"From Japan to Korea to become K-Pop idols" Four Japanese members of T1419 talk about their road to debut

Released April 20, 2022

T1419 debuted in Korea in January 2021 with "ASURABALBALTA" and their music video has been viewed more than 30 million times. Their debut in Japan was on March 9 (Wed.) with the mini-album "OUR TEEN: BLUE SIDE.

Kstyle interviewed Japanese members LEO, ZERO, KAIRI, and KIO, who returned to Japan for the promotional activities for their Japan debut. and their bond with the members.

【Photo】 T1419 Japanese members supported each other during their trainee days: "Korean members also helped us... we can rely on them a lot.

【Present】T1419 Japanese members will give away a signed polaroid for two people! To enter, follow us on Twitter and retweet!

**――Once again, please tell us in detail about your path to your debut as a member of T1419.**

**What kind of practice did you have in Japan?**

Kairi: Before I entered a dance school, I was very impatient and practiced dancing on my own in front of the mirror in my room. I couldn't stay without doing something, so I danced while watching dance practice videos of BTS (Bulletproof Boys) and sang songs by Jun. K of 2PM.

Zero: I started dancing when I was in my first year of high school, and I felt very impatient too, because I thought it was time for me to make my debut by now, given my age. I spent about half a year dancing in club activities and going to school right afterwards. In club activities, I was doing hip-hop and J-pop genre songs, and I learned K-pop at school.

Leo: I also started going to dance school when I was a freshman in high school. I hadn't done anything special before that, but I became interested in K-pop when a friend invited me to see a live performance by iKON senpai. When I joined the school and started dancing, I thought it was a lot of fun and decided to audition.

Kio: I have been learning dance with my sister since kindergarten. When I was in junior high school, K-pop became very popular and I started thinking that I wanted to be a K-pop idol myself. Until then, I was doing hip-hop, house, and breakdance, but then I started learning K-pop as well.

**――Kio, did you always want to be an idol since you were a child?**

Kio: No, I just enjoyed dancing and did not think I wanted to be an idol at that time.

**We passed the audition and went to Korea. "We call it August in Hell (laughs)."**

**――What made you decide to go to Korea?**

Kairi: I heard that MLD Entertainment was going to hold an audition at the dance school I was attending at the time, so I applied for that audition and passed.

**――So, did you all pass the same audition?**

Leo: Me, Kairi, and Zero are the same.

Kio: I failed that audition. The next time I went for the same audition, the representatives and staff remembered me and told me that I had grown taller, so they told me to come for the summer vacation, and that's how I became a trainee. I think I failed the first audition because I was immature at the time, or for various other reasons (laughs).

**―― When you watch idol development programs, there is an in-house evaluation (where the dancers perform a dance or song in front of the office executives for evaluation) before their debut, but did you all go through this as well?**

Zero: Yes, we did. The first month I became a trainee, I learned and performed one song, but more and more songs were added to the list....... We once performed up to 15 songs together in a month and presented them in concert form.

**――Kairi, you are sighing now as you recall (laughs), was it that hard?**

Kairi: I call it the "August of Hell" (laughs). In August, right after we went to Korea, we had to learn about 12 songs and cover them, and we had to dance together every day from morning till night. It was hard enough to memorize the choreography, but it was really hard to get everyone to work together.

**What is the appeal of K-pop? Impressed by BIGBANG, 2PM, and SEVENTEEN**

**――Many of the members became idols because of their love of K-pop. Besides Leo, have any of the other members been to concerts or events of K-pop idols?**

Zero: I went to several concerts of BIGBANG senpai when I was in junior high school, and that's how I came to admire K-pop.

Kairi: Whenever 2PM came to Osaka, I went to see them at Osaka-jo Hall.

Kio: When I was in elementary school, my sister took me to various concerts of Johnny's, but when I was in junior high school, I bought my own ticket to go to my first SEVENTEEN concert. I was very moved.

**――What do you think is the appeal of K-pop?**

Zero: The atmosphere of performance is different between Japanese and Korean idols. In Korea, you can see kal group dances (dancing where the body is matched like a perfect blade from the angle of bending to the fingertips), or intense dancing even while singing. ...... I think the appeal of K-pop is the high degree of difficulty involved in performing in a group with a large number of members, all of whom have to perform the same movements and angles.

Kairi: K-pop is attracting attention around the world, so it requires language skills that can be used in various countries, as well as a high level of dance and vocals, and I think the overall level is high. That is what I admired about K-pop and decided to pursue it.

Kio: I have always liked dancing and hip-hop, and I think that recent K-pop is becoming more hip-hop oriented. It's a genre of music I like, and I think that's why I found it appealing.

**――You are fluent in English, so why did you choose Korea as the place for your activities?**

Leo: At first, I wanted to experience something outside of Japan, but I decided to go to Korea because I was attracted to the unique culture that only K-POP has.

### **Teaching each other Korean and dance... The four of us survived the trainee period together.**

**――I think it must have been reassuring to know that there were four Japanese people in the group. What did the Japanese members talk about with each other when you could not yet speak Korean as well as you do now?**

Zero: First of all, I wanted to learn and speak Korean as soon as possible, so the four of us took Korean language classes together and asked each other if we did not understand something or taught each other. We sometimes asked the Korean members, but it was easier for us to understand each other when we were Japanese because we could teach each other in Japanese. It was the same with the dancing. It was easier to check each other's moves in Japanese in the beginning, so the four of us discussed various things together.

**――So, the four of you survived the "August in Hell" together.**

Kairi: (laughs) Yes, we did.

Zero: The Korean members were already trainees, so we joined them in August to learn the dances they had already done. It was all new to us, so the four of us worked on it until midnight.

**――When did you feel a bond with the Korean members?**

Leo: When I first went to Korea, I could not understand or speak Korean well, but they taught me Korean and invited me out to eat with them.

Zero: The Korean members are older than me, so I can rely on them a lot. Even now, there are still things I don't know about Korea, but I feel a bond with them because they are my big brothers whom I can rely on to ask anything right away.

Kio: Even though I am in Japan now, we have video calls almost every day, and there is not a day that goes by that I do not see their faces (laughs). That's how indispensable they have become.

Kairi: Ever since I first came to Korea, everyone has been very kind to me. When they took me out to eat for the first time, Gonu-kun gave me an "ah-nu" and told me that this is how you get to know each other in Korea. The other members also talked to me a lot, and I felt a bond with them.

**"Every comeback stage makes me so happy that I almost cry."**

**――What made you happiest and what made you glad to debut in Korea?**

Zero: The fact that I now have fans. When I was a trainee, I could not see the existence of fans, but after my debut, I was happy to meet everyone at events and autograph sessions. When I receive comments of support from people overseas through SNS, I feel glad to have debuted.

Kairi: When I stood on stage in front of my fans, I also felt "I am glad that my dream came true. I also feel happy to have made my debut when I talk with them at events such as when they congratulate me on my birthday or send me fan letters at.......

Kio: I feel this every time we perform on a music show, but I am especially happy and moved to the point of almost crying every time we perform on the comeback stage.

**――When you make a comeback, each member's name and photo is displayed with a bang, and the audience goes "COMEBACK! and the crowd goes "Comeback!**

Kio: That's right! When I look at the set and the camera, it is strange to be standing there. Until now, I was the one watching through TV (laughs).

**――Conversely, was there anything that was difficult for you in Korea?**

Leo: The hardest thing was that soon after I arrived in Korea, the infection of the new coronavirus spread, and I couldn't work as much as I wanted to.

Zero: In the beginning, I didn't understand the language, and I was new to the life of a trainee, so it was tough at times, but the Korean members helped me every time, and I rarely felt that it was hard. Even though it was hard, I never wanted to quit. But sometimes I thought "I want to go back to Japan" (laugh).

**――It's more homesick than hard (laughs). I hear that Korean music shows are quite hard once the activity starts.**

Kairi: I am not very good in the morning, so it is hard for me to get up in the morning when I make a comeback (laughs). (Laughs) I feel a sense of accomplishment and have a lot of fun when I am on stage, but getting up in the morning is the only thing I have to worry about.......

Leo: My manager wakes me up in the morning (laughs).

**What Korean food are you addicted to? Leo: "I eat it about three times a week (laughs)."**

**――I know variety shows are challenging in terms of language, but were there any episodes that were difficult for you?**

Zero: When I first debuted, I was extremely nervous because I was worried about the language, but recently I have gotten used to it. When I don't understand something, I ask the Korean member next to me in a small voice.

**――Is there any Korean food that you couldn't eat at first, but you have learned to eat now?**

Kio: Jar-jar noodles. I didn't like it that much at first, but as I ate it with the Korean members, I got hooked, and now I eat it about three times a week (laughs). I also eat it in Japan (laughs).

Leo: I don't like spicy food, but I tried it when I first went to Korea and became able to eat it quite well. But when I stopped eating it recently, I couldn't eat it at all again (laughs).

Zero: I also don't like spicy food, and I tried when I first went there, but I gradually became unable to eat it, and now I can't even eat spicy ramen. On the other hand, I rarely ate chicken in Japan, but I started to like it after I went to Korea.

Kairi: Before I went to Korea, I couldn't eat kimchi at all, but now I really like it.

**――Before, you once said that you wanted to let the Korean members try Japanese ramen, so what ramen restaurants would you recommend to them?**

Kio: Ippudo and Tenka Ippin.

Leo: Tenka Ippin for me too.

Zero: Kamukura.

Kairi: Ichiran by far.

**――In a previous interview with Kstyle, you mentioned that you have yet to interact with the Japanese members of other groups.**

Zero: I still don't (laughs). Because of the Corona disaster, our waiting rooms are separated and we are restricted from going outside the waiting room.

Kio: There are times when I think I might be brave enough to talk to them, but I always end up just saying hello (laughs). I would like to talk to them when the coronas converge and I have a chance.

**Confidence and a spirit of challenge: What I want to say to those who aspire to become K-pop idols**

**――Finally, what advice would you give to people in Japan who aspire to become K-pop idols?**

Leo: I don't have any advice that I can give yet. ...... (laughs) .

**――Just the fact that you made your debut in Korea is enough to be helpful.**

Zero: I think you should do the maximum you can do now, both in Korean and in dance, in the situation you are in.

Kairi: I think it is important to have confidence. If you don't have confidence, it will show in your audition. I think I can handle most of the rest. In fact, I couldn't even say "please take care of me" in Korean properly. I think you should stick to what you want to do and challenge yourself with confidence.

Leo: I think it's the spirit of challenge. If you get a chance, just give it a try.

Kio: Since my debut, I have felt that you should never be satisfied. Every time I watch other idols perform or monitor my own performance at rehearsals, I realize that I am not good enough yet. Knowing that I am not good enough, I practice harder now than I did when I was a trainee. That is why I think it is important to never be satisfied and to always aim for the next step.

**T1419日本人メンバー4人にインタビュー！取材中にセルカでメッセージ「ぜひチェックしてみてください！」**

Interview by Yuko Abe / Photo by Eisuke Asaoka