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Q: I saw a comment like this ‘The thing Taeyong says the most is “What is (a slang word)?” When the members are talking and the appearance of Taeyong who’s not sure what they are saying can be seen (laughs)’. Are there any new slang words you’ve learnt lately?
Taeyong: Hmm… Lately, I know this. 어쩔 티비 저쩔 티비 (So what TV; which kind of means ‘so what/whatever’, it’s a slang elementary school students use mostly)
Q: Haha is there anything you’re into lately? Taeyong’s personal interviews are rare so there’s a lot I’m curious about
Taeyong: I’m into scented candles these days. I like it when lighting up a scented candle creates a warm atmosphere. Since I started liking scented things, I changed to body wash that has fragrance too. Ah, and sometimes when I receive flowers as presents, I put them in a glass bottle.
Q: What an intimate hobby you have. Among all the clothes you’ve worn for this photoshoot, is there any that you feel was unique or you liked?
Taeyong: The skirt. It’s not the first time I’m wearing a skirt but no matter what because it’s not an item I wear often so it made the photoshoot more fun.
Q: Everyone has a fashion style they love that can cover their cons and emphasize on their pros, right? How about Taeyong?
Taeyong: For me, my legs are the really skinny kind so I don’t really wear styles like skinny jeans. When I choose pants, I prefer bootcut or straight fit training pants. And when I’m shopping, I usually imagine how I’d look wearing them during practice. If I look good during practice, it actually helps me practice better (laughs). Which is why I like clothes that show my dance line well and make me look like I dance well even if I’m doing the same moves.
Q: NCT 3rd Album <Universe> was released in mid December and you wrote part of the lyrics for the title track ‘Beautiful’, right? The lyrics for Taeyong’s part really caught my eyes “Beautiful life, Beautiful heart. On the bright side of life, look at yourself proudly. When everything in the world is all in place, why do they shine even more beautifully?” I feel like the words like ‘bright side’, ‘proudly’ and ‘all in place’ seem to reflect Taeyong’s values.
Taeyong: 2021 was a year that made me feel “There really are so many beautiful things around me”. The way that life can become happier and more beautiful just through the smallest things. I’ve realized there are countless many ways that could make life like this. Maybe that’s why, I wanted to say to the people who are running hard towards their dreams “You can be proud of just that alone!”
Q: For Taeyong, what do you do and how do you spend your time in your ‘most comfortable and happiest state’?
Taeyong: When the schedule ends and I come home to arrange my clothes, or when I’m taking a half-body bath, when I’m listening to songs, when I’m changing the water for my fish tank, or when I’m watering my plants. And when I fill the water up for the humidifier too. When I spend my time doing small and simple things like that, I can arrange my thoughts well and my heart can become calmer too so I like it.
Q: The fact that there’s quite a gap between the very charismatic Taeyong on stage and the Taeyong off stage, it’s surprising/amazing. I know that you have a lot of interest in song-writing and song-making too, how do you solve it when you run into a block while making songs?
Taeyong: I look to the people around me for advice or listen to songs that are similar to my condition. Like “My condition is like this right now, why? Why am I feeling this way?” “I wonder what kind of experience resulted in this song being made?” “It’s quite similar to me~” As I have thoughts like these for a few days, there’ll be more things to write about. And I’m also the type to arrange my lyrics the best when I’m showering or cleaning my room.
Q: I heard that you’re really good at cleaning and you’re really tidy. Is there an item in your life that you think you can’t live without?
Taeyong: Phone and AirPods. Ah, the card key I use to enter the dorms. I think phones are something that we can’t not have now, and sometimes when I need time to myself only, AirPods are a must. For the dorm key card, if I don’t have it, I’ll have to take the elevator and press the passcode again so I really need it (laughs).
Q: I heard that during Taeyong trainee days, the trainer said “This guy can’t make it” about you? I asked this during Baekhyun’s interview too but I’m really curious about the process of how someone who was so behind on dance ended up becoming the core of the team’s performance, is it all through endless practice?
Taeyong: When I was a middle schooler, I’ve actually told my parents I wanted to go to an art high school before. So my mom really helped me with several hobbies. The ones that I liked the most among them were basketball, art, and piano. I really liked play-rapping with my friends too. Of course I didn’t even think of having a dream for things I did as hobbies. When I took my first step in the company, I had this thought “For me, there are no other paths but this”. I think I’m blissful at the fact that there are people who like me and are happy for me whenever I work hard at anything.
Q: It seems like you’ve developed through the happiness you feel when people feel happiness watching you, it seems like you’ve received a positive stimulation from the reactions around you.
Taeyong: “I must not disappoint those people, because they’re people who believe in me”. It’s because of this thought that I was able to work hard practicing well for a long time. Even when my confidence drops, I look for my friends that listen to my worries and support me, I stop comparing myself with others and the things I want to do naturally appear. To be honest, I’m tone-deaf and have no sense of rhythm, I still think that now too. I know what I’m lacking so I think that I can only continue working hard.
Q: NCT leader Taeyong is tone-deaf and has no sense of rhythm? That’s kind of hard to believe though? Which musician’s songs have you listened to lately and was amazed by?
Taeyong: 070 Shake’s ‘Neo Surf’. I learned of it through the music video first and I really liked the natural acting/direction and the nature/scenery of the sea was very cool. It was futuristic yet it matches the elements of nature, it widens my imagination every time I watch it.
Q: Ever since your debut, you’ve been directly involved in rap-making with Mark, and you’ve been releasing various self-made songs in Soundcloud too, right? At the same time, you are showing eye-catching performance as the center of NCT 127. The Taeyong who’s making songs and writing lyrics and the Taeyong who’s performing, how different are each of your modes or the parts that you pay attention to?
Taeyong: I’m the type that when I listen to a song, the formation and composition naturally comes to me according to the concept of the song like “I wonder how it’d look if I include this gesture or movement into the choreo”. But no matter what, there are a lot of respectable people around me so I’ve received great help. Receiving training tips and getting to see up-close the teachers that teach me, choreographers, composers, songwriters, A&R, managers, directors etc. and gaining inspiration from them, I naturally got to learn from them. Working hard to learn from watching them, I’ve also collected a lot of tips. I really think how natural someone is on stage depends a lot on how hard that person has worked. It’s the difference in how well I adapt to it and act as well as the hard-work I’ve put in the choreo.
Q: Do you have an ideal look of a rapper or a performance?
Taeyong: There are a lot of rappers I see that way, solo singers, and bands too. When I watched Jo Yongpil’s “Bounce”, I thought that I wanted to become a person like Teacher Jo Yongpil. There were many times where I thought I wanted to be like Teacher Lee Sooman who continuously has a dream too. It’s my dream and goal for me to just continuously perform together with the precious people who make the stage.
Q: On 1st January at SMTOWN live, the metaverse DJ party the producer Hitchhiker did went viral, right? I actually listen to Hitchhiker and Taeyong’s “Around” which was released in 2017. At the time NCT had a sharp image to me, but the combo of Hitchhiker’s trademark addictiveness and sharp noise with Taeyong was refreshing.
Taeyong: When first making that song, I have memories that it was done only with the small home recording equipment at home. A lot of beats were played, to the point that I was dizzy. After listening to the beat hundreds of times, the melody of the ‘ddan-dda ddanddanddan’ keeps playing in my ears. I remember thinking “Let’s see if you win or I win”, and stayed up the whole night (laughs).
Q: NCT is a unique group that promotes the concept of different units NCT 127, NCT U, NCT Dream etc. right? Looking back, was there any determining time that made you think “I’ve gone through all these rough times and my skills have really grown”?
Taeyong: I think of the times between our debut song in 2016, ‘The 7th Sense’, to our ‘Boss’ promotion in 2018. The more I perform, I can see that my movements are clearer and my expression has improved by a level. Every moment to perform was really precious and important, I didn’t want to disappoint anyone. The me at the time really worked so hard to the point where it’s too much. But I think it’s because of that I’m here today.
Q: When we were filming the Youtube content, we talked about drawing, right? Though drawing and making music are similar in the fact that they can both be used to express ourselves, is there a difference between something you do just for fun and work you can make while having fun?
Taeyong: There are many times when I draw something based on the music I make. I find it fun when I can express it with the colors, shapes, or animals I think of when I play the songs. Or writing typography/texts or drawing comic characters like graffiti, the time passes really fast. If I were to say making music is a more detailed way for me to express myself, then drawing means the same thing to me the way raising fish or cleaning my room means to me. And for me, after finishing schedules or during holidays, I go to the practice room and dance and because it’s like resting to me, I totally do not think of it as work too. The way I see it, I think I’m really blessed that the things I want to do are the same as the work I’m doing.
Q: I slightly heard you talking about your nephew with your manager, and I actually often feel amazed looking at my nephew thinking “Even though kids are young, they know what’s the truth and lies” What’s something you feel through looking at your nephew?
Taeyong: Sometimes when I’m resting at home and I’m overwhelmed with worries or small thoughts, an interesting thing is that my nephew always never leaves me alone. It’s like he knows and feels something is going on and wants to comfort me and I find that interesting. My nephew is 7 years old this year and he told me he has a girlfriend… Is this a secret? (laughs) My noona (elder sister) tells me about my nephew all the time and I receive healing through watching his vlogs every day.
Q: In the mini album <NCT #127 Cherry Bomb> B-side <Whiplash>, the behind story of the lyrics being your noona was really memorable. The noona that raised her brother strongly like whipping lash!
Taeyong: In my house, my noona was the greatest motivation for me.
Q: In Kai’s interview, he talked a lot about his noona and nephew too. For Taeyong’s noona, how was her reaction when her brother first became a trainee at SM?
Taeyong: I remembered at the same time she didn’t really say anything. We were both busy and it was a time that noona was studying really hard. Not just my noona, I think my entire family didn’t really mind too much when I became a trainee. Instead, they gave me a lot of support.
Q: If your 7 years old nephew turns the age that you became a trainee at and tells you “I want to become a singer like uncle too!”, what advice would you give him?
Taeyong: “No matter what you do, you will do well. That is something I’ll believe in. Do your best no matter what you’re doing and become the best” I think I would say that. Like what my father said to me.
Q: NCT 127 3rd Album <Sticker> which was released a few months ago went up to 3rd place on the Billboard Top 200. NCT 127 has been going up the Billboard charts step by step since 2018. Is there a place you’d like to improve and to reach compared to now?
Taeyong: I always think “I want to protect this team for a long time”. I’m a lacking leader in many ways but together with the members, I want to show more things that only 127 can do; I want to make more memories with the fans through the potential that 127 has. Though we’ve already achieved many things and done many cool performances and made lots of happy memories, I want to continue developing and become a long-lasting team.
Q: 2022 just started and it’s still cold but we had the photoshoot with you wearing the S/S clothes. I think it’s important for when I become better in the future to look back to the past and think back. For Taeyong, what are some big or small things you’d tell “Great job” to yourself about?
Taeyong: Starting Instagram and making Soundcloud. It was nice that I had a new way to communicate with my fans. It feels like there’s a new space for me to express myself. I danced, sang, and rapped in that path and I want to say…. great job.
Q: You’ve said this during the shoot, that there are a lot of things you want to do, please say all the things you want to do. And finally, what kind of artist does Taeyong dream to be?
Taeyong: I hope the songs I make and the lyrics I write can be a source of strength to people. During my trainee days, after I found out “So I’m the kind of person that feels happiness when I’m making others happy”, I’ve wanted to support anyone by doing the things that I’m good at. I like making the formation and choreography for performances, and I like making people feel touched too. Doing all those things, I want to become a director or choreographer in the future and live and work while giving help to artists who have similar thoughts as I.
Translation @alientyong on Twitter