2PM on meeting the Prime Minister and about themselves

07-15-2009


With their upbeat personalities and tunes, 2PM has easily made its way into K-pop mainstream. They sing, they dance and they mean what they're doing.

Jaebeom, Nichkhun, Junsu, Taecyeon, Junho, Wooyoung and Chansung passed JYP Entertainment's auditions at different times, but they are later grouped together to form 2PM.

Debut single 10 Out of 10 came out in September while the second single Again & Again shot to No. 1 within weeks upon its release. The latest single, Hate You, which was released a few weeks ago, is currently enjoying a top spot in the music charts; the full album is in the work.

'Outlook' caught up with 2PM during their visit to Thailand. The three English speaking members Jaebeom, Taecyeon and Nichkhun - who all grew up outside Korea - gave us a perfect American-English interview.

You got to meet our prime minister for the 'I Love Thailand' campaign ... how was the experience?

JAEBEOM: It was a really big honour for us. This is only our second time in Thailand, and we got to meet the PM! Personally, it was my first time meeting someone that big ... Very honoured.


How will you be supporting the campaign?

NICHKHUN: We each get a "I Love Thailand" pin and T-shirt, so we'll be wearing them and spreading the good word about Thailand all around.


You've branded yourself as a 'performance boy band', could you elaborate on that?

JAEBEOM: We have a lot of different elements from other groups. We have a lot of acrobatics and we match the choreography to the lyrics. It's theatrical.

NICHKHUN: We play with the audience more. We don't just come out to look cool, cute or pretty. We come out to have fun and make the audience laugh so they can enjoy the performance.


Do you each have plans to branch out into something else?

NICHKHUN: I think all of us are interested in acting and branching out into something else, especially Chansung; he was an actor even before he joined the group. It's just that we don't have the time right now. Producing is also another area of interest for some of us. Junsu and Junho are interested in making music ... making beats. And they write songs.


Since you are all working extremely hard at quite a young age, do you feel that you're missing out on your teen years?

TAECYEON: Definitely.

NICHKHUN: But there are seven of us, so we usually play together at home [laughs out loud]. Okay, okay we hang out!

TAEYEON: But every time we feel like we're missing out on a "normal life", we support each other and try to cheer each other up and stuff.

JAEBEOM: We go out and eat, play games or watch movies. We're working hard right now so that we can relax in our later years.


Because you all spend a lot of time together, there's bound to be some conflicts. How do you deal with that?

TAECYEON: We don't have that many conflicts actually. We've been together for about three years, and if there is a problem, then we just talk it out. We don't have fist fights or anything like that. We wish! But no!


Why do you think Korean pop culture is so successful across the region?

JAEBEOM: It's the fact that we work so hard and when people see how hard we work, they begin to really get into it, you know. It's like nothing is really different, but we just really work at it.

NICHKHUN: I also think promotion has a lot to do with it. It's a little big factor. For example, the Thai music industry doesn't seem to do a lot of promoting. I think music promotion is how Koreans carry their stuff overseas.


What is the best thing about being in 2PM?

TAECYEON: I think being with these six guys and supporting each other through hard times. And eating a lot of good food!


And the worst thing?

TAECYEON: Living with six other guys!

NICHKHUN: Fighting over what we are going to eat. We all have different tastes. This one wants to eat a burger and this one wants to eat rice.


Being under the spotlight all of the time must be hard. How do you handle that and the criticism that comes with it?

TAECYEON: If it's constructive criticism, we'll take it and improve. We monitor our performances every day. Being under the spotlight puts too much pressure on us sometimes, but I think we handle it pretty well.

JAEBEOM: You know, sometimes we want our privacy and sometimes they give us a lot of pressure ... Watching everything we do. It's kind of hard. But it's pretty natural for us since we're not bad guys or anything. We have nothing to hide, you know. We don't have to change who we are.

NICHKHUN: Without the spotlight and the fans we have nothing. So we are happy to take all that.

source: bangkok post