𝘄𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗼𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀
WAVES漫潮 march 2021
*by eightmoonsubs
𝗪𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗦漫潮 Full Interview
chn to eng by wonwooszone translator (@wonwuuji)
please take out with proper credit!
𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱, 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲
The ups and downs experienced while pursuing your dreams are essential to becoming a BETTER MAN.𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝘁
Within SEVENTEEN, which is famous for their knife-like group choreography,1 even the dance abilities of rapper Wonwoo are not lacking. Despite there being no plans to have a dance segment on the day of the shoot, Wonwoo’s flexibility earned the respect of the staff members on-site during the shoot where he was donning an all white look. The seemingly relaxed attitude captured by the photos, the natural flow of his movements allowed for infinite potential to be captured in a single moment, his exceptional cooperation and creative ideas have brought endless inspiration to the photographer.
We heard that he enjoys playing with adorable cats in his private life, even cutely and coolly doing the Black Cat Nero dance on <GOING SEVENTEEN>.2 Wonwoo said that his fondness for cats comes from the similarities between the two. He once had a wonderful experience with an unfamiliar stray cat who became close with him when he fed it some food. This incident made him realize the similarities between him and cats— both value relationships and are “shy around strangers.”After getting to know Wonwoo better, you will find that he and his self-introduction on variety shows are alike: “slow and calm.” He is polite and gentle, occasionally enjoys staying at home. This elegance is exactly like that of a cat. He reads as a hobby and his SEVENTEEN members have said that if they were to gift Wonwoo a present, they would give him a book: “I would ask the shop employee to wrap the book nicely and gift it to him because Wonwoo likes reading, so he’ll be very happy to have received a book.”𝗥𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗗𝗮𝘆
When he was interviewed, it just so happened that Wonwoo was learning Chinese over livestream, even challenging himself with the cat tongue twister.3 As someone who has toured around the world, Wonwoo has on many occasions demonstrated his linguistic talent. But when asked about his experience with learning languages, the “encyclopedia” in the eyes of his members humbly explained that he wasn’t a “language genius”; he’s just good at mimicking [what others say]. In addition, he believed that the most important thing when learning a language is “practice.” Behind the effortless progress in the eyes of others is persistent hard work.“It’s only when you take on new challenges that a new door will open for you.” The reputation and success SEVENTEEN and Wonwoo achieved today is all because of their willingness to face challenges and hardship. Not only does Wonwoo beautifully complete his work, but he also uses his spare time to learn photography, videography, and editing. In addition to this, he is also an ever reliable brother to his younger members within the group. Wonwoo, who has slowly matured as time passed, could not explain why he changed, but he is sure that what he’s doing right now is the right thing: “The biggest change I can see in myself in the last two years, is not so much so that I was just pessimistic and unconfident, but rather that I’ve become more positive and more confident for reasons I do not know. I have also gained a sense of responsibility toward the things that I want to do, which has made me more optimistic and cheerful.”
1 刀群舞 / 칼군무 is slang for extremely synchronized group choreography.
2 Black Cat Nero is a song by the Korean boy group Turbo, which was active in the late 90s and early 2000s. Wonwoo danced to this during his intro on <Going Seventeen 2020> EP.5 SeungKwan Boo's Past Life Destiny #1.
3 210125 HUYA Livestream with DK.
𝗪𝗔𝗩𝗘𝗦漫潮 Q&A Interview
chn to eng by wonwooszone translator (@wonwuuji)
please take out with proper credit!
Q: As a singer, what was the happiest moment? What would you like your audience to say about you?
When our listeners feel comfort, peace, and happiness when listening to our music. I’m happy during moments like these. I would like to hear them say that I’m a “singer who can comfort people. Who can, in happy times, make people even happier.”Q: Where do you get your inspiration for music from?
I usually write a lot of lyrics. Before writing, I first decide on a theme and then use that as a frame of reference in my imagination. So I usually rely on my imagination when writing lyrics.Q:What song have you been listening to the most?
Recently, I’ve been listening to songs released by my member, Wen Junhui. Among these songs, <Crow> and <Silent Boarding Gate> are two that I’ve been listening to the most.Q:You seem like a very confident person on stage. Does audience reaction have a big impact on your state of mind while performing? Are you also a confident person in real life?
I am just a person who prepares well and so is able to naturally develop a sense of confidence. Because I always practice for a long time, I prepare a lot for each performance, so I can show a very confident appearance every time. The audience’s reaction does impact me when I perform. When the crowd cheers, my mood improves and my excitement increases, but it doesn’t seem like I am too affected by it. In real life, I have become a bit more confident. I used to be a bit passive, but I’ve changed a lot and increased my confidence.Q: Are you an emotional person? What situations would move you?
I would consider myself an emotional person because when I watch a particularly touching movie or emotional song, I would cry or laugh. I’m cheerful when making music with my members. When CARATs or other listeners find comfort after listening to our music, they write and tell me. I am very touched when I read such letters.Q:Are you the type to only share good news with your family, or do you share everything with them?
I’m the type to only share good news with my parents. I don’t like to worry them. I can take care of things that are troubling me myself, so I’ll resolve them on my own. So I only want to share happy things with them.Q: Do you usually think alone? When do you usually go to think alone?
I really enjoy thinking alone, especially before I sleep. I will conjure up a lot of things in my imagination. I can write a lot of lyrics from my imagination, so my imagination has become the basis of my music.Q: What dream has left the deepest impression on you? What do you think your parallel universe self is doing?
I had a dream about going to space, and even now I still remember it and it’s already been 7-8 years. If it’s a parallel universe, I think I’d be doing something that’s similar to what I’m doing now. Writing works that can express my feelings to a wider audience, creating videos, taking photos, or making music like I’m doing now.Q: What fashion item do you have the most of? We heard that you’ve recently been interested in fashion. Do you have any tips on putting together an outfit?
Necklaces. Necklaces as accessories go really well with [outfits] so I have a lot of them and have become interested in fashion. For styling tips, I usually try different styles, using monochrome clothes as a highlight when matched with colorful clothing. This styling is a combination that’s easy on the eyes no matter what.Q: If you could say something to Chinese CARATs, what would you say?
There are really so many CARATs supporting us. We will share and show cooler music and performances to Chinese CARATs. I love you (in Chinese).Q: Do you have a wish for the new year?
I hope that the [COVID] situation can improve with the new year and that I can enjoy even happier music with everyone. I hope that everyone can be happier!
esquire korea september 2022
𝗘𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗞𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗮 Interview 1
kr to eng translation by wonwooszone translators
(@horangdan69 & yeonie)
please take out with proper credit!
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗼𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀?
Wonwoo is the type of person that has made it his dream to be able to make other peoples’ dreams come true. It’s because he believes that in order for him to be happy, the people around him have to be happy first.Q: The content “Wonwoo’s Diary” that was uploaded onto Seventeen’s official Youtube channel is all the rave. At first, I found it a bit odd when an improvised comedic skit started against the countryside as a backdrop, but the more I watched, the more immersed I became. I was very surprised because everyone was so skilled at acting.
When we filmed it, we didn’t realize that it would receive so much attention. If anything, we thought “Will [the audience] find this entertaining?” I had some doubts. It was fine for me because I was assigned the role of an amateur documentary director whose only job was to observe the other characters, but for the other members, the pressure to be funny was really big, even before the filming started. But once we started filming, everyone was thriving. (laughs) There’s a lot of entertaining points to laugh at [in the episode].Q: I heard that there was no script at all.
That’s correct. There were only characters and situations set without an actual script [to go off of]. The members all have big desires to be funny, so they’ll go forward first and do slapstick without anybody telling them to do so. I knew that everyone had a lot of talent, but I didn’t realize the extent of it. As I had the role of an observer, I was able to watch almost every single scene in person, and I remember laughing the whole time throughout filming.Q. There’s two parts (of the episode) uploaded already, but are there no plans for a third part?
Although within the video I took the role as a director, I didn’t actually plan it. Because of the schedule with our tour, we’ll be busy, so I’m not sure if we’ll have the time [to film a season two]. But, after saying all this, we might suddenly come back with a second season one day, who knows? There are many funny scenes that we couldn’t fit in the video, and there are still ideas that we weren’t able to attempt yet.Q. I’ve heard that apart from the role you took in “Wonwoo’s Diary”, you’ve had a lot of interest in video and film for a while.
There’s a reason for that. Before the Coronavirus spread, we frequently went on world tours, but as we moved around busily to all the different cities and performed on different stages, my memories [of each city] were jumbled together and became hazy. There were many fun and moving moments on stage, and it would be regrettable if I forgot them all. That’s why I wanted to leave them on record. At first, I shot a few videos for my personal use, but I became more interested and I started to want to learn how to film properly more and more. After that, whenever I saw the video director, I learned editing skills and filming techniques in my spare time. I even specifically made a concrete plan to film a documentary, but my plans were ruined as outside activities were drastically decreased due to the Coronavirus.Q. If you could disregard budget or schedules and film a video immediately tomorrow, what would you like to film?
A music video. I would like to film it with the ambience of a short movie with a story. While we were creating a B-side song called “Circles” in our most recently released repackage album ‘SECTOR 17’, I thought, “This would be fun to film for a music video.” Mingyu is also interested in videography like I am, so we even discussed filming a HipHop music video together, but we weren’t able to put our ideas into action.Q. If you have a lot of interest in videos, then I think you’d like movies, no?
I’m the type to watch movies regardless of the genre, but I particularly enjoy watching movies that capture scenery shots with a calming atmosphere. For example, depictions of nature such as the rising waves or a widely spread-out forest that harmonize well with the characters [of the movie]. There was a movie I watched recently called “Decision to Leave” and it was very good.Q. You’ve mentioned that you like nature in other interviews as well. You said you’d like to go to a secluded place, set up a tent, and look up at the night sky.
Being surrounded by calm nature makes me feel at ease. Since I’ve started my trainee life since I was 16 and have been promoting as an idol since then, I find myself having a craving for freedom. I’ve felt that way since the beginning of our debut and the reason why I like whales is because of the image of a whale swimming freely in the wide ocean. I enjoy the emotions that I feel [when looking at] powerful landscapes/Mother Nature and I often dream of adventuring in mysterious places. For example, I imagine how it would feel to go to the deep ocean. I think I’m like this because I’m the curious type.Q. But unfortunately, it’s hard to leave somewhere far in the midst of your busy schedule.
That’s true. That’s why I often watch Youtube videos about delicious food nowadays. For example, I watch things like “How to grill Tomahawk steak deliciously”. I do watch mukbangs, but I find myself getting pulled in by videos that also teach me ways to cook rather than videos of just eating. I haven’t been able to cook anything yet, but I get the feeling that I’ll be able to try soon. (laughs) Or maybe I could search it up and go eat it myself. Because I tend to eat little-by-little in small bites, some people think I have a small appetite but that’s not true. I really love to eat.Q. Now that I notice, your hands are full of calluses. You must be working very hard on weight training.
It’s been about 3 years since I’ve started. Rather than starting [to work out] to get a cool, built body, I wanted to take care of my stamina and physical health. There was a time where I was overly ambitious and wanted [to work out with] heavier weights, but these days I lift with safer/lighter weights, just enough for me to not get hurt. At the time, because I overdid it, my elbow hurt a bit. All of my members are the type to like exercise so we often help each other with working out. My personal favorite is the bench press.Q. Because you’re always with your members, don’t you ever get the thought that you need time to yourself?
Of course you can get thoughts like those. It’s the same as having your own private life even with family members you’ve been with forever. Thankfully, we promised each other to respect each others’ private lives from the start and we are constantly putting in effort to uphold that promise. It’s us being considerate of each other. For over seven years, we’ve been through a lot together so we’ve reached the point where we can tell [how the other is feeling] just by looking at each others’ eyes. I think it’s important not to overstep [each other’s] boundaries.
𝗘𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗞𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗮 Interview 2
kr to eng translation by wonwooszone translators
(@horangdan69 & yeonie)
please take out with proper credit!
𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻’𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗼𝗼’𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲’𝘀 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀.
Wonwoo is a person who dreams of making other people’s wishes come true. This is as he believes the people around him should be happy for him to be happy as well.Q. Do you feel a bit different when you have solo schedules like today?
When I came out on the November issue of Esquire with Vernon, Mingyu, and SCOUPS last year, I don’t think I talked much. My members naturally talk well, so I thought that even if I didn’t necessarily respond to many questions, there would still be no room left in the audio recording. At times like those, I secretly felt comfortable. (laughs) However, because it’s just me today, I’m bearing some responsibility. Due to the fact that everybody is looking at only me, I keep telling myself that I should do well.Q. When watching videos or variety shows (of SEVENTEEN) on Youtube, I didn’t think you liked to talk much because you were so quiet.
Because there are 13 of us, even if we just say one line each, the audio easily overlaps and gets complicated. If you took the time to think of and say something funny, it’s such a waste if it goes unheard. So I’ve been using the strategy of only quickly hitting the things I really want to say and stepping back after. (laughs)Q. It’s your first time in a while having a solo photoshoot, but there’s no sign of you being nervous at all.
Rather than being nervous, I had fun. During group photoshoots, if I take up too much time, someone else has to wait. But since it’s only me today, I really enjoyed being able to do everything I wanted to and being able to reveal the kind of vibe I was trying to express without any worries. I’m also usually not the type to get nervous often. I tend to think positive thoughts such as, “It’ll turn out well.”Q. Does Wonwoo have a secret to maintaining his positive attitude?
It’s not necessarily a secret, but having a lot of people around you that spread good energy is the biggest factor to it. There aren’t many negative people amongst the older dancers or company employees and of course, my members. They all smile easily and are kind-hearted. Even during difficult times, the vibe naturally becomes one where it’s like “cheer up, cheer up!”. So, rather than me putting in effort to have a positive attitude, I think the right way to view it is that I became influenced by others around me.Q. I feel like you’ve suddenly become more mature.
Perhaps it’s due to my pictorial pictures being in black and white? Or it might be the clothes. I usually have a preference for clothes that are achromatic in color. I’ve pushed myself to try a variety of styles but I end up returning back to choosing a simple look. (laughs) When people around me tell me “you look cool”, “you look strong”, or “you look sexy”, I get a little embarrassed and I find it hard to believe. My mind still feels the same from when I was 16 and starting out as a trainee.Q. After two years and eight months, in your fourth full-length studio album “Face the Sun”, you guys threw out the strong message that you would become the sun. What could be the meaning of the sun that SEVENTEEN is speaking about?
The meaning is “a big and strong influence”. We’re not trying to say we’re popular or anything like that, we’re just expressing our desire to be the type of people that can be a good influence to many people. Until now, we’ve worked hard and received a lot of undeserved love thanks to [our fans], but instead of being satisfied with just that, we want to grow even further. There’s a lot of sides to us we want to show. I think we can use those aspirations, passions, and ambitions as a metaphor for the sun.Q. The way I see it, you guys have already become the sun.
(laughs) Hey, I don’t think so. Right now, we’re at the level of the moon. Not a full moon, just a half moon.Q. Then, what’s Wonwoo’s ambition?
Making the dreams of others around me come true. I believe that I can only become happy once I see the people I meet with daily being happy and having a good time. SEVENTEEN has decided to become the sun so I must act accordingly and walk in tune with others in order to shine more brightly.Q. The thirteen trailers that were released before the album (Face The Sun) came out were very notable. Each and every single video was filled with the members’ fears and/or struggles.
I believe that it was a necessary assignment [for us]. In order to become a true sun, you have to know how to bear the shadows as well. After hearing an explanation about the album concept, there was an opportunity for each of the members to divulge their own shadows. Unexpectedly, each and every one of them had their own hardships. I thought I knew a lot [about their struggles] after working together for a long period of time, but I came to a realization that that wasn’t the case.Q. Wonwoo’s video was the most memorable. The video title, “World’s End…And” is very meaningful.
If you look closely, the 13 videos are in a particular order. My video was the last, so there was a little more hidden intention to deliver the message than the 12 videos released before it. The video starts with me riding a cool sports car down a road stretching straight through the middle of the desert. The car, which seems as though it’ll continue cruising, suddenly stops in front of a sign. The large bump [on the] sign seems to say, “You cannot go any further. Only up until this point.” While looking at those signs, the “me” in the video seems to be thinking about them for a moment, but soon enough, I go over the fence with a confident expression on my face and walk step-by-step into the wilderness. It’s a short video that lasts a bit over a minute, but I think it implicitly portrays what the album is trying to vocalize, and as always, shows a new and improved side of Seventeen. We wanted to show our determination to start over again in a place that we thought was the end.Q. I felt various emotions during the part where you stare into the camera for five seconds.
It wasn’t easy to act with just my eyes. (laughs) When I was filming that scene, I [tried to make my expression] contain the keyword “hope”. We made these videos with the members’ shadows as a foundation, but for anybody living in our society today, you definitely carry your own struggles. I wanted to express the hope of pushing forward a little more and walking ahead even though you think that there’s no path [ahead of you], even if it makes you want to stop and give up.Q. This was also the first full length album (you released) after the contract renewal. Were there any highs or lows?
We’ve talked about the contract renewal multiple times while on variety shows and interviews, but in the process of wanting to make the contract renewal story entertaining, it seems like there were some parts that were a bit misinterpreted. For all thirteen of us, me included, there was no disagreement regarding renewing our contracts. The main issue of our consideration wasn’t whether or not we would sign, but because we have a larger number of members than that of other groups, it merely took a bit longer to mediate between all of the conditions that we each individually had. I took on the middle role of mediating. I did my best to keep an air of neutrality while trying to find a compromise [for all of us]. There was nothing I specifically wanted from the company, which is why I feel that I was able to become a mediator. There’s a saying going around that there’s a curse on an idol group’s seventh year, but in the end, for us, it seems like we’ve overcome that critical moment well. Now that we’ve laid down the groundwork, all that’s left is for us to go up.Q. It seems like (your previous answer) is connected to the video you explained earlier? It’s along the lines of “I thought this was the end, but on the contrary, I’ll be going higher.”
Seventeen always has a plan [thought out]. (laughs) I can't say that they're totally unrelated.Q. Within Seventeen, there are multiple units; among them, you’re a part of the HipHop unit. From now on, what kind of things does the HipHop team want to show?
The HipHop team talks a lot in our group chat. Vernon is especially the type to suggest a lot of new and creative ideas. While exchanging a lot of dialogue with each other about concepts or performances, we’re slowly but surely moving forward in the same direction. Also, hip hop as a genre is so diverse, so if the directions/path that we are all each pursuing [within our music] are different, we could potentially run into conflicts. Of course, it’s impossible for us to become like any ordinary rapper who specializes in music. The paths that those individuals and we [the HipHop team] have walked on so far are different, and the goals that we are aiming for are different as well. Simply, using the genre hip hop as a medium, we are trying to create a charm that neither the Vocal team nor the Performance team can show. I’ve heard there’s a rumor going around that we have a freer, more relaxed aura than the other [unit] teams, but I’d like you to know that we all share our thoughts and concerns [with each other] very fiercely in the group chat. (laughs)Q. You’ve had to write rap lyrics very often. Do you have any special standards of your own?
I think that I’ve mentioned this in the past, but I believe that lyrics that convey the meaning of a song well are good lyrics. When Woozi creates a song and plays it for us, I imagine and attach a story to it, as if I’m writing a novel or a fairytale. I’m the type to collect and refine [my thoughts] after letting them stretch out far. I’m sure everyone else feels this way as well, but I feel a very big attachment to the lyrics that I’ve written myself. While writing the lyrics to our song called “TRAUMA,” I remember projecting a lot of myself onto my lyrics.Q. I'm curious about the future that the human being Jeon Wonwoo will draw, not Seventeen's Hip Hop Unit Wonwoo.
It’s difficult to talk about me when I’m separated from Seventeen. Ever since I was sixteen, this road was the only place I looked forward to, and as a result, I’ve come all the way here. While going through the contract renewal process earlier in the year, I frequently had the thought that a successful person is someone who can continue on [their path] for a long time. I think it would be ideal if I could carry on promoting my music while having fun. Not alone, but all together, if possible.Q. You’re starting your world tour soon, is that right?
That’s correct. During the duration of the pandemic, we didn’t have many chances to stand on stage. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to meet Carats, so I’m looking forward to it a lot. After we finish and come back from a tour, we build up a lot of experience. I cautiously predict that we will come back with stages that are a step cooler. It would be nice if we could meet [carats] again with a concert after the tour.
