[TRANS] Herose’s Admin: “My Memoirs of CJeS for 4 Years”
ادمین Herose:خاطرات من از cjes به مدت 4 سال (سی جس اسم کمپانی جی وای جی هست)
Dear Readers,
The following information revealed by Korean HEROSE’s Admin doesn’t represent the opinion of all JYJ3 Team.
We have decided to share Herose’s Admin: “My Memoirs of CJeS for 4 Years”, because HEROSE has a good reputation among Jaejoong/JYJ fan dom as a very supportive fansite thanks to the many fanprojects they have conducted, furthermore HEROSE’s Admin is disclosing several incidents, which allow us to understand the drama between CJeS and Korean Jaejoong’s fans.
As international fans who have experienced many incidents since TVXQ5 days, we have learned that nothing good will come out from trying to hide things from the fandom; in the end everything will be revealed sooner or later. At least since this time the Korean fandom is sharing their experience to the international fans, it’s better to know everything beforehand and not at the last minute.
We are JYJ’s fans now and we don’t intend to commit the same mistakes of the past, claiming that nothing happened just because it doesn’t involve JYJ fandom as a whole, if not to one side, in this case Jaejoong fandom. After all they are part of us too.
Whether or not what HEROSE’s Admin revealed here is true, you are the person in charge of believing what you want. For some people, things that are said here are nothing new, they just confirm some things they already knew; but I know for others this will be quite shocking. Whatever your final opinion is, we think this matter should be discussed in our own “home”.
Please I hope everyone will behave in the comment section.
Part 1. My Memoirs of CJeS for 4 Years
submitted by 바람난누나 (admin of HEROSE)
http://herose.co.kr/xe/free/309177
The writer’s disclaimer: This article does not reflect the majority of Herose’s opinions, but is my own personal experience.
بقیه متن ادامه....
Moreover, it was a difficult situation that even though Jaejoong came back to his homeland to recharge his batteries, he could not do so thanks to his diehard stalkers. SM Ent. did not care about protecting the privacy of its artists.
After 2008 passed, I happened to see a very heartbreaking picture of Jaejoong at Tokyo Dome Concert 2009. A picture of Jaejoong weeping sadly. In the picture, the tearful Jaejoong was not the one we fans have known and there were a lot of rumors flying that made many fans worried. Looking back at the moment, I remember that I made an interpretation of my own: ‘The weight of Jaejoong’s worries broke into tears’.
The lawsuit against SM Ent. followed… I thought that SM must have been treating TVXQ so badly to the degree that Jaejoong eventually filed a lawsuit despite the fact that he was the one who loves the group TVXQ more than anyone else. So I unquestioningly believed in Jaejoong’s decision and have stayed by his side. After the lawsuit, the negative attacks unleashed by SM and its fans were mind-boggling. In spite of the situation, Jaejoong filmed a Japanese TV series and we fans thought that Jaejoong would continue to have activities in Japan. However, Avex suddenly halted JYJ’s activities in Japan. And the reason behind Avex’s decision to halt JYJ’s activities was CJes’ CEO, Baek Changju.
[ Excerpt from Avex’s announcement on halting JYJ’s activities ]
“It was reported that the legal representative of company C, which is currently responsible for managing the 3 members’ activities, has been taking advantage of his father’s previous status as a gang leader to threaten and coerce the artists under its label. He has already been has been found guilty of, and sentenced to prison on charges of coercion. We have therefore conducted an investigation.
According to the results, at present, it’s not clear that he’s related to the mafia. However, other reports about the past have been proven to be true.”
[ Excerpts from JYJ’s stance announcement]
“For the past several months, Avex has been putting forth adverse conditions to 3 members of TVXQ, contrary to what had been done in the past, by using the past career of C-JeS’s CEO as a pretext, and when these conditions were rejected, Avex began discussions on canceling their contract and unilaterally announced a halt in activities in order to corner the 3 members.”
It means [Avex announced the suspension of the 3 members’ activities] not because of the 3 members who have filed the lawsuit, but because of CJeS’s social legitimacy and morality. With this excuse, there were relentless negative attacks toward the lawsuit and it has put an edge on 3 members’ morality and transparency. However, we were able to endure, with the belief that we weren’t wrong to chose 3 members’ side. Through WORLDCLASSJJ (T/N: a Japanese fansite founded by Herose), we explained to overseas fans the concept of agency and earnestly asked them not to be shaken by negative attacks. We spent those tough days like that.
What was the meaning of TVXQ to Jaejoong, what was the members’ existence to him, as his fans, we know his feelings, even just a little bit of it. Therefore I felt sorry that Jaejoong wasn’t able to get over his sorrow of the split of TVXQ quickly. At that time I believe there wasn’t a Jaejoong fan who didn’t have this worry, thinking ‘Just touching him slightly could make him cry his eyes out’. To that extent, it must be a really tough decision to Jaejoong. Because of that, I sincerely hoped that, CJes would become a smart agency regardless of its small scale as CJes bravely confronted SM.
Chapter 1 : I thought that it was just something they couldn’t do… and that they would get better.
They gave up activities in Japan and came back to Korea. Their 1st album, The Beginning, started with ambition. However, due to a visa problem, their showcase was held for free in America. This was Cjes’ start. After the showcase in America, it would be Jamsil concert. So I contacted CJeS about a banner problem. But I learnt that all the employees had gone to the US; only one manager, a layman, was doing all the preparations for Jamsil concert. Not only fans but all eyes would be focused on that concert because it was JYJ’s first concert after the lawsuit. I couldn’t help feeling shocked about the poor preparation.
Sure enough, as they said that Jamsil stadium would be covered with a lid, they didn’t even think that such thick and large cloth used to cover the stadium would be torn out under the weight of the wind. The result came out terribly. But if you look into the preparation process, that accident was predictable. We had to thank the wind for making the lid fall before the concerts, and not during the concert that would have eventually led to a terrible toll of lives.
What was even worse was the screening throughout Jamsil concert. They must rehearse beforehand and check where the light should shine during the solos. It’s a basic thing in group performances. But throughout the concert, there were a mere handful of Jaejoong close-up scenes, and I even saw some Jaejoong fans crying after the concert. I could read the sorrow of Jaejoong fans. I would have at least accepted it if we got to see him often. But it was our first meeting after such a long time since the lawsuit. The venue was the main arena (of Jamsil stadium), and as it is too large, there were many fans who could only look at JYJ through the screen. But there was no consideration about that at all. In addition, among the support clips from fans shown at the concert, only Jaejoong fans’ support clip was left out. So Jaejoong fans were angrier. Even till that time, I still thought that maybe CJes made a mistake because they didn’t know about it well enough, and I had expected that they would get better.
But once again, my expectation was broken. The unclear sales method of the retailers/distributors (both online and offline) and the coarse distribution of Jaejoong’s individual photobook which Jaejoong fans really looked forward to… JYJ’s music essay was released around the same time as the photobook.. Even though the contents of two products are different, [how can] the distributors and sales method be so different when both were distributed around the same time.
While JYJ’s music essay was distributed via normal distributors like Kyobo, the price of Intermodulation in online stores was all different from each other, which caused confusion. What was worse, the so-called promotional banner, which was so poorly made, was hung and the photobook was sold physically in some places like stores in an underpass, as if the photobook was something inferior and cheap. Even though CJeS said that they didn’t know, because they are not the one who produced the photobook, and they would make it (offline sales) stop, but in the end the distributor replied that it couldn’t be stopped.
In the end, I called the manufacturer and the distributors and found out that every company involved in this incident happened to work thanks to their acquaintanceship with CJeS CEO, Baek Changju. Additionally, all of them were start-up companies that were working on this for the first time and so, of course, were unskilled in the working process. It was one of the things I had to go through while holding my hand tight.
After that, there was announcement that Jaejoong would take on directing the Asian stops of JYJ’s worldwide tour. To Jaejoong’s fans, it sounded Jaejoong would give up on his solo activities as an entertainer, so we could not be just elated at the news. But as I have seen CJes’ incompetence in their planning of concerts, I embraced the reality and tried to relish Jaejoong’s another ability. However, another incident that made Jaejoong fans furious happened. It was when the Indonesian concert was cancelled and the promoter blamed Jaejoong as the culprit for the cancellation. A lot of fans requested that CJes protest strongly to the Indonesian promoter and post a notice that the culprit is not Jaejoong. But CJeS posted such an unilateral notice about a cancellation of the Indonesian concert itself only. While CJes was so willing to work mobilizing the legal department when the fraud case was filed against Baek Changju regarding the US showcase, CJes played dumb about the Indonesian promoter’s defamation against Jaejoong even though the real culprit was CJes’ own poor management skills.
Busan Concerts.
After the Busan Concert was decided, Herose planned an event for Jaejoong’s fans who were a bit lifeless because Jaejoong had had no solo activities at all for 2 years in Korea. So we came up with the idea of Busan subway ads and bus wrapping. These two ads needed Jaejoong’s picture, so we contacted CJes to request permission to use his pictures, which are copyrighted. Without thinking that we might get rejected at all… But, our request for the ads got rejected. When we asked the reason for the rejection, they said “The superior authority instructed that an individual member’s ads aren’t allowed.” It was such an absurd situation, so we firmly asked who the superior authority is and said we will talk to him on the phone. They said they’ll talk to Him again and told us to wait. After a long while, they contacted us, saying they received approval for the ads. Was ‘a matter of course’ not be able to happen naturally because the object was Kim Jaejoong? Why reject only Jaejoong while allowing the other 2 members who were having solo activities? It’s nonsense, isn’t it? Until now, I couldn’t help laughing at their ulterior motive that they thought we would not do it if they tell us not to. Why are gloomy forebodings always not wrong… Since then we had a premonition that there would be barriers obstructing Jaejoong. Even so, we could not give up. Because it is where Jaejoong is at…
Chapter 2 : Heros appear at times of turbulence, but monsters too.
Kim-mi-chul…
If you are Jaejoong’s fan, you must not feel comfortable with this name. The words they poured out were clearly beyond just intemperate language and this site could not justify their actions with any reason. Most of Jaejoong’s fans were sighing out their grief and agony about this site. It is wrongful thinking if some hold the entire Jaejoong’s fandom responsible for not being able to eliminate Kim-mi-chul and self-purify the fandom as a whole.
One day, CJes’ overall manager Park Sang Ho called us, all of a sudden, commanding all of Jaejoong’s fansites to get rid of Kim-mi-chul. They are mere fansites, how could they have such power to eliminate one site? With what right? Fansites are only gathering places for fans, which have no authority or power. So I agree on the seriousness about Kim-mi-chul even though we don’t have such authority to remove one site. The manager said he called all the fansites’ admins and got their agreements on removing Kim-mi-chul. While exchanging calls with CJes a few times, I heard that CJes showed the screencaptures of Kim-mi-chul to Jaejoong. And the manager said Jaejoong was very angry reading them. It was a shock to the extent I could not believe my own ears that I heard it. I think CJes themselves didn’t screencapture the site’s posts, but probably someone from another fandom sent them to CJes, and CJes stuck the trashy words to Jaejoong, saying ‘It’s what your fans are like.’ Can there be such a management agency who does the same absurdity to its artist in the world? This situation was no better than a plot they hatched to try and lay the blame on Jaejoong, saying, ‘Aren’t you feeling sorry for seeing this? Please get rid of the site with your own hands if you feel sorry.’ This is not protecting Jaejoong, only making him feel guilty by using the dark area of fandom, isn’t it?
We clearly said we agreed on eliminating Kim-mi-chul, and even pleaded with them to process it completely so it won’t end up in an anticlimax. However, CJes could not sue the site and eventually the result was no better than using this as a tool to alienate Jaejoong and Jaejoong’s fans. As if all of Jaejoong fans did it putting the guilt on us…. Some are talking about this as if CJes did not sue the site, considering that Jaejoong started his solo activity after a long time back then, are you serious?
Certainly, Kim-mi-chul’s actions were expressions of twisted rage. But CJes should know the natural phenomenon that ‘an onion will not produce a rose’, meaning CJes is the one who created the monsters and CJes is also the one who “used” the monsters for itself. Thus for Jaejoong and his fans, CJes and the monsters are accomplices.
Chapter 3 : Becoming more and more ridiculous as days go by
What is the substance behind CJes managers having a feeling of rejection towards Jaejoong’s fans?
Among what I’ve heard on the phone from CJes managers so far, this is what emerges of what they think of Jaejoong’s fans.
It was when Jaejoong’s absence was announced only a day before the ‘In Heaven’ fansign event was held, so fans who bought dozens of copies to see Jaejoong were disconcerted and CJes received so many inquiries.
I called CJes, asking them to post an announcement as soon as possible because things would be calmer if CJes released an announcement saying that Jaejoong couldn’t attend the event due to a personal matter. More so because there were strange rumours flying, I thought just one announcement could solve the problem. However, the overall JYJ manager said he would, but he did not, so I had to ask him again and again. After I almost begged him for 2 days, he said this: “It’s not hard to post an announcement, but why should I do this for Jaejoong’s fans who curse me?” And then he left for Spain. CJes proceeded with the fansign event anyway without making any announcement. The attitude is that he doesn’t have professional mindset at all, his personal feelings take priority over his artist, and he used 45 minutes of a 1-hour call to make excuses. Just by seeing this, you can assume how much CJes managers have antagonism towards Jaejoong’s fans. While saying that on the phone, he even said: “Other 2 members’ fans are obedient and they always say “Yes!” to whatever we ask of them, but why are Kim Jaejoong’s fans so nitpicky?”
But, does this man know that I have never been asked or requested by CJeS managers except when the Dispatch incident happened, and other than this, I had only been requested something for other members’ matters… This man must not know it, and he doesn’t care if it’s day, early morning, or night, and calls me any time when he wants, and I had to tolerate his impoliteness, thinking it might help Jaejoong, even if only a little bit.
Dispatch Incident
Before the other member’s sasaeng video was released, I received a call from CJes. The call was about how we should help CJes with this issue because we never know when Jaejoong’s video might also be released. I remember CJes’ quick actions that contained the spread of videos circulated on websites and sued anyone who talked about it.
They knew ahead of time that Dispatch would also release Jaejoong’s video.
After Jaejoong’s audio was released by Dispatch, I received a call from CJes in the morning. I was frustrated but never thought this would be something that would give cause for people to blast Jaejoong. Because it was clearly an extreme invasion of privacy and we fans have been well aware of the malicious stalkers. So I asked CJes to release news articles focusing on the malicious nature of sasaengs. But, as expected, CJes did not listen to my advice and employed useless coping methods that didn’t address the crucial points. Obviously they had known of Dispatch’s move beforehand, and anyone could have concluded that releasing the scandal during the time when CJes and JYJ leave Korea would be a golden opportunity for Dispatch. However, the entirety of CJes staff, with the exception of just one manager, left for JYJ’s South American tour. They even brought along journalists. Even giving CJes the benefit of the doubt that they did so for the importance of the concerts, they still should have at least planned minimum measures to prepare for the worst. I want to ask the person in charge of publicity, which was a more important matter between the South American tour and Dispatch incident?
All fans could do was collect incidents of sasaengs’ unpardonable atrocities to give to journalists. At first, even though we asked a lot of reporters from various companies to write articles focusing on the damages Jaejoong had to endure, they replied that they would do so when they have a stopover later. It turned out CJes brought reporters from 30 news companies for the South American tour. But sadly, [the reporters that replied to fans] were just paying lip service with no intention of following through… We asked them numerous times if JYJ were going to have a press interview to apologize, they answered “never”. But the next day, JYJ had a press interview including their apology and it was…
After we heard that KBS news program would do a report about the Dispatch audio, we contacted CJes and asked that they put a stop to it. And later I heard that the CJes employee who remained in Korea went to KBS and pleadingly begged KBS to report it as minimally as possible. But the reality was that in the end, the broadcast only focused on Jaejoong… After watching the broadcast, I called CJes and got angry at them, and then they answered, “It was the result of my begging, so it was reported to a minimum”. But…. minimum? What minimum for Jaejoong?
After that, JYJ came back to Korea and the other member was bereaved for his father. We sent wreaths to the funeral under the name of Herose, and tried to avoid making calls to CJes because we thought it might be harassing them in such a situation. Around midnight of that day, JYJ’s overall manager called us and started gushing out his curses about how much he hates Jaejoong’s fans. He poured out extremely abusive expressions at me. I was so bewildered and asked the reason. Then he said Jaejoong’s fans sent so many cursing mails and tweets to Dispatch, and now Dispatch wants to explode more. What a sudden and unexpected call at midnight? The cursing emails and tweets were mostly made by young OT5 fans, Jaejoong’s fans were actually so cautious as if we were treading on ice. Even if it was what Jaejoong’s fans did, wouldn’t they at least uphold a cause only when they passed along a request to Jaejoong’s fandom in advance, just like what they actually did to other members’ fandom?
I want to hear from CJes what in the world they have done for Jaejoong after the Dispatch incident happened.
Their non-existent efforts behind the scenes? In a pro’s world, when you have unseen results, you can’t call it “work”, but rather “negligence”.
Probably, throughout my entire life, the time with CJes was the most patience-demanding to the maximum.
However, because it’s where Jaejoong is at, I had to stifle my feelings as much as possible.
Getting worse.
The strange incident happened that CJes Official Youtube channel subscribed to a sasaeng’s Youtube channel and in doing so, made the sasaeng’s other videos widely known in the world.
If mistakes are committed repeatedly, it’s not a mistake but a choice. This video was first uploaded on the Chinese website YouKu, and then it was uploaded on Youtube just a few hours later. That video was not easy to find with a simple search, so how was CJes able to find it and subscribe to this channel right away? Thanks to CJes, this unknown video became a hot video in no time.
One thing before this.
CJes employees must know better than anyone else how difficult it was for Jaejoong due to the Dispatch incident. We fans still remember this incident with tears and we collected letters to send to Jaejoong, praying that Jaejoong could overcome this difficulty and come out into the world again.
But this self-proclaimed management agency for Jaejoong subscribed to the sasaeng’s Youtube channel and made it extensively known. They say it was a mistake, but it can’t be dismissed as merely a mistake when you think of the long time gap between when it was uploaded and when CJes finally unsubscribed from the channel. A choice pretending to be a mistake would make more sense. Maybe they were trying to hide this so-called “mistake” behind Jaejoong, just like they recently did on Weibo.
To be continued….
I think the part 2 will be a bit long post.
Translated by: @jaetaku
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