[B.A.P Hot Debut Story] Zelo ① “If I didn’t become a member of B.A.P? Then I think I would have become a soccer player”
“How did the celebrities inside our televisions become a star?”
With the outlooks on the entertainment industry rising one step higher, we as the public aren’t just curious about their glamorous images, but their back stories before they became celebrities as well.
We have prepared the column “star story” in our publishing which not only tells a truthful side to stars, but their past that brought them to where they are today. This episode’s protagonist is the cute magnae of B.A.P, Zelo.
As the last person in the Hot Debut Story lineup, Zelo is the youngest of the members but also holds multiple skills in not only rapping but dancing and acrobatics as well. His skills were recognized through the promotions for unit duo Bang & Zelo last December with Bang Yongguk in promoting “Never Give Up.” On a random day in April, Zelo greeted the reporter with his bright eye smiles like any other magnae of a group would, his gaze different from the strong gazes he normally presented on stage.
“Hello, I’m Zelo and my real name is Choi Junhong. I was born in Mokpo of Jeonranam on October 15th, 1996 and I am the younger of two sons. The precognitive dream of my birth was my grandmother from my father’s side giving my mother a basket holding a giant potato. I think because of that dream is the reason why my skin is so pale (laughs). My grandfather from my mother’s side also had a precognitive dream of my birth in that he saw a dragon fly over the roof with a Buddha statue in its mouth.”
Since he was younger, Zelo held the type of personality where he had to accomplish what he wanted to do. Because he had a strong greedy side, it’s shocked his mother a lot.
“I think I’ve always fought since I was younger. I kind of have a troublemaker image so I would lie down across the middle of the sidewalk in whining if my mother didn’t buy me something I wanted. If I had the thoughts of always needing something, then I’d have to have it. Of course, the aftermath was me being in deep trouble from my mother later on haha.”
The dream of young Zelo was to become a soccer player. Every summer, he never grew tired of the humidity in that he always played soccer. It was a mistake to assume that soccer was a mere hobby of his as his passion for soccer alongside his skills accompanying it was popularly rumored around the area.
“In entering elementary school, becoming a soccer player was my dream. I only remember playing soccer every day and when I was in fifth grade, it was to the point where I was scouted to join the youth soccer team of our district. If I chose to go down the path of soccer opposed to the singer I am today, then I’d think that I’d be a soccer player as of today (laughs). However, with the disapproval of my parents, I had no choice to throw aside my dreams of becoming a soccer player.”
With his parents disapproving his dreams of becoming a soccer player, Zelo tried rebelling like none other. Although it was a decision made by his parents for the good will of his future, Zelo was still shocked at such a young age. But soon enough, Zelo began recognizing the charms of something else.
“I used to listen to songs with my MP3 player and having grown tired of soccer, all I could think about was the choreographies of senior idols on television one day. Since then, I’d copy their dancing and practice in detail. When I was at home, I’d practice in front of the mirror alone in doing things like beat boxing as well.”
“How did the celebrities inside our televisions become a star?”
With the outlooks on the entertainment industry rising one step higher, we as the public aren’t just curious about their glamorous images, but their back stories before they became celebrities as well.
We have prepared the column “star story” in our publishing which not only tells a truthful side to stars, but their past that brought them to where they are today. This episode’s protagonist is the cute magnae of B.A.P, Zelo.
As the last person in the Hot Debut Story lineup, Zelo is the youngest of the members but also holds multiple skills in not only rapping but dancing and acrobatics as well. His skills were recognized through the promotions for unit duo Bang & Zelo last December with Bang Yongguk in promoting “Never Give Up.” On a random day in April, Zelo greeted the reporter with his bright eye smiles like any other magnae of a group would, his gaze different from the strong gazes he normally presented on stage.
“Hello, I’m Zelo and my real name is Choi Junhong. I was born in Mokpo of Jeonranam on October 15th, 1996 and I am the younger of two sons. The precognitive dream of my birth was my grandmother from my father’s side giving my mother a basket holding a giant potato. I think because of that dream is the reason why my skin is so pale (laughs). My grandfather from my mother’s side also had a precognitive dream of my birth in that he saw a dragon fly over the roof with a Buddha statue in its mouth.”
Since he was younger, Zelo held the type of personality where he had to accomplish what he wanted to do. Because he had a strong greedy side, it’s shocked his mother a lot.
“I think I’ve always fought since I was younger. I kind of have a troublemaker image so I would lie down across the middle of the sidewalk in whining if my mother didn’t buy me something I wanted. If I had the thoughts of always needing something, then I’d have to have it. Of course, the aftermath was me being in deep trouble from my mother later on haha.”
The dream of young Zelo was to become a soccer player. Every summer, he never grew tired of the humidity in that he always played soccer. It was a mistake to assume that soccer was a mere hobby of his as his passion for soccer alongside his skills accompanying it was popularly rumored around the area.
“In entering elementary school, becoming a soccer player was my dream. I only remember playing soccer every day and when I was in fifth grade, it was to the point where I was scouted to join the youth soccer team of our district. If I chose to go down the path of soccer opposed to the singer I am today, then I’d think that I’d be a soccer player as of today (laughs). However, with the disapproval of my parents, I had no choice to throw aside my dreams of becoming a soccer player.”
With his parents disapproving his dreams of becoming a soccer player, Zelo tried rebelling like none other. Although it was a decision made by his parents for the good will of his future, Zelo was still shocked at such a young age. But soon enough, Zelo began recognizing the charms of something else.
“I used to listen to songs with my MP3 player and having grown tired of soccer, all I could think about was the choreographies of senior idols on television one day. Since then, I’d copy their dancing and practice in detail. When I was at home, I’d practice in front of the mirror alone in doing things like beat boxing as well.”
[B.A.P Hot Debut Story] Zelo ② “The counterattack of the ‘country boy from Mokpo’ begins”
“How did the celebrities inside our televisions become a star?”
With the outlooks on the entertainment industry rising one step higher, we as the public aren’t just curious about their glamorous images, but their back stories before they became celebrities as well.
We have prepared the column “star story” in our publishing which not only tells a truthful side to stars, but their past that brought them to where they are today. This episode’s protagonist is the cute magnae of B.A.P, Zelo.
“With my older brother going to study abroad, I was stuck at a dazed state. It’s because I spent every day with my older brother that I didn’t really know how to make friends. It’s also my fault that I have a shy personality haha. I remember playing hide-and-seek with the younger kids of our neighborhood.”
And in spending his days, it was the year when Zelo was in 5th grade that through an acquaintance that recognized his talent in which he was introduced to an academy located in Gwangju. It’s also well-known because Seungri of Big Bang had attended the same academy.
“In the end of 5th grade, I was introduced to the academy that senior Seungri attended in Gwangju and I was criticized a lot for my fashion sense at first. At the time, I wore pants that were three-quarters in length and dyed my hair blue in the front and when the director of the academy saw me, they told me, “If you don’t change your fashion sense, then we’re not accepting you.” Since then, I wore skinny jeans and started growing interested in fashion.”
However, this didn’t mean that everyone had hope for Zelo as majority had low expectations for his success and those types of responses are what motivated him.
“I think a lot of people around me didn’t expect me to succeed and especially the label of being “the country kid from Mokpo” became a scar to me and I started changing my mindset. I was driven to focus on each and every area, from my appearance to fashion and music as well.”
Zelo’s capability was beyond what one imagined and earned the title of being the student to learn the fastest and to apply the skills the fastest out of the students in the academy. His fashion sense also garnered attention and he rose as one of the greatest fashionable people of Gwangju. Having already been over 170cm in height during his elementary school years, his abnormal height helped the fitting of his clothes better as well.
“Because I grew more interested in fashion, I clashed with my parents a lot, of whom I was on good terms with before. Because I tended to want clothes that reflected my character best, the clashes between my parents and I happened since they wanted me to dress averagely (laughs).”
He didn’t learn about fashion only as he officially began learning dancing, singing, and beat boxing around this time as well.
“I think what I learned in the academy was a big help to me and due to my capability of being able to apply what I learned fast, people started calling me a rising star but I wasn’t really sure. I couldn’t be satisfied despite hearing compliments such as those and I don’t think I ever was in a state of satisfaction before.”
TBC
PART 1 CREDITS: HERALD M (SOURCE); HEODANG @ TUMBLR (TRANS)
PART 2 CREDITS: HERALD M (SOURCE); HEODANG @ TUMBLR (TRANS)
“How did the celebrities inside our televisions become a star?”
With the outlooks on the entertainment industry rising one step higher, we as the public aren’t just curious about their glamorous images, but their back stories before they became celebrities as well.
We have prepared the column “star story” in our publishing which not only tells a truthful side to stars, but their past that brought them to where they are today. This episode’s protagonist is the cute magnae of B.A.P, Zelo.
“With my older brother going to study abroad, I was stuck at a dazed state. It’s because I spent every day with my older brother that I didn’t really know how to make friends. It’s also my fault that I have a shy personality haha. I remember playing hide-and-seek with the younger kids of our neighborhood.”
And in spending his days, it was the year when Zelo was in 5th grade that through an acquaintance that recognized his talent in which he was introduced to an academy located in Gwangju. It’s also well-known because Seungri of Big Bang had attended the same academy.
“In the end of 5th grade, I was introduced to the academy that senior Seungri attended in Gwangju and I was criticized a lot for my fashion sense at first. At the time, I wore pants that were three-quarters in length and dyed my hair blue in the front and when the director of the academy saw me, they told me, “If you don’t change your fashion sense, then we’re not accepting you.” Since then, I wore skinny jeans and started growing interested in fashion.”
However, this didn’t mean that everyone had hope for Zelo as majority had low expectations for his success and those types of responses are what motivated him.
“I think a lot of people around me didn’t expect me to succeed and especially the label of being “the country kid from Mokpo” became a scar to me and I started changing my mindset. I was driven to focus on each and every area, from my appearance to fashion and music as well.”
Zelo’s capability was beyond what one imagined and earned the title of being the student to learn the fastest and to apply the skills the fastest out of the students in the academy. His fashion sense also garnered attention and he rose as one of the greatest fashionable people of Gwangju. Having already been over 170cm in height during his elementary school years, his abnormal height helped the fitting of his clothes better as well.
“Because I grew more interested in fashion, I clashed with my parents a lot, of whom I was on good terms with before. Because I tended to want clothes that reflected my character best, the clashes between my parents and I happened since they wanted me to dress averagely (laughs).”
He didn’t learn about fashion only as he officially began learning dancing, singing, and beat boxing around this time as well.
“I think what I learned in the academy was a big help to me and due to my capability of being able to apply what I learned fast, people started calling me a rising star but I wasn’t really sure. I couldn’t be satisfied despite hearing compliments such as those and I don’t think I ever was in a state of satisfaction before.”
TBC
PART 1 CREDITS: HERALD M (SOURCE); HEODANG @ TUMBLR (TRANS)
PART 2 CREDITS: HERALD M (SOURCE); HEODANG @ TUMBLR (TRANS)
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