Former K-Pop Group Reveals What It’s Like To Wear Stage Costumes In Public

K-Pop groups are known for having theme-based stage costumes, but some are so extravagant that it’s rare for idols to wear them in public.

BOYFRIEND, a K-Pop group that debuted in 2011 and disbanded in 2019, recently held their 10th anniversary. They celebrated the event by holding an interview with YouTube channel OFFSTAGE, where they talked about wearing stage costumes in public.

BOYFRIEND was well known for going around in public in your stage outfits often. I heard that one time you guys went to a tteokbokki cart in your prince outfits. What’s the behind the scenes story of that incident?

— MC Eson

The boys immediately recognized the event that MC Eson was referring to. Donghyun explained that that wasn’t the only time they wore stage costumes outside.

In truth, the real reason they did it a lot was because of the length of time it took to wear and remove them.

I think it was when we were promoting ‘Janus.’ At the time, it took around 30 minutes just to get the outfit off and 30 minutes to put it on as well. That’s why we just wore the outfit and went around a lot.

— Donghyun

Interestingly, the people who saw them mistakenly thought they were cosplayers. “We would eat at rest stops wearing that, and the people around us thought were were cosplay idols.”

It goes without saying that they attracted a lot of attention—not that it bothered them! “We would get stared at a lot. We just didn’t care.”

It isn’t everyday that idol groups are seen in their stage costumes because of the stares that they would receive, so BOYFRIEND’s confidence is one to admire.

Meanwhile, make sure to watch the full interview below!