May I check in now?

Dong Hyuk- Can I check in now?
Jin Yung- May I ask how long will you be staying?
Dong Huk- Forever

A couple of months back, I saw some episodes of the Hong Kong drama, ‘Revolving Doors of Vengence’. It was set within a hotel and the opening scenes reminded me so much of ‘Hotelier’. Recently, bb posted an article about Bae Yong Joon having what it takes to be a true hotelier. Then about 2 days ago, I received an email from the ‘CEO’ of Hotelier2002.com.

What can I say? Is it a sign to talk about this drama again, even though I’ve already mentioned about it once briefly here.

A quick check revealed that I’ve joined the website, Hotelier2002 on the 29th Jan 2003. That’s coming to 4 years. A rather long time. But I’ve come to enjoy this ‘hotel’, probably because the ‘guests’ are all fans of the drama, Hotelier…. and not necessarily fans of Bae Yong Joon or Song Yun Ah.

And as I read some of the threads in the Hotelier, it brought back much memories, not just of the drama but also of my friendship with these guests. Indeed, some of the information and discussion on the site are such gems that I want to share them with you here.

From the Land of Morning Calm– Mission Impossible… Possible? TT, the hotel’s ‘CEO’ went in search of the elusive lighthouse. I honestly don’t know how she managed to do it.

From the Gallery section, there is the Cut Scene thread and one of the scene discussed was the kiss in Casablanca. Why was it cut? Because it wasn’t required but Bae Yong Joon was determined to do his job thoroughly after dismal acting on his part in the earlier kiss. bb has uploaded the clip here and you can find out more about what happened. hehe!

And then there are the X Files, which are well… X Files… questions that may never be solved….Read the discussion on Frank Shin’s hairstyle here. It’s hilarious as the guests analysed in earnest on the changes of Frank Shin’s hairstyle as the drama progress. (actually, I didn’t even notice about the changes till they raised it)

In the lobby section, there are 2 threads still ongoing.

One of them is The Most touching moment in Hotelier. For me, it would be the scene of Shin Dong Hyuk at the lighthouse, after meeting his father. Shin Dong Hyuk cuts a very lonely figure with just the lighthouse, the sea and the song “Life is but s Dream”. I really loved that song and have uploaded the original version here. Although the clips shown in it isn’t from the drama, you get the drift on how sad the scenes were when the song was played.

The other is The funny things about Hotelier. Seems most of us are tickled pink (including me) with Manager Wu’s comment about the Penguin’s (Manager Lee) legs being rather pretty. This was after a spat between the two of them where Manager Lee was called a penguin and Manager Wu was called a wolf. The expression on Manager Wu’s face was really funny.

Over the years, the guests at this ‘hotel’ have expanded onto other things and often we will go off-topic. Actually, we always go off-topic. hahaha! Extract from family…(now having tea)

Tiffany:
Ok, this is one very blur guest/ family member checking…
Did something happened ?
Or I guess I shouldn’t ask…
Well, my husband’s (or rather most English) solution to settling any argument- have a cup of tea.
Or martini also can, preferably with Frank Shin for company.

Firefly:
Help! Need traffic control in Casablanca….

Brad:
“I like a nice cup of tea in the morning
I like a nice cup of tea with my tea
And when it’s time for bed… there’s a lot to be said
For a nice..cup of tea!”

Jusash:
How can one drink a cuppa tea before bed?
All that caffeine….immunity? Or is it decaf?
Earl Grey after dinner is good, when the aftertaste of coffee doesn’t appeal.

It was followed by about 6 pages on discussion of tea.

Some of the guests have left, some have gone on to other things, some have had babies but most of us still pop by every now and then, as we have become friends. ^^

Bae Yong Joon too formed a firm friendship with Mr Lee (the ex CEO of BOF) whilst he was filming this in the States. When Bae Yong Joon wanted to set up BOF, he invited Mr Lee to join him. Though Mr Lee is no longer the CEO there, I’m sure they are still good friends. It was also around this time that Manager Yang became his manager. And now Manager Yang is one of the director at KeyEast.

When Bae Yong Joon filmed Hotelier, it was 2 years after his last drama, ‘Have We Really Loved’. Some will say his acting was a little stiff after 2 years of absence. He himself was nervous.. as expected. But most of us love the coolness, aloofness and the hunter Frank Shin/ Shin Dong Hyuk… whether in work or in love. I remembered being so impressed when I see Bae Yong Joon walking into the prison and when he was in the helicopter. I went like :”Wow! He is so different from Kang Jun Sang in ‘Winter Sonata’. Although his English in the prison and the car was a little err….off. To this day, I still can’t really figure out what he was saying in the car. But I know he tried very hard and he was pretty good in the later scenes. One day, I hope, really hope to hear him speak in English.

bb has written a comprehensive post on Bae Yong Joon and the Hotelier Days. It’s in Part 1 and Part 2 She’s really put up a lot of information, photos, clips and links, so do go and read it if you haven’t.

I’ve been to Sheraton Walker Hill twice, where the drama was filmed. And each time, I still get a thrill. Like ‘Winter Sonata’, I can clearly remember each of the scenes being played at the various sites.

Clips to watch:
MVs-
The Day We Met
For Love
The church scene
The Casablanca kiss scene
The Swimming scene

There was a particular scene which we called ‘the compassionate scene’ which had Seo Jin Young (Soon Yoon Ah) giving Frank Shin (Bae Yong Joon) a back hug after his emotional reunion meeting with his father in episode 17.  Unfortunately, it was cut out….

Behind the scene(BYJ mentioned that it took him 5 times before he could break the wine bottle)

The Diamond Villa dance scene

You have built a hotel in my heart