In June of 2023, YG Entertainment founder Yang Hyun-suk released a video titled “The Next Plan for TREASURE”. In it, he apologised for not being able to “fully dedicate myself to my work” after debuting the boyband, and spoke about their future plans, which included a new sub-unit and a new studio album. “I feel like TREASURE will be reborn,” he concluded.
The announcement came seven months after the departure of two of its founding members, who had been on hiatus since early-2022. After they left, it made sense for TREASURE to reorganise themselves and figure out who they wanted to be from now on – hence why their latest album, out July 28, was called ‘REBOOT’.
To introduce this new era, TREASURE debuted the sub-unit T5 (comprising of members So Jung Hwan, Junkyu, Yoon Jae Hyuk, Jihoon and Doyoung) with the single ‘MOVE (T5)’ on June 28 – a sultry punch of EDM that showed how much they matured and how willing they are to tackle new sounds.
‘REBOOT’ followed the same line, with largely all tracks co-composed and co-written by members Choi Hyun Suk, Junkyu, Haruto, Asahi and Yoshi. Blending their energetic verve with a hint of 2nd generation K-pop nostalgia (as can be seen in title track ‘BONA BONA’), TREASURE rebooted themselves and gave us one of the best albums of 2023.
Following a momentous year, the 10 members of TREASURE sat down with NME via Zoom to review 2023’s happiest moments, how their relationship evolved and what they hope to achieve in 2024.
What is the moment that you are most proud of this year?
Choi Hyun Suk: “First of all, we went to the MAMA Awards and we got the [Galaxy Neo Flip Artist] award. I think our fans made that happen. And then, the second [moment] is, we went to France maybe two months ago, and all of the European fans sang our songs together, ‘BONA BONA’ and ‘JIKJIN’ together. I was so proud, and I really liked it. I’ll never forget that moment.”
Yoon Jae Hyuk: “We had a fan meeting at Tokyo Dome. It was such an honor, and it made me think that I want to achieve more. That was an interesting event.”
Jihoon: “We all went to the Summer Sonic Festival and had fun and awesome performances, and I can still recall the moment that we all enjoyed the legendary singers’ performances together.”
Do you remember any specific moments where you thought “I’m so happy right now”?
Choi Hyun Suk: “We released our second full album ‘REBOOT’. Because it’s a full album, all of our members worked really really hard to make [it]. I think releasing the album was the happiest moment for me.”
Doyoung: “Before ‘BONA BONA’, we had a unit promotion, [T5]. I learned a lot and had some new experiences, so I think [that] was my happy moment.”
After everything that you went through this year, what is something that you learned about yourselves?
Yoshi: “I did a lot of promotions this year, and I realised that I really enjoy the time when I’m on stage. I’m really looking forward to our upcoming concert at the end of this year, because I’m gonna feel happiness through it.”
So Jung Hwan: “While we were preparing for our new album ‘REBOOT’, I learned that our members individually have very specific characters, so I was a bit surprised that I have my own character too.”
Choi Hyun Suk: “Like Jung Hwan’s hair. Junkyu’s composing skills. My diet skills.”
Yoshi: “Yes.”
You mentioned that ‘REBOOT’ was a highlight of this year. What is your favorite song and lyrics in the album?
Junkyu: “It’s ‘REBOOT’ album’s first track, ‘BONA BONA’. I personally think that song itself means ‘REBOOT’.”
Jihoon: “There are 3 songs that I like excluding the title track. The first one is ‘I WANT YOUR LOVE’, second is ‘MOVE (T5)’, and the third one is ‘RUN’.”
Yoon Jae Hyuk: “The reason is?”
Jihoon: “I’ll tell you the reasons. Let’s go. The reason why I like ‘I WANT YOUR LOVE’ is, we are now practicing for the concert, and I think ‘I WANT YOUR LOVE’ is the one where everyone can have fun, and there are some parts that I can do well. Secondly, Junkyu wrote ‘MOVE (T5)’ very nicely, and people liked this song a lot. TREASURE never tried that kind of concept, but we could try it this time, so I feel attached to it. As for ‘RUN’, I personally like the funk genre, and this song is based on [it], so I think everyone can enjoy it easily.”
This year was a “reboot” for TREASURE. Do you think that you’ve gotten closer to each other? In what ways did your relationship change?
Choi Hyun Suk: “During the ‘HELLO’ tour, I felt that our friendship and teamwork leveled up because our members were checking each other’s health and things that they had to do on stage. In the process of growing up as a singer, I felt the members were taking care of each other, and I think our friendship has deepened because of that.”
Doyoung: “For this full album, our members participated a lot. We talked a lot while working on the album, and interacted a lot while recording too. Those interactions made our friendship grow deeper.”
Jihoon: “As Jung Hwan’s hairstyle changed, I had a lot of thoughts. When our unit T5 was promoting ‘MOVE (T5)’, I said to Jung Hwan, ‘You’re so awesome. You look amazing right now, so be confident. You can do it.’”
What part of your life would you like to reboot if you could?
Jihoon: “In February 2023, we had a concert tour in Kyocera Dome Osaka. Colds and flu were prevalent, and there were a few times when I couldn’t perform in good condition because the members, including me, had caught a cold. I feel sorry about that. So, if I could reboot my life, I’d like to go back to that time, take care of my health and show a better performance.”
When you look back to January 2023, what would you like to tell yourselves?
Asahi: “I think I won’t say anything.”
Choi Hyun Suk: “Why? Why?”
Asahi: “Because every moment was happy, and I have no regrets this year.”
Choi Hyun Suk: “January… ‘Hyun Suk Choi, please lose weight right now. Don’t eat too much food.’ That’s it.”
Haruto: “I… What did we do this January?”
Choi Hyun Suk: “We had the Kyocera Dome concert.”
Jihoon: “The tour.”
Haruto: “Oh, yeah?”
Choi Hyun Suk: “Tokyo Dome too.”
Jihoon: “And Saitama.”
Haruto: “Like Jihoon said, I’d like to say ‘Take care of your health”’ and ‘Eat some more’ too.”
Choi Hyun Suk: “Park Jeong Woo?”
Park Jeong Woo: “I want to say ‘I love you.’”
Choi Hyun Suk: “To yourself?”
Park Jeong Woo: “I’d like to say “I love you” to myself and make myself confident.”
If there’s anything that you could do differently this year, what would you do?
Choi Hyun Suk: “As an artist, I hope to improve after the performances end. It would mean that I can continue to grow as a singer. Often I feel like, “What would it have been like if I had done this at this moment?” and I want to do that performance again.”
How would you define TREASURE?
Jihoon: “I’m not joking, but TREASURE means ‘us’. I want to define and explain that TREASURE is 10 of us itself. When we say TREASURE, we want our 10 members to be remembered first, and it means that we will work harder and try to make the word ‘TREASURE’ ours, as like ‘a TREASURE’.”
What does being part of TREASURE mean to you?
Jihoon: “For now, we are working together, living together and doing almost everything together every day of my life. In some ways, doesn’t each member mean the most to us right now? It’s something like a family.”
Are you guys happy with what you achieved this year?
Choi Hyun Suk: “Just thinking of the process of preparing the full album for 10 months makes me very proud, and it was a rewarding year. Preparing a full album while touring at the same time… Regardless of the visible results, I was proud of everything in the process.”
Looking into 2024, what are some things you want to do and that you’re looking forward to?
Park Jeong Woo: “Our biggest goal is to return to our fans with a good album as soon as possible.And the most important point is to be healthy and happy with all the members during the album activities.”
Jihoon: “Next year, I would like to meet TREASURE MAKER in many more countries. And I also want to meet many fans in Korea, not only in Seoul but also in my hometown, Busan, and all over the country.”