SUNGHOON is like a blank canvas, embracing every color that splashes across the empty white space. And he mentions several times how much he likes the colors he’s been painted in, and the picture he’s been painting, since his debut.

Your face shows up everywhere in drugstores these days. (laughs) You’re currently a model and ambassador for a number of beauty brands.
SUNGHOON: I was fascinated to hear ENGENE and my acquaintances saying my picture’s all over drugstores. There’s even a gigantic picture of me in Seongsu-dong. Now I know for certain that I’m a celebrity. (laughs) It’s actually not easy becoming a brand ambassador or model, so I’m extremely thankful to ENGENE for being the reason I can do all these things. This was an opportunity I was fortunate to have, and I plan to keep working even harder.

It’s also the result of all your hard work, of course. You always work hard to keep yourself in shape and keep your hair, clothes, and makeup perfect.
SUNGHOON: I think basic upkeep is important, so I always try to present a neat and tidy image. I take care of my skin and exercise regularly, but these days, I’m trying to be less perfect and have a more natural, casual style, too. I don’t want people to think I’m overly flawless when they see me. I want to have a laid-back image, too—not that I’ll ever look flawed. (laughs)

You seem to have shifted to more vintage and trendy looks.
SUNGHOON: Right. It feels like I’m moving more in the trendy direction lately though. I bought a lot of clothes with patterns on them, which I wouldn’t normally wear, and a lot of trendy outfits, too. I’ve been wearing military cargo pants a lot lately. Everybody seems to be wearing them these days, so I figured I’d give it a shot too. (laughs) I like them because they make you look rugged.

It seems like you’re into glasses and sunglasses, too.
SUNGHOON: ENGENE loves it whenever I wear glasses. I go out vintage shopping when I have time and now I have around 20 pairs. I’m always looking for new ones since they really add to a look. Horn-rimmed glasses make you look smart and give off a bit of a nerdy vibe, while silver frames and rimless glasses have more of a sexy vibe? And sunglasses are just plain cool! (laughs)

You aim for perfection in both your appearance and your performances. Perfectionists consistently strive for excellence, but we understand that achieving absolute perfection is a rare feat. Have you ever felt that you've truly attained perfection?
SUNGHOON: To be perfectly honest, I’ve never felt like I did something perfectly. What you just said is absolutely true—I always try my best to approach perfection in any given situation. I feel like I’m still a long way off from what I’d consider to be perfect.

You strive for perfection but don’t seem obsessed by the idea of it. There was a minor incident with the lift at Weverse Con Festival, and you just said, “It was too bad that happened, but there’s nothing we can do about it. It is already behind us.”
SUNGHOON: Actually… I’m not the kind of person who can just stop thinking about things that already happened. (laughs) So I try and tell myself “it’s in the past, there’s nothing you can do” a lot. And there’s something fun about something unexpected happening, like the incident during “She Was Pretty” at Weverse con festival, and overcoming it.

What was one thing you worked particularly hard to perfect or feel confident about on the new album, ROMANCE: UNTOLD -daydream-?
SUNGHOON: For me, it’s dancing. I think the highlight of the single “No Doubt” is when we dance with our hands in our back pockets during the hook, which restricted our movement. And since our backs are turned for most of that, our faces aren’t really visible. I spent a lot of time thinking about what I could do to captivate ENGENE and general audiences in the brief moments I’m facing forward. Finding a killer angle that looks as hot as possible? (laughs)

It feels like the entire song “Daydream” is whispered. You must’ve had to work hard to sing with an airy voice like that.
SUNGHOON: It was my first time singing a song like that. It was hard and a little bit frustrating since you need to sing a bit forcefully for a hip hop song but I had to basically be whispering at the same time so I couldn’t be too loud. I didn’t have to hit any specific notes for this song, so I just tried to really get into the hip hop rhythm. I never used to feel confident with hip hop, but I liked the final product when I heard it.

I heard you experiment a lot to find your own vocal style.
SUNGHOON: I think my vocals sound very “clear,” and it’s something unique I can bring to the table. You can especially hear it when I sing in falsetto, and that’s exactly what I did on the single “No Doubt.” I actually never used to like how I sound when I sing high notes like that, but this time the part I sang was a good match for my voice, which was nice.

Both the single “No Doubt” and the track “Daydream” are about how absence makes the heart grow fonder. It’s similar to the relationship between fans and artists, where they love each other but also spend time apart, and at other times don’t know what the other’s up to.
SUNGHOON: I think so too. You can easily substitute the relationship between ENGENE and ENHYPEN into those songs. It seems like it’s about two people in love, but who I was really thinking about while practicing it was ENGENE. I hope ENGENE feels the same way when they’re listening. (laughs)

When do you need ENGENE the most?
SUNGHOON: I always need ENGENE, but especially when I’m performing. When I do a performance that’s exclusively for ENGENE, I’m not showing them a refined version of me but my everything. I can show them my less-than-perfect aspects, and it’s way more chill talking to them—like talking to a friend. ENGENE fills me with as much strength when I see them as I do when they see me. If either of us ever disappeared, the whole thing would fall apart. We’re so important to one another, and a lot of what’s possible for us is only possible because we’re together.

The song “Highway 1009” off your second studio album is dedicated to your fans. What were you trying to say with the lyrics you wrote?
SUNGHOON: When I wrote those lyrics, I imagined going on a journey down an endless road with ENGENE. The words flowed right out of me—maybe because I was being so open with my feelings. I wrote the line, “Promise you’ll hold on tighter,” and some before and after that line, too. My version went, “I’ll meet you again under our destiny / Promise you’ll hold on tighter / So nothing will ever keep us apart again.” I thought it was well written and I said I wanted to show it to ENGENE, but looking at it now, I’m not so sure. (laughs)

It’s clear when watching Weverse LIVE that you’ve developed an even closer bond with ENGENE. In an interview with Esquire, you said, “I don’t have much to do besides work, so I do LIVEs just to hang out.” So interacting with your fans doesn’t feel like “work,” then?
SUNGHOON: It seriously never feels like work. Nobody tells me to do it—I do it because I want to. When I go on Weverse LIVE, I get to see what ENGENE says and share my thoughts. It’s as simple as that, and I love it. Having said that, since there’s so many people watching from all around the world, I am careful to avoid saying anything that could hurt even one person.

Speaking of your LIVEs, ENGENE says you’re unintentionally funny. You also post a lot of somewhat quirky videos on TikTok. (laughs)
SUNGHOON: What I’m going for on TikTok is basically to be silly. (laughs) I’m not into doing any of the stuff you’d expect. I have to do things I find a little funny and amusing so ENGENE can genuinely enjoy them.  It’s the same with the 02z: If I see something decent on TikTok, I would suggest it to the others, then every single one of them gets on board. I was the one who suggested the “Attack on Bangtan” video. The composition and the timing for moving out of the frame just popped into my head. (laughs) I don’t know that I’m really trying to be funny, though… I think that side only comes out when I’m with the rest of the group.

The calligraphy photos you’ve posted of phrases like, “Let’s hope everything comes up roses,” and, “You’re special,” make fans laugh.
SUNGHOON: I started doing those hoping it would make the fans laugh at least a little bit, and they really did, so I do more now and then. Seeing words like that gives people positive emotions, and while for some it might just be funny, for others, it could be truly uplifting. I think calligraphy has become a part of my identity now. It’s even come up in other videos, like how I was part of the calligraphy club in EN-DRAMA.

During your closing remarks at the FATE PLUS concert in Seoul, you said, “ENGENE, you’re the only one that’s ever made me cry.” That shows how close you’ve become with ENGENE, considering you once said you’re not good at expressing your emotions.
SUNGHOON: I think when it comes to ENGENE, I’ve really opened up. I think we’re close enough now that we can open up to each other like that. Since I’m not someone who cries easily, even the other members didn’t know at first whether I was actually crying or just joking. (laughs) But I could really tell how concerned they were for me onstage. We’ve been together long enough that we know how each other’s feeling without having to say much.

What moved you to tears like that?
SUNGHOON: I’m the type to let it out all at once, and it’d been a long time since I last cried. There’s little hard moments all throughout the work we do, and those small things slowly piled up until they hit me all at once. I was doing my closing remarks and felt like, “Well, I’ve made it this far,” and then suddenly felt emotional. I felt a lot better after that cry. It’s a bit embarrassing since so many people saw the video of me crying, though. (laughs)

I remember you said, “I feel like I still don’t know myself all that well,” during your closing remarks.
SUNGHOON: It’s hard for anyone to look at themselves objectively from an outsider’s perspective, but I feel like I’m getting to know who I really am through my career. My personality and emotions will keep on changing, and ENGENE always watches out for me and lets me know about that. ENGENE helps me to know who I am.

What do you think of Park Sunghoon these days?
SUNGHOON: In the past, I saw myself as this really quiet person who lacks confidence. I wanted to break free of that. I’m a lot more confident these days and I’m working hard to keep it that way. These days I see myself as someone who chases perfection and doesn’t like when things get complicated, but I feel like I do complicated things, somehow. (laughs)

When you say you do complicated things, it sounds to me like that you don’t take shortcuts.
SUNGHOON: Right. I don’t want to be taking shortcuts. I feel like I always do things the proper way and with integrity. And I like that about myself.

You’re now entering your fifth year since your debut. In the whole time from your I-LAND days and up until and including now, you seem to have consistently put on good performances and kept yourself healthy.
SUNGHOON: I think it was unconsciously in my bones from being a former athlete. You can’t be an athlete for very long if you’re inconsistent. I need to express it more when things get tough, though. But I feel like I’m not very good at doing that, so I’m making an effort to express myself more these days.

So crying during the concert was part of that?
SUNGHOON: Exactly. I probably could’ve held it in, but… No, I doubt I would’ve been able to stop those tears. (laughs)

I see you as something of a blank canvas. As time’s gone on, you’ve been painted with more and more colors. You’ve become closer to and more affectionate with your fans, you express your emotions more, and you’re gone from a smooth dancer to one who can now nail high-intensity K-pop moves.
SUNGHOON: I love it. Being like a blank canvas means I can keep growing and showing different sides to me. I’ll keep painting myself with different colors, and even though I might make mistakes here and there as the painting forms over time, I won’t erase them—I’ll just incorporate them in different ways into my picture. I used to be really hard on myself and find faults only in myself. I’d tell myself it’s because I’m no good. Now, I’m trying to be more forgiving with myself and look at the bigger picture.

You are a perfectionist, but you’re also self-affirming.
SUNGHOON: There are places I can stand to improve and evolve, but I don’t want to lose the original me, either. I want to keep showing that off. I want to be flexible and make a move according to my circumstances. I don’t want to become someone else—I want to keep at it like I am now, adding my own unique colors and giving people what I consider to be the ideal version of me. If nothing else, I want to be cooler. (laughs) I feel like, as an artist, I need to bump up my skill level where singing and dancing is concerned. And I need to be more emotionally strong, too. No big drastic changes—just taking who I am now and reaching a level or two higher should do it.