[Hanryu Pia] Almost Weekly! We Made Block B's "Bikipedia"! - Jaehyo Edition

No.13: Jaehyo, who is in charge of having the best visuals & being teased, talks about the advantages of being handsome?

The protagonist of February is Block B's visual and member in charge of being teased (!), Jaehyo.

This interview was conducted last October, somewhere in Tokyo. Jaehyo showed up in a friendly atmosphere, when he run into the photographer who seemed familiar, he greeted him with a smiling face, "Oh~ hyung!". The photoshoot started immediately in a relaxed mood.

Jaehyo who is acknowledged for his beauty, his cool poses really turned his pictures into paintings……!! As those who read this magazine 'Hanryu Pia' would know, we look for many interesting poses. When we asked for a 'fun pose', he gave us pose after pose full of playfulness. Among them, he made a strange pose using a hakouma that made us burst into laughter. Please look forward to it in the magazine!! 

When the photoshoot was over, he gave a frank greeting to the reporter, "annyeonghaseyo~" and the interview began immediately. In the interview we talked about episodes about him as ulzzang……! Furthermore, he told us many revealing stories about Block B members (!?), it became a coverage full of 'ehh! no way!! (lol)' moments.

Since his days as a high school student in his hometown Busan, Jaehyo had a well-known presence as an ulzzang among the public. During high school he participated in a dance competition and caught the eye of a big company so he went to the capital Seoul. After many twists and turns, he debuted as a member of Block B. First, let's hear about the path from his elementary and middle schools days to his debut as Block B.

"When I was a child I was a mischievous boy who liked to play with his neighborhood friends in the park, catch cicadas and mantis and play pranks actively. In school, I was always bright and attracted attention. I was good at sports up until I was a junior high school student. For some reason, I was just not good with soccer. I was always the center of attention during physical education".

In Busan, he attended a co-ed high school. After that in the blink of an eye he gained a reputation as an ulzzang.

"When I was a second grader in high school about 100 girls rushed into the circle I was in, it was packed! Girls came and gathered in the classroom to see me, it was like having a fanclub at school (lol). High school girls from nearby waited for me in front of the school gate. I guess most of the girls in Busan knew my phone number. There were also many kids who sent me friend requests in Cyworld (social network who was popular at the time). Well…… it was like I was a local star (grinning)"

The aunties from the cafeteria gave him plenty of freebies, there were many occasions when he benefited from being an ulzzang, there were also times when being too handsome came with harm.

"When I was in high school, I came to Japan on a school trip. At night, you're prohibited from going out but I slipped away and went to the convenience store and a teacher caught me. The uncle from the store seemed to remember my face quite well since he described me 'because I was handsome'. At the time I thought, 'being handsome doesn't come only with good things' (lol). In the past, attracting attention made me happy but I'm a little tired of it recently. During my time outside of work, I would like to live an ordinary life but it can't be done easily. Because I have an appearance that can't go unnoticed…… it's tough".

If an ordinary person said things like that, they'd get told "what'd you say?", you can be convinced by it because it's Jaehyo who is saying it, is it because he's really handsome or because he's Jaehyo? (lol).

But such Jaehyo unexpectedly seemed to have a steep path​ into becoming an entertainer…….

"When I was little I was a fan of g.o.d and H.O.T, I listened to their music and while I watched their music videos I thought, 'I want to be an actor who appears in MVs'. Of course I was also interested in being a singer but I understood myself that I fell short in many aspects to become a singer. During my high school days, I tried to travel to the capital Seoul in order to become an entertainer but my parents strongly opposed. I saved money and secretly went to Seoul and got into an audition. I passed so I asked my parents 'since I passed the audition and became a trainee in the company please let me stay in Seoul' but my parents wouldn't forgive me at all. So I decided then, 'I will not go back home until they acknowledge me!' so I stayed at my friends' or at a Jjimjilbang. And then my father said, 'let's try it once'. I had my hard-earned win (lol)".

With the help of his parents he rented a house and as a senior he transferred to a high school in Seoul. He started his life as a trainee in Seoul.

"I became a trainee at the age of 18 but because I did not understand society well, I also failed several times. 'I'm the best', I had a strange confidence too. Thinking about it now I guess I might have caused trouble to those around me".

And then at the age of 21, he debuted as Block B. In the blink of an eye, he became a popular idol.

He enjoyed his youth as an ulzzang in Busan and I think he steadily became an entertainer and a worldly-wise man​ against the odds. I increasingly got more interested in Jaehyo through his unknown stories. In the next part, we'll discuss his diverse hobbies and things he likes.

No.14: What does Jaehyo, who commits to many things, likes? A secret story from before Park Kyung took his MENSA exam

The protagonist of February is Block B's visual and member in charge of being teased (!), Jaehyo. In the second part of Jaehyo's interview, we'll approach his many hobbies and the things he likes.

His commitment to many hobbies and exposing Park Kyung's 'secret'!?

Among Block B, who hold the title of mischievous kids, Jaehyo plays a role in smoothing the interaction between members with his words and deeds, he's always smiling and he's a little absentminded (!?). I wonder how he would analyze his own personality?

"I get excited right away. Whether I'm happy or angry. But even if I reach maximum level of excitement I can control it well to not let it out into the open. It's a skill I acquired while living together with the members for 5 years (lol). I also own a heart that can accept anything".

Jaehyo is famous for having wide interests... starting with collecting cicadas, fishing, gaming and movies. Particularly in fishing, he seems to have reached an otaku status, he graced the cover of magazine "Monthly Fishing" in January of this year and got the title of Korea's first 'Fishing-dol'.

"I'm really into fishing so I often go to fish ponds near Han River. I have collected a lot of fishing rods and reels. Speaking of collections, during the time of my debut I collected mini cars. When I was little I was a fan of 'Bakusou Kyoudai Let's & Go!!' so I liked mini cars but my mother wouldn't buy them for me so after debuting I collected them with the money I made for myself. I don't think there's anything I'm collecting these days. Since I'm saving money, even if there's something I want to buy, I hold back".

Another one of his interests are movies.

"I watch movies frequently, whether at the cinema or through VOD. Any type of genre. I also like melodramas among Japanese movies. I've watched 'Be With You (Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu)' more than 10 times. I watched the movie 'Water Boys' when I was in high school and it was very interesting! All my school friends watched it too. Among the movies I watched recently, 'Train to Busan' was interesting. It was a fun yet a little sad story".

By the way, his company to the movies are Octopus' legs. He seems committed to eat soft things rather than hard ones. Another thing he seems committed to is to 'eating meals steadily'.

"It's not about finishing my meals but about properly thinking and picking delicious meals that I want to eat. That's why if there's something I want to eat I can even go to eat grilled meat by myself. I've felt really embarrassed when I'm exposed as 'Block B Jaehyo' while I grill meat by myself because in Korea it's unusual for someone to grill meat alone (lol)".

Jaehyo goes out often on days when his condition is good. He even goes on trips by himself often.

"Andong's Hahoe Folk Village, Jeonju's Bukchon Hanok Village, Koriyama Port (Konan Port?), Daegu, Daejeon……. I went to many places. I'm more comfortable by myself".

For such person's life, something that's indispensable is a mobile phone.

"Though recently I lost one, it's fine since I have another one. I also have an iPad 2. Before entering the thrifty life, that last thing I bought was electronic equipment".

On his days off he hangs out with Taeil and Park Kyung. Just then, he told us a 'secret' about Park Kyung.

"We play games, drink beer and go to eat delicious food. Up until right before Park Kyung went to take his MENSA test, he was drinking beer with me. We drank then told him 'do your best~' and sent him off".

※Mensa is an international group that includes people with an IQ score within the top 2% of an standardized intelligence test. Park Kyung passed the exam and became a member of said organization last October.

So there was such a story behind Park Kyung passing the MENSA exam! In the next part he'll drop a shocking story about Taeil too.

No.15: Jaehyo's thoughts on the members, something he'd like to say to Taeil!?

The protagonist of February is Block B's visual and member in charge of being teased (!), Jaehyo. In the last part of his interview, we try to discuss how everyone else views Jaehyo.  (He'll drop an impact story about Taeil too!).

Jaehyo's thoughts on the members, something he'd like to say to Taeil!!

While being in charge of visuals, Jaehyo danced with all his might to 'PPAP' in a fan meeting, he's also someone who is teased by his members and is referred with great love (!) by BBC as 'although handsome, kind of a disappointing person'.

T/N: Expression 'Zannen na Ikemen' = lit.handsome but disappointing guy. Meaning someone who is handsome but has something in his personality that fails to charm further, it can mean something good or bad depending on the context, in this case it refers to a joke about Jaehyo relying too much on his face or being too self-indulgent.

"From my looks, I tend to be seen as a perfect person. In the old days in order to not break that image, I'd think 'I must do (things) properly' and lived by tightening my screws properly and that became really tiresome. Now, I decided to behave like one of my screws slipped off. Not like it unscrewed on its own but I unscrewed it myself! (lol)".

Then to put things bluntly, what does he think of his 'zannen ikemen' title?

"Ahaha I think nothing at all (lol). Regarding one's evaluation, I think it's better to not care that much. As long as it's not something too twisted (perverse), anything is fine. Also BBC wouldn't say something that might be unfavorable to me, right?"

Though while saying that he also grumbled, 'I wonder what is disappointing......'. That side of Jaehyo is also cute. He says it's OK to be called anything by BBC and he's teased by members, so I wonder if there's times when he gets a little angry. In particular, there seems to be a lot of things he'd like to say regarding Taeil who said, 'when I see Jaehyo I sort of want to meddle in his business'........

"When I go drinking with Taeil, it's always me who is looking after drunk Taeil, I bring him back home. After doing that, the next morning Taeil opens his eyes and says, 'I... how did I make it back home yesterday?. When I say 'I brought you', he does say 'oh oh thank you' but, it's really troublesome. There's also times when I take Taeil's friends home too. His friend Kwanghyun. Please remember that name everyone! (lol)"

"I have never gotten drunk before others when drinking with people" said Jaehyo. By the way, in a previous interview for Hanryu Pia when he was asked about something he buys often at convenience stores he answered, "drinks to sober one up".........

"The drinks to sober up are not for me, I buy them for Taeil. When we're drinking, the moment I think 'Ah, Taeil is drunk', I make a dash to the convenience store and give the drink to Taeil (lol). Even when other friends are drunk too, I buy and give it to them. Long ago there was a sad incident, since then I started to care for my friends when they get drunk".

Frankly, what is Taeil to Jaehyo?

"Luggage (his immediate response causes great laughter). Ahahahahahahaha! Also, a terrible guy. Even though I look after and take care of him, from the moment Taeil wakes up he meddles in my business, when he's drunk he uses chopsticks to open my room's lock, enters and does nothing but annoying things! (lol). Really, he's a terrible guy~".

The fact that he can say such things is it evidence that they're good friends? Then, what is Block B to Jaehyo?

"Precious people who I meet more often than my parents. Also, an existence that's like endorphin (substance that causes intense sedative effect and a sense of euphoria)".

T/N: I translated what the magazine said but that is inaccurate, endorphins don't directly have a sedative effect, they block the sensation of pain and as a result patients with higher levels (ex. by listening to music) might need smaller doses of sedatives if they're undergoing a procedure. Although it might be debatable but I doubt Jaehyo meant sedative, in every day conversations is used as 'euphoria-inducing'. 

In 2015 he appeared in the musical 'RUN TO YOU~Street Life~' and has been actively carrying his individual activities in recent years. This year he performed in Korea until February 20th in the musical 'In the Heights'.

"Since 'RUN TO YOU ~Street Life~' went well, I became interested in musicals and acting. It was a lot of fun. Although my throat was in bad condition. If there's more opportunities from now on, I want to stand on the stage for a musical".

Finally, tell us about your dreams as Block B and as Jaehyo!

"As a group, I'd like us to become the most popular group. Also to continue working without trouble for long and long always with the same members. As for me, I'd like to lead many people to do volunteer activities, I want to live by doing good deeds. I'm not that interested in earning a lot of money. Someday, I want to become a good dad with a wonderful home".

Jaehyo usually is distracted and provides laughter with his words but he's an 'adult' young man who, keeping his members in thought, believes firmly in contributing to society. I was able to know a side of him I didn't know so it was a nice interview.

Translations by @GreeneryBomb