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Just B is back with its fresh third EP “= (NEUN),” which dropped on Wednesday. This time, the boy band takes on a much brighter vibe than in the band’s previous works, which emphasized dark sounds and intense stage performances.

Though still a relatively new group, it does include many members seasoned in the K-pop scene. Just B debuted in July last year with the EP “Just Burn.” Similarly, the B in its name stands for “burn,” expressing the members’ passion for music, but can also symbolize many other keywords, as seen in its past EPs “Just Beat” (2021) and “Just Begun” (2022).

This is the first music from the boy band in seven months, and the band is currently preparing for a tour of South America early next year to meet its global fans, Only B.

The six members of Just B — Geonu, Bain, Lim Jimin, JM, DY, and Sangwoo — sat down for an interview on Nov. 10 to answer fans’ questions, sent to the Korea JoongAng Daily’s official social media outlets.


What is your favorite part of Just B’s new EP?

From the start, with its debut track “Damage,” Just B’s signature sound has been intense numbers with a dark atmosphere, complete with rigorous choreography routines.

While maintaining its strong stage presence, the new upbeat lead track “ME=” shows a stark contrast from Just B’s former concepts.

“The most interesting part for us is that we got to show the bubbly side of us, which we had never shown in our previous EPs,” said Geonu.

“I love that it feels like we’ve become younger and refreshed,” said Lim Jimin, the group’s leader.

“I personally had to practice how to smile naturally, because so far, I’ve been frowning a lot on stage to make strong facial expressions,” JM laughed. “We had been focused on expressing our charisma. It’s a nice change this time.”


When do you appreciate fellow members the most?

All six members come from very different backgrounds, each having varied career track records in the music industry. But thanks to their shared dream for K-pop stardom and similar ages, all having been born in 2001 or 2002, members say they’ve grown drastically close while training and living together.

“Traveling anywhere together is always fun,” said Jimin. “While we’re on a world tour or heading to a filming location, we’re constantly telling jokes and making fun of each other. It’s so noisy inside the car.”

“Sometimes, it’s hard to realize how much I appreciate them because we’re together all the time during our plans for the day and at our dormitory,” said DY. “But when we’re successfully performing and feeling the love from fans together, those are the moments when I think it’s such a great luck that the six of us are a team.”

Do you feel the love from Only B all around the world?

“To be honest, it was a bit hard to grasp the idea that we have fans on the other side of the globe, until recently,” said Jimin, “because we were only doing promotional activities in Korea. But we recently toured Canada and got to see for ourselves that there are so many Only Bs abroad as well.”

“After we got to see it firsthand, the love from global Only B started feeling realer and realer,” Bain added.

When watching video messages and fan art sent from Only B along with the questions, the members seemed to get emotional and fall into deep thought.

“I don’t know what we did to deserve to be looked up to,” said DY. “I was honestly really touched while watching it. I want to tell them we actually look up to them more and are always thankful for the love they give us.”

Just B is set to perform and host meet-and-greet sessions in South America early next year, starting with Colombia and Brazil in January.

“After feeling the heat in Canada, I can’t wait to see how it will be like in South America,” Geonu said. “I’d love to check out the beach while we’re there.”

“There’s a certain energetic atmosphere that you envision when you think of South America,” said Bain. “I feel like the crowd there will be so enthusiastic that we’ll have to do our best to keep up with their energy.”

“And now that we’re back with five new tracks, we’re excited to perform them on stage,” Sangwoo said.


Which members would make a great subunit?

“Geonu and I share very similar values when it comes to music,” Sangwoo said. “We both prioritize getting the basics right, and most of all, having fun. When we’re on stage, we enjoy ourselves without caring about anything else. If Geonu and I form a subunit, we would dance as if no one else is in the room. Or, forming a hip-hop unit with DY would be fun, since we both love rapping.”

What word best summarizes Only B?

“To me, Only B is like the ramen seasoning,” said DY. “We can still eat food without seasoning, but it would taste like something is missing. Like that, without Only B, life would be so boring.”

“Only B and I are like AirDrop,” Sangwoo said, referring to the iPhone wireless data transfer feature. “We always feel connected, transferring positive energy and love to each other.”

What are Just B’s short-term and long-term goals?

“Our goal for now is to successfully carry out the promotional activities for ‘= (NEUN)’ and see good results,” said Jimin. This will be the boy band’s first time performing in front of a live audience at Korean television music shows.

“It’s our first music in seven months, so we are excitedly nervous to meet our fans,” he continued. “In the future, I hope we get opportunities to perform on even bigger stages and meet more Only B.”

“In the long run, I hope we get to feature more tracks written by us members on our upcoming EPs and albums,” DY said. “Eventually, the goal is to release a fully self-produced album one day.”

“We’ll soon head over to the other side of the globe to meet local Only B,” Sangwoo added. “Please look forward to it.”

BY HALEY YANG [yang.hyunjoo@joongang.co.kr]