'You Quiz on the Block' EXO Kai said he had no idea what his stage name meant and was surprised, then soon became moved.
On the 4th episode of tvN 'You Quiz on the Block' (hereafter 'You Quiz'), Yoon Hee-joon, head of SM Entertainment's idol development center, appeared. He has been the center head who developed acts from Super Junior to, most recently, Hearts2Hearts over 20 years, and there were almost no SM idols who did not pass through his hands.
Yoon Hee-joon, who said the three things he lost over the past 20 years were marriage, sleep and skin, worked day and night and regardless of weekends and weekdays. He watched trainees harshly and steadily. EXO Kai explained about Yoon Hee-joon, saying, "A person wearing a black suit and red lipstick watches from beyond the practice room door."
Yoon Hee-joon said, "I don't insist on only black, but to give trainees a sense of tension you have to give them some fear. If you don't get tense in any situation, you won't get tense on any stage," and added, "Artists always say that. They say singing and dancing in front of me is scarier than any stage."
His philosophy was that the reason fans love them must be proven by skill. He emphasized, "There is a rumor that SM only looks at appearance, but that's absolutely not true." Yoon Hee-joon said, "Fans love that music and everything about them, which is not to be taken for granted. To meet that, skill must back it up." To this, Kai humbly said, "Yoon Hee-joon can't sleep. He texts even after leaving work, and if I come out of the practice room in the morning he comes out with me. He has no weekends," saying Yoon Hee-joon's zeal is remarkable.
On the other hand, who did Yoon Hee-joon see as the most 'driven' idol? He named EXO's Kai, NCT's Doyoung and RIIZE's Wonbin as the most driven idols he had seen, and said Kai in particular does not go home and devotes himself only to practice. Yoon Hee-joon said, "Kai is relentless. Especially Kai really wears out the staff. He doesn't go home. The staff can't leave work," and added, "When told to go home, he says he'll do it one more time. One time becomes 20 times, becomes 100 times. You can't leave trainees and go home, so you just can't leave work."
Kai said humbly, "I think effort is a habit," and added, "At first you don't know how to work hard. The older sisters teach you that. So it becomes a habit, and in life you put effort into everything other than being a singer. You do your best. So they taught me life, I'm really grateful."
Later, Yoon Hee-joon revealed the background stories behind stage names. He said EXO leader Suho's name was chosen with the meaning "protect the younger members," and said aespa's Winter's birthday is Jan. 1 and she has very pale skin, so "because she is cold and white, we literally named her Winter."
Also, regarding Kai's name, which was known to be based on the Chinese pronunciation of the character for 'ten,' Yoon Hee-joon surprised fans by saying, "He is such a cool, hardworking kid, a child sent from heaven. In the sky they called him 'Kai.'" Kai himself said, "I learned this for the first time in 15 years since my debut. I'm moved."
[Photo channel] tvN channel 'You Quiz on the Block' broadcast screen capture
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