ZE:A: Male version of "Girls' Generation"? We dream of being "Boys' Generation"!
ZE:A (Children of Empire) finally took off the veil and started their countdown to debut. Leader Moon JunYoung, Kevin, Hwang KwangHee, Im SiWan, Kim TaeHun, Jung HeeChul, Ha MinWoo, Park HyungSik and Kim DongJoon are also called "Male Girls' Generation" (So Nyeo Shi Dae) because of the 9-members.
Their debut song "Mazeltov" is the first step in the world of popular songs. "We were trainees for three years" they said proudly, saying it isn't much to praise about. In leader's Moon JunYoung case, he's been a trainee for 5 years before he finally had a chance to debut.
"I couldn't see it at that time, so I was a bit uneasy. I started at a young age and it was a lot harder than I had thought. But it was the path I chose, so I endured it." (Moon JunYoung)
Children of Empire belongs to the Star Empire, a company known for Jewelry and V.O.S. ZE:A's was the first idol group idea in Star Empire's history. Moon JunYoung and Hwang KwangHee first met through a contest. One of them was offered an audition, so the two of them were separated by fate. JunYoung passed, but Kwanghee had to try again.
After many ups and downs, the two boys both joined Star Empire by the end of 2006.
Rapper Kim TaeHun is JunYoung and KwangHee's friend who was introduced by them, and Kevin from Australia, who was in the same company as Russel Crowe, joined them. Ha MinWoo was the leader of a famous dance team in Busan and Kim DongJoon and Im SiWan were selected through "ChinChin Music Festival".
In response to being called the "male version of SNSD", KwangHee said, "Thank you so much. I am actually close to HyoYeon from SNSD. HyoYeon has said, 'There's no other 9-unit group except for us, so it's really good that you guys exist. I didn't know there was going to be 9 of you.'"
Next, KwangHee says "Awesome! It's a honor to look up to such a group. To be as great as SNSD feels like I'm hearing a story."
During the interview, Im SiWan, in charge of telling the truth, reveals 'SNSD fans tried to erase the nickname 'Boys Generation'. Just like those words Boys Generation, I want our own generation to come. We thought of making a new hit generation too."
There are a lot of small and big episodes where we noticed that there are a lot of members. Even going into a convenience store for a second, and looking at the price of $10 makes us cry. Children of Empire says, "Even on our way to an event, we once left one member behind. When we were riding separately in our two cars, after about 2 hours when we stopped at a rest stop, we realized Kevin was missing."
Children of Empire says, "If Manager Hyung didn't order 10 bowls of Udong to share at the rest stop, we wouldn't have realized until the end. At that time, it was the first time we stood on stage as 8 members."
Children of Empire will hold their first showcase on the 13th January and make their debut stage on 15th January on KBS2 "Music Bank".
"We will become the best rookie group". These ambitions draw a lot of attention to Chidren of Empire.
Source: Newsen for the interview, Naver + Starempire Daum Cafe for the photos
Translation: justsmile + Nashirah@EmpireChildren