[INTERVEW] Girl group Secret

My name is Jun Hyo-seong. I am the leader of the group Secret.
My birthday is October 13, 1989. I am the second-oldest of three girls. My older and younger sisters were both born at home, while I was the only one born at the hospital.
When I was third grade, I became a papergirl because I was under the vague notion that early risers are cool. I even grew taller because of it. My monthly allowance of 12,000 won quite an abundant sum -- enough that my parents would sometimes ask me to lend them some money to pay their taxes.
I went to an audition in Daejeon forgetting the CD that I prepared my act with so, I just auditioned with the CD that I had with me. However, I got a call back even though I thought I had failed. I placed first for the dance section of the audition.
I took part in Mnet's "Battle Shinhwa!" because of the group Shinhwa. I had been their fan since fifth grade but I didn't get a chance to meet them after I debuted. I learned a lot from "Battle Shinhwa!" such as not to be too friendly to others, not to be selfish and to hide my emotions.
I was faced with 'three years of misfortune' when I turned 19 years old. My future suddenly became unclear because the agency that I was with was being bought by another company, no one was telling us anything and one by one the trainees were dropping out. That was the first time in my life that I experienced failure.
I think the reason I became the leader is because I had the most experience as a trainee. I was the youngest of my former five-member girl group but I think I lost a lot of my leadership qualities because I became obsessed with the fact that I was the youngest. It was easy to restore my leadership qualities once I became a member of Secret though because everyone was nice.
I think I sleep well once every three days because we run on such a busy schedule.
There is no so-called 'mother-like figure' in our group. It's sad because in the beginning, Ji-eun would do the dishes and cleaning. But now we have a cleaning lady who I think cries because there is so much work to do.
I admire Beyonce. She is the kind of artist who even up till the point that she has been releasing solo albums, has been loved by her fans by constantly seeking to change. I was sad I wasn't able to attend her concert in Korea.

My name is Han Sun-hwa. I have several nicknames including Baek Jisunhwa, 'Sweaty Feet,' and Pucca.
My birthday is October 6, 1990. My hometown is Busan.
Our stage performance of "Magic" wasn't aired that much because many entertainment shows were delayed or cancelled. In order to put on our best for the performance, I wore a wig on stage but it was uncomfortable because we had to sing live and dance at the same time. Now, I only wear the wig once in a while.
Before I met Hyo-seong, I was nervous about the fact that she was older than me. I told myself that I would not fall under her pressure no matter what, but after seeing her, I became amazed at how young she looks. I was happy that Zinger joined the group because I had seen her twice at the office for her auditions. I also have an interesting connection with Ji-eun. I first signed with the company when the rapping duo Untouchable was promoting their song "Give You Everything," which turned out was a song that she had recorded.
I don't have a set ideal guy but I like someone who is funny and easy-going. That's the first image I felt when I first met veteran actor Lee Bong-won on KBS variety program "Gonggam." I thought he was stylish even though he is an older man and I think his comedienne wife Park Mi-sun probably thinks I'm cute because of that.
If I had three wishes, my first wish would be to clone myself. I'm a carefree person and I feel that I've lost a bit of my freedom since working in this field. It's what I've wanted to do but I'm in my early 20s and I want to hang out with my friends too. So the real me would go out and play while my clone would work. My second wish is to have piles of food to eat. When I lived in Busan, I didn't realize that there were so many kinds of tasty food. I love bread, especially pretzels. My final wish is that I would be able to teleport so that I could go home really fast and move quickly when I'm late for my schedule. Also, I would like to be able to travel overseas in a day as well.
I realized that acting was fun was after making my cameo appearance in MBC sitcom "More Charming By the Day." I used to wonder whether I could ever be able to act but if I got a chance, I would like to study it now.
Since I am a singer and I appear in variety programs, I thought my image had to be different in the separate fields. Lee Hyori is the perfect example of it because she is easy-going on variety programs but you can feel her femininity through her strong charisma when she's on stage. I would like to become an artist like her.

My name is Song Ji-eun.
I was born on May 5, 1990. I am an only child.
I am responsible for the word "Mazic." I came up with "Mazic" instead of "Magic" because it's an interesting way to pronounce it and the audience can follow along after listening to it once.
I was a particularly clean person when we first debuted. I was the 'mother' of Secret and did the cleaning and dishes. But after we got individual desks, I became one of the dirtiest members because I would use my desk to put all my stuff.
I was preparing to make my debut in a group known as the 'Second Big Mama.’ We were originally a four-member group but became a trio after one of the members dropped out. Our strength was that all of us could sing but the group's concept was to dance powerfully. We pushed back our debut because we needed more time to practice and in the end, the group never happened.
I sang a duet with singer Hwan-hee for my solo album "Yesterday." I was worried at first because Hwan-hee has a husky voice but I realized how great of an artist he was when he changed his singing method to match my voice.
After receiving vocal lessons from songstress Hwayobi, she became my role model. She would sing songs with her own style when others tried to follow the methods of the artists. I think there is a lot to learn from her.
I was hurt when I saw the comment 'hideous pants.' At first I thought 'We have our own style' but I never thought people would say they were hideous or looked like diapers. I wish next time they would give concrete reasons why they thought so. (laugh)
My favorite artist is Tamia. Whatever song she sings, she does it comfortably or as if it's a lullaby. I would like to take after her and be able to approach people with my voice. From all her songs I like "Officially Missing You" the most. It's the kind of song that is neither repulsive and it's easy to listen to.

My name is Zinger. My real name is Jung Ha-na. I got the name Zinger from Pussycat Doll member Nicole Scherzinger.
My birthday is February 2, 1990. I am an only child.
I was worried about the nickname 'Zinger burger' but I decided on 'Zinger' because it shows how the public is familiar with that word. Also, I fell in love the first time I saw Nicole Scherzinger. I feel that it is fate that I have the same name as the person that I like and want to become like.
I didn't feel comfortable living with the rest of my group at first because I was an only child who had lived under my parents rules. I thought I was a considerate housemate but it turned out there were many aspects that I wasn't considerate about at all. After about eight to nine months though, my personality changed and I learned much about social life.
I give off a strong first impression but at the same time I am very charming. I didn't know that I was coquettish but a lot of people tell me I am and maybe it's because I'm an only child. For example, I would act bratty when there is something that I really want to eat.
I began rapping when I joined Secret. I think it was really awkward when I was recording the rap for the song "Three Years Six Months" because I felt compelled to follow the style of female rapper T. I gradually found my own style after studying rap and my style is a mix of rapping in a high tone while singing in a low tone.
My mother who used to be a singer gave me a lot of advice. Even though she was against my singing career she told me, "It is difficult and you lose lots of things."
If we get the chance to do hip-hop, I would like follow the genuine hip-hop style of Lil' Mama. I am greedy of the image of a singer who is powerful and sexy at the same time.

Reporter : Lee Gaon thirteen@
Editor : Jang Kyung-Jin three@, Lucia Hong luciahong@
Photographer : Lee Jin-hyuk eleven@