Rookie K-pop boy band JJCC are getting a lot of love from Australia.
JJCC were featured in multiple print and online media outlets this past week ahead of the group's concerts in Sydney last Friday and Saturday. The seven member act debuted in 2014 under a company formed by international martial arts film star Jackie Chan and they garnered a lot of attention.
Many of the outlets have covered K-pop in the past, but JJCC's Australian members have drawn the group a lot of attention down under.
In recent interviews to Australian media, JJCC (mostly member Prince Mak) discussed the hardships and high points of being a K-pop star and a member of an idol group.
In the interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, which reads as a follow-up to a previous interview Prince Mak gave the Guardian way back in 2014, Mak discussed the hardships of being a star in Korea.
"No one really looked after me [before]," Mak told the Sydney Morning Herald. "Now everywhere I go, someone has to follow me. I pretty much can't go anywhere by myself. Go to work, go to hospital, someone has to follow me. I've pretty much got used to it by now. It was kind of weird at first, but also kind of cool."
He also described how hard it was to learn Korean, and how even things like going to practice a dance routine is different now that JJCC is on people's radar.
"Even when we have to go to practice we can't wear just practice clothes, you can't be in track pants and a T-shirt. It has to be something that looks nicer. And you have to shave."
According to Mak, JJCC's members are tougher everyday, so when they have time off they go to be with families or friends.
"My friends are all idols in the same industry. I don't have any ordinary friends. I have one or two that I know from Australia, and that's it."
The Sydney Morning Herald also recounted that Prince Mak is known amongst fans for his love of Sydney.
"I got offended once when someone [in Seoul] said they couldn't tell my accent was Australian," Mak recounted.
He also told Mashable Australia that this was his first time back to Australia since debuting with the group in 2014.
Prince Mak and Eddy (Edward Yong Oh), a Korean-American member of JJCC, told Mashable what the day of an idol was like.
"Wake up in the morning, go for a run, go to dance practice, have lunch, go home, have vocal classes, and then dance again," Prince Mak said.
"We eat once a day, we run three hours a day, we dance for ... hours a day," Eddy added. "We're very hard workers."
Following their interviews, JJCC performed with Boyfriend at two shows at Carriageworks on Feb. 5 and Feb. 6.
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Tamar Herman is a multi-media journalist and the co-founder of KultScene. She is a freelance writer and copy editor, and has written for MTV Iggy, Noisey and Paste Magazine.
