LE SSERAFIM’s Sakura and Hong Eunchae teamed up with Allure Korea for a gorgeous pictorial!
In the girls’ accompanying interview, Hong Eunchae and Sakura reflected on their debut, the past year, their dreams, and much more.
The day of the shoot was Hong Eunchae’s birthday, which she excitedly shared with the interviewer. After receiving so much birthday love from fans around the world, Hong Eunchae commented, “That’s why I can’t believe it. it’s so fascinating. I even had a little party in the practice room last year…”
Last month, LE SSERAFIM made their first ever comeback with “ANTIFRAGILE”, which captures the message that being strong is beautiful. Hong Eunchae reflected on her first impression of the song, “I liked that the lyrics included things like ‘boots’ and ‘career’ that only our members could talk about. “FEARLESS” had the meaning of moving forward without fear, but “ANTIFRAGILE” has the meaning of becoming stronger as you overcome difficulties in moving forward. The continuation of the story is great. I wanted to become one too. That’s why I was more interested in the reactions of others.”
For the post-debut fun experience, Hong Eunchae chose to see celebrities on broadcast stations. She shared that it was surprising every time, adding with a giggle, “I met Sunmi recently. It was fascinating to see her right in front of me, and she was so pretty and sweet that I keep thinking about it.’
When asked if she fulfilled any of her childhood dreams, Hong Eunchae shared, “I started dreaming of becoming an idol when I was younger when I saw SEVENTEEN’s concert. I fell in love after seeing the cheers of their fans. [My dream] started when I thought, ‘If I also sang and danced on that stage, would the fans like me too?’ I think that’s the biggest dream I’ve achieved. Receiving cheers from fans.”
Regarding LE SSERAFIM’s dream as a group, Hong Eunchae explained, “Our biggest goal is to meet fans from all over the world on a world tour. For this, my personal goal is to diligently study languages. We meet foreign fans whenever we do autographs for fans, but it’s such a shame that I can’t say much. I want to express and communicate more, but if we translate, the already short time frame will become even shorter, so I think I will have to know foreign languages.’
It is said that the first song you listen to in the new year will become your theme song for the year. Hong Eunchae shared that she watches it often and chose BTS’s “IDOL” and WJSN’s “As You Wish” as some of the songs she listened to. She added: “I listened to [‘As You Wish’] a lot because I had to fulfill my dreams.
For the upcoming new year, Hong Eunchae advised fans to listen to “ANTIFRAGILE” for the beginning of 2023. She explained, “There will be a lot of unimaginable and difficult situations during the year. You will have to listen to ‘ANTIFRAGILE’ in the sense of becoming a stronger person by overcoming all these situations.”
While 2022 was a year of firsts for Hong Eunchae, her member Sakura had a slightly different experience on the same journey. Sakura shared that while LE SSERAFIM was her third debut and she already knew members Kim Chaewon and Huh Yunjin, everything was still a new beginning. She added: “I’m happiest when I’m chatting with my members in the waiting room. It’s hard to meet friends who are close like family and you can open up to, so I think I’m really lucky.”
Like Hong Eunchae, Sakura shared her first reaction to “ANTIFRAGILE,” which has a completely different vibe from her past concepts with IZ*ONE and HKT48. “I thought, ‘If I’m an idol, the day has come when I’ll do something like this,'” she commented. “I didn’t know and I bet my fans didn’t either. When I see the reactions of the fans at the show, they say they like it because it’s so new. I think I found the new Sakura.”
As mentioned by Hong Eunchae, the “shoes” in the text “ANTIFRAGILE” refers to a member of Kazuha, while the line “don’t overlook my career” refers to Sakura’s long-term progress in this field. Sakura commented, “When I first saw the lyrics, I cried. Even if I wanted to say something, I honestly couldn’t. I can’t say, ‘Because I’ve worked really hard, please don’t look down on me.’ But to be able to say that our title track felt like a recognition of the journey I’ve been on so far, it made me cry.
While Sakura achieved her goal of becoming a singer several times over, she revealed that she had other childhood dreams. “When I was younger, I wanted to be an obstetrician and write books. I enjoy writing, so I want to do that one day.” She added that she hopes to write about her life and perform it in both Japanese and Korean.
When asked what she would say if the Sakura of 2022 could meet the Sakura of 2023, she replied, “To begin with, I would like to say to 2022 that I worked so hard and did well. In 2023, I want to say to me, ‘Enjoy!’ Next year, whatever it is, I want to show that I enjoy things and I want to enjoy it.”
At the end of the year, LE SSERAFIM will perform in the famous Japanese New Year’s Eve music show Kōhaku Uta Gassen (Battle of Red and White Songs).