EXP Edition, K-pop band born in New York

From left, Hunter, Frankie, Koki and Sime, members of the K-pop band EXP Edition, pose near their agency in Daebang-dong, Seoul, July 28, before an interview with The Korea Times./ Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

By Kim Ji-soo

Talking to the four 20-something members of EXP Edition — Frankie DaPonte, Hunter Kohl, Sime Kosta and Koki Tomlinson — was refreshing, like a boost of New York City energy.

The four were simply young aspiring artists in New York when they auditioned for a graduate student's project about K-pop. Today, they are a K-pop band that has flown in to Seoul to train and record their debut album.

Some K-pop bands have foreign members, like the girl band Twice that has four foreign members out of nine. EXP Edition's members are all foreign, and their pure love for the stage has shone through. They are challenging themselves, what K-pop is and how far it can go.

On entering their agency's building in Daebangdong, Seoul, they almost shouted out "Annyeonghaseyo, EXP Edition imnida" (Hello, we are EXP Edition). The expression, a standard way by which K-pop bands greet their fans, shows the bands' cohesion and strict discipline in training and performing.

The members were full of energy and enthusiasm amid the heat and uncertainty about reception about the upcoming album. Just the day before, they recorded one of their new songs.

"I remember the first time we stepped into the booth to record ‘Luv/Wrong,' which has been the biggest challenge for us," Sime said, to which Koki immediately added, "(There were) four lines of Korean."

"It made no sense, and it was difficult to understand what I was singing. The story is little different now. The background knowledge of Korean gives us more artistic freedom," Sime said.

"Our new song is closer to hip-hop than before. I am excited for the response of K-pop fans when they hear it for the first time," Frankie said.

EXP Edition started out as a project for Kim Bo-ra's master of fine arts thesis at Columbia University. Kim developed a hypothesis about what it would be like to start a K-pop boy band with non-Korean members. She posted a notice on an online casting site for artists and models in New York in 2014 and ultimately chose the four out of 2,000 applicants. They then released "Luv/Wrong" in 2015, getting a lot of attention and criticism that there were no Korean members and for their Korean pronunciation. But the four decided to move to Seoul and released "Feel Like This" this in April, re-encountering criticism.

The members, who have no Korean background — Frankie who is Portuguese-American; Koki, Japanese-American originally from Texas; Hunter, an American from Long Island, and Sime, Croatian-American from New York — face the challenge of learning the Korean language. Frankie is a soccer player turned actor and dancer; Sime a child pop star from Croatia; Koki is a model; and Hunter, an actor.

"We have at least two days of Korean lessons every day on top of practice and appearances on Korean shows," Sime said. "The pronunciation is very difficult," he added in Korean. The band now have a Korean-language learning show on YouTube. (www.youtube.com/EXPEDITIONTV). Also see them on https://www.facebook.com/expedition.immabb/

"When we first started out and got that reaction, it was a perfect opportunity to second-guess," Frankie said. But the four are here in Seoul, doing what they love.

"It was initially shocking," said Koki, referring to the criticisms for their incorrect Korean pronunciations and some racist comments regarding the lack of Koreans in the band.

But Hunter saw the criticism from a different perspective. "We weren't surprised with the negative attention since we already knew what happens in entertainment when a new artist or concept drops — everyone is reluctant to accept it," he said, prompting strange looks from his fellow members.

The four are undergoing the K-pop band training system, including going by their first names and living and practicing together. Their agency, IMMABB, has rented an apartment for them near its office.

"It took a little getting used to," said Frankie, the band's front man, about their current lifestyle.

But Koki said it was nice to focus completely on what they want to do.

When Kim's notice first appeared, they joined in thinking that it would be an experiment, but now they hope for something larger. "It has become something bigger than my project. You cannot plan this, I always think like, and something we have together is precious," Kim said.

The members had respective exposures to K-pop, and find the music and the performance energetic and intriguing and the community inclusive.

"Artists who perform K-pop try to obtain perfection. There is this expectation of a perfect image. Their skin, visual aesthetic for music videos, and the television shows are perfect. This longing for perfection is a reason they have this crazy training system," Frankie said.

What would they like to contribute to K-pop?

"We hope to bring more opportunities for people who want to do K-pop," Koki said. "We hope K-pop can become bigger in the United States," said Frankie.

Now they are ready to top the charts and attend year-end award shows.

Away from home, the members find the Korean "samgyeopsal," or pork belly goes a long way to comfort them.

What really comes to their minds at the end of a long day at their Seoul apartment?

"Acceptance of this new community that we have come to is in the back of my mind, personally," Frankie said.

"We want people to eventually only to talk about our music," Hunter said.

"I am scared that a lot of Korean people think that we are doing this for fun, and it's not a permanent thing," Sime said. "It's not like that at all."

"There is no end date on what we're doing. It's just how far we can go with it," Koki said.

The Korea Times intern Yenah Jang contributed to this article.

EXP Edition members pose in the street outside of their agency office in Daebang-dong, Seoul. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul