JYJ’s Jaejoong Picks A Small But Noticeable Difference Between Working As A K-Pop Idol Then Versus Now
JYJ‘s Junsu and Jaejoong may now be working on solo projects but they once dedicated their time releasing music as a group. They toured numerous countries worldwide, often made headlines, and had a dedicated fanbase.
Not everything was sunshine and roses, however. They told Cosmopolitan Korea that working in the current generation of K-Pop is easier in certain ways.
Jaejoong gave a small but memorable example of preparing for a concert. In the past, the group would get ready in salons and hope their look remained pristine throughout the day.
A small difference is that stylists or makeup artists would not follow us to the concert.
— Jaejoong
Nowadays, there are stylists with them who make sure they look picture perfect all throughout the show. This was a noticeable change to how the industry worked over a decade ago.
So if my hair got messed up after sleeping in a car, then I’d be on stage with messed up hair.
— Jaejoong
Besides this, the two also noted that there was a difference in gauging one’s popularity now versus then.
Back then the proof of popularity was Dream Concert. The amount of seats per group are assigned in the concert and how many fans fill up the concert hall [is proof of one’s popularity].
— Junsu
One thing that has stayed the same is the hectic schedules that K-Pop idols are forced to endure. Junsu, for instance, once had to fly to Japan and back to Korea multiple times a day. Surprisingly, he said that the singers who are active nowadays are likely also experiencing the same thing.
One time I had to travel between Korea and Japan three to four times within a day so I had to sleep while I was traveling…I don’t think idols these days do much different than what I used to do.
— Junsu
Check out the full video below to learn more about Jaejoong and Junsu.
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