The K-pop group speak with Thrillist on all things LA and travel.
It ’s not uncommon to see the same hardworking idol groups again and again acrossKCON LA . Since its launch in Irvine in 2012 , the body politic ’s biggestK - popfestival has been a go - to spot for show and rookie idol group to nurture and grow fandom . But P1Harmony , a six - member group that debuted in late 2020 in the other throes of the pandemic , is particularly ubiquitous . buoy by a trust in their discography , performance power , and group chemistry — and in the midst of their third“world”tour since 2022 — the six members are poised to gobig . Either way , they ’re not going home .
Thrillist sat down with Keeho ( 22 ) , Theo ( 23 ) , Jiung ( 22 ) , Intak ( 20 ) , Soul ( 19 ) , and Jongseob ( 18 ) to talk about KCON LA 2024 , their favorite spot in Southern California , and what it ’s like to have a job that turns you into a constant traveler .
Thrillist : What was it like to perform at KCON LA ? How does a festival experience like this differ from a stop on your tour ? Do you groom otherwise for an issue like this ?
P1Harmony|Photo courtesy of KCON LA
Jongseob : First of all , we train a peculiar stage , “ firing ” by BTS , and I think they ’ll like it .
Keeho : The show in itself , there ’s not much deviation because we ’re just do the same song , at the end of the day . But I do feel like there ’s just so much more to KCON than just the show , right-hand ? There ’s the convention , there ’s the Meet & Greet . There ’s the KCON Stage . There ’s just so much to groom outside of [ the concert operation ] that , whenever we come to KCON , it ’s like , ‘ OK , guys . We have 100 scripts for 100 unlike things we do . ’ I remember being on the sheet and looking at a script and saying , ‘ Oh , they desire us to trip the light fantastic toe [ our introduction song]“Siren ” ? I do n’t remember that dance . ’ Having to kind of retread everything and just be prepared for everything else besides the phase , that ’s really what comes into the preparation prospect of it .
But the stage in itself is just so much fun . And , because we were in LA just a calendar month ago , I feel like there ’s a sense of kind of make out back to the fan that have been hold off . I remember pronounce it at our show and for our UTOP1A [ spell stoppage ] at the Kia Forum , I was like , ‘ Who ’s coming to KCON ? We ’ll be back next month . ’ And so just knowing that there will be people that are waiting for us that also amount to see us a month ago is a welcoming feeling . Yeah , it ’s been very shiver .
Photo courtesy of KCON LA
T : Are there any fellow K - soda pop artists you were able to see perform ? I saw you peeking over the stage tosee SHINee star Taemin .
Keeho : Not really because we ’re always offstage and it ’s so hectic back there that we ca n’t really just stand and see . But anytime that we ’re expect below the microscope stage to go up … We saw Taemin , like you aver . He was astonishing . We also saw ENHYPEN a little bit last night . I reckon that ’s it . Because anytime we ’re not on leg , it ’s like : Makeup ! Hair !
T : We ’re presently in Los Angeles . How many time have you been to the metropolis ?
Photo courtesy of KCON LA
Jongseob : 10 times ?
Keeho : I do n’t think 10 time .
Jongseob : Almost 10 time .
Jiung : peradventure seven ?
Theo : Seven ? !
[ The grouping discusses amongst themselves in Korean . ]
Jiung : Maybe eight or nine times .
Keeho : We ca n’t number . We ’ve lost track .
thymine : Do you remember your first impression of Los Angeles ?
Theo ( as translate by Keeho ): It was so telling . It was such a big first impression that I literally remember the precise day we came in . I remember contract off the airplane and also getting in the car and just seeing the highway and the road . I literally remember everything because it was all so Modern to me .
Jongseob : And my first picture is that we reckon an auditory sense — it was a K - pa cover saltation competition .
[ P1Harmony ’s first visual aspect in America was ata 2021 K - daddy Cover Dance Festival , part of K - POP World Festival presented by the Korean Cultural Center of Los Angeles and The Seoul Shinmin Daily in San Diego ’s Balboa Park . ]
Keeho : COVID was getting better , so we were there to be judges for a K - pappa terpsichore competition , and we also did a performance there as well . There ’s so many hoi polloi and we were execute in front of a crowd like that for the first time in our careers , so it was a super crazy experience . I ’d been to LA before but also I had n’t performed in front of a crew like that , so it hit me otherwise . And , like Theo articulate , it was a lot of the members ' first sentence being in America , so just derive and being able to see the medal Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree … it ’s so different .
T : Do you have any favorite floater in Los Angeles ?
P1Harmony : Sunset . Melrose . West Hollywood .
Keeho : West Hollywood ’s really nice . Great shopping , peachy solid food . Very bougie . The members really like the beach as well , too . Everysingle sentence we go to Malibu , the penis are like , ‘ Oh , this is so majuscule . This is so amazing . ’ It is quite the drive , so we ca n’t go every time we get to LA , but we do seek to hit the beach .
T : Which P1Harmony Song dynasty is the most LA ?
Jiung : I require to say“Late Night Calls . ”If the sunlight goes down , it might really befit the vibe .
Keeho [ scrolling on his phone ] : I ’m seek our discography .
Theo:“Swagger . ”
Soul”“Streetstar . ”
T : Was there a song that the LA bunch reacted to more strongly ?
Keeho:“Jump”is always good on stage . Literally because the cycle is like … [ score his thighs to make steady measure ] . It ’s so comfortable to jumpstart . As soon as we go , ‘ 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 … start ! ’ everyone just starts jump . Even if you do n’t know the vocal , it ’s just so well-off to derail to . So I mean “ Jump ” is by all odds a cracker . And also “ Doom Du Doom ” because wefilmed the music videoin LA . I feel like that call in itself just kind of give way off this refreshing , summery vibe . Yesterday ’s setlist was pretty cracker .
T : You ’re presently on your UTOP1A tour , which is your third world tour of duty in two years . You are on the road a slew . Have you gotten better at traveling ?
Theo ( as translated by Keeho ): It ’s so easy now .
Soul ( as interpret by Keeho ): It ’s so easy to just live out a traveling bag now . Whenever I ’m at a hotel or even back in Korea , I just never clean out my suitcase because I never know when I ’ll need it .
triiodothyronine : Are there specific items you always take when you move around ?
Intak : Always I bring some good vitamins .
Keeho : I bought this really in the States . It ’s called Nature ’s Bounty . It ’s like this super good immunity pill . I usually always get sick on enlistment . It ’s something I ca n’t quash . I do n’t jazz why . I have crazy vitamin , but I still get sick . But I got these pills that from CVS . You take them daily , like two a day , and I did not get ill at all . That ’s kind of my go - to thing . It was so effective to me that even when I aim back to Korea , I had someone Amazon find it , and send it back to Korea because I require it .
So , yeah , like vitamins just help nutritionally . It ’s hard to stay level-headed . When you ’re traveling , it ’s so cold . The airplanes are dusty . The hotels are cold . It ’s punishing to rest healthy , but I feel like we need to stay healthy to really give a good carrying out .
T : Do you mind to medicine while you travel ? And , if so , do you have any go - to songs or artists ?
Jiung : I ’m really into Guns N ’ Roses . I really like “ Paradise City , ” “ Welcome to the Jungle , ” and what was the most noted one ? [ Starts vocalizing , and remembers . ] Oh , “ Sweet Child O ’ Mine ” !
T : That ’s high energy .
Jiung : High energy . And it ’s give traveling vibes . I was dancing in the airport when we went to Australia and New Zealand .
T : Are there any P1Harmony Sung you would recommend for change of location playlist ?
Keeho : For me , when I ’m on the airplane , I always like to listen to chill music . It has to be mellow . So , maybe on the plane , something like“Peacemaker . ”
[ The P1Harmony appendage all laugh . ]
Jiung:“Fall in Love Again . ”[The other members hold . ]
Keeho : It ’s mid - tempo . When you put down and you ’re , like , walk through the airport , though , I ’m listening to“Ayaya”or “ Swagger ” even , “ Late Night Calls ” or“More Than Words,”something that ’s more up - pace . I get laid to pretend I ’m on a runway whenever I ’m walking in the airport . I ’m not gon na lie . It ’s just like — roar , manna from heaven — the beat needs to be going .
T : You are all based in Seoul . For first - time visitors to the city , do you have any recommendations ? Maybe something to do that is n’t on all the tourist lists ?
Jiung : Oh , that ’s a hard head .
Keeho : Because we do n’t go out . [ The members break open into laugh . ] And also we all add up from unlike places . Like , none of these people are from Seoul .
[ Keeho grow up in the Toronto suburb of Markham . Theo is from Daejeon , Korea ’s fifth largest city . While Jiung , Intak , and Jongseob all grew up in Gyeonggi - do , the same province as Seoul , none are from Seoul proper . Soul acquire up in Japan ’s Saitama Prefecture , part of the swell Tokyo realm . ]
Keeho ( continued ): But , wait , we ’ll imagine of something . Give us like two seconds .
[ The members start discussing turbulently in Korean . ]
Jiung ( as translated by Keeho ): Because , honestly , for us , we ca n’t really say we ’re locals . So what I care to do is get on a random bus topology and just get off somewhere completely random and just walk around the streets and eat something new . That ’s as local as it can possibly be .
Keeho : And also , with Seoul , there are so many tourists now , that literally all of our favorite spots are now touristy . I commemorate there was this really humiliated - key bowling skittle alley that I used to go to all the time . It was like super chill , and someone put it on TikTok , and now everybody goes ! I used to go to Hannam - dong a lot to store , but now everyone ’s there . Even our expanse , Seongsu , used to be like a really courteous , chill field , now you have to wait like an hour to get into restaurant .
Jiung ( as translated by Keeho ): Because Seoul itself is such a touristy dapple , whenever I want to go on a little misstep , I always go outside of Seoul .
Keeho : let a car , do something , get out .
Jongseob : I would recommend … it ’s outside of Seoul . If you like mountains , you may go to Gapyeong . There are so many pensions .
Keeho : Yeah , there are a lot of , like , cabins , B&Bs .
Jongseob : And , if you like the sea , you may go to Busan . Busan is very practiced .
Keeho : Every time I went , I was like , ‘ What is there to do here ? ’
Intak : Just examine .
T : What about Tokyo , Soul ?
Soul ( in Korean ): I do n’t know Tokyo . [ Soul moved to Korea to be a K - pop trainee as a new teenager . ]
Keeho : I literally experience more than he does . The last time we went to Japan … why did we go ? [ Asks the member in Korean ] Wewent to Japan for Music Core , and I literally knew the spot better than he did . I was like , ‘ This , and this and this and this , ’ and he ’s like , ‘ Oh . ’
metric ton : You ’ve done miniskirt - travel show before — inTorontoandAbu Dhabi — is this something you would wish to do again ?
Jiung : One of my biggest dreams is going on a road trip . That ’s gon na be really awful . Yeah , going on a road misstep and have some barbeque in the mountains . Or go hike up ? I really want to see Aurora [ Borealis ] .
Keeho : We do n’t have anything project the right way now . We usually do [ those travel videos ] when we have day off in between [ performance ] , but we ’ve been too meddling to do it . So maybe one day , when we go somewhere completely novel …
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The interview has been edited for length and clarity .
