Hi! It’s Annie!
With every song I listen to of ATEEZ’s discography, they only seem to get better. Their songs are more and more addictive the more I listen to them. Of course, this also means that I actually had to look more into the band. Despite many people seeming to support them now and more people being able to identify their work, it still feels like a lot of people don’t really know about the amazing members. I honestly feel the same way about myself considering I barely knew them when I wrote my last post about them. So, now that I’ve officially become an ATiny who really wants to go to their concerts, I figured I would talk about common misconceptions about the members. Including misconceptions that I’ve made.
Hongjoong is too carefree to be the leader : At first glance, Hongjoong seems to be one of the most carefree members. He has a killer style and his sense of humor is always apparent. He can generally be seen cracking jokes in many of their variety shows, so many people don’t necessarily think of him as the typical father-like leader that we see from many groups. Even though, Hongjoong is definitely this. And I’m not just saying this because he recently dressed up as a grandfather for one of their variety shows. The other members will often tease Hongjoong for nagging them and he’s known for keeping the rest of the members on track and for writing much of their music. He does keep spirits up, but he’s extremely hardworking and definitely the father of the group.
Seonghwa is probably really intimidating off-stage : I mentioned this a little bit in my last post, but Seonghwa is a master of duality. On stage he sometimes even appears to be a demon with his facial expressions and intensity. Off stage, Seonghwa is a giant sweetheart and softie. He is known for being the mother of the group, a role that he has acknowledged and seems to view with pride. In the episode where Hongjoong was dressed as a grandfather; Seonghwa was the grandmother. Sometimes when one of the members is frustrated at another for not sharing, one of them will go and get Seonghwa. While Hongjoong will nag the other members about the group itself in order to get them to work as a team, Seonghwa is often teased for nagging them about their health and cleanliness. But don’t think for a second that he is not aware of his duality. He has talked several times about how proud he is of his onstage persona. He is a sweetheart, but he totally knows that he’s doing this to us.
Yunho doesn’t have much duality : There is duality when it comes to every member of ATEEZ, but I feel like Yunho’s duality is some of the most impressive. He is one of the tallest members of ATEEZ and he’s often centered because of his vocals, making him extremely noticeable. Off the stage he is the biggest puppy dog you will ever see in your life, both literally and figuratively. He jokes around with the other members a lot and is also sweet with literally all of them. He kind of becomes the leaning post for many of them during interviews. I mean, they all lean on each other a lot, but Yunho will stand there and hug the other person most of the time. Despite this, his sense of humor is one of the most teasing of the group. This often results in him cracking jokes to ease the tension between members. There are so many sides to Yunho’s personality and his puppy attitude definitely comes off as more intimidating onstage.
Yeosang is really closed off : I see this one a lot and I kind of understand. If you watch some interviews he can definitely seem like that initially. I think the best way to realize that there’s more to him than meets the eye is to watch one of his fancams of ‘THANXX’. Specifically the one where they’re all wearing white and his hair is blonde. Right before the chorus on the second salute, Yeosang will often do his infamous pout and it’s the most adorable thing ever. Yeosang is known for being really cute in the group and also with fans. He often plays up his cuteness too. This can be difficult for new fans to see between his intimidatingly statue-like looks, his quietness in interviews, his very deep voice, and his tendency to hoard chicken. Yeosang really loves his chicken. Yeosang is an introvert who has talked about having symptoms of anxiety before, so all of this is completely relatable. But Yeosang is also the member most likely to lean on other members. (Side note: This is probably why you often see Yeosang leaning on Yunho.) If you look a little more into Yeosang, you’ll realize that he has just as much duality as everyone else.
San is extroverted and overly masculine : I also could have put there that a common misconception is that San is the main dancer. But that’s something I’ve already talked about a lot and really only takes a second to debunk. San didn’t even really dance before he started the group, which is insane to me. But it may surprise you to find out that San actually identifies as an introvert. Whenever he’s not putting time into training and getting fit, he’s generally at home playing games or sleeping. And while San might seem very masculine, he also has a cuter side too! San sleeps with many stuffed animals (he really likes one that Yunho gave him) and he took his stuffed animal, Shiber, with him to Universal Studios in Hollywood. He’s just as much of a softie as the other members of the group!
Mingi doesn’t take things seriously : I’ve seen this a lot from newer fans who come into interviews and see that Mingi is one of the ones who is joking around the most. A lot of people seem to say this also because he seems to have a very “cool” persona on stage. I don’t understand this. Though Hongjoong writes most of the music, Mingi is one of the only other members who has contributed to helping write their music. He can act like a kid sometimes, but he’s also one of the members quickest to sober up if need be. Recently, Mingi noticed that he was having issues with anxiety and decided to get help for it. That’s an incredibly admirable and mature thing to do. Mingi honestly deserves more recognition for how mature he can be.
Wooyoung is absent-minded : Wooyoung is the member of this group with the cutest persona and I often find that group members that have this persona will be accused of this. Wooyoung is one of the youngest of the group and teases many of the members. He’s known for teasing Seonghwa a lot. But I feel like this accusation comes mostly because of the entire controversy around Wooyoung and San being best friends even though Wooyoung was Yeosang’s best friend first. I don’t think we know everything about that situation and I don’t think we should be drawing conclusions when it’s really none of our business. The group seems to be on good terms with each other and that should be enough for us. Wooyoung, just like everyone in this group, is young and still learning. But he also has shown an incredible maturity in caring for the other members of the group on multiple occasions. Sometimes he’ll even play peace-maker. I think this goes for most people in this industry, but I definitely think that Wooyoung is mature for his age.
Jongho must be popular because he’s the main vocalist so there’s no need to support him : I have seen too many people think this and it’s just wrong. I think this mentality is also why Jongho seems to be one of the most underappreciated members. Firstly, no matter the popularity of a singular member of a group, they all need support. Secondly, Jongho’s voice is absolutely insane and out of this world, that’s even more reason to support him. Jongho has one of the best voices in the industry in my opinion. He’s also an adorable maknae who is weirdly strong and naturally hilarious. Jongho should be noticed for his personality just as much as he is noticed for his voice.
There you have it! Those are the most popular misconceptions I see about each individual member of ATEEZ! I hope some of these revelations will shock you or you’ll at least learn something that you didn’t know before. All of them are very endearing and this is another group where you can definitely feel that they are all very close. But, obviously, it’s really nice to get to know them all individually as well!
See you across the pond!
Sincerely, Annie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 