Tuesday, September 21, 2010

[Translation] Minho at GQ Korea 10 Men Interview





How is your injured leg?
It's okay now. I was injured just a few days before our comeback. I really worried a lot about what I was going to do. We prepared the album for over half a year so privately I did feel like it was all ruined.

For a few weeks after your comeback you sat on a chair and sang, right?
People asked why I had a separate stage to myself. That the concept seemed pretty good. And some would talk without really knowing the situation. Haha.

Because the choreography is so fast it seems like it would cause difficulties even for healthy legs.
It's not an addictive song with an addictive choreography, but a rhythmic choreography that matches each beat. Because it passes by so quickly that it's hard to follow along, people say they can't remember anything from it. It's difficult when we come down from the stage after performing once.

What thoughts cross your mind while you're on that stage?
During our debut the dance that had been absorbed into my body just came out, but now I think that I dance knowing exactly what steps and actions I'm doing at that moment. I've developed a sense of freedom.

You've come saying that you're a contemporary band, do you feel alert of running ahead of the trends?
All the members have that pride. I want to create a stage so that people will say, those guys can absorb and pull off even those types of things. At first rather than thinking that it's unique, I thought, will I be able to do this? Will I be able to carry out this fashion and song? Those were the first thoughts that struck me.

In that case, what about a song like "Replay."
When I first listened to that song, I laughed a bit. Putting it simply, we're directly saying that nuna is so pretty. At first I wondered, how should I express this? Can I do this? But as the five of us worked through it, it was possible. Aye, even if it's embarrassing, we can do it if we do it together.

If you had debuted with a different song, would SHINee have been different from the group you are today?
There's nothing like that. I've never thought even once that we selected the wrong song. Rather, because we have that sort of image I think that different charms are able to be highlighted.

Is this album charismatic?
I feel good each time we release an album. But I always feel regretful. Until now there really hasn't been a single thing that I liked 100 percent. Although I feel satisfaction in the accomplishment.

Do you have any greed to take on more parts?
Because it's important for the five members' colors to unite as one, I don't think it's important for individual parts to stand out. Of course there are parts I feel greed towards, but if it's decided that another friend is going to do it, it's because that friend is the best for that part. Everything we have done was the right thing, I feel.

You've also taken on the responsibility of creating raps, right?
Truthfully, minus a couple of songs you could count using just one hand, I've written almost all of the raps on our album. Although there are times when I think that it would be nice if people acknowledged that, at the same time they may also be very trivial parts that could easily be skipped over. I don't think that I should go around saying that I did this, I did that, wondering why people won't give me recognition. I gain strength when I see the writings of fans wondering, Minho oppa did this but why won't people acknowledge it?

Did you find it to be doable?
At first I was very bad at it. But if I didn't do it then it would be detrimental to me as well as to the members so I thought that I should really try to do it properly. It's true that when you put in effort your skills change. I thought, there isn't anything that can’t be done if a person really tries…

When an acquaintance came into the studio before, I was a bit surprised to see you initiate the handshake first. Because it doesn't seem like something a twenty year old would do…
When I'm with adults I realize that I'm very young and that I don‘t think things through enough, but when I'm talking with friends I think, ah, because I entered society and experienced things early there's a lot that I know. When I send a text message to my closest friend saying "Listen to your mother," my friends are surprised.

You must do things that suits a twenty year old as well, right?
I watch TV and play games and do everything like everyone else… Ah, during this recent break I enjoyed college life a bit. As I did that I really thought, you know people have their own lifestyles. I think that my lifestyle is very different from that of other twenty year old friends. Some mornings I wake up early and take in my schedule. I do that for a few days then one day I sleep in really late. Photoshoot schedule, radio schedule, music program schedule, variety schedule, each day differs like that. This is a celebrity's lifestyle, and I saw that in a regular college student's lifestyle you wake up early and go to class and when class ends you eat and play with friends. Ah, so this is why you experience it. This is why it's so different to actually feel it yourself. The way college friends live is very routine, and I really could feel that I'm living a bit differently.

Your school life must be a bit more comfortable now that you've made friends during the beginning of the semester.
I am a student who is earning money, but even if I try to buy my friends a meal they always insist on paying Dutch, on eating cheaply no matter what, finding a food and beverage shop to eat at, and when we did that I thought ah, this type of day to day life is really fun.. Those friends don't know but I feel it. It's also fun to take the bus and the subway when I go to school. It's a given for a college student to ride the bus and the subway, but when I say that I take public transportation everyone seems to look at me with fascinated eyes? I find those gazes to be fascinating too. Ah, I rode on the 10,000won subway once too. The one where you squeeze in. Oh, and the thing that was the most fun after debuting was watching people selling things illegally in the subway.

It seems like you're even going to say that exam periods were fun.
I took both the midterms and finals. After my debut I haven't properly studied for an exam. The feeling that I went back to being a middle school student after a long time? Sitting in the private library with my friends going, this book, ah, like this, ah… really.. I felt happy.

What about your grades?
I don't have any F's. I also have one A.

Was your football coach father more opposed to you pursuing sports or you becoming a singer?
He was very opposed to my becoming a singer as well but he was more opposed to my becoming a football player. Because he knows the difficulties well. He says that he didn't want to put his child whom he treasures the most through that hardship.

If you had become a football player, the history of the movement of the audience may have been different.
Haha, no. It wouldn't have been like that. If I had taken up football, though of course I don't know how things would have ended up, I don't think I would have been very good. Because of my father's opposition I wasn't able to play football much during the period I should have been learning the basics..

But you were the ace on the program "Let's Go! Dream Team Season 2" where you were a fixed member. But you would get angry during the variety program.
Haha. I've always had a bit of a strong sense of competitiveness. After filming Dream Team, on days I won I would be in a really good mood, and on days I lost I would keep thinking about it. It's the same as when I make a mistake on stage. When I mess up on one step on stage, I feel hateful towards myself. I grow angry. Wondering why I did that that during that step. I think it's because my competitiveness is so strong. But that doesn't mean I enjoy competing. Instead, if there is a competition I tend to avoid it. Because if one wins, the other loses. Because any person, no matter who it is, dislikes losing.

Did you unfairly lose at something once?
When I was young everything was a competition with my older brother. In elementary school my hyung went to a school you had to take a test to be accepted into, and I was rejected from that school. Since then I think that I began to feel that I had lost. My older brother was always the class representative and is strong and is good at sports… I lost at everything. My hyung is also competitive so if we lose we're the style to go the entire day not looking at each other.

Now that you've succeeded with SHINee, a reversal of wins?
No, it's not like that. Ah! What's really amazing about my hyung is, when I debuted he got lucky. He grit his teeth and studied and was accepted into Seoul University. I went "Ah, hyung, really, daebak, recognition." And hyung told me that he felt like he had lost so he worked even harder.

Outside of family, do you have someone you would like to grit your teeth and win over?
Rather than trying to win over them, the people who give me the most motivation would be my members. We live together and practice together, we’re attached for 24 hours. As we do that, I think that we progress learning from each other, seeing what we each lack and filling each others' deficiencies. Not like rivals, but people who help each other and are each other's strength? People who make it possible for me to firmly grow.

Is there a member whom you particularly lean on? A member with whom you want to have a drink with.
Um, I don't think there is in particular. I think I lean on all four members. But I don't know what the other members think. Honestly for me, it's all of them.

If you heard someone wonder if you're succeeding with your looks?
I would receive motivation. I've heard those words before. Because I knew that I was lacking I worried a lot at first when I debuted. My skills were lacking, but my company was saying that I was going to debut.. I think that I caused myself a bit of stress during that time. At that time I heard that I was getting by with my looks, so I was more motivated and I worked hard on my singing, dancing, these things all at once. I thought that I really need to accomplish this now. I'm really lacking so much.

If you say things like that fans may be disappointed.
I'll just have to show them more. If I have the opportunity I want to try acting as well, but I don't think I'd be good at it. Although I think I would work hard and put in a lot of effort because I know that I'm lacking. I don't think people would go, wow, he's good.

From whom do you want to receive praise?
My mom and dad. That makes me happiest.

Credits: GQ Korea 10Men

English Translation Credits: live laugh love @ soompi

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