[Milk & Talk ①] WINNER said, “Unshakable No.1 in Popularity Vote? KIM JINWOO”

[일간스포츠=황소영, 이미현 기자] Their energy was WINNER, too.

WINNER (KANG SEUNGYOON, LEE SEUNGHOON, NAM TAEHYUN, KIM JINWOO, and SONG MINHO) has proven to be a group with an explosive energy, to the extent that you cannot believe they sang “empty” and “SENTIMENTAL”. They were so energetic from the very appearance. WINNER members appeared saying “I’m hungry” and looked at bread and milk with twinkling eyes.

This is Daily Sports’ special feature for WINNER, which is titled “Milk & Talk”. Daily Sports has talked with persons in the news every week in our “Drink & Talk” series, but this week, the concept was changed for WINNER who has come back to fans in JTBC’s “Half-moon Friends” show that depicts friendship between children and idol singers. After a short complaint that it was not drink but milk, WINNER made faces of the happiest men in the world, drinking the milk and picking up the bread. NAM TAEHYUN who loves to drink milk emptied his glass of milk in an instant. WINNER made big smile over a glass of milk, and they delivered positive energy all the while they had talks with one another. WINNER members who said they recovered lost innocence while communicating with 10 children for 15 days were more cheerful and innocent than anyone. Plus, they were so full of energy, just like other 23-year-old guys.

– We’ve prepared this “Milk & Talk” for you, not “Drink & Talk”.

(KANG SEUNGYOON) “I’m sorry, because we’re all grown-ups and we can drink”.
(SONG MINHO) “Half-moon Friends” is a documentary about friendship. I think milk is a better match for it than drink, isn’t it?”

– This is a special question for “Milk & Talk” only. How much milk do you drink usually?

(KANG SEUNGYOON) “A lot.”
(NAM TAEHYUN) “In the past, I really loved milk, so I drank two 1.5 liter bottles a day. I even ate cooked rice soaked in milk.”
(SONG MINHO) “I don’t believe in the benefit of milk. I think it is just cow’s milk, you know. I didn’t drink milk at all in the past, but now, I drink it when I can.”

– What kind of milk do you like?

(KANG SEUNGYOON) “I like plain white milk.”
(NAM TAEHYUN) “I like banana-flavored milk.”
(SONG MINHO) “Me, too.”
(KIM JINWOO) “If I have to choose, I’d pick white milk. I prefer sparkling water. I actually don’t like milk that much, because it leaves a sticky feel in my mouth.””

– You’re trying a real variety TV show for the first time. 

(LEE SEUNGHOON) “At first, there was no detailed concept except for the fact that the show will be a joint project of YG and JTBC. We had a meeting with the staff of the show just with that concept in our hands. While we talked about our childhood, this concept came up and we made decision. At first, we thought we would take care of children just like “Child-rearing Diary” show, but they said that we should take care of ten children at day-cater center. We’re all surprised.”

– What is good about working with the other WINNER members?

(LEE SEUNGHOON) “We have different characters between ourselves, so we know how to create fun situations. I’m not sure because we have never appeared in a variety TV show with other entertainers, but the ‘chemistry’ between ourselves was definitely good, so it was fun and comfortable to shoot the show.”

– Wasn’t there anything uncomfortable because you stayed with the members for such a long time?

(LEE SEUNGHOON) “Actually, I had a concern. WINER is the only cast for the show, other than the children. If there were some other stars or entertainers, it could have been easier to appeal to viewers of different age groups. But as it was only for us, I thought it could be hard to attract viewers from a wide variety of age groups. So, we thought a lot about how we can appeal to more people. It was rather a producer’s mind than cast members’ mind. (laugh)”
(KANG SEUNGYOON) “Yes. SEUNGHOON was perfectly like a producer.”

– Did you suggest your own ideas for classes for the day-care center?

(KANG SEUNGYOON) “Sometimes, the producer materialized things we talked in pre-interviews and pre-meetings. Anyway, we focused on things children wanted to do and experiences that the children’s parents wanted for their children, such as teaching children how to ride a bike or taking them to the sea.”
(LEE SEUNGHOON) We wrote notes for parents every day. We continued to communicate with parents through those notes.”

– Three out of four girls liked KIM JINWOO so much.

(KIM JINWOO) “I was popular only at the beginning.”
(KANG SEUNGYOON) “Anyway, JINWOO was No.1 in terms of popularity until the very end.”
(SONG MINHO) “That hurt my feelings a lot.”
(KIM JINWOO) “I was hurt in the middle, too.”
(SONG MINHO) “No, I was hurt more. No kid picked me No.1 in popularity vote.”

– So, KIM JINWOO is the final winner for the popularity vote. 

(KIM JINWOO) “I’m No.1 only for girls. We should exclude boys.”
(KANG SEUNGYOON) “But you know, these are still kids, so the result of the vote is not that clear. If someone likes one of us, all the other children follow that kid to like him. (laugh)”

– The show is supposed to unveil lots of your privacy, didn’t you feel burden about that?

(KANG SEUNGYOON) “Anyway, all the episodes were shot before the beginning of broadcasting, so I felt comfortable because I knew it would be edited before being aired.”

(SONG MINHO) “That’s right. This is not like ‘Show Me the Money’ show. (laugh)”
(KANG SEUNGYOON) “We’re shooting this show, but it was a real life for the children. If we pretended, children would have felt that, so we did our best to treat the children with all our heart and sincerity and we became their friends. We tried not to think it was a show. Instead, when we prepared classes on our own, we tried to create some funny scenes just as for other TV shows.”

2016. 4. 29.