SNSD, “It’s awkward for us to be called sexy!”

Sunday January 18, 2009 Korea

The cute and bubbly So Nyuh Shi Dae’s (Yoona, Sooyoung, Hyuyeon, Yuri, Taeyeon, Jessica, Tiffany, Sunny, Seohyun) comeback has been welcomed like a panacea. If you have listened to their album, it’s fun and fresh as if spring has already started.

They have come back after 9 months 14 months since their have an album with new songs. The new album, as expected, has been a hot issue. The title song, “Gee” is a fast paced dance song about a girl that does not know what to do when she experiences her first love.

The repeating chorus, “Gee Gee Gee Gee Be Be Be Be” contains the freshness and longing of a first love and is ripe for becoming addicted. Along with their comeback, they have been sweeping online and offline music charts, and on their first performance on the 10th, they showed off a “crab leg” dance in colorful skinny jeans which showed off a doll-esque charm. The dance where they spell out the English letter “G” is also popular.

The nine girls who said that coming back [after such a long time] feels like debuting again, stated that, “we wish everyone will gain strength from listening to our songs.”

-Comeback, and Music
>There seems to be one member one missing

(Jessica) Taeyeon has a cold so she couldn’t come to the interview. She’s not very sick, but she needs rest. Aso you can see, the other members are very healthy. Since we all eat well and are strong, you don’t have to worry.

>The response to the title song “Gee” is very hot

(Sooyoung) It’s an addicting song. It has an exciting melody and you start moving to the rhythm just by listening to it. “Gee” is an expression that Americans use often. It has a similar meaning to “omona” or “kkamjjakiya”. Koreans think that Americans use “oh my god” a lot, but “gee” is used just as often. This song was written by E-tribe, the same person that wrote Hyori unni’s “You Go Girl”.

>Along with the title song, “Himnae”, “Let’s talk about LOVE” and other songs are about giving people energy and not giving up. Is there a particular reason why?

(Tiffany) The economy isn’t good right now and there are a lot of people that are having a hard time. People with jobs are probably really stressed, so we want all the unnis and oppas to gain strength through our songs.

>As So Nyuh Shi Dae you still feel the impacts of the declining economy. Where do you see it the most?

(Tiffany) I visited America to see my parents, and when I went to exchange currency, I was surprised. The economy is really in a slump. Even during Christmas and New Years times, it feels different than before.

>There hare probably many people who are heartened by So Nyuh Shi Dae’s music, but when So Nyuh Shi Dae is down, who do you go to?

(Yuri) Strangely, when we talk with other members, we feel better and we figure out solutions quickly. We gossip and confide with each other and gain strength from each other.

(Sooyoung) In my case I just cry. Our apartment is right next to the Han River, so I go out to walk and listen to sad music.

(Hyoyeon) I don’t cry, but I go to the Han River and exercise. Then it feels better.

(Jessica) I keep listening to music. What music I listen to changes from day to day, but I usually keep quiet and listen to music.

(Yoona) I like riding buses. I ride on buses alone or walk around Apgujeong alone.

>I seems like you are more feminine now. Normally girl groups have an “image” change when releasing a new album, have you had the desire to come out with a sexy or boyish concept?

(Hyoyeon. Seohyun. Sooyoung) After getting a year older, we hear that we have become a lot more feminine. The fans are witnessing our transformation from sonyuhs to sookhyuhs (girl to woman). Looking your age is the prettiest. A sexy concept wouldn’t fit us. Being called sexy is still awkward and unfamiliar. Before we wore hoodies, t-shirts and school look fashions a lot, but in this album we wear a lot of tight fitting skinny jeans. Hopefully you’ll see a little of our feminine charm and sexiness. (laughs)

-Normally, fans… So Nyuh Shi Dae
>You must have to constantly think about your diet to wear skinny jeans.

(Sooyoung. Yoona) Well we have no choice but to pay attention to our diet. The group image can’t be tainted by just me. But normal students seem to pay attention to their looks more than us, haha!

>You have a lot of male fans, but you especially have a lot of 40~50 year old ahjussi fans. Is it pressuring at all? (laughs)

It might be that there is that sense of fantasy of a sonyuh (girl). Just think of us as cute.

>You also have a lot of female fans right? What do they like about you?

(Sooyoung) We have more female fans than expected. I think they think of us as friendly, younger sisters.

>After the new album released, who cheered you on the most?

Obviously there are our families and SM family, but Lee Seungchul sunbaenim also cheered us on a lot. We met him at a broadcasting station not too long ago and he said that, “your song is good, work hard,” and greeted us warmly. Comedian Kim Shinyoung unni always give us support, and Lee Yeonhee unni also monitors us closely. Also, our friend from when we were younger, Park Minyoung unni is a fan of So Nyuh Shi Dae. She says she listens to So Nyuh Shi Dae songs all the time.

>You can’t leave out “Figure star” Kim YunA from the list of So Nyuh Shi Dae supporters right?

(So Nyuh Shi Dae) All of the members are huge fans of Kim YunA, and we keep track of her competitions. If we meet, we feel that there will be a sense of familiarity. We want to meet her.

>Are you getting tired of living together in an apartment?

Even now we travel around, go to church, visit our parents, and go out to eat, so we have a lot of freedom. There isn’t really much that is uncomfortable right now.

>After becoming famous have you gone out alone in disguise?

(So Nyuh Shi Dae) Everybody has at least done it once. There are set items prepared when we go out. If we wear that, people don’t recognize us that much. If we go out and look at someone that’s disguised, it sometimes ends up being one of our members. (laughs)

>Yoona and Sooyoung are now going to college… what are the plans?

(Yoona) Even if it’s for just an hour, I want to work hard at that one class. I want to mungle normally with my classmates and seniors. Since it is a college where a lot of celebrities attend I feel that people won’t pay any more attention to me, so I want to go to an MT.

(Sooyoung) I would like nothing more than to attend school like any other student, but what I want to do the most is join a club. I’m worried that they might consider me as a celebrity before a student. It might just be baseless worries, but I want to try my hardest in college.

>How do you spend your free time? What’s the most recent movie you watched?

(So Nyuh Shi Dae) It’s been a long time since we’ve watched a movie. All our members watched “Soonjung Manhwa” which featured Sooyoung. Oh, there are a couple members that watched, “gwasok (speeding?) Scandal”. Members who have similar free times go to the theaters together. We also download movies to watch during travel time. All the members enjoyed the drama, “The world they live in”. Although the viewer rating wasn’t that good, it’s a drama that you can get drawn into. As for variety shows, we watch past shows over and over. But all in all, the programs we pay the most attention to are the music programs.

(Jessica) I watch the cable channel “On Style” a lot because there are a lot of fun reality shows and fashion programs.

-Anticipation, Idol, 20s and Dreams
>Taeyeon isn’t here right now, but which couple do you like the most from WGM?

the ant couple. It was so fun. It was enjoyable to watch because you can see each couple’s charms.

>Is there another person that you feel would match Taeyeon better than Jung Hyungdon?

No. At first we were like, “congratu-lations?” but since’s he’s a fun person, we think he fits. He treats us nicely when we see him at broadcasting stations.

>What do you think you’ll do if a scandal comes up?

(So Nyuh Shi Dae) We won’t really react to any kind of scandal that comes up. We laugh together and move on. This kind of question is a first. It’s fresh. We never really had to think of that. If it were true, we might be more forward about it. When we get to that age and that situation, there are a lot of rumors. You know when some story about some celebrity seeing another celebrity… we haven’t thought of coming out in a scandal before.

>I’m curious about each member’s idol (perfect guy)

(Yoona) A kind, caring, and warm person
(Sunny) A very nice person
(Hyoyeon) I like a person who is tall and has a good sense of humor
(Seohyun) A smart, well-mannered, proper person
(Yuri) A caring and well-mannered person
(Sooyoung) Someone who is avid about his work
(Jessica) Someone like Daniel Henney (laughs)

>Who is a sunbae that you respect?

(members) BoA sunbaenim!!!

(Yuri. Sooyoung) Also, we experienced a lot when we went to Lee Hyori unni’s year end concert. After singing songs together from 10 years ago such as “Ruby” and “Eternal Love” and crying; and holding each other and saying, “I really wanted to see you,” really touched us. Especially when Hyori unni said that, “[I] am happy to have spent time in my 20s with you when I was young and carefree,” made us teary eyed. It was a moment where we thought about our future, and we thought that it would be nice to be like that later on.

>You must have been asked the question about your “rivals” the Wonder Girls a lot

(Sooyoung) Some members are really close to the Wonder Girls. We enjoy listening to Wonder Girls’ songs, and we really cheered them on when they were doing well. It also motivated us to try harder as well.

>Do you ever get jealous when one member gets the spotlight before others?

We believe that members can’t have the same amount of popularity. Of course certain members are loved more, and there will be times when certain members get the spotlight first. We as member are actually more thankful for Yoona and Taeyeon because a wide range of ages get to know about So Nyuh Shi Dae. We truly root for them, as if [I] personally am doing well. If one member shines, then all of So Nyuh Shi Dae shines as well. After living together for a couple years even out speech patterns and eating habits are becoming similar. We are like real sisters.

>There are members who have turned 20 this year, how do you want to spend you 20s?

(Yoona) I want this to be a time where I mature internally
(Sooyoung) There are a lot of things I regret as a teenager. “I should have skipped practice and gone on that class trip.” Those kinds of regrets come up, so in my 20s, I want to fall in love, cry because of a breakup, and win awards. I also want to travel a lot so when 29 comes around I want to feel that I’ve tried most things in life.
(Hyoyeon) I want to accomplish what I’ve been dreaming of. I’ve dreamt of dancing and learning more dancing outside of korea and having my skills acknowledged.
(Yuri) I want to live my 20s so that in 10 years I can hear people say, “I want to be like So Nyuh Shi Dae unnis”
(Sunny) I want to have some time to prepare for my future. I want to experience a lot and go up against things that I might fail at
(Tiffany) I want my 20s to be like coffee. Where there are sweet as well as bitter times… I also want to show people that I am addicted to music all through my 20s
(So Nyuh Shi Dae) All of our members want to fall in love during our 20s (all members agree)

credit: aseo @ soshified forums )>Taeyeon isn’t here right now, but which couple do you like the most from WGM?

the ant couple. It was so fun. It was enjoyable to watch because you can see each couple’s charms.

>Is there another person that you feel would match Taeyeon better than Jung Hyungdon?

No. At first we were like, “congratu-lations?” but since’s he’s a fun person, we think he fits. He treats us nicely when we see him at broadcasting stations.

>What do you think you’ll do if a scandal comes up?

(So Nyuh Shi Dae) We won’t really react to any kind of scandal that comes up. We laugh together and move on. This kind of question is a first. It’s fresh. We never really had to think of that. If it were true, we might be more forward about it. When we get to that age and that situation, there are a lot of rumors. You know when some story about some celebrity seeing another celebrity… we haven’t thought of coming out in a scandal before.

>I’m curious about each member’s idol (perfect guy)

(Yoona) A kind, caring, and warm person
(Sunny) A very nice person
(Hyoyeon) I like a person who is tall and has a good sense of humor
(Seohyun) A smart, well-mannered, proper person
(Yuri) A caring and well-mannered person
(Sooyoung) Someone who is avid about his work
(Jessica) Someone like Daniel Henney (laughs)

>Who is a sunbae that you respect?

(members) BoA sunbaenim!!!

(Yuri. Sooyoung) Also, we experienced a lot when we went to Lee Hyori unni’s year end concert. After singing songs together from 10 years ago such as “Ruby” and “Eternal Love” and crying; and holding each other and saying, “I really wanted to see you,” really touched us. Especially when Hyori unni said that, “[I] am happy to have spent time in my 20s with you when I was young and carefree,” made us teary eyed. It was a moment where we thought about our future, and we thought that it would be nice to be like that later on.

>You must have been asked the question about your “rivals” the Wonder Girls a lot

(Sooyoung) Some members are really close to the Wonder Girls. We enjoy listening to Wonder Girls’ songs, and we really cheered them on when they were doing well. It also motivated us to try harder as well.

>Do you ever get jealous when one member gets the spotlight before others?

We believe that members can’t have the same amount of popularity. Of course certain members are loved more, and there will be times when certain members get the spotlight first. We as member are actually more thankful for Yoona and Taeyeon because a wide range of ages get to know about So Nyuh Shi Dae. We truly root for them, as if [I] personally am doing well. If one member shines, then all of So Nyuh Shi Dae shines as well. After living together for a couple years even out speech patterns and eating habits are becoming similar. We are like real sisters.

>There are members who have turned 20 this year, how do you want to spend you 20s?

(Yoona) I want this to be a time where I mature internally
(Sooyoung) There are a lot of things I regret as a teenager. “I should have skipped practice and gone on that class trip.” Those kinds of regrets come up, so in my 20s, I want to fall in love, cry because of a breakup, and win awards. I also want to travel a lot so when 29 comes around I want to feel that I’ve tried most things in life.
(Hyoyeon) I want to accomplish what I’ve been dreaming of. I’ve dreamt of dancing and learning more dancing outside of korea and having my skills acknowledged.
(Yuri) I want to live my 20s so that in 10 years I can hear people say, “I want to be like So Nyuh Shi Dae unnis”
(Sunny) I want to have some time to prepare for my future. I want to experience a lot and go up against things that I might fail at
(Tiffany) I want my 20s to be like coffee. Where there are sweet as well as bitter times… I also want to show people that I am addicted to music all through my 20s
(So Nyuh Shi Dae) All of our members want to fall in love during our 20s (all members agree)