NHK’s Music Japan recently aired a special episode dedicated to SNSD!
In addition to video footage tracking the girls from their debut until now, the episode also featured a in-studio interview with the members.
Check out our translations from some of the clips, as well as videos, down below!
[On their trainee days:]
Hyoyeon: “Of course, there was singing and dancing, but we also received lessons in acting and foreign languages.”
Jessica: “One thing that was a little difficult was that we couldn’t hang out with our friends a lot, but that was time we invested into ourselves, and it’s thanks to it that we’re the Shoujo Jidai we are today.”
[On debuting as a nine-member group:]
Hyoyeon: “Nine members… I thought it was a bit much.”
Jessica: “At the time, there weren’t any other groups with as many members as us in Korea, so we thought it was too much. But we each have different personalities and we show different sides when we’re together, so we’re very happy that we can do activities as a nine-membered group now.”
[On their first time in Japan:]
Tiffany: “We were like, ‘Finally, we’re going!’”
Taeyeon: “It was our dream since before our debut, so we were really happy.”
Yuri: “Even so, we had a lot of anxiety as well. We really wanted to show ourselves naturally, so in order to break the language barrier, we studied before our debut.”
Tiffany: “And so we prepared, Sooyoung-chan~”
Sooyoung: “I felt pressure because I’m able to speak Japanese better than the other members. But once I started to think, ‘I have eight friends who are together, so it’s not really pressure’ and ‘Let’s think of it as going on vacation with members and having fun while working’ – it became really fun. I’m sure everyone felt anxious when our Japanese debut was decided, but now we’re having fun.”
[On their "Ariake Showcase Live": ]
Taeyeon: “I was really grateful that so many people came to our first live. There’s footage of (people) imitating us, right?”
Sooyoung: “Copy?”
Taeyeon: “People made parody videos, and I could feel that people were taking an interest in us.”
Sooyoung: “I’m sure there are people who know us through the internet, but I think it’s more thanks to our seniors BoA and TVXQ for spreading K-pop. We’ve reaped the rewards from that, so we’re really thankful. We also have to work harder for our juniors.”
[Phrases You Like - Part 1]
Taeyeon: “‘Don’t do something you will regret…’ – It’s an unfortunate thing to feel regret. It’s the same when you look back on a day, and since starting this line of work I really started to feel this way. But even now, there are things I regret. I try my best while looking at this phrase.
Yuri: “‘Genius can’t win against those that work hard, and hard workers can’t win against those that have fun.’ – I think the most important thing is something you like and can enjoy. I always try to feel happy when I’m singing and dancing on stage. I try to think positively all the time.”
[Overseas Tour]
Jessica: “I was the most happy when we had our first concert abroad. It was my dream. We started in Seoul, Korea and then moved around for our Asia Tour. It was a valuable experience different from our usual stages. I’m also very excited for our first tour in Japan this time.”
Hyoyeon: “Fans cheer passionately for us no matter where we go. Are there any differences?”
Seohyun: “Language.”
Hyoyeon: “Yeah, language is different.”
Tiffany: “The strange thing is, no matter where we go, the fans do the chants in Korean. So I feel there are more similarities.”
[Happenings Abroad]
Yoona: “This time, when we came to the airport in Japan, I ended up falling asleep while waiting with the luggage. When I woke up, no one was around. Everyone went outside because they thought I’d gone to the ladies’ room. There are lot of members, so even in Korea, sometimes we lost track of people and left someone behind. But it hadn’t happened in a while.”
Jessica: “It happened a lot when we first debuted.”
Yoona: “It had been a while, so I was really surprised, but I also laughed. I was used to it, so I wasn’t scared. I figured they were outside and there they were.”
Tiffany: “We all thought, ‘Is Yoona in the ladies’ room? If we wait for her, she’ll come.’ We didn’t doubt that and waited for around 15 minutes without realising we’d left her there. It was like ‘Home Alone’.”
[Phrases You Like - Part 2]
Sunny: “‘Do your best in any moment!’ – I didn’t have a phrase to live by until now, but I thought of this in a hurry just now. If you always do your best, whether it’s while having fun or following your heart, I don’t think you’ll have regrets. I took a little bit from everyone’s. I tried condensing everyone’s.”
Seohyun: “‘The final winner is a good person.’ – Things that you do will come back to you in one way or another. I’ve experienced this a lot. If you do good things, it will always come back to you in the end. I always try to act with this phrase in mind.”
[2011 Tohoku Earthquake]
Yoona: “The day before the earthquake, we were in Japan, but on the day of, we went to Thailand for a performance. We found out about it in Thailand.”
Taeyeon: “I was worried about the staff in Japan so I contacted them right away. But the call didn’t go through easily, so we weren’t able to confirm their safety immediately. All the members were really surprised and worried.”
Sooyoung: “My mother heard we were holding a concert in Japan and she said, ‘You guys are a group that send messages through songs. Even if it’s foreign songs that are not your own, why don’t you sing songs that can be of some help?’ She gave me advice this way.”
Tiffany: “We will work hard so that we can deliver more happiness. I want to continue singing to express good energy.”
[Phrases You Like - Part 3]
Tiffany: “‘Today is my day.’ – Even though I’m always doing my best, sometimes, I still get in a bad mood. If I think it’s ‘my day’, I start feeling better, like I’m the protagonist.”
[Future Dreams]
Tiffany: “(Lives) are where you can meet fans at a short difference and perform, so as long as it’s possible, I want to hold lives in lots of places.”
Yuri: “My goal is to be able to sing on stage with all nine members for a long time.”
