After over 800 days spent recovering and rehabbing away from the media spotlight, on December 31, 2012 Ham Yu made his first major public appearance by performing on the Hunan TV New Year’s Even extravaganza. The hosts, other entertainers, and the audience were all notably overcome with emotion to see him return to the spotlight, bearing burn scars on his face and his arms covered by tight black compression gloves. I haven’t seen Ham Yu since I watched the C-version of Hana Yori Dango which was called Let’s Go Watch the Meteor Shower where he played the C-version of Hanazawa Rui. Ham was a popular idol singer first and has the nickname “Nation’s Little Brother” and he’s always reminded me of the Chinese version of Lee Seung Gi in terms of looks and popularity. In late 2010 he was filming the C-drama I Have a Date with Spring co-starring Selina Jen when there was an onset explosion which burned both of them severely. Selina was burned over a greater percentage of her body but Ham actually went to shield her so his burns are more severe. She returned to the entertainment world last year after she got married and has since released a new album with S.H.E. Ham’s recovery has taken much longer and his father detailed how his son was in such severe pain for so long he thought about giving up and never returning to the industry. Ham’s pulled through and a few months ago his C-drama with Selina renamed itself Love in the Spring and resumed filming with a new leading lady Yuan Shan Shan. It was really uplifting and teary to watch Ham perform a new single “Really I’m Fine” at the end of the year program. I’m so relieved he’s recovered and happy he’s back singing and acting because that is what he loved to do. Continue reading →