Date: May 15, 2023

Location: Shinhan pLay Square

Emcee: Announcer Kim Hwan

Jae-won: We are The Wind, making our debut today.

All: Hello, we are The Wind. Nice to meet you.

Q. Please introduce yourselves.

Han-bin: Hi, I’m the tallest [member] and main dancer of The Wind, Choi Han-bin.

Hyoun-joon: I’m the visual, the “real” maknae [youngest] and icon of hard work, Jang Hyoun-joon.

Jae-won: I’m Shin Jae-won, the leader who will lead The Wind like a trustworthy pillar.

Chan-won I’m another maknae, the mature and quirky goody two-shoes An Chan-won.

Thanatorn: I’m Thanatorn, in charge of Thai [as a Thai member] with a fairy-like singing voice.

Hee-soo: I’m Kim Hee-soo, the butler of The Wind. I’m an all-rounder who charmingly smiles with my eyes.

Hayuchan: I’m Park Hayuchan, in charge of passion. I’m your mint candy [a play on his name, as bakha means mint in Korean].

How does it feel to debut?

Jae-won: I’m so happy, and it feels like a dream that we finally get to debut after a long time. I’m so thankful for everyone here, who are with us at The Wind’s beginning. I’m excited to meet fans soon.

Do you feel any pressure?

Han-bin: It’s a blessing to be able to do what I want, with fans, from a young age. I’m young, but I’ve been practicing since elementary school and waiting for the day to meet fans. Please look forward to The Wind’s passion. We will shine even more on stage.

What does your team name “The Wind” mean?

Hee-soo: We’re going to give people consolation, hope and move them like a fresh breeze of wind. We’ll do our best to give you those [feelings].

*The Wind performs “ISLAND” on stage

*Premiere of “ISLAND” music video

Tell us about the song “ISLAND.”

Jae-won: “ISLAND” is the lead track of our first EP “Beginning: The Wind Page.” The song sings that wherever we go, that is our dream stage. It conveys hope and courage.

Hyoun-joon: The song paints a fairy tale-like imagery with an addictive melody. Let’s go on a journey with us!

How does it feel to premiere your lead track and music video? Tell us more about the music video.

Han-bin: In the music video for “Island,” we are boys living in a small, mysterious planet in outer space. We take a journey to find a new island of our dreams.

I heard that you guys had a lot of fun while filming.

Hee-soo: The whole shoot was fun. I made fun memories with the other members. One scene shows us running together along a road, and the director told us that he wants us to portray a vibe of teen peers. So me, Jae-won and Thanatorn suggested we do a yaja time [a game in which younger people drop the Korean honorifics when talking to older people]. The younger members were so excited to play it.

Thanatorn: They were really cute. They were so happy playing yaja time, but as the filming came to an end, they looked nervous [that they had been talking to us without honorifics]. They were cute even then. We were able to have a fun and natural filming session.

Chan-won, you were blond in the video.

Chanwon: Yes, that was my first time ever having bleached blond hair. I was also the fisrt one to start filming on set, so I was nervous. But people at the scene gave me words of support and cared for me, so I had a great time. [The yaja time] helped.

Let’s listen to the other tracks.

Hyoun-joon: The first track is “The Wind Page,” which we revealed as a pre-release track before our debut.

Hee-soo: It’s an addictive track combining EDM house and ballad. We were excited that it saw positive reactions.

Thanatorn: The second track is lead track “ISLAND.”

Chan-won: Then it’s “We Can Do It,” which I think is the most The Wind-like song.

Jae-won: We will also perform “We Can Do It” on stage shortly after.

Han-bin: The fourth track is “Let’s Meet Again.”

Hayuchan: It’s the only ballad number of the song. It will make you envision a scenery. It’s the final track, and it conveys our message that we should meet again.

Q&A session with reporters

The Wind dubbed itself a fifth-generation K-pop act, as the latest boy bands like ZeroBaseOne has been doing. What makes The Wind stand apart? Also, all of the members occupy positions as vocalists in the group, so are you looking forward to perform live?

Jae-won: All of The Wind members are great vocalists. Our vocal trainer made us practice while jumping up and down, or running around the practice room, to prepare us for live performances.

Hayuchan: As for what sets us apart – all of us are in our teens, in international age. I think that helps us portray our concept of fresh youth.

Did you have any hard moments while training? Also, tell us about your role models and your special relationship with boy band Highlight. [The Wind’s agency With US Entertainment is a subsidiary of Around US Entertainment, which manages Highlight.]

Han-bin: I started training when I was in the sixth grade, and my voice was starting to break. I overcame it through vocal lessons and practice.

Hee-soo: Our role models are boy bands Highlight and Seventeen. They have great chemistry among the members, and always show a new side of them. They are also loved for their strong live performances, and have been sharing love with fans for a long time.

Jae-won: Some of the members recently filmed a short video challenge for [Highlight member] Lee Gi-kwang’s [recent song] “Predator.” While filming that, we are able to learn how to make a challenge video and how to spot the camera. Yoon Du-jun [of Highlight] also stopped by our practice room recently and gave us advice. The most memorable one was when he told us to simply enjoy the stage and show ourselves be happy. We will keep that advice in mind and give great stage performances. Also, please look out for our future collaborations with Highlight, because there are more to come.

Please explain your “youth teen” concept.

Han-bin: As we said prior, we are all in our teens. I think there’s a fresh concept that only a certain age can portray. Our “Youth teen” concept maximizes that freshness.

Hayuchan: Our goal is to spread this fresh feeling to everyone.

Any sense of confidence or pressure coming from the title “youngest-ever boy band”?

Jae-won: We actually didn’t know we were the youngest-ever boy band to debut, until recently. Then we calculated the ages of when our sunbae debuted, and we were the youngest at the point of debut. The title does give us some pressure, but we’re going to show a sense of freshness that only our age can portray. We may be young, but our stage performance won’t be.

You guys already met fans when you performed The Wind’s pre-release track at the Lotte World amusement park recently.

Thanatorn: We were so thankful for the opportunity to meet fans. Nothing felt real before we stepped on stage, but once we were on it, we could hear the cheer of fans. It was so exciting and we were grateful. That memory will be the reason we work hard.

*The Wind performs “Let’s Meet Again” on stage