Now it’s definitely spring. ‘Heechul is Here’ began in winter and one season has already passed. From all of your attention and support, ‘Heechul is Here’ has received a lot of love, and I, Heechul, who has become a reporter, is now on ‘WGM’ Global Edition and ‘Flower Grandpas Investigation Unit’. This is not promotion. Haha.
This time, I met a little sister singer that carries purity and fresh beauty like spring. Her name is Sunmi.
Sunmi is a close dongsaeng that I have known since her debut with the Wonder Girls 7 years ago, but after I completed my public service and us both being busy, we didn’t see each other for awhile. But this time when I met her, she was extremely matured. I asked her how old she is now, and she is already 23. Until recently, I only remembered the young Sunmi but now she has really become an adult.
But who am I. After a few questions, I immediately brought out Sunmi’s original playfulness. There is something that people with AB blood type understand well with each other, and I am still not burdensome to Sunmi, so her bright and easy-going personality from when she was young naturally came out.
Sunmi laughed a lot during the interview. She even said that it’s been awhile since she has laughed that hard. As the oppa, it also made me happy because I think that she had fun. I also thought that I hope Sunmi can continue to grow as a solo singer as she continues to release hit songs like ‘24 Hours’ and ‘Full Moon’.
Okay, the 11th ‘Heechul is Here’, I will reveal my interview with Sunmi now.
Heechul is Here’⑪ Sunmi
-Kim Heechul: (As soon as he sees Sunmi) Wookie-hyung(JYP Entertainment’s CEO Jung Wook) called me. He asked me to take care of you well for the interview. But don’t be relieved. The rule of ‘Heechul is Here’ is that I don’t ask the same questions as others.
▶Sunmi: Oppa, take care of me well today. We’re meeting for the first time in awhile.
-Kim Heechul: It’s our first time meeting since I saw you when I went to ‘M! Countdown’ in March to interview DBSK. Sunmi, I’ve known you since 7 years ago and we naturally became close about 6 years ago. And then I went to public service and such and I think I saw you last year for the first time in 5 years when I was MC-ing for the SBS ‘Gayo Daejun’. I was really surprised then. You became so mature. In the past, you were bubbly and joked around a lot. Well, your face is the same as when you debuted with the Wonder Girls though.
▶Sunmi: (Slightly hitting Kim Heechul’s shoulder) Whew, Oppa, I feel like I’m on ‘Radio Star’ right now. Haha. They say that if you look old when you’re young, then that face stays for a long time. When I debuted in middle school, people really thought I was older than I was. But also now when I say I’m 23, people often ask if I’m really only that young. I think it’s because I debuted early.
-Kim Heechul: I remember when the Wonder Girls debuted in 2007. At that time, I was an SBS ‘Inkigayo’ MC with (Jang) Geunsuk. Even thinking about it now, don’t you think we had the greatest male-male chemistry? Haha. At that time, I passionately cheered on the Wonder Girls and Geunsuk cheered on Kara.
▶Sunmi: I was in my 3rd year of middle school at that time. Our company’s (JYP) 15& (Park JImin Baek Yerin) debuted when they were 16, and when I see them, they seem like babies and seem so young and cute. But I am amazed when I think that I debuted and worked at that age also. Actually, I saw you for the first time when I was 12 in elementary school. There was a time when I auditioned for SM Entertainment. You were a trainee, too, and came into the practice room with lots of other trainees, but only you were wearing red Chinese traditional clothes and had long hair and color contact lenses. Your first impression was so strong. I thought, ‘Oh, there are people like that’. When you debuted with Super Junior, I knew right away that you were that oppa.
-Kim Heechul: Many people think I stand out now but honestly I have toned it down a lot after I debuted. At that time, people didn’t wear skinny jeans but I bought pants and tightened them by myself. Oh also, Sunmi, isn’t it lonely promoting alone by yourself these days after promoting with five people when you debuted?
▶Sunmi: I still live with my Wonder Girls members so I’m not lonely in the dorm. But when I’m promoting solo, it naturally gets quiet in the waiting room since I am alone. If I was with the members, it would be loud and chaotic. What also changed while promoting solo is that I have to talk by myself from the beginning to end of an interview so I have to say a lot and I try really hard to be bright all the time.
-Kim Heechul: But since you’re alone, there must be no reason to fight. We, Super Junior, have to fight at least once every two days. But if I tell that to BoA, she says, ‘It’s happiness to have someone to fight with. I’m jealous of Super Junior’. Since she told me that, I can’t talk about fighting with my members in front of BoA. Because even that becomes boasting.
▶Sunmi: What BoA-unnie said is really cool. But the Wonder Girls really didn’t fight.
-Kim Heechul: Coming out for the first time in awhile, the music industry changed a lot, right?
▶Sunmi: I came out onto a Korean stage for the first time in 5 years, and that’s really true. When I debuted, there weren’t that many idols. But now that number has grown tremendously. I was planning on acting like a rookie when going to the broadcast stations again as a solo singer, but when I actually went, the others treated me like a complete sunbae so I was totally surprised. I was amazed that I was in the position to receive bows although I’m still young.
-Kim Heechul: You debuted as a solo singer last year with ‘24 Hours’. With bare feet. Did you come up with that concept with (Park) Jinyoungie-hyung?
▶Sunmi: Yes. There were lots of ups and downs. At first, it was more of a boyish concept than a sexy concept.
-Kim Heechul: You used to have a bubbly image with the Wonder Girls. But I think you still managed the sexy concept well with ‘24 Hours’.
▶Sunmi: When PD(Park Jinyoung)-nim first suggested a sexy concept, I worried about it a lot. The public thought of my image as cute, young, and pure? Saying that with my own mouth, haha. Anyway, it was a maknae image. But I worried that they would think of it as awkward if I suddenly appeared after 5 years with a mature image. But what PD-nim wanted wasn’t complete maturity but sexiness in between that of a girl and woman. So I took on the challenge confidently.
-Kim Heechul: To be honest, I was going to parody ‘24 Hours’ at the Super Junior concert last year. I liked that song and performance to that extent. There are many stars that parodied ‘24 Hours’. Which one was most memorable?
▶Sunmi: Yoo Jaesuk-sunbaenim, Kim Junho-sunbaenim, Psy-oppa. All three were really enjoyable and funny. i was also thankful.
-Kim Heechul: You did a barefoot concept for ‘24 Hours’ and ‘Full Moon’ because your legs are long, right? Be honest.
▶Sunmi: For ‘24 Hours’ I did it barefoot because that fit well with the performance. When I first practiced ‘Full Moon’, I did it with heels on but because I had to go on top of the sofa and such, I did it again barefoot.
-Kim Heechul: You had short hair as a solo singer, too. I think it looked good on you. Oppa sort of has an eye for style. In SM, they don’t ask me about other stuff but they sometimes ask me about hair and style for girl groups like Girls’ Generation and f(x).
▶Sunmi: I like that short hair can sort of express something with impact. Of course, long hair has its charms, too. I originally had silver hair in a short-cut for ‘Full Moon’. I looked too much like a boy, so I dyed it red, but that was too strong so I dyed it sky blue, and at the end I went with black. My hair was ruined a lot during that time from dying it too much. Today’s long hair is a wig.
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-Kim Heechul: Who are other celebrities that you are close with besides JYP friends?
▶Sunmi: I’m close with 4Minute’s Hyuna. I’m also close with Orange Caramel’s Lizzy. I’ve also known BTOB’s Ilhoon since we were young, so I’m close with him, too.
-Kim Heechul: Lizzy? Did you know that I wrote the lyrics to Orange Caramel’s ‘Shanghai Romance’? You should ask me sometime, too. I will write lyrics for you. Oh also, Sunmi, now that you are an adult, I can ask you your ideal type, right? For your information, I like a style like Anna from ‘Frozen’. She’s bright and has a nice body.
▶Sunmi: This is my first time revealing my ideal type, but it is someone that seems innocent but is also manly. And also a jokester. Like Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) from ‘Iron Man’ or Kang Baekho from ‘Slam Dunk’. Maybe it’s because I’m young, but I don’t think money is that important.
-Kim Heechul: For example, is Trash or Chilbong more your style from ‘Reply 1994’? Also, do you like men with short hair or long hair?
▶Sunmi: I like a style like Trash. I like men with short hair. But Oppa, you like Sohee, right?
-Kim Heechul: It’s not that I like her but, maybe I should say she’s like my own unicorn. Like she’s always just in my imagination? I think that’s easiest. Like I just always look towards her. Sunmi, what’s the best part of continuously being with jYP?
▶Sunmi: Each company probably has its pros, but even if you ask me to choose a company again, I choose JYP. First of all, I like JYP’s music style and I can also see that Park Jinyoung PD-nim and CEO Jung Wook want to help us grow into good adults. PD-nim is so friendly and approachable. Of course, he’s very strict when working.
-Kim Heechul: What are your plans for the future? What style of music do you want to do?
▶Sunmi: Oppa, what do you think I should do? I honestly have so many concerns about concepts. I also think that it might be too heavy to go again like ‘24 Hours’ or ‘Full Moon’.
-Kim Heechul: I think it might be okay to grab Sunmi’s own color like that. Like how we immediately think of Cool-sunbaenims when we think of summer now.
▶Sunmi: I think that’s also true. If I ask company staff, ‘Should I do a cute and bright song?’ they tell me, ‘People probably don’t want that from you but want something stronger’.
-Kim Heechul: Then how about you release 2 songs at once, one with a girly feel and one strong one?
▶Sunmi: I think PD-nim is also thinking of something in the middle like that.
-Kim Heechul: How was the ‘Heechul is Here’ interview today?
▶Sunmi: I was a little worried that it might be awkward because I’m meeting Oppa for the first time in awhile, but you really took care of me so well so it was more comfortable and fun than any other interview. Like, it felt like we were just hanging out instead of having an interview?
-Kim Heechul: That’s the goal of this interview. Haha. I also enjoyed it because I saw you for the first time in awhile but you are kind and also crazy and strange, the same as before. Sunmi hwaiting!
▶Sunmi: Hwaiting to Oppa, also! Let’s meet often and chat like this.
"Thank you for the very fun and comfortable interview today♡ Jjang!!!"
