COVER STORY

Treasure hunting in Seoul

SOUTH KOREA A COUNTRY THAT IS RICH IN HERITAGE AND CULTURE. IN SUCH A PLACE, IT’S NOT HARD TO FIND TREASIRES THERE. IN FACT, WE FOUND FIVE BY THE NAME OF FT ISLAND. BY HIDAYAH IDRIS.

As I briefed my photographer before the interview started, a dashing young man came in. He looks familiar, I thought. A tad too young to be their manager. He politely greeted us in Korean. I returned the greeting. Then it daunted on me. Primadonnas would probably slaughter me but there was FT Island’s Minhwan right in front of me, and I actually took a few moments to recognize him after we were introduced , he stood at the door awkwardly and smiled before excusing himself. After a while, Jaejin and Seunghyun

Came in with arms around each other’s shoulders closely followed by leader Jonghun. Minhwan came back moments later, while Hongki came in last. What struck me the most was how humble and amiable the boys were. Our interview took place at night, right after their first comeback performance on M! Countdown. Yet, the members did not show signs of fatigue. They remained outgoing and joked throughout the interview and photoshoot. After they settled themselves in, we started the interview. Of course, I had to ask about their new mini-album, Return, which was released two days prior. “We came back after one year with a third mini-album, Actually, we have been doing a lot of overseas activities, so our Korean fans have been waiting for us. ‘ FT Island is back’- we wanted to convey this kind of message,’’ Minhwan said.

Members as treasures

Since they’ve been together for four years and even live together in a dormitory, they should know one another’s good and bad habits. Is there something about another member that they wish he could change? Jaejin revealed that Hongki often talks about weird things in front of people. For example, if there was a booger in his nose, the main vocalist would say it loudly in public instead of whispering to let him know. Well, I’m sure the boys love each other monetheless. If they could be another member for a day, who would they want to be? Hongki confidently said he was happy being himself while Jonghun said he wanted to be the magnae, or the youngest. He later added that he just wants to be the youngest in the group, and not any younger member in particular (Minhwan and Seunghyun are the youngest member). I reckon being one of the oldest in the groups, alongside Hongki, has made him yearn for the privileges of being the youngest. Youngest member Minhwan, on the other hand, wants to be leader! I’ll leave it to him and Jonghun to fight it out between themselves. Amongst the commotion, Hongki nudged Jaejin and asked him to say that he wanted to be Hongki, to which Jaejin complised. Seunghyun, however, had something else in mind. “ [ I want to be] Minhwan because he said, much to the laughter of the members. Being the drummer means Minhwan is always at the back, covered by large drum sets. Does he feel disadvantaged? He said being in the background allows him to concentrate on playing the instruments he wanted to play, he revealed that he learnt the piano when he was younger and if possible, wants to play it again.

The best member…

For the next few questions, I asked them to choose a member who’s best at one thing. The first was, the best when jt comes to love. Expectedly, the members chose lead singer Hongki, with the exception of Jongjun who chose himself. It was an answer I anticipated; I was pretty sure behind the strong, emotional vocal was a boy with lots of experience in love. However, I had to probe on their choice. Jaejin answered, much to Hongki’s discontentment, “ Because he’s old,’’ implying that he had more experience in love. The members also revealed that Hongki helps other members and dishes out love advice. The next question called for another expected answer. When asked who was the best looking in the band, each member exclaimed, “ It’s me!” The commotion ensued for next 30 seconds, with each member insisting they were all good looking in their own way, but decided against it.

“I love ladies!”

with the recent surge in group debuts , I asked which was their favourite. Hongki chose 2NE1, while other member spurted out group names ranging from f (x), miss A, after school and KARA. Jaejin insisted he likes miss A when other members asked if he liked Rainbow. He then teased Minhwan, “ Don’t you like KARA?” causing the latter to burst into an embrassed laughter. While Jaejin repeated his choice, Seunghyun countered with saying he likes f (x). They then launched into a short discussion to decide which group they would pick. They finally chose a band each-seunghyun picked KARA, Jaejin chose miss A, while Hongki and Jonghun named 2NE1 as their favourite girl group. Minhwan, however, was undecided between A Pink and After School. The members pressured him to choose quickly, resulting in an After School victor. So which lucky girl group member is the most popular among the members? “Too many,” Hongki said. Names like Sulli and Krystal from f(x) and Suzy from miss A popped out, but they concluded that there were too many to name. During the commotion, Jaejin remarked, “I love ladies!” No Doubt about that!

Seasoned

Hongki, who is currently acting in a Japanese drama, Muscle Girl, talked about his experience acting in a foreign production. " It was difficult because although I acted as a korean, I had to speak Japanese. I received a lot of help from the other actors." FT Island boasts not only one actor, but three. Jonghun, whose has been casted alongside Jang Geunsuk in You're My Pet, said he will continue to pursue acting after the movie. when asked what other the characters he wished to take on, the members suggested jokingly, "Someone who doesn't talk" and "Security". Jonghun revealed that he wants to act as a cold-hearted man who attracts ladies (lit. chagaun namja). however, the quitarist, who is also the rapper in FT Triple's " Love Letter", said that he doesn't want to act in musicals though he enjoys watching them. Apart from Hongki who started out as a child actor, Jaejin was one of the first FT Island members who ventured into acting. Seeing how his bandmates are now active as actors, the guitarist wishes to go back to acting as well. however, he said that now is not the right time and in furture, if he could, he would want to reprise his role as an actor. Having acted in a sitcom for his debut role, Jaejin said that if given an opportunity, he would want to act in a sitcom again. " Actually, the first time I acted was in a sitcom. There was no pressure and i could film it happily." FT Island will be in Singapore on 15 June for Korean Music wave.

Bet you Didn't know!

teens asked the boys to tell us a thing or two about

other members that we don't know of!

Jaejin in confidently

said that he's awesome. We're

sure Primadonnas already know that,

Jaejin!

Jaejin revealed

that when Hongki

sleeps, he likes to

touch the edge of

his pillow!

Hongki said that

Minhwan always

touches he's nose when he's

embarrassed or shy.