Rowoon, A Down-to-earth Lad Fiercely Living His Dreams

Beyond his cool demeanour, Ro Woon, of Korean boyband SF9, is just a down-to-earth lad fiercely living his dreams.

- Wilson Lim

Do not dismiss SF9 as yet another K-pop boyband. Having made its debut in 2016, SF9 prefers to be labelled as a dance boy group, and it even won the Rising Star Award at the Asia Artist Awards (AAA) in 2018. For the uninitiated, the AAA recognises K-pop artistes and K-drama actors who have risen to international fame, and SF9’s recent conclusion of its successful American and European tours are testaments to that.

SF9 first participated in a Korean reality show, Dance or Band, which pit a dance group against a music band, and it eventually won the competition with the smooth moves of each of its members. When we ask Ro Woon, SF9’s lead vocalist, to describe his group in a word, he exclaims, “Hologram! This is because SF9 is a team that can show diverse colours and has members who have unique and definite charm.”

Standing at 1.92m tall, Ro Woon is hard to miss with his boyish charm and warm nature. Having previously worked with many Korean artistes, this writer is taken aback by Ro Woon’s immediate affability from the very moment he steps onto the set for this cover shoot. He takes a personal interest in the shoot’s concept and is ready to give it his all. The cover image is shot on the street outside the studio on a warm spring day, and both the Singaporean and Korean teams are concerned that he is going to get mobbed in such plain sight. However, he is unfazed and remains committed to every click of the camera despite the blazing sun.

All the images in this cover story are 100 per cent Ro Woon. The imaging crew simply communicates to him that we wish to showcase the real Ro Woon, and he moves his body freely throughout the shoot without being overly conscious to reign it in and portray a cool idol look. At the same time, he remains attentive to the photographer’s feedback.