Jisun described “DM,” the lead single of fromis_9’s new album Midnight Guest, as “upbeat but emotional.” The same could be said about the way she spoke. 

2022 Weverse Con was the first time you’d performed in front of a large audience in a long while. 

Jisun: It’s been a really long time since I went through that whole process. There’s all those people, and the day itself was hectic, and it’s been a long time since I was in that situation so it almost felt new. I even had this urge to do well on stage. And I was nervous because I hadn’t been to a crowded venue like that in so long.

2021 must have been an eventful year for you, like performing on the final day of the year and winning first place on a music show. What are your thoughts on 2021? 

Jisun: Ever since we won first place, I keep thinking more and more about using our win as a turning point. I thought I can’t just let this first place pass me by—I have to be more responsible—and also that I really want to improve my own skills. Because I don’t want to embarrass myself. It’s not that I’m in any sort of hurry, though—it just made me wonder what would be the sensible course of action and how I can love myself efficiently.

What does that mean—to love efficiently?

Jisun: I find myself always talking about efficiency. I thought, This is the busiest time of my life. How can I spend it efficiently? If I want to spend it efficiently, what choices will I have to make to be sure I don’t have any regrets? So I thought I should keep on keeping track of efficiency.

Is that also why the number and types of interests you have keep increasing? You were known for being an idol who cooks well when you first debuted but now you also do ASMR and variety shows.

Jisun: When we first debuted, I thought I couldn’t do any one thing that well, but I looked at it differently and realized there actually are some things I’m good at and I should just show those off and not worry about it. I ended up thinking, I’m not usually good on variety shows, so I’ll try it on my own terms instead. Maybe some people will like that. Rather than feeling certain about something and not doing anything, I like to examine the situation and plan things out. I think I changed like that when I realized I can’t be perfect.

Oh, right—you started learning how to make sashimi after watching people eat it on KBS’ Two Days and One Night, didn’t you? You used to be the type that prepares thoroughly for things you want to do.

Jisun: That was another intense obsession of mine. It was like, Why isn’t this working? Why isn’t it the way I wanted? Sometimes I got stressed out when the day wasn’t going according to schedule and I would think, Why does it have to be like this? But I was the only one who seemed to get angry whenever things weren’t going as planned. So being angry wasn’t helping me at all, and there was nothing I could change in those situations, so I thought changing the way I think would be better and faster.

But it seems to me there are things that you won’t compromise on when it comes to things you think you have to do. For example, while you were doing your ASMR with the sound of breaking dalgona, you specifically brought it from the exact same store where the dalgona in Squid Game was from.

Jisun: I know it doesn’t make a big difference, honestly. I know most people don’t even know where that dalgona was made, but I feel like I need to do my best on things that I can control. There’s actually been many times where I couldn’t do my best and I ended up regretting it.

I remember how, when you were on the YouTube channel MMTG during their 24-hour special, you talked about how people who watch your ASMR videos all want different things and the way you try to accommodate that. How do you take into account all those people’s comments?

Jisun: It’s been a while since I started my ASMR content, but when I first did it there would be people who wanted B when I did A, and if I did B, there’d be people who wanted A again. At first I mainly tried to concentrate on the most popular requests but I realized I couldn’t accommodate all of them. I guess then I thought it would be okay if I only took some of their ideas into account and didn’t go overboard with it.

 

Did that work?

Jisun: I didn’t think it would work at first, to be honest, but I kept changing my mind about it and finally thought, Whatever, not everyone will share my feelings anyway.

Not only did your personality change, but fromis_9 changed a lot, too. How do you feel about the transformation the group’s undergone since you debuted with the song “To Heart”?

Jisun: Well, actually, I’ve binge-watched all of our music videos from our debut till now before. I used to think we changed really quickly, but after watching from the beginning I realized it’s been as slow and as natural as flowing water. Not only has our concept changed, it felt like it changed alongside us growing older, so I thought people who follow us might feel proud instead of thinking, Why did they do that? I guess we really were the kind of idols who grow. (laughs)

 

So you kept your promise.

Jisun: I thought that too. Yeah, we kept our promise. (laughs)

 

So, Jiheon graduated from high school. This album ended up sounding different, too. How did you feel about the changes?

Jisun: It was nice and easy. I thought I should reveal more of myself, but in a way people can see it. I feel freed from the idea that I have to change myself to fit into the songs. There’s something more comfortable about the styling as well as the vocals, facial expressions and choreography in these performances.

 

It would’ve been hard to imagine when you debuted that you’d later be singing with the almost listless vocals you have in the second verse of “DM.” Would you say it’s the song that came naturally to you?

Jisun: The big reason for that was that I started taking vocal lessons again in earnest after our first-place win. I thought, I should have a more mature image from now on. If that’s the case, I should foster my instrument a little better. I used to work hard on my vocals too, but I thought it would be better if my voice sounded a little more relaxed and mature from now on. Even when I first got the song, instead of just sounding cheerful and happy, I thought it would be good to sing it cheerfully but also with a hint of nonchalance. I thought I could bring out that subtle—that bright but emotional—atmosphere of the song that way.

 

What do you think made you feel that way?

Jisun: I wasn’t satisfied with my work all the time, but I kept repeating to myself, Try hard, try hard—then we got number one, and that’s what pushed me to think I need to stop just talking and start acting. I realized I should just get help where I need it and put the effort in. I feel like “DM” is the right song for us right now: The song is more expressive and the lyrics are more forward, but I think there’s more to its emotions than just happiness. I’m just at the halfway point of my twenties and I don’t think they’re all they’re made out to be. Nothing is certain, there’s little sources of anxiety, but you’re bursting with emotions. I think that progression of feelings is why the emotions in the song feel subtle the way they do.

 

It feels like those changes are reflected in the choreography as well. The choreography for “Escape Room” is especially different compared to previous fromis_9 songs. There’s a lot of body waving in it. You flit around in “DM,” too, but there’s moves in “Escape Room” where you brush your hair back.

Jisun: It took a long time to make “Escape Room.” I think it took a while to find a way to make the style my own because they were movements I don’t normally do. I think having new dance moves led me to acquire new skills. I can show more diversity with that change, so it made me feel like I need to nail this.

 

That’s like the “I’m not joking / I want it all” part of “DM.” Somehow I feel that’s the way you really feel.

Jisun: You’re not wrong. I want more and more. I’m trying to be serious here. (laughs)

You’ve had five ambitious years so far. How were they?

Jisun: I started to work out during the hiatus. My body was the only thing I could change through sheer willpower. I liked how my gains perfectly reflected the amount of effort I put in, so I exercised a ton, and the other members helped calm me down when things weren’t going my way. I assume the other members had their own problems, but I think we comforted each other as much as we could. I think we got by constantly looking out for one another.

 

What allows the whole group to press on united with such consistency? You do a lot of videos for V LIVE and YouTube, too. And then people become fans and fervently promote the group. Lots of people are working to spread the word about fromis_9 on YouTube and across online communities.

Jisun: I thought we should have as much of a presence as possible. And we can’t know for sure how flover feels, but we know they’re always waiting for us even though they can’t know about us as much as they want. I felt we needed to support flover properly, too. We each thought about what we could do and uploaded pictures when we couldn’t do anything special. flover says they’re getting older with us, but I couldn’t know whether they’d really always be there for us. But they have been, and I feel so grateful for that. Now, whenever we show up, they say, Our girls are back—take a look! And I’m grateful all over again. It makes me realize they’re there for us as much as we’re there for them.

 

You’re at the point where you receive endless questions from fans on V LIVE and other platforms, but do you have any questions for your fans?

Jisun: “What can I do to put on a better performance?” Whenever I do something online with flover, there’s posts from them asking, “Do you have any questions for us, Jisun?” What I wonder most is how I can give flover exactly what they want. It feels like, if I can do that, I’ll feel even more proud to be a member of fromis_9.

 

You have a lot of affection for the group.

Jisun: To be honest, the nine of us have very different personalities. I can tell we’re all really, really different. When we first debuted, I thought it was lucky we could all be together like this. I still feel that way to this day, and even though we’re nine very different people, we’re still looking forward as a team together. Yeah—you’re different, I’m different—we’re all different. But that’s us.

 

You’ve said before that your incidental memories make you happy. Do you have any memories that keep you happy these days?

Jisun: So—all the members have family, and relatives, right? Even now, when somebody sends food or something to one of the members, we really like to share it. We say, “Something came for me—let’s eat it together!” a lot, like we’re friends who live next door.

 

You gave a tour of your home on your YouTube show, Channel_9. I remember you talked about the things you eat for a long time.

Jisun: Our members like to eat together and post about it. We’re all really serious when it comes to food. So somehow we ended up talking endlessly about it because of that, like a big family coming together for the holidays.

 

When you were on MMTG doing ASMR mukbang it was really mouthwatering. What do you do when you get hungry at night, given you’re a performer and need to dance on stage?

Jisun: It used to be really hard to resist when we were all together, to be honest. If tteokbokki were to appear in front of me right here, right now, I don’t know if I could hold back.

 

It's hard, isn’t it?

Jisun: But now I’ve learned to restrain myself if I have a photoshoot or something to film the next day. I know what I’m supposed to look like the next day and my responsibility toward it, so I exercise a little self-control. If I do happen to eat late, I usually shake it off the next morning with some cardio, for example.

 

What do you usually eat for a late-night snack?

Jisun: When I’m alone and can’t sleep because I’m hungry, I eat celery. I really like the way it smells, so because it has a strong, distinct smell and texture, it still works to relieve my hunger even though it doesn’t have a very bold taste. So now I’m like a celery-eating panda. And I know I need time to digest if I eat late, so I make sure to take care of my health. I don’t want to have to do something the next day feeling bloated, so I try to control myself now.

 

I guess that’s just what happens after five years living as an idol.

Jisun: I guess so. It just happens. (laughs)

How do you feel about where you’ve ended up as a member of fromis_9 all these years after you did your first performance at MAMA in 2017?

Jisun: When I look back at when I was 20, there seemed to be a lot of things I felt anxious about. Now I wonder why I was ever like that. I felt like I had to hurry up and achieve something. I was nervous and unsure about everything. When I look now, I can see on my face that I feel awkward, even when I’m laughing. I can see that, even though I was laughing, I didn't look like I was laughing for real to me. But anyway, when I see 20-year-old me, it makes me realize I did what I could with the time that was given to me.

 

During the first Promise Event, when you were asked to say something to yourself, you said, “I hope you gain more confidence and enjoy things a little more. This is only the beginning, so I hope you slowly rise up.” Is there anything you want to say now?

Jisun: To myself, right now? “There’s been a lot of changes and I think I’m sculpting myself into a better person, and I've grown up a lot, but I hope I can be a little more persistent, whatever I do.” The reason I thought I couldn’t do any one thing that well at first was because I quit too easily when I felt like I had a vague sense of how to do it. So now I’d like to be a bit more ambitious. I keep planning and pushing ahead with things but I don’t have a burning passion for anything, so I hope I can change that a little.