Nov 2019 Haruhana Interview “Their 1st Japanese album was received well! Dreamcatcher introduces themselves with drawings brimming with individuality”
Armed with Rock styled tracks and performances to match, Dreamcatcher, a K-Pop girl group that has been building up a unique style, has released ‘The Beginning Of The End’, their 1st Japanese album.
–Tell us your favorite song in the album, and the points of note of the album!
JIU: Among the tracks listed, I like the newest track, “Breaking Out”. I think the desperate sadness between two people who desire each other will resonate with Japanese audiences.
Sua: I like the choreography for the intro as well. Please take note of it.
Gahyeon: I also recommend my rap part! It’s the killing point of the song. (Laugh)
Siyeon: The lyrics of ‘I Miss You’ are great. When I sing the part that goes “I still like you~” while gazing at the faces of our fans, I feel intensely concentrated.
Yoohyeon: Though it isn’t my part, I also think it’s great.
Handong: I want people to take note of our voices in our ballad number “Wonderland”.
Sua: I want people to hear the high-note parts of “PIRI ~Fue wo Fuke~”.
Dami: In “You and I”, there’s a part where I use a magic trick and swing a stick around. I think we presented a new possibility as an idol group.
Yoohyeon: It’s an album that encompasses all our song promotions so far. I felt really happy to see all of our songs which we performed with passion were included.
–From the team name of “Dreamcatcher”, did you become more sensitive towards dreams as you went on promotion? Did you have more dreams, or have nightmares that fit the ones you were assigned with, for instance?
Dami: I feel like I’ve been able to broaden my horizons for my lyric writing. Before our debut, I used my experiences and events that occurred around me to write my lyrics. But after becoming Dreamcatcher, I realized that I could use the ‘dream’ as an item as well. Now I can incorporate my imagination about something that might happen into my lyrics..
Yoohyeon: After having a dream, I write it down to avoid forgetting it. I dreamt that I was lost somewhere overseas once. After that, when we were in Melbourne, Australia, I thought ‘this is the place I saw in my dream!’ So I told the other members but nobody seemed to be too interested. (Bitter laughter)
Gahyeon: I had a dream after coming to Japan. I must have been nervous about having to speak Japanese instead of Korean in our events, because I was on stage in my dream. I think I failed at something, and our fans were saying “Gahyeon didn’t memorize her lyrics”… I was so surprised that I woke up. I’m glad that it was a dream.
Like in your B-side track, “I Miss You”, is there someone you’d like to meet once more such as a childhood friend, a teacher from elementary school, or a teacher you learnt a lot from?
Yoohyeon: I went to the Philippines for a language exchange when I was little. I want to see the friends I spent time back then again. I was an elementary schooler, but there were middle and high schoolers too. The exchange program was a kids-only program without parents. We got to ride horses, went bowling, we did a lot. It was a fun memory.
Dami: I want to meet the dog I had when I was little. It was back when I was around 5. It got sick and… I keep thinking that if it happened now, I’d be able to help it more.
Siyeon: For me, it’s my dad’s car that got scrapped when I was in elementary school. That car is in every family photo we took from that time. It got scrapped, so I can’t see it anymore. Even so, it was a car associated with so many family memories. In Elementary school, we were told to write a letter to someone we wanted to meet. I addressed my letter to that car. Even now, I’m tearing up as I say this. (her eyes were teary as she said this)
Gahyeon: My homeroom teacher from 2nd grade. She was female teacher and was amazingly kind. I have nothing but good recollections of her. Every year on her birthday, I would get in touch with her, and I even saw her when she retired. I was in touch with her until high school, but since then I’ve lost contact… Someone please find her. (laugh)
Handong: I want to meet my friend from middle school! Everyone’s living overseas now, so I miss them.
–Then, when do you miss your fans or the members?
Handong: I’m with the members every day. But when I go back to China on vacation, I miss them a lot. Especially since you can’t use Kakaotalk in China.
Gahyeon: But she doesn’t contact us. I even downloaded WeChat(a Chinese messenger app), but she said she didn’t have Wi-Fi.
Handong: I told you, I really didn’t have Wi-Fi that time, so I couldn’t contact you (Laugh)
Dami: I miss the fans most when we’re getting ready for a comeback or when we aren’t promoting. As for the members, I miss them when I’m with other group members, talking about our members.
Yoohyeon: I miss the fans every day, but there are times that I realize how much I missed them. When we actually meet our fans, I get happy and realize “oh, I missed them really badly”. As for the members, I miss them when I’m not with them, as you’d expect. Like Dami, I also miss them when I’m with other friends, for some reason.
Sua: When I want to see our fans really badly, I do a Vlive.
Siyeon: When I’m feeling stressed or tired, I read the letters our fans gave me. They console and comfort me. As for members, I’ve done a lot of work alone recently. I was really nervous, but the members came to support me and stayed with me. It helped me feel less nervous and made me realize again how much I rely on them.
JIU: I miss the members when I feel bored on long vacations. I end up thinking about them more when we’re apart. I keep wondering “what are they doing now?”
–In relation with ‘Breaking Out’, from food to celebrities, characters, music, and sports, regardless of genre, is there something that you’ve fallen in love with and can’t break off from your life? Show us with your illustrations.
Siyeon: Onions! (In Japanese) I love onions! Love you, onion~! I love the pickled onions my mom made me when I was little. Even when she made stir-fried squid or cooked meat, I ate more onion than those.
JIU: For me, it’s Dreamcatcher! I feel like I only watch videos of us. I often watch the videos we filmed as a team. It’s fun.
Dami: There’s three parts. First is SNSD, my role model. The food I like is sweet potato. Then, I love dogs. I’ve been with them for 18 years. The one I miss is the one I kept before the one I have now. My current dog is the 3rd one and is named Toto. My mom named it.
Yoohyeon: I also have 3! A long time ago, I watched the film and thought Peter Pan was real. I still like the character. The subject that I was most interested in back in high school was outer space. We had a subject called ‘Earth science’(T/N It includes geology, paleontology, and astronomy). I studied hard for it and my grades were really good too. Also, I love the world. I want to see all of it.
Gahyeon: Fried chicken! I sometimes have it 4 times a week. Even in the mornings. In Japan, I’ve had convenience store chicken!
Handong: I like egg tarts and strawberry shaved ice.
Sua: My favorite is burgers and fries!
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A 7 member girl group, with JIU (Born May 17th 1994), Sua (Born August 10th 1994), Siyeon (Born October 1st 1995), Handong (Born March 26th 1996), Yoohyeon (Born January 7th 1997), Dami (Born March 7th 1997) and Gahyeon (Born February 3rd 1999). Debuted on January 2017, featuring the ‘nightmare’ concept, unique for a girl group. Debuted in Japan November next year. Their 1st Japanese album ‘The Beginning of the End’ is on sale now to good reviews.
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