The world‘s first hearing-impaired idol group Big Ocean spreads happiness with their first mini-album.

Big Ocean (Chanyeon, Hyunjin, Jiseok) will release their first mini-album ‘Follow’ at noon today (the 12th), which contains the meaning of asking you to join them on their journey to find happiness. ‘Follow’ contains a total of 4 tracks, including the title track ‘FLOW’ as well as Big Ocean’s previously released digital singles ‘빛(Glow)’, ‘BLOW’, ‘SLOW (Feat. Young K (DAY6))’.

◆ Title track ‘FLOW’, participation of world-renowned producer Mark Batson

The title track ‘FLOW’ is an English song with lyrics sung entirely in English. With the title song ‘FLOW’, which Mark Batson participated in producing, Big Ocean presents a new genre of ‘Free-soul POP’, which is music entirely ‘for me’ and suggests the value of ‘Let‘s become happy through music’.

In the ‘FLOW’ music video, Big Ocean presents a powerful performance with about 100 performers. In particular, they used international sign language for the first time since their debut, enhancing diversity. Additionally, the ‘FLOW’ music video was filmed at the ‘National Institute of Deaf Youth’, located in Paris, France. The location was the world’s first school for the hearing impaired, established in the 1750s, so it had a special meaning for Big Ocean.

◆ Big Ocean‘s thoughts on the release of their first mini-album, ‘Follow’

Big Ocean member Hyunjin said through his agency, Parastar Entertainment, “‘Follow’, ‘The album title has the hidden meaning of ‘Follow your happiness’. It means that everyone should go on a journey to find their own happiness. We also found small joys amidst our busy schedule of preparing the ‘Follow’ album, and we were really happy in the process. We hope that many people will be happy while listening to our music,“ he said about the release of his first mini-album.

Jiseok then chose his favorite lyric from the title song ‘FLOW, ‘You’ve been flowing through me. He chose ”You’re like water to me,“ saying, ”It‘s about how you seeped into me like water. I hope that many Pado (fandom name) members will naturally melt into Big Ocean.“

Lastly, Chanyeon said, ”For this ‘FLOW, we sing in international sign language, which is especially used a lot in Europe. I want to continue to work hard so that diversity can be secured in music.“

Big Ocean is a group comprised entirely of hearing-impaired members, and made their official debut on April 20th to celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. They have grown their influence by being active in various fields, and have expanded their scope of activities beyond the K-pop industry through partnerships with global organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labor Organization (ILO), thereby changing the landscape of K-pop and inspiring fans around the world.

Big Ocean will be carrying out various promotions in the United States to celebrate the release of ‘Follow’, and will visit New York landmarks such as the Empire State Building, Times Square, and Central Park to spend special time with local fans. They will attend ‘Cool Out 2024’, held in the Cayman Islands from the 14th to the 17th (local time), and will perform ‘FLOW’ for the first time. On July 8-9 next year, they will attend and perform at the ‘AI for Good Global Summit’ in Geneva, Switzerland, officially invited by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Jeon Hyo-jin, Donga.com Reporter jhj@donga.com