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2013/06/09

June 2013 STARM Magazine Interview


The six clowns have come back to the stage
Face off, C-CLOWN
With their new song ‘Shaking Heart’ and a more mature ‘masculine’ image, C-CLOWN has returned before our eyes nearly a year after their debut. With help overcoming their initial awkwardness, now they have reached the moment where they will leap forward. While meeting with these six men face-to-face outside of the stage, there are only thoughts of love, memories, and work.
Shall we do the interview? When I saw the photo-shoot for your new album promotions, your costumes all looked very handsome.
T.K It’s a 1970′s ‘New Yorker’ style.
Rome We primarily wear classic suits. The hat is included as a part of our concept.
As a group, you wear matching costumes. Starting from the right, in the order of how you stand when taking pictures, please introduce yourselves one by one.
T.K I’m T.K. I’m in charge of the majority of C-CLOWN’s adorableness. Ah, let me change that. Instead, I am the reason for C-CLOWN’s existence (smiles).
Rome I’m Rome. I’m in charge of the shoulders.
Ray I’m Ray. I’m in charge of C-CLOWN’s very ‘existence’. Without me there would be no C-CLOWN.
Kang Jun I’m Kang Jun. I’m in charge of sincerity. I’m the ‘best’ when it comes to sincerity (smiles).
Siwoo I’m Siwoo. I’m in charge of being prince-like.
Maru I am the Maru that is always right (smiles). The Maru that is in charge of representing C-CLOWN’s ‘future’.
When we met, it seemed the team was too stiff. It’s alright if you relax and you’re comfortable.
T.K We have to keep some parts of us hidden, because we’re still rookies we have to be more careful during interviews. We have to maintain our manners (smiles).
Maru In the past, before an interview, I would get scolded if I misbehaved (smiles).
Your new song ‘Shaking Heart’ is a song about how it’s rarely easy for the heart when you break up with a lover, have the members also sympathized with this ‘shaken heart’?
Ray The things inside a person’s heart cannot be easily thrown away. As a result, I can sympathize, to a certain extent, when a person’s heart is shaken.
Rome T.K and I both participated in writing the lyrics for the song. For this song, I often thought of my own experiences and tried to remember the feelings and memories I had in writing the lyrics.
T.K I’ve never been in love before…The maknae, Maru, and I have both never been in love before.
Siwoo Even though I can’t really sympathize with it, I understand that it’s saddening.
Maru I can sympathize with it. I feel like it’s easy to imagine with the lyrics of the song.
Ray You’re right. It’s very much like how the story would unfold in a movie.
Kang Jun I think I’ve had enough experience to sympathize with the song. I’ve had my heart shaken many times (smiles). When I was younger, in sixth grade, I broke up with my girlfriend. Then my friends saw me headed down the hallway on my way to the bathroom before entering the classroom. When they saw me of course they all assumed, ‘Ah, he definitely just broke up with someone.’ (the members all break out into uproarious laughter)
Oh I see. Then, what is everyone’s opinion about love?
Ray Love is a source of freedom. I believe, if a person does not love then they’re not really a person! At least, that’s what I think (smiles). I think an unrequited love is also a form of love!
Kang Jun Love is something everyone should definitely have.
T.K In the past, I was too simple-minded when it came to love, but after listening to the hyungs talk about love I realized that love is something that grows once you’re in love.
Do you think some of you are too simple-minded when it comes to love?
Rome T.K is, he’s never had a girlfriend or dated before. But he’s told me that he definitely hopes that he will get to marry his first girlfriend. But that’s all I have to say. Consequently, I’ve told him that the best solution is for him to meet with many people, so he will gain experience and see what kind of attributes or girls he doesn’t like.
Siwoo I think love is difficult. I believe love is difficult because I don’t think it’s easy being in love if you read too much into it. With my past unrequited loves…I think about them a lot.
Then, what kind of ‘cool guy’ would you consider yourself? C-CLOWN displayed a ‘cooler’ image for this current album.
T.K I would be the type that yielded to females well, where I would pull out the chair for the girl when we’re at restaurants and I would make sure to walk on the side of the sidewalk facing the street so the girl would be protected…I would be that kind of man.
Ray I would be different (smiles). By my standards, I would want to be the kind of guy that allows a girl to be most comfortable with herself when she’s with me. I think such actions like pulling out the girl’s chair and having to be cautious/wary around each other can only make things more difficult. I think it’s best to be able to show your most comfortable self with one another. I’m the kind of cool guy that allows the girl to show off who she really is.
Rome Even though it may seem that I have a ‘bad boy’ image, when I’m in a relationship I will do my best to give her all of my love. As a man, I’m responsible! I think I would be responsible. A man really isn’t a man if he doesn’t have a sense of ‘responsibility’. Many guys think to themselves ‘When will we be breaking up?’ when they’re dating a girl, even I have sometimes thought that way…but I also think you should keep dating until the very end, otherwise I don’t think there is a sense of responsibility. I think a man that is good at keeping his promises is the best type of man.
Ray He’ll take responsibility for all the things he’s said!
Kang Jun I would be the type of man that always puts ‘ladies first’. The kind of cool guy that was caring, gentlemanly and always yielded to the girl.Maru I would be a man that does his own work well; for us it’s to show that we are focused on stage. I think this image is the image of what a ‘cool guy’ should be.
I heard that it’ll be your one year anniversary since debut soon? During this first year, what do you think has changed about yourselves?
T.K I was the latest member to join the team. Everyone except me had been living together in the same place for around 2~3 years. But the members all have different personalities. At first I didn’t fit in, but I just naturally began to get used to the team’s lifestyle. I think that’s the biggest change for me. Also, when we first debuted with ‘Solo’ and even for our ‘Far Away…Young Love’ promotions, we were awkward on stage. But now, I’m proud to say that we are able to show that we’ve gradually matured.
Siwoo When we debuted we were very awkward. Now, at least we look more natural, I want to be able to take off the ‘rookie shirt’ as soon as possible. Before we would stare at the wrong cameras during rehearsals but since then we’ve diligently prepared ourselves to correct that.
Siwoo, even with your habit of staring into the wrong camera you still wanted to become a singer?
Siwoo In the beginning it was because I liked dancing that I started to want to become a singer. I lived in Gwangju and learned dancing until my third year of junior high school, then I moved to Seoul and have remained ever since. It was here after a casting that I acquired the dream of becoming a singer.
Rome Even before debut, I was pretty shy and couldn’t really approach people first. Becoming leader, however, I learned that confidence was key. If I don’t go out of my way, the atmosphere of the group goes down. After promoting for a while, meeting people became easier for me, and I feel that I’m able to be friendlier towards people I meet for the first time.
Ray For my transformation, at first I only wanted to be a singer. After I was able to live that dream, I also wanted to become a producer. Now I want to have my own studio and write my own songs. I’ve had experienced producers like RADO-hyung tell me, “Dreaming about it isn’t going to get you anywhere. You have to pursue it.” Later on, I want to be like Yong Junhyung-sunbaenim and G-Dragon-sunbaenim and I’ve really changed my mindset to make that come true.
Kang Jun When we debuted with our first album, when you looked at my appearance, my expressions weren’t that great and I would often be off-pitch, leading to many mistakes. For this current album, I learned to just enjoy myself on stage and play, I think that will better appeal to the general public.
Maru A long time ago, at fansigns, I didn’t really talk to the fans very much. Now, I can play around and talk to them comfortably. I’m also able to perform more enthusiastically, change up my gestures now and then, and have fun. But I do still get nervous before going up on stage.
Kang Jun Recently, Maru’s singing has really improved.
As Kang Jun was speaking, he was patting Maru’s knee (smiles).
Kang Jun I really like our maknae…I also enjoy skin-ship (smiles).
Rome  If something goes wrong, you could be seen as a pervert!
Kang Jun Um…It’s because I was a fine arts and sculpting major, I have to be able to touch the medium like this…
Maru Just say that he likes doing skin-ship with other guys. Hahaha.
Kang Jun seems really funny. Is that what most people say about you?
Kang Jun Sometimes people do burst into laughter like this. It actually might be a bit odd to say but I do hear that I’m a little strange.
Rome When I first met Kang Jun, I thought he looked normal and rather quiet. But not even an hour passed when he grabbed my hand and dragged me into another room. I wasn’t sure what was going on but he asked me what I thought of him. (laughter) I was so in shock that I just went, ‘I like girls, I’m not into guys.’ When I said that he went ‘No, not like that. How am I as a person?’ and told me he was a weird person. He told me he was a weird person and to look after him. (All the members laugh and clap at the same time)
Kang Jun I just wanted to let him know about my personality so I took hyung into the practice room and told him.
Maru That same day, leader-hyung gathered us around and consulted us, asking questions like ‘This kind of guy is joining our group, is he normal?’
Rome When I think about it now, I had thought Kang Jun was quiet and he wanted to reassure me that he wasn’t really like that. I think he was trying to release the awkward tension but at the time but I think it only got more awkward after that. (smile) I remember that incident.
And now, a question that can never be left out! What is your ideal type?
T.K A woman that sees only me. An innocent woman, a gentle woman, a nice and kind woman. When I watched the drama High Kick 3: Revenge of the Short Legged, I fell for Park Hasun’s acting.
Rome A sexy person. Someone like Park Shiyeon-sunbaenim! I fell for her when I saw the movie Marine Boy.
Siwoo An easy-going person. There’s no other requirements, just a person who is comfortable with herself. Someone like my mom.
Ray My ideal type is a bagel girl* (the members all burst out into uproarious laughter).
*A ‘bagel girl’ is a Korean slang term for a girl with a glamorous and sexy figure but an innocent and baby-like face.Maru That’s too straightforward.
Ray Why why! Someone’s that cute and sexy, why can’t I say that! It’s possible that I would want a girl like that. Hahaha. In the meantime, I would describe my ideal type as someone that is short, cute, but still sexy, but isn’t that just a bagel girl? That’s what I would say is a bagel girl (smiles). Someone who is cute, easy-going and doesn’t lie.
Kang Jun In the past I liked girls that were sexy but now I like someone that is innocent, cute, but sexy at the same time…
Everyone A bagel girl?
Kang Jun Not a bagel girl (smiles). Someone that’s like Suzy-sunbaenim.
Everyone But isn’t Suzy-sunbaenim a bagel girl? Hahaha.
Maru I think my ideal type is someone that is short and cute, but other than that I haven’t really thought about it (smiles).
This year, Ray and Maru each graduated from senior high school and junior high school respectively. How does it feel to have graduated? Please tell everyone a memory from your school days.
Ray I wasn’t able to go to school much so I don’t have a lot of memories from it. I was graduating and I realized that I never went on trips with my friends so I was regretful of that. But the good thing about being an adult is that they’re able to drive and eat wherever they want without restrictions. Now that I have more responsibility, I feel like I’m more mature as well. I haven’t been able to drive yet but I drank beer before.
Maru I went to middle school for a little bit then became a trainee. I went to school in Cheongju and I was only able to go to one or two classes when I did go. Because I had to go up all the way to Seoul, I wasn’t able to go on overnight school trips but I got to know some people and befriended them. During my trainee years, I really cherished my friends but now that I graduated, I feel sad.
Kang Jun I feel really bad for Maru. At his age he’s supposed to play a lot of games (smiles) but instead he’s singing and dancing, He’s already living in the real world, so when I see him suffering my heart feels heavy.
Maru I do remember going on a retreat once. During the talent show, my friends and I danced and we got calls from girls we didn’t even know. When we were doing a scavenger hunt, I was running down a hill and still ‘feeling it.’ But I tripped and fell in front of my female classmates. It was embarrassing.
Ray The memory I remember most is getting casted. I was playing at the arts festival at my school and the company’s representatives came up to me. They came before and after I performed, and I remember that was how I got casted.
Kang Jun When I was in school, 30 of my friends and I would gather together and we’ll go ride our bikes on the roads.
Siwoo A motorcycle gang (smiles).
Kang Jun No, we weren’t a motorcycle gang. But I did remember that we would skip class to go to karaoke.
You would skip class?
Kang Jun I wanted to sing the music I enjoyed (smiles). So I went to karaoke. There are normally eight classes taught and I would run away after my sixth class, but I do remember being punished. I would be made to write ‘self-reflection’ papers by hand until it filled the entire sheet of paper as punishment.
T.K I mostly remember going to a bazaar during my first year of junior high school. I bought a Starcraft game CD and I bought tteokbokki* to eat (smiles). It was nice to having school end earlier. Also it was really fun to be able to attend a performance of BEAST at Inkigayo in my third year of junior high school instead of a recreational retreat for school. In the past, I goofed around to the point where all my female friends said they ‘couldn’t see me as a guy’. I told them back then that now I would be ‘seen as a man’.
*Korean rice cakes cooked in a spicy-sweet sauce.
So, with your girlfriend…?
T.K Since I didn’t hit puberty until later in high school, it wasn’t until then that I began to notice girls. But now, I can’t even get in touch with any of them (smiles).
Siwoo Because I transferred schools during senior high school I had to focus on my studies and wasn’t able to travel, but I do remember going to a camp twice. But the camp might as well have been called ‘boot camp’, I had training in chemical, biological, and radiological military tactics and even though I was afraid of heights I also received training on how to jump from high locations. Back then I hated it but now I think it was good for me. In addition, because my father was in the Special Forces, I’ve done the training experience a total of three times. But I’m glad to have had the experience in chemical, biological and radiological military tactics training (smiles).
Rome I was born in Australia and went to school there. My old school caught on fire and I enjoyed not going to school for a while. When I went back, I could go out at lunch and go surfing, because the beach was close by to the school. I remember a time when I came back to school from lunch, drenched.
Rome, even though you grew up in Australia, it seems your Korean is quite good.
Rome There are still times I still can’t speak Korean well. Back in Australia, my grandparents taught me very basic Korean but I called my grandfather ‘gramps’ and ‘granny.’ I learned a lot of Korean three years ago, when I first came here.
I heard that C-CLOWN recently has moved to a new dormitory, how is it?
T.K We moved because our previous dormitory was a villa and we would receive complaints from our neighbors. Because we’re a larger number of people, it seems we’re also a lot louder.
Maru Since we come home late, they must hear us. Our old dorm was on the top floor and we were able to do laundry and shower in the wee hours of the morning. Now that we’ve moved towards the middle of the building, there’s none of that anymore. (laughter)
T.K The area around our new dormitory is really dark and the convenience store is far away.
Maru Our manager-hyung tried showering at our new dorm once and rusty water came out of the faucets. It’d only been a couple days since we moved in so we were still adjusting. At our last dorm, we would come back from playing soccer at the sports center at 1AM. We would be so loud, shouting “Pass, pass~” and the neighbors complained that we were too noisy.
Fans of C-CLOWN are curious about your ‘everyday’ image, what type of clothing do you typically wear?
T.K Tracksuits, v-neck t-shirts, and black jeans. Comfortable clothes. Throughout the summer last year, I wore the same five black and same five white v-neck t-shirts so often that fans started calling me ‘v-neck’. Other than that, I like accompanying my outfits with a knit top and skinny jeans. When I have to go practice I like the hip-hop style, I like unique and splashy kinds of clothes. For example, I would wear a sleeveless shirt with jeans and a chain together with an interesting fashion item.
Ray I prefer casual, street fashion. I like clean-cut sneakers with a hoodie, or a Man-to-Man t-shirt. I also like New Era hats.
Kang Jun The style I like is to have a neat suit jacket worn over my outfit. Simple clothes like t-shirts and blue jeans. Things that are easy for me to match.
Siwoo I like loose baggy jeans. It doesn’t really matter as long as it’s loose, red, and baggy I’ll buy it.
Maru I also like New Era hats. As for clothes, I just wear t-shirts and black pants.
Ray When Maru was younger, he’d wear character t-shirts. Shirts that had stuff like one-eyed monsters (smiles). But once we debuted, he stopped wearing that kind of shirts. He now wears luxury brand clothes (smiles).
When you’re working, how do you relieve stress?
T.K I’ve never had a reason to really lose my temper, nowadays I tend to just keep it in. I just look on the bright side of things and my heart is relieved. Because conflicts will always occur between people in any type of relationship, I try to think back little by little as to why I lost my temper in the first place and fix it. Plus, I’m told quite frequently by the hyungs that ‘We don’t hold grudges…’
You guys seem easy-going.
T.K We don’t have any pretenses with one another. I think that’s one of the charms of our team.
Ray Whenever I’m stressed out, I do something I want to do. It’ll either be making songs, playing games, or singing.
Kang Jun I either listen to music or just go eat something spicy. Some Cheongyang red pepper or some spicy chicken feet. I enjoy anything spicy. When we eat midnight snacks, I would often order chicken and peppers. Usually, when I order I would deliberately ask for more peppers to eat.
Rome I have to listen to music, and I also write rap lyrics. I release my anger through my lyrics.
Maru I call my dance crew friends and ask how the other is doing. Practicing for them is harder than it is for me so I just think ’I'm really lucky.’
Siwoo Whenever I’m angry I would just sleep. With all the stress, I would just sleep. I would sleep for a long time and I would sleep often. After sleeping I tend to be more at ease.
Siwoo seems reserved.
Maru He’s the quiet type.
T.K In our team, Siwoo’s the mother because he worries over us and is a good listener. I’ve never seen him get angry over anything. He really has the patience of a saint. In the past year I’ve never seen him angry before.
Siwoo Sometimes, if I listen to the members’ worries then it gets easier for them. When I hear them go ‘Practicing has been really difficult lately’ I know they can handle it if I say ‘We just need to do a little more to improve ourselves’ (smiles).
What do each of you imagine yourself doing ten years from now?
T.K I would like become ‘South Korea’s Dr. Dre’ as a producer and also be able to cultivate people of talent.
Rome I want be to known as a legend in the music industry! I want to be an entertainment CEO and make some sort of group, even if it’s not an idol group.
Ray I hope to still be a musician. I want to make my own songs and play instruments and become a musician like Bruno Mars.
Kang Jun A publicly acclaimed singer and actor. I want to hear people say that not only am I good singer but also a really good actor.
Siwoo I hope the image I have now remains unchanged even if I don’t have anything particular in mind that I hope to do in ten years time. For example, if I wanted to play soccer then I would still be playing soccer…I want that image to remain constant.
Maru Even ten years from now, age won’t be that much of a factor so… (everyone claps while laughing) At that point, I want to go solo, do variety promotions, and be like Lee Seunggi-sunbaenim in that I want to receive compliments in everything that I do. I also want to create a dance team like Jang Woohyuk-sunbaenim.
The C-CLOWN, ten years later, from now on I will be anticipating that album. And now, please give your final words to the readers!
Rome Please let people know that we have good songs and really great title tracks~!
T.K Even though it may be difficult for teenage readers to approach us because of our song style and our image, we’re actually friendly idols. We hope many of you will approach us please~!
Everyone Please approach us~!
 CREDIT: VIVA1220 (source); @CClown120719 / Crown the Clowns (translation & reupload)

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