Three days after releasing their seventh mini album, The Sin : Vanish, on Friday, ENHYPEN are back with a remix album that was released earlier today. Actually, make that seven remix albums, each one spearheaded by a member of the septet. You’d think that creating extra work for themselves would be exhausting, but ENHYPEN collectively view it as an artistic opportunity. 

“I actually loved working on my remix album, The Sin : Vanish (Sunoo ver.),” Sunoo tells Rolling Stone over a Zoom chat. “I feel like this was a great way to expand my own engagement in recording, so I loved the experience.” 

At this point, his bandmates nod their approval as they huddle together in a conference room at HYBE’s Seoul office. They are all dressed casually (T-shirts, baseball caps, beanies, and a parka or two), with none of the stage makeup they wear for photo shoots and music videos. Sunoo, Sunghoon, Jay, and Jake sit in the front, with Heeseung, Jungwon, and Ni-ki seated in the back. They are polite, waiting for their turns to talk about their respective remix albums, which all share the same title — The Sin : Vanish, with the parenthetical inclusion of each member’s specific name. 

As the interview continues, they clap and make finger hearts to show their appreciation, and are vocal about looking out for each other. For instance, when Sunoo inadvertently disappears from view, Sunghoon gently pulls him back into the frame. Since their November 2020 debut, ENHYPEN have cultivated a sexy vampire lore. But during this exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, they exude more of a golden retriever-style vibe than that of the sullen undead.

ENHYPEN’s digital remix albums contain all 11 tracks from the group’s mini album — six songs, including the lead single, “Knife,” plus four theatrical narrations courtesy of professional actors, and a skit — as well as their own remixes of “Knife,” an English version of “Knife,” and individual vocal notes.

Hailing from a country that doesn’t have a gun culture, ENHYPEN chose a knife as the central image in their lead track — reflecting not only on South Korea’s use of knives as the weapon of choice in K-dramas, but also how a normal knife isn’t strong enough to kill a vampire. The group’s vampire stories run deep, depicting the symbiotic relationship between the seven members and their loyal fandom, ENGENE. Which raises the question, if ENHYPEN are the vampires, how do ENGENE fit in?

“You know how there are always female characters that we include on our albums and trailers?” Sunghoon asks. “We are always mindful of ENGENE as we’re producing our work. So they could be equated to those female characters and could be our friends. Vampire friends.”

Ethnomusicologist Donna Kwon applauds ENHYPEN’s commitment to the vampire lore, which has traditionally been tied to Eastern European culture. “With their ‘Bite Me’ video from 2023, I think they also challenged K-pop conventions a little bit,” Kwon — a professor at the University of Kentucky and the author of Music in Korea: Experiencing Music, Expressing Culture — tells Rolling Stone. “The presence or development of lore is one of a number of strategies that a group can employ to gain fans, stand out, and be competitive. For those fans who really like lore, they often link to other members of the fandom to figure out the various meanings and details.”

Asked how many songs ENHYPEN discussed before deciding that “Knife” would be the one they all remixed, Sunghoon says, “It was ‘Knife’ all along. From the beginning, we were all on the same page about that. We just worked on it in our different ways.”

For instance, group leader Jungwon blended industrial and metal for his remix. “My version is in the nu metal genre,” he says. “We do a lot of live shows, so obviously I had that in mind from the get-go. The original track ‘Knife’ itself has a really punchy sound, but I knew that the band sound goes really well with the hip-hop and trap undercurrent, so I wanted to mix that band sound to make it even punchier.”

“The remix began with Jungwon’s vision for the stage, where he wanted a track that radiates strong, playful energy for live performances,” adds producer Armadillo, who worked with him. “Since artists often perceive music differently from producers, we felt his initial idea was compelling and began shaping the track around that concept. During production, we worked together on the main guitar riff. Jungwon already had a clear idea of the drum patterns in mind. With virtual instruments set up with kick and snare, he performed the drum parts on the master keyboard, producing a rhythm and energy that exceeded expectations. The session felt less like formal production and more like a collaborative jam.”

Meanwhile, Heeseung’s remix has a hypnotic vibe that’s dance-driven, with an echoey backbeat. The vocalist also recorded additional vocals not on the original track.

“I collaborated with Apro, who’s a close friend and producer, on this electronic boom-bap remix,” Heeseung says. “I wanted to work with the BPM so that people can really enjoy it in a laidback, kind of chill manner. I wanted the song to have a catchy charm, so we mixed in a lot of effects, like the dice-rolling sound, to give it a dynamic touch. The reason why I did [some new vocals] was because I wanted to stick to bringing out the original charm, while adding a fun and exciting touch. I played the synthesizer myself in some parts. I’m really happy with how it turned out.”

“For the vocals, Heeseung’s input was central to the process,” Apro adds. “We reworked the arrangement around short, repetitive phrases to enhance catchiness, while newly recorded doubling and chorus pad layers were added to increase density and create a richer, more expansive vocal texture.”

Seattle native Jay had a clear vision for his “Knife” remix. That the guitar-driven banger sounds stadium-ready is intentional.

“I made this remix with my really close producer friend, Frants, who I made a lot of my recent music with,” Jay says. “He knows how I work and my style, so the progress was really easy and smooth to get kind of an aggressive metal vibe. I thought it would sound really good when we play this onstage or as an encore somewhere in the States or a country that really loves metal.”

“Jay had a clear vision of the remix’s overall direction from the very beginning, not only sonically, but also in terms of how it would unfold onstage at scale,” Frants says. “Rather than altering the essence of the original track, we focused on amplifying its energy and sense of scale, carefully shaping the sound to align with the powerful imagery and musical direction Jay had envisioned.”

For Korean Australian Jake, tapping into old-school Memphis hip-hop resulted in a song that sounds both retro and fresh.

“I feel like Memphis-style beats are very popular and hot right now,” Jake says. “There are a lot of young artists over in the U.K. and Europe who are making this type of music. I listen to them a lot and feel like it’s going to get loved even more from now on. I’ve always wanted to try making music with this type of beat. I feel like it’s very minimal. There are less sounds and sources in my track, but I feel like that’s the key to these types of beats.”

“While Jake naturally carries a soft, romantic image, he possesses a distinctly grounded core as an artist,” adds Ca$hcow, the producer he collaborated with. “He shows a high level of concentration in the studio and isn’t afraid to strip away anything unnecessary, which gave me the impression that he aims to convey presence and charisma through his music. To best reflect that mindset, we gravitated toward a minimal, loop-driven Memphis hip-hop style built on tension and repetition, which aligns perfectly with Jake’s controlled, understated energy.”

Sunghoon remembers contemplating which direction he wanted to go in before leaning into a vibrant baile funk sound. The former competitive figure skater says he hopes fans will enjoy his version, and shyly adds that it would be fun if his “Knife” remix went viral.  

“I was inspired by Brazilian funk,” Sunghoon says. “If you look at the challenges and the sounds that are really blowing up on TikTok, I noticed that baile funk was really popular as a genre, so I wanted to try it out, too.”

“Before working on this remix together, I had briefly met Sunghoon on another occasion, and he shared the vision he had been developing for a long time,” Armadillo adds. “His main focus was creating music that could be used for short-form content, making it interactive and engaging for fans rather than just a listening experience. As a producer, I found this approach both refreshing and unconventional. He was thinking more about how the music would be used than about the genre itself. Thanks to this clear direction, the track naturally took shape as high-energy baile funk. With the goal so well defined, when we finally met to work together, the main loop track was completed in under two hours. The energy, catchiness, and all the elements of the genre came together in a way that felt incredibly exciting and fun.”

While Sunghoon tackled baile funk, Sunoo opted to record a digi-pop version of “Knife” that’s optimistically upbeat, but with a dramatically tense side that belies the artist’s sunny disposition.

“My producer and I had a lot of conversations about what kind of direction we should go down,” Sunoo says. “The name of the genre officially is glitch pop. It gives a lot of heavy video-game vibes, which is something I’ve always wanted to try. It was a great experience and in terms of the storytelling, it’s very powerful. So, I just had a great time, overall.”

“Sunoo’s remix was initiated from his unpredictability and broad emotional spectrum,” says Ca$hcow. “At its core is his bright, uplifting energy, but we felt that his real charm lies in the delicate tension created by the anxiety and sensitivity that coexist within it. To capture that duality, we leaned away from overly polished sounds and instead used fractured textures to add character and edge. Sunoo tends to resonate more with tracks that openly reflect instinct and personal taste, rather than music with a clearly defined formula. With that in mind, we avoided locking the structure into something too rigid and focused on intuitively layering elements we felt he would connect with.”

Youngest member Ni-ki, who hails from Japan, had very specific ideas about how he wanted his remix to sound. His “Knife” starts off fast with vocal effects that give the song an urgent vibe. It’s an energetic and intense boom-bap song intended to get people dancing.

“I’ve been a dancer for a long time, ever since I was a trainee up until now,” Ni-ki says. “And the thing is, we listen to a lot of sped-up boom-bap-type tracks when we warm up before practice. So I did have in mind that I wanted that retro kind of old-school hip-hop vibe. There are some fun elements and details that we added, like the glitching sound of the radio when it starts out, which was intentional. I feel like at the end of the day, we have a great track to dance to.”

“For the opening vocals, which feature a fully resampled choir layer, we aimed for an old-school, vintage texture by using cassette-style plugins from Wavesfactory and vinyl-inspired processing with RC-20,” says producer BreadBeat. “While we initially considered both tech house and hip-hop, Ni-ki suggested starting the production in a sped-up format and allowing the genre to take shape naturally. That idea became a key turning point, and his innately heavy, groove-driven energy ultimately led us toward a boom-bap–style remix. As a strong dancer, Ni-ki gravitates toward rhythms with clear groove and momentum, and his input played a big role in shaping the arrangement and dynamics of the sped-up vocals.”

As the interview draws to a close, the group reflect on how much they’ve grown as artists in the past five years. I ask them, if they could go back in time and meet their 10-year-old selves, what would they tell them?

“I’m going to tell little me to fill your heart and be true to your emotions,” Ni-ki says. “Just do what you want to do, or what your heart wishes, and visualize your dream. And one day, you will meet a lot of great older brothers.”

Sunghoon smiles at the group maknae — or youngest member — and says, “I kind of struggled when I did figure skating. I had a tough time because of keeping track of the scores and how well I was doing. I just want to tell him to be confident and don’t obsess over the numbers and scores.”

“I want to tell myself to visualize your future,” Jay says. “What you think and how much you work will become your future, so try your best. You don’t have to be upset with your life path.”

“We had a tour called Fate in the past,” Jake says. “I believe in fate and that everything is done for a reason. So I would tell my younger self to just do what you’ve got to do.”

Jungwon says he doesn’t want to say anything specifically to his child self, except, “Trust yourself and have faith in yourself.”

Smiling, Sunoo says, “I wish I had exercised more when I was a child, because I think I could’ve gotten taller if I had worked out more, but I didn’t. So I’d like to encourage him to be an athletic kid.”

Heeseung contemplates the question, before answering. “I don’t think I’ll say anything [to him], because my MBTI is a T [thinking], and I’m a logical, rational person. I know that 10-year-old me has to follow the exact same route to get where I am today.”

From Rolling Stone US.

The post ENHYPEN Share the Secrets of Their Seven Remix Albums appeared first on Rolling Stone India.

2025 has been a phenomenal year for Korean music, with idols challenging their artistic boundaries, transcending genres, crossing over into films and K-dramas, and making bold personal decisions. Kpop Demon Hunters introduced K-pop to millions of film viewers, many of whom went down rabbit holes of music discovery and became passionate fans of Korean music. Female artists like Hwasa, Blackpink, and TWICE had career-defining years. As for the men? Stray Kids broke records and Bain inspired fans with his courage. Here’s a rundown of the moments that defined K-pop’s history-making 2025.

Kpop Demon Hunters, the biggest pop success story of the year
The animated film Kpop Demon Hunters – Netflix’s most-watched film ever — is a Korean American success story, helmed by director Maggie Kang and boasting a cast of predominantly American voice actors of Korean ethnicity (including Arden Cho and Daniel Dae Kim). The soundtrack for KPop Demon Hunters is Spotify’s second-most-streamed album of 2025, and it earned five Grammy Award nominations, including Song of the Year and Best Pop Duo/Group performance, for the single “Golden.” The phenomenal success of the film made its imprint on pop culture. Children dressed up as HUNTR/X’s Rumi, Mira, and Zoey for Halloween. The singing vocalists for HUNTR/X — former K-pop trainee EJae, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami – sang at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. And a military band performed “Golden” at Buckingham Palace’s changing of the guard.

Stray Kids keep breaking records
Another year, another set of records broken by K-pop mega-group Stray Kids, whose dominATE World Tour was the second-most-successful global tour of 2025 (behind Beyoncé), according to Pollstar. Stray Kids also continued to break their own records with each new album. With their November mixtape Do It, the boy band became the only act in history to debut at Number One with eight consecutive album releases on the Billboard 200, a streak that started with 2022’s Oddinary.

Hwasa’s “Good Goodbye” goes viral
A breakout star from the group Mamamoo, singer Hwasa made her debut on the Billboard Global 200 at Number 43 this year, thanks to her bittersweet “Good Goodbye.” The song chronicles her real-life breakup, which she hopes will remain a good goodbye. Wanting peace and happiness for herself and her ex, she conveys optimism in the song’s catchy chorus. The music video is enhanced by the inclusion of her longtime crush (actor Park Jeong-min) playing the role of the ex. Driven by their sizzling-hot chemistry during a performance at a Korean awards show, the song went viral. Back home, it debuted at Number One on the Billboard Korea Hot 100. Hwasa became the lone solo female artist of 2025 to achieve what’s called a Perfect All-Kill in the Korean music business when “Good Goodbye” ranked Number One simultaneously on all of South Korea’s major daily, weekly and real-time music charts.

Bain courageously comes out
In an unexpected move, Just B member Bain came out during a concert performance in Los Angeles. “Tonight I’m going to share something with you guys,” he told the audience. “I’m fucking proud to be a part of the LGBTQ community as a gay person. To anyone out there who’s part of the LGBTQ community, or still figuring it out, this is for you guys. You are seen. You are loved. You are born this way.” With that he launched into a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” making a powerful statement about who he is. Bain is one of the few Korean celebrities to publicly announce that he is gay.

TWICE make history
Lollapalooza. Kpop Demon Hunters. Victoria’s Secret — TWICE did it all in 2025. The nine-member girl group made history as the first female K-pop act to headline at Lollapalooza — or Twicepalooza, as their fans dubbed the event — this summer in Chicago. Backed by a live band, TWICE performed a set that spanned their decade-long career. Additionally, Jihyo, Chaeyoung, and Jeongyeon recorded “Takedown” for the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack. Notably, the members appear in human form singing the track at the end of the film. “We didn’t accept this because we knew it would be a huge success,” Chaeyoung told Rolling Stone.  “It just sounded like fun. The soundtrack itself is very different from our style, so it was an opportunity to challenge ourselves.” In October, TWICE became the first K-pop group to perform at the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. (Blackpink’s Lisa performed as a solo artist in 2024.) Jihyo, Nayeon, Momo, and Tzuyu performed wearing lingerie from the brand’s Pink line. The push-up bra worn by Tzuyu sold out shortly after their appearance.

K-pop Idols become breakout actors
K-pop idols are trained to be all-around entertainers who excel at singing, dancing, hosting, and often acting. This year, some of the most memorable acting roles went to idols. Big Bang’s T.O.P. played the love-to-hate-him rapper Thanos in the second and third seasons of Squid Game. D.O of EXO took on the role of a chilling villain in the K-drama The Manipulated. Kim Yo-han (Wei) tackled the rugby underdog series The Winning Try. Yook Sung-jae (BtoB) starred in the historical drama The Haunted Palace. And Omega X’s Kevin had lead billing in the Boys’ Love romance series My Bias Is Showing. Meanwhile, Korean American solo singer-songwriter Eric Nam and Kpop Demon Hunters voice actress Ji-Young Yoo were cast this summer in an as-yet-titled K-pop musical film from Paramount Pictures and Hybe America — the first major American movie to be filmed entirely in South Korea — which is due out on Feb. 12, 2027.

Blackpink are … everywhere
As if performing worldwide on their Deadline World Tour wasn’t enough, the individual members of Blackpink achieved notable accomplishments as solo artists in 2025. In September, “APT.,” by Rosé and Bruno Mars, became the fastest K-pop video to reach 2 billion YouTube views, besting the previous record held by PSY’s “Gangnam Style.” Based on a Korean drinking game, the global hit single has been nominated for Grammys, including Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. Lisa released her solo album, Alter Ego, and made her acting debut in the Emmy Award-winning series The White Lotus. And Netflix just announced that the Thai rapper-singer has signed on for her first feature-film role, opposite Korean superstar Don Lee, in the action film Tygo, which is part of the Extraction universe. Meanwhile, Jisoo starred in the film Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy and the K-drama Newtopia. She is the female lead in the K-drama Boyfriend on Demand, which is  scheduled for release next year. And Jennie followed up her debut solo album, Ruby, which ranked Number 29 on Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Albums of 2025 list, with the solo tour The Ruby Experience.

Cortis, KiiiKiii, and Allday Project take risks and win big
K-pop groups generally make their debuts polished and polite, with cute concepts and pleasant songs. But groups like Cortis and KiiiKiii have embraced an adventurous sense of musical weirdness, opting for raw energy and slightly messy concepts meant to entice potential fans by giving them something different. Allday Project also debuted this year as the first co-ed K-pop group since KARD, almost a decade ago. The group got its name from will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas, who is a major fan. But he’s not even the group’s most influential connection. Rapper Annie is the first chaebol heiress K-pop idol. Her family founded and runs Shinsegae, a powerful South Korean retail conglomerate.

Waterbomb Festival, the world’s wettest music fest
The annual Waterbomb Festival is part music event and part wet T-shirt contest — and it’s always a huge success. Both male and female idols (and the crowds) are drenched by water canons throughout the festival. Monsta X’s Shownu — who’s never been shy about ripping off his shirt — was a fan favorite this year at Waterbombs in South Korea and Vietnam. Female idols are generally not as overt about their sexuality on stage, so a huge hell yeah to Kwon Eun-bi, who embraced the fun by wearing bikini tops at Waterbomb. Known as the Waterbomb Goddess, Kwon goes viral every year with her fun and sexy performances. This year, JYPE founder Park Jin-young dressed up in hot pink to dazzle the crowd. While he doesn’t share the idol looks of the groups on his label, he has idol energy to spare.

The long-awaited return of BTS
In 2021, RM of BTS told Rolling Stone, “We don’t actually really care about whether people see us as inside or outside K-pop. The important fact is that we’re all Koreans, and we’re singing a pop song.” BTS’ loyal fandom, ARMY, will passionately debate whether or not BTS is K-pop. But it’s undeniable that the septet are the biggest, most influential global pop act in the history of South Korean music. 2025 marked the year that all seven members returned from military duty, which is mandatory for all able-bodied South Korean men. Jin released the album Echo and went on an international tour. Jung Kook became the first Asian solo artist to garner 100 million streams on every original track on Spotify. Jimin released his 2024 solo album, Muse, on vinyl and won the best K-pop Song of the Year award, for “Who,” at this year’s iHeartRadio Music Awards. RM and Epik High’s Tablo delivered the introspective “Stop the Rain.” J-hope released the singles “Sweet Dreams,” “Mona Lisa,” and “Killin’ It Girl,” headlined a solo tour, and then collaborated with Le Sserafim on “Spaghetti.” V’s “Winter Ahead” (with Park Hyo-shin) became the fastest jazz song to surpass 500 million streams on Spotify. He also released his artistic photo book, Rêvé. And Suga founded a treatment center in South Korea to support children with autism spectrum disorder. Then on July 1, BTS gave ARMY the news fans had waited too long to hear. In a joint live broadcast on Weverse, the members confirmed that they would release a brand-new studio album in the upcoming spring. An extensive world tour is also in the works, with at least 30 concerts expected in North America. This as-yet-named tour will be the first since BTS’ Permission to Dance on Stage in 2022, which was followed later that year with the free one-off concert Yet to Come, in Busan, South Korea. 

From Rolling Stone US.

The post 10 Moments That Defined K-Pop’s Huge Year appeared first on Rolling Stone India.

For a group that’s known as being “beast idols” (more on that later), Monsta X have a tender quality that comes across even in a bland hotel conference room that’s too small to contain their energy. Though they are in the hot seat answering questions about their decade together and the non-stop work ethic that got them here, they are thoughtful, funny, and impeccably polite. 

Earlier this morning, the K-pop group released their latest EP, The X, which is a clever play on their group name and the Roman numeral for 10, which is the number of years they’ve been together. They also made the intentional choice to showcase six new tracks that represent their six-person lineup. After a deliberation process where each artist got his say on which songs to include, they worked on the songs together, as they’ve always done.

“Majority rules,” vocalist Kihyun tells Rolling Stone in an exclusive interview over Zoom. “We each explain our reasons for why we want to include a song, but if we continue to disagree, then we’ll vote.”

Smiling, group leader Shownu adds, “Sometimes we’ll share little drinks to make it fun.”

Sitting in a reverse V shape at the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles, Kihyun and rapper Joohoney are seated up front. Shownu sits in the back, flanked by fellow vocalists Minhyuk and Hyungwon. (The youngest member, I.M — a bilingual rapper — stayed behind in Seoul to recuperate from a back injury, and answered questions via email.) Dressed in neutral colors, Kihyun, Minhyuk, and Hyungwon wear their hair in the favored middle part. Shownu and Joohoney, the lone blond in the group, have bangs that lay just so over their eyebrows. Though they may look effortlessly youthful, the members are quick to point out they’re not in their twenties anymore (except for I.M, who is 29).

“We are in our thirties now, so we’re all very interested in taking care of our health,” Shownu says. “It’s so important to focus on our wellbeing.” The unspoken portion of his thought process is that they have to remain strong so that their beloved fandom, Monbebe, won’t worry about them. 

Unlike previous conversations where they spoke predominantly in Korean, this interview is conducted in Korean, English, and Konglish — a portmanteau of the two languages with a liberal use of loanwords. Shownu, who can be shy in interviews, seems less concerned about getting his quotes included than in ensuring that his bandmates are featured. Actually, all of them are quick to prop each other up. When we discuss which songs on The X marks the spot for them, they don’t dwell on the songs they individually wrote or produced. Instead, they rattle off what they love about each other’s songs. 

The X is a love letter to Monbebe, but also a reminder of the group’s continual growth as artists. “Choosing the final six tracks wasn’t easy at all,” I.M says. “After lots of listening sessions and discussions with the members, we finally decided on the lineup. Each song has its own unique vibe, [and] we’ve shaped them in a way that really feels like us.”

They’re eager to talk about their new songs, so we start with their pre-release single “Do What I Want,” an explosive banger driven by a throbbing bass line. “That song has a very unique hook,” Shownu says. “And Honey [a.k.a. Joohoney] made it into our own style. He added Monsta X’s color.”

“N the Front” is a chaotic but melodic rap song with strong percussion that feels like it could appeal to a multitude of generations. “I thought that, too,” Joohoney says. “Each part of the song is full of energy. We think everyone can enjoy this song.”

Minhyuk says that the funky “Catch Me Now” is his personal favorite. “All the tracks on the album are really good,” he notes. “But this song in particular was made to perform onstage in the future. We hope you have a chance to see it.”

“Tuscan Leather” offers the singalong hook, “We’re 1 for the M, 2 for the X,” which Joohoney says is an homage to decades gone past. “I wanted to incorporate elements from Nineties hip-hop. And that line is something that fans can sing along to. It’s especially good for global fans, because it’s a line they can easily remember.”

In a case of art imitating life, KPop Demon Hunters filmmaker Maggie Kang has said that Monsta X was one of the inspirations for the Saja Boys, her film’s fictional boy band. The animated hit utilized physical elements from several real-life boy groups to create its own supergroup. But when I mention to them that the Saja Boys’ “Your Idol” seems to share the same musical dynamics that are highlighted in Monsta X’s work, they nod their heads and smile at the compliment. “Savior,” for instance, is a sexy, catchy earworm that’s featured on The X. Monsta X worked on the song prior to the movie’s release, but “Savior” and “Your Idol” sound like they could be companion pieces. When Monsta X sings, “My last confession, you’re my obsession,” listeners can almost visualize MX garbed in black Grim Reaper outfits trying to steal our souls, just as they did in arguably the best dance cover of “Your Idol.”  

“That song is really our youngest member I.M’s track,” Kihyun says, noting that I.M and Joohoney co-wrote the lyrics, and I.M did the composition and arrangement. “There were actually a lot of different versions before we chose the one on [The X]. It really shows the deeper color of Monsta X’s style. It’s a track on the album that was also the hardest to sing vocally.”

Though he raps on “Savior,” I.M wrote it with the vocal line in mind. He credits his bandmates for how well the song turned out. “We had a clear vision for each song,” he says. “I feel ‘Savior’ fits our vocal members perfectly.” 

That vision is one reason why the group has excelled for so long in a highly competitive field that doesn’t always encourage longevity. At this point in their career, the men are less concerned with commercial success than in creating a legacy for themselves that they can be proud of.

“If we look at Monsta X’s early years, the group distinguished itself from many of its contemporaries by projecting a more mature and masculine image, inheriting the ‘beast idol’ mantle once held by 2PM,” says K-pop scholar Hye Jin Lee, who teaches a class on Korean pop culture at the University of Southern California. “They debuted as Starship Entertainment’s first hip-hop idol group, and they lived up to that positioning with members like Joohoney taking on an active role in songwriting and production from the very beginning. Their combination of strong, athletic physiques, along with intense, hard-hitting music, and dynamic, high-energy performances set them apart within the K-pop landscape. I think that the group’s main rappers, Joohoney and I.M, also being strong vocalists is their strength…and the group was able to branch into a more pop-oriented style of music, [which] requires more vocal skills.”

Monsta X have been unfettered by a need to fit into any one genre. Ballads incorporate rap, and many of their rap tracks include the sweetest melodies. They are also one of the few K-pop artists to release some of their albums entirely in English. Eleven years after BoA released her self-titled all-English album, Monsta X dropped All About Luv in 2020. This was a daring feat for a Korean group that didn’t include a native English-speaking member. Even I.M, who had spent part of his childhood in Boston, has said it was difficult to retain his foreign language skills when he had no one to practice with in Korea. 

We get around to discussing the final track on The X. Co-written, co-composed, and co-arranged by Hyungwon, “Fire & Ice” has an old school R&B vibe that would’ve fit into the New Jack Swing scene of the late 1980s and early 1990s. “It’s a song about different people and how they love each other,” Hyungwon says. “It’s particularly special to me because it’s about how they come together.”

Of course, the members — who were born between 1992 and 1996 — were too young to remember those days, but we talk about how New Jack Swing’s mashup of rapping and singing is something Monsta X deftly incorporates into their music, making their songs attractive to older fans who predate Millennials and Gen Z. 

One of Monsta X’s most well-known supporters is actress Kim Young-ok (Squid Game), who went viral after attending their concert in Seoul this summer. Kim, 87, is so beloved in South Korea that she’s known by the honorific title of the Nation’s Grandmother. Dressed up for the show, she danced, sang along, and teared up watching the group perform. In a video she posted on her personal YouTube channel, she tells Joohoney, her friend since 2016, “I really liked your comment, ‘I’m not someone who runs for the top, I just keep going.’”

When Jantine Annika Heij was asked to collaborate on “Fire & Ice,” the songwriter knew how important The X was for Monsta X. She has worked with them since 2020, co-writing 10 songs both with the group as well as individual members for their solo projects. “This one was different, though, since this mini-album is a comeback,” Heij says. “It had to be big, more epic, more of that guess-who’s-back feeling. … What makes MX stand out is the involvement of the individual members in the songwriting, composition, and arrangement process. The boys are ultra aware of what they want, and what sound they’re looking for. It’s always a delight working with artists who have such a clear vision. I feel like they set the trend [rather than] following it.”

As the interview draws to a close, the members take the opportunity to compliment each other one last time.

Of Minhyuk, Kihyun says, “He is getting so much better at English at this point and continues to become an even better vocalist than he already is.”

Looking over at Shownu, Minhyuk says, “He always thinks about his health.” As Shownu nods, Minhyuk adds, “He’s also very handsome.”

Smiling, Shownu says, “Hyungwon is also handsome and cares deeply for all of our members, even those of us who are older than him. He says sweet things to Monbebe. And he buys drinks for us often!”

“Joohoney is my younger brother, but I learn from his passion and energy,” Hyungwon says. “He’s always thinking. He is awesome.”

When it’s Joohoney’s turn, he says he’ll speak about both Kihyun and I.M. “All of us work really hard, but Kihyun in particular,” he says. “Monsta X wouldn’t be the same without him. He always has to hit the high parts of our songs, so he works extra hard. And I.M adds so much to our music. He’s very friendly and is a great friend to us. We miss him now and wish he wasn’t in pain.”

Joohoney’s message to I.M is especially poignant, because the group’s maknae (or youngest) is the final member of the group who will enlist for military duty, most likely in the upcoming months.

From Seoul, I.M relays a message meant for his bandmates and Monbebe. “Don’t worry,” he says. “I’ll be back soon!”

From Rolling Stone US.

The post Monsta X Celebrate 10 Years Together — and It’s Just the Beginning appeared first on Rolling Stone India.

On March 1, not quite five months after J-Hope had completed his mandatory military duty in the South Korean Army, the BTS rapper performed for another kind of ARMY — his fans. It was there that his recent military life converged with his omnipresent pop star status. At the second of three concerts in Seoul, the singer-songwriter-producer pointed at a familiar face in the crowd. But it wasn’t one of his bandmates. Jin, who completed his service last June, would attend the following evening, and RM, SUGA, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook are still with their respective units and won’t be discharged until this summer.

“My military junior is here!” a clearly delighted J-Hope explained to his fans, while also addressing his friend. “What are you doing here? Wow! I was so surprised that I couldn’t concentrate in the middle of the performance. You’re the best!”

There is a Korean phrase that addresses this kind of bond that South Korean men form when they serve in the military together — “동반 입대,” which translates to “enlisting together.” This doesn’t necessarily mean they entered the military as buddies. Rather, they formed a unique kinship based on spending almost all their waking hours serving their country together for roughly 18 months. That J-Hope was able to spot the young man at a sold-out concert is indicative of the idol’s charm. He sees and celebrates his fans, both literally and metaphorically.

Long before J-Hope, 31, became the first South Korean musician to headline a major U.S. music festival (Lollapalooza 2022 in Chicago), and the first Korean solo artist set to headline a U.S. stadium (two upcoming concerts this April at Los Angeles’s BMO Stadium), he was Jeong Hoseok, a scrappy Gwangju native who joined the underground dance team Neuron when he was 13.

Gwangju is famous for a pair of 20th-century uprisings that played an important role in Korea’s democracy. In 1929, the Gwangju Student Movement fought against imperial Japan’s colonization of Korea. And in 1980, after university students demonstrating against martial law were beaten and killed by soldiers ordered by Chun Doo-hwan’s dictatorship, Gwangju’s citizens fought back against the South Korean government in what became known as the Gwangju Uprising. The official report noted that 170 civilians were casualties of what Chun’s regime referred to as the Gwangju Riot. But experts estimate that the figure was closer to 1,000 deaths. 

J-Hope referenced these historic events in his hometown in the 2015 BTS song “Ma City,” which he co-wrote. His rap (“Press 062-518 everyone”) may seem innocuous to the casual listener. But 062 is Gwangju’s area code, and the beginning of the Gwangju Uprising was on May 18. The lyrics are his way of reminding listeners that the present is informed by the past. 

Today, J-Hope is wealthy beyond anything he could’ve imagined as a child. But he also hails from a country that was split into two during the Korean War. That kind of generational trauma can have a trickle-down effect as stories of deprivation, separation, and starvation are passed down from grandparents, to parents, to children, to grandchildren. He is a generous philanthropist, who this year donated 100 million Korean won (roughly $68,000) to benefit the victims and families of the Jeju Air crash and another $200 million won to a children’s hospital in Seoul. 

On March 6, J-Hope hosted a 12-hour comeback livestream on Weverse that had more than 26.9 million views, breaking that platform’s record. Besides talking to ARMY about “Sweet Dreams,” he took a shower (off camera), danced, and tucked into a late-night meal. Korean culture dictates that food doesn’t provide just sustenance, but is a communal activity. So it’s not surprising that idols like J-Hope often eat during their real-time video streams. It’s a way of sharing a meal together, but separately, with their fans. 

On his soulful new single “Sweet Dreams,” released earlier today — which features Miguel and his trademark falsetto — J-Hope sounds smooth, rapping in fluid English and making the kind of promises meant to make listeners both wistful and weak at the knees: “We might never get to sleep tonight/I’ll give you everything you need tonight/This kind of love/I guarantee for life/Dreams are gonna be sweet tonight.” As he said at his Seoul concert when he debuted this song, this is his first song that’s centered on romantic love.  

Ahead of the North American leg of his Hope on the Stage Tour, which kicks off at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on March 13, J-Hope did an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone via email, where he talked about music, his time in the military, and facing the challenges of doing it alone.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

In 2022, when you released Jack in the Box, you told Rolling Stone that you felt some pressure and responsibility as the first BTS member to go solo. Three years later, do you still feel that pressure? 
I go through different emotions based on the situation at hand. I’d say I still feel pressure, but it’s significantly been lowered. Back then, being the first one to release a solo project among the members came with a bit of pressure. On the other hand, I still feel the same level of responsibility. I am deeply aware that there are many people who look out for and support me in everything I do. With that in mind, I always carry that sense of responsibility. I consider it my mission and duty to uphold. 

During the time that you were in the military, how were you keeping yourself creative as an artist, or was there even time for that? 
I think the period of rest that naturally came with the situation actually became an opportunity for more exploration. I found a lot of new inspiration and got to spend much time thinking about the future. I also started making plans for what I want to do once I complete my military service. 

In your 2023 docu-film j-hope IN THE BOX, you said, “I devoted all of my twenties to Bangtan, but nothing lasts forever. I need to experience something new to be able to really understand what I have now.” A couple months after the film’s premiere, you enlisted in the South Korean military. While that was a mandatory experience, was it one that gave you a better understanding of who you are today? 
I still believe that experiences are invaluable. The thoughts I had during those times have become an inseparable part of me, nurturing and shaping who I am today. Ultimately, they have influenced the stories I tell, the music I aspire to create, my choreography, and the overall aspects of my work, deepening my understanding of my own thoughts. 

Let’s talk a little bit about “Sweet Dreams.” I understand it’s about being loved and wanting to love. You’re arguably one of the most beloved musicians on the planet. Does this song address any doubts or insecurities you may have? 
I think doubt has turned into conviction, and I’ve come to understand the warmth that comes with stability over anxiety. As I touch on the feeling of love, I wanted to explore a different side of myself, and I think that will become a new source of inspiration. 

You’ve only been out of the military since mid-October, so that’s not a lot of time to work on new material. Can you walk us through the process for recording “Sweet Dreams” with Miguel?
The first song I started on was “Sweet Dreams.” In the beginning, the top line was written primarily for the vocals, so I went to L.A. to meet with the songwriter and rearrange it to fit my style. During that process, I was looking for a featured artist, and I thought it would be incredible to collaborate with Miguel, who I’ve respected greatly since I was young. We got in touch, and despite the challenges of it being around the holiday season, he was so kind and eager to collaborate. I remember sending him a personal text to thank him. 

What can you share about how the music video for “Sweet Dreams” reinforces the concept of the song’s lyrics?
Just as the song talks about the sweet feeling of love, I wanted to express that excitement in the music video with the imagery of a house floating in the sky. It was important for me to infuse wit and uniqueness into the concept. In the video, you can see the house expanding as the feeling of love grows. I also wanted to create a mysteriously alluring ambience. With the floating house following me as I walk, love becomes part of my reality and influences the world around me. Since love is a theme that everyone can relate to, I wanted to convey the depth of these emotions in a visceral, heartfelt way through the music video. 

I realize that the majority of the members of BTS are still in the military, and you and Jin are the only ones who have completed your duties. But were you able to share “Sweet Dreams” with your bandmates via phone or, in the case of Jin, in person, to get their feedback? 
I played the song for all of the members. I made sure to share it with them when each of them was on their military leave, and I felt proud to be able to play it for them first. I was very happy that everyone liked it. 

SUGA had a very successful solo tour in 2023. Did you talk to each other about what you’d like to accomplish on your tour?
I sought advice from him on the overall structure of the tour. As for the performances, we each bring a unique set of strengths to the stage, so I focused on shaping the production to reflect what I wanted to explore in various ways. A live band will be part of it, of course. 

You recently shot an episode of the reality variety show I Live Alone, which showcases the daily lives of single celebrities. Which leads us to the question: How do you like living alone? You went from living with your parents as a child to moving into a dorm with the other members of BTS. And now, you live alone.
Being able to focus on myself has allowed me to become more mature and composed. Taking action on my own and facing challenges head-on have all been essential in growing as an adult. I believe that these experiences are playing a key role in laying the foundation for my life. 

You’ve already accomplished so many firsts, both with BTS and as a solo artist. What is the next first you have on your bucket list?
Of course, completing my ongoing solo tour while maintaining good health is on the top of my bucket list.

In January, you performed at the Paris charity event Le Gala des Pièces Jaunes, which was attended by France’s first lady, Brigitte Macron. Did you see the footage of the conductor really getting into your set? During “MORE,” especially, he was really in his element.
Performing with the orchestra has become an experience I truly value. I was moved by the conductor’s level of focus, and I never imagined the power that “MORE” would hold when joined by the orchestra. It was incredibly powerful and made my heart race. I was so grateful to be invited to such a meaningful event and have the opportunity to perform for the first time there after my military discharge. The energy I got from that performance carried through to my Seoul concerts and helped me wrap them up very successfully. 

You will be kicking off the North American leg of your Hope on the Stage Tour shortly. Who will be taking the stage? J-Hope? Hobi? Jay? Jeong Hoseok? Perhaps all of these personas? 
I think the question itself is the answer. I believe Hope on the Stage is the tour that will show every facet of who I am. It’s a window into the full scope of J-Hope.

From Rolling Stone US.

The post J-Hope on How His Military Service Influenced His New Solo Music: ‘Experiences Are Invaluable’ appeared first on Rolling Stone India.

Few artists debut with a shout-out from the World Health Organization, but Big Ocean isn’t your ordinary K-pop group. When they launched their career almost seven months ago on Korea’s Day of People with Disabilities, Hyunjin, Chanyeon, and Jiseok made history as the first deaf K-pop group. 

On a late evening in Seoul this past weekend, the trio jump onto Zoom. They are at their management company, Parastar Entertainment — which specializes in representing and nurturing artists with disabilities — and are finalizing details before flying to New York to promote their debut EP, Follow, out today. Despite the hour, the trio look refreshed and K-pop perfect. Main vocalist Hyunjin wears a white shirt and black jacket and easily leads the conversation. Wearing a cozy brown-and-white sweater, rapper Chanyeon shares anecdotes and — as fans have pointed out — does resemble heartthrob actor Park Bo-gum. Meanwhile, wearing a snazzy checked jacket over a black turtleneck, the youngest and shyest member, Jiseok, listens intently before sharing his input.

Knowing that people are curious about how a deaf or hard-of-hearing trio can thrive in the competitive K-pop world, where synchronized dancing and vocal lines are a must, Chanyeon breaks the ice with an anecdote.

“When I first met the boys, I was working as an audiologist in a hospital,” Chanyeon tells Rolling Stone in Korean. “I was trying to figure out their hearing level. It was my expertise, so I was curious to know how it compared to mine.”

Chanyeon began to lose his hearing as a tween and had surgery for bilateral cochlear implants. Hyunjin was four years old before he was diagnosed with hearing loss. He has a cochlear implant in his left ear and wears a hearing aid in his right. As for Jiseok, he is the only member who was born deaf and who grew up wearing hearing aids and using Korean Sign Language (KSL) from a young age. His bandmates acknowledge that learning sign language when they were older was challenging.

“Sign language was the most difficult thing for me to learn,” Chanyeon says. “But with that said, learning a second language has also been fun and rewarding. We sign in KSL, American Sign Language (ASL), and International Sign Language (ISL) so that we can communicate with as many PADO as possible.” 

As with all K-pop groups, Big Ocean’s fandom has a special name: PADO. In Korean, 파도 translates to wave. Just as waves are created by energy passing through water, PADO is what drives the group to excel, no matter how tired they are. 

And their days are often grueling. Their practices are long and include working with vocal coaches, choreographers, and sign language experts to ensure that there is no ambiguity in what they are singing and signing. They wear smartwatches with metronomes, use AI voice technology, utilize flashing lights to cue their positions, and a multitude of other things that most K-pop idols don’t have to worry about.

“People say that we are talented or have a gift and that is nice to hear,” says Hyunjin, who spoke entirely in English during this interview. “But I think that any achievements we made are due to maybe 1 percent talent and 99 percent effort. We work really hard.”

Prior to forming Big Ocean, Hyunjin was set to use his engineering degree to work in cybersecurity. Chanyeon was already working as an audiologist. And Jiseok was racing competitively as a downhill skier. I ask them, wouldn’t it have been easier to follow those career paths instead of K-pop?

They all laugh and collectively offer variations of, “But where’s the fun in that?”

Jiseok says that when he was a student at Seoul Samsung School, BTS leader RM made a generous donation to the school’s music program in 2019. It was the first time that he learned about music and K-pop choreography. 

“At that time, I knew that I wanted to become like RM sunbaenim,” Jiseok says, using honorifics to show respect to the famous rapper. “I wanted to be able to donate to schools so that other students could benefit from music lessons like I did from RM.”

Fulfilling his childhood wish, Big Ocean made a donation to Jiseok’s alma mater in September. But before that, their fandom donated money to Gallaudet University, the Washington, D.C. college for deaf students, to honor Big Ocean’s 100-day anniversary. This donation was deliberately timed. In Korean culture, a baby’s first 100 days of life are celebrated with a lavish party to honor its survival. This was their fans’ way of congratulating Big Ocean for surviving and thriving in the competitive K-pop world.

Follow includes three singles released earlier this year (“Glow,” “Blow,” and “Slow”) along with their pitch-perfect new single “Flow,” which is sung in English. The group was intentional in the order of songs that they released and how they wanted to present their optimistic messages.

“We are very excited about Follow,” Hyunjin says. “The album is about following your dreams and happiness, and each track has a meaning we wanted to share. We want people to ‘Glow’ with hope, ‘Blow’ through challenges, ‘Slow’ down their pace, and ‘Flow’ naturally.” 

Their messages beautifully tie together not only in the music, but also with the accompanying videos, which include intricate choreography with Korean and American sign language built into their dance moves. For “Flow,” they chose to highlight the National Institute for Deaf Youth in Paris by filming at the school’s campus. They also utilized International Sign Language for the first time in their music video. And even during this interview, Chanyeon and Jiseok subtly use sign language to punctuate Hyunjin’s quotes. Though they say they don’t think they’re at a place where they are role models, they also acknowledge that it’s an honor to be considered that way.

“I find Big Ocean extraordinary in what is being asked of them,” social worker Joy Lieberthal Rho, LCSW, tells Rolling Stone. “They speak beautifully and articulately for the hearing world in Korean and in English. … In the United States, the concept of deaf culture is important. The deaf community has created and advocated for a world of their own. In South Korea, where Koreanness is a homogeneous concept, Big Ocean is challenging what it means to be Korean. The members are inviting Koreans into their world, their culture … and I think that is a beautiful thing. I am so excited that the music world in Korea has chosen to amplify Big Ocean as artists and people to respect.”

Big Ocean’s music is also reaching people like Tallahassee-based teacher Heather Carson, whose nine-year-old son is deaf. When friends and family members sent them links to articles about the trio, the family went down the Big Ocean rabbit hole.

“I was so excited to be able to share them with my son,” Carson says. “We have watched a lot of their YouTube videos together, and I just love that there is a group of musicians that the deaf community can see themselves represented in. Representation is so important. They’re making music and they happen to have hearing loss. And that’s one thing I’ve really tried to get across to my son. Yes, you are deaf. But you can do anything just like anyone else, whether you happen to have a disability or not.”

Carson’s son, C., adds, “My mom showed me their videos and they were singing and dancing and I was like, ‘Whoa. They sound good!’ And then I was like, ‘How do they dance like that?’ It was cool to know they are just like me and they can do that.”

In the near future, Big Ocean would like to expand their group. When they were working towards debuting, they were part of a trainee group that included four other young men, who eventually dropped out. Hyunjin says he likes the idea of having a larger group, so that there would be more energy onstage. Jiseok adds that they’re open to including foreign members. And they all agree when Chanyeon says any future members should also be hard of hearing.

“From my perspective, our team was formed for a reason,” Hyunjin says. “Our goal is to break barriers and push ourselves to the limit. Since we all have hearing disabilities, I think it makes sense that new members do, too.”

Chanyeon nods, adding, “It was so nice watching the K-drama Twinkling Watermelon and see that the actors all were using very good facial expressions and that their level of sign language was very good. I felt like I needed to improve my own skills!”

Thinking it over, Hyunjin says, “The film CODA was so impressive, too. Right now, there are some shows and films where you see disabled and non-disabled people using sign language in daily life on screen. But that’s not something we see in our normal daily lives. Media representation is so important. By existing as Big Ocean and producing good music, I hope that the general public will have interest in learning sign language and being more open to people with disabilities.”

From Rolling Stone US.

The post Big Ocean: Meet the Deaf K-Pop Group That’s Breaking Barriers appeared first on Rolling Stone India.

Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area is a mostly faithful adaptation of Álex Pina’s crime drama La Casa de Papel — you may know it as Money Heist, which aired from 2017 to 2021 and went from semi-successful Spanish TV series to global Netflix phenomenon. Once again, a bespectacled and somewhat squirrelly braniac named “the Professor” (Oldboy‘s Yoo Ji-tae) gathers together a motley crew of criminals and masterminds a heist at a national mint. This isn’t stealing from people, he explains, since they’re going to print new money and redistribute that wealth to, um, themselves. Once the gang is inside, the expected hostage situation is established, and the Professor’s plan is out into motion, things get complicated. Very complicated. All of this will be familiar to viewers who saw the Spanish series.

But what stands out in this new six-episode adaptation (it drops on Netflix on June 24th) is the addition of quintessential Korean cultural elements — and some of these specific tweaks are key. As in the original, the thieves are told to select code names based on cities. It’s Heist Planning 101: the less they know about each other’s personal lives, the safer they all are. Hence, we have another group adopting the aliases Berlin, Denver, Helsinki, Moscow, Nairobi, Oslo, and Rio. But when this version’s Tokyo (adeptly played by Burning’s Jun Jong-seo) picks her pseudonym, she’s met with resistance. “Why Tokyo of all places?!” she’s asked. Her answer? “Because we’re going to do something bad.” It’s a seemingly throwaway line that’s a nod to the ongoing animosity between Korea and Japan, its one-time colonizer. Vive le differénce.

Set in 2025, Money Heist: Korea presents a North and South Korea that have not yet been unified, but are no longer at war. The North is now so open that BTS — and other K-pop artists whose music had previously been banned in the North — is selling out concerts in Pyongyang. (It’s probably not a coincidence that the “Dynamite” group and their Army get namechecked several times in the first episode’s opening five minutes.) Citizens are free to travel between the nations, and the promise of capitalism entices North Koreans like the young Tokyo to head to Seoul. Once there, she quickly learns her options are limited. She can work legally as a waitress, or illegally as an escort for South Korean men who have a kink for North Korean women. On the night she decides her life is no longer worth living, she encounters the Professor, who recruits her for his gang.

The disparate group of experts includes Rio (Lee Hyun-woo), a young hacker who looks like a K-pop idol; a dense but strong fighter (Kim Ji-hoon) who took the name Denver because he couldn’t pronounce his first choice of Philadelphia; his father, Moscow (Won-jong Lee), a skilled miner; counterfeit expert Nairobi (Jang Yoon-ju); and Berlin (Squid Game’s Park Hae-soo), the only North Korean to escape from the country’s brutal labor camp.

The Korean version omits most of the sweaty trysts that made the Spanish version so damned sexy. The Professor and a police inspector (played by Lost actress Kim Yunjin) flirt and even sleep together, but little heat is generated between this standoffish couple. And while Rio has a crush on Tokyo, their relationship shares none of the animalistic lust that fueled some of the most thrilling plotlines in the Spanish series. There is a moment of erotica that conforms to K-drama expectations, which traditionally cater more to the female gaze: When nudity is depicted between Denver and a hostage, the camera shows off his naked and sculpted backside.

One of the original Money Heist subplots centered on an ambassador’s daughter who’s taken hostage. The Spanish series’ version was an outcast who was tricked by a classmate into flashing her breast, which was then shared on social media without her permission. In MH: K, the teenager (Lee Si-woo) has been reinvented as a popular and savvy student who is no one’s patsy. Given South Korea’s epidemic of molka — the illegal filming of girls and women — it appears the showrunners wanted to steer clear of victimizing a young character with an overtly sexual storyline. This young woman is a badass who’s less skittish and more forthright than her Spanish counterpart. And just as teenage empowerment worked so well in the Korean zombie series All of Us Are Dead, this supporting character’s adjustment here provides a strong contrast to the underhanded, bickering adults. She’s a high school student whose survival mode has kicked in.

Though the thieves try to pit the North and South Korean hostages against each other, the real adversaries are the wealthy political elite who don’t care who they abuse, as long as the outcome benefits them. The parable of this series is that the tension isn’t between the two Koreas so much as it is between the haves and the have-nots. And while director Kim Hong-sun keeps the story moving at a good pace, he has a tendency to veer towards campiness on occasion. For instance, when a hostage who was presumed dead makes their reappearance, the others happily clap as if they’re at a hootenanny.

It’s a shame that the show’s first episode is the weakest, because some viewers may get impatient and drop the series. Money Heist: Korea gets progressively better and culminates in a season finale cliffhanger that, much like the original, will test the Professor’s moral compass — or lack thereof. (Netflix says the second season will drop later this year.) The all-star cast is more than capable of delivering the goods. Yet the lack of chemistry between the romantic partners hinders, rather than enhances the plot. Here’s hoping that the second season will focus more on the backstories of the thieves — and their preparation for the pulling off their epic robbery — than any romantic affairs. Because the heist is where the heart is.

From Rolling Stone US.

The post ‘Money Heist: Korea’ Reimagines Netflix’s Hit Series as a K-Drama — and It Works appeared first on Rolling Stone India.