LE SSERAFIM Talks About Their Journey To Debut, Hopes For The Future, And More

Oct 21, 2022

The lovely ladies of LE SSERAFIM have chatted with Esquire Korea about their journey to debut, latest comeback, and more!

Chaewon has re-debuted as LE SSERAFIM’s leader after first promoting with IZ*ONE as one of the younger members. She described herself as a “comfortable, friend-like leader” before adding, “That’s also the kind of leader I want to be.”

Chaewon also explained that instead of feeling pressured by her newfound leader position, she found it awkward. “On top of it being the first time I was one of the older members in a team, I also became leader. I had a lot of concerns about what I should do, but it just worked as I continued. Although there is a bit of pressure, I think of it as pressure with positive meaning. I feel more responsible. I believe pressure to that extent helps me grow into a better person.”

Recently, LE SSERAFIM made their first-ever comeback with their second mini album “ANTIFRAGILE.” When asked what image she hopes to show this time, Chaewon answered, “For starters, I really wanted to show LE SSERAFIM’s diverse charms. We’ve prepared performances for everything, from the title track, follow-up song, and B-sides. Second, I want to frequently show the image of us enjoying our performances. I think that we have to enjoy ourselves for fans to naturally enjoy themselves too. Above everything, I want to show cool performances that continue to outdo our past performances.”

Although it hasn’t been long since she moved to Korea, Kazuha has already impressed many with her great language skills. She explained, “When I was studying [ballet] abroad in the Netherlands, my roommate was Korean. Before I officially started studying Korean, I did learn a few simple words while watching dramas with that friend. But it wasn’t to the point where I could speak in full sentences.”

After 15 years of studying ballet, Kazuha made the bold decision to switch her career path to becoming an idol. Despite all the time and effort she put into ballet, Kazuha shared, “I’ve never felt regretful about my decision. There are times when I think about what would’ve happened if I continued doing ballet. However, I like myself now, as I am making new choices and trying many more new things.”

On the next steps she wants to achieve, Kazuha shared, “A world tour. No, to start, I want to hold a concert for LE SSERAFIM. Yesterday, ahead of our comeback, we had a performance pre-recording. It was so thrilling. Although it was a pre-recording for our comeback show, it felt like our concert. After yesterday’s experience, I began wanting to hold a concert in front of many more fans.”

Eunchae was the last member to join LE SSERAFIM and she previously revealed that the day before she joined, she dreamt that she made it to the debut lineup. She recalled how surreal it felt to actually live her dream, saying, “You know how you usually don’t remember your dreams well? When I woke up, I just vaguely remembered feeling happy. I just thought it was a good dream, but the next day, I heard that I was joining the debut lineup.”

Eunchae joked that after confirming multiple times that she was really debuting, she started feeling like the debut date would now never come, as if the world would end before that. She added, “I worried that I would be so nervous on stage that I would do poorly on even the things I’m good at, but on the day of our debut, I wasn’t nervous at all. Surprisingly, it was fun. And I had no regrets.”

Due to Eunchae’s young age, she was asked how her parents reacted to her wanting to become an idol. She shared, “My older brother played sports. Since my parents knew how difficult arts and physical education was, at first, they were against it. [They said] That if I went to auditions or whatever, that I should figure it out on my own. They spoke like that but in reality, they allowed me to do what I wanted. And they supported me attending dance academy.”

Regarding her impressive feat of memorizing LE SSERAFIM’s “FEARLESS” choreography in only two hours, Eunchae commented, “I joined LE SSERAFIM last. The unnies already had their positions and transitions set up. When I joined, we had to redo all of that [choreography] from the start. I didn’t want to be an inconvenience to the team. With that thought alone, I focused and was able to do it [in two hours]. I was confident in dance to some extent but it was my first time memorizing a choreography of that level of difficulty in two hours so I was fascinated with myself and proud.”

Just a day before the group’s Esquire pictorial, member Yunjin had celebrated her birthday. She excitedly commented, “It was my first birthday after debuting and it just so happened that we won an award at The Fact Music Awards.”

The interviewer commented that she must’ve received a lot of presents and Yunjin responded, “I like gifts too, but I like letters even more. Especially handwritten letters. In a letter my friend wrote me, it said, ‘Although you chose a difficult path, I’m so happy and proud that you didn’t give up on your dream and are achieving it.’ As soon as I read it, I burst into tears. Although it was a short message, I was touched because I could feel their sincerity.”

On LE SSERAFIM’s 100th day after debuting, Yunjin gifted fans with a self-composed track titled “Raise y_our glass.” She shared that she wanted to write a song for fans because “I’m more reserved when it comes to expressing my feelings, but it’s a bit easier to convey emotions if you borrow the strength of a song.”

In the “Thanks to” portion of LE SSERAFIM’s first mini album, Yunjin spoke about finally meeting an open door after only encountering closed and locks doors. She explained this sentiment, sharing, “My father told me, ‘The door of opportunity is not something you can open on your own, just because you are extraordinary.’ Along with the words that a locked door won’t open no matter how much you knock at it.”

She elaborated, “To be honest, before I became LE SSERAFIM, I had the opportunity to debut as a different group but it didn’t work out well. It felt like continuously knocking at a locked door for no reason. That’s when I came across the door that is LE SSERAFIM and I believe I slipped in through the crack of the door open ajar. Like fate.”

When the interviewer mentioned Sakura’s continuous improvement in Korean, she revealed that she was currently challenging herself by reading a Korean book that contained a lot of unknown words and phrases. Explaining her desire to try new things, Sakura shared, “While I do feel scared, I want to keep trying. I think that growth stops the moment you think you’re perfect. I believe that in order to grow, you have to try and find the aspects you’re lacking in.”

Sakura continued, “It was the same while preparing for this album. Since the performance was hard and the concept was unfamiliar, I thought that I wouldn’t be able to do it. I practiced everything from my facial expressions, one by one. In this process of challenges, I was glad to discover a new image [of myself] that I didn’t know about. It’s an experience you can only gain by overcoming fear.”

Looking back to what’s changed since LE SSERAFIM’s debut this past May, Sakura commented, “I learned what it means to enjoy our performances. Since the members are together all day, we’ve also grown a lot closer. We originally had good chemistry but now we’re like family. It’s difficult to meet just one person you get along with well, but I’ve met four so I think I have good luck.”

As Sakura tries to write in a diary every day, she was asked what she thinks she’ll be documenting in five years. She answered, “I’m not sure. I want to reach heights that I can’t even imagine yet. Although I can’t know what image of Sakura I’ll be, I hope it’s a much more grown image than right now. In that journey, I want to always be with fans and my members.”