Only one trio

K-pop stars talk love and life

By Suwitcha Chaiyong
Photos by Varuth Hirunyatheb

Two singers from the Korean girl group Tiny-G — 20-year-old Korean singer J.Min and 20-year-old Thai rapper Goonshipas Peonpaweevorakul (Mint) — were in the Land of Smiles recently to promote their first Thai single, “Only One,” for their spin-off group Tiny-G M. “Only One” also features 25-year-old South Korea-based Thai singer Nat Thewphaingam (Natthew), who was also in town to promote “Rak Tae Kae Ma Cha (True Love Comes Late),” a Thai version of his Korean single, “Love Will Be OK.”

Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, Student Weekly got together with the three singers to hear their thoughts about this special day and about their work in the Korean entertainment industry.

Student Weekly: Is Valentine’s Day important to you?

Natthew: I paid more attention to it when I was younger. I bought chocolate and flowers for girls that I liked.

Mint: In junior high school I had a crush on a guy and I hid a flower under his desk. It was a day to confess how we felt.

J.Min: I didn’t have a boyfriend when I was younger, so I didn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day. I used to give chocolate to my dad instead.

Student Weekly: Why do Korean couples celebrate the 100th day anniversary of their relationships?

J.Min: It encourages couples to stay together. In primary school, we also celebrate the 22nd day anniversary and give each other either 22 or 222 won [50 satang or 7 baht]. Mature people celebrate the 100th and 200th days, as well as the one year anniversary.

Student Weekly: Would any of you go on a blind date?

Natthew: I’m not against the idea of a blind date, but I believe relationships should grow from being friends first. If I had to go on a blind date, I’d have to at least see a picture of the girl first. And a picture that hasn’t been retouched!

Mint: A blind date would be OK if he was introduced by a friend. I wouldn’t go to meet a stranger.

Student Weekly: What would you do if your best friends didn’t like your date?

Natthew: My best friends always want the best for me, so I’d consider their comments and try to see if their criticisms were valid. But I wouldn’t suddenly break up with somebody just because my friends didn’t like her.

J.Min: I’d have to think about it carefully before accepting somebody as my boyfriend, so I wouldn’t worry about what my friends said.

Student Weekly: Is it difficult to work in foreign country?

Natthew: After working in Korea for awhile, I found that I shouldn’t question things that are new to me, but rather try to embrace them. I didn’t have any problems once I became more open-minded.

Mint: Korea and Thailand have similar cultures, but some things are different. For example, I was surprised when younger people played with my head or put their feet up to my face.

J.Min: I’ve only been in Bangkok for a short time and I haven’t had any trouble so far. But in Thailand, we don’t rehearse as often as we do in Korea.

Student Weekly: How do you feel about working with one another?

Natthew: We all met in Korea. At that time, I was desperate to speak Thai, so I was happy to meet Mint. If Mint wasn’t a singer, I might have asked her to be my manager because she’s very good at organising. J.Min is good at learning Thai language. She isn’t afraid to speak up and she can adjust to anything new. I like her attitude.

Mint: Working with Natthew is fun and I’m happy to work with him. I met J.Min during my first year in Korea. She helped me out because I couldn’t speak Korean at the time.

J.Min: I’ve been able to do a lot of new things with the Tiny-G M project. I felt shy when we had to film a music video in the street because a lot of people stared at us!

Student Weekly: Natthew, what was it like working with the veteran singer Son Hoyoung?

Natthew: I initially felt tense. Korean people take seniority seriously, but Hoyoung was very casual and nice. I was very impressed when he tried to rearrange his hectic schedule so that he could perform with me in the studio. I was pleased to work with him.

Student Weekly: Do you have any advice for young people who want to be singers in Korea?

Natthew: The three key words to help you achieve your goals are determination, patience and open-mindedness. Anybody who has experienced training in Thailand should be prepared for something new because they have different styles of singing and dance training in Korea.

Mint: You have to try to blend in with society but stand out at the same time because the competition is tough. It will take several years before you get to start performing. I used to be only good at dancing, so I had to work hard on rapping and singing.

J.Min: Figure out what you love the most and try to do your best. Keep practicing hard and your dream will come closer without you realising it. You will reach your goal as long as you don’t give up!

 

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