despite the fact that Rain has completed his period of confinement and has written the letter of apology and the two book reports required of him, the South Korea media continue to spread misinformation about his situation like a wildfire being fed by the Santa Ana winds. At first, Rain’s official fan club (The Cloud) asked everyone to refrain from engaging DEMA or the Korean media, for fear that Rain would suffer an even bigger backlash. Finally, however, they have realized that their staunch silence is not going to change anything, and they are now concerned that Rain may be getting upset at the unfair treatment and may be beginning to feel “embittered.”
As a result, The Cloud Executive is now asking us to send positive and supportive messages to Rain, via his profile page on DEMA’s website. How can we do that exactly? Well, the only way those of us who do not live in Korea can post messages on DEMA is if someone over there in South Korea posts them for us. The Cloud members who live in Korea have agreed to do this.
All we have to do is post our very short, supportive messages on one of the following threads on The Clouds fan site:
For fans who are NOT members of The 8th Cloud, please post your message on the following thread on The Cloud’s English Talk board: http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=14&mstpSeq=17&bcmSeq=6&seq=54172&page=1&searchType=title&searchStr=
For members of The 8th Cloud, please post your message on the following thread in The Cloud-filled Room: http://rain-cloud.co.kr/board/view.asp?mstSeq=23&mstpSeq=&bcmSeq=8&seq=54164&page=1&searchType=title&searchStr=
Please remember that you must be registered for and signed into The Cloud’s fan site to access one of the above threads and to post your message for Rain. Please also remember that your message must be 100 characters or LESS in length, including your Cloud fan site nickname. So, please keep it short and sweet.
Below please read The 8th Cloud Executive, Gang Sang Yeon’s message to Rain’s Global Clouds about this project.
Thank you all in advance for your support and participation.
Terri :-}
P.S. If you have terrible trouble with The Cloud’s fan site and simply cannot get your message posted on one of the above threads there, then please feel free to post your message of 100 characters or less in the comments below this post and Stephe or I will transfer your message to the Cloud-filled member’s room for posting on DEMA for you.
[The message below was re-posted from The Cloud, with permission from 강상연 (Gang Sang Yeon), The 8th Cloud Executive]
★Supportive messages for Rain from Cloud fans all over the world★
I guess many of you have mentally had a really hard time.
Out of regard for Rain, who had to be careful about what he did so that people would not talk about him while he was placed under probation, I asked you to refrain from rash actions. However, some articles which are still long on spite and short on fact even after his probation period, might be ingredients that make him bitter.
I’ve shared some thoughts with huhuhuhu about a desire to send him supportive messages. I think the time has come to translate words into action to show support for him. Let’s describe our love for him by leaving supportive messages for him on DEMA homepage website.
The deadline for this project is the end of this month. [January 31, 2013]
If overseas Cloud fans leave their supportive messages for him below (see thread links above), Korean fans will deliver them to the bulletin board of DEMA.
It will be easier if we’re more flexible.
Stories must be limited to 100 (English) characters, including your nickname. If not, your message may not be delivered to the bulletin board.
I hope you will leave messages which [will] show your continued support and steadfast love for him without complaining to the Ministry of Defence.
The 8th Cloud Executive, 강상연 (Gang Sang Yeon)
“Any way you slice it, this ain’t good.”
•January 16, 2013 • 8 Comments
(capture courtesy of pollyanna)
Cloudy Day: Fan art, inspired by Rain.
•January 16, 2013 • 6 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
“BEST Nan Rain” by Eare Sanko @the Rain[eare] blog, Japan.
Cloud USA 
[article] Military PR Units no longer to receive special treatment.
•January 26, 2013 • 28 Comments— Posted by: Stephe, Managing Editor ^@@^
First of all: If PR soldiers weren’t supposed to be leaving the base alone to work on projects, somebody wasn’t seeing that those men had what they needed. “New” rule my eye.
Secondly: What about the REGULAR soldiers who right now have had way more leave/vacation than other regular soldiers and entertainment soldiers? Yes, we know they’re out there, because their family members have spoken up about it. We hold no grudge against them because they probably earned those days, but then we didn’t start all of this Tomfoolery. So, regular soldiers can earn special treatment, but PR soldiers can’t? Aren’t things supposed to be equal? Here’s a thought—let the military grant each soldier whatever days they’ve earned, and everyone not in the military mind your own business.
Lastly: We’re hardly inclined to believe this type of
grandstandingstatement from the military anymore. Want to know why? Because after this (he didn’t violate hat law: “We advise soldiers to wear proper military outfit including a beret during a holiday but a failure to do so is not a punishable crime,” the spokesman told AFP) and this (he did violate hat law: …a Defense Ministry officer said, “Rain violated the degree on military service… by not wearing his beret.”), we get THIS ↓ at the January 19 walkathon, and tips about groups of soldiers recently walking into restaurants as bareheaded as newborns. I smell smoke, and it ain’t from a fire. ^@@^(One minute, he’s got it on…)
(…the next, it’s off. And it stays off, even in front of VIPs and such, until the event is over. The news media is blind, we reckon. *NOTE: We do not hold any kind of grudge against this man, as soldiers only do as the military allows.)
°
eNews World / CJ E&M 1/25/2013 — written by Oh MiJung / translation: Erika Kim
Military PR Units no longer to receive special treatment
The Ministry of National Defense has stepped in to stop Defense Media Agency (DEMA) PR agents from receiving more leaves than the average soldier.
According to the Ministry of National Defense on January 24, the army has cut off leaves or other rewards usually given to PR agents following performances in outer events. It has also emphasized that the agency should give PR agents the same number of leaves that are given to the average soldier, stopping them from receiving special treatment.
PR agents will also no longer be able to leave their unit alone even for work purposes. According to the new rules, PR agents must be accompanied by an executive whenever they must leave their unit, and they must return to their unit before 10:00 p.m.
When they are taken to another unit to perform in a military event, they must lodge within the unit or stay in welfare facilities, and they will be stopped from meeting outside civilians.
The new rules were put in place following a great public uproar that sparked from news that singer Rain used his leaves for personal means and meetings.
Photo credit: DEMA′s official blog ′Harmony′
Reach reporter Oh MiJung on Twitter @isyutar!
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