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Today, I translated an interview from "international bnt News Korea".
You can find the original interview written in Korean here. LINK

DISCLAIMER: The copyright of the original interview belongs to "bnt News Korea" and the copyright of translation belongs to me, Dreamer and Rhys Green for proofreading (visit his Youtube channel).

[bnt INTERVIEW] EXID LE & Jeonghwa "It’s thankful that we’re on the same page, we will be together for a long time."

[reporter Ma Chae-rim] 28 June 2018

We see them every day, but this new combination of these two got a whole new, unexpected vibe. This is the first time that the two - LE and Jeonghwa from EXID - do duet photo shoot, so they were really excited. Forgetting about EXID at the moment, they spent the very precious and meaningful time to focus just on each other.

EXID debuted with the single 'HOLLA' in 2012. With the debut, they got the winner of the Rookie Award at Korea Culture and Entertainment Awards. 2 years later, they released 'Up Down', which was a whole new style of 'hook song'. After that, they showed their own style with hit numbers like 'Ah Yeah' and 'DDD'. In April this year, releasing 90s new jack swing style song 'Lady', they showed retro dance and fashion, also their will to keep challenging themselves.

The lifespan of Idol groups is not usually long enough so somebody may say "7 years is bad". 7-year-old EXID also couldn't ignore that, either. However, LE and Jeonghwa seem to be determined enough when picturing their future as EXID and try to be sure about their potential. It's hard to anticipate the end, but they want to be together as EXID. Seeing their ambitious and passionate energy, I smiled as if I were their mother.

*(JH as Jeonghwa)
Q: How do you feel about this photo shoot?

LE: This is the first time that I’ve had a photo shoot with Jeonghwa so it feels very different. And it was funny to wear a new style of clothes other than my style.

JH: This is the first time that I’ve had a photo shoot at the pension on the mountain. It was interesting and funny to try a new concept I've never tried.

Q: You had a hard time because of too many bugs.

JH: Except Hyelin, we all are scared of bugs. If Hani had been here, she would have run away to the valley stream. (LOL)

LE: Hyelin would say that 'why are these scary?'. Hani would've jumped about 1 meter.

Q: What have you been doing recently?

LE: The debut in Japan was recently planned so we recorded songs in Japanese. And I played PlayStation in my free time.

JH: I became a regular at a beauty show so I shot every week. I usually prefer staying at home, so members call me "home girl *(a word to describe a girl who stays at home a lot)". But I went out for working out, studying Chinese and Japanese. I stayed at home in my free time.

Q: Jeonghwa is such a "home girl" that you members are hard to see one another outside of work.

LE, JH: Yes. It's hard to meet.

JH: I’ve got so many things to do at home. I can study Chinese and Japanese outside, but I can do it at home, too. And also I can watch movies and TV series while eating. The time being at home is helpful to me, so I prefer staying at home.

LE: For me, I play games at home. Sometimes I go out, and sometimes I stay at home.

JH: LE is not the type of 'going out', either. (LOL)

Q: Who's the 'going out' type, then?

JH: Hyelin is active like 'always going out' type. I think Hani prefers staying at home.

LE: Solji and Hyelin are active and extrovert.

Q: On the day of the soccer match between Korea and Sweden, you performed on stage for street cheering. How was it?

LE: Honestly, I've never cheered enthusiastically since 2002 World Cup. (*Korea won the 4th place at the 2002 World Cup.) I felt excited when I was on stage and saw people wearing red t-shirts. I was really excited while watching the match.

JH: We didn't watch the match together, but we texted on the phone all the time. Although not actually being together, we were together. Before the stage, it was fairly early. It was sunny and hot so I didn't expect many people there. Even though it was the World Cup match, people might be busy or simply not interested. So I was worried, but after I got on the stage, there was nothing to worry about. People got so much energy to cheer that I enjoyed the stage so much.

Q: Do you like workout or sports?

LE: I'm not interested in working out. I even hate it. But I do the workout because I have to. While watching TV at home, I exercise with dumbbells. Dieting, that's the worst enemy of all people.

JH: My dad likes all kinds of sports so I was naturally close to sports. When I was in elementary school, I was an athlete. I was confident of running, so I participated in all the relay-running competition. And I watch the World Cup and Olympics game on TV.

Q: It would be good if you appeared in active variety shows.

LE: Jeonghwa did very well at the "Idol Star Athletics Championship".

JH: I'm not that competitive type, but when I was in the program, I wanted to win. Whenever someone asks me about which program I want to appear in, I answer "Running Man". I like running, so I want to do the chasing and being chased thing. And I also want to appear in "Knowing Brother". I heard that MCs there make guests comfy. I'm curious about what's gonna happen if I'm there.

LE: I don’t watch current varieties, but old ones. Recently I'm re-watching "Witch Hunt" and I want to appear in a program like it. It's my style and I could give good advice. I like listening to other people's love stories and giving advice. Also, it would be helpful if I listened to all kinds of love stories.

Q: What's it like when you're dating?

JH: Whomever I'm dating, I try to do my best. I don't like the feeling that I could've done better, which is regret. I think it's foolish not to try my best when I can. If I want to do something, I will do the best I can. If I don't want it, then just don't do it.

LE: I just do whatever I want. I thought about the past, but I couldn't tell you what it's like. (LOL) If I want to cling, I cling. If I want to call, I just call.

Q: EXID usually work as a team. If you work individually, what do you want to do? Or what are you confident in?

LE: I want to do a solo performance or a unit. If I do as a solo, I want to express myself with the various music styles which I’ve wanted to perform.

JH: I want to do a lot of things. Most of all, the first thing is acting. Although I've dreamt of acting since I was a little kid, I didn't get much of chance to act. If I had never done acting, I wouldn't have been curious about it, but I did some. So I want to get the chance to do the acting properly. Needless to say, I want to perform music, too. I'm happy that I got things eager to express and I could do it with music. Since our members are good at and fond of talking, it would be great if we got the chance to appear in variety shows and radio shows and people could see how good we are.

Q: Do you have plans for individual work?

JH: I'm preparing for the acting job. I did auditions and meetings. If I got lucky in a short time, I could do the acting job.

LE: I want Jeonghwa to appear in a historical drama as an archer dressing up like a man. She's good at archery.

JH: (LOL) I'm not good at archery. I just did well at the archery competition at "Idol Star Athletics Championship".

LE: Your facial expression was cool when you shot arrows, I'm saying. (LOL)

JH: When shooting arrows, my eyelid was shaken so I got a nickname 'magnesium Jeonghwa'. I want to portray a character that I can be myself like a perky and cheerful one. As I get older and gain more experiences, I will have more to express, but now I think it's the best that I show myself from what I have now. I appear in a beauty show as regular now, which I didn't expect, so I have more chances to do photo shoots and other things. I'm so happy about it. If I'm doing my best on whatever I'm doing, then I think things are going to be great.

LE: I enjoy watching movies and TV series, but I haven't thought about acting. I don't know how to do what I'm not interested. Making and performing music is hard enough, so I want to focus on that. Or acting without dialogue, I can manage. (LOL) I forget things, so if there's a prompter, I could do it, or a character who can't talk. I can act in a silent movie, too. (LOL) I think I'm the best in music videos.

Q: EXID members all have good figures. Could you tell me any secrets?

LE: There's no secret. We don't gain much weight from the amount of food we eat.

JH: I want to thank my parents for that.

LE: We eat a lot, but we're tall. So you couldn't notice if we put on weight or not. Since we have done this for several years, our company doesn't have to tell us to keep in shape. We keep monitoring ourselves on TV and try to keep in shape until we're satisfied.

JH: Sometimes our company even tells us not to lose weight. When I had to wear sexy outfits, I just wanted to show better myself. So I tried to keep in shape. When preparing for an album, I want to work out more. Before the showcase, I eat less as I could. After the showcase and checking the photos from reporters, I start to eat more. (LOL)

LE: In case of the music video, since it lasts forever, I want to do my best on it. My grandchildren will probably watch that.

Q: When I search Jeonghwa and LE online, 'nice figure' comes up as a relative keyword. It means that people are interested in it. What do you think about that?

LE: I think people are interested because we are not that 'too skinny' type. My job is all about people always watching us, so keeping in shape is what I have to live with. To tell you about my diet, I used to just skip meals and not to eat. When I'm little hungry now, it's too painful. So I just try to eat 3 meals a day, not skipping any meals. I do workout, but I want to cry whenever I workout. (LOL) EXID has no food bias. We talked about what we can't eat, but there's nothing. When we meet, we talk about just food. (LOL)

Q: Do you have plans for summer vacation?

JH: I don't like traveling. I think if you want to rest, you should stay at home. We have schedules overseas, too. So going overseas feels like work for me. When I have my free time, I stay at my home or go to my parent's. I think staying at familiar places is resting, so I don't go out much. In July, I'm going to appear in a new program with (*Korean comedian) Lee Guk-ju, which means I can't travel.

LE: Whenever I have free time, I want to go somewhere. Not long ago, I went to Thailand with Hyelin. Next time I want to visit Bali or Cuba. I enjoy visiting vacation spots.

Q: What things do you like as a girl group member?

LE: For as long as I have worked as a team, I've met special people close like family and friends.

JH: At the beginning, things were hard for me. And I had many things to embrace, which was tiring. But we did a lot of hard work together, so we don't have to explain one another. We just know. It's very assuring that I have members like that behind my back. I have one younger brother, but now I feel like I have four older sisters, too.

Q: Tell me about hard things as a girl group member.

JH: I was worried about this. I debuted at 16. So fans might keep expecting my perky, bright side from a teenage girl. I think people still want to see it from me. Although I was losing that side of me, I felt like I still have to show it to them. I was afraid if they didn't like me anymore because of the changed me.

LE: Talking about hard things... I come up with lots of thinking in my head. Every entertainer may think as Jeonghwa. You think if you show your other side, people might not like you anymore. Relationship with fans is so difficult. I guess that's the reason that the letters from fans got all the feelings of appreciation, sorry, frustration, and so on.

Q: What's the chemistry among you? Tell me about each member's position.

JH: LE is the one who notices the real us.

LE: I have the ability to catch funny situations which other people can't notice. People don't think I see them, but I'm always watching. (LOL)

JH: She catches our weak spots well and teases us with them.

LE: Jeonghwa is like the all-or-nothing type. Sometimes she's just like me, which means she enjoys kidding and teasing others. But sometimes she's keeping it together. When members get crazy, she's trying to keep it together and play a role as an MC when we're streaming live.

JH: I think I'm looking around since I'm the youngest.

Q: Could you compliment each other?

LE: Jeonghwa's virtue is doing things meticulously and pursuing perfection, which I'd like to do. She thinks she has to do perfectly whatever she's doing and she actually makes it.

JH: LE believes in herself, which I want to do. She has all the confidence enough to relax and calm. That's too hard for me.

Q: What are the good characteristics that you want to learn from other members?

LE: Solji is good at taking care of people. I'm not very good at it. She cares and notices how people are doing.

JH: Solji is straightforward about her feelings and thinking. I think expressing myself is hard and some people may be even afraid of it. But she isn't afraid of it and is good at it. That is her virtue which I want to be like.

LE: Hani is... hilarious.

JH: I can't stop laughing when thinking about Hani. She's so funny. (LOL) It's like she's living in an entertaining show. Hahaha.

LE: Things that can happen in an entertaining show happen with Hani in her daily life. Things from her that fans see, they're just the tip of the iceberg. There are so many episodes around her. Those are what just members, managers, and staffs can see.

JH: Sometimes it's amazing. If I am together with her for 2 hours, at least 10 little but funny things happen like wetting the table while pouring water into a cup or unintentional slapstick. (LOL)

LE: But because of that, she is very good at entertaining shows. I might want that.

JH: Other members will read this. (LOL) I'm sure that Hani will be hurt by this. This interview will be uploaded to our chatroom. But if I add one more thing about her...

LE: Why don't I have one? I don't have anything to want to learn from her. (LOL) She and I are very different people. She's always got all things planned and has to do as planned... I don't want that. (LOL)

JH: I want her keen insight. Her objective view is so useful for working.

LE: Hyelin and Solji are alike. They're caring type, which I want to be like.

JH: I agree with it. They have same blood type... Hyelin adapts herself well. She is a very good mixer, which people like from her. I hope she stays being a lovable person like that.

LE: Hyelin trusts people. I don't know since when but at some point, I found it hard. It's what I want from her.

Q: Is EXID going to be a 'long-run group'? How long do you want to be together?

LE: We talked about this recently and we all want to be as EXID. Since our debut, we've thought our role model as Shinhwa.

JH: Then are you saying that we do this just until Shinhwa disbands? (tempered) We haven't decided when.

LE: I was saying that they work as a team and individual and it's wonderful.

JH: I want to be EXID as long as members want to be together.

Q: Last question, do you have something to tell to your members?

LE: There's a saying 'bad 7 years'. We're almost 7 years old. Oh, my, time flies. We succeeded not for long, I don't feel it's long, but I appreciate that we're on the same page. I want to do things which we haven't done yet together. And also I want to make good memories that we can remind in 10 or 20 years.

JH: At first, LE who did the photo shoot with me today, I want to talk about us, 'Tom and Jerry'. This is the first time that two of us do the photo shoot and I really enjoyed it. I screamed for bugs and many things happened, but it ended well and I'm looking forward to the photos. This interview is also good. From now on, I hope the time that we will spend together as EXID is going to be good memories and good for each of us. I want to tell all the members that you have done very well so far.

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If you have any questions, like the things you don't have to know to understand the situation but you're curious about, feel free to leave your questions in the comments section!
Also, grammar corrections would be great.
Thank you for reading and keep supporting EXID!

Wanna learn Korean with EXID?

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