[TV리포트=김예나 기자] They debuted in 2006. They were the first idol group made by YANG HYUK SUK, who once used to be a member of Seotaiji and Boys. After a year, their song became no.1 on the charts. They became popular and gradually built a wide fan base. But they also faced fierce competition and experienced many ups and downs as a group. They surely had their share of crisis moments. No one thought that they would become an iconic K-Pop group that would dominate the global market in 2016.

A press conference and an exhibition tour took place at S Factory in Sungsu-dong on August 4 before the opening of BIGBANG’s 10th anniversary exhibition. It’s been a while since all five members got together, and they shared their thoughts about the past ten years, the upcoming then years, and doing the military service.

◆ The 10th anniversary brings both joy and burden. 

When asked about how they feel about BIGBANG’s 10th anniversary, G-DRAGON answered, “It means more to the staff than for us members. I’m always grateful to them since we’re here and happy thanks to their efforts. I’m also grateful to my family and friends for the same reason. This exhibition provides a great opportunity to look back on the past ten years. I’m happy but I also feel a great burden.”

DAESUNG answered, “When we debuted, it was Shinhwa’s 10th anniversary. At the time, I wondered how it would feel to celebrate a 10th anniversary, and now we’re doing it. Of course, it’s hard at times, but I’m thankful I could go up on the stage and perform. Thank you for supporting us and enabling us to perform for such a long time as a group in such rapidly changing times as today.”

TAEYANG said, “Ten years have gone by so fast for me. We’re all close and every day was fun for us. I’m happy to be doing various events to celebrate our 10th anniversary. It’s fun. We’ve prepared this exhibition to make our 10th anniversary more meaningful and to better communicate with our fans.”

BIGBANG’s exhibition has five themes: BIGBANG as artists, BIGBANG on the stage, BIGBANG as the icon of the times, BIGBANG during the past ten years, and BIGBANG in the upcoming ten years. The exhibition shows BIGBANG from when they just debuted to their most recent days.

◆ Looking back at the past years, members are most valuable.

When asked when the most memorable moment was, G-DRAGON answered, “I’ve had a lot of happy moments after our debut but a lot of difficult moments too. The most difficult time for me was when I was a trainee. After our debut, we work in the best environment possible and we’re loved by so many people. But we went through a lot and worked the hardest when we were trainees because we didn’t know what will happen after our debut. We are what we’re today because of those days. I remind myself of what it was like back then before going up on the stage at a big concert.”

DAESUNG said, “We’re men, so we don’t express our emotions much, but recently members have been saying that they’re happy a lot, especially TAEYANG.”

TAEYANG commented with a smile on his face, “I have been feeling happy a lot these days. A lot of the things that I’ve dreamed about ever since I became a singer have come true recently. Members are the most valuable thing to me, more than the stage or songs. I feel this even more as I get older. If it weren’t for BIGBANG, I wouldn’t have been able to have such delicious food with such good friends.”

He went on to say, “A lot of unexpected things happened during the last ten years. Winning an EMA was a turning point for BIGBANG. It wasn’t just a big achievement; it gave us great motivation.”

SEUNGRI made other members laugh by saying, “The biggest joy during the past ten years was the fact that we’re together. I feel so happy that all five of us are a team and that we did things together. I love the members.”

He added, “The sad part is we have to worry about whether we’ll be able to continue receiving so much love. It makes me sorry and sad.”

T.O.P answered, “Honestly, I didn’t realize this before. I didn’t really feel happy and loved. I was like a child who doesn’t have a clue about what will happen next. But now, I feel that I’m loved every single day, and I feel very happy.”

◆BIGBANG hopes to make a positive impact and contribute to developing culture in the next ten years.

When asked about who changed the most compared with ten years ago, G-DRAGON chuckled and said, “First of all, all the members look different. We look much better now. But, we’re the same on the inside. We’re not that different. Our friendship hasn’t changed either. It might not seem that way when we’re in public, but when we’re by ourselves, we’re the same as we used to be ten years ago.”

He added, “Before, we used to be unstable. But now, we’re more relaxed and feel happy more often. I’m happy that we haven’t changed and are doing the music that we want.”

About BIGBANG being considered as a role model by their junior singers, G-DRAGON said, “We’re doing the music that we want. We just tried to follow the footsteps of singers that we admire, and I’m thankful that junior singers think of us that way. We also have a lot to learn from them. We just try to become better every day.”

About BIGBANG’s next ten years, G-DRAGON commented, “We think and talk about that a lot too. A lot has happened during the past ten years. We don’t know what the future holds for us. We’re always in a state of tension. More and more people recognize who we are, and it makes us happy but it also comes as a burden. We want to make a great contribution to culture for the children who grew up listening to our music. We talk about this a lot. I don’t know how it will unfold, but we’re painting the big picture.”

TAEYANG said, “We talk a lot about the future these days. Nothing has been decided yet, but we want to have a positive impact while doing the things that we like and create new culture. We also want to lead people so that people can do this. I want to study more in this area and play a positive role for future artists and people. I think we’ve come far enough to play such a role.”

◆ The group will stay intact even after members serve in the military.

BIGBANG has set numerous new records since they debuted ten years ago. T.O.P said, “We don’t really care about records, and I think that’s why we’re able to set new ones. If we did care, we wouldn’t have been able to.” TAEYANG had the same opinion and said, “Setting new records don’t mean much to us. We just enjoyed doing what we did, and records just followed.” 

G-DRAGON said, “We are making money from doing what we like. It’s like a dream that good things keep on happening to us. We feel thankful every day. Whenever we go up on the stage or stand before the public, we feel thankful. We want the young generation to see that we’re like that. We’re at a stage where we have no choice but to be humble.” 

T.O.P said with a smile, “We’ve never had a row in the past ten years. We’re so different, so we never clashed. I’m thankful that we’re like this. I sometimes think that when we do have a fight in the future, it will be a huge one.” 

G-DRAGON said, “Honestly, I’m not ready to come down from the top yet. But when your country needs you, you have to do your duty. No one knows the exact date yet, and so I want BIGBANG to go on as long as time permits. We’ll be able to decide what the next steps of BIGBANG will be after we finish doing our military service. We’ll all have become older, so no one knows what will happen then. But we will still be BIGBANG. I have every belief and confidence that we’ll stay together. I don’t know what will happen after we finish our military services, but we’ll go up on the stage again when we feel confident and sure that we created something new no matter how long it may take.” 

BIGBANG became a superstar by producing more than ten no.1 songs after putting “LIES” on the top of the charts in 2007. The members are not only great as a group but also as solo singers and units. They have also taken up acting and done variety shows. BIGBANG’s popularity has spread beyond Korea, making BIGBANG a global star. 

To the question of what made them so popular, members replied, “We love the energy of music. When you start thinking about what’s important in music, there’s no end. In the end, music that is easy on the ear and fun becomes popular. That’s the case in both Korea and abroad. We don’t think music is the only important thing. We also put a lot of work into choreography, music videos, and even the smallest details. We don’t just focus on one thing when we make music. We think people know this, and that’s why they like us. We believe that’s our biggest strength.”

BIGBANG debuted on August 19, 2016, and this year marks the 10th anniversary of their debut. To celebrate this momentous occasion, BIGBANG is carrying out various projects. A movie titled “BIGBANG MADE” was released in June, and an exhibition is to start in August. The exhibition has five themes: BIGBANG as artists, BIGBANG on the stage, BIGBANG as the icon of the times, BIGBANG during the past ten years, and BIGBANG in the upcoming ten years. The exhibition shows BIGBANG from when they just debuted to their most recent days. 

The finale of BIGBANG’s series of projects is a large-scale concert. On August 20, “BIGBANG10 THE CONCERT-0.TO.10” will be held at the World Cup Stadium in Sangam-dong. It is a single concert but is expected to draw a whopping 60,000 people. 

2016. 8. 4.