82MAJOR, six-member K-Pop boy group hailing from Seoul, got to get up close and personal with their fans ’82DE’ this weekend as they appeared at an event at Los Angeles area K-Pop hub Hello82. The event center, media platform, and store often hosts events in collaboration with artists to get them face-to-face with fans as many K-Pop artists neglect to meet US fans in person.
As soon as 82MAJOR wrapped up their first US tour in LA on July 19th, on July 20th they were put to work at Hello82’s “Employee of the Day” event series. The six members were stationed around the space doing a handful of random jobs, such as taking Polaroid photos, checking out customers at the register of both the K-Pop store and the snack store, and for member YE CHAN, “making sure everything went smoothly” (Read: walking around the place with a bullhorn and having dance battles with fans).
Melodic Magazine sat down with 82MAJOR after their “shifts” to chat about their day as Hello82 employees, their US tour, and more.
Out of all of 82MAJOR’s songs, which do you think represents your identity as a group the best?
SEONG IL: Facetime!
SEONG MO: 82! Since our team name has the name 82 in it and it is also the Korean representative number, I think that song shows a lot about our country’s good aspects.
SEONG BIN: Passport! With 82 representing our team and the country’s number, it allows us to go to different countries representing Korea and meet all these fans.
Did you have any funny or silly interactions with your fans while working at Hello82?
YE CHAN: I did a little dance battle with 82DE. I don’t know what was going on. *laughs* I literally have no idea what was happening there.
DO GYUN: You were dancing while we were working!
SEOK JOON: Because I was taking photos and a lot of people came together as a group [to take Polaroid photos] with their friends, it was really nice to see them enjoy and have a good time.
82MAJOR is well known for your group’s tendency to be all-rounders, but if any of you could switch official positions with each other, who and what would it be?
YE CHAN: It would be visual.
SEONG MO: I want to be the maknae!
YE CHAN: Wait– Visual and center.
On your latest EP, Silence Syndrome, were any songs contenders to be your title track besides Takeover?
ALL: No!
DO GYUN: It just feels like a title track.
Which of your songs have you found the most fun to perform on tour?
SEONG MO: Birthday. A lot of fans have had birthdays on our concert days so we like that we can perform and congratulate them!
What has been your favorite off day or activity or place that you’ve been while on tour?
DO GYUN: Canada’s one of them.
SEONG MO: We visited Niagara Falls, it was beautiful!
SEOK JOON: We visited Canada’s Wonderland.
Were there any cities whose energy surprised you on tour?
YE CHAN: Nashville was amazing. Of course, Canada too!
SEONG BIN: Canada!
SEONG MO: Yeah, Canada was really fun. Montreal.
YE CHAN: Montreal was amazing. Texas was amazing. Oh, my God. From Dallas to Houston to San Antonio. It was just insane.
DO GYUN: Yeah. Texas.
SEONG MO: Also, Orlando.
YE CHAN: Yeah, Orlando was our first show. But they went crazy. I thought my ears were going to burst.
SEONG BIN: It was my first time hearing the crowd go, “Woo woo woo!!” [Editor’s note: K-Pop fans– in the US specifically– popularized a chant at shows similar to a dog barking to express excitement for the shows!]
What 82MAJOR content would you recommend for people wanting to become a fan?
SEONG IL: “8빼기2”!
YE CHAN: Yes! I’d say– we have a content called, “8빼기2” which is eight, subtract two, which is six. So it’s the six of us members. That content really shows our personalities. And obviously, we joke around, we goof around a lot. That’s why I feel like if you really want to get to know us and you want to become a fan, watching that set of content would show you us.
SEOK JOON: That whole series.
Are there any specific Western producers or songwriters that you would want to work with in the future?
YE CHAN: There’s a producer called The Alchemist. And also a DJ/producer, KAYTRANADA. Yes, love him. He’s my Canadian king.
SEONG BIN: Metro Boomin!
Are there any songs of yours that you want more people to discover or connect with?
SEONG IL: Sure Thing! We did it as a double title track for our debut. However, we couldn’t promote Sure Thing fully, so we would like to promote it.
YE CHAN: Yeah, they [82MAJOR fans] love it. I love it.
SEONG MO: For me, Facetime.
What’s one form of support from your fans that truly means a lot to you?
YE CHAN: I feel like, obviously, because we’re idols, they obviously like our face and a bit of our personalities and that’s cool. But I feel like more than that, when they actually really try to get to know our music, our creative vibe, it hits. Seeing certain fans be like, “Oh my god, I really like this song, and I really like what you did to it”, et cetera, it just shows me that they also appreciate the amount of time and effort and the art that we made.
SEOK JOON: I agree.
What are your goals as a group for 2025?
SEONG IL: Chart in [Korea’s] music charts.
YE CHAN: I think just be more creative, make more music, and have more freedom, I feel like.
DO GYUN: I think we need to do more [in general].
SEONG MO: I want to do a great performance at KCON LA, gather a lot of new fans, and then have more American fans for our next comeback.
82MAJOR will be back in the States for KCON LA August 1-3 at the Crypto.com Arena.
In the meantime, you can keep up with them via their social media: X // Instagram // YouTube
Hello82 will be hosting events through the rest of the year, and consistently publish content for every K-Pop fan via their socials: X // Instagram // YouTube
