TWS collaborated with writer Cheon Gye Young, who dominated the comic book world in the 1990s.
“Cheon Gye-young provided the original cartoon “Unplugged Boy” for the cover of “SPARKLING BLUE” Weverse Albums ver., TWS’s debut album. The album cover features illustrations of two characters, Kang Hyun Kyum and Chae Ji Yul, the male and female leads of “Unplugged Boy”,” Pledis Entertainment said on January 12.
This is the first time in over 25 years that Cheon Gye Young, one of the leading figures in the Korean anime craze of the 1990s, has collaborated with a K-pop group since H.O.T. Cheon Gye Young immediately gained attention when she broke into the comic industry with “Unplugged Boy” in 1996, and her follow-up book “오디션” sold over a million copies, becoming a syndrome-like sensation. At this time, Cheon Gye Young’s influence spread throughout the cultural world. H.O.T., one of the most popular idol groups of the 1990s, made an animated music video for “우리들의 맹세” (1998), the title of the third full-length album, and Cheon Gye Young participated in the character design of the clip, which had major repercussions.
In 2024, about 25 years later, we will be able to find Cheon Gye Young’s paintings in the works of K-pop groups for the first time in a long time. The title of TWS’ mini album Track 2 is “Unplugged Boy“, which is the same as Cheon Gye Young’s signature work. Not only is the title the same, but the color of the cartoon character also matches the identity that TWS represents.
TWS radiates light energy that makes you want to be together every moment, and the music is also filled with pleasant and refreshing sounds. They also promote their own genre of “Boyhood Pop“, stimulating pure and beautiful emotions in their childhood. Kang Hyun Kyum, the male protagonist of “Unplugged Boy” written by Cheon Gye Young, is also pure, harmless, honest and cheerful. The collaboration adds meaning to TWS thanks to the emotional common denominator of the character named Kang Hyun Kyun.
TWS said through its agency: “Cheon Gye Young’s illustrations became more meaningful for this debut album because they were included in our first mini album Weverse ver. I hope that thanks to Cheon’s beautiful illustrations Gye Young, it will be a new album for someone and nostalgia for someone else.”
TWS will make its official debut with the release of “SPARKING BLUE” at 6 p.m. KST on January 22. The album will feature a total of five songs, including the title track “첫 만남은 계획대로 되지 않아“, “Unplugged Boy“, “First hooky“, “BFF” and “Oh Mymy: 7s“. This is a group created by combining the exceptional creative abilities of Pledis Entertainment with the strong infrastructure of Hybe, and is expected to be one of the most anticipated by global K-pop fans.
Pre-orders for “Weverse Albums ver.” will begin Wednesday at 11 a.m., following the albums “Sparkling ver.” and “Lucky worm.” from “SPARKING BLUE“. The “Weverse Albums ver.” will be organized in the form of cartoons with illustrations from “Unplugged Boy“, a work by Chun Gye Young.
Journalist: Shawn
Translator: Shawn
Source: Pledis Entertainment
