Thursday, May 22, 2008
10:38 PM
[08.05.21] [Trans] Anan June 08 - Fly, Andy, Fly
There's a sparkling star who lives just next door. A nice young man who is great at making kimchi and cold dishes. He smiles like the little brother, but he has already become the 28 year old star who hails from Shinhwa.
There is a young man who became part of a legend since he was 18. He lives in a world that is bright for 365 days of the year. Even throughout his confused teenage years, his unhappy twenties, the sparkling star continues living in this world of bright days.
Andy Lee Seon Ho. He could have become part of H.O.T. He passed the auditions at 14 and was supposed to join H.O.T, but despite his hard work, he had to return to the US due to parental objection. In 1996, he became part of Shinhwa after another round of auditions. Shinhwa has spent the last 10 years together as a group, and the group has truly become a legend now.
The youngest of the group, the 28-year-old says to us every Sunday "We Got Married!". We can see that he does want to get married. The viewers who tune in to the programme every week all acknowledge with a smile, "Our Andy has grown into such a fine young man." Making kimchi, and applying beauty masks, it is strange to see him do things like that, but it is endearing. A goodlooking guy who can cook well, and mature at the same time. Although she's only his reel life wife, but he ran out in the rain to get coffee for her when she wanted some, making us exclaim in awe of the sweet romantic guy.
On a warm summer day, we meet as per arranged. The young man who sings and dances the heart dance on television is wearing shades right now. All his answers are truthfully honest. He greets me politely and though he has an endearing smile, he's a star. And though he's drinking iced coffee with me, he's Shinhwa. It has been this way for him for the past 10 years, for most of his twenties. I can only temporarily forget that he's a star who lives next door.
We Are Shinhwa
"There was a festival when I was in high school, where students from each country had to perform songs from their native lands. I took part because I heard that it was quite a large scale event , and I was curious about what students from the other countries were going to perform. The great response that I received when I stood on the stage made me think, that it would be really great to be a singer."
That was the first time he was approached to be an entertainer. Andy's performance was spotted by the organizer of the event, and just like that, 14-year-old Andy was selected to be a H.O.T member, and subsequently became part of Shinhwa instead. Of course his parents objected, as very few idol groups attained success. "It was the IMF crisis at that point in time, and they were even more against it. We weren't that well off, so I could see why they were against it. They were worried about me entering the entertainment industry at such a young age, whether I would still be able to find a stable job when I leave the industry. In the end they told me to go ahead and do it if I was confident that I wouldn't regret my decision."
Then in 1998, Shinhwa was born. Their first performance was on a KMTV show. "There were a lot of people present, but only 9 were Shinhwa fans and they were holding black colored signs. I still remember them because I was so happy. Then 9 became 90, 90 became 900, and eventually there were 9000. Singers always find it very meaningful to be able to perform their own songs. Just a few months ago at Shinhwa's 10th anniversary concert, Andy introduced himself the way he did in the past, "Cute Guy Andy imnida", followed by the whole group shouting "Urineun Shinhwa imnida!"
Growing PainsSince making his debut with Shinhwa with Hae Gyul Sah, Andy hasn't had any year of rest at all. There was even a year where they released 2 albums. They worked as hard as office workers working towards the "Model Employee of the Year" award, appearing on countless programmes. He was still part of Shinhwa despite his troubled teenage years and 20s. "I used to drink when I was troubled...but troubles became a common thing. After a while I just got used to them."
He is alway seen as the little brother of Shinhwa. He had a rough autumn last year, when the almighty netizens left nasty messages like "What have you been doing for the past 10 years? What are you capable of?" on public forums. He was hurt but he hid his pain. However he started to have the desire to prove them wrong. "I thought about whether I really didn't prove my worth at all." Out of every 5 messages he read, 70% were negative. And he spent more time than expected preparing for the 1st album due to stress, but he made it in the end.
Andy, 1/6thHis first album takes a sweet romantic approach. Love and marriage, happy lyrics that are loved by all and cheerful melodies to top it all off. "There are some conflicts between my own unique qualities and the Andy that fans want to see. I haven't had consistent practice in singing for the past 10 years, and it was only after the musical that I decided to work on a solo album. It was the same with the concert. But as I sang along with the fans for the 7 days, I gained more confidence. The friends who used to joke about this now sing my songs in front of me at the noraebang. (laughs) The feeling is really nice, and I'm really happy." He has already gotten closer to the fans through his songs and concerts without realizing it. We'd imagine him to propose in a most romantic manner, just like those in the movies, but reality presents a different situation. "My dad's a traditional and conservative Korean man, I guess I would be influenced by him somehow. It's the same when it comes to relationship. I would find it hard to say 'Let's get together in a relationship' to anyone."
Cute Guy and RealistAndy's Westernized name creates some kind of confusion sometimes. He's a guy whose favorite dish is beanpaste soup. "I eat spaghetti too, but I'd get hungry after a while..." This cute guy finishes up his soup in one shot - this is the kind of idol star that he is. If he could travel through the galaxy, he'd want to live among the stars. He wants to show his entrepreneurial skills and business sense in a peaceful universe.
"Don't regret your decisions even if you fail. This failure can lead you to successes elsewhere. And people must fail in order to mature. Aren't all adults like that? For a man, his life starts at 30, so if you have anything you want to try, just give it a shot, don't think about whether you'll fail or not."
Restaurants, cafes, online malls are among the options he is considering. Although he doesn't intend to reach the stage where he can own a building, but he'd like to try his hand at architecture and technology.But is Andy this ambitious?
And he sparkles..."I think in 10 years time everyone should be married and busy with their families, and also living an ordinary life after finding a new career path. It's hard to imagine being active as a group all the way." That's why he's experiencing married life on a reality show now. Shinhwa is a unique case in the Korean music industry. The 6 of them have been functioning as a group from their teens through their 20s. No one knows what will happen as they embark on their solo careers in their 30s, or how it will be when they're no longer Shinhwa. There has been no example to refer to.
Never forgetting to thank the fans for their love and care no matter what problems he faces, I asked Andy if he's tired of staying in the public eye. He says that the nature of the work is such that he won't be tired. "I've been living for the past 10 years like this, so I'm probably a fool to not be able to express my feelings in front of other people. But I've changed my perspective a lot since back then. I now try to understand things and answer my own questions. To be able to understand something completely takes a long time....although I'm still not very sensible now either (laughs)."
The star high up in the sky has shone for 10 years, and is practicing while it inches nearer to earth. In the next 10 years, I hope they will become like SMAP. A star continue to shine even as time passes, that's its destiny. Twinkling, twinkling, the endearing star that lives next to us is glowing right now.
Source: The Six senses & Andy namu / Anan magazine
Chi trans: xing1986111 & 紫夜87 & mao@Andy The World
Eng trans: midnightgirl13@shinhwabiz
Labels: andy
We Got Married.
