So what if the singer-actor recently emerged second in Time magazine's online poll of 100 Most Influential People Of The Year? Or that he's been appearing in the hugely popular US comedy show, The Colbert Report?
Or that he was recently in Los Angeles to promote his Hollywood debut - the highly-anticipated action flick Speed Racer by the Wachowski brothers of The Matrix trilogy fame?
Despite all that, Rain, whose real name is Jung Ji Hoon, is still not as well-recognised outside of Asia as he may want to be. Through no fault of his, there were three recent boo-boos relating to his identity, which got his loyal fans fuming and protesting.
First, he was wrongly introduced as his character's name Taejo Togokhan when he walked the red carpet for the gala premiere of Speed Racer in Los Angeles on 26 Apr. The mistake carried over to some of the wire photos of him.
Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo noted that it was an 'embarrassing moment' for Rain, and that the name mix-up 'dampens' his Hollywood debut. Then, the UK movie website Den of Greek got his nationality mixed up.
It wrote: 'In a wise move by producer Joel Silver, Japanese pop megastar Rain appears as Taejo, a competing racer. The film will, undoubtedly, do well in Japan as a result.'
The website has since corrected the mistake - after fans screamed that 'Rain is Korean!' But the most glaring error yet is a photo mix-up in the latest issue of the US-based People magazine, which had named Rain as one of its Most Beautiful People last year.
This time, the actor-singer is featured in a short article headlined 'Speed Racer's Rain is... Ready To Make A Splash', but the accompanying photo published was that of his Korean-American co-star Karl Yune.
Popseoul forum protested with the posting 'Yo People magazine! We do not all look alike!', with netizens joining in to bash the magazine's 'totally unprofessional' slip-up. That's not all. Speed Racer crashed at the box office worldwide, after bad reviews. New York Post gave the 'adventurously awful' film half a star (out of four).
USA Today was slightly more generous - with a one-and-a-half star rating (also out of four) - but criticised the film for being too long for kids, too frenetic for adults, too predictable, and lacking liveliness.
The result?
Speed Racer, which reportedly cost US$120 million ($164 million) to make, got labelled a flop for grossing a mere US$20.2 million during its opening weekend, reported US-based Entertainment Weekly.
It also bombed in Europe due to 'bad buzz', raking in just US$715,061 in UK and US$386,000 in Italy over the weekend, reported entertainment news portal Variety.com.
SARCASM
As if that's not crushing enough, Rain also drew sarcasm in recent media reports.
Time magazine's online version Time.com didn't seem convinced of Rain's clout, nor did it approve of the star grooming his own successor, a Korean-American named Kevin Park. It wrote: 'At 25? That's either the smartest or the saddest thing ever.'
Meanwhile, Variety.com's Asia portal said that Rain looks like a 'manorexic' (anorexic man) in the photos released of him training for his next Hollywood project Ninja Assassin.
The same report also criticised Rain's decision to record a new version of Carl Douglas' 'horrible and horribly over-exposed' Kung Fu Fighting for the new animated film Kung Fu Panda, saying it was adding 'insult and injury' to his other setbacks in Hollywood.
That also includes the bad press and lawsuits over some last-minute cancellations during the US leg of Rain's concert world tour last year. One has to wonder, how is Rain coping with all the bad news in Hollywood so far?
After all, he was so pleased with his performance in Speed Racer that he said during his Hong Kong promotional tour that he would give himself full marks for his efforts.
But we wouldn't know, as the star has already flown to Germany after completing his Asia tour for Speed Racer, to continue to train for his new movie Ninja Assassin. Just this week, Rain posted new photos of his daily life in Berlin on his official website, showing off his bulging biceps and washboard abs.
He also posted a handwritten note last week to thank his fans for their unwavering support over the past six years. But despite recent setbacks in Hollywood, he doesn't seem ready to return to his fans back home.
He told China's Yangcheng Wanbao: 'I'm the sort who doesn't like to feel too comfortable. After trying one path, I'll feel like trying another path just to see what it's like. That's how I stay motivated always.'
No wonder he seems so determined to charge ahead in his attempt to break into Hollywood. 'If I stay in Asia, I can make more money and be more comfortable. But, whatever comes easily can also slip away easily.
'I don't want to stay in the same position forever. I want to step forward for new opportunities and to improve myself. This is my way of giving back to my fans, to make them feel proud of me.'
For one thing, Rain's wholehearted devotion to perfecting his supporting role of a two-faced car racer in Speed Racer has already impressed the producers so much that they decided use him again as their leading man in Ninja Assassin.
Details are still fuzzy, but Rain told The Chosun Ilbo that he will play a highly-skilled assassin, and not a ninja. He added that he has been training in martial arts for four months.
The film's producer Joel Silver, who also made Speed Racer, praised his new leading man's agility in a recent interview with movie portal IESB.net. 'I was watching Rain... and I said, 'This guy can do it (be)cause he's a great dancer and he moves incredibly well.' So we decided to go ahead and do it (film Ninja Assassin).'
Despite spending most of his time in the West, Rain is careful not to neglect his fans on this side of the world. He will meet his Japanese fans next month when Speed Racer opens in Japan, and a mega gathering with his Korean fans is being planned for July.
The dancing machine also revealed plans to record a new album later this year, and after that, to participate in a Korean drama or film production. 'Singing and acting will always be my biggest passions. Neither is more important than the other, and I'll never give up either one.'
Source: The Electric New Paper
http://newpaper.asia1.com.sg/show/story/0,4136,164838,00.html
