In the grand movie that is life, SUNOO is writing his own story—hoping for an ending where he discovers a better version of himself, regardless of any bumps along the way in his journey.
You talked on Weverse about how you got ISTJ (logistician) on an MBTI test, the exact opposite of ENFP (campaigner), the type you usually get.
SUNOO: It feels like that was a brief glitch. I’ve definitely changed, but I don’t think I’m an ISTJ. (laughs) I guess the other members must’ve had an influence on me, since they’re all Ts. (laughs)
Not that MBTI tests are a perfect reflection of personality changes, but have you noticed any?
SUNOO: I used to juggle so many thoughts at once, but now I just focus on what’s right in front of me. When I have places to be, that’s the only thing I’m thinking about. Seems I’ve definitely matured a bit? (laughs) I was already slowly changing before, but now I’ve fully embraced it. And I used to have to try and have a brighter personality, but these days it’s not like that.
Is there a reason you changed like that?
SUNOO: My whole image used to be this really cheerful person, so I felt like I always had to be smiling, but now that I’m so much closer with ENGENE, I feel like it’s okay to show the real me. I talk with ENGENE just like a friend these days, and they seem to like that laid-back version of me, too, so I feel relaxed. (laughs)
I was impressed by the detail you went into for ENGENE on Weverse about recommendations for late-night snacks and how best to enjoy them. (laughs)
SUNOO: I just suggest whatever’s calling me each time—whatever I’m craving in the moment. I’m busy during the day, so if I eat something heavy at night, it can come back to haunt me the next day. I always recommend something tasty for them to eat. I don’t know if they actually follow my recommendations, but I feel so happy whenever ENGENE says, “Thank you, SUNOO!” They say I really know my food, too. (laughs)
That’s real love right there—recommending the best for ENGENE even at times when you can’t eat it yourself.
SUNOO: When you have a job like this, you have no choice but to really take care of yourself, and I’ve found ways that are healthier and better for me. If I eat something spicy, I always make sure to eat light the next day, and I’m extra careful on days when I have something important. I still let myself indulge in cravings from time to time. (laughs)
I noticed from when your room was shown on the MBC show Omniscient Interfering View that you seem to be health-conscious.
SUNOO: I started taking vitamins and supplements somewhere around the end of last year and the start of this year. It hasn’t been that long. I’ve tried taking a number of different things to figure out what’s best for me. I even studied up about the immune system. I want to hold onto my good looks and stay in shape as time goes by, so I figured I’d better start young, and that’s why I’ve been quite diligent in that regard. (laughs) I’ve definitely noticed an improvement to my energy levels and overall health. It never hurts to be consistent with something. (laughs)
What do you usually do when you’re in your room? You mentioned in a Vogue interview that you find motivation in “everyday pleasures.”
SUNOO: When I’m in my room, I usually put on some chill music for starters. Then I sit on my bed or lean back, turn on a lamp, and just stare at it. That’s enough to make me feel really good. I have a nighttime routine, too: I take a shower, put a sheet mask on my face, get my legs in a calf massager, then sit there and watch a drama or movie. (laughs) That’s all it takes to make me really happy. It’s a way of wrapping up the day, you know? I think it’s important for me to discover what the small things that make me happy because I feel I need to be happy before I can make others around me happy. I’d like to find even more things like that.
You got many recommendations on Weverse from ENGENE for movies and TV shows, though you’d already seen a lot of them. One of them was Culinary Class Wars on Netflix, which you have a connection to because it featured “Goddess of Chinese Cuisine” Park Eun-young with whom you’ve appeared on the EBS series The best cooking secrets.
SUNOO: To be honest, I didn’t even put that together at first, since we filmed that quite a long time ago. ENGENE posted clips of me from The best cooking secrets later on, and I was like, “Oh yeah!” I couldn’t believe it. (laughs) Chef Park Eun-young was so kind during that shoot. But even when I didn’t recognize her, I kept rooting for her and chef Jung Ji Sun. When the two went head to head, I thought, I hope at least one of them makes it to the finals. I remember thinking how hard they must’ve worked to get there. At the end of the day, they’re both amazing chefs. Their ideas and the dishes they made were so amazing that I couldn’t help but root for them.
What do you get out of watching so many different TV shows and movies? I recall you related to the way Riley grows up in Inside Out 2, for instance.
SUNOO: I love how I’m living my life now, but I always wonder what it’d be like to live a completely different life, just once. When I’m getting off work for the day, sometimes I look at people and think, I wonder what their life’s like? Inside Out 2 was just like what happened between me and my friends from school when I became a trainee. Riley goes to hockey camp and clashes with her friends, and when I started training, I couldn’t be with my friends every day anymore, and sometimes we fought. I’m on good terms with most of them now, but I lost touch with one. When I look back now, we could’ve gotten along just fine, but we were young back then and didn’t know any better. If I ever had the chance to, I’d like to see them again. I’m really curious how they’re doing.
If you could go back, what would you do instead?
SUNOO: I would respect any differences we had and maintain an appropriate distance to hold onto the friendship. I think that’s better for everyone and makes for a better relationship. I’m really warm up to people easily, so once someone’s on my social radar, I try and make it work with them, even if we’re not a perfect match. The closer you get with someone, though, the easier it is to read too much meaning into their words or become overly sensitive, and that can lead to hurt feelings.
It seems like you’re always trying to take a step back and take a grounded look at yourself.
SUNOO: I’m pretty quick to own up to things. (laughs) I think I’m good at being objective. If I can see something’s off, I mostly just acknowledge it right away. I mean, it’s more beneficial to me to quickly get rid of the bad stuff and latch onto the good stuff.
Do you think that’s made possible by your extremely high standards for yourself?
SUNOO: Probably. (laughs) I didn’t think so at first, but it probably seemed that way to other people. But I really like how things are right now. It was tough getting to this point, honestly. But adversity always leads to growth. It’s the same with practicing. To really master dance moves, you have to practice them, and that’s hard. But it’s how you improve. Things didn’t work out at first a lot of the time. But I still just kept on practicing. If you keep practicing, eventually, it all works out. It’s fascinating. (laughs) And it only seems natural to me. “No pain, no gain.”
I remember at the WALK THE LINE concert in Goyang that you looked a little tired for a moment but then lit up instantly when “XO (Only If You Say Yes)” started.
SUNOO: That was not easy. (laughs) I find it pretty fascinating, too. When I’m onstage, I just get totally immersed in it. I’m only human, and sometimes I get tired before a performance or something makes me feel bad, but I have to be full of energy onstage no matter what. But dealing with the emotions that arise from all the thoughts in my head can actually help me put on a good face sometimes.
When I see you perform “XO (Only If You Say Yes),” the song really brings your bright personality and your talents to light.
SUNOO: I’ve tried a lot of different facial expressions, and I find a real big smile looks better onscreen than just a little one. So my thought is, if I’m going to smile, I’ll really smile. And when I thought of the direction the song could take, I thought how, if I were dating someone, I’d want to show them the bright, positive side of me and be happy together. That’s why I winked and put on that big smile. It felt really good doing that. (laughs)
You have a vocal duet with JAY in the pre-chorus of the repackaged album’s lead single, “No Doubt,” and the way his tough vocals contrast with your delicate ones makes the song even better.
SUNOO: I could’ve sung as tough as JAY, but for that song, I decided to focus on bringing out what I’m good at instead. For the recording, I moved in a direction that was softer, which I consider my specialty. In this line of work, sometimes even the things you think you’re good can come across as nothing special. I think it’s better to play to your strengths. And if you work on what you’re not as good at, it’ll eventually become another one of your strengths.
What was it like rehearsing the choreography for “No Doubt” with the other members of the group? Since the dance is all about feeling the rhythm, it must have been challenging to nail down every little detail together.
SUNOO: It was a little hard. There’s a lot of steps, and perfecting every little detail as a group was a bit challenging. (laughs) But it takes us less and less time to pick up choreo each time we put out a new album. We need to put on better performances the more experience we get, and our performance director agrees, so we upgrade ourselves for each album. And there’s something especially unique about our practice sessions. (laughs) We mess around a lot. The others always goof around when I’m practicing. Then eventually we’re like, Okay, we really need to get serious now, and then we all really get into it together, which ensures we reach a high level of quality. It feels really empty in there if even one person’s missing during practice. We need the group to be all together so we can practice properly and have fun while doing it. We put a lot of effort into getting ready for this album, and ENGENE’s going to be able to see that. I hope they can sense exactly what went into it.
The emotional course “No Doubt” follows, about anxiety acting as a push towards confidence, seems to mirror the relationship that exists between artists and fans.
SUNOO: I think that’s exactly it—finding confidence through anxiety. We can’t always be with ENGENE, and realistically, there could come a day when they won’t be able to be with us either, but I choose not to think about that. When it comes to ENGENE or anyone else I hold dear, having faith in them and in the present is best for me as well as for them, I think. I think that helps us maintain a good connection.
In an interview you had with weverse magazine back in 2021, you seemed to be trying to figure out what kind of person you should be. Do you feel more confident about that now than back then?
SUNOO: I’ve definitely changed. (laughs) I used to be hypersensitive and worrying about too many things, but now I’m focused on myself. I figured out that, when you focus on yourself and work hard, other issues mostly take care of themselves. You can use being sensitive to your advantage in some jobs, and I think this is one of them. It helps me review my work and check over every little detail. And now I know what situations will trigger me, so I’m pretty good at controlling it. For example, other than when I’m not feeling well, nothing really sets me off lately, so I just make sure that I’m feeling well beforehand.
In your fan dedication song “Highway 1009,” you wrote the words, “So I can get back up even when I’m sick and tired.” They seem to echo the way you manage to overcome every challenge.
SUNOO: You’re right. I’ve always been like that. (laughs) I thought about what ENGENE means to me. No matter how tired, or worn down, or how close to collapsing I am, when I see ENGENE, I can’t help but stand back up—that’s what I came up with. When I wrote those lyrics, the image in my head was me rising up on a platform during the FATE tour while ENGENE lit up the venue. That was such a beautiful moment. It made me think about how happy I am to have made it all this way.
It sounds like you’re always dreaming of a better future and of happy times.
SUNOO: Yes. I really hope my future is a happy one. And I’m happy these days. (laughs) I have plenty of concerns, obviously, but when I look at life through a wider lens, everyone faces some kind of issues in life. I doubt they’re a big enough deal to throw my life off track. If I keep trying my best, good things will happen—that’s how I live my life. Most movies and dramas are about imperfect people who finally become complete. Because things are meant to be complete in the end.