Jung Jihoon, The Original Maknae: An H.O.T/Shinhwa Story

H.O.T vs Sechkies

December 1998

"Hello everyone this is your rising star JY Park here. Today is a special occasion because we have two of hottest groups in all of Korea! From SM Entertainment: H.O.T and DSP Media: Sechkies!!" JYP introduced the two groups.

Jihoon and the boys stood head to toe next to leader Eun Jiwon. His sharp eyes gave him a very intimidating look. Next to him were members Jaeduck, Jaejin, Suwon, Ko Jiyong, and pretty boy Sunghoon.

"Annyeonghaseyo I am Lee Heejun leader of H.O.T"

"What's up this is Eun Jiwon of Sechkies. Me and my boys gonna kick it live!!" Jiwon introduced himself with great bravado.

"I'm the boy with a gentle face Jaeduck." Introduced himself using his trademark baby face.

"I'm the tallest in the group with the baby face Jaewon."

"What's up I'm the rap machine, the Machiavelli himself Woohyuk."

"I'm the handsome prince Suwon."

"I'm the American hype man Tony!'

"I'm best dancer with a Busan accent Jaejin."

"I'm the heartthrob of the group, the boyfriend every girl wants Kangta." He winked.

"I'm also the heartthrob, the one and only Sunghoon. Be careful ladies your heart may be next." Sunghoon flash his own handsome smirk rivaling Kangta.

"I'm the dancing maknae Lil Rain and I comes with the best dance moves." Jihoon did breakdance performing a handstand.

"And I'm Sechkies's maknae Jiyong."

The individual members of H.O.T and Sechkies introduced themselves in their own unique fashion.

"The reason why I called the two of you is because you two are the most popular groups in Korea. There has been a noticable tense rivalry of sorts between the Hot Clubs and Yellowkies. It's gotten so bad that there are brawl incidents throughout the highschools of Korea!" JYP explained.

Jihoon laughed uncomfortably.

"Sounds like you encountered one in person Jihoon-ah? Do tell." JYP questioned.

"Yes I can attest for sure that there's a personal rivalry. Sure we come from different agencies, but our message as H.O.T is spreading love and peace, not hate. I unfortunately had a run in with an antifan who tried to demand me to leave the group. I was confused why, but apparently it was getting in the way of Sunghoon-ah. Sorry if this offends you. She was really crazy for you." Jihoon explained in detail.

"None taken. I dealt with an antifan of my own only that she was a Kangta fan. She tried to embarrass me by trying to take a picture while I was changing. Some creepy stuff man." Sunghoon said.

"That's exactly what the saesang tried to do with me! I was followed all the way towards home. Thankfully the place was guarded otherwise Hana-ah would've been in danger." Jihoon clarified.

"Sounds you boys been through quite an ordeal. Obsessive fans or Saesangs are becoming an increasing problem in Kpop. Idols should have protective measures so incident like this shouldn't happen. What do you think is the reason for this rivalry?" Asked JYP.

"I think because we debuted almost at the same time. We debated last year in 1997 when Happiness came out. In the early days we were branded as a Hot copycat." Suwon explained.

"I think those comparisons partially fueled our fans to be so defensive and as our fandom grew so did the hostility." Jaejin explained.

"We share a very similar appeal. All of us are young boys with handsome faces. In fact I get compared with Sunghoon a lot." Kangta said.