South Korean superstar Lee Byung Hun finally appear.

He will be talking about his next work, inside story of the Arena Tour and for the first time “Matured Woman”.

Yasushi Akimoto approaches the killer smile that enchanted Japan.

Also giving away - autographed Lee Byung Hun 2008 calendars. 

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A must hear.. oops.. must read!

The translation not to be taken out of soompi.com & EverythingLBH related thread/fanclub/forum, Merci!

LBH on Tokyo FM 16/12, audio clip courtesy PlanetBH0712

Original link » Sendspace » Megaupload

Our utmost gratitude to Jiji for this wonderful and very heartwarming translation..

LBH in Akimoto Yasushi's Tokyo FM radio show on December 16, 2007

Akimoto: Tonight we invite Mr LBH here on my radio program. The interpreter is Ms Nemoto Rie. After the concert of Arena Tour, he joined our program on Nov 25.

LBH: I have just finished the show. I have only one more stage to go. Today, I also commented after the performance that I’d been worried if I would be able to accomplish such long and hard days. But I feel like the time has passed so fast. There are some new discoveries today and many things I have gotten throughout these stages. I guess I would be able to realize some other things later, maybe after awhile, but one thing for sure is that I can realize at this moment I gained the power and confidence after I have done this work..

Akimoto: At first, I met Mr LBH in S Korea and also we had some other meetings in Hong Kong. I imagined that Mr LBH, probably thought and wanted to say like...“What? Should I do this?” When I first handed out the planning form, what did you feel?

LBH: At first I thought you were kidding me. Lol
I thought it got to be a joke.. (laughs)
I thought maybe Mr Akimoto gave me the plan to make me surprise. Mr Akimoto sometimes makes me surprise and feel uneasy. But as a series of the whole process has passed, I slowly realized what his real intention was. I'd also realize that his intention was that he wanted to let me feel new emotions through the new experiences, etc.. and I always feel he really made me discover various things. After a while, I may feel more new things, I wanted to show my real personality that I often does not show in the movies/dramas.

Akimoto: For those who could not see the show, I would like to explain about the content of the show. At first, LBH ssi comes out to the stage dancing and then there are some performances such as cooking, a Korean fictitious show and LBH, himself is a MC of the show, and LBH asking another person played by himself some interviews; “Do you have a gf?” “Why don’t you get married?” etc. The questions are to draw LBH's true colors. After those games, he reads poems and plays piano that he had been practicing for a long time. Also there is the original music in “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”, and a song composed especially for this Arena Tour which he sang, at the ending, as well as a short video of the tour. One thing that I believed was that he is a genuine actor. Last year, at the Tokyo Dome, I saw him reading a drama, and there is a video on the screen, even there were only those two performances, he made the audience burst into tears. In short, since he has a genuine talent as an actor, I believed for sure that he is someone who would be able to do anything.

LBH: This time, I had to do this work tooth and nail. There is dancing, and I hesitated at first but then I had a second thought that maybe once in a while it is ok to challenge such a mischief(?). I usually don’t show these kind of facets to unknown ppl. I mean there are several characteristics that you rarely show in public but you would naturally show to your sister or your mother, something that you cannot show because it is very embarrassing. But I thought well.. ok I can show my real personality to the fans.. well, I had nothing to hide or hesitate as there is nothing to be scared of. So I kind of changed my way of thinking completely.

LBH: But one day, I happened to see a TV, there was a video of my stage.. I thought hey.. it was only for my fans.. not for TV...

Note: stage = the Arena Tour concert

Akimoto: The theme of the concert this time is "to show Mr LBH's true face” but what I really wanted to show to the audience was “his sweat”. Usually I ask actors/musicians questions as “why do you want to do this concert?” So I asked Mr LBH when we first met. What he said was his objective is to meet fans in person and wanted to give the fans something as a gift which is priceless that's really well-worth and that doesn't come very often. In this sense, he wanted to put the value to the present as making effort, how much energy and time he has put before the concert is meaningful. It means that between the time of his movie filming, Mr LBH had also been practicing dancing, and playing the piano which were what he truly wanted to do.

LBH: On the occasion of the Arena tour, I have thought of many things. I imagined what is the main plan for the concert that they have in their mind including Mr Akimoto's idea, my guess was this; Mr Akimoto and others were expecting how I would get through this mission, to make it work with hard effort. They probably wanted to show my real face through the struggles. Or I might make mistakes and get confused, probably Mr Akimoto wanted to see my struggling face, so I’ve started to think that I've got to do the perfect job.. (laughs) that I wanted to fail to live up to his expectations.. (meaning to show how he had struggled^^)

Akimoto: (Laughs) so you had such eagerness.

LBH: But I failed it.. (laughs) I had showed the confused faces so often.

Akimoto: No, it was really fantastic! When it comes to the movie shooting, there are many clips. They mount all those clips into one as a jigsaw puzzle and eventually they would create one wonderful movie from there. I've actually wanted to do something like that. In this Arena tour, your sweat and the enormous time and effort you put were combined into one. Btw, you are stubborn, aren’t you? (hahaa.. BH is indeed very stubborn, Akimoto-san ^^)

LBH: (Laughs) No, I guess my personality is rather obedient.

Akimoto: (Laughs) I mean when you work, I felt that you have a certain style.
Yes, when you made up your mind to do this concert, I was really amazed how you clarified your way. Well.. in the process of the decision making, it was tough, actually. You know how many times we had meetings. We didn’t want to force Mr LBH what he doesn't wish to do, but at the same time, we felt this is the better choice to do but it is something that Mr LBH doesn't like etc. But after he made the decision, his effort was amazing. About dancing, he voluntarily did, about the private video, he has changed a lot. After he made the decision his concentration was really awesome. His enthusiasm was the best than anybody else's.

LBH: I really appreciate that. Thank you. The point that he just said was the point that I had been worried all along. Movies are the artwork that we create perfectly. Even if it takes 1 hr or 2 hrs, we are able to show it over and over. But this kind of concert is something that I should show my real face in a LIVE show and each time, it is a different performance. (depending on my feelings.. it goes good or bad). It is not a perfect work (as movies) so I need to show my real personality, as I'm afraid if people who have seen once will get bored. So, I was worried about that point. But on the other hand, I had a different thought that even if I'd perform whatever I wanted to, even if I make a mistake, people who came to the concert are staying with me in the same space and sharing same time together. That is what they wanted and that is what I actually wanted as well and it was the best thing. So I stand on the stage with that emotion. I enjoyed a lot standing on the stage. Although there are good days with less mistakes and bad days with many mistakes, I felt that I've got the positive spirit from the audience. What I'll gain is always unknown until I actually stood on the stage.

Akimoto: If you were not an actor, what would you wanted to become as a profession?

LBH: Oh I wanted to be a dancer. (laughs)

Akimoto: (Laughs)

LBH: haha that was just a joke. Well.. I always want to create something so I wanted to have a profession that requires me to create something.

LBH: When I was in school, I often gave some ideas when we had discussions in meetings of diverse topics, like... interior designs, and such. So I would have liked being in a profession just like what Akimoto-san is doing.

Akimoto: In Hollywood these days, some actors like Clint Eastwood eventually became a film director. Do you ever think of being a director?

LBH: Actually, when I was much younger, I often dreamt of being a film director. At that time, I had totally no knowledge about filmmaking, so I had that kind of dream. The dream was just a simple idea but later as I started became an actor, I got involved in this profession so deeply that I couldn’t even think of the idea.. but somewhere within myself, I still have that dream. But at the same time, I wonder if I would be able to create such good movie or not as I am a work perfectionist and if I wanted to do something, I really don’t care what other people may think, but umm.. as a director, what's more important is how the audience would feel.. for that I need to create something which they will love. That's why I'm still hesitating to do it.

Akimoto: Yeah, but I do hope you'll attempt it one day. There is no right answer for the entertainment business. If you’d create one work, that is Mr LBH's work and it is also one of the reasons to accept it. In other words, there is no right or wrong in entertainment, so if you’d create something that you’d like.. then, that is your own right answer and choice. I would very much like to see some directorial work of Mr LBH in the future.

LBH: I Tsu Ka (someday in Japanese).

Akimoto: hahahahaha. Please do it one day.

Dokomo Akimoto yasushi ~~~ ♪

Akimoto: Yes.. this time, it was done during his movie shooting, in between the two filming schedule. There will be two new movies coming out. Would you please talk about the new movies?

LBH: I still have some more filming to finish. In Hangeul, the title is literally called as “yatsu yatsu yatsu” it means “Good guy, Bad guy, and Strange guy”. Well, I think I still have to do more than 20 more shooting. I hope the filming will be done within this year. There was another movie that the whole process of shooting is done. It is a joint film of America-France, and the title is “I Come With The Rain”. It is actually my first attempt acting as a villain. Perhaps, it is very good timing or good coincidence as the other movie, “Good guy, Bad guy”, I am also acting as a villain. So during this 6 to 7 months I was a villain and felt like I am a real villain in my life. LOL! So some people I know told me that I had a bad guy's piercing eyes that my way of looking at people have suddenly changed. I felt oh.. I can’t stay this way too much. But I feel good that there was indeed some chemical (emotions?) changes in my appearance.

Akimoto: This time of the tour, there was a trailer of the movie, “Good guy~” and it worked out in a good way. Because of the trailer, we confirmed that Mr LBH is an actor and somebody who lives in far away from our normal world. The balance was well fitted. Because we could feel that “He is really a star, not just a person who dances awkwardly" Our impression towards Mr LBH didn't end up with it, so it was good.

LBH: HAHAHAHAHA (explosion of laughter)
Oh haha... his explanation was to the point. It was really good that you have inserted the trailer of the new movie. The audience all agreed that I'm an actor, not a performer. It was really good that I could have shown my two personality, as an actor and an actor is performing on the stage. I also had an illusion on the stage. That is when there was a TV show in Korea, I have spoken to the good professor in Korea.. when I was talking to him, I felt like he does exist. I felt that kind of strange feeling at that time. (not too sure about this.. something about his Once in a Summer character, perhaps?)

Akimoto: That movie, “Good guy~” is really a great movie. The whole story is not shown yet, but Mr LBH’s great body, stoicism, the voice that you get from bottom of your heart, everything is amazing. The last cut, I just asked him what did you say? It was “you have sold your country” that part was really really wonderful. The last scene was Mr LBH’s close cut…that scene was so nice with Mr LBH's intense eye acting. Ahhhh I felt oh I'm sorry to Mr LBH.. I should not have asked him to dance.. hahaha.

LBH: HAHAHA
I should have shown this film to you before we had our meeting.

Akimoto: This radio program is called "Mature style" and this program is airing for mature woman. What kind of women is "mature woman" for you?

LBH: hmm..
What kind of woman is a mature woman? It's a question that I have never been asked before. Maybe to anyone you'd ask, many would have answered it as “mother”. Well, a smart (wise) woman is a mature woman, in my opinion. The first thing that popped up in my mind was "wise“ when I heard your question. When I made a mistake, she would be the one who would advise and encourage me. She would not be the one who reacted this or that afterwards but instead.. she might suggest me some good advice.

Akimoto: To the Arena tour in Tokyo, Mr LBH’s mother and his sister came to the concert. He is really a good son who cares for his family very much. Next year, there will be “Good guy~” and the France-America's joint movie will be also coming out next year. I'm sure all of listeners are anticipating the movies, they will be really interesting movies to watch, I do recommend all of you come to the theater. OK as the last message, Mr LBH, please give some message to the fans who are listening to this program.

LBH: The last message is usually promoting the movies. There wouldn't be any showing of my dancing, songs, or cooking.. in the coming movies, but I have worked very hard for these movies. I couldn't recommend the Arena tour with my full confidence but the movies, I can recommend them to you with all my heart.

--- ♥

Note from Jiji - They (Mr Akimoto & LBH) seems like really good friends. I am glad that LBHssi had found a capable & credible person to work with in Japan. Even when he is an actor and he's really not too eager to do this kind of performances at first, Akimoto-san had understood BH very well and managed to persuade him otherwise.

-- knowing how incredibly stubborn BH is with scripts, storylines & concepts that he's not used to, Mr Akimoto had indeed gained BH's trust in handling the Arena Tour with confidence to perform out of his usual style as an actor.