By Dong Sun-hwa To date, many K-pop acts have woven elements of Korean traditional culture into their music and performances, putting a fresh spin on their songs while promoting the country’s time-honoured cultural assets. Most of them, however, gave it a shot only once or twice – presumably due to the difficulty of fusing the old and new – but boy group Oneus (pronounced “One Us”) is an exception. Since generating a buzz with the 2019 release “LIT”, characterised by the unique sound of Korean traditional music, the five-piece act have consistently been putting a traditional twist into their music offerings, carving out their own niche in the cutthroat K-pop industry. For the performance of “Luna” (2021), one of its best-known hits, featuring the sound of the gayageum – a 12-string Korean zither – Oneus members don hanbok and perform talchum , a traditional Korean mask dance. The song’s lyrics are also written in the form of sijo , a Korean poetic form that is known to have emerged in the era of the Goryeo Kingdom in Korea (918-1392). Oneus’ upcoming US tour is going to be a fascinating blend of the past and present, too. Jin of BTS to begin military service. Where will he go and what will he do? “Our global fans really love “LIT” and “Luna”, so this time we have added some new elements to our performances to display our unexplored side,” said Oneus member Keonhee. “We also have prepared a lot of special performances so that our followers in the US can find our concert more relatable. For instance, there will be a performance that will remind them of scenes from the hit action film Top Gun , starring actor Tom Cruise.” The first leg of their US tour – which is part of their first world tour – will take place at the Apollo Theatre in New York on January 12. “Whenever we had a tour in the US, New York was always the first city we visited,” Keonhee explained. “So for me, it is the city of beginning. New York is such a romantic city as well, and I am feeling that vibe a lot right now. I feel like I can perform better on stage, too.” He added: “I take a lot of walks and visit nearby coffee shops whenever I visit a new city, so that I can see what kind of place it is. Since the US is a huge country, each city seems to have its own distinctive characters and charms. “I try to share what I saw and felt with my fans there during our concerts, mostly talking about the weather and people. My fans seem to love hearing about them.” After their New York gig, Oneus – comprising Seoho, Leedo, Keonhee, Hwanwoong and Xion – will head for Atlanta and Orlando, among other cities, before going to Mexico, Brazil and Chile. Unlike most other K-pop acts that usually have at least one English-speaking member to target the international market with more ease, Oneus consists of Koreans only. Hence the members need to spend extra time and effort learning English to communicate with their global fans. They, however, do not see this as stressful at all. “I recently took some online English courses,” Keonhee revealed. “Since we have many English-speaking staff members around us, I frequently ask them for help when I want to express something in English. “I think Hwanwoong is the best learner in our group; he always tries to deliver his feelings to his fans using English.” Hwanwoong added: “I think Keonhee excels in learning foreign languages. He learns very quickly and always tries to communicate with our fans. But this is the same for all of us. “Although our English is not outstanding, we still work hard to become more fluent and I think our fans love seeing us trying hard. I hope we improve as time goes by.” Read the full story at The Korea Times