YOUNGJAE: “I want to be a consistently loving person”

INTERVIEW

TWS debut interview

2024.02.02

YOUNGJAE spoke calmly throughout the interview, describing himself as though an outsider observing from a distance. The idol exemplifies the resilience of youth, constantly redefining himself as he sets out in search of new worlds while happily accepting himself just the way he is.

You appear in the opening shot of ‘TWS Prologue: ‘Oh Mymy : 7s,” waking KYUNGMIN up from sleep. Are you typically an early riser, and do you check in on others once you’re up?

YOUNGJAE: I’m not actually a morning person. (laughs) But I do try to think about the schedule for the coming day in advance and get up based on that. The other members are pretty good at waking up on their own, but I will still occasionally wake one of them up if they don’t get up on their own. SHINYU’s the leader and already has everything taken care of, so I just look after the day-to-day things. I have a brother who’s four years older than me and a sister who’s six years younger, and it’s the same thing with TWS—I’m right in the middle! (laughs) Anytime I see the other members, I automatically want to look after them, and I’m making an effort to do so. I clean up after them and sometimes I’m the first one in our home to start tidying up. I used to give them stuff like ginseng sometimes, too, but haven’t been able to keep up with that lately.

You clean up voluntarily like that? That’s no easy feat. (laughs)

YOUNGJAE: I enjoy cleaning. (laughs) The older I get, the more important it seems to me that I keep my space neat and tidy, so it’s just become a habit now.

You seem to be very proper, but at the same time, there’s a quirky side to you. For TWS: Think About Us! you put “food” in the big middle portion of your brain diagram, but “hunger” is only represented by a tiny dot. (laughs)

YOUNGJAE: I always have a lot of cravings. (laughs) I absolutely love Korean food, and I like fast food, too. My eyes are bigger than my stomach, though, which is kind of sad.

I get it now. (laughs) In your FIRST TIME video, you play a dedicated student. What were you like in school in real life?

YOUNGJAE: I was just a regular student. I liked hanging out with friends. When school and after-school classes were done, I’d meet my friends to hang out for a little while. And I was attached to my teachers, as everyone is, I’m sure. My favorite subject was math, but like any hard-working student, I tried to do my best in every subject. I wasn’t particularly good at sports but wanted to excel at them so I always went at it with passion. I used to get together with friends from school and my apartment complex and wager ice cream over a game of badminton, which I wasn’t too bad at.

You once wrote in your graduation yearbook, “The worst kind of bug in the world is a lazybug, and letting yourself be beaten is only for eggs.” (laughs)

YOUNGJAE: (laughs) I’m a bit embarrassed about that now, but those words have genuinely helped me along in life. You give up once, you keep giving up. My motto now is, “The important thing is to just believe in yourself no matter what.” Whenever I feel tired or worn down, thinking of that helps me just push through it and keep moving forward.

I heard all the older kids at your school adored you because of how well you danced at talent shows. You must’ve been one of the popular kids. (laughs)

YOUNGJAE: Ha! A popular kid. (laughs) I don’t think I was especially popular or anything. I’ve loved to dance and sing ever since I was little. I used to practice singing by myself before going to a karaoke with friends so I’d be good at them. I joined the dance club every year in middle school and put on a dance routine with friends every time there was a festival or other event. There was a performance I put on by myself for a festival during my first year that was a particular standout for me. I felt super confident after practicing so hard and couldn’t wait to show it to my friends.

What led you to becoming a trainee?

YOUNGJAE: In middle school, I created a social media account to keep up with friends, just posting everyday pictures and photos I took with them. But I got lucky and, within a month or two, I got DMs from several different agencies. I couldn’t believe it at first. It blew my mind—the idea that I could be scouted. (laughs) PLEDIS stood out to me for some reason, and with so many amazing artists there, I made up my mind and joined.

I’m sure it felt good being scouted, but moving to Seoul and starting a whole new life as a trainee must’ve been challenging.

YOUNGJAE: There certainly were challenging times. It can be hard, becoming a trainee at such a young age. But I just enjoyed myself. I think I’m naturally wired to think positively. (laughs) Monthly evaluations can be stressful and exhausting, but despite all that, I liked seeing the results of my hard work each time. It motivated me to try even harder the next month to make up for my weak points. Looking back now, I can see I was a stronger person than I thought I was at the time. I still have a long way to go, though.

It’s pretty cool how you stayed positive even when the going got tough. I’m sure it makes your debut feel that much more special.

YOUNGJAE: It was an honor getting into a group that’s going to debut. It was practically a miracle. (laughs) Every member of the group is very distinct—I’m amazed whenever I see us. It makes me feel so confident. I usually need some time to open up, but practicing together all day, every day has made us close as family. I remember the first time I met SHINYU better than anything else. When I first became a trainee, I went down the hallway and took a look at the grades for the end-of-month evaluation. A guy put his arm right around me and pointed to his name: “That’s me,” he said. And that guy was SHINYU.

SHINYU and DOHOON are seen teasing you in your FIRST TIME video. Does that have any basis in reality? (laughs)

YOUNGJAE: When we’re quiet, we’re quiet, but when we’re noisy, we’re all over the place and goofing around. In that scene, I’m studying, and then SHINYU and DOHOON call me over to join them. The script has me saying, “Go away! I’m studying.” But the way they make hearts, or how they stand up and tease me after I cause the Jenga tower to topple, wasn’t scripted. They were so good at figuring things out for themselves. (laughs)

I guess shooting a video where you have to play a character was a new experience for you. What did you do to prepare for the role?

YOUNGJAE: Seeing as it was a whole new process for me, there was a lot running through my head at first. But I’m also the kind of person who jumps right in when doing something. I got the hang of it while we were filming. I kept reviewing my performance throughout and improved little by little. I came up with the idea of checking my watch in the subway scene myself. I also planned out the part where I dance by myself in front of friends even though it’s freestyle. I talked it over a lot with the choreography instructors. The point of the scene was to show the friends an unexpected side of the YOUNGJAE character: he doesn’t just study, he dances, too. I wanted to portray how the character feels self-conscious but can still do it.

You really know how to plan every last detail. (laughs) You seem to be able to take a step back and take an objective look at yourself.

YOUNGJAE: You’re right. I think objective self-reflection is crucial and I do my best to follow through on that. And, consequently, I feel like I have to have a clear understanding of what I need to work on for the sake of self-improvement. It requires being able to quickly pick up on and understand a situation, but that’s not easy. With the debut right on the horizon, I’m always worried about disappointing the fans and whether or not I’ll be good enough. But when those thoughts come to me, I tell myself that it’s a sign I want to be even better than I am now, and I do my best to turn those worries into action. There’s no use of over-worrying, and I think it’s something I have to push through in order to get over the hump.

You said you put on some music and read to destress. Does it also help you gather your thoughts and reflect?

YOUNGJAE: Yes. Even if it’s just for a minute, I’ll focus entirely on the music and get my thoughts together. When I’m alone, I listen to a lot of soft indie songs and ballads. I usually read a lot, but haven’t had much time for it lately. But I’m currently reading The Fault in Our Stars, the book that was later made into a movie. It’s about a girl with terminal cancer who doesn’t want to go to her church group anymore, but would rather stay home and watch TV. But then she meets this boy, and they want to have a more meaningful relationship, so they start sharing stories and growing together.

Literature really is a gateway to a wider world. I saw you also put traveling the world and living in the USA for a month on your bucket list.

YOUNGJAE: I’m really, really hungry for new experiences. (laughs) I want to grasp the ways of the world as quickly as I can. I’m always thinking about how to live my life so I can truly live as who I really am. I would love to travel the world someday when I have the time. I want to understand different countries’ cultures and make some memories I can hold onto for the rest of my life.

That explains why you were drawn to being an idol: the opportunity to go all around the world. You tend to be reserved when you’re not performing, but you come across as very confident in “Oh Mymy : 7s,” capturing the song’s main message in the line, “7 seconds is enough.”

YOUNGJAE: I’m usually pretty awkward about expressing myself, but my confidence surges after a lot of practice. But when it comes to performing, I feel like you have to let your guard down and fully express yourself. “Oh Mymy : 7s” captures the spirit and passion that all new idols have, so I tried out many different things. I tried being charismatic, cute, upbeat … In the end, I decided a relaxed, confident look fit the song the best.

Another song off the album, “first hooky,” is about an introvert’s foray into an extrovert’s world. Your pop-song vocals play an important part in the feel of the song, bringing out the chorus, the ad-libbing, and the climax.

YOUNGJAE: The members of our group are all dedicated and are diligent about practicing on their own time. So I thought, if this song’s going to be perfect, I have to really nail it, so I got down to practicing. When it comes to singing, I think mastering the essentials is the most important part. There’s a lot to it, like your breathing technique, your pitch, the rhythm, little details, mood, emotion, and so on. All of that, when perfected, really comes together and shows you just how good someone is. There’s a ton going on in “BFF,” too. I had to concentrate hard on the pitch, rhythm, and emotion for every line while recording. I still remember how much heart and soul I put into it. Dancing is the same. The fundamentals are crucial when it comes to dancing, but there’s no such thing as mastering them all.

So essentially what you’re saying is, you take everything into consideration. Has anyone ever called you a perfectionist? (laughs)

YOUNGJAE: I do strive for perfection when it comes to singing and dancing, but compared to other artists who have been around longer, I’m not a perfectionist at all. Some people are 10 times more detailed than I am. Seeing them makes me realize how far I still have to go. It might be impossible to be perfect, but I’ll keep practicing to get closer to it.

So even though nothing goes to plan in first encounters, you nonetheless prepare as much as possible.

YOUNGJAE: Exactly. I practiced smiling a lot for “plot twist.” I had to be able to both put a cheerful smile on my face and show that I’m upset about things not going as planned. I tried smiling with the corners of my mouth, showing it with my eyes, having it quickly melt from my face, and so on, because I wanted to hear fans say I look attractive when I smile. My smile muscles got a really good workout. (laughs) I’m better at smiling for real now.

In TWS: Think About Us! you wrote that you want fans to see you as an “unwaveringly consistent and trustworthy person.”

YOUNGJAE: I value ethics and I think that manners are important. That’s why I hope the people closest to me and who like me will find me trustworthy. I want to be a good influence on those around me and a consistently loving person.

You wrote in your graduation yearbook, “My dream is to become a respected, influential artist and entertainer”—and that’s exactly what you’ve become.

YOUNGJAE: I sounded even more mature when I was younger than I do now. (laughs) So many people have helped me get to where I am today. My father came with me all the way from Gimhae to Seoul for my audition, and one of my high school teachers gave me vitamins and snacks to cheer me up when I had to go to school early in the morning on busy days. And all the heartfelt fan letters I’ve received on Weverse have given me strength. I tell myself that I should never forget how thankful I am for all of these people. And I want to believe in myself. That way I’ll be able to do even better in the future.