NCT 127 WILL SPEAK OF THEIR CHILDHOODS
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.
[clock ticking]
NCT 127 RECLAIM THEIR LOST CHILDHOODS
THROUGH PERFORMANCE ART.
[ticking continues]
[ticking ends]
NCT 127, WHO DEBUTED EIGHT YEARS AGO,
REFLECT ON THEIR PRESENT
THROUGH THE NINE MEMBERS' PASTS AND DREAMS.
"ALL THE BOYS WERE GROWN UP AND DONE FOR BY THIS TIME.
SO IT IS SCARCELY WORTH WHILE SAYING ANYTHING MORE ABOUT THEM"
FROM THE NOVEL PETER PAN
[Johnny] I think I approached people with humor, especially in the US.
I made them laugh.
That's how I gained popularity
and made a lot of friends.
But I believe it was only possible through sheer effort and hard work.
I guess you can say I made myself into an extrovert to adjust to life there.
In movies, on the first day of high school, people say,
"I'm going to be a different person starting today," right?
That's exactly what I did.
I'd never been street-cast in my life.
But within a period of two to three weeks,
three agencies street-cast me.
I asked myself, "Is this really something I can do for a living?"
On my way home,
I was offered to audition by two casting directors.
I didn't have a lot growing up,
so when I told them, "I want to eat this," they bought me a sandwich.
I walked into the audition room for fun.
I went in.
But they announced that everyone could leave except for me.
I sang at several competitions
to make my own allowance by winning cash prizes.
But at one of the competitions, I received a business card.
I was trying to audition through email.
I made a list of all the famous talent agencies.
I was just about to click "send" when I got the call.
I think it was fate.
That's how it went.
[interviewer, in English] You got cast just with those three poses?
Yep.
[interviewer, in Korean] Did you learn how to sing or dance prior to the audition?
No. I never took singing or dancing lessons.
[in English] Johnny, I want you to close your eyes.
Travel back in time to your trainee days.
How does it feel?
Fantastic.
[people chattering]
[in Korean] When asked what I wanted to do if I became a singer…
I said I wanted to make a lot of money.
- [cash register chimes] - [all] Wow!
My honesty must've made an impression on them.
[cash register chimes]
[cheering, applause]
[Johnny] I even told my mom about it.
She told me later that she thought to herself,
"Did I make him feel financially insecure?"
For the first three years of my time as a trainee,
I only visited Korea over summer and winter breaks.
For the company, it was a chance to see my progress.
But for me, it was like going to camp because I only went during school breaks.
I had so much fun training.
2008, YEAR ONE TRAINEE
Learning how to dance and sing.
From then, I lived two different lives,
as Johnny, the K-pop singer trainee,
and Johnny, the American student.
Back then, I was a moody teenager, so I was really into rock music.
To be honest, I didn't know many K-pop songs from SM.
[school children chattering]
I couldn't wait for school breaks.
[school bell rings]
[interviewer] You didn't think the first three years,
which were like vacation to you,
would turn into an eight-year training period,
the longest compared to your bandmates.
If you had to go back in time to do it all again for nine years,
would you do it?
[Johnny] In my third year as a trainee, I failed to debut for the first time.
2010, HAN RIVER
I remember talking to another trainee by the Han River.
FRIEND (TRAINEE, DEBUTING) JOHNNY (TRAINEE, 3RD YEAR)
I'm sorry I'm debuting first.
No, don't be.
We worked so hard.
We did.
[Taeyong sighs]
Johnny, you're really…
You're a better dancer than I am, and you're taller.
Plus, you're handsome. You'll be fine.
You're better-looking, though.
Yeah, I guess so.
Ah…
I can't imagine what you're going through...
You can't.
Well, I'm trying.
You're so bad at this. You're failing miserably right now.
- Really? - Yeah.
- Is this not how you comfort someone? - No, not at all.
Oh, okay.
- I'll look up how to comfort someone. - Okay.
[interviewer, in English] Cut.
[Taeyong chuckles]
[crew chatter]
Didn't you cry on that day, Johnny?
I did.
Why aren't you crying now?
Johnny doesn't cry anymore.
Why doesn't Johnny cry anymore?
He's grown up.
[in Korean] I think that was the first time I ever cried like that.
I let it all out.
Above all, I think my mom's response was the most memorable.
She told me it was okay and that I could just do something else.
The schedule was tough,
but I didn't think it was difficult at the time.
At practice, as a trainee,
I worked really hard.
And when I wasn't practicing and I was home, I spent time for myself.
I was able to learn how to sing as much as I wanted,
to experience a variety of things, and do what I wanted without any worries.
It was a very happy time.
I learned Korean and Japanese at the same time.
[interviewer] But Yuta, you're Japanese.
[in Japanese] I am.
But my Kansai accent was so strong. I took lessons to get rid of it.
[in Korean] The hardest part was the uncertainty of my debut,
which I'm sure must've been the hardest thing for everyone.
But through the frustration and hardship,
I think I definitely grew a lot.
It was the only thing that I…
could do.
Back then, I didn't get good grades.
I wasn't born with an innate talent.
I wasn't particularly hardworking.
I think…
I was a bit insecure.
[stage crew chattering]
[Taeyong] I think I went through sort of a rebirth at SM.
And I relearned everything from square one.
I think what's really important here is what we say to the audience.
Doyoung, why did you want to do "Favorite"?
[Taeyong] Things like, what to say in certain situations.
- [Doyoung] No, let's not do it. - [Jaehyun] Do something else.
What I mean is, you can do it, if that's what you really want.
I learned a lot about things like that.
TAEYONG
I think he's the type of leader who takes initiative.
Most importantly, he's a leader who represents his team.
In our team, NCT 127,
he's like our identity.
Performance-wise, when he's in the center,
I think our band definitely shines brighter.
He's not just the leader.
He's someone we often rely on for his influence.
He must've felt a lot of pressure from having to stand in the center.
You know what I mean?
He works so hard as a leader even when we're not watching.
He takes our thoughts and opinions,
and voices them to staffers and crew…
as if they're his own thoughts.
I think that's something only he can do.
I think he's doing a great job.
I wish I could say…
that I did my best.
I'm sorry.
I'm getting emotional all of a sudden.
I think…
I think the reason I'm crying is because…
I've really been doing my best,
but I think I'm inadequate in many ways.
That's what I regret.
[interviewer] What do you regret the most?
[sniffles]
Every single moment.
I wanted to become a good listener. It was a privilege…
[chattering]
…to become a part of my bandmates' stories of the past.
"I'm working hard to provide for you guys."
[in Japanese] Hey, you over there! Run faster!
[in Korean] I loved that we got a feel for each other's childhoods.
[Yuta groans, chuckles]
Is it my turn now?
OUR HAPPY CLASSROOM
[birds chirping]
[Taeyong] When I was in elementary school,
I transferred to another school in fourth grade.
I think transfer students tended to stand out a bit more.
Back then, there was only one person who was kind to me.
Hey.
Come on.
Let's go sit.
[Taeyong] That's when I started to like her.
But it was awkward to tell her, "I like you" directly.
Here.
So I came up with a unique way to tell her how I felt.
This is the classroom.
Here's this and this.
I like the girl sitting here.
[interviewer, in English] Wait a minute, wait a minute.
- [in Korean] I don't understand. - Huh?
I told her, "The point where this horizontal line on the grid
and this vertical line on the grid meet
is where the girl I like sits."
Does it make sense now?
By any chance, are the latitude and longitude coordinates 127?
[Taeyong] She understood right away.
I'll go ask my brother.
But it turned out that he was the president of the student council.
So I thought to myself, "I'm in so much trouble."
The next day, she told me her brother said, "No."
Well… You know…
The thing is…
[school bell rings]
[crickets chirping]
[Taeyong] That's when…
I lost my confidence in confessing my feelings.
It dipped so low.
[interviewer] Did the experience
become the impetus to the diligent life you live now?
No, I think…
it just turned me into a bit of a loser.
There were two reasons I was able to get through difficulties.
[bullies snickering]
Hey!
The first reason was my older sister.
[sighs] Let's go.
[Taeyong] I looked up to my older sister even more than my parents.
She stood up for me whenever I was in trouble.
Because of what she did for me, she became my hero.
Even now, my favorite songs are from an MP3 player she gave me.
When she gave it to me, I didn't know how to download music.
So I just listened to her playlist.
That's how I found my favorite musicians.
[interviewer] It seems your sister was the person you relied on the most.
That's right. My older sister.
And the second reason was Ruby.
I turned to Ruby a lot whenever my sister was unavailable.
In high school, I didn't go to school much.
The reasons I didn't go were also very strange.
I didn't go because it was too cold or because I was hungry.
Mmm…
I think I was really lost back then.
I was quite affectionate to Ruby.
There was an incident with Ruby.
One day, she ran away.
[no audible dialogue]
When I was struggling the most in my childhood,
she was always by my side.
Always.
My family struggled financially up until my trainee years.
We weren't wealthy.
[muffled shouting]
But I never blamed or resented my family for that.
The root of the problem was money, not us.
Every time I went back home to Daejeon after my debut,
I could see that Ruby was getting old.
She'd lost a lot of teeth too.
[Ruby panting]
[whines]
I never even imagined…
that one day, Ruby wouldn't be around anymore.
She always used to jump onto the bed.
But she couldn't do that anymore.
Even when Ruby was weak, she was always by my side.
I'm grateful to Ruby as much as I am to my sister.
Whenever my mom would come in to tell me to eat,
Ruby would bark at her.
I think she just wanted to protect me.
[wind whistling]
In our next lives, I hope we switch roles.
So that we can do things we regret not doing.
I have a lot of regrets about how I spent time with Ruby.
When I see other dogs, they go to the beach, the mountains,
and other places with their families.
When I see those photos,
I regret that I couldn't make those memories with Ruby.
[interviewer, in English] Several months ago,
I told you to take photos
of other members of NCT 127.
- Yes. - How did you feel?
Well, it... it had been a while since I've taken photos of the members,
so I was kind of looking forward to it as well.
Especially because, uh, we were about to be on tour.
I guess it was kind of, like, killing two birds with one stone.
Choose a couple of photos and tell me why you like them.
Okay.
Uh, this is a photo I took because I thought it was funny
how everybody was taking a selfie at the same time.
That's why I like it.
This picture of Doyoung.
He's always been kind of next to me.
Our personalities kind of click.
We have very good conversations.
He is very intellectual. I get to learn a lot from him.
This is a bad photo.
Anyways, this is... This is a photo of Taeil hyung.
Member, friend, a hyung.
Really has the ability to draw people around him.
This photo is of Taeyong.
He'd just bought some chocolates, and he looks happy.
Taeyong, to me,
is a member that I find a lot of camaraderie.
It feels like two warriors going out to the battlefield
and coming back alive, you know?
My hopes are that they can see the meaning behind the photos.
So, I hope they can feel the warmness,
the... the emotions I have when I take photos of them.
[interviewer, in Korean] How different is your life now,
if you compare it to what you, as a trainee, imagined it'd be like?
It's totally different.
It's very different.
Very different than what I'd imagined. When I was a trainee, I thought…
"When I become a singer…"
I thought life would always be fancy
and there'd be applause and glitz and glam everywhere.
Just like, "Wow!"
I thought I would live in a world of popularity.
I thought I'd become like Justin Bieber.
It's not like that at all. It doesn't change anything.
I just have more responsibilities.
2013, YEAR FIVE TRAINEE
[Haechan] We used to call SM "The Room of Time."
We didn't know how long we'd be there.
Your age and things like that didn't matter much.
It was all about how much we could accomplish.
So that's why it was called "The Room of Time."
After all that training, they told me to go to America to take a break.
So I went.
I met up with my high school friends.
I've known some of them since elementary school.
After meeting them and seeing their lives,
I started to wonder, "Should I live like they do too?"
So we talked a lot.
I thought, "Well, I tried my best.
Let's just return to the US… and do my best there."
So, at the time, Doyoung did something particularly memorable.
[interviewer] You're okay with playing Doyoung?
- Doyoung this time? - Yes.
Doyoung is my favorite. I'll give it a try.
That was so fake.
For real?
- Okay, I'll try. - [interviewer] Okay.
CRISP CLEAN TASTE YOU CAN'T IMITATE
KIMCHI JJIM, SAMGYEOPSAL CHICAGO PIZZA, CHICKEN BURGER
2015, SEOUL
[Johnny] That day, Doyoung said…
DOYOUNG (TRAINEE, FRIEND)
"Johnny, please stay."
Or something like that.
JOHNNY (TRAINEE, 7TH YEAR)
Because originally, Doyoung and I didn't make the cut and weren't in NCT 127.
He asked me to stay.
At the time, I told him, "These are the difficulties I'm facing.
I'm looking forward to the next chapter of my life."
We spoke. We ate.
Then, we went back to the dorm and went to sleep.
I think Doyoung even wrote me a letter asking me not to go.
He seemed more determined than ever, in my eyes.
I thought, "I should do whatever I can to keep him from leaving."
I think that's how I felt.
I thought it was really over.
But when you hear someone tell you that it isn't over for you yet,
you get the courage to give it one last shot.
But I'm glad that he stayed and that we're in this together.
I'm so relieved and grateful for Johnny.
[interviewer] How does it feel to have a personal exhibition
displaying photos of your fellow members?
[Johnny] I feel kind of embarrassed.
These photos did not come out as good as I thought they would.
I tried to take photos as how I see them,
how I see the world.
So I hope they can feel
what I feel about them through the pictures.
[chuckles] What is this?
[interviewer] Yeah, what is this?
- I didn't take that photo. - Really?
[interviewer, in Korean] Mark, what does Johnny mean to you?
[Mark] If you take a look at the painting,
I'm pretty sure anyone can tell it's Johnny.
He's a muscleman. And he's also very stylish.
I always think of him as a charming guy.
[Johnny] Who is this?
[in English] "Yo! Mark!"
[interviewer] Haechan, what does Johnny mean to you?
There are so many times I feel grateful to have Johnny.
We, as a band, rely on him a lot.
If we didn't have Johnny,
I can't even imagine what we would be without him.
That's how I feel. I'm so grateful for Johnny.
Mmm.
PHOTOGRAPHER SUH YOUNG-HO DECEMBER 7, 2022
Someone who expresses their feelings this way…
I feel like it's going to be Yuta.
- You wanna hear the artist's statement? - [in English] Yeah.
[Yuta, in Korean] Even in dark moments,
Johnny always does something funny to change the mood.
I feel like he's a sunflower who appears when our team is in the dark.
- I drew a ghost. - [interviewer] A ghost?
[Taeil] I just drew a ghost.
Because we are mates in our souls. [chuckles]
The ocean suddenly comes to mind.
Not the kind of powerful ocean with harsh waves.
But one that's calm,
with the sunlight sparkling on the surface of the water.
Johnny is really… He's really like a gift to me.
He means so much to me.
It's just his personality and the fact that he's by my side.
Those are the things that make life easier for me.
He's like fire.
How should I put it? Fire is eye-catching.
And its flame can rise high.
But he has something even hotter deep inside.
Johnny bought me my first birthday present.
That's how much of a sweet guy he is.
So… I was happy.
It was my first gift from a friend.
[Johnny chuckles]
[clears throat] But still, later, when things go well for us,
let's meet up and have a good cry.
By then, we'll be much older.
- Would we cry? - Hey.
There's no such thing as a grown-up.
Grown-ups are only children wearing masks of adult faces.
Ooh.
We're allowed to cry too.
[Taeyong] Ever since I was a trainee, I've met many good grown-ups.
I realized that I really wanted to become a good grown-up like they were.
But the truth is, grown-ups all have memories of their childhoods.
They're just children, wearing masks of adult faces.
As a kid, I knew that grown-ups wanted to be childlike,
to whine like a child,
to get angry, to cry, and to lean on someone like a child.
I realized that they were just
suppressing themselves from showing their emotions.
That's why I want to be like them and become a good grown-up.
A really good grown-up.
Honestly, I still don't know what it means to be a leader.
But I want to be a good brother,
a good person, and a good friend to my bandmates.
That's my goal.
[cheering]
[Taeyong] To be honest, when I was accepted into SM,
I'm sure it was like this for the entire band,
but I kind of felt like my life began anew.
LEE EUNYEOL JAEHYUN'S SCHOOL TEACHER
So I worked hard to make our debut.
During the first year of my debut, I learned to walk.
The following year, I learned to speak.
JUNGWOO'S MOTHER
During the third year, I learned to dance, and sing and things like that.
But now, in my seventh year…
I think I've learned how to love.
[fans cheer]
[interviewer] Knowing now,
how long it would take to get where you are today,
do you think you could repeat those eight years?
Translated by Tiffany Hwang and Jisu Park