[INTERVIEW] INFINITE in ODINA Magazine Vol. 8!
INFINITE's interview in ODINA magazine Vol. 8 has been translated.
Check it out below.
Sungjong
1993.09.03 / 179cm / Blood type: A / Vocal / Infinite’s youngest
Although his feminine qualities became hot topics such as his pretty skin that all the members are jealous of or his specialty being girl group dance covers, he recently graduated high school and after hitting the Korean age of 20, his ‘masculinity’ rose up in one shot! He did the unexpected by enthusiastically performed the sexy and masculine part of Hyunseung for the performance of ‘Trouble Maker’ with Sungyeol during the Japanese concert in February. Sungjong said, “I wanted to create a gap,” to which Sungyeol replied, “I let him do it to commemorate him turning 20 years old.”
Dongwoo
1990.11.22 / 175cm / Blood type: A / Main rapper / He writes Infinite’s raps along with Hoya.
You can tell from his self-appointed, ‘my eyes are my charm’, but he gives off a pose on stage that’s hard to approach with his sharp stares and fierce raps. However, once he’s off the stage, he’s a person that doesn’t lose his really soft smile. The members said, “We’re worried that he will get tricked by a bad person,” about Dongwoo, who doesn’t know how to be suspicious of others. And because he has a lot of tears, he sobbed during the surprise party that the members created for him on his birthday when they went to Japan for ‘BTD’ promotions. You can also see this on the ‘Be Mine’ (A Ver.) DVD.
L
1992.03.13 / 180cm / Blood type: O / Vocal / In charge of the visuals in Infinite
He gained popularity through his cool looks and he debuted as an actor through the role of Jiu in the Japanese drama, ‘Jiu: Special Investigation Team’. He also became a hot topic by playing the role of Lee Hyunsoo in the Korean drama, ‘Shut Up! Flower Boy Band’, in December and was the guitarist of the flower boy band, “Eye Candy”. In the Japanese performance in February, he performed Toy’s ‘I Was Once By Your Side “, which he performed during his company’s audition, with Sungjong accompanying him on the piano. He said, “Because it was my starting point.”
Sungyeol
1991.08.27 / 183cm / Blood type: B / Vocal
Although he was the self-appointed ‘troublemaker’ since debut, he firmly said, “I’m not a troublemaker any more and I have become a responsible man,” during the February performance in Japan. You can be certain if that’s true or not through this magazine’s interview. The self-appointed nickname that he’s giving himself right now is, “dakimakura (T/N: a pillow you hug to sleep)”. When I asked what he meant by that, he said, “I heard that dakimakuras were popular in Japan. What I mean is that I’m a warm man that can make you feel reassured if you hug me like a dakimakura.” His Hyuna role during the ‘Trouble Maker’ performance shown in the February concert in Japan with Sungjong was a shock!
Hoya
1991.03.28 / 178cm / Blood type: AB
Although he’s the self-appointed ‘dancing machine of Infinite’, he’s an almighty entertainer that is highly leveled in vocals, raps, and everything else as well. His angled dynamic dances make Infinite’s performance more splendid. The “scorpion dance” from BTD was added from his idea. And he’s a blunt Busan man to the point where he says he’s ‘in charge of the manliness’ from the group, causing many girls to have their hearts beating. His sexiness recently increased and his “one shot” poses during photo shoots are especially cool.
Woohyun
1991.02.08 / 176cm / Blood type: B / Main vocal / In charge of cute acts in the group
The motto for Woohyun, who thinks of fans as the most important thing, is ‘fan = girlfriend’. Although he can easily be mistaken as an easy guy due to his overdoing fan service mind, his passion for singing is stronger than anyone else’s and he’s a practice pest that is always singing in the car and even in the bathroom. He participated in the musical, ‘Gwanghwamun Sonata’, for the first time this year together with Sunggyu. “The charm of a musical is being able to sing and act at the same time. To me, just the fact that I’m able to stand on stage makes me happy. Because singing is my happiness.”
Sunggyu1989.04.28 / 178cm / Blood type: A / Main vocal / He’s the leader as the oldest of the group
The self-appointed, ‘sexy charisma who gets hurt’. If following his words about being a vocalist in a rock band during his high school days, he was ‘quite a bit of a legend’. In the Japan concert in February, he showed strong shouting during the performance of his solo song, ‘Because’, and you could slightly see that side of him. He participated in his first musical this year, ‘Gwanghwamun Sonata’, and performed together with Korea’s rock legend, Yoon Dohyun. “I felt like I was learning just by watching Yoon Dohyun senior sing. Just the fact that I was able to perform together with him was an honor.”
Overall Interview
Last year, they rose up drastically in popularity in Korea by having the two hit songs of ‘Be Mine’ and ‘Paradise’. Infinite, who reached the top in the time of a year and 3 months since their debut. The group choreography where all 7 of them match perfectly is given the ratio of ‘99.9% synchronization’. Adding on practice to practice, they add on to their singing and dancing skills and they received the nickname of ‘boyfriend-dols’ because they were idols that people wanted as boyfriends due to the way they cherish their fans more than anything. It’s to the point where SNSD, KARA, Wonder Girls, Brown Eyed Girls and other girl group members would say Infinite’s name when asked which juniors they like. And as if they were proportioning out the popularity received in Korea, the anticipation was large in Japan and they finally debuted in Japan on November 19th with ‘BTD’. They received the good results of reaching 2nd place on Oricon daily charts.
Q: You debuted in Japan on November of last year with ‘BTD’. When you look back at it now, what was something that left an impression during your first Japanese promotions?
Sunggyu: Because there were a lot of different points from promoting in Japan as to promoting in Korea, it was interesting and fun. When we had the high-five event for the release of ‘BTD’, it was new because a high-five event isn’t in the Korean culture!
L & Sungyeol: The high-fiving! It was really fun~
Dongwoo: Sungyeol was the most excited, right? The passionate high-five event was something to talk about.
Sunggyu: We went to a CD shop in order to do the high-five event, but we say Infinite’s CD or pictures that were as big as us, being displayed. At that moment, we felt, “Ah~ We debuted in Japan, this is the beginning~”, and felt that we debuted.
Q: The “scorpion dance” from ‘BTD’ was a hot topic. During the live for the release event, many people from the audience were screaming loudly at the scorpion dance part. What did you feel after seeing that?
Hoya: As expected, we felt a high amount of contentment. Infinite’s unique point is that we even match acrobatic dances well too. Because they are happy after seeing our positive point, we’re always happy and say, “we did it!”. We’ll surprise everyone more often in the future.
Q: Your 2nd single, ‘Be Mine, will finally be released on April 18th. It’s the Japanese version of ‘Be Mine’, which won your first 1st place award on music broadcasts in Korea, but are the lyrics still the same?
Sunggyu: Yes. They’re the same. There’s a woman that the main protagonist loves, but the woman loves another man and not him, but she’s hurting because it’s not working out well. Because he can’t just see her be like that, it’s a story where he’s saying, “Don’t hurt like that any more and just come to me. Be mine”. And we sing that powerfully and fiercely!
Q: During the chorus, the part of ‘Be mine’ (T/N: in Japanese), is the meaning of ‘Be mine’ (T/N: in Korean), but what is something that is ‘mine’ that you can be the most proud of?
Sungjong: The thing I can be most proud of are my charming eyes. I think it’s the point that’s cute, but that I can use to gradually show my masculinity. (Smile)
Sungyeol: My troublemaker-like charms. It’s something only I have.
Q: Oh? Didn’t you say during the concert that you would graduate and quit causing trouble?
Sungyeol: Ah… Although I graduated from it, I still have lingering thoughts about it… I’m currently on the boundary line of being a man and being a troublemaker. (Laughter)
Sunggyu: A thing that I’m proud of is my mom’s kimchi jjigae! Because I really like kimchi jjigae, I eat it often. I feel as if I’m being healed~ (Laughter) And the one that my mom makes is especially the best side-dish that cannot be switched with anything else.
Woohyun: Infinite’s members. I like this more than anything! Even 100 years later, it’s still mine (Laughter)
L: Eum~ I want to say the 6 members as well. I think the members are definitely most important!
Dongwoo: Should I say it’s our dorm. It’s a space where you can really relax. We have computers and beds and it’s a place where all our personal items are. And it’s been really pleasant after we moved too. (Laughter)
Hoya: Mine is my family picture. Whenever I see the picture in my wallet, I gain strength. When I was a trainee, my parents always cheered me on and even after I debuted, they always told me, “Really work your best and do well!” To pay them back, I’ll work hard.
Q: Then just one more question about your lyrics. The first line of lyrics, L’s part, goes, “I want to hold you, right now”, but is there a type of girl you would want to hug?
Everyone: Kya~!!
Woohyun: Of course, it would definitely be with all our fans.
Everyone: As expected~!!
L: A girl who is innocent and has long, wavy hair~?
Dongwoo: Someone who sings and dances!
Hoya: When I see a girl crying, I want to hold them.
Everyone: Oh~ Manly!
Sungyeol: A girl who leans cutely onto my shoulder. (laughter)
Q: You created an original music video for the Japanese version of ‘Be Mine’, but the dance was really cool!
Woohyun: Because we danced too hard, it was to the point where the floor paint was peeling off. We quickly re-painted the floor (laughter). The dance was really to that point!
Hoya: During the dance break part, there’s a dance where I place my knees and spin around, but because I repeated that about 50 times, a hole formed in my pants causing my knees to get chafed. Feel our pains and watch the MV!
Q: Also, April 18th, which is the release of ‘Be Mine’, is also ‘Scent Day’ in Japan. What kind of scent does everyone like?
Sungjong: What is a scent?
Woohyun: Aroma. When something smells good.
Sungjong: Ah~! I like rose scent~
Sunggyu: I like the soft scent of aromas.
Sungyeol: I like aroma too ♥
Woohyun: A man’s romance, the scent of shampoo~
Dongwoo: I like all good scents. But the one that’s most related to me, the scent of hand creams. All scents, be mine~
L: I like the fresh scent of sake.
Hoya: I like tasty smells!
Woohyun: Hoya, are you hungry? (Laughter)
Q: Since we’ll be eating after this interview, hold on a bit longer (Laughter). ‘Be Mine’ was the song that allowed Infinite to rise up drastically. When you won 1st place on a music broadcast for the first time, what did you feel?
Dongwoo: Because I was really touched, all the events since my trainee days came back to me and tears were gradually coming out. Is that what they call memories flashing throughout your head? I really couldn’t stop crying (laughter).
Sungjong: After seeing Dongwoo hyung cry, I was so happy that tears started pouring out like a spring. It was cool how Sunggyu hyung was holding back the tears and gave his thank you comments even after seeing us like that~
Q: Looks like everyone cried a lot. What did the leader, Sunggyu, who held back his tears, do?
Sunggyu: My mind turned blank once they said Infinite won 1st place. But because it was important to act as the leader, I couldn’t cry. (Laughter) I wish to get 1st place in Japan with ‘Be Mine’ as well!
Everyone: Yeah!
Q: Infinite is really a friendly group, but you reach your 2nd year of debuting in June. During these 2 years, have you ever felt your group unity was in danger?
Woohyun: There wasn’t ever a time like that! I’m definite!
Everyone: There wasn’t, there wasn’t!!
Dongwoo: There wasn’t any danger like that for us. The only things that were here were chances and opportunities.
Q: Then if you were to give a present of thanks to one of the members?
Woohyun: An electronic device to Kim Sunggyu hyung. Because he said his broke.
Dongwoo: I would give hand cream to Woohyun, Sungyeol, and L… Because their hands are really dry. Of course, it would be a good scented hand cream.
L: I’ll give Sungyeol my friendship as a gift. You won’t decline, right?
Sungyeol: Then I’ll go further and give L my friendship (laughter)
Hoya: I want to give the members a warm home-cooked meal. Because we always eat outside or take-out, I think the best present would be a meal made by a mom.
Sungjong: I would give red ginseng to Sunggyu hyung, who is doing well as the leader.
Sunggyu: I would also want to give red ginseng to L. Because he’s tired from drama recordings, he looks very tired.
Q: The drama that L appeared in, ‘Shut Up! Flower Boy Band’, is airing in Japan starting on April 15th. Are you using what you learned from your first Japanese drama, ‘Jiu: Special Investigation Team’, in Korean dramas as well?
L: Yes, of course. The experiences from ‘Jiu’ are helping me. There were a lot of outdoor filmings for ‘Jiu’, but because there were a lot of outdoor filmings this time as well, it helped a lot in knowing how I should capture myself with the sunlight in mind and how I should look into the camera.
Sunggyu: Seems like he was embarrassed when he gave sharp glares in ‘Jiu’ (Laughter). Also, I watched all of L’s ‘Jiu’.
Q: Your acting of ‘Jiu’ became a hot topic in Japan and your expectations as a actor rose up in Korea due to your role of the ‘Ice Prince’ guitarist, Lee Hyunsoo, from ‘Shut Up! Flower Boy Band’. Do you feel that being an actor is right for you?
L: I don’t think my aptitude really matters. Rather, I thought that I could do well through putting an effort into it. I just work hard to fit whatever role is given to me.
Q: The spring of April, which is when ‘Be Mine’ is being released. To sum this up, tell us about your ideal date in the spring in Korea!
Sunggyu: Wouldn’t Namsan be good?
Woohyun: I would want to go to Namsan tower as well. Walking up like it’s a picnic. I want to have that kind of date with an Inspirit.
Dongwoo: A maze date in Jeju Island! There’s the world’s longest maze park there.
Hoya: Because it’s the time when flowers bloom, I think hiking would be good~
Sungyeol: I want to have a date at a traditional Korean folk village where we could learn about the old cultures of Korea.
L: I suggest the Han River in spring!
trans by: hyejin @ infinite updates japanese to kor trans cr: namepjh
