From Friendcation and drama BTS he does seem like a sweetheart.

@hacja Yeah. I think there are very few good 'uns in any entertainment industry.

Mind you, I was impressed by Yoo Ji-Tae who puts his money where his mouth with doing a lot of charity work including donating a ton and standing in the pouring rain publicly holding up a protest sign calling for a stop to Korean husbands abusing their immigrant wives. Domestic violence is horrific enough and immigrant women married to men with citizenship have yet another obstacle to deal with (immigration legalities) before they can safely leave their husbands who would leverage this to control their wives.

But stars like Yoo Ji-Tae are in the minority.

Didn’t think you were. People like Mel Gibson for instance. Kianu Reeves on the other has distinguished himself by behaving unlike a famous multimillionaire.

I hear you. It was a brief appearance though so it might not have mattered that much and actors of any nationality generally want/like more rather than less exposure.

@dncingemma Well, hopefully PHS is not "a bit of a bastard in RL" as you put it. People can be different from their friends but not courageous enough to stand up to their friends when the chips are down. Too many examples of otherwise good men who would let their male buddies' sexist/misogynist behaviour slip because they don't want to make a fuss or they themselves are too steeped in the patriarchy to notice anything amiss.

Also, I find that I can't watch anything starring an actor who has crossed the line of basic human decency (especially rape/sexual assault, domestic violence against women and children etc).

Case in point - Lee Min-Ki. Found out that someone had filed a case against him for sexual assault and while he was exonerated, the way the victim's statement was worded has red flags all over that indicate that his agency probably strong-armed her into it retracting the filing.

And now I can't bear to watch BECAUSE THIS IS OUR FIRST LIFE even though I loved it. And I can't finish THE BEAUTY INSIDE because of this. *Sigh*

When he made those comments, he was a grown man and not an adolescent so I’m less willing to entertain the possibility that he has evolved unless he demonstrates that he has changed and understands why those views are toxic and regressive. Now, he is probably more savvy and has locked down those hideous views.

@dncingemma Yes, that's the most logical conclusion about PSJ. But as I mentioned elsewhere, I have successfully brought a grown man (one of my male friends) around to supporting feminism despite his previous hostility to it through a chat. We were both adults by then. And in the course of my work, I have heard of men evolving and doing the work to deprogramme sexism and misogyny within themselves once they are aware of the many, many negative consequences of their behaviour.

So there is hope... and women's human rights activists and feminists fight so hard because that's what we have to fuel us - hope for a better future not just for women and girls but men and boys because we all suffer under the patriarchy.

However, in a country like South Korea where men of PSJ's age group are the most virulently misogynistic (approximately 70% of them, some reports reckon based on voting numbers/demographics), you are probably correct about whether he has evolved.

Yoo Ji-Tae grew up in a single parent household with a single mother in contrast to PSJ to indicated he grew up in a household with traditional gender roles. So I think the differences in their upbringing had a huge role to play.

@dncingemma One more thing - I was chewing on you stating that PSJ as a grown man probably can't grow when I stumbled across this very interesting Tumblr post that charts how RM (leader of BTS) went from writing horrible misogynistic lyrics and having all these patriarchal ideas to becoming a feminist ally and running all his lyrics past women's studies experts to check for any knowledge gaps he may have.

Thought this would be interesting reading for you and any other beanies. I'll share this again later in a more general thread but am leaving it here since this thread is still fairly active:

https://leepacey.tumblr.com/post/722599357746216960/bts-member-namjoons-history-with-misogyny-and

Thanks for the article. I’ll read it with interest.
A correction: I didn’t say “can’t change” but “I’m less willing to entertain the possibility that he has evolved unless he demonstrates that he has changed and understands why those views are toxic and regressive”.

I’m so glad “Lee Pacey” put together that Tumbler blog post. And, thanks again for posting it here. I was aware of the broad strokes of RM’s trajectory of change but it was so delightful and moving to read about his willingness to learn, think, understand, empathise and hence to try to become an ally. He is in such an exceptional and unique position to be a positive influence on other young men as his remorse, desire to learn about how misogyny manifests itself in SK and elsewhere and expanding self-awareness are wonderful attributes.
To better days.

@dncingemma RM spoke about how he had a long conversation with a feminist that ultimately set him on the long road to changing. That is what happened during that chat I had with my male friend. Very similar. I can bet that the feminist whom he talked to took a similar approach to me - talking to the man who wants to learn and understand both directly and kindly. There's no point pulling punches on facts but it all that can be delivered through discussion without going on the attack.

Further down the comments on this post is a short discussion about how we need to understand that PSJ's attitude comes from his culture. So I'd say it's a major achievement-in-progress for RM to get on track as a male ally so quickly and thoroughly, especially since South Korean culture has misogyny and sexism woven so very tightly into it. He's the only idol on the hit list of incels and MRAs in SK and he's not backing down - if anything, he's continued speaking up publicly in support of women's rights.

@9tailedvixen I didn't know about Lee Min Ki. It makes me sad. I really really hope it was a case of mistaken identity or something. Why would someone like him even need to do something so desparate? But then who am I fooling - sexual assualt is always about ego and control.
I saw that clip (PBY and PHS). It was quite an unassuming gesture too.

Everything then is a matter of preference but that’s not how sexism and patriarchy work🙂

"not every woman wants to work"

Would just like to gently point out that being a stay-at-home mother is also a full-time job. An unpaid job, just still a job.

The issue many people have/had with PSJ's preference is that he had not qualified it with "ideally". He simply expected that whoever he married would stay home while he carries on with his career.

And while there is indeed a matter of preference these days, the final decision should rest with the spouse who is expected to give up their career/outside work to stay home (and it's usually the woman who is expected to do the relinquishing).

This is structural and systemic and given the fact that South Korea's patriarchy is so aggressive that it has the biggest gender-based pay gap with women earning 1/3 less than men for the same job and are expected to give up their careers once they have kids, PSJ's answer within this context doesn't seem as harmless as "a matter of preference" anymore.

Better examples are Hyun Bin and Yoo Ji-Tae who clearly never expected their respective wives to give up their careers even when they had their kid(s).

just to be clear as well, being a stay at home mom/wife does not mean that they do not work or do not want to work. In fact, they work longer hours than any other career woman. Being a stay at home mom does not diminish them as a person. They should not be considered as inferior to career women. I know this thread is not about this but I felt I should speak up on behalf of my friends and relatives who are stay-at-home wives (and husbands). Them being so (some by choice and some by circumstance) did not mean they are less empowered and are not considered equals with their respective partners. In fact my best friend who is a stay at home Mom is definitely not a wilting flower , she is still the strongest woman i know and a very well respected leader in her community.

@Minnie - The personal space thing sounds awesome. Too many men just invade women's personal spaces which gets really uncomfortable and often is a precursor to harassment.

And him helping Park Bo-Young with the chair is another excellent thing - as a petite woman (though not as tiny as PBY) I have time and again been the subject of amusement for tall men who think it's funny watching a short woman attempt to reach something by hopping up and down or climbing *side eyes those men*

If he treats his female colleagues with respect and they are happily going on record to say so, that's a good start.

South Korea has one of the worst gender-based pay disparities amongst developed nations. I'd be interested to see if any male K-Drama star does what Benedict Cumberbatch and Leonard Nimoy did - stand up to push for their female co-stars getting equal pay for equal work.

Till date I can’t figure out what kind of fan following he has in SK (though his show in Seoul was sold out within the first hour or so) so I don’t know if he has enough muscle to make stands like that yet. Poor guy has been desperately asking for a chance at a noir for so long and no one seems to have heard him. Though I am impressed how comfortable his female co stars feel around him - whether it’s Han Ji Min or Han Yo Jo or Nam Ji Hyun all the way back.

Re: PHS's local fanbase - I think it's somewhere in the middle of the scale. He has a lot of loyal laid back fans, many of whom have been there from his early days, but he also has (or had at this point?) many rabid young fans that he gained thanks to SWDBS/Hwarang, who want nothing more from him than to keep being "romcom king flower boy" forever, common sense be damned. Neither of the two camps has won so far. And then he also has a certain level of positive public recognition, but it's been a while since he had a prominent role in anything truly buzzy... All in all, it's a true shame that OBY wasn't a hit it was supposed to be since even if THIS show manages to get 'em numbers, it won't shake the status quo for him much.

Yes, gritty action noir, preferably Netflix original so it can have a large audience without relying on conservative TV viewers! To this day I lament all the missed opportunities regarding HAPPINESS...

@Minnie I meant in general when I mentioned male K-Drama stars going to bat for their female co-stars on the pay equality front. I was not specifically wondering if PHS would go charging in to demand equal pay for equal work for his female co-stars.

To be honest, he'd have to have a complete physical transformation to do a proper Noir. He - and I wish I was kidding - just essentially looks like a really sweet guy. Even in HAPPINESS, he just seems like a guy with a marshmallowy heart under a tough veneer of a copy battling zombies. Not sure if he can pull off a gritty violent Noir drama but then he hasn't had a chance to flex his acting chops in that direction yet.

@9tailedvixen I think he has it. OBY first two episodes prove it (he was so unlikable that initially I had thought he could be a grey character). A few episodes all the way back in High Society too gave the glimpse. He is like a chamelion. Happiness was meant to have him as a sweetheart - long in love cute guy serious about his job and even more serious about the woman he loves. I wonder why Netflix removed it from international platform.

You reminded me of when Boyoung said in one of her lives that there was no other young man like him. He’s well-liked by his co-stars and label mates, also dubbed “noona killer” with him being good friends with some top actresses like SHK, HHJ, and HJM.

I do think he has a good reputation in the industry. I remember when he guested on this variety show, the host mentioned that she knew of him already because Kim Hyun-joo (his WHTMF sister) was telling her friends how polite he was. Also his Juror 8 costar telling both Seojoon and Wooshik how kind and lovely he is.

Anyway, like others say, we don’t really know these people but so far, from what people who have worked with him and do know him say, he seems like a good guy.

Millions of dollars or more!
Please @hacja, adopt me, I want to be a chaebol's heir in the Flowbee Empire of defluffing people in space.

@hacja The consequence of having to put up with bad haircuts by my mom in my childhood is now I am all about having gorgeous and stylish hair (and willing to pay for it to be professionally done).

I still have nightmares that I might wake up with a bowl cut a la Mom.

@peach_mochi MWAHAHAHA! Did your father use industrial-strength gel?

My mom had to put Little 9TailedVixen's hair up for dance and, um, nothing (not even strong monsoon winds) could budge that hair once the hair gel she used set and she had stuck a dozen hairpins in my hair! LOL!

@9tailedvixen The works went into making that bun immovable: bun pins, bobby pins, gel and hairspray and a hair net to top it all off.

Aqua Net-

I can smell it visually

@johnb "Shhh!!! Do you smell that?"

A True Story involving Aqua Net .
Every school year the Fire Department would visit our school and give a fire safety
Presentation. The had a big wooden doll house with plexiglass to allow one to view inside.They filled it with smoke and then ignited it. Whoosh !! Pretty cool trick to a 5th grader. Then Mr. Fireman brought out the Aqua Net ‼️ He proceeded to show us just how flammable this stuff was‼️
Put a lighter to it and produced this blow torch of multicolored flames ‼️
Woah🤯 Every boy went home and tried it that night.
Discreet groups of twos and threes gathered on the playground the following day, exchanging notes on the experiments.
A quick rule was for heavens sakes do this outside . No one wanted to burn their house down. A nighttime experiment was the ultimate ,you really marveled at the multicolored flamethrower.

Wanna be second in line?

I am happy watching. I am happy with the mop too :D

Okay, I don't know how Facebook got all telepathic or something but the first thing it whammied me with this morning is a short clip of Park Bo-Young telling a fan audience she thinks Park Hyung-Shik is handsome and Park Hyung-Shik blushing furiously HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!

I really hope he is as much of a mensch as the women in his working life say he is because there's no other word for that blush than "adorable" *Grin*

Hahahahaha!! A few months ago I looked up Dr Slump on Instagram, and my feed got so full of PHS that one would think it's owned by him. I literally had to rework my feed - you can only look at the same pictures for so long.
I see it this way. In a sea of celebrities, typically you don't hear much about their personalities and most of the conversations are limited to the work they are doing. I have found PHS as the only exception where all his co stars go out of their way to praise his kind and happy attitude. They do not need to do it but still do. And that tells me he must be putting them at a happy and a safe place when working. Considering they work very very long hours (OBY was shot for over a year), and still their opinion of him being a great co-star didn't change speaks a lot.
Also it does look like PHS and PBY didn't meet after SWDBS and she still went on a live after so many years and pretty much announced how amazing a guy he is can only indicate two things - she carries a torch for him or he is genuinely a great guy or both.

Oh that's not good. If I remember correctly, wasn't OBY released around the same time last year?
Though it's Netflix so at least this time I have a hope for a better exposure for him. I don't mind it's a rom com. If his past work is anything to go by, he will probably flavour it differently than SWDBS, which should also help rework his image. Shin Hye is also a crowd puller, so I am quite excited for this one. And this is the first medical drama of 24 so that's a bonus too. But what excites me the most is the topic. Burnout is real and if they deal that right, it can stike lots of cords.

It was definitely online pressure. That chiselled jawline? I wonder what he did to get it back. Thankfully his face didn't change so hopefully nothing too drastic.
I will post a couple on my fanwall. One from his recent fanmeet and another from a leak of Dr Slump. He looks healthy in both so that's a relief. I wish they stop promoting anoxeria, seriously, and let these guys grow as actors.
Yoon Park inteestingly looks the same he did in WHTMF and PHS looks someone else, even though his hairstyle and weight now is probably somewhere in that range again.

@minniegupta1 no, I don't think OBY clashed with Seollal, plus it was Mon-Tue slot while here we're talking precisely about that one weekend during which no one in SK cares for TV dramas. Very confusing timing indeed, but maybe you're onto something by pointing out it will be first medical drama of the year. Are there more of them coming to pressure JTBC into dropping DS right then?

*sigh* Hopefully he'll stop caring about this BS once he's a bit older and out of "teen audience crush" range anyway. Can't say I'm a big specialist in beauty procedures, but vaguely recall reading that celebs in SK do some kind of hardcore face massage to get that chiseled jaw/cheekbones look, aside of simply dieting. Maybe that was it? Yoon Park is older and probably less prone to fluctuating weight than Hyungsik, dude's been looking pretty much the same all these years, true. Ofc our boy changed more lol, he was still a baby back then - only 23, right? That's like late teens for k-folks biologically)))