“We are ‘New Kids’(nu kidz)!”

The seven-member boy group Ark has broken the ‘box’ that has confined them and jumped out into the world. They have been steadily growing since their debut in August of last year, and through their second mini-album ‘New Kids: Out the Box’(nu kidz: out the box) released on the 18th, they reveal a much different musical color and individuality.

The new album is named ‘New Kids’, which the Ark members define as “people who break the mold and move forward in their own way”. The title song is also ‘New Kids’(nu kidz). This means that the identity of Ark and the word are closely related.

The seven members explained at a media showcase held at the SBS Prism Tower public hall in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the 18th prior to the release of the album, “We thought that the ‘New Kids’ who walk their own path beyond age and country are like us who come from various countries.”

As they explained, Ark is made up of Koreans Hyunmin, Choi Han, and Doha, Vietnamese Kien, Japanese and American Andy, Japanese Rioto, and Brazilian Jibin and are walking the path of K-pop. Those who came running after seeing only the name “Ark”, overcoming language and cultural barriers, said, “As soon as they heard the song with the message of breaking stereotypes, they shouted, ”This is it!“”

In particular, this time, with Andy from the JTBC boy group audition program “Project 7” joining, the members were reorganized into a seven-member group, so the emphasis was on “a new attempt.” Andy emphasized, “I‘m happy to be able to meet the members I spent my trainee days with as a team. Standing on stage with us like this makes it really feel like we’ve debuted. I will show you a good side of myself as ”Ark Andy“ in the future.”

The music has also become freer than before. They brought out the cute ‘bad boys’ feeling with ‘New Kids’, a reinterpretation of 2000s hip-hop music. Following the ‘Electromagnetic Dance’ with their debut song ‘S&S’, they are aiming for the ‘Get out of the way Dance’, which is also a challenge trend. Member Choi Han said, “Since ‘New Kids’ appears in the chorus, the choreography expressed the confidently moving forward as if saying, ‘Get out of the way’“ and explained, “I hope you enjoy the unique dance.”

Ark plans to focus on overseas activities, as he gained popularity in Vietnam last year by appearing on a program on Kien‘s home country, Vietnam’s state-run broadcaster HTV9. The new album trailer video also used five languages: English, Japanese, Portuguese, and Vietnamese. The members said, “With Andy, who grew up in the US, joining us, we will be able to communicate directly with the US ‘Acker’ (fandom name)” and “We will go meet fans from various countries in the future.”


Reporter Yoo Ji-hye yjh0304@donga.com

This article is automatically translated using Google AI. If you notice any inaccuracies, please let us know at allkstar@donga.com.