Few stars have been cannier with their stardom than Bae Yong Joon, the South Korean actor who won the hearts of Japanese women in the 2002 soap opera "Winter Sonata."

Though the bespectacled, smiling visage of "Yon-sama" occasionally pops up in advertisements for stamina drinks and home-security systems, the only major acting job he's had in the past few years was in the movie "April Snow," which was also a hit in Japan.

Last year he appeared briefly in the TV Asahi drama "Hotelier," a Japanese adaptation of a 2001 South Korean TV series that featured him in a leading role.