![]() ![]() But the cameras of Korean fans, who post online every minute of an idol’s public life, reveal a strenuous existence. K-pop’s hyper-produced earworm songs and visual perfection have had a recent boom of global interest, spearheaded by boyband BTS, whose phenomenal success has crossed over into the US and the Billboard Hot 100, and whose every tweet is shared hundreds of thousands of times they have just booked two nights at London’s O2 Arena in October. It’s not something to be embarrassed about.” In my head it’s: ‘Choreography! Choreography!’ so I go into the next move. “From our debut, we’ve experienced stuff like this. Fan footage shows Kihyun falling over, but he shrugs it off. They are running on zero sleep from a trip to the south-east city of Ulsan the day before, where they performed in a rainstorm on a TV show. Red-haired Kihyun, 24, brings over iced Americano. ![]() ![]() Wonho, 25, whose infectious laugh belies a thoughtful intensity, is practising dance moves while the softly spoken 25-year-old Shownu, Monsta X’s team leader, whose duty is to “guide them in the right direction and keep them sharp”, asks if we have eaten. Within a culture of seniority, a dressing room is earned until recently, they were in a communal room with other young teams (known as “rookies”) with flimsy dividers for privacy. Vocalists Shownu, Kihyun, Minhyuk, Hyungwon and Wonho, and rappers Jooheon and I.M, are now seasoned “idols”, as K-pop stars are called, and oblivious to this lack of space. The windowless dressing room in one of Seoul’s major TV studios isn’t much bigger than a double bedroom, but is crowded with 11 staff and the seven members of K-pop group Monsta X, who are promoting their new single: the seductive, dramatic Jealousy. The heat and organised chaos hit you like a fist. ![]()
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