[INTERVIEW] 5.07.2012 - FIRST LOOK, FASHION KING

Trendy-dols Infinite are dominating 2012’s K-Pop scene with ‘The Chaser’. They’re also challenging variety with Mnet’s, and to be ‘1st place in the fashion ranking’, they’re standing in front of 1st Look’s cameras.

“The teamwork is particularly good, from our leader Sunggyu hyung to our maknae Sungjongie.
I think that’s why our happiness shows on broadcast too.” – L

“Since I’m the maknae, the hyungs take good care of me.
I think that’s why I keep on entering the upper ranks of the final rankings. I’m always thankful.” – Lee Sungjong

“I’m the type to communicate a lot with the fans. I regularly
come on the fancafe, leaving posts and chatting.
But even when I reveal that I’m ‘Woohyun’, they don’t believe me (laughs).” – Nam Woohyun

“Rather than simply doing music to gain popularity, I want to do music
that will remain in memories no matter how many years go by.” – Lee Sungyeol

“Because I always liked racing, once you give it as a mission, I have the confidence to be 1st place.
Since kickboards and inline skates aren’t dangerous, can’t we try them?” – Jang Dongwoo

“If we were choosing the good teeth king, I have the confidence to be 1st place.
I already went to the dentist, but the dentist was so amazed that he said I was gifted.” – Hoya

“Broadcasts are only broadcasts, I don’t care much about my image.
I’m satisfied by doing my best filming, enjoying it and getting good results.” - Kim Sunggyu

Infinite made an ‘all-kill’ on cable and public broadcast’s music programs with ‘The Chaser’. They’re in fact and in name the hottest idols in South Korea, but in the meantime, you still have a few opportunities to see Infinite off-stage. Because differently from idols who get known with fancy marketing or by carrying out acting and variety side by side, they launched their success genuinely, only with their music.

Infinite was victorious with skills such as showing a synchronized choreography that made it seems like the 7 members are one, and they made their hidden entertainment skills until they detonated now and reached another stage. That’s ) broadcasted on Mnet, every week, on Wednesday at 5PM and 9PM. It’s a program that sets a ranking between Infinite’s members, each turn on a different subject. Using various charm ranking indexes such as likeability, personal talent, knowledge, strength, it shows each of the charms of the Infinite’s members we didn’t know until now.

“Because we’re not trying to fit a mold, we’re showing a plain image while enjoying ourselves, so I think the outcome is going to be good. is indeed a competition, but we’re filming it while having fun.” (Woohyun) “We’re in competition with other singers on music programs, so rather than being in competition seriously between us, we’re just enjoying it. There’s actually a competition to see who’s going to be the funniest instead of who’s going to be 1st on the mission (laughs).” (Hoya)

The members reveal that they don’t care much about the rankings, but the thing they all shout in one voice is, “I don’t want to be last!”. The charm of is that between the preferences’ pre-survey and the rankings of the actual mission, there’s a total reversal. The leader, Sunggyu, was always in the upper ranks on the pre-surveys, but after the actual mission, he got last place 2 times, so that’s how he got the nickname ‘Ggol-Gyu’ (T/N: Basically Last Place-Gyu). “If we were choosing the sleep king, I have the confidence to be 1st place. The test would be who can sleep the longest without waking up. I can even sleep for two days.” (Sunggyu) 

The mission maknae Sungjong, who said he was always in the upper ranks in the results of the final missions through the good offices of his hyungs, wants to have is riding a scary amusement park ride. Contrary to his cute looks, he said he was the type to endure scary things well. The fifth episode’s subject is fashion that focuses on the fans as much as their music! Their style taken off-stage will be shown after half a day on star news and blogs, cafes, etc and even the brand informations and places where you can purchase the clothes will be linked. 

At the question about the name ‘casual clothes coolest’, the members all chose Dongwoo, while they chose Sungyeol as the member who didn’t care about fashion.

“Because I’m the type to have a lot of interest into clothes, I like going out to look at clothes. Rather than having a fixed style or a brand, I wear clothes that I think would fit me well when I see them or clothes that I like and that give me a good vibe.” (Dongwoo) On the other hand, Sungyeol, the fashion layman, said that it was fine as long as the clothes are comfortable. He said that he likes radio-controlled helicopters more than clothes and that he has a lot of expensive helicopters. 

To be 1st place in fashion for this mission, the members have to choose their clothes and accessories by themselves, then the hairstyle and make-up that fit them before they start shooting. Some members talk and joke so much they raise the studio’s roof while other members have their earphones on singing and practicing their dancing; in other words, not a member of busy Infinite would stay still. But as soon as the shooting started, we couldn’t find a hint of playfulness in the eyes of the members standing in front of us; we could feel a pose as good as professional models’. After the 7 members shot their personal photoshoots, the photographer Kim Youngjun, the stylist Park Manhyun and the model Song Kyungah evaluated the pictures and set the final ranking. 

The mission for this episode was to expose distinctly the real ‘fashion’ of the style the members always liked. The results were so tight, it was ‘superior’.

Since you can only see the Infinite members on stage, unlike other idols, details about their private lives such as their hobbies haven’t been released. The hobby of the member who’s been acknowledged as the most popular one, L, is to take pictures. “I don’t only take pictures of people, I also like taking pictures of sceneries. Lately, because our schedule is packed I can’t take pictures often, but when we go overseas I always make sure to make time and take pictures. If I get the opportunity to do so, I would like to major in photography.”

 Hoya who has recently taken part in the filming of a drama revealed that for his acting debut, his hobby was to watch movies.“It’s to the extent I wouldn’t even mind going to watch a movie by myself. I usually download movies and monitor the actors’ acting.”

Recently, one of the INFINITE members’ personal phone number and SNS account password got leaked on portal websites because of excessive fans. Sasaeng fans (fans who run after the celebrities’ private lives) who currently are issue have also become a problem to INFINITE. “We think of it as love and interest from our fans. This is thanks to them we got here. However we wish they could stop waiting for us at our dorm or follow the cars we’re in. Since we will both get hurt and disappointed if something bad happens to our fans when they come to see us. We want all our fans to be happy with us.” (Sunggyu)

Infinite has started to showcase their hidden talents through radios, variety shows and dramas. They also revealed that they wanted to have their own program that they would film and edit by themselves in order to show, and they also confidently added that the image they’ve revealed until now was only the tip of the iceberg. Just like any group that was acknowledged thanks to their music, they didn’t hide their greed for music. “We want to produce our own albums, compose and write our songs, choose our outfits and direct our music videos and performances. In other words, we want to make an album according to INFINITE’s style. More than anything, we have one goal. It’s to sing songs that would appeal to all generations and promote as singers for a long time. Of course, if we could be role models for some of our juniors, it’d be even better”. (INFINITE)

trans. cr; emilie, saphira @ infinite updates | source cr; first look ; take out with full credits