KCrush Interview with Highschool

Highschool is a 4-member Korean girl group, signed under Richworld Entertainment. The CEO is a singer who was also a member of the 90’s boy group, Eagle Five.

Highschool made their debut on April 30th, 2019, the original date was postponed due to minor member changes. For now, Highschool’s present concept involves the members to cover most of their faces by wearing masks – this was because their CEO wanted the audience to focus on the members’ music and talent, rather than their appearance – and the whole masked look has garnered much attention. The group’s ages, birth places, educational backgrounds and other personal information are not currently revealed to the public either. The group released two pre-release singles: High Class on March 20, 2019 and Baby You’re Mine on April 30.

We’d like to thank Highschool and their staff for this great interview, as we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

*Would you briefly describe yourselves please?

Yebin: Hi~, I’m Yebin ~ I am the youngest in Highschool.

Haebin: Hi~, I’m Haebin, I’m the rapper and the leader of the Highschool.

J: Hi, I’m J, and I’m the vocalist in this group.

Soeun: Hi. I’m Soeun.

*How did you join the group? Tell us what you wanted to be when you were growing up.

Yebin: I always wanted to be a singer since elementary and was able to join the team via an audition.

Haebin: My dream was to become a flight attendant. I had an opportunity to become a trainee, and fell in love with music and dancing! I worked so hard and was lucky to join the team.

J: I loved singing and dancing since I was very young. I wanted to experience working as a team instead of being a solo artist, so I joined the Highschool.

Soeun: I wanted to become a chef when I was younger. I’m not great cook, but always liked cooking and coming up with new things. By chance, I got to listen to K-pop and was very moved, and wanted to become a singer ~ that’s how I became a member of Highschool.

*How did the name of this group come about? Could you briefly explain the group’s image and concept?

Haebin: Our name, Highschool was born in memory of our High school years as innocent kids, sometimes reckless but uncompromising and enthusiastic. Our image represents unwearyingly infinite energy with powerful and individualistic characteristics (mysterious at times) to build our style and image. We tend to display a charming impression and charismatic on stage, but when we meet with our fans, we’re just unique and attractive High school girls. ^^

*Which musical artists do you respect the most and why?

Yebin: I respect Girl’s Generation, because they’re still remembered by the public for so long, and I love the fact that each singer strives to do the best in their own fields.

Haebin: I mention this person frequently when I do interviews ~ the artist that I respect the most is Lauryn Hill. She performs and maintains her professionalism as an awesome singer, songwriter and rapper. I really admire her.

J: I respect all kinds of musicians and artists, but recently I listen to Billie Eilish’s song a lot. Every time I listened to her unique style of the song trigger something different each time. I like it and listen to it a lot.

Soeun: My favorite musical artist is Hyori Lee. She was the most famous iconic singer of her generation, and even after her marriage she continues to make music until now. I really respect that.

*What is the first thing that you normally do when you get up in the morning?

Yebin: I check my phone for the time, turn off the alarm then head straight to wash.

Haebin: The first thing that I do in the morning is make coffee. I love coffee so much that my family or friends give me coffee-related presents on my birthdays or for travel souvenirs. I like to taste various types of coffee beans and look for new types of coffee as well.

J: I stretch myself~ then go straight to shower

Soeun: I take some vitamin supplements. My mom always gave me supplements the first thing in the morning since I was young, so taking vitamin supplements every morning with water has become a habit.

*Please recommend us a song/album that you enjoy listening to these days.

Yebin: I listened to N.Flying’s “Spring Memories” often

Haebin: Looks like I’ve been listening to lots of songs on the music chart site and currently Ella Mai’s Trip is number one. I like all the tracks from the Ella Mai’s album

J: Like I menationed earlier, I listened to Billie Eilish songs a lot, especially “Bad guy” and “Bury a friend.”

Soeun: I like Kriz and listened to Bad frequently. I’d like to recommend that song.

*Does your CEO affect the group in terms of the music? If so, how?

Yebin: Yes, he always gives us lots of information and support.

Haebin: We are always influenced by him because he takes care of us like a father. He guides us into right direction and helps us with our identities so that we won’t lose our color and be able to enhance musically.

J: Well, since he’s our boss and at the same time, our senior, he gives us lot of advice and suggestions. So, I think we are very influenced by him in that way.

Soeun: Because our CEO is a singer himself, naturally he lends us a lot of help musically.

*Which color best describes your personality and musical sound?

Yebin: My personality is usually very bright and cheerful, but sometimes curt, so I’d say “dark yellow.” But when it comes to music, I have a straight up and wide vocal range which is somewhat similar to “white” I think.

Haebin: Purple matches my character and musical sound. My mysterious, yet husky voice and high tone voice, along with my bright personality can all be expressed as purple. It’s my favorite color too, so I believe purple describes my personality very well.

J: I think “Cobalt Blue” describes my perky personality and character. Musically, calm and peaceful beige or ivory tones come in mind

Soeun: I think my positive character and slightly husky voice matches well with orange!

*Do you have any habits that you want to get rid of?

Yebin: I bite my lips time to time ~ and I really want to fix that.

Haebin: I have the tendency to become deeply immersed in things and find it hard to kick the habit. Once, I was really obsessed with Korean food Japchae, so I had the same food for a month. I really want to fix this kind of habit of getting too absorbed in things.

J: I have trouble memorizing things, and am very forgetful. I want to fix that habit fast.

Soeun: Zoning out often and at times, I think up words in my head, and then later think I said it out loud but in reality, I didn’t.

*Tell us about any movie, novel or musical that you’ve enjoyed recently.

Yebin: It’s not a very recent movie but I like the movie Maze Runner.

Haebin: I liked reading the Winnie-the-Pooh Essay, and enjoyed reading its quotes. All the meaningful and helpful quotes put into a book, which I really enjoyed.

J: I’m a big fan of the Marvel series, and Avengers: Endgame was my favorite. For those of you who like Marvel movies, you must watch! You won’t regret it.

Soeun: I recently watched Avengers: Endgame and it was fun. Thanks to the movie, I’ve been catching up with old Avengers series

*Which location is the best place to tour or travel in Korea in your opinion?

Yebin: I went to Gapyeong with my family when I was young. The place was pretty and I remember it being really fun.

Haebin: I want to recommend DMZ. They have DMZ tour where you can see North Korea from far away and enter into the 3rd Underground Tunnel. You can see restricted Unification Bridge if go by tour, so I think the tour will be meaningful.

J: I know many foreigners visit Seoul when they come to Korea, but if you’re really looking for traditional Korea, go to Jeonju (Korean-Style House) Hanok village. You can try Korean traditional clothes and taste various types of traditional food.

Soeun: I would like to recommend the five palaces of Seoul. I think it’s beautiful to preserve the tradition in current modern culture.

*What are your hobbies or interests outside of music?

Yebin: I like to repeatedly read “webtoons” or watch entertainment programs on TV.

Haebin: Other than music, I’d say traveling. I’ve been to almost all famous tourist attractions and small cities in Korea, and have done a bit of traveling abroad. If I’m given free time, I would probably be traveling. And of course, I’m always into coffee. ^^ I drink more than three cups per day and want to try more diverse types of coffee.

J: Other than music, my interest is knitting, coffee and dessert. I’m not necessarily interested in making dessert, but in eating them. LOL

Soeun: A few days ago, I purchased a Nanoblock and it was so fun ~ it’s become my hobby since.

*Which country in the world would you like to perform at?

Yebin: Since our fans from so many different counties want us to visit them, I would like to perform in all the countries where our fans are.

Haebin: All around the world ~ the question itself is making me happy. I think that our stage is wherever are fans. I want to go all the places, where we can connect with our fans and not miss out any places.

J: I want to travel to any countries where our fans want us to meet

Soeun: I would like to perform anywhere where our fans who like us want us to be. But if I have to choose one country, I would like to go to U.S.

*Let us know of your future plans and hopes, and add something nice to the fans too!

Yebin: I appreciate all the warm, thoughtful cheers and praise. I’ll strive to do my best to perform on the stage in appreciation. Love ya!

Haebin: I’m very grateful for all your love and interest from the beginning of the Highschool, and happy to push myself to improve. I’ll do my best to become better and return all the love. I love you all ~

J: Thank you for being there for us. As much as you like and cheer for us, we’ll also work harder to show you guys a better and more wholesome performances, so please continue to love us. Thank you always.

Soeun: We’ll do my best and work hard to meet with all the fans in the world. Thank you so much for waiting and loving us from the beginning! Until we meet you again, please be patient. Thank you.

— J.Chung.