Interviews · ZERO: FEVER Era
SINGLES Korea — 'Imitation' Cast Feature (Seonghwa)
SINGLES Korea's "Imitation" cast feature, Seonghwa's reflections on playing Sparkling's Seyoung.
A SINGLES Korea group feature profiling the ten cast members of webtoon-to-drama adaptation "Imitation," including ATEEZ's Seonghwa, Yunho, San, and Jongho as members of the drama's fictional idol group Sparkling, published June 11, 2021.
Seonghwa's Words — English Translation
This is a multi-cast feature; only Seonghwa's own section is translated below, in the order it appears in the original article.
Despite his sharp, cool-headed image, he's known as such a big eater that he has the nickname "Meok-jjang" ("Eating Champ"), and he's also known as the group's strongest girl-group-dance performer. He's the type who quietly goes along with the flow. Seeing him actively running his own personal content series, "MARS ASMR," only confirms he's a true member of ATEEZ, the self-described "beagle idol" group.
"I first came across ASMR during my trainee days. For people like me who have sensitive ears and can't sleep well, I ended up getting an ASMR video recommended to me by some algorithm, and it was so comfortable and calming. Then a good opportunity happened to come along, so now I'm doing it myself."
Seonghwa, who says the dominant thought since debut has always been that he can't afford to fall behind, driving himself hard as a result, says he's been practicing letting go of things one at a time these days.
Trying to do two things at once left him doing neither properly, so he decided it was time to choose and focus. Letting go and giving things up, he found, also takes practice. He came to a realization of detachment — that only by emptying yourself can you fill yourself again. Seonghwa has finally begun to take hold of the path leading toward his goal.
On Taemin and Kai: "They're senior artists I look up to as role models. People usually think of them only in terms of dance, but for me, what catches my eye more is how they look on stage doing live vocals, or how artistic they come across. I've actually gotten to greet them in person once, and it was a truly moving moment."
On Sparkling's dance DNA: "Except for Su-woong-hyung, none of us can really sit still, so we ended up dancing around and goofing off a lot. Yunho and San especially have a lot of energy, so they'd start shaking their hips too. But I think it was actually thanks to that energy that the mood on the Sparkling set was really good, and the director and staff were all able to keep shooting happily, all the way through without getting worn out."
On "even as you are, you shine": "It's true I was really nervous and shaky. Even meeting Su-woong-hyung for the first time felt really surreal, and my nerves were at their peak, but the director really dislikes that kind of atmosphere, and said the goal for this drama was to show us as we naturally are. The line 'even as you are, you shine' really struck a chord with me, and it let me immerse myself in the character in a way closer to who I actually am."
On Seyoung, the maknae who's also the oldest brother: "Seyoung is Sparkling's leader. It's a role built around worrying over and looking after the younger members — a good-natured character who, rather than carrying charisma, takes care of the younger ones well, and can even come across as a bit of a pushover at times. But a person like that turns out to have real backbone. I like that."
On his sync rate with Seyoung — 80%: "I sometimes get called the maknae in ATEEZ too, myself — like a hyung who doesn't really act like a hyung (laughs). If anything, that made it easier for me to act the role too. I've heard the word 'matnae' ['oldest maknae'] a lot.
In ATEEZ too, I always get along well with the younger members, and I have a fairly cute side. I'm also a bit of an airhead. That version of my real self is really similar to Seyoung. It made me understand why the director told us to just act as ourselves."
On his affection for Seyoung, his first character: "Seyoung isn't a role with a lot of screen time in the show. But there's meaning in the fact that it's my first time taking on acting. Even a small, barely-formed character only shines once you pour real affection into it. The more attachment I gave Seyoung, the more fun each line of dialogue became."
On "Imitation" as a chance to expand his range: "I'm a vocalist in ATEEZ, but funnily enough, I'm on rap in Sparkling. Honestly, I liked rap enough that I auditioned with it, and I thought I might end up as a rap-position member — but I never expected a chance like this would come along, to be an all-rounder through a drama.
I thought maybe I could show off another kind of charm through my acting. Even while I'm playing Sparkling's Seyoung, if our fans catch glimpses of the real Seonghwa overlapping with him, I think they'll enjoy it even more."
On "Byeol-i" ("Little Star"): "I like the nickname 'Byeol-i.' The 'seong' in my name is the character for 'star' (星). I always try to hold onto that meaning as a goal — 'become a star, be a singer who tries to become someone's star.' My fans and I call each other 'star.' Because we need each other. This is the nickname I like best of all."
Translated directly from the original Korean text of the SINGLES Korea article linked below.
Official Sources
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Era Context
ZERO: FEVER Era · 2020 – 2022
A period of rapid international growth. Seonghwa's role expands across broadcast stages, variety appearances, and the group's first large-scale tours, alongside a growing presence in fashion and magazine editorials.