Four for one, one for all

From left: Jang Dong-gun; Song Seung-heon; Lee Byung-hun; and Won Bin

Japanese fans of the Korean Wave are about to get a special gift.

Four stars who were at the vanguard of the wave - Lee Byung-hun, 39; Jang Dong-gun, 37; Song Seung-heon, 33, and Won Bin, 32 - have teamed up for a live show dubbed "Four of a Kind," set to run at the Tokyo Dome on Dec. 17.

This Hallyu, or Korean wave event, unprecedented in its scale, was reportedly conceived independently by the four superstars, who are close friends and often meet privately.

The highlight of the event will come when all four actors perform together. The well-known Japanese producer and lyricist Yasushi Akimoto will produce the show, and Hur Jinho, the Korean film director known for the 1998 movie Christmas in August who recently directed Season of Good Rain starring Jung Woo-sung and Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan, will make a short feature to be used at the performance.

The Tokyo Dome event will also provide a venue for the fans to hear from each of the stars about their lives at the moment and their future plans.

"It's been a long time since I'd met fans at a live show like this. I'm looking forward to seeing what it will be like," Jang was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency.

Lee concurred, adding, "It will be a very special event. See you all soon."

Lee won widespread popularity in Asia with his roles in the 2001 TV drama Beautiful Days and the 2003 hit TV series All In, and he recently made his Hollywood debut in the action film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, released this year.

Jang earned recognition for his performances in the films Friend (2001) and Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War (2004) and recently made headlines by announcing a relationship of two years with Ko So-young, one of the most popular Korean actresses of the late 1990s.

It was Song's role in the 2000 hit drama Autumn in My Heart, in which he played opposite the prominent Korean actress Song Hye-kyo, that first won him notice.

And last but not least, the youngest in the group, Won Bin, who appeared in Autumn in My Heart as a new face then rose to fame with his role in Taegukgi, was recently featured at this
year's Cannes Film Festival in the acclaimed film Mother, directed by Bong Joon-ho (The Host).

Though the details of the event are still under discussion by the four actors' management agencies due to their busy schedules, it promises to be an unforgettable evening for the stars' rabid fans.

credit to: Park Sun-young KOREA Magazine (Dec. 2009)
source: Korea.net