Jk's DAZED Interview
"Jung Kook holds the instinctual and the intangible in high regard: the former is what guides his present, but his future is cradled by the latter, at least in terms of how he sees himself as an artist. But more on that later, because Jung Kook – who recently turned 26 and has been very, very famous for a decade – is thinking about who he is at this very moment. “I think I’m the type of person who is honest with their emotions,” he says. “I change quickly. I have to do the things I want to do right now.”
He was quiet then, too, though he emanated a fidgety restlessness, mentally and physically. He still has an inner itch that he can’t quite seem to scratch but it’s tempered by a new boldness and self-assuredness that he feels was missing before, traits he’s long embodied on stage yet didn’t follow him into everyday life. “When I go on stage, my wandering thoughts and feelings die down,” he says, and he’s always performed so much that the gap between his worlds didn’t seem all that vast.
“Ever since I changed my perspective, I’ve found more positive traits within myself. Rather than dwelling on missed opportunities and blaming myself for being lazy, thinking, ‘Why couldn’t I do it when I was capable?’, I accept who I truly am and focus on what I can do. There’s more to gain from doing things at my own pace. And if I want to stay in bed or watch TV all day, why not spend a day like that?”
Jung Kook debuted aged 15, and although pop culture is generally unkind to its child stars, he grew up under the watchful eyes of his bandmates who pulled him into line when needed. He is attentive, unfailingly polite, curious and wields a mischievous humour.
When recording “Seven” with writers/producers Andrew Watt and Cirkut, he was eager to do well with a genre he’d never tried before, visibly nervous at the mic and, just as evidently, chuffed when they showered him with praise.
“I want to do as many genres as possible to test myself on what kind of music I can do with my voice,” he says. The success of his debut solo single, he adds, has no bearing on what his upcoming music sounds like. “When I hear the music and it’s good, I just proceed with it regardless of the genre. It feels really good to hear people say, ‘Oh, he can pull off any genre,’ so it’d be really fun to surprise people.”
“I live thinking ‘The main character of my life is no one but me.’ No matter what environment I’m placed in, no matter who’s around me, to safeguard myself without being swept away, having the mindset that I can hold control of myself. I live trying not to forget it.”
Jung Kook, the youngest member of BTS, knows his original bunny-ish, baby-of-the-group image still prevails. “You really like that about me,” he said to fans while in London, during one of his now-frequent livestreams. “Pretend that people like that. And I only follow that. What is something that I can change? Myself, it’s my life. I need to change. I need to tell people who love me, ‘I am like this.’ I’m not forcing anyone. I always look for something new. I want to make that new thing fun. And I want to be accepted by Army at the same time.” He also addressed those questioning why he felt the need for an explicit version of “Seven”, in which the line “And that’s why night after night, I’ll be lovin’ you right” becomes “And that’s why night after night, I’ll be fuckin’ you right”. “If you felt [it] like that,” he said, “there’s nothing I can do... And if you think about it, how old am I?”
In recent years he has taken up boxing, pierced his eyebrow and lip, and added more hardware to his ears. He’s grown out his hair, and got heavily inked. “I like extreme things,” he says with a laugh. “People always tell me I look round and soft. I want this sharp, powerful image.” His debut single, Jung Kook says, “wasn’t [me] trying to break away from my image”. In his eyes, the evolution has already occurred, making “Seven” a direct reflection of who he is now. And so he was steadfast and frank during that pivotal livestream. “It was important for me to show how much I’ve grown as a solo artist through taking on new challenges,” Jung Kook explains, “rather than staying in my comfort zone or settling for the things that I was used to. I wanted to fully explain that to my fans.”
In Jung Kook’s mind, then and now, ‘more’ translates as “becoming a better and cooler singer”, he says intently. “To me, I’m not that singer I imagined myself [to be], that specific image that I had of a singer, that’s why I’m aiming higher.”
The Jung Kook of 2023 is OK with the not quite knowing-ness of that. He tries to live in the present and keep things simple, even if that’s easier said than done. “It’s impossible to not think at all,” he sighs. “You know when you think of something and it just goes on and on, down this deep rabbit hole? That can lead to positive conclusions but, for me, sometimes it led to negative ones. But now that I’ve gained some self-confidence, I’m more able to exclude those unnecessary thoughts.” In teaching himself how to quieten down his brain, he finds himself “worrying [less] about things that haven’t happened yet or thinking, ‘What if I don’t meet my own expectations?’”
But, with the power of hindsight, Jung Kook, who is working on more music with an eye towards a debut solo album, knows how far he’s come. “I trusted my gut [with my debut single] and thought, ‘Will I be able to reach the audience, and a lot of them?’ And I sort of proved that I could.” And rather than being that ambiguous grey hexagon, Jung Kook – who smiles, the widest smile his face is capable of – says, “I’d be white, and I can colour it in whatever colour I like.”"
My impressions
This interview is a confirmation to the discourse we've been having lately.
Jk lives his life in phases. He changes quickly according to his vibes on the situation and let's himself be guided by things that he cannot see.
At this point, he is revealing what he had kept from fans. Things that he already did but weren't public. I suspect it's because of where he is in life at the moment (BTS hiatus, solo career, about to enlist, just turned 26).
Perhaps, his vibes told him it's time.
Jk's words seem contradictory but a person isn't just one truth. We all have many.
And for years, Jk has been squished into a box with labels and cute nicknames. We've only seen one side of him constantly because that's what we were shown.
In the interview, they describe him as introverted but then he comes out without a shirt for the photoshoot. He wants to be extreme but he also has that one pose in the photos that scream "zero hetero here". We read about him wanting to be sharp while he just did a cute jump at the airport. I guess Jk hasn't realized that he can be all those things at the same time. I think he will realize it with time.
What stands out to me is that he wants to break free from these labels and image that the fans have of him, but he's the one labeling himself new things. Maybe he does it to get his point across? Or maybe he think that by reiterating these new things he's shown us, we will let go of the old things? In this fandom?....hmmm.
Although Jk is very much a person who enjoys being a softie, he is also someone extreme and free who wishes to do as he pleases...because everyone should he allowed to do so. Without policing.
He says there isn't a big difference between the Jk on stage and Jk off stage, which is why he was comfortable with Seven. Not because he is the het macho guy, but because he is bolder and more confident. That song is more upbeat, sex oriented, and energetic than anything he's done in the past. So all those people thinking he just said he is straight...read carefully.
I find it amusing how this article comes out just right after everyone made such a big deal out of him smoking because he states "I am like this (at this moment)." He wants to be accepted by army being "like this" but there is no way that will happen because this is a fandom that believes they have ownership of the members and have become some sort of morality police and parent entity.
I'm sure he knows of the things that were said during the smoking pictures and Seven.
Jk was harshly critiqued for saying he wanted to be better and cooler a while back and many wondered if Seven (Scooter) had gotten to his head. But I think this article shows that he's just aiming higher...like any artist does. He still comes across as someone humble and genuine. Although, he was still genuine during those other interviews where he said he wanted to be the "one and only".
It's all about your perception of his words.
Overall, I think that Jk is still searching for his true self, as one does during that age. But based on this interview, which is probably one of the better interviews he's had, old Jk is still there...but now, we have new side of him to observe. With time, we will see if this is truly what he wants or he will move on to something else.
When Jung Kook fell asleep at his laptop this summer, six million fans tuned in to watch. Now, having blown the doors clean off for east Asi
