COSMOPOLITAN Korea April 2021 - SEVENTEEN Mingyu Cut

 

Q. Mingyu kept saying 'I think my face changed a bit' while looking at his own photos.

MINGYU: It must be because I lost weight, but it felt unfamiliar/strange to see my image on the monitor. It's a tiny difference that only I can see. Haha. Anyhow, it came out very cool so that’s enough for me. 

 

Q. How did it feel when you personally get to try and plan everything for the shoot by yourself?

MINGYU: While preparing for GOING Magazine, it was a time to feel the agony/pain of editors. From setting the overall concept, there was really a lot to prepare even before the photo shoot, then as you go to the latter part of the project(post-production), there are even more decision processes to make such as thinking of the image layouts, making the font, etc. It wasn't easy, but it makes me proud of the fact that the 13 of us made one volume of a photobook together. 

WONWOO: Two years ago, I filmed and edited a music video for a sidetrack from our album with Mingyu. Compared to that, GOING Magazine was a time where we were able to fully realize the images we imagined and made more progress. Also, that it was what everyone in SEVENTEEN thought hard about and created is meaningful itself. 

 

Q. GOING SEVENTEEN was able to accumulate more than 100 million views, and is popular enough that each episode appears on the (Youtube) Trending videos. Although the number of views alone already proves this, do you realize the popularity of GOING SEVENTEEN and the recognition of SEVENTEEN’s value? 

MINGYU: The GOING SEVENTEEN production staff are able to save/edit even the unfunny parts and make it really funny. They have a great grasp of our personalities, so they are also able to put those tiny/minor¹ subtitles that suit each member.

 

Q. There were a lot of times where Mingyu, who is known among the members as a ‘Too Much Talker’, gets edited out while talking.

MINGYU: I do talk a lot, but partially speaking then getting edited off was an intentional concept. Haha.

WONWOO: If you start talking it gets cut right away. 

JEONGHAN: It’s a character that gets chased for no reason. But still, it's really fun because Mingyu's there. The audio always gets filled seamlessly too. 

 

Q.  It’s been mentioned not just by Carats, but also among other idol’s fans that SEVENTEEN is a group where the 13 members are all funny.

MINGYU: But while filming, there were a lot of times when we asked the producers 'Is it okay even if this isn't funny? Is there anything you can use for the episode?’

JEONGHAN: Right. That's the Carnival episode of GOING SEVENTEEN 2020. 

 

Q. We’re already looking forward to GOING SEVENTEEN 2021. Can you share any spoiler or TMI for the next season?

JEONGHAN: Recently, we—

MINGYU: Are you really going to spoil it? Comprehensively/generally speaking, the scale has become really large. Even larger than the last season.

 

Q. At some point, the words ‘self-produced’ naturally followed SEVENTEEN’s group name. As both your self-produced albums and contents are all receiving attention, I think there must be unending considerations/thoughts during the planning stages.

MINGYU: We need to meet our own expectations no matter what, and in order to create something beyond those expectations, I think we have no choice but to pay more attention (to these). In our album, performance, and music, the members all think about it with the sense and weight of responsibility. As for producing our own contents or working on videos/images, we’re just getting to know these processes now, so we're going about it with a relatively light heart. We really have a lot of meetings to develop the ideas too. 

 

Q. While endlessly contemplating and practicing to complete the group stages, you can't leave out the unit stages of hiphop team, vocal team, and performance team. What do you think is the most important factor when planning a performance? 

MINGYU: I think all the members pay attention to similar things. We try our best to create a stage where we can convey what we like and the emotions we want to express. 

 

Q. Even in the situation of a pandemic, SEVENTEEN has been expanding domestically and globally. Earlier this year, you appeared on <The Late Show with James Corden>, <Kelly Clarkson Show>, and <Grammy Museum Master Class>. It must be a different and more meaningful experience having to do overseas activities while in this COVID situation. 

MINGYU: It must’ve been nice to do it on the actual stage and be able to feel the passion (on stage) so there were some regrets/dissatisfactions left. Even so, I think the members put all their energies together and created a satisfying performance. I liked the one-take performance of Home;run where we wore <The Late Show with James Corden> staff uniforms, and the Left & Right office concept for <Kelly Clarkson Show> was also fun. 

 

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Q. On April 21, your 3rd Japanese single, ‘ひとりじゃない (Not Alone)’ will be released. It’s said to be an extension of the ‘Youth’ theme that was expressed in the 7th Mini Album <Heng:garae> and the special album <;[Semicolon]> that were released in Korea last year. 

MINGYU: That’s right. I think this song would be a nice way to express the end of youth. But of course, it’s not like we’re putting an end to our youth. I personally really like this album.  

 

Q. Each member may have different tastes, but what are your favourite songs from SEVENTEEN's albums? 

MINGYU: Don't Wanna Cry. Kidult. 

 

Q. If you can try/challenge a new genre, what would it be? 

MINGYU: SEVENTEEN's performances are very energetic and powerful by nature, I want to show a relaxed/calm side on stage. We'll exclude the dance/performance and play only the music. 

THE8: That's also what I'm thinking also. Although it might be a personal ambition, I want to try a performance and music that tells our emotions and story, and not just a powerful dance stage. 

 

Q. You want to show/present music that has even more depth, right? Among idol groups, SEVENTEEN has a bit of a stronger image as a group. Since each and everyone has a variety of charms,  is there a side of you that you’d want the public to see more of?  

WONWOO: Rather than showing a new side, I want to connect what I’m currently interested in-- taking photos and working on videos-- to SEVENTEEN’s music, and develop it even more. My ambition for this is also slowly increasing.  

MINGYU: Right. I’m also steadily working on photos and videos together with Wonwoo-hyung, and want to open an exhibit too. I want to show a new side/image through various photoshoots. I want to do photoshoots until I die. 

 

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Q. You did a shoot for COSMOPOLITAN last year too. From here on, what do you say if we do during spring every year? 

MINGYU: Can you invite us even more? Just once a year is a bit disappointing. 

WONWOO: That’s upsetting. Saying it’s (just) once a year. 

THE8: How about four times a year;  let’s meet quarterly? 

COSMOPOLITAN: I hope we meet quarterly. Haha.

 

Q. In last year's online fanmeeting, 'CARATLAND', SEVENTEEN did a 'SEVENTY' concept where the 13 members dressed up as 70 year-olds and acted out how they would be in the future. Instead of 50 years, how do you imagine SEVENTEEN to be 10 years later? 

MINGYU: If I imagine us 10 years later, wouldn’t we be at our coolest age? (We’ll) be in our mid-30s in 10 years, somehow I think I’ll be living my coolest life.

 

 

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Interview/Translation Notes:

¹깨알 같은 - literally means ‘like sesame seeds'. There’s no direct translation I could think of right now, but it’s a phrase used to describe small and almost unnoticeable details. In the context of Going Seventeen, these are those short and tiny funny texts/puns that are scattered all over gose eps lol

 

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DATE RELEASED: April 2021

KR > ENG by kidmingyu  @ Twitter (I'll update if i ever post this on twt heh)

MAGAZINE INTERVIEW and PHOTOS from whalebreeze ,frame0range, Hello_the8, WONWOO_SOCUTE

 

On reposting: Screenshot is OK. I would appreciate it if you can add a link back to this original post tho. Thank you! 

*Please let me know if there are any mistakes!