For the past few weeks, K-pop group CIX have been promoting their latest single, "Save Me, Kill Me." That means they've been awake at odd hours and have spent a lot of time traveling to scheduled appearances in thick Seoul traffic.
When we catch them via video chat, it's midnight in Seoul, which is essentially the band's late afternoon. "We woke up at 1 PM," says vocalist Seunghun with a convincing smile, "so we're not that tired." In our conversation, the all-iPhone crew opened up about their tech habits, how many text messages they've left unread, and why no one laughs at Yonghee's jokes.
Hi guys! According to your Screen Time, how many hours do you spend on the phone each day?
Seunghun: Eight hours.
Hyunsuk: Seven hours.
BX: Eight.
Yonghee: Seven hours.
Bae Jinyoung: [Hands his phone to Seunghun] 30 seconds.
Seunghun: He doesn't have Screen Time enabled, so it's not recording.
Oh no! Why? How much would you guess?
BJY: I don't know! I don't understand my phone. I'd guess six hours.
According to your Screen Time, what are your most used apps?
SH: YouTube then KakaoTalk.
HS: It's not recording on mine, either! Maybe YouTube?
BJY: Maybe KakaoTalk, then YouTube.
BX: [Artist-fan communication app] Fromm, then this chess-like League of Legends game I play. I am a genius.
YH: First is YouTube and then second is that same chess game.
SH: We all play the LoL chess game together. It involves eight people so all five of us play and then the game adds in three strangers.
Yonghee, Bae Jinyoung, Seunghun, Hyunsuk, and BX, probably thinking about playing their favorite League of Legends game. Credit: C9 EntertainmentWho's the worst?
SH and BA: [Point at Jinyoung]
BJY: Me!
BX: Just him.
BJY: It's just because I don't play games that often.
SH: No no no! He plays games in the car every day.
BJY: I only play games when I'm with the members.
SH: He's not good.
I'm sure there's a game that you're good at, you just haven't found it yet.
All: [Laugh and nod]
BJY: Hey!
SH: Yeah, that's right, that's right.
Text or call?
SH and BJY: Calls
BX: Text!
BJY: [sings "Text Me" by DPR Live]
YH and HS: Text.
BJY: Call me!
When did you guys get your first phones and what were they?
YH: When I was 12.
HS: In middle school.
BX: When I was nine. It was a Sky "dolphin" phone. It slides and [makes dolphin noise].
YH: I was 12. I had a Mirach.
SH: I got my first phone when I was nine and it was a Samsung Korby phone, the 2PM version. I'd say I've had about 10 phones in my lifetime.
How many unread messages do you each have currently?
BX: Zero.
YH: I have seven unread.
SH: I have 139 in KakaoTalk and 130 unread in iMessage. I don't know why but as I get older, I feel like I don't feel like checking messages anymore. When I was younger I didn't like seeing the red dot with a number in it so I would read it all, but now I just don't feel like it.
Doesn't that mean you have lots of friends you've left hanging, that you haven't replied to?
SH: I'll definitely read important ones, but when we're sharing memes, making jokes in a group chat or something like that I don't really read it immediately.
Oh, so you just have a lot of group chats you haven't checked.
SH: Uh, actually I just re-checked and I have both individual and group chats I haven't read. Oops.
HS: I have 900
SH: 900? [Opens his mouth and tries to stick his fist inside]
Why?
HS: I feel lazy
BJY: I have 1500 unread.
With that many unread messages, I would be anxious that I'm missing things.
BJY: I'm not too anxious, I've gotten used to it. It's just me.
So if you actually do reply to someone, they should know you care about them a lot.
BJY: Exactly.
This makes sense because in a recent interview, you said Yonghee posts the most stuff in your team group chat while Jinyoung doesn't read it at all. How would you describe Yonghee's sense of humor?
SH: It's funny when it's really funny, and we can all laugh about it. But sometimes he'll send something only he finds funny and the rest of us don't, then we will just keep it on read or ignore it.
YH: I think I have a deeper sense of humor. The members might find something that's popular with the public or trendy or hip-funny, but for me I actually need to think one more time and go deeper into it, that's more my style of humor.
BX: Stuff on YouTube tends to make me laugh the most
SH: I think BX likes dad jokes. He says them a lot and finds them really funny. And Jinyoung and Hyunsuk find BX's dad jokes funny.
What about you, Seunghun? Do you find them funny?
SH: I'm not a big fan of nonsense or dad jokes.
BJY: Some of the stuff we don't find funny at all, he does.
SH: I think my weak point in humor is that, you know, everyone else is saying, "Why is it funny?" Like, "That's so odd and doesn't make sense." That's when I find it funny.
Who was the last person to text their mother?
BX: I texted her before this interview to tell her "I'm off to the interview."
HS: I think about 3 PM today.
BJY: I called her the day before yesterday.
Notes app or Voice Memo?
All: Notes app
HS: When you listen to a voice memo, you have to start listening from top to bottom. Like, you have to listen to the whole thing. But text is just instant, you know what they want to say. I think that's more convenient.
How many timers do you have?
SH: I used to have a bunch, but now that our song promotions are over, I only have three: 6:30 AM, 10:30 AM and 11 AM. I've deleted the ones I don't use anymore.
HS: I have a lot [scrolls through dozens]. Maybe 100?
BX: Me, too [scrolls through dozens].
YH: Same [scrolls through dozens].
BJY: Me, too! [scrolls through dozens] 1,000!
How do you feel about AI? Have you been keeping up with the stuff going on with ChatGPT or anything like that?
SH: I think it's fascinating. I saw this video where the Weeknd was singing "Cupid" by Fifty Fifty. It was amazing, it was so in sync, so believable, but it was actually created with AI. So I feel like it's fascinating and scary at the same time. What if it takes over the world?
Like a sci-fi movie.
SH: Yeah, like what if it threatens our careers as singers? When we cover any song, we spend hours and hours practicing, recording and uploading it. It takes time and effort. But then AI can do it in seconds.
BJY: I can definitely understand that it's scary. I've seen news about its positive impact, but I also saw a story about how when something goes wrong with an AI system it can actually attack people. That's what I read.
Attack them physically?
BJY: Yes. OK so here's the whole story. I read that this happened in America. There was an AI jet they were experimenting with. And they gave orders to the AI like, "Do this, this, and this." Then they changed the order and the AI didn't follow the new order. It instead started attacking the command tower. It started thinking for itself and decided that the humans were making an error, I have to fix it. And then it made its own decision to attack.
BX: Woah.
BJY: [Looks at BX] I swear.
Yonghee, you're known for being a math whiz so I feel like this might interest you, too.
YH: I definitely keep an eye on the topic because I'm interested in it. I watch a lot of YouTube videos about it.
Wired or unwired headphones?
SH: Bluetooth. Noise canceling is the key.
HS: Me, too.
YH: Me, too.
BX: Me, too.
BJY: Me, too.
Finally, what's an emoji you've really liked using lately?
BX: Blue heart.
BJY: Smiley face.
YH: I like them all.
SH: I like the puppy.
HS: The bunny. It's what fans usually use to describe me when chatting online.
