Singers shine the most when they’re onstage. But for JYJ, a group of three, very talented singers, ‘shining’ isn’t a possibility.


A few members of the group have enjoyed successful careers as actors, with roles in recent dramas,Miss Ripley and Protect the Boss, but the only place you can see Kim Jae Joong, Park Yoo Chun and Kim Junsu showing off their kaleidoscope charms is on stage.


Which is why fans of the trio are waiting and hoping to see their favorite group onstage, especially with the release of the group’s first Korean studio album, In Heaven.



Nearly every singer in Korea promotes its songs on television, through various music shows, but, while the group released its album on September 27, it hasn’t performed on any one of the various channels in Korea.

“It’s very sad that though we’re Korea, we have no chance of performing in Korea and actually are being more welcomed in other countries,” said Kim Junsu. “It’ll be hard to change that in a hurry, but we won’t give up. If the three of us come together and keep moving and working hard, one day, we’ll be able to start performing on a fair stage.”


Because of JYJ’s continuous lawsuit with its previous agency, SM Entertainment, it’s not easy for the group to find its way onto Korean music shows. Because of this, JYJ members have begun taking on dramas and musicals as a roundabout way of being active in Korea.


But the release of their first Korean album has made the members crave the stage even more.


"We want to be on television. Even if we can’t, our songs will make it into the charts, right?”

The three all agreed that they “want to be on television.” But of course, even if the reality says that they can’t, the members aren’t in despair, and they’ve bonded together, stronger than ever, after enduring giant helpings of difficult times.


“In the past, when something little happened, we would feel really bad, but now it’s not like that,” said Kim. “We’re happy to have the little happy moments in the midst of unhappy times. Actually, I’m just happy we were able to even release our album.”


“We started working on our album after we’d decided on a record label, but suddenly they said they couldn’t help us, so we almost didn’t get to release the album,” added Kim Jae Joong.


The group seems to have figured out how to cope with bad events, seeing as how the members talked about these unfortunate events in a bright manner, without shying away from the facts.


“I think we’ve really mastered this. Now we’re not even stressed by the slightest things. (Laugh) If we just work hard with the things we’re given us people will start giving us some work to do.”



The members of JYJ decided to concentrate not on the things they couldn’t help, but the one thing they could: music. Thanks to their devotion, 80 percent of their first Korean album was filled with songs written by the members themselves. In Heaven contains a total of 10 tracks, with the main title track written entirely by Kim Jae Joong.



Though they started off as idols, they’ve grown to become musicians who know how to make music with their own efforts. And while the members say they were worried about the album, you can hear how much they’ve grown and can’t help but to acknowledge their efforts and skills when you listen to their album.




“We had to perform but we had no songs to perform with. And so that’s why the songs we wrote made it into the album. At first it was hard, but those hard times actually became our opportunity. It gave us the chance to grow.”





Though JYJ is still dreaming of going on stage, the members aren’t wasting their time waiting on Korean music shows. They’ve held world tour concerts in Thailand, Taiwan and Beijing and will even launch a Europe tour, after performing in Japan on October 15.




If their method of ‘coping’ means they reach international success – we have a feeling JYJ won’t be suffering too much.




Photo Credit: C.JeS Entertainment





Translation Credit: Erika Kim