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A smiling Big Ocean greet you for a nighttime Zoom call with shaking hands — the American Sign Language translation of applause and cheering — which encapsulates a palpable energy bursting from a K-pop trio unlike any other pop group.

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HyunJin, ChanYeon and JiSeok came together as Big Ocean to debut in April this year as the first Deaf/Hard of Hearing group in K-pop. The group’s warm embrace onto the scene by superstars, production and executives across Korea points towards a more inclusive global music scene.

Brought together by Korea’s only agency representing talent with disabilities Parastar Entertainment, Big Ocean sees three stars with different backgrounds and hearing abilities as a sign of hope and possibility.

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The group’s main vocalist Park HyunJin lost hearing in his left ear after a childhood accident, but a cochlear surgery led him to learning to play the piano, speak some English, and break out as a YouTube creator and TV personality educating viewers about hearing disabilities. Main rapper Lee ChanYeon, who underwent cochlear implant surgery for both ears, developed his musical interest after experiencing the positive side effects of music therapy. Meanwhile, youngest member and main dancer Kim JiSeok was born Hard of Hearing and attended a special school for those with disabilities before becoming a professional ski racer for Seoul skiing team.

Big Ocean admits that the members’ varying auditory perceptions can present challenges when it comes to learning choreography, singing in rhythm and performing live, but it’s inspired innovative ways for the group and their Parastar team to find new ways to rehearse successfully like utilizing vibrating smartwatches as metronomes or flashing lights for rhythmic counting.

While the definition of a K-pop act has expanded from Korean-born pop singers to artists representing a range of different countries, cultures, and languages, Big Ocean not only look the part of handsome, shining stars with international appeal but align with one of the core messages within in K-pop to instill inspiring messages to listeners both with their stories and music.

“The message from our song ‘Slow’ is that if you move forward and continue, slowly and steadily, you can do anything,” HyunJin says of the group’s latest single released last month that features Young K of chart-topping K-pop rock outfit DAY6, marking their latest venture to share more personal storytelling through their songs.

“Not only our seniors but also people from outside the company are giving us a lot of support, so we are really thankful,” adds JiSeok. “If we didn’t have that help, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

“Not only our seniors but also people from outside the company are giving us a lot of support, so we are really thankful,” adds JiSeok with a special shoutout to the group’s fans, known affection as PADOs. “If we didn’t have that help, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

With recognitions from members of Stray Kids, ITZY and even the President of Korea, read on for more from Big Ocean’s story and why they are a group to watch as Billboard‘s K-Pop Rookie of the Month for September 2024.

Congratulations on your debut this year and being named Billboard‘s Rookie of the Month! Overall, how has 2024 been for you?

JiSeok: I was really worried if we could do well. I was concerned, “Are we going to be okay?” But fortunately, so many people and so many senior idols gave us a lot of support and help. Not only our seniors but also people from outside the company are giving us a lot of support, so we are really thankful. If we didn’t have that help, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

HyunJin: And even today, we got an opportunity to meet with the President of Korea. We are also getting tons of invitations from outside of the country, so we’re getting so much love and support. So we are really, really grateful.

ChanYeon: And so many of our fans, PADOS, from so many countries, are sending us love and then recognizing us. So, we are really thankful and I feel like we have to pay back with even greater performances.

Thank you for taking time while you’re so busy. Congratulations on your latest single, “Slow,” featuring Young K of DAY6. It’s such a great collaboration; how did it come together, and how was your experience?

HyunJin: The message from our song” Slow,” is that if you move forward and continue, slowly and steadily, you can do anything. And in the process of making this song, we made a proposal to DAY6’s Young K that featuring his voice would sound great and work great with our song. He said “Yes” immediately, so that’s why we were able to release the song successfully and we’re so grateful for it. Thanks to him, we were able to feel even more support and we feel he really has our back.

JiSeok: We were really hoping that we could thank him in person, [but] because Young K was very busy preparing for the [new DAY6] album, we weren’t able to do so. But if we could meet in person later, that would be really great.

Are you guys fans of DAY6? Their latest album is topping the charts in South Korea.

HyunJin: We listened to one of the new songs released from their album, “Melt Down,” and really, really loved it. We wanted to pay back our debts for Young K featuring our song, so we took the highlight of the song and turned it into a challenge on social media with sign language.

JiSeok: The song is doing really great and is really popular — we really want to congratulate them!

I was curious about how you create your sign language challenges and incorporate signing into your performances. Are you the ones making the moves? Do you work with a team?

ChanYeon: When we do a simple sign language challenge, we discuss among ourselves and make it. But when we’re choreographing or releasing something like our official music videos where we are mixing Korean and American Sign Languages, we actually get reviewed by sign language experts to make sure everything is expressed in the most precise way.

Some readers might be surprised to learn that Deaf or Hard of Hearing people can sing, dance, rap and more. Can you tell us about your different backgrounds with just music?

JiSeok: I go to a special school for people with hearing disabilities. At the time when I was in school, RM from BTS sunbaenim actually made a large donation to help the school’s music education. It was thanks to that donation that I actually got a lot more interested in music; I learned about dancing for the first time, I had a lot of opportunities to learn different musical instruments. So, that’s how I was able to fall in love with music and able to dream of becoming an idol.

HyunJin: When I was nine years old, I had an accident and lost hearing ability in my left ear completely. I had a surgery that allowed me to hear sounds; however, afterward, it didn’t really sound natural to me anymore; it sounded very artificial. I felt very uncomfortable hearing any kind of or type of sound.

At the time, I was also learning piano and attending an academy. Listening to the actual piano was very pretty and the only pleasant sound to me. So, as I played piano, sound felt positive, not negative anymore. So that’s when I started to become more interested in music because the piano was the only sound that made me feel good. After I grew up and became an adult, I became a YouTube creator and made many videos about breaking the barriers regarding misunderstandings and prejudices regarding hearing disability. I started making TV appearances and that’s when I actually learned about my current agency, Parastar Entertainment, so I naturally challenged myself to be an idol.

ChanYeon: In my case, I wasn’t really interested in music at all. Only after I got the surgery for cochlear implants for both my ears did I go through a lot of music therapy, and music actually really helped me. That’s when I found my interest in music.

As a boy band, how do you interact with music to perform as a group? Can you share the different ways you overcome any challenges?

HyunJin: Because the level of hearing is different in each one of us, the way we perceive beats and rhythms is also different. So, our company came up with the idea of using smartwatches and vibrations from the smartwatches as metronomes. That’s how we were able to feel the beat and rhythm in sync — and it made it so much easier for us to feel the music.

We also developed a “beam monitor” that flashes lights in sync with the music. So, that was another way. We also continuously film ourselves dancing to the music and constantly monitor ourselves and review to see who feels the beats differently or if we’re not in sync. And we continuously practice. And that’s how we can move in sync.

You’ve performed on Korea’s weekly K-pop music programs like Show! Music Core, Inkigayo, The Show, Music Bank and more. These shows are famously very fast-paced. How was your experience, and could they meet any accommodations you needed?

JiSeok: Our first time going on music programs, they were aware of the fact that we had hearing difficulties, so they always made sure to use hand gestures, give visual signals for cues to enter the stage, or whenever they wanted to send us some type of message. They were really nice about it; very, very kind. They constantly asked us whether we had any problems hearing or listening to the music. So, thanks to them, we could put up a good performance.

HyunJin: If the set or environment is too loud or noisy, we might have trouble listening for the start of the song. So, during rehearsals and the actual shooting, they made sure to ask for the audience’s understanding and to be quieter than usual so that we could actually hear the music. They were very generous for that. Also, our dancers make sure the choreography opens with a starting dance move. The background dancers initiated the choreography so then we knew the performance had started.

ChanYeon: And even our staff members ensured that everyone at the TV stations and on-site knew we might have trouble communicating or listening. So, they ensured everyone was aware, and I think we had no trouble. We’re really grateful for everyone being so considerate.

I saw you met with Felix from Stray Kids backstage during the shows to learn the “Chk Chk Boom” challenge. Tell me about that experience.

JiSeok: After the broadcast, I met Felix for the first time. I thought he was a complete angel — I really thought he was an angel. As soon as I met him, he greeted me with American Sign Language. He prepared it himself and showed us that he learned “Nice to meet you” and “How are you?” It really impressed us. We did the dance challenge together — I was so nervous, soo nervous! — but I was happy and really appreciative of everything. I thought about how I should practice and work even harder to perform even better.

After the dance challenge, Felix gave us [Stray Kids’] album as a gift. I was so grateful; I can’t even express it in words. I really want to see him again and meet him in the future.

I saw a recent announcement from Parastar Entertainment that Big Ocean is auditioning new members. Could we see the group expand in the future?

HyunJin: We have three members, right? We think three of us is too small and that our group is not big enough. That’s why we’re we’re hiring new members. If you come to our website of the company you can apply for the audition 24-7 so please come! We’re definitely looking for more members to apply.

Any other messages you want to share with your international fans at this time?

HyunJin: So three days after this interview, it will be five months since we debuted as Big Ocean so I really want to say thank you to all the fans and people who made Big Ocean possible and gave us a lot of support. To our fandom, PADOS, who are continuously supporting us, promoting us, and even doing all these activities to attract more PADOS on social [media] communities — I really want to say thank you. We will do our part and work harder to show you even greater performance and activities.

JiSeok: Thank you so much for such this great opportunity. Also, in November, we’re trying to release another song, so we will really work hard with our company. If we do release our new song, please send us a lot of support. We will work hard.