[Junho] K-Pop Boys+ Interview
When you were young, what kind of child were you?JUNHO: I was undoubtedly the captain of our play unit. Cellphones didn’t exist at the time, so I went around my friends’ houses after school to give out orders like, “Gather at the plaza, ‘cause we’re playing soccer~” I learned lots of things, too. Soccer, baseball, swimming, cooking, programming…… I wasn’t happy until I tried everything I was interested in. But my personality changed after I grew 16cm in the second year of middle school.
TAEC: I grew 20cm in my second year, too! I thought I had grown taller because of the change in food after moving to America, but I guess not~
JUNHO: Your knees hurt at that time, didn’t they? I was 146cm in the sixth year of elementary school, but because of my growth spurt to 172cm in the second year of middle school, I couldn’t play sports at one point. That’s when I watched dance clips in the classroom, wrote fantasy novels, made websites, created games, programmed computers……. I become an indoor person. After entering high school, I was awakened by dancing and returned to my active self.
Did your studies go well?KHUN: I totally didn’t study either when I was in an all-boys class, but the moment I was changed to a co-ed class, I studied tons! I was the only boy in a class with 6 girls, so I had more reason to study.
JUNHO: That stimulates a man’s pride, doesn’t it? I was quite studious when I was in middle school. Rather, I’m the type to concentrate on my studies a month before an exam. My friends and I worked together to guess the exam questions. Our predictions were spot-on!
[Talking about trainee days.]JUNHO: When I was a high school student, I was in the drama club, but my interest shifted to singing and dancing in my third year, so I joined the audition programme “Super Star Survival” when I was 17 years old. I had always been a fan of J.Y.Park-san, so I wanted to try for JYP from the very start. J.Y.Park-san is a genius who always creates music that no one ever expects, right? I was attracted by that.
Speaking of JYP, am I correct to say that it’s an agency that gathers extremely talented people?JUNHO: In Korea, just becoming a JYP trainee is a great honour. More than that, there’s the appeal of working with lots of talented friends.
Do trainees see each other as rivals?JUNHO: It wasn’t so much rivalry, as the feeling like, “If that guy can do it, I should be able to do it too.” We improve by criticising each other, so we’re more like “comrades” than rivals.
Taecyeon-san and Wooyoung-san play high school characters who hope to become singers in the drama “Dream High”. Were your actual days spent as a trainee of any help?JUNHO: First of all, romance wasn’t even on our minds when we were trainees. It’s not that it wasn’t allowed, so much as everyone was so focused on practices that we didn’t have time for that sort of thing. Moreover, it’s a world where success depends solely on talent, so all that dramatic stuff about sacrificing oneself to protect a friend never happened in real life before.
What kind of lifestyle did you have, specifically?JUNHO: Our lessons focused on singing and dancing, and we took acrobatic classes with 2AM, too.
Who do you think was the most amazing member in your trainee days?JUNHO: My first impression would be that Junsu-kun had a charismatic aura. Taecyeon-kun sort of had the feel of a brotherly senior? Chansung’s silent demeanor gave me a cool image, while Wooyoung seemed kind of aloof. Chansung was actually just spacing out, though. (laughs) Wooyoung’s kinder and more stoic than he looks.
When I talk to you, I don’t feel any testosterone-filled jimseung (beastliness); instead, you give off the feel of mischievous boys in their early twenties. In the first place, where did the term “jimseung-dol (beastly idol)” come from?JUNHO: We were first dubbed that because we appeared on a variety show called “Idol Army” and acted like wild animals. It actually meant to refer to us as “those uncontrollable guys”, “wild children”, the people who move here and there freely on their own. Then our performance of “I Hate You”, which closely resembled the robust power of carnivorous animals, established the image of toughness in the term “jimseung-dol”, which still continues up to today.
So it was possible for you to have joined 2AM and focused on singing ballads.JUNHO: That’s right. Honestly, either 2AM or 2PM would have been great. Just because their focus is on ballads doesn’t mean they won’t have the chance to perform dances at all; in fact, they’re singing songs like “I Did You Wrong” which have a strong element of dance in them. I think the other members feel the same way, too.
Jason gradually begins to fall for Pil Sook’s charms. Are you the type to develop a romantic relationship from an existing friendship? Or are you the type to fall in love at first sight?JUNHO: I always fall in love at first sight. (laughs) Well it’s not really love at first sight, but more like I often fall for the whole vibe of a girl as opposed to her looks. I also fall for girls whom I think has a similar mindset as me……. I have a strange radar for that sort of thing. When I think, “Ah, I think I can connect with this girl,” I’m mostly right.
(note: endiaferoooooon~)Since we’re talking about first loves now (laughs), I’d like to hear your stories about your first love.JUNHO: I became aware of the opposite sex for the first time in elementary school. I think I was in the sixth grade. I fell for a girl who was a little chubby and much smaller than me, so I confessed to her in the park and asked if she would go out with me. Although she said OK, I became so self-aware that I couldn’t talk to her after that. Then I spent the days after that writing letters in class, which I passed to her nearly every period. It went on for several months, but because we didn’t talk or call each other and only communicated through letters, it fizzled out on its own.
Tell the truth; you were all popular in school, weren’t you?JUNHO: A junior one year younger than me went all out to show her love when I was a third year in middle school. Calling me on the phone was a given; she’d also leave chocolates on my classroom desk and insert letters into my mailbox at home.
You must have made a lot of girls cry, then?JUNHO: But as men, we can make girls cry even when we’re faithful, right? Like the girls who keep crying without saying a word. They’d be like, “I shouldn’t have to say it for you to understand, right?” …….. but I don’t understand~! Men don’t get it. That’s why, everyone! Please tell your boyfriend exactly why you’re crying, what made you sad, why you’re angry and what you want from us! I’m making this request as a representative of all the men in the world!
Girls cry as a sign of loneliness. Maybe you haven’t been meeting up with her much….JUNHO: I’m the type that wants to give all my free time to my girlfriend, so I’d want to contact her a lot and go on many dates. Chansung is the same way, I think. It’s through talking to each other that we can understand the other’s feelings.
In Korea, it’s natural to have a strong relationship where you meet your partner several times a week and talk to them over the phone more than once a day. However, in Japan, we often have a more casual type of romance.JUNHO: I can’t do that either, but now that I think about it, the Japanese style may not be a bad idea. My view on romance has changed ever since I started working. When I was a student, I basically wanted a girl who could stay by my side all the time, but now I’d like a person I can grow up with, or a person whom I can care for, and she for me. There are some things that can only be done alone, and love isn’t just all about staying by someone’s side. It seems like a relationship can last longer with the Japanese style.
source: K-Pop Boys+
translation by: w2d
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