From Thailand and Japan to K-POP: How NCT and GOT7 Inspired TUNEXX

K-pop group TUNEXX members Taira and Artic left their respective home countries as teenagers with the same goal: to become K-pop idols in South Korea. After years as trainees in an unfamiliar country, the two are now setting a new target. They want to bring TUNEXX back to the biggest stages in their hometowns.

The group sat down with Ten Asia recently to mark the release of its second EP, "BLUE MODE."

Taira, the group's Japanese member, started dancing as a child. At first he thought about becoming a professional dancer. That changed after he saw Taeyong of NCT perform.

"In a way, he's the person who gave me a dream," Taira said. "I wanted to stand on stage like Taeyong does. That's what pushed me to try out as an idol."

He saw Taeyong perform five times, buying every ticket himself. His mother played a quiet role in getting him there.

"I used to go to concerts with my mom," he said with a laugh. "While I was studying dance, I kept going back and forth between staying with regular dance or trying to become a K-pop idol. Looking back, maybe this was all my mom's plan."

If he ever meets Taeyong in person, the first thing he wants to say is that he has been a fan for a long time.

"I want to keep telling him I was really a fan," Taira said. "I've covered a lot of his choreography, and I want to show him that too. Our promotions overlap with NCT 127 this time, so I really hope I get to meet him."

Artic, the Thai member, also found K-pop through dance.

"I was into dancing from a young age, so I went to a dance academy," he said. "Watching Thai artists who debuted in Korea, I started thinking, 'I want to do that too.'"

The senior artist who influenced him most was BamBam of GOT7.

For both members, their families felt a mix of pride and worry about the move. Taira admitted he hid the hard parts from his parents so they wouldn't worry.

"I think my parents were even more excited than I was," he said. "I worked really hard to live up to that. When I called home, I always told them I was fine and doing well, because I knew they'd worry about their son being alone in another country."

Behind the cheerful phone calls were tears he never let them see.

"Honestly, I cried a lot when they weren't around," he said. "I didn't want them to worry, so I tried even harder. When I saw my parents at our showcase, the tears almost came up, but I held them back."

He didn't even tell most of his friends he was moving to Korea.

"I came to Korea so suddenly that a lot of my friends still don't know I debuted," he said. "Sometimes they find me on Reels and reach out. That always feels good."

For Artic, family has been a steady support system.

"My parents supported me from before I came to Korea," he said. "They helped me try everything I wanted to try. I think they're really proud watching me now that I've debuted."

Both members are also stepping deeper into the creative side of the group. Taira is credited as a co-writer on the title track of the new EP. Asked whether writing lyrics in a language that isn't his first language felt hard, he joked that Korean now comes to him faster than Japanese.

"I use Korean so much that sometimes the Japanese word doesn't come out right away," he said. "When I was writing the lyrics, I tried to be direct instead of going around the point. I wanted to write lyrics people could understand easily."

The next scene the two are picturing is TUNEXX on a major stage back home. Taira, who is from Tokyo, named Tokyo Dome without hesitation.

"Before I came to Korea, I saw NCT 127 perform at Tokyo Dome," he said. "The stage was so amazing that I thought, someday I want to stand on that same stage."

Artic shares the same dream for Thailand.

"I want to perform at a huge venue in Thailand under the name TUNEXX," he said. "My goal is to invite my parents, my close friends, and all the teachers who taught me, and perform right in front of them."

The dream that started with Taeyong and BamBam on stage has become real under the name TUNEXX. Now Taira and Artic are moving toward stages of their own, the kind that might one day plant a dream in someone else.

TUNEXX's second EP was released that day at 6 p.m. KST.