At 3:30 pm today, the group held a press conference to promote their album promotional tour wherein they’ll be promoting their CD “Exciting” released locally by Warner Music Philippines. Their promo tour will be held atAyala Malls from January 12 – 14, 2012. The group introduced themselves in Filipino much to the delight and admiration of the media, press and fans present. The group answered the questions given by the press and the media with a smile, a laugh and by using basic Filipino words like, ‘Salamat Po (Thank You)’, ‘Mahal Namin Kayo (We Love You)’, ‘Mahalin niyo, ZE:A (Love, ZE:A)’, etc. The group even said that if they were given a chance, they would want to release an album in Filipino. This statement caused loud cheers and screams much to the group’s happiness. The group also mentioned that they’re on the process of recording their next album which might be released mid-April this year.

After the press conference, I was lucky enough to interview the boys for a few minutes with other representatives of other news sites. The boys greeted us warmly, held out their hands for a handshake and smiled all the way. The interview went like this:

Interviewer: “How did you feel when you heard or found out that you will be having a mall tour in the Philippines?”

Kevin: “First of all, we’re all very excited. We’ve never been here in the Philippines. It’s exciting. Supposedly, our members Siwan, Kwanghee and Dongjun are not here but eventually they’ll be here. Uhm, Kwanghee and Dongjun will be here soon and we hope to have fun.”

Interviewer: “What are your expectations in your mall tour? Any surprises for the fans?”

Heechul: “Since it’s our first time coming here in the Philippines, we saw so many fans welcoming us. They’re so passionate. So we have high expectations.”

Interviewer: “What are your plans for your comeback? Can you maybe give us a short preview?”

Kevin: “We’re currently recording for our solos and we haven’t actually got the concept yet but we’ll make it perfect for our comeback and I hope you’ll stay with us.”

Interviewer: “This question is actually out of topic but what is beauty for you?”

Hyungsik: *doing an expression* “When I am walking or running and suddenly, Whoa!”

Junyoung: “Not just internal personality but outer looks like, it could be the fans. Maybe they’re watching us and then they cry or get touch. Seeing those side of our fans is beauty and also intellectual women.”

Heechul: “Aphrodite.”

Taehoon: “A girl with a beautiful smile.”

Interviewer: “I know when you guys are little, you watched cartoons. Who is your favorite superheroes or cartoon characters?”

Junyoung: “Dragon’s Ball, Vegeta!”

Taehoon: “Chopper from One Piece.”

Heechul: “Echizen Ryoma of Prince of Tennis.”

Minwoo: “Conan.”

Interviewer: “Lastly, a personal question for Junyoung. I know you cameo-ed for the drama, “Poseidon”. How did you feel working in “Poseidon”?

Junyoung: “I was very nervous because I’m not prepared and I’m scared but when I was preparing, some of my seniors who are already experienced helped me so I was happy to work in Poseidon.”

Kring (Interviewer): What are the places that you’d like to go to or visit in the Philippines?
Kevin: Cebu!
Jun Young: Boracay!
Kring: Why?
Hee Chul: For vacation and resting…
Jun Young: We want to rest by the beach!
Kring: Boracay is very popular with Koreans
Kevin: What’s famous here in the Philippines?
Kring: You mean place or food?
Kevin: Within Manila?
Kring: Oh, we have the ruins of the Spanish colonization… (LOL WHAT) We have intramuros. I dunno if you’ve heard of that. And we also have a lot of beautiful churches. Catholic churches.
Kevin: Oh yeah, I saw some tall buildings with like crosses…

*Tae Heon, Kevin and Jun Young grab one another group themselves*

Jun Young: We are Christians! (LOLOLOL!!!)
Kring: Ah, that’s good! All of you?
Hee Chul: I’m Stefano.
Kring: ????
Kevin: That’s his Christian name, his Catholic name.

*Jun Young points at Hyung Shik and Min Woo*

Jun Young: They are… they are…

*Hyung Shik does this hand gesture akin to hitting a small gong* (TROLLOLOLOL you’re the best!!!)

Jun Young: Buddha!
Kring: Oh, Buddhist! That’s great! Anyway, next question… Tell us your experiences with the making of your album, Exciting. Do you have any interesting stories?
Hee Chul: For this album, we really got involved. We stuck together to help write the songs so it’s very special for us.
Jun Young: For the title song, Watch Out, it’s a very cute and cool song, suitable for the summer whereas the other one, Heart For 2, it’s very strong and masculine.

*A woman comes over and asks us to wrap up the interview*

Kring: Okay, wrap up! What’s your message to your Filipino fans?
Hyung Shik: Salamat po. (Wazzaque!!!)
Min Woo: It’s my first time here in the Philippines and many fans have welcomed us and I feel grateful and at the same time, impressed. We’ll be here for four days and five nights so I really want to spend time with the fans and make many good memories with them.
Kevin: And also, we’d like to thank all the fans on twitter who mentioned us and tweeted really nice things.
Kring: That’s it! Thank you so much and we’ll see you guys tomorrow, the day after and on Saturday!

*Everybody stands up and bows*

ZE:A: Thank you! Salamat po!