[INTERVIEW] B.A.P Zelo, Jong-up

Interview with boy band B.A.P

B.A.P member Zelo [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

My name is Zelo. I came up with the name from Zelos who is the Greek God of rivalry and envy. My real name is Choi Joon-hong.
I was born on October 15, 1996. I have a brother who is two years older than me. My brother resembles my dad's face and I look like my mom. We have at least one thing that is in common.
I just entered high school. Maybe it's because I'm still immature but I keep thinking about how I can't wait to become an adult whenever I see the older members. (Young-jae: I think you have already become an adult.) I feel kind of sad about graduating from middle school to become a freshmen in high school though I didn't feel it when I went into the eighth grade. (Him-chan: You are becoming an adult.)
I wanted to become a soccer player when I was in elementary school. I used to run around and sweat a lot but that became boring once I started music. I used to imitate the dance moves and rap from tutorials online and performed at various festivals because I was outgoing.
Once, the older members pointed at me for someone who doesn't wash. It is true but I have a reason for that. I am the last one that gets to take a shower because I am the youngest. And I fall asleep while I'm waiting for my turn to use the bathroom. (Him-chan: We tried waking him but he just kept sleeping.) Ah...I can't remember.
I'm in charge of doing the laundry in the dorm. The older members didn't force me to do it. I just decided that I wanted to do the laundry because I'm very sensitive about my clothes getting stretched or dyed with other colors. (Yong-guk: Our clothes always seem to stretch out while Zelo's doesn't.../ Him-chan: It's a mystery.)
I look like I have a small frame compared to my height (182 centimeters). I wish my body would look more fit. I try to work out whenever I think about that and I just do several push-ups at home. Uhm, about 20 times? Jong-up has a great body and I exercise harder every time I get inspired by other members' figures. I tried out various methods in order to build my body but it never lasts. My trainer told me that it's not too late.
Jong-up is really a fun person to hang around with. Most of the time, he looks innocent or has a calm expression and doesn't seem like he would make jokes. But he makes a frowning face, that's a sign that he'll soon burst into laughter. When he's on stage he seems really manly and shows off his charismatic image. I'm always hanging around with him and I get surprised everytime he switches his image 100 percent from his usual image.
I would love to study composition if we had 24 more hours in a day. I don't usually read books but would like to make time to read. I also want to learn how to do aerial tricks on a skateboard. Right now, I only know how to ride it. (laugh)

B.A.P member Jong-up [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

My name is Jong-up. I’m a senior at Hanlim Multi Art School.
I was born on February 6, 1995. I have two older brothers who are three and five years apart from me. We shared our interests in toys and animations so we are pretty close and we treat each other like friends. Though I grew up in such an environment, having only guys in a room is still uncomfortable. It’s a bit different story if it’s close friends but I get shy in front of strangers.
I wish I was 10 centimeters taller than I am now. I think I reached my maximum height in middle school but it seems like I’m still growing. (Young-jae: It’s his shoulder that’s growing. / Him Chan: He has wide shoulders that looks nice. / Bang Yong-guk: His body is well proportioned.) Thanks everybody. (laugh)
If I grow taller, I would look nice just by standing still on a stage. I like Chris Brown and he’s really tall but I don’t think I’ll be able to look cool like him. (Young-jae: Don’t worry. You have Usher.) Oh yeah. He’s as tall as I am.
Zelo does push-ups at home and he asks me every three days saying “hey, do you think I look fit now?” I see no difference though. Of course, I’m not sure if push-ups can even be an exercise because I don’t work out.
I first started dancing in a school club. We went on competitions and the more I went on stage, the more I wanted to become a singer. The first dance move I learned was b-boying and I got hurt a few times after doing a handstand. I’m interested in krump dancing these days.
I hope to go to the United States and experience the street culture there. It will be fun to watch dance battles. Actually...it is a bit scary to go there because English is still difficult for me. (Him Chan: But we know how to communicate without learning the local language. We can use body language!)
I was more nervous during performance tests at school than the auditioning at my agency. I didn’t prepare much for the audition because someone set me up for the interview but for the school exams, I prepared and studied a lot for it which made me get tense even more.
I have a Japanese fan who comes to our events nearly every single time. I met that fan at the autograph event that we recently had and that fan is probably the most memorable one amongst everyone else. That fan speaks a little bit of Korean and always calls my name in Korean too.
I wish B.A.P can become a group that people get curious about and wait for. I want people to wonder ‘what will B.A.P do next?’ Even for people who don’t like us I hope they will at least look for our albums and listen to the tracks for every release.
I don’t think I can go on variety shows since I’m not good at small talks. Uhm...(Him Chan: Whew...do something about the atmosphere you made right now!)

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10 아시아 Reporter : Hwang Hyo-Jin seventeen@
10 아시아 Photographer : Lee Jin-hyuk eleven@
10 아시아 Editor : Lucia Hong luciahong@
10 아시아 Editor : Monica Suk monicasuk@
10 아시아 Editor : Jang Kyung-Jin three@