The Celebrity June 2015 interview - Minho [Minho's inborn qualities]
Repost from the translator keihissi’s original post, which can be found
here on their blog.
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On the day of the interview, Minho has an MC job at a music programme in the afternoon; he is the busiest member. We were probably going take a peek at something like impatience from a corner of his mind. However, from the photoshoot at the beginning until the moment at the end when he was getting into the car, he carefully took his time.
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Q: It's almost a week until your concert. Don't you feel worn out?
Minho: Because we're preparing for it, we're lacking a bit of sleep but since it's been a while since we had a concert in Korea, instead of tiredness, I feel great, pounding excitement.
Q: What kind of image does your new album "Odd" have?
Minho: As for the title song, we'll reveal it as a song with a style that SHINee has never tried before. That's why, we're half nervous and half anticipating. Since it's an album, the parts in which we tried out new things, we'd like them to be liked by a lot of people and that even at the first listen, they'll say "this is SHINee-like".
Q: This year, it'll be your eighth year since debut. From your debut up to this point, have you come closer to the image of an artist that you've dreamed of?
Minho: At the beginning, when we debuted, I thought I was alright with just people knowing about SHINee as well as with being able to hold a concert and receiving an award. I just thought vaguely that it'd be great if we just do well (in general). Now, I've changed my direction of thinking to something like, "How will I be able to bring us closer to the masses, and how will we be able to make people listen to great new songs even more." That's why I can say that, even though it's not that I've set specific objectives, one step at a time I am coming closer to the image that I've dreamed of.
Q: You've said frequently about wanting to do well and becoming the best. What does this "best" mean?
Minho: What I mean with being the best doesn't mean being number one all the time. What I mean is being the best as a realization of our efforts. Instead of "being number one is the best" it's more of "you have really come this far and achieved this much, you're the best". When a SHINee album comes out, "the singing is great and the stage performance is on a degree of perfection" is the kind of expression that makes me happy whenever I hear it.
Q: Aside from your activities as SHINee, you also do MC-ing and acting. What do you think are the essential qualities of an artist?
Minho: I think the most important one is having a positive mood. Being an artist is an occupation that constantly puts in the line of view of the general public, so being able to keep our emotions in check is something we have to do, I think. There's also something to acquire in that. However, we shouldn't start thinking something negative like, "why do I have to do it like this?" Instead, be more positive and thankful for many things. In a career like this, there are many people who think of sad things but because of the members, I'm able to enjoy doing work and I'm very happy.
Q: During last year's SMTown concert, you, together with Kyuhyun, Changmin, and Suho wore female clothes and performed Girls' Day's "Something" on stage. Do you plan on trying to perform another girl group performance?
Minho: No, not at all (LOL). I only followed what the hyungs wished to do. I didn't think it would become this big.
Q: But that time, your figure stood out, too? As a so-called model sports man in show business, what is your charm that drives you?
Minho: First, the charm of being able to play in sports game. Rejoicing when winning the game, and feeling sad when losing but still looking forward to the next with regret and frustration. Being able to experience emotions through sports is a huge appeal. And then exercising makes you healthy and builds up you self-confidence. It also gives a sense of accomplishment while strengthening your mental/emotional state. I think that is its greatest merit. You can also use exercise to distract you from difficult moments when you're tired. To put it simply, when we eat delicious food we sense a feeling of happiness, right? After work-out, the sense of accomplishment is even more times greater. I think that once people who haven't experienced this sense of accomplishment started feeling it, they will continue working out.
Q: What would you do if your future girlfriend has no interest or dislikes working out?
Minho: I practically allot a lot of time for working out so I'm worried about that (LOL). Even so, I think I can teacher her the appeal of working out, then I think if we spend time together then she'll be able to like it, too?
Q: The filming for "Late Spring Grandma" has started right? It's been a while since you acted.
Minho: Actually I really wanted to do a movie, so when I was casted I was really happy. During the filming, I immersed myself into the character and more than before, I feel like I'm able to express more so I have great expectations. The funny thing is, I'm really a "rain person" (a guy who brings rain). When we go to another country to perform, it always rains. When we were going to film in Jeju, I thought "it's not like it's going to rain here, too, right?" I thought but during the day of the filming, it rained and in the end, we weren't able to film one scene in two days.
Q: Fortunately, it is not raining today. And today is the 2541st day since SHINee's debut. What is SHINee to Minho?
Minho: I think they are my good fortune. I, who's lacking, have the great fortune to receive happiness and meet these lovely members. SHINee is the biggest, best fortune that has ever come into my life.
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➤ translated from korean to japanese by umecocleskey
➤ please note that this is a 2nd degree translation: korean -> japanese -> english, so some nuances and words might've been lost in translation. please DO NOT take the interview literally/word for word.
➤ translation may not be 100% accurate.
➤ please do not repost without permission.
About the last point the translator made. Since they’re not actively translating anymore and don’t seem to really be involved in the fandom anymore either, I hoped it would be okay to repost it, also since I did credit them properly. If the the original translator keihissi somehow finds this and want me to take it down, please message me and I will do just that. /writtenaboutshinee
