Jaejoong discusses JYJ’s teamwork

After the last shooting for MBC‘s ’Time Slip Dr.Jin‘, JYJ‘s Jaejoong held an interview at a cafe in Gangnam where the veteran idol shared his two-cents on the recent controversies regarding teamwork within idol groups. He commented, “Honestly there aren’t any idol groups that do not have problems.”

Jaejoong added, “Idol groups are not family either. Plus when there are many members, there are bound to be members who are closer and connect better with each other than others. Having problems within a team is inevitable.”

He also revealed how JYJ sustains such a strong bond with one another. He stated, “We definitely talk about the good things, but we also talk about the bad things,” and added, “Eric hyung recently posted a picture of Shinhwa on Kakaotalk, and when I commented, ‘It’s good to see you guys together, it’s really cool,’ he answered, ‘We are pretending like we are close.’ I think the reason he can say something like that so freely is because they are really close. Our members are kind of like that too.”

The idol star expressed his affection towards his members, adding, “When all three of us are together, it feels complete. I’m full of confidence (when I’m with them). It’s better together than alone, so when I’m going to try harder than I did when I was alone.”

Source & Photo: No Cut News via Nate

Two more idol groups suspected of bullying

With Hwayoung‘s controversy with T-ara coming to public light, the K-Pop industry is now attempting to take a closer look as to where these issues could be stemming from. Unsurprisingly, Hwayoung isn’t the only one suffering, as other groups came forward with their own concerns.

Reporters were able to find that the issue of bullying already has strong roots within idol groups, especially with the growth K-Pop has been seeing lately. There’s a correlation between the level of an individual member’s star power and the level of discontentment within the group, as the bigger the difference there is in income, the more prone the group is to bullying.

A B list group anonymously named ‘A‘ has been battling bullying issues since their debut because of member ‘B‘, who is considered the face of the group due to her various activities in dramas and variety programs. Although she helped bring the group’s name to the spotlight, she eventually became the target of bullying due to the vast difference in their earnings.

A former manager of the group stated, “Idol groups are young in age so it’s easy for them to get swept up in emotions. The members know that the company favors to get at least one member to popularity in order to have the group follow, but they still bully that member once it happens. These days, companies have to rotate the group’s center member while eyeing the members.”

The trainee system also plays a part in the issue since stars are picked at a young age and put through five to six years of training at the least, before having to endure hard competition to be chosen as a final member. Naturally, new members that join in the middle get faced with criticism and hate for essentially “getting a free ride.”

Girl group ‘C’ is representative of this case, as they were recently found to have been bullying their new member.

Another manager in the industry revealed, “Whenever I saw member D of group C, she was always standing alone in the hallway outside of her waiting room at music programs. The members would be so immature in the way they treated her, such as forcing her to wear the outfit concept they hated the most or giving her the most outrageous hair concepts. In the case of bigger groups, they’ll try to use the senior card to train the new member into submission by forcing them to use separate hair salons and forcing them into smaller vans.”

The only solution at the time seems to be ample communication between both the members and the company. Pop critic Kang Tae Gyu commented, “The issue of bullying within idol groups is severe, as it’s a sensitive issue that’s difficult for the company to get themselves involved in. Managers will usually only know that it’s happening but not the inner details, and won’t try to resolve the problem since it’s not something they can make a sound judgement on.”

The critic compared the problem to homeroom teachers being oblivious to the problems of bullying within the classroom. Unlike members who are together 24 hours on top of dorming, managers are only with them for certain times of the day.

The solution he offered was that companies setup  a system that gives members an opportunity to anonymously submit issues going on within the group, and to open up communication in general. “Lack of communication can ultimately lead to bigger consequences. Just the mere notion of bullying needs to be reported immediately, and members need to be assured that their privacy will be protected.”

Another solution is for companies to make training in character and ethics mandatory.

Shinhwa‘s secret to maintaining a good relationship for 14 years also lies in their communication skills. Leader Eric had stated, “While promoting, there are times when we get sensitive, which later erupts into fights. There are a lot of instances where we even physically fought each other. There were issues, but we ended it there. We all worked hard to resolve them through communication.”

SISTAR overcame similar problems, as previously revealed by Dasom, “I used to believe that I wasn’t of any help to the team and felt envious of Hyorin and Bora unni. I wanted to be acknowledged and win over the unnis too and felt upset when I couldn’t. Every time I felt that way, though, the unnis consoled me, which helped a lot in bringing up my self confidence again.”

Source + Photos: Joongang via Naver

Shinhwa’s Hyesung and Eric have a cook-off on ‘Shinhwa Broadcast’

Shinhwa‘s Hyesung will showcase his excellent cooking skills.

This week’s episode of JTBC‘s ‘Shinhwa Broadcast‘ will follow the Shinhwa members as they live the country life for the special “Farm channel – Shinhwa is here” episode.

On the broadcast, Eric and Hyesung will each compete in a culinary battle, cooking fish stew or spicy braised chicken in a dinner cook-off.

Eric, who chose fish stew, skillfully cleaned the fish, while Hyesung went with his own cooking philosophy, carefully choosing the ingredients and controlling the open flame for his chicken.

Hyesung especially didn’t stick to the usual recipe and showed off his excellent cooking, relying on his senses. The members were worried and stated, “If you don’t know, then look up the recipe on your phone.” Hyesung confidently replied, “Don’t doubt me. Trust my senses!”

You can find out the results of the epic cook-off between confident Hyesung and quiet Eric on this week’s ‘Shinhwa Broadcast’ on the 28th at 11PM KST.

Source+Picture: E Today via Nate

Shinhwa’s childhood photos gain attention

Shinhwa‘s adorable childhood photos recently surfaced on an online bulletin board with the title “Baby Shinhwa, Adult Shinhwa“.

In the revealed photos, the childhood photos of the Shinhwa members were compared against the members’ most recent pictures. The members’ resemblance to their childhood photos were greatly apparent, showing that their appearance haven’t changed much over the years.

Netizens who saw the photos commented, “They have the same facial expression since they were young“, “You can tell who is who even if you mix up the pictures“, and “It looks like their bodies just got bigger“.

Source & Image: Newsen

Shinhwa shares a dashing group photo while filming a CF for ‘Roygen’

Shinhwa has shown that with age comes class in their latest group photo from the set of their CF filming.

On July 20th, Shinhwa Company‘s official Twitter updated with a dapper photo of the members in various suits, writing, “We’re currently filming the TV CF for the suit brand of gentlemen, ‘Roygen‘.”

Sitting in a row and all facing the camera, the members show that despite being in their 30s, they’ve still got their flower boy charm like any other idol on the market but with an added masculinity that can only come with their experience.

Netizens commented, “The looks of a man blossoms when he turns 30!”, “Everyone is so handsome”, and “School uniforms when they were younger, and now suits! Very cool, Shinhwa”.

Having recently wrapped up their Asia tour, the men will go back to focusing on their individual activities.

Source + Photos: Shinhwa Company’s Official Twitter

Shinhwa’s Kim Dong Wan says Lee Minwoo gave him a hard time after breaking up with his girlfriend

Shinhwa‘s Kim Dong Wan talked about his recent break up with his girlfriend on ‘Shinhwa Broadcast‘.

On the July 14th airing of ‘Shinhwa Broadcast’, the members of Shinhwa parodied the drama ‘Gentlemen’s Class‘, talking to each other in a very courteous and polite tone.

Member Minwoo asked Dong Wan in a teasing manner, “Dong Wan, did you break up with your girlfriend?” and to this Dong Wan made an expression that looked like he was suppressing his anger.

Then Jun Jin, who was sitting next to Minwoo, said, “You were having a hard time then” and Minwoo added in, “I comforted you a lot during that time.”

In the end, Dong Wan could no longer keep on listening to their conversation in silence and jokingly yelled at Minwoo, “You gave me the hardest time!”

 

Source & Image: Sports Seoul via Nate

Shinhwa to parody ‘Gentlemen’s Class’ with ‘Shinhwa’s Class’

The men of Shinhwa will be parodying the popular drama series ‘Gentlemen’s Class‘ with ‘Shinhwa’s Class’ on July 14th’s episode of ‘Shinhwa Broadcast‘.

The Shinhwa members will come out decked in black suits and tried to imitate the look of Jang Dong Gun‘s expensive designer brooch with band-aids and cheap brooches that costs 100 won (0.08 USD). Shinhwa will also be mimicking Jang Dong Gun’s popular speech patterns from ‘Gentlemen’s Class’, which is sure to bring much laughter.

‘Shinhwa’s Class’ will be a battle between the members to determine who can be the finest gentleman and the members will point out the member who is not acting like a gentleman like by saying, “You are not a gentlemen.“ Since Shinhwa knows each other better than anyone else, they will be revealing who among their members is the most and least like a gentleman.

Source & Image: Star Today via Nate