Who Made LE SSERAFIM Cry? Bang Si-hyuk “Don’t Worry About the Public’s Opinion”

On July 29th, the YouTube channel “HYBE Labels” released a five-part documentary series featuring LE SSERAFIM.

In the documentary, member Hong Eunchae was asked “What’s being yourself like?“, to which she replied, “I don’t really know.”

She confessed, “These days, I have a lot more fans and I can feel that I’m receiving more love compared to before, so I’m being more honest with my feelings and accepting more.”

Hong Eunchae continued, “But there are certain images and actions that the public like, so I try to fit into those standards without realizing it and I compare myself with them. I keep comparing what I’m like right now to those standards. I keep paying attention to those standards.”

She also expressed her concerns, “It is nice to get the attention. I do like getting people’s attention. It’s nice right now but once a lot more people get to know LE SSERAFIM later, I don’t know how I’ll feel then. It’ll be more pressure and we’ll get more negative reactions along with the attention as well.“

Huh Yunjin broke into tears while working on a song. She opened up to producer-HYBE chairman Bang Si-hyuk, “I always think about what other people think about us.”

When Bang Si-hyuk asked “Other people? Who?“, Huh Yunjin responded, “The public and other people in this industry.“

In an interview with the production team, Huh Yunjin said, “I don’t know how to say this. I feel like there’s this invisible line. There are these things that we need to stick to if we want to be loved. But I want to break out of that while I’m in LE SSERAFIM. I should probably think about where to begin.”

She also shared with Bang Si-hyuk, “In the debut teaser, I said, ‘I want to change the idol industry’, ‘I want to make changes’… And about that, people say things like, ‘So what have you changed?’, ‘How are you gonna make changes by yourself?’ At the beginning, I didn’t really pay attention to it, but as time passes, I feel more responsible about what I said. So I feel like I should do more and I wonder if I’m doing enough.“

Bang Si-hyuk advised, “If that’s what you’re thinking right now, I want you to just start writing without thinking about what the company and the public think.”

When asked “When do you feel most like yourself?“, Huh Yunjin showed her passion by saying, “When I compose songs and write lyrics. If I can make music with the stories I want to tell that has a positive impact on the listeners, and if the world can become a better place through the message that I convey. Something like that… I’d consider that a success for me.“

Sakura also expressed her feelings with tears, “I wanted to do better. I felt that I might lose the fans that I had if I didn’t do well… Back then, we watched the comeback show at the movie theater with the fans. I was watching their reactions as we were watching it. I didn’t do well on the parts that I did well on during practice, so I was disappointed in myself. I thought I should work harder. And watching the show made me feel upset and I also felt sorry. More than anything, I felt sorry. And having to stand in front of the fans and smile even though I wanted to cry was really hard for me.”

Sakura also broke down during a singing practice. She said, “I’m scared about singing in front of people. I want to like singing. I’m so afraid of singing.“

She further confessed, “I really don’t know why I chose to be an idol. Like why? Rather than why… because I feel like the fans would be disappointed if I say that. I’m not saying becoming an idol was a wrong choice, but what I mean is, ‘Is an idol really the best job for me?’ Whenever I do something wrong, make mistakes or realize where my limit is, I think, ‘I didn’t have to be an idol. Those who are better than me could’ve been idols.’“

Sakura concluded, “Like everyone else, my goal is to live each day happily. When I debuted, I thought that hard work would be enough. But as I continue to stay busy, I feel like I’ve lost my goal. I don’t know if the happiness I envisioned is truly happiness.”

Kim Chaewon shared her thoughts, “I wonder what the lives of other people my age would be like and I wonder how it’d feel to live like that. Also, when I see them having so much fun, I’m like, ‘I also want to enjoy my youth like that.’ I always thought about it. But if we think about it, they’d also be curious about our lives. I’m sure there are people who look at us and think, ‘What would it be like to live like them?’ So, I thought we’re all the same. We each have our own struggles.”

She continued, “I need to stand in front of the camera even when I’m not feeling well and I’m not supposed to make it obvious. That’s what this job is like. But that’s when I felt that it’s not easy… Like that… It looks really good. Like I could complain and say that it’s tough when I’m struggling. But I’d feel like a weak person if I do say that things are tough… I’ve wondered why I work so hard—if it’s for money, love or my own ambition. I think it’s because I have an image of what I want to become, which makes me ambitious. Also, I love being loved and want to continue receiving that love.”

Kim Chaewon then broke down in tears, saying, “I don’t know how to be happy rather than focusing on big goals.” She added, “Sometimes I feel tired, and there are times when I even want to quit. But then, there are also fun moments. I keep telling myself ‘I shouldn’t be exhausted’, but sometimes it just doesn’t work, and I feel extremely tired, which is burdensome. When preparing for the next album, I wonder if I can overcome that and if it will be as successful as the last one.“

She then calmly said, “When I look back on the worries I just talked about in the interview, I hope I can just smile. ‘I had such worries’, ‘I put those worries into my music’… I hope I can laugh them off lightly and think ‘Those were really precious times’ and feel at ease about it.”