[Other] Daniel Kim Blogs About Nicole BTS of HIM Magazine

It’s safe to say that I have never really gone wild about a girl group, not even once.
However from time to time, there are times when I get interested in a member.
It was Nicole in case of KARA.
There were lots of times that I smiled when I saw her on TV because of her cheerful, healthy, and a little bit of clumsy side.

Was it on mid-November of last year?... I requested an interview with Nicole to her company.
The name value of the media where I’m working at is falling
And I thought it would be hard to ask her for our cover story, but I still tried calling.
Fortunately the time for the magazine release matched with Nicole’s solo debut
So we can put her on the cover for the December issue without any problem.
(On 2013, we worked with SPICA who is at the same company with her, which gave a positive effect too.)

After we confirmed the interview, I studied a lot about KARA and Nicole as quickly as possible.
I only liked her image, but I didn't know much about her.
I studied it one by one, from her debut song until right before departing to her Japanese Single that has been released. (?)
I listened to her singing voice.
It feels like she holds a more splendid skill compared to other members because of her dance.
I also got to know how she was unable to gain lots of opportunities compared to her talents and charms.
I felt it was really a pity.
It’s not because I'm a fan, but rather as someone with a career.
It makes me want to cheer on her solo career even more.
​
She said she was a passionate *NSYNC fan when she was a child
And she put on *NSYNC carols in the studio.
It was still far from Christmas, but since it was a project for the December issue, we did need that feeling.
Nicole greets while smiling brightly, it’s not different at all with the one that I saw on TV.
She makes the people in the studio feel comfortable by conversing friendly (with others).
I was a little bit worried but thanks to that it made me feel lighter.
I’ve been doing this job for a year and six months, and from all the interviews that I’ve done personally, Nicole was the “Biggest (in popularity) Entertainer”, she was a member of KARA who are really popular not only in Korea but also in Japan and all Asia and that makes me more nervous than usual.

But I didn’t need to worry.
She never is grumpy, not even once.
During interview and shooting, she was flawless and always maintained her manner.
She answered the questions with smile and sincerity.
I’m also thankful to her for even talking about things that weren’t asked and that helped in progressing the interview.​
She exuded a ‘professional’ feeling when she did the shooting,
While giving ‘friendly’ feeling during the interview.
It’s easy to say, but it’s hard to be both ‘Professional’ and ‘Friendly’ at the same, isn’t it?!
​
As an editor who directed the making of Nicole’s cover story at that day
I was very satisfied with the results, whether it’s the photos, interview, and even the atmosphere at the studio.
The magazine where she decorated the cover made a record of the most sold magazine in 3.5 years.
The title of the article that I wrote was ‘Nicole’s First Shining Winter’.
I decided the title beforehand and then showed it to her before doing the interview.
She said that she liked it.
I was happy for her to say that.
​
I didn’t consider Nicole’s Debut album or her single created a big sensation.
However, it showed ‘Nicole also able to do thing kind of things’, ‘Nicole is capable of lots of things alone’
And I think with that it was quite a successful debut.
Also, I believe she will do even better in the future.

src | Daniel Kim's Blog

Translated by the wonderful  Yuda aka @yooniqda

Please tweet a thanks to Yuda if you enjoyed this translation :)