GQ Magazine TREASURE “If you don’t give up, tomorrow will be new again”
Saturday, 2 November 2024
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| An afterimage of light carved by a treasure. |
GQ: As one of the two leaders of the 10 Treasure members, what are the most common words you say when directing?
CHS: Good, you're doing great, So Close!, Sense, Do whatever you want, Crazy. As someone who records in the booth, I know that the tension inside is truly indescribable. I get more nervous than when I stand on stage for the first time and more nervous than when I do the first month-end evaluation.
GQ: Every time?
CHS: Every time. Because I know that well, I try hard to tell the members that the booth is also a stage.
GQ: Those words are ultimately what they want to hear, right?
CHS: Yes. When I look at the members, they especially show their (skills) best when I say, "Do whatever you want."
GQ: Hyunseok also said that he aims to be a hexagonal artist. What is the point that you want to fill up more toward that goal?
CHS: Happiness. I think that I should always be objective and cool-headed when I look at myself, but I think that my goals should always be high, and they say that goals determine a person's capacity. So I think that hexagonal artist is the most distant thing I can think of. Skills are skills, and sense is sense. I think that it's something that I can develop as I play my role. I want to be someone who takes care of myself, reminds myself that there is happiness inside me, and knows how to protect myself. I want to be someone who sees bright sunlight.
GQ: That's poetic. I want to be someone who sees bright sunlight.
CHS: I actually like rain, but I wish there would come a day when I can see and enjoy the sunlight like other people. I want to be someone who can brightly welcome the happiness that I didn't know about.
GQ: That's an interesting theory of happiness. Even if it's something I don't really like, I want to embrace it, and that will soon become happiness.
CHS: Yes. Wouldn't it be good to make anything mine, rather than looking at something negatively?
PARK JIHOON
I wish you a positive mind and happiness as you celebrate the 4th anniversary of your debut by blowing the candles and welcoming the past, present, and future. Thank you to the members, treasure makers, and staff who were with us. Congratulations. I don’t know when it will be, but I want to go back to the day before
I leave this world n years ago or n years later
I wonder what kind of expression I will make, what I remember, and what kind of mind I will have as I look back on the past and say to my future self, “How was Jihoon’s life?” before reincarnating.
A work that contains me,
the genre title <Park Jihoon>, genre series. As we live, we have many experiences and memories. Whether positive or negative. Since I will also have many chapters in my life, I want to divide the story of a person named Park Jihoon into different periods and situations and make a series film in various forms.
One line of the work
A few days after I had a dream that a dragon holding a Yeouiju passed through my legs and flew freely in the sky, a dragon was born in Busan on March 14, 2000, the year of Gyeongjin.
In my jewelry box,
I want to keep the most beautiful and wonderful images of my loved ones in some form and always carry them with me or engrave them on my body and live my life. I want them to be vivid because I don’t want them to forget and fade as time goes by.
I am confident that I can definitely win this kind of challenge
I am learning Judo diligently. Since I was young, I have been fearless and liked activities, so I wanted to learn something dynamic and that is how I came across Judo. Judo is not a battle of strength but a battle of moves. It is extremely difficult to overcome an opponent who is trying not to fall. The pleasure of breaking through all that strength and moves! I cannot describe it in words. The Dobok that I have been waiting for for 3 weeks has just arrived. I am seriously trying to learn.
GQ: Is visiting exhibitions still a hobby these days?
JH: Yes. I have a personal wish to enhance my aesthetic sense, and I have talented people by my side all the time, but I think I can create more synergy if I know myself well, so I often go to exhibitions.
GQ: Is there a recent aesthetic that lingers?
JH: It’s the Banksy exhibition. I remember the work called ‘Festival.’ It was impressive because it depicts the contradictory appearance of people who support anti-social lifestyles like punk and goth standing in line to buy festival goods. Personally, I felt a bit awkward having the words Banksy and exhibition next to each other, but I went to see it for myself. There’s no set answer.
GQ: There was something Ji-hoon said in passing at an exhibition that left an impression on me, and it overlaps with now. He said, “Everyone sees and feels something differently, so that’s why they can think that way.” No matter what opinions people have after seeing the work.
JH: That’s right. Whether it’s an exhibition or a movie, media that inspires are open to everyone differently. It’s up to each individual to decide how to accept it. I think I was stuck in my thoughts at first, but as my perspective broadened, I started to see things from different angles. When I was young, my brother went to a taekwondo academy, but I went to an art academy and a violin academy, and when I got home, I would put rosin on my violin bow. I also wanted to learn taekwondo, but I asked my mom why I had to do something like that (laughs). Now I know. Unlike my brother who was calm when I was young, I couldn’t sit still. My mom, who was a designer, said she saw artistic talent in me. I think that experience helped me a lot now. When I actually do it, I find it fun to learn.
YOSHI
I wish the 10 members of Treasure and TME could stay together forever while blowing out candles to celebrate the 4th anniversary of their debut !
To me n years ago or n years from now,
to me 10 years from now. I'm going to live happily♡.
A one-line synopsis of a piece that contains me
'The songs I'm going to make in the future will be discovered, listened to, and danced to by people tens of thousands of light years from now. I'm going to become an artist who makes them like that!' With that mindset, Yoshi is recording hard today as well. I want to put the Beatles' <Let It Be> record
in my jewelry box
It's the music that my mom and dad listened to together before they got married, so it's precious to me. I really like vintage things, clothes and things that have an old feel, and when I went to my grandma's house, I was looking for my dad's stuff and I saw the <Let It Be> record. I asked my mom, "Mom, what's this?" and she said, "Huh? I listened to this before I got married, and I still have it," so I treasure it. The melody and the lyrics of "Let It Be" that repeat over and over have a heart-wrenching emotion, so I sometimes listen to it before going to bed.
'I am the only poet who can write that poem'
"You shout Bingo! It's probably cold inside." It's a part of the lyrics I wrote in our song 'GOAT', 'Bingo 氷庫', a warehouse where ice is stored, and 'Bingo Bingo', the word you say when you win, so, you won Bingo, and since it's Bingo 氷庫, where you shout but put ice, I tried a punchline, a pun with 'It's probably cold inside' and 'amateur'. How did I know the expression Bingo 氷庫? It's strange to me too, but I think I come across such old-fashioned expressions when I look up words. Hyunseok hyung always says, "You know so many old-fashioned expressions." That helps sometimes. I like it because it brings out a different color when I write lyrics.
GQ: You wrote the lyrics “Climb to the top as you wish” in your new song “KING KONG” after watching the movie <King Kong>. Is there a scene from the movie that you memorized as inspiration? I really like director
YS: Stanley Kubrick, so I really like looking up behind-the-scenes footage and how they were filmed. My friends who share movies with me are Hyunseok and (Ah) Sahi. Sahi recommended that I watch <Romeo and Juliet> that came out in 1996, and I really enjoyed it because it shows the nature of humans who prioritize unrequited love. There’s a scene where Juliet tells Romeo, “I gave you my love before you asked for it,” and it’s so romantic and beautiful that I paused the movie, rewinded it, and watched it again. I also like poetry and people who write well, but isn’t it so romantic? That I gave it to you before you even asked for it?
GQ You like poetry.
YS When I was a trainee, I asked Song Min-ho, “Hyung, where do you get your inspiration from?” and he told me that he read a lot of poetry books. So I thought, “I should buy a poetry book too,” and I started reading them, and I like them.
GQ: What if you talk about love without using the word love like Yoshi?
YS: Oh, there’s an expression like that. When I first heard it, I thought it was love. You Make Me Happy. You make me happy. It’s the closest thing to the kind of love I think of.
GQ: Yoshi says that there are emotions that only Korean can express, so he writes lyrics in Korean instead of Japanese. Are there any sentences that you underline even though they’re difficult?
YS: There’s a poem by Leonard Cohen called “My Poem.” When I first opened the poetry book I bought, I saw this poem on the first page. At the time, the words were a little difficult, but I thought it was such a wonderful sentence. I still remember it. “But when I couldn’t sleep no matter how hard I tried, I learned how to write poetry. For poems like this one that someone like me might read tonight.”
JUNKYU
Celebrating 4th debut anniversary,
I hope all Treasures stay healthy and that all your wishes come true!
A congratulatory card message to myself
Don't give up!
What I want to say to myself n years ago or n years from now
To myself in 10 years. I hope you continue to achieve your current dreams. I want to become someone who looks forward to tomorrow. Won't I be much more mature than I am now in 10 years?
A work that contains me, that genre,
<Junkyu's Dream>, documentary. This moment with Treasure Maker feels like a dream, and I am continuing to achieve my dreams.
One line of the work Junkyu
who keeps challenging himself, falls down, and gets up repeatedly, I think it's over now... but suddenly?! To Be Continued.
I am confident that I will definitely win this kind of challenge
I am confident that I can jump rope for a long time with the stamina I saved up at home on my days off. I have been jumping rope twice since I was little, so much so that even I find it amazing.
GQ: I've been making music since I was in high school. I said I had about 300 songs in my work folder a year ago, but how much has it increased since then?
JK: I don't know because I didn't count, but I used to have a lot of work. But it's a little different these days. I think I should increase quality rather than quantity. I try to make each song as high quality as possible, so the quantity has probably decreased compared to the past, but I'm trying to focus on growing qualitatively.
GQ: That's right. Quantity isn't important.
JK: Yes. So I changed my focus and worked like that for the past year.
GQ: What's the name of your work folder?
JK: It's just 'work'. 'Work', it's written like that.
GQ: That's direct.
JK If you go inside, there are various things, and if I feel like the result is a little disappointing, I write 'ㅠㅠ', and if you go inside the folder, I give it a detailed title in my own way, but the entire folder is just 'work'. (Laughs)
GQ: The word that was repeated the most among the records Junkyu left behind was 'dream'.
JK: That's right. I like the word dream. Someone who dreams of happiness.
GQ: What is that happiness?
JK: Someone who looks forward to tomorrow.
GQ: My work folder is also a piece of my dream. If you were to describe the point where all those pieces come together?
JK: I think it’s a bright color for sure. It’s hopeful. Hopeful and positive. I think it becomes like that because I hope for it that way. I have to think positively so that there is tomorrow.
GQ: While waiting for tomorrow, is there anything different between the Junkyu of yesterday and the Junkyu of today?
JK: What has changed···. I always tell myself, “Don’t give up,” but my mindset is the same now as it was in the past, so if you look at it broadly, it doesn’t seem to have changed. That’s why I look forward to tomorrow. Because if I don’t give up on anything yesterday or today, tomorrow will be new again.
YOON JAE HYUK
I'm happy that I can be with you for 4 years while blowing out the candles to celebrate the 4th anniversary of my debut , and I want to make many more memories with Treasure Maker in the future.
How are you, Jaehyuk, 10 years from now
to me ten years ago or ten years from now? I hope you've achieved everything you wanted to achieve, and I hope you'll always be good to those around you. (Draws a picture of a tree.) Oh, the reason I drew a tree is because I really like trees, and once they settle down, they stay there, put down deep roots, and grow. I'll always be here, that's what it means.
A work that contains me, that genre
would be a documentary titled <Mirror>. I think it would be fun to face the mirrored me and dig into who I am.
One line of the work's synopsis:
The things I've only seen happen when I look in the mirror, and they actually happen?! Jaehyuk's hilarious day!
In my jewelry box is
Oasis' song 'Whatever'. I feel like it's a song with a free message. As we live, various emotions can make us suffer. It's a song that changes those things into the thought of 'that could happen', and although the lyrics or content are not actually like that, I feel like it's a song that makes me think like that, so it's comforting.
I want to try a reckless challenge
a long march across the country. Competing with other people is good, but I want to compete with myself, and I want to beat myself through the long march across the country.
GQ: Jaehyuk, a diehard Hanwha fan, if you were to compare yourself to a baseball game, what would you say?
YJH: I think it would be the top of the fifth inning.
GQ: What does that mean?
YJH: In baseball, there is a starting pitcher who starts the game, and in my opinion, baseball usually changes the starting pitcher around the fifth or sixth inning. It seems like a time when you think about whether you should change the pitcher or not, whether you should try to change what you have been doing so far or whether you should continue to do the same.
GQ: Who is your opponent in that game? What should you do to make a big move?
YJH: Your opponent is also like yourself. To beat me... But what I am confident about is the promise I made to myself that I will never regret it. Since I believe in myself, I think I should just keep polishing myself and do my best no matter what direction I am going.
GQ: When I was asked what I would say to myself a few years ago or in a few years, I said, “Jaehyeok in 10 years, how are you doing?” When you think back to Jaehyeok 10 years ago, what is Jaehyeok like now?
YJH: I think my perspective on the world has changed a little. In the past, I tried to be considerate and considerate to everyone, but now I try to pay more attention and devotion to the precious people around me. I think this change gives me more meaning and happiness.
GQ: Isn't that because my perspective on the world has narrowed a little?
YJH: I think it's also broadened. Because it's within close relationships, I try to think, act, and speak more carefully two or three times.
ASAHI
DOYOUNG
HARUTO
GQ: If you were to create a piece based on Haruto's story, what genre and title would be appropriate?
HRT: A piece that resembles me... A piece that resembles me... (Thinks deeply for a while.) Ah, this is really difficult.
GQ: I like the fact that you think deeply. Why is it difficult?
HRT: If you were to compare my life to a movie, I don't think there is such a movie. I think I'm a lucky person. I got into YG because my mom auditioned without telling me, and I originally started out as a vocalist, but I ended up rapping because a company employee recommended that I try rapping. I think 70 percent of it is luck... Ah! I'll do <Yes Man>. When I have to do something, I usually say "yes," and I have to actually do it to find out if it's right for me or not. So since I've already done it, <Yes Man> would be good.
GQ: Actually, it wasn't a 'similar' work, but I was trying to imagine what it would be like if I put my story into a work, and it goes well with <Yes Man>. I'll give it a try.
HRT: Ahahahaha! It was 'contained'. Thank you.
GQ: Is there anything else you've recently said "yes" to?
HRT: I bought a brown jacket. I really like brown, and I see a lot of black jackets, but I don't see brown jackets often, but I happened to see one, so I thought 'this is mine' and bought it right away. Actually, I try to do my hobbies and interests right away, like shopping or working, and if there's clothes I really like, I buy them, and if I really want to work that day, I tend to stay up all night and work on them even if I don't sleep. If I don't buy clothes I like, I'll keep thinking about them, and if I don't work on them, I'll keep thinking about the beats and lyrics I thought of. In that case, it's better to do them right away. Before I debuted, I tried to do anything with the mindset of 'if I'm going to do it, I have to do it without regrets', and I'm still trying to do that now.
PARK JEONG WOO
GQ: Do you still enjoy eating weird foods like So Jung-hwan's ramen with potato chips?
SJH: Oh, no. (Laughs) I was in middle school back then.
GQ: Is that already the case?
SJH: It's been about four years.
GQ: Back then, Jung-hwan seemed to know how to enjoy himself. How about now?
SJH: Yes. Back then, for example, I would eat weird foods to enjoy myself alone, but now I'm happy that I can receive positive influences from people, members, and fans and laugh together.
GQ: Congratulations on your graduation last spring. Besides the physical graduation, is there anything you've actually graduated from?
SJH: This is still in progress, but I'm trying not to nap as much as possible.
GQ: To the point where I even made a resolution?
SJH: Time is such a waste. Recently, I woke up at 6 p.m. thinking I'd take a nap, but it was 6 a.m. It's true. I couldn't believe it. Time suddenly disappeared. It was so precious that it stayed in my memory.
GQ: How would you make a piece featuring So Jung-hwan? What genre and title would you like?
SJH: Comedy. It's always been my wish. To live a funny and enjoyable life like a comedy movie. Rather than saying that my life is a comedy right now, I'd like the comedy genre to contain my wish for it to be that fun in the future. The title... I won't give it one for now.
GQ: Why are you wrinkling your nose and laughing? (Laughs) Is that too embarrassing of a question?
SJH: No, it's not that I'm embarrassed, but I don't think it's at a level where I can give it a title. I'll leave it blank for now, wondering how I'll portray it.
