yummiejeu wrote:
Thanks sis@yummiejeu for the clip.

He is such a cute bingu

Thanks sis@yummiejeu for that Taec's video at the fashion show. Poor thing, he sat there disinterested on the clothes but at least there were some perfunctory nods and claps I wonder what drove him to attend such a show?

BTW sisters can someone please clarify whether each 2PM member has his own version of "Higher Days" because I saw each has his own jacket design. Is Taec's "Never Give Up" a version of "Higher Days" or a different single?

Likewise, there were several articles about the single's sales and it was ranked number 2 in Oricon chart and then Junho's ranked no. 5. Then Taec's placed at no.8 followed by Jun K and Wooyoung ( not very sure, I just looked at Taec's ranking I was happily surprised to see this because for someone who barely given a solo singing part in their songs and is always ranked by fans as the one with the weakest vocal, he is doing very well

A friend of mine is in Japan until next week and she said 2PM promotional pics were everywhere, she knows I adore Taec because of TMAD. I am planning to ask her to buy me Taec's CD as gifts for my nieces ( I hope she has the money to spare thus she said I should give her the specifics so she will not buy the wrong CD.

BadBat wrote:
Hi sis@badbat thanks for posting the link. Yeah he looked like he was just "mindlessly" staring into space. Was he perhaps surprised? Bores? Stunned? Or he didn't know what was going on? It's quite funny. Then something like automatically he claps with the other members of the audience. Doesn't he look like a Grade 3 boy just trying to behave during a school program? So funny.

Thanks sis@fgnuva but the credit goes to sis@yummiejeu who posted the link for Taec @ fashion show

Thanks sis @journoexpat. Had a conf this week so been busy. Helping manage it you know how it goes and preparing for my presentation too.
Yes I do need a daily dose of vitamin Taec ha! ha! I pop open this forum and read off but couldn't send any post till now. Am glad you and many sisters are helping us keep engaged here. This is our self-reward for the thing we call "work". Ha! Ha!
Our bingu is still in Japan right? Oh as long as we get snippets of his events it's good enough. We know he is well.
Am in Ep 39 of Wonderful Days. Still have a lot of catching up to do with old video clips of 2PM. And it'll be nice to watch We Got Married again. Someone will please tell me if it's worth watching Dream High?
Thanks to all sisters who keep this forum alive. We haven't yet "skinned the OkCat" enough.
I actually plan to review sis@Sidy your post on nonverbal communication and try to match some of those gestures in 3MAD Ep 2 & 3 and 16 & 17 with those you posted. Thanks sisters! Let's have a pleasant weekend.

Yes sis@journoexpat if Taecyeon almost got his buddy killed out of his curiosity about how cars work and another time while trying to see the effects of gravity on a construction cart moving downhill, he's one who might have fun while getting hurt... Or will not mind getting hurt just to satisfy his curiosity or to have fun. You mentioned even if a prof boxer made his face bleed, he "was still his jolly self, smiling".

You are right he seems to have the persona of a protector and a provider. I havent seen the video clip you were referring to but yes it seems he'd take care of others before he'd worry about himself. He's like an 8-yr old boy, sheepishly enduring pain and discomfort laughing at himself. I'd like to see how many times Taecyeon exhibited this protector-provider persona in 3MAD esp with PSH around.

Does someone know if Taecyeon is a "water" person? (based on his birthdate) Maybe that's why he can "easily adapt" and "can survive anywhere", yes even in a very challenging army assignment. And it does help sis@journoexpat that Taecyeon is a "fast learner".

Yes sis even now you say, without the benefit of army duty Taecyeon is "already considered one of the manliest idols" with "manly charisma". How much more after he's served his duty? He'll be like the man we had in our dreams eh,
Indeed we have a year and a few months to enjoy the bingu-ness of this person.
He'll have to make 5 dramas ha! ha! to cover the time he's in the army. They'll have to show those to help us keep our sanity during his absence from public life....ha! ha!

Oops sorry! Mianhe... Thanks sis@yummiejeu for the link!

Just curious, when they do army duty do they really join the troops in an actual assignment? Or do they just like do "mock" warfare?
None of those who had served and returned to entertainment work ever uttered any word about their experience. Yeah we can understand all that should be kept confidential. That's why no one who's been gone and has come back has breathed a word about their experiences.

Ladies - this might help......

quick info on articles of interest about South Korean conscription
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_South_Korea

and this one was interesting especially the list of celebrities and where they served or will serve.....
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_celebrity_..._military_conscripts

I have a National Guardsman in one of my classes and he tells me that the training for South Korean males is the same
training US soldiers receive. (I had to do a search to find my student and ask the question - I knew his schedule since it is Friday and he is in my morning MWF class - he probably thinks I am crazily weird)....
Sigh......

Hi Sis@fgnuva, welcome back and I hope that your conf was successful and not stressful at all

I am not an expert on Korean military life but I remember a few years ago reading several articles about the harsh military training of Korean conscripts and were confirmed by a friend of mine who used to work for an English newspaper in Seoul.

Before 2013, most idols and actors were assigned to what the military dubbed as the celebrity soldier unit where they served more not as field soldiers but more like public relations officer, like acting as MCs or DJ for the military radio station and I think the most perfect example was Rain whose military service involved promotional duties like posing for campaign posters. Other entertainers also get desk jobs. Regular people accused the military of giving preferential treatment to conscripts from the entertainment industry.

However, in 2013 the celebrity soldier unit was dissolved after several scandalous reports involving big named stars who were revealed to have abused their privileges and tainted the image of the military. Now, all the able-bodied recruits from the entertainment world will have to join the regular army. Although, most of those famous celebrities whose military service was much hyped about became members of the military band and perhaps did not see action in the field.

But, of course, all recruits will have to undergo a five-week military training.

Actor Won Bin was one of those actors who volunteered to serve at a frontline post at DMZ although he was unable to finish his mandatory two-year military service because he sustained a knee injury. Also Hyun Bin enlisted in the Marines so definitely he saw actions in the field.

In a country where serving the mandatory military service for males is a big deal, Taec's determination to be an active soldier and not be with the civil service is admirable. There were stories that big named stars tried to dodge the conscription but here you have Taec who underwent surgery and gave up his US permanent residence just to be able to serve. That's the crucial piece of information that made me change my opinion of him.

Sorry sisters for this long post, I guess I got carried away. The two Koreas are always on the brink of military confrontations, so being in the army is indeed dangerous but needed.