[14.10.02] - Lady KyungHyang - Dreaming of the Beatles! Flower-Boy Band Royal Pirates

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Dreaming of the Beatles! FlowerBoy Band Royal Pirates

The “Royal Pirates” perfectly fill the requirements of being a flowerboy band. With an average
height of 182cm, the three members are so good looking it seems they’ve stepped right off the
pages of a manhwa. They’ve even got superior skills in lyricism and composing. After so long,
it’s nice to see a skilled band with “virtue.”

1

You Who Came from California
When someone hears the name of the three member newbie rock band, “Royal Pirates”, some
might ask who they are, but if someone mentions the name of a program they’ve appeared on,
you might get a different reaction. James (26) boasted his luxurious threepercentbodyfat
body on SBSTV “Laws of the Jungle in Indian Ocean.” The flower boy who fired up his protective
instincts on “Laws of the City” is Moon (26). Last but not least maknae Sooyoon (25) has been
showing off his fluent English through Arirang’s radio waves. All three are the familiar “hunnam”
[good-looking men] you’ve seen at least once on your TV. The three members have all come
from California, and have received recognition of their musical skills through the feedback they
got from posting up their compositions onto youtube. They’ve got the face, got the skills, and
even their personalities are great. We’re revealing the energetic meeting we had with these three
men.

Your team name is pretty unique. If we were to interpret it in Korean would it mean “Luxurious Pirates”?
SY: That’s right! “Luxurious” has the meaning of "royal" in English and "pirates " is as is. When
Moon and I were living in America, we chose words that each of us liked and made up the name.
M: I was a huge fan of the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean." (laugh) We meant it so that we
could make music that was refined and luxurious but also be unhesitant like pirates.

I thought you were a new band, but you had already started promoting as band in America before debut.
M: I immigrated to California when I was in my fifth year of elementary. I first met Sooyoon when I
started attending a Korean church and found that we both wanted to make a band. We matched
well musically and quickly became close. For fun, we had uploaded our compositions to youtube
and came to find that the reactions were better than we expected.
SY: Agents for our current company saw our videos on youtube, contacted us and so we came
to debut. We were introduced to James through a mutual friend when we were in college. Our
team had needed a bassist and at that time we heard there was a good looking
one available, so we decided he would join at once. (laugh)

Do you feel any burdens promoting in Korea?
J: I was born in America, and my family all lives in Los Angeles. I had come to Korea only once,
when I was small, for a two week trip. The thought of leaving alone and going somewhere so far
away and living there had my thoughts in a jumble. But I thought that by coming to Korea and
being in a new place, I would be able to learn something. I also wondered what the place my
parents lived was like. What gave me the courage, more than anything, was that I would be able
to come and make music with my members.
M: (Meaning their friendship is so exceptional) He only says that during interviews. (All members
laugh)

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Have you become used to life in Seoul?
J: I’m still adapting. At first I had close to no grasp on Korean so there was a lot of uncomfortable
instances, but thankfully I’ve become better now and can go about with ease.
M: To be honest people who have immigrated all have a “romance” towards Korea, so at first
everything was amazing and interesting. Since I had been living in America for over ten years,
though, there were still many new and unfamiliar things.
J: I was extremely unfamiliar with the clear distinction in weather of the four seasons. In
California it’s warm year round. Never in my life had I had the need to buy a parka, but as soon
as November comes in korea it’s really cold. I didn’t bring any winter clothes with me so I
remember going around wearing ten shirts. (laugh)

The three of you call live together in the dorms, so it wouldn’t be too much of a big deal
if you fought every now and then. Right?
SY: Our schedules are so busy and we rarely have time to be in the dorms at all, so we don’t
fight. At first we fought over the rooms and cleaning, but now we’ve all given up. Although,
because of that the house is all messy… (laugh)
M: Since we’re three guys living together we each do our own laundry but we don’t really clean.
(laugh) As for food, we go out to eat.

If you were to talk about each others' personalities...
J: Moon has a free soul. (Somehow it seems we’ve seen this answer a lot) Um, Moon is the
clingy type! That’s not a bad thing, if he falls for something it’s hard for him to let go. If he started
liking a musician, he’s the type to listen to their music whether it’s night or day.
SY: James really can’t lie. You can tell. But he’s also bright and fun, and he speaks without
thinking, and his actions are really charming.
M: Sooyoon is a smart kid. He thinks highly of small things, and I like seeing him enjoy the little
things in life.

Whether it’s the Jungle or the City, A Strong Variety Entrance
Appearing on “Laws of the Jungle” and “Laws of the City” was a good decision. If people didn’t
know them as they were promoting as a new band under the name “Royal Pirates,” then after
their appearances on variety shows, (if we go by what James, who’s still not used to Korean,
says) “five in fifteen” people recognize them now. That’s saying that their awareness has risen.
Through this you realize that broadcast channels really have such scary strength. It is clear that
they had good experiences but as far as variety entrances go, they were hard ones.

If I could make a confession, I also became aware of “Royal Pirates” through variety
programs and not through music…
M: I didn’t know variety programs on this earth were this strong. (laugh)
J: Recently when I go to the market or theater people ask me if I’m the James from “Laws of the
Jungle.” At those times I reply with, “I’m Royal Pirates’ James.” I’m working hard to gain
recognition through music and not variety programs in the future.

Please tell us some behind the scenes stories about the programs.
J: The Jungle was harder than anything I could have imagined. After the filming had ended I had
lost about 6kg. I took a body composition test and found that my body fat had dropped to 1%. You
know how hard that is? (laugh) Truthfully my condition really deteriorated but I think I’ve come
back more mature thanks to it. Now no matter how hard or busy my schedule gets I can think
“When compared to the Jungle, this is nothing” and overcome it. (laugh) Sometimes I grumble
about it. If I were asked to go to the Jungle again (here, he falters), of course I would go!
M: Living penniless in Manhattan, New York for “Laws of the City” gave the cast and crew a lot of
stress. Jinhee, as the only female, had an especially hard time. I wrestled with not expressing
that hardship and filming with a bright expression. The happiest moment was after filming, when
I would go walking in the park with the hyungs and dongsaengs. John Park and I would take the
guitar and go sing, watch people… that program was really healing.

Are you still on good terms with your fellow colleagues?
M: We’re all on good terms but I’m a little closer to the members my own age, being Ailee, John
Park, and Baek Jinhee. I can’t see the other members often but we have a “group chatroom” so
we send and receive messages everyday.
J: I’m closest with Teen Top’s Niel and (Park) Hwisoonhyung. I also steadily keep in contact with UEE and talent Kang Jisub.

3

As you’re still new, you probably still find it amazing to see your fellow entertainers.
SY: Actually while we were training for four years we got to meet a lot of famous sunbaes
through the company. So we aren’t all too amazed. (laugh) We’re really close to SNSD’s
Sooyoung and Tiffany, Daniel Henney-hyung, and Uhm Junghwa-nuna.
J: Before debut the only Korean entertainers I knew of were Baby VOX and Solid. (All laugh)
When I first met (Uhm) Junghwa-nuna I thought of her only as a “normal pretty nuna” and was comfortable around her.

Thinking about it, Sooyoon is the only member who hasn’t been on a variety program.
SY: Rather than “not appearing” it’s more that I “couldn’t appear.” (laugh) Truthfully I wasn’t too
upset at first but people keep asking about it so I’ve started feeling sad about it. I want to do
variety too!

As musicians, so you feel any burden appearing on variety programs?
J: Recording is fun and the people watching enjoy it so I want to keep doing them. It is also a
good opportunity to get the group name out there. The new experiences I can gain through
recording can also help to inspire songs, so it helps a lot musically as well. The song “Seoul
Hillbilly” on our album was written by Moon based on his feelings when living in Manhattan for
“Laws of the City.”


Their role model is The Beatles.
What differentiates the “Royal Pirates” from other boy bands with pretty faces is their shining
visuals and their solid musical skills combined. The title song for their newest album “Love
Toxic” was written and composed by Sooyoon when his other two members left Korea for a
month each to film for their respective variety shows. The three members all write songs as long
as they have the time. This is because, though it may be crude, they hold songs with “Royal
Pirates” own emotions in them more important than completed songs made by famous
composers. They aspire to have all future albums comprised of songs they’ve written
themselves.

I’m curious about the “Royal Pirates” world of music. I think right now you’re a “band
that combines popularity with rock”.
SY: At first we thought a lot about what color we wanted our music to be. Since the three
members all write and compose together, it’s hard to land on a specific color. I think that can be
a good thing. I want to be a band that has a broad musical color.
M: Since we all write songs with emotion well, although we’re a rock band, there are many parts
we can commune with the public with. However, I think of showing a really strong “rock spirit.”

Musically, who is your role model?
M: Each of us has our own role-models but the band we all respect is The Beatles. They’re truly
a legendary rock band. Analog sensibilities, even leading trends. Not only their music but as a
band with great social influence, there are many parts we want to be similar in.
SY: Since Beatles music is eternal, I think it’s really special. Where can you find music that’s not
rustic and still refined, even after so many years have passed? I want to be a band that leaves
timeless music behind, no matter how much time passes.

What is it that differentiates the “Royal Pirates” from any other band?
SY: Other bands tend to focus on the vocals or a guitar solo but we’re still very skillful even
without one of the members. Since we all have distinct personalities and aren’t too bad looking.
(laugh) You can think of it as a strength.

When performing, typically what sort of fans show up?
M: Mostly female teenagers and those in their early thirties.
J: But only my fans are half male half female.

4

M: We see all the male fans that come to watch us as all James’ fans.
J: Though I don’t know why I have so many male fans… (laugh) In any case, thank you!

It’s probably since you were a water polo player, active as a model, and the owner of
such a superb body that you have a lot of provincial fans. How did you go about getting a
body with only three percent body fat?
J: I exercise as a habit. When I wake up in the morning I must go out. I was on the treadmill
yesterday and realized, “Ah, I came to exercise!” (laugh)
SY: (When asked about playing basketball or soccer with his members) I hate exercising.
M: I’m not too good with balls…
J: When making music the chemistry with the members is good but chemistry towards exercise
is a bust. (laugh)

Please say what sort of musicians you want to be in the future.
J: I want to be a band that surpasses Asia and gains recognition in America.
M: Musicians that are natural and unhesitant!
SY: Musicians that make a lot of money. (All laugh) Seriously. If we make a lot of money we can
continue to make music for a long, long time. Plus we can make better music that has more of
our own styles.

When asked at type of news they would like to see attached to their name in the future the three
brightly replied with, “We want to be the world’s best band.” They said it jokingly and
outrageously. Even so, as soon as talk of music comes out they become very serious. Since
they’re not entertainers with shining popularity, these guys who want to become musicians who
can continue making music for a long time to come put a warm comfort in their songs today. So,
the “Royal Pirates” dream of The Beatles.

 [Written by Reporter Seo Mijung | Photos by Park Jaechan | Hair & Makeup: Soonsoo
Cheongdam Shop | Stylist: Choi Jinhye] | Translations by heymeowmao