This week, in compliment with our TOMORROW X TOGETHER cover story, we’re shining individual spotlights on each member of the K-pop act. With profiles with Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai also available, Yeonjun takes centerstage today. Don’t forget to get your copy of the limited edition magazine collector’s box featuring six exclusive TXT covers and more, available for pre-order now at the Consequence Shop.
There’s a part of TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s ongoing world tour, titled “ACT: SWEET MIRAGE” (snag tickets here!), where the spotlight hits on Yeonjun as he staggers down the catwalk that runs through the center of the arena. The solo is preceded by choreography featuring his bandmates, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Hueningkai; in the moment that follows, though, all eyes are on Yeonjun — and he sells every second of it.
Flashback to the morning before the concert, Yeonjun sits for a conversation about this particularly extraordinary time for TOMORROW X TOGETHER. “My everyday life is about practice and preparing for performances,” he says, his voice still low and gravelly from sleep. “Imagining how MOA will be enjoying our performances? That’s the driving force.”
While MOA are undoubtedly the focus these days, Yeonjun has always had a certain fire to him. Always pushing himself to the best he can be, he developed a reputation during his time spent training at the former Big Hit Entertainment (now HYBE). In a recent interview with SUGA of BTS, Yeonjun and Taehyun revisited the nickname the former earned in the years he spent perfecting the vocal, dance, and performance skills required to debut: “Big Hit’s Legendary Trainee.”
The instructional period young people undergo in the hopes of becoming K-pop idols is notoriously rigorous, and Yeonjun spent a longer stretch in that world than any of his TXT bandmates. If he were to pass a message to the Yeonjun working so hard to debut, he’d tell his younger self to keep going, because brighter days are coming: “You’re doing a good job. Just hold on a little longer.”
None of the members of TXT have hard-set “roles” within the group, besides Soobin’s responsibilities as the leader. (Often, K-pop groups will designate members rigidly as vocalists, dancers, or visuals, but TXT are fluid on that front). Like his bandmates, Yeonjun has become known as an “all-rounder,” a performer who can sing, rap, and captivate as a performer.
“There are a lot of times where I’ve had to dance by myself, representing the team, which served as a pressure,” he recalls. “But I think those pressures actually helped me grow into who I am right now, so I’m trying to think of it in a very positive way.”
