winner for dazed, january 2018

DAZED: This is your first photoshoot in a while. You guys seem really upbeat even though we started the shoot at a time when you might normally wake up.

MINO: We like photoshoots. We go into it with more excitement compared to other schedules and it feels especially great when we come out well in the final product.

 

DZ: I thought it was impressive that, even though you're all in a position of having your pictures be taken all the time, you still take pictures of one another.

SEUNGYOON: I think taking pictures has become natural somewhat because that's just what our job entails. Our job, essentially, is to have our pictures taken. If anything, knowing this, we more actively pose for each other when it's just us [taking the pictures]. We want to get nice shots if we can, and I think by taking pictures and having our pictures taken, it's like practice that doesn't feel like practice.

 

DZ: It seems like Min Ho especially seems to be deep into photography. Which camera model do you use?

MN: I use both digital and film cameras. I recently purchased the Leica X and the M7, but it's still pretty difficult to figure out. I'm learning bit by bit and gradually acquiring a deeper interest for them.

 

DZ: The feature editor for <DAZED> really wanted me to ask whether Min Ho had some sort of sponsorship deal for his cameras.

SY: He 100% bought them with his own money (laughs).

MN: That's true. It cost a lot of money (laughs).

 

DZ: Which moment pre-debut was the most memorable?

SY: I think I have to say my school days were the most memorable. Of course, we [the members] have a lot of episodes we share post-debut, but I think about that period of time a lot.

MN: When I went to school there was a restriction on hair length. I always had the same look up until middle school, but over break I grew out my hair and decided to do a foil perm. When school started again I went to school like that. Of course, I got in trouble and I had to get my hair shaved. But even when I got my hair shaved, I was able to desperately salvage the back part of my head.

SY: For me, I was more obsessed with earrings rather than hair. Since we couldn't wear earrings in school I wore them during other times, but at one point just grew kind of tired and stopped wearing them entirely. Once I came back from <Superstar K> with good results, my teachers told me, "You can just wear your earrings." I felt like I got some sort of approval from my teachers and I felt really proud.

JinWoo: I don't have any particular memory of being scolded. But, I would follow the current trends of the time and would shorten or lengthen my school uniform accordingly. Back then that was the most important thing (laughs).

 

DZ: When were you sure that you wanted to be a singer?

MN: I'm still trying to get that assurance, but I did like rapping since my first year of middle school. I think the thought came to me naturally to post on Internet forums and rap.

SeungHoon: I was getting ready to go to college when I was 19, but with my grades the schools I could go to were limited. Deciding on a school and major based on one's grades seemed like compromising with reality. Rather than starting college, I wanted to come up to Seoul and see what I could do.

 

DZ: You came back from Western Australia for <Youth Over Flowers>. Don't you want to go on another trip??

JW, SH, MN, SY: We want to go again. We definitely want to go again.

 

DZ: Where do you want to go?

JW: Switzerland?

SY: I think it'd be fun to go to Western Australia again. We didn't get to do wine tasting, and we couldn've seen the stars in the night sky but didn't get a chance to because of the circumstances under which we went. I came back with some regrets over things we couldn't do. I think it'd be nice to get to do some of those things

 

DZ: Although it was a trip with just the four of you and no managerial staff, it was still broadcasted as a program, and you all probably wondered how each of you would be reflected in the show. Did you worry about whether or not the show would be entertaining?

MN: Even veteran entertainers like Ho Dong and Soo Geun hyungs would worry about this when we film for <NJTTW>, because with variety shows, entertainment is key. However, the production team behind <NJTTW> are skilled enough in their editing and direction to make something out of nothing. Since we had that faith in them, we were able to have fun without any worries by thinking that we were really on this trip by ourselves. We sometimes even forgot that we were being filmed and made a few mistakes by talking like we would normally (laughs).

 

DZ: Jin Woo, in another variety show, <Wizards of Nowhere>, you were the youngest and yet in <Youth Over Flowers> you were the eldest.

JW: I'm not the kind of person who defines myself based on whether my role is the youngest or the eldest. Nor do I necessarily think that, as the eldest, I need to be the one leading the members or establishing the rules. I behave the same way regardless of whether I'm the youngest or the oldest.

SH: Is that so? Then fetch me some water.

JW, SH, MN, SY: (laughs)

 

DZ: Min Ho, the show you're in, <Kang's Kitchen>, is getting great feedback from its viewers.

MN: I'm so grateful. But when we were filming, it wasn't a comedic variety show but rather a real variety program. We had to submit a business license and operate a restaurant that actually sold food and received money from its customers, so all of us found ourselves incapable of joking around. We all went into it seriously because it was our first time doing anything like this. I think this was the most physically demanding filming I've done so far.

 

DZ: Seung Hoon, your Instagram has the most daily look shots out of all the members and you tend to tag fashion brands as well. Today you wore Dior Homme.

SH: When I was younger, Dior Homme was the brand that hyungs who dressed well and liked fashion wore, so I think I had some sort of longing for it. I really wanted to wear it but it's pricey, and it was something that only cool hyungs wore. I still think that Dior Homme is a brand that continues to design very sexy menswear. But now that I get to wear it as a part of my job, it feels a bit strange.

 

DZ: SeungYoon's show <Prison Playbook> is also drawing a lot of attention. Many may think this is your first time acting but you've shown your acting skills through the sitcom <High Kick!> and starred in a web drama. But, your attitude towards your project is probably different now than it was before. How is it different?

SY: I went into <High Kick!> thinking that I had to be entertaining, that I wouldn't inconvenience the other actors, and that I would use this as a learning experience, so the weight of responsibility then and now are different. When I did the sitcome, although it was my first time acting, I heard praises that my acting was "natural," and that I did "pretty well" but I can't receive those kinds of compliments this time. My role this time is a villain. Rather than "Oh, he's pretty good for an idol", I want people to see the character I'm acting as and say, "Wow, he's a really bad guy."

 

DZ: Did you ever want to play a villain?

SY: I had the lead role in the web drama. It's a position that requires a lot of responsibility. I had a few projects on my plate after that but I couldn't even think about them. However, with this project, I did feel greedy. I felt that this was a character that could really help display my capabilities.

 

DZ: Looking back at 2017, what was the most memorable moment?

JW: One moment?

SY: Just one?

MN: If I had to pick just one, it would be after April 4th, 4 PM.

SY: When 'REALLY REALLY' hit #1 in the charts. That was the best moment of 2017.

 

DZ: But it wasn't the first time your song hit #1, so why is this your best moment?

SY: It's because we weren't expecting it. It was our first comeback as just four members, and we had had that period of absence. We went into this comeback just wanting to give good music to our fans and to have fun doing our work but we had hit #1. We really didn't expect it.

 

DZ: How do you plan on spending 2018? 

MN: We don't have any plans as of now, but I think it would be nice if we can meet fans in Korea and abroad through our tour.

SH: I personally think it would be great if all of us really worked out so we can take pictures with our clothes off.

SY: I definitely agree with that. I really want to try and make a great body. But Min Ho, I'm sure you don't feel the same way (laughs)?

MN: I have a song called 'BODY'. I'm satisfied with my body (laughs).