[INTERVIEW] Shinhwa - Pt. 1

Last Wednesday’s episode of “Radio Star,” a segment of MBC “Golden Fishery,” raised the bar of TV viewers’ expectation with the star-studded guest list featuring the six members of K-pop group Shinhwa and the five emcees that have no fear of attacking their guests with uncomfortable questions. But when the show hit the airwaves, it turned out that the episode did not live up to what the viewers were expecting: the questions and answers being raw and harsh.

Shinhwa, who have been subjugating major variety shows with their distracted attitude and playful jokes in the past, were surprisingly calm and gentle during the whole interview. Being in an idol group that made its debut 14 years ago, the Shinhwa members have tasted the sweets and bitters of life and finished their two-year mandatory military service. What could possibly have happened to the six members in the past few years? Ahead of the tenth album’s release and the 14th anniversary concert on March 24, 10Asia visited Shinhwa’s rehearsal studio. Like Jun Jin commenting “We know each other too well and I don’t want to do what might get on the members’ nerves” or Kim Dong-wan saying “It’s no fun when we show our true friendship. But… we are close,” their relationship that has become ripe was “Shinhwa,” or myth, itself.

Shinhwa members Kim Dong-wan (left) and Eric (right) during their rehearsal for their concert. [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

<#10LOGO#> You must have had a lot of worries, making your comeback after long four year hiatus. The trend of music or the market has changed since 2008. What have you guys discussed before producing the new album with the unique color of Shinhwa?
Eric: We have discussed if we would follow the current trends of music or just keep Shinhwa’s style. We came to a conclusion that it was just like the beginning of everything like releasing a debut album. Unlike how we went right into recording process after our agency gave us the list of songs to sing, we went over around 300 songs to select ones for the album during a year during our preparation period. Sometimes we had some unexpected problems when a song we chose got sold to someone else in England. After so many twists and turns like that we had four candidates to choose for our title track and suffered from stress till the last minute whether it’d be “Red Carpet” or “Venus.”
Lee Min-woo (Lee): When we received the demo version of “Venus,” all members loved it with an addictive melody and thought it’d be suitable for the album’s title track. But because it’s an electronica genre, we had questioned if we could come up with choreography that still has the color of Shinhwa. When we watched the first draft of the choreography, we all thought that this was it. Just listening to the tune would make you wonder how we would pull this off but I’m quite confident with our dynamic group dance that goes well with the song and its scale. We also considered going easy with the basic dance moves but Shinhwa has the image of giving off great performances and we couldn’t let our fans down. We always remember the moment we first began.

<#10LOGO#> Shinhwa’s dance is famous for its complexity. It would be difficult for vocalists like Shin Hye-sung and Kim Dong-want to catch up.
Shin Hye-sung (Shin): Yes, compared to the other members we have some difficulties. While Lee or Jun Jin learn the new moves in just two days, it takes us over a week for to remember them (laugh).

<#10LOGO#> You guys won huge success with the seventh album, “Brand New,” which was the first to release after departing from SM Entertainment. I guess you can call the tenth album the second version of “Brand New” since i is a new album in four years. What do you want to show your fans this time?
Eric: We would like to call it a modern edition of “Brand New.” Of course, we’d be more than excited to top charts and garner trophies. But this time, we just wanted to work together as Shinhwa.
Shin: People put grandiose titles before our group name such as “The only living first generation idol group,” “14-year veteran idols” or “The return of the original idol group.” We feel good when we hear such compliments but it’s a burden at the same time. We feel we need to show something that goes beyond their expectations. (laugh)
Jun Jin: People say “You remember that old singer?” when referring to artists in our generation. We don’t want to become “the old singers.” Time has passed but we want to prove that we can still do it.

Shinhwa member Lee Min-woo during their practice for their concert. [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

<#10LOGO#> Being in your early 30s could mean the golden days of life or the beginning of doing new things. It may feel awkward being called “the original” or “ancestors” just because you’re from the first generation of Korean idols.
Eric: I guess it’s quite inevitable because we are the first in this field. We’re making records every year. If we were actors in films, we’d be seen as matured men who got rid of our young actor image. But in most cases, idol groups break up even before reaching that age. Presenting awesome performances and songs is our job. If we see it from a perspective that we’re just like other people with a bit different jobs, people calling us “ancestors” could mean that they see us as the people who have succeeded in a very harsh environment like the entertainment industry. It’s quite gratifying in that sense.

<#10LOGO#> After your eighth or ninth album, you all expanded solo careers and with the comeback this year, Shinhwa has the image of being able to “spread and gather” quite easily. What is the most enjoyable part when you are in a group?
Jun Jin: We tried doing things individually because we all had our own interests, though we enjoyed being in Shinhwa. But while pursuing solo careers, we realized that being with other members fill the parts that each of us lack in and make our work more satisfying. In fact, we have matured after turning 30, especially with the experience from the army. We are more considerate than before.

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