Soobin Is Leading TOMORROW X TOGETHER with Positivity
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This week, in compliment with our TOMORROW X TOGETHER cover story, we’ll be rolling out individual spotlights on each member of the K-pop act. Today, we spend some time with the group’s leader, Soobin. Don’t forget to get your copy of the limited edition magazine collector’s box featuring six exclusive TXT covers and more at the Consequence Shop.
Soobin, the leader of TOMORROW X TOGETHER, is a very tall young man. Most of the members of the group tower over their peers in the K-pop world — three of the band members clear six feet — and Soobin has them all beat.
Sitting in a hotel room in Osaka, Japan, it’s almost as if Soobin, cozy in black sweatpants and a matching T-shirt, is unaware of this fact. With his stature, he could presumably be intimidating if he wanted to be; instead, he’s unfailingly polite and remarkably sweet. He bows to shake my hand as he sits down, offering an off-the-record recommendation for an anime on Netflix as we get comfortable. Soobin is soft-spoken enough that the interpreter in the room with us sometimes has to lean in to catch his responses. He dips his head again when he gets up at the end of our conversation.
“I’m not usually the talkative type,” he says, smiling shyly. “I don’t know how to make things flowery and eloquent.”
According to his bandmates, though, Soobin’s leadership strength isn’t dependent on locution. “Soobin is in charge of communications, and we can look into each other’s eyes when we are rehearsing and tell just from that how we’re feeling,” fellow TXT member Taehyun explains. For the group, the concept of communication extends beyond public-facing comments and speaking responsibilities.
At 22 years old, Soobin is not the oldest member of the group — that would be 23-year-old Yeonjun — but when TXT debuted in 2019, he was introduced to the world as the leader nonetheless. This is not uncommon in K-pop, as this title and its responsibilities often have more to do with personality than age. Soobin seems to be a generally agreeable person who is comfortable with taking a backseat a lot of the time, as he does when his bandmates are in the room the day we all meet.
That laid back attitude extends to his downtime, as well. In the past, a day off for Soobin would involve a lot of “watching animation lying down.” Recently, though, free time means spending the day with friends, catching up on movies, or going swimming. He’s also trying to become a better cook; one of his more recent endeavors was dakbokkeumtang, a Korean dish of braised spicy chicken.
He strives for improvement onstage as well, growing more confident in areas he used to find more challenging. Particularly after completing TXT’s first world tour (2022’s “ACT: LOVE SICK”), Soobin says he’s noticeably refined his public speaking: “I feel so grateful to our fans and I feel so happy during the tour, but I always get nervous at the end when I’m talking,” he notes. “But, recently, I realized my words and speeches became more organized.” He laughs. “I think I became kind of cool.”
TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s Soobin, photo courtesy of BIGHIT MUSIC
With his bandmates, however, coolness also means knowing when to hold things back. Despite the closeness between the members of TXT, Soobin reveals that he tries not to add more pressure on the members than is absolutely necessary. “There are actually things that I cannot tell my members because they’re my members,” he explains. “Being the leader, I sometimes worry about things that could make them feel pressured, and with such things, I tend to open up to my other friends.”
That includes adding to the weight of their upcoming headlining slot at Lollapalooza; but, rather than focus on the immensity of the stage, he’s reveling in the excitement these days. Soobin happily recalls that when he first told his songwriter and producer friends about their 2022 appearance at the festival, “They said, ‘I’m so jealous, it’s driving me crazy… But it was a cute jealousy. This time, when we heard the news that we were headlining, I couldn’t wait to tell them.”
As effortless as Soobin may appear as a performer, there’s no doubt he and the TXT team have put in the hard work to earn that Lollapalooza billing. Beyond detailed rehearsals, all the members are involved behind the scenes of the group’s ever-evolving musical direction, too. Soobin has a songwriting credit on the group’s most recent album, the bouncy, bright “Happy Fools” featuring Coi Leray, while “Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock)” and “Farewell, Neverland” are described by the members as group efforts thematically. The band’s longtime studio collaborator, HYBE producer Slow Rabbit, calls Soobin and his bandmates “pioneers for the next generation of artists and fans, especially for Gen Z.”
To Soobin, his ability to connect with people stems from the fact that he grew up a K-pop fan long before becoming a K-pop idol. That sentiment allows him to relate to TXT’s fans, known as MOA, and it’s a connection Soobin doesn’t take lightly. “Being a fan turned me into a positive person, and I only experienced positive changes as a K-pop fan,” he explains. “So to our fans, and the people who like me, I want only positive things to happen to them. I hope that they can experience positive changes.”
It’s only been four years since TXT debuted, and the group has already achieved headliner status at a major American music festival. If he were to chat with Soobin of 2019, back when TOMORROW X TOGETHER were freshly debuted, he says that he wouldn’t want to change a thing about their story so far: “I did the best I could at that time,” he recalls. “I wouldn’t want to do anything that would affect present me, because I’m so satisfied with present me. I just hope past Soobin walks the path that I walked, exactly the way I did.”
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Soobin Is Leading TOMORROW X TOGETHER with Positivity
Mary Siroky
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