By Hasan Beyaz
To celebrate CLOSE YOUR EYES' comeback with 256th Note, we caught up with each member individually.
Ask KIM SUNGMIN what he looks like on stage and the answer is calm, composed, controlled. Ask the members and you'd get a different answer entirely. He admits there's a quirkier, more playful side that only really surfaces around the group, one he hasn't yet worked out how to translate into CLOSE YOUR EYES' concepts, even though he clearly wants to. It's a gap between the two versions of himself that he's aware of, rather than uncomfortable with.
That runs through how he talks about the future, too. Looking back at ETERNALT and Snowy Summer, the two releases that first established the group, SUNGMIN's ambitions for himself stretch well beyond any single era. He wants to be remembered the way a scent is remembered, something that resurfaces in someone's memory long after the moment it belonged to has passed. It's a fitting image for an artist who, by his own account, is still working out which version of himself gets to be seen.
Get to know KIM SUNGMIN in our Meet the Member interview series with CLOSE YOUR EYES below.
Is there a side of your personality that hasn't really come through in CLOSE YOUR EYES' concepts yet?
KIM SUNGMIN I think there's still quite a lot. If you only go by what I've shown on stage so far, you might think I'm a very calm person, but when I'm with the members I joke around a lot more and I have a pretty quirky side. I hope I can show that natural side on stage someday too. Please look forward to SUNGMIN.
Looking back at ETERNALT and Snowy Summer, what's the biggest thing you'd tell yourself from a year ago?
I would tell myself, “You’ve grown a lot since then.” I’ll keep working hard and continue to improve, so I can become an even better SUNGMIN.
What kind of artist do you want to be known as five years from now, beyond CLOSE YOUR EYES' concepts?
I want to be remembered as an artist like a perfume. Our songs span so many genres and moods, and I want to be an artist who makes songs that linger in memory like a scent — so that when someone hears a CLOSE YOUR EYES song, they think, “this reminds me of that moment.”
What's a trait of yours that the other members tease you about the most?
I get teased a lot for having a small face. Since I have a long neck and a small head, everyone says I look like an alpaca. Alpacas are cute, but they look a little funny when they smile, so they're not my favorite animal. I think that's part of why the members tease me even more.