kwon hoshi: a synopsis

[geguri]

(Or, An Accidental Essay on Why Kwon Soonyoung is My Bias)

Introduction

A few days ago, I received a really lovely message on CuriousCat that asked me the following question:

i'm curious as to what's your general overview of hoshi? like when u think of him what pops up immediately in ur mind? u can talk abt him as a person and all that deep talk but it can also be just your version of word vomit of what makes him your bias?

As I started thinking through how to answer this question, I tried to disentangle how my own perceptions of Soonyoung (as flawed and as biased and as subjective as they must be) have been formed over time. And I realized that in my mind, I tend to organize information in terms of its source and intention: what others have said about him, what he says about himself, and what he says about others. Or in other words: how you are perceived, how you self-reflect, and how you act and behave towards others.

I will subsequently be breaking down this post into sections:

1. Hoshi, and how he’s been perceived.
2. Hoshi, and how he self-reflects.
3. Hoshi, and how he acts towards others.
4. General overview of my thoughts.
5. Conclusion.

The first three sections will have little commentary. They will mainly be lists of quotes. In the fourth section—“my thoughts”—this will be the bulk of where I just ramble on and on and on. Seriously, most of the word count comes from there. The reason for this structure is because, again, the general overview of my thoughts are based on the three sections that precede it.

This post isn’t me trying to present a list of facts. I don’t know him more than any of you do, and I’m not going to pretend like I have any authority over Hoshi as a person. Dear god, no. This is merely a fan just...honestly vibing and having a lot of love for him and wanting to express this as much as I possibly can. Take away what you need from it, as you wish.

Before we begin, I just want to add a series of disclaimers and acknowledgements to compound what I just said:

• As with all meta posts I write, all of this is just personal opinion.


• A lot of these thoughts are formed through ongoing conversations with other people. My own perceptions of him shift and change, just as Hoshi inevitably shifts and changes as a person.


• He's a real person, so this can never fully encapsulate the multilayered complexities of him
  Not only that, but he's an idol. There are strict lines between his own boundaries and what we see, and we will never know him fully.


• And because he's human, it means that none of these traits exist in a vacuum, nor can he be essentialized and reduced into merely these traits. As mentioned earlier, we are complex creatures who are perpetually responding to our environments. There will be a lot of nuances I simply cannot capture, and sides to him that I will never see.


• I do not speak Korean. Inevitably, there will be things that are lost in translation or even mistranslated.

Now...let’s begin!



How Hoshi is perceived:



Once again, these will be presented without much further commentary. Any thoughts of mine will be summed up in the final section.

In all the ways he has been talked about over the years, the major recurring theme is that Hoshi is diligent and hard working:

“Hard worker: whatever he wants, he works very hard for it to come true." (Wonwoo, Carat Magazine, July 2020)

“He's very passionate, and he has the strength and determination to back up his passion. No matter where, on stage he is very confident. I think it's his charming point." (Wonwoo, Carat Magazine, July 2020)

“Hoshi’s weapon is [his] persistence” (Wonwoo, Christmas V Live, December 2019)

“When I feel like I want to give up, I learn a lot by seeing Hoshi who is always hard working.” (Wonwoo, Carat Magazine, July 2020)

“I try hard to live diligently, but Hoshi really lives diligently and he’s a passionate friend. It’s like that for dancing, and all aspects. If you take a look, I always feel that a lot of good people remain beside Hoshi. So I do think I’d like to take after him.” (Jeonghan, Choi Hwa Jung’s Power Time, June 2020)

[Q: Something you’d like to tell the members?] Jun: Hoshi is always working hard, but health management comes first, let’s dance together forever! (Anan Magazine, February 2020)

Sometimes, I remember the time that Chan said on Weverse that Hoshi has "a lot of love to give." I always think about that when I come across small anecdotes from the members, and they talk about how he's good at listening and supportive:

"He listens to me well when I talk" (Chan, fansign)

"When we're lagging from being worn out, [Hoshi] is a friend who's really good at being enthusiastic and going 'fighting!' I'm really thankful for it" (Jihoon, predebut)

“When members were down and had a hard time over the past year, you always cheered us up. Thank you for trying your best to encourage us. I'm older than you and I'm the leader but I rely on you a lot." (Seungcheol, interview after Ideal Cut tour)

"Someone who was there to support the me who felt like I'd fall apart as a leader in times of difficulty. Even now, I'm very thankful for him" (Seungcheol, Anan Magazine, 2018)

"Still from time to time, he'll say to me 'I cherish you so much'" (Seungkwan, Anan Magazine, 2018)

"I feel like he's beside me even when he isn't there." (Chan, Anan Magazine, 2018)

Chan mentioned he used to save screenshots of the things Hoshi would say to him [Note: I'm assuming he meant supportive words, but it was also coached into an unfinished joke so there's some presumptions made here] (Chan, Andromeda, 2018)

“Hoshi always gives us positive energy” (Jun, re:memVer party, February 2019)

[Hoshi’s words of reassurance to Seungkwan that were touching to Seungkwan.] "’Just do your thing. It's enough if you're good at what you do best, you don't have to be excellent at other things.’" (Seungkwan, Sukira, May 2016)

"If there's ever anything difficult, he reaches out a hand to help. I can be like myself in Seventeen because of Hoshi" (The8, Anan Magazine, 2018)

Minghao often talks about dreams/goals with Soonyoung (along with Jun, Jeonghan, Mingyu) over wine. (The8, Yizhibo Live, June 2019)

“Because Hoshi-hyung is the performance team leader, there are a lot of instances where he steps up to the front enthusiastically.” (Chan, Dazed Korea Magazine, 2017)

“When I was at my lowest...Hoshi hyung just stayed there by my side without saying anything. I was really thankful by him just being there. (Chan, Anan Magazine, May 2019)

"The person I spend the most time with and laughs the most at what I say" (Wonwoo, Haruhana Magazine, May 2016)

“But the cute thing about Hoshi is that even though I play around like that with him, he understands and plays along with me. I think he’s a member that I know best among other members.” (Wonwoo, One Fine Day 2, 2017)

“My best friend.” (Wonwoo, Seventeen Meets Seventeen Magazine, October 2018)

"In the past, I was a little shy with strangers. It was hard to get close to my friends...with Hoshi, we cleaned together and got close quickly." (Wonwoo, 2013)

"I think we know each other best." — Wonwoo, from Ode to You Record Book, October 2020"

A conversation that I find myself cycling back to sometimes is when Jeonghan and a radio show host spoke about how a true reflection of one's character can be found in the people who decide to stay with them. Whenever I see anecdotes, impressions, accounts (fan or otherwise) about Hoshi, they often mention that he is kind and respectful:

Ha Sungwoon described Hoshi as “very soft and mild,” “SO kind,” and so innocent” (December 2020)

HIGHLIGHT’s Dongwoon recently told a story that left an impression on him about Hoshi. On the way to the gym, he passed by Hoshi who was riding his bike. Although there was no need to do so, Hoshi immediately climbed down from his bike and greeted Dongwoon. “I had thought ‘what an amazing person’” (source)

A dancer in Japan said that he is “very kind” despite being famous in this fanaccount (June 2018)

[An account from a waitress at a restaurant] "[Hoshi] was really nice. I had to replace the gas on the stove, my hand touched it, and I got burned. Hoshi took the gas and said to me: 'it's dangerous, I'll do it' and he ended up replacing it for me. The other Seventeen members were all over me going 'excuse me, could I order this?.' I went 'yes~ I'm going.' Suddenly, Hoshi said 'excuse me!' I was wondering why I was called again and went, 'yes~ what else?' Suddenly, he put up his hands into fists and said 'fighting!' With the way things were going, I felt touched (to hear that). I heard him say "fighting!" to me more than five times." (source)
[On his speech habits] "He is very soft and his words are soft. There is a sense of care, concern, and love in his voice." (Like17Subs)

[On his speech habits] "Hoshi has this very humble and soothing tone when he speaks when he's not extremely excited, and it makes him look a zillion times more innocent." (forhoshee)

I will go into further detail on this later in this post, but along similar lines to Soonyoung being supportive to others, he's also quite thoughtful and reflective:

“Recently, I caught a cold because of the cold weather ... so before bedtime or when we wake up in the morning, he’ll always ask me: ‘Jun-ah, are you okay? Do you feel better?’ It made me feel really warm.” (Jun, NewsAde, 2018)

“Recently, I've been filming a lot of solo varieties. Whenever I go, Hoshi is always supporting me. He leaves messages for me and stuff like this. When I was filming for King of Masked Singer, on birthdays, he always sends messages on days like this. I'm thankful to Hoshi for that.” (Seungkwan, NewsAde, 2018)

“Hoshi, thank you for always coming to me and asking if I'm okay when I seem down. I'm thankful whenever I hear you say that, genuinely. Thank you.” (Joshua, NewsAde, 2018)

[On being roommates with Hoshi] “For pros... he respects you. He respects his roommate. For cons... cons... I couldn't feel anything (of his flaw as a roommate). It was really great (being his roommate).” (Vernon, Fansign, December 2020)

[During a discussion with Hoshi about their personal reflections on failure] “Rather than him being funny, when [Hoshi] is in this mood, I think he’s the best. I think he is unequaled out of all the idols.” (Seungkwan, V Live, November 2019)

I don’t have the examples here, but there have been several occasions where Hoshi admits to straight-up bawling his eyes out when they reach milestones, especially when he reflects on their humble beginnings and how far they’ve come since then. The other members have said that Hoshi is known to be sentimental:

"He's a very sentimental person. He has a personality that's honest and easy to get along with and understand." (Mingyu, Anan Magazine, 2018)

"Our Hoshi-hyung, I'm so proud that our team has you who's so cool and hasn't dropped even a bit of enthusiasm all this time. When we were trainees, you were strict and ambitious about our dreams. Now you're full of aegyo and look at you crying with happiness. The compliments you give us members the most is 'our team made it so great because you guys are there.' I just want to say this to my hyung today: thank you for always holding the members together so strongly. Even when we're old, let's strive to the end together and I love you." (Seungkwan, Weverse, July 2020)

This doesn’t quite fit under any other sections, but because I think it’s worth pointing out, Hoshi is pretty well-versed with finance:

[During a conversation where Hoshi talks about his struggles with technology] “But [Hoshi] is really good with topics of economics and investment, and is good at saving money.” (Seungkwan, V Live, November 2019)





How Hoshi perceives himself:


As I was working on this section, I felt a tiny bit of remorse at knowing I'd never fully do Hoshi justice no matter how expansive I try to make this section. It's impossible to ever encapsulate someone in their entirety through quotes and minor anecdotes, even harder when you try to organize them into bite-sized pieces. There's always going to be nuances and unspoken moments that speak volumes about Hoshi as a person—and these are nuances that I try to capture, but will inevitably fail.

But that being said, I really appreciate the times when Hoshi does share his thoughts with us. It's a little rarer than you'd expect, given his reputation/nickname "Kwonspo," and each tidbit he shares makes me feel like I'm slowly unlocking another Hoshi Secret™. But because the times when Hoshi talks about himself in a personal light is actually a little more rare, you will see that there are a lot less quotes for me to include—unless the question is framed in the context of his professional work. More on my thoughts on this later!

Hoshi has mentioned before that he tends to assess the emotional energy of the members around him. He’s intuitive and empathetic:

Hoshi has mentioned before that he tries to match the energy of the people in the room. If members are tired, he tends to take over, adds more energy into the room, and will talk more. If members are in high energy, he either matches it or allows himself to sit back and listen.

“I think I might as well have confidence and live positively. I am the type to try and put effort to think in a more positive way. [But when it comes to other people] ... I don't go around saying ‘whatever it is, have strength’ annoyingly. When things get hard and tough, we share it and get tired together and then, also together, we would gather our energy back” (Hoshi, Elle Magazine, March 2020)

That being said, Hoshi is easily excitable. These are the moments that fans tend to notice the most—because that is when he's at his loudest:

There are times when he asks the members as they’re getting off work “why did I do that?” when he’s gone a little overboard during broadcast (V Live, November 2019)

He gets explosive on camera and then becomes really quiet (mentioned on Knowing Bros). Minghao also said he understands why Soonyoung always becomes quiet and withdrawn after he uses up his explosive energy during their 5th anniversary video.

Hoshi's introspective side gets overlooked at times, but he is quite introspective and self-reflective:

"I went to work out at the gym alone. It was a good time for me to just think (about things). I think it's very good and useful to organize your thoughts while spending time alone." (Japan Love Letter, December 2020)

At some point, he used to keep a daily diary that recorded his day and his reflections of the day. (02/16/2021 edit: Hoshi no longer writes in his diary. In a V Live on January 2021, he says:
"I’m not doing it anymore. I wrote so many personal stories. But I couldn’t be 100% honest because I was worried I might lose it. I wanted to vent anger or frustration when I’m stressed out, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t be honest with myself. I decided that keeping a journal like this wouldn’t be meaningful, so I stopped. Because I was worried. Just in case."

His reflective side is particularly apparent when we touch on his values. Personally speaking, a lot of how I became a Hoshi bias is from seeing him reflect on his values, and I'm excited to share this section with you the most!

[When asked about his goals for the new year] “I want to be a good person” (Hoshi, Fancafe, January 2020)

“Let's live a life in which I am the one who holds control. I don't have to try to make others understand, I thought I should live honestly according to my own principles.” (Hoshi, Elle Magazine, March 2020)

“There's a possibility that I might be more mature than those my age, but when I'm with my members, when I'm on the stage, I want to just simply, childishly enjoy things and play. I am currently living like that.” (Hoshi, Elle Magazine, March 2020)

“‘Even though snails are slow, they are not late.’ I needed this so I'm bringing it back to people who need it too. We just have to take one small step at a time, we'll reach our goal at our own pace. It's a night where I'm thinking about how constancy is important in any task. I think if I constantly make an effort, everything that I want will come true.” (Fancafe, 2018)

“I think that it's effort. Putting in effort, working hard, and having the perseverance to improve. You need to continuously kae effort to improve. Even if the process may be slow, it's important to persevere and continue to put in effort.” (Mini Masterclass, January 2021)

This is too prominent of a theme to fit under "values," but Hoshi's reflections on leadership is interesting too:

[Interview remarks that Hoshi is standing out because he’s responding to a lot of questions] “I think it’s responsibility. Being the performance team’s leader. Because the members follow me well and help me out, thank you.” (Dazed Korea Magazine, 2017)

“I’m always worrying about the next thing.” (Dazed Korea Magazine, 2017)

“Even though I do feel the pressure, at the same time I am also really happy (to be selected as the Performance Team leader). I’m really grateful for the trust of the members and everyone in the company in me, and I also feel a sense of responsibility. I feel the most pressured when I’m not able to think of choreographies, but I am reassured when the Performance Team members are beside me, watching quietly over me!” (HMV Interview, 2016)

Hoshi's reflections on dance, art, and performance:

“Never once have I differentiated between what's considered feminine or what’s masculine. When I dance, I dance what I love to dance, and I express what I want to feel through the song.” (Hoshi, Elle Magazine, March 2020)

“I gained interest in choreographies with story-telling in them while thinking about what choreography can set us apart from other idols together with the choreographer-hyung, and paid attention to that part. Since I wanted to make a performance where we can play around freely, I naturally got ideas from musical elements.” (Dazed Magazine, 2017)

“We’ve been working together for a long time. That’s why we pay more attention to our acting and timing when matching the choreography, rather than the lines. To showcase a good choreography, although a sharp dance is a sharp dance, I think that timing is the most important. It’s a fight for the timing.” (XSportsNews Interview, 2016)

[In talking about having a small and nimble build] "The fact that the dance style that I want to dance and want to pursue fits my body type is a big advantage itself." (Elle Magazine, 2020)

[Q: Things which give you the most inspiration for music?] HS: Things I feel in my everyday life. I make everything I want to say into a story. (D-Icon Magazine, December 2018)

“When the topic of the choreography for 'Thanks' came up, Hoshi talked about and showed everyone how while making it, he incorporated sign language into the choreography, wanting to show the meaning of thanks through both the song and the movements” (source)

This thread has some more of his commentary on choreographing specific tracks and the concepts behind them.

I wasn't sure how to connect this to the rest of the post, but I wanted to take the time to also showcase how Hoshi tends to express his thoughts through analogies.

They're usually unconventional analogies and are incredibly endearing to me. Beyond that, I also think it's indicative of how he thinks through his thoughts, through dance, and is how he's able to express himself illustratively. Sometimes, I think it's hard for him to find the words to articulate what he's feeling—just intuitively—and he does so by using unconventional imagery or simply through dance itself.

“A healthy mind doesn't only have happiness. There should be other emotions as well because they have a reason to be there. A hamburger doesn't only have bread, it also has the patty and the lettuce. Because there's sadness, you can then feel a different type of happiness. there's a reason why they (different emotions) all exist...I just wanted to tell you that. a healthy mind isn't just full of happiness" (V Live, March 2020)

[Q: In the opening of the HTR documentary, you said "even if it's hard you have to smile once you get on stage."] HS: It felt like I had to start with something cool so I joked and acted as if I was serious, But it is true. If I went to my favourite salad shop and the taste changed even in the slightest, I would have secretly got disappointed. Since we have expectations, we get disappointed. CARATs' feelings are far greater to even be compared to how much I like salads. That's why I try my best to show my consistent self." (November 2020)

“Hoshi characterizes the group’s teamwork and camaraderie as analogous to a pizza. Joshua lets out a chuckle and Vernon cautiously watches to see where Hoshi is taking this comparison. ‘If there’s pizza, the dough is kind of sweet, the tomato sauce is kind of sour and sweet, the cheese is smooth and pepperoni is a bit salty. So Seventeen is like pizza! If you combine all of these different parts, it becomes a really tasty meal.’ He lets out a small laugh and continues with a smirk, ‘Seungkwan is pickle! Hoshi is hot sauce!’ Seungkwan and Hoshi are infamous amongst CARATs for being the comedians of the group; they're constantly attempting to make their members laugh or smile.” (Teen Vogue, August 2020)

[Q: It's already been five years since your debut. If Seventeen is an iceberg, how much of yourself do you think you've shown above the surface?] HS: “I really think we've shown everything we've got. It's just that we're always searching for something new to show, and trying to improve even more. We don't just show pieces of ourselves. If we were an iceberg, our team is one that polishes, pulls, and pushes forward anew with everything that we've shown above the surface. For example, if there's rice; when you add kimchi, it will become kimchi fried rice. When you add shrimp, it will become shrimp kimchi fried rice. We are that kind of team." (High Cut Magazine, March 2020)





Words Hoshi has said to others:


Some of the quotes and moments that fall under this section are so indicative of Hoshi and how he tries to carry himself according to his values. Although a little shorter, there are some very special Hoshisms™ here:

On gendering Bongbongie:

[After a joke being made about a doll being female because of its eyes] “If its eyes are big, it’s a girl? And what if its eyes are small? Even though it’s a joke, we have to be careful in what we’re saying.” (V Live, 2017)

Reading some of these moments where he's shown compassion to fans have truly, genuinely touched my heart:

[In response to a carat who talked about how much they've been struggling with school and worried about disappointing their parents] "Don't be so hard on yourself. Your parents are likely happy with words from your heart, like thank you's and your wishes to stay in contact with them, and not wishing for more. And you stuck with it!! Really, congratulations!! Keep dreaming to your heart's content and keep running with confidence!! You're doing very well, believe in yourself. Besides, since you've fallen down before, you know how to get up again. It's the first time that we're living this life, so how can you be good at it from the beginning? I still have many hardships as well ^^ Let's learn together...I'll always support you, cheer up! Don't skip your meals ♥" (Fancafe)

[To a carat who talked about their trouble with success while their peers around them are succeeding around them] "Being first and succeeding so quickly is not all good. As I see it, if you walk slowly, believing in the way that you go, you'll take in the scenery that hasn't been seen before by others. So don't give up. Believe in yourself, fighting, and I'll be cheering for you ^^" (Fancafe, 2019)

Hoshi often relays words of affirmation or just actively listens to ensure someone is being heard/seen—once again, building on top of what members have said about him being supportive and thoughtful:

"Just do your thing. It's enough if you're good at what you do best, you don't have to be excellent at other things." (Seungkwan, Sukira, May 2016)

[Wonwoo: I know I lack a lot in writing but I'll try to write and post short sentences when I think of them. Even though I feel shy because I lack writing skills.] HS: “No, you don't lack. You're really amazing☺” (Weverse, September 2020)

Minghao has mentioned that Chan and Soonyoung often say warm and comforting things to him, such as "you worked really hard" and "it's a relief that you're in our group." (source)

[After members point out that Jeonghan takes the longest to learn choreography] HS: “Jeonghan practices hard even during resting times and never falls behind the rest of them even if he takes careful time to learn the choreography” (Idol Room, 2018)

Hoshi has said previously that he prefers direct communication to prevent any misunderstandings. Tying into his leadership skills, he is reflective on how to resolve conflicts:

[To the other members] "We should be considerate of each other when we speak, and when someone speaks to you, you should understand that they're trying to be considerate of you too" (One Fine Day Season 1)

Hoshi is always very, very careful in how he can express gratitude:

“I have the thought: ‘what did I do in a past life to deserve all this love I receive from so many people.’ We are all the same, we are all human. I’m really thankful to receive this much love. I won’t take it for granted. In the future, I’ll show an even greater image of myself.” (1theK, February 2017)

“Everyone, thank you always. I said this at the concert but lately I miss you all more. It's like it has gone past a fluttering feeling and become more earnest. I think i have bigger thoughts of wanting to give happiness to the people who give me, give us, happiness.” (July 2017)

“I think that the idea that I can become someone's happiness in itself has made me think, 'What happened in my past life to be living such a thankful life?' (Going Seventeen, 2018)

“You know how huge this world is? Amongst everyone, the land, the vast endless space of the universe...the fact that we were able to cross paths, this connection...is it destiny? I think that the time we have right now (together) is precious." (Fansign, February 2019)

"If I wasn't Kwon Soonyoung, if I wasn't Hoshi, if I wasn't a member of Seventeen and if it weren't for Carats could I receive this much love? I have these thoughts and it motivates me to work hard" (V Live, April 2019)

“Everyone, if I were not a SVT member, if I didn’t get to meet you, I wouldn’t be having as great of a time now. I wonder if I could’ve gotten such great support recently more than before. I’m not sure if I deserve the love I get from you. I’m nothing. But I promise you I won’t be overly self-confident. I’ll try to give back the love you’ve shown through better performance and music. I want to give you some healing time as you enjoy music and the stage performances. Also I’ll try to be a more responsible idol member.” (V Live, June 15 2019)

“Everyone’s love, I never take it for granted.” (Fancafe, January 2020)

"As I feel the love myself, it's something that can't be evaluated or judged carelessly...I want to give back the love that was given to us...I also want to be a good influence." (Hit the Road Documentary, 2020)

[On donating for COVID-19 relief] “I want to give back the same amount of love that I've received...with the heart of wishing to help many people, I wanted to do it.” (Interview, April 2020)





My thoughts:


If you've made it all the way to this section thus far, thank you so much for sticking with me!

After receiving the CC question, I struggled to think of how to fully encapsulate my thoughts on Hoshi and my impressions of him. There’s a lot about him that is so fascinating to me—and small details that make him so lovable. I can’t capture them all (like, he has a habit of hugging staff members whenever they finish work. It’s super cute.)

But part of my motivation for writing this out was actually because I often see Hoshi at the brunt of jokes, or being dismissed because of his birth chart, or because people simply have the wrong impression of him entirely. I do know how to take a joke, I promise, and I usually find some fun in the gemini jokes too. I mean, he is pretty chaotic sometimes, and I'm not denying that. Like, I’ve seen Don’t Lie.

But it does get a little frustrating when I see repeated jokes where he's diminished to only jokes about his birth chart. I feel like I run the risk of getting some major eyerolls for airing this out, but there is definitely a tendency for people to treat him like he's stupid or unreasonable or tactless. I saw a discussion between multiple people where they talked about how they'd hate working with Hoshi because he'd lack professionalism or he'd be impossible to work with because he seems “immature.” This isn’t an uncommon opinion that I come across.

In terms of fic writing, I see this problem too. It's a little...how should I say this? I don't want to presume to have any authority over how other people should perceive him or how they should write him, but it's not uncommon to find fics of Hoshi that just...reduce him into this energetic, wild, chaotic, uncontrollable person who has no sense of self-reflection or any understanding of others. At worst, he's written as someone incapable of sympathy because *shrugs* he gets loud and excitable on variety shows sometimes?

There are these times when I see him being reduced into only these traits because it's the most visible and most comedic traits of him—and you know, in a lot of ways, that's fine. We all have our own perceptions of him, and a lot of this takes place in a make-believe space after all. Fanfiction doesn’t need to be that serious. Sometimes, it’s just for fun and that’s okay too. I get that I don’t really have any right to tell anyone how they should view, write, or see him—I’m not his mom. But admittedly, when I start to see people constantly reducing him into a two-dimensional caricature, I do get a little frustrated.

And so...I guess this is my general overview of Hoshi, and inadvertently it also became an essay on why I bias him. Oops? Take a deep breath, you’re in a long ride:

Hoshi is thoughtful and considerate.

Chan would not repeatedly remind us that Hoshi listens well to him if not. Seungkwan wouldn't tell us of all the times that Hoshi has reminded him of just how cherished and precious if he is, if not. Seungcheol wouldn't tell us on multiple occasions that he treasures all the times that Hoshi has supported him throughout his leadership if he wasn't. Minghao, Joshua, Jun wouldn't talk about how Hoshi has been a source of emotional support and has extended care to them in a way that has personally touched them if he wasn't. Wonwoo wouldn't repeatedly remind us of how much he clearly cherishes his close friendship with Hoshi if he was not thoughtful, if he isn't a good friend, if he wasn't caring.

Going on a little sidebar here, but I feel a little regretful that I wasn't able to collect more quotes of what Hoshi has said about the members. There is so much more than what I captured above, and so much of it is just this...this very earnest and loving reflection of who they are as people. Seungkwan has said before that Hoshi is someone who gives out a lot of compliments, and it's clear from these little anecdotes that he gives them so much love.

And this sense of love is also clear from how they talk about him. The first section of this post captures a snapshot of it, but there are definitely an abundance of moments that weren't included because it's just impossible to list everything. There are a couple examples that I wasn't able to expand on earlier, and that's some of the subtler but recurring micro-interactions between Hoshi and other members that I find really lovely. I’ll expand on this below.

On my Twitter account, I sometimes talk about certain dynamics within the group that can be underrated. One of them is the friendship between Junhui and Hoshi. They get recognized as the Gemini brothers/Gemini line and as fellow performance team members, but there's a quiet solidarity between them that isn't always as visible. A quote from earlier showed the time Junhui was touched by how caring and attentive Hoshi was towards him when he was sick. Between Junhui and Hoshi, there are a lot of small moments like that.

For example, Junhui once said the following:


"Hoshi taught me a lot. Back when I didn’t understand Korean, he taught me using gestures.” (September 2018)


Junhui has spoken about the loneliness of moving to Seoul without his family or friends. When he reflects on that period of time, he often talks about Hoshi and the gratitude he feels towards how Hoshi supported him when they were trainees. That isn't to say that Junhui floundered completely alone and no other members were there for him—they definitely were and for example, I really love what Junhui had to say about his friendship with Joshua during the Hit the Road documentary series and personally think that’s an underrated friendship too—but since this is a post on Hoshi...well, I'm focusing on Hoshi.

Although Jun also acknowledges Hoshi as the person who taught him how to dance (here), their friendship is meaningful for reasons beyond just teaching. When you're alone in a country, when you feel displaced, when you are unable to speak the language that the majority of people use to communicate—it can be very, very lonely. And when the job you are training for hinges on your ability to sing, speak, and perform in that language, it can also be very scary. Hoshi didn't only teach dance, but was also instrumental in breaking down the barriers in the language gap, and making it all feel a little less isolating for Jun.

There are so many tiny examples where you see Jun automatically turns to Hoshi even to this day to explain a word. And Hoshi always does iso gently and without making him feel silly. You can see examples of this here in the beginning of the V Live, here, and here. There's also a video of Hoshi teaching Junhui a song word by word, line by line during pre-debut and helping him with his pronunciation, but I couldn't find it :(.

Anyway, if you've ever learned another language through immersion, you'll know how challenging it can be, and how it can be hard to fight through the sense of embarrassment and self-consciousness. From how Junhui talks about Hoshi (which is, at times, a little protective; he once emphasized to a fan to not misunderstand Hoshi's 'prince' character once because Hoshi isn't like that in real life. And when members were talking about him having a quick temper, Junhui spoke up and said "personally, I see more of Hoshi's good parts than his bad."), you can tell they share an understanding of each other that's filled with fondness.

Likewise, Minghao wouldn't consider Hoshi one of the people he trusts to speak with about his dreams if Hoshi isn't reflective and supportive. This is evident in this V Live where Minghao tells him about his experience with solo work in China, and Hoshi just listening so carefully. The look on Minghao's face when Hoshi tells him, in all earnestness, that he's proud of him and that he inspires him is a sight that sticks with me. The fact that Minghao entrusts Hoshi with his dreams—that's a testament of Hoshi’s character and their friendship. Sharing your dreams with anyone is a vulnerable act, and this is indicative of the level of trust that's shared between them.

(Also, since I brought up language learning earlier, here's a couple clips of Hoshi teaching Minghao some words in Korean.)

Hoshi would not be considered a friend who helps energize and encourages others if he wasn't intentional about the ways he can show support. And it is intentional. That much, to me, is clear in what he has said about himself and his values: about how it's okay to be sad and that "a healthy mind doesn't only contain happiness.” As well, it’s clear in his reminders that it's okay to take things slow, that it's okay to find eventual strength in endurance and survival rather than trying to be strong from the very beginning.

It's in how he recognizes that what personally sustains him may not be helpful for others. The very fact that he acknowledges that while optimism is his preferred method of self-soothing, it may come across as inconsiderate and hurtful to others is demonstrative to how he’s considerate of others and their feelings. It's also in how he reflects on his role as a leader—in where he can play to his strengths to lessen the pressure on others. It's in how he tells a fan who's struggling that "this is the first time we're living this life, how can we do it right from the start?"

And to a wider extent, his kindness can be found in the impression he leaves others. From fan accounts, to accounts from those who worked briefly with him, to idol industry seniors and idol juniors—a common theme we hear is that Hoshi is respectful and kind to the point of leaving a lasting impression on them.

I can see why. From the restaurant staff's personal account of how Hoshi recognized the difficulties of her work and tried to ease the pressure off of her, or from the way he goes out of his way to thank staff members, or to gently chide Seungkwan when he thinks he's gone too far in teasing them, or to how he thinks of himself as someone who isn't quite deserving of all the love he receives but seeks to return it all anyway, we’re painted a pretty complete picture of Hoshi. And this picture shows Hoshi as someone who is a very, very loving person and an even more loving friend.

All in all, I'm not one to dismiss the multiple layers of bias, marketing, and idol personas that are at play here. I am fully aware that even with quotes from Seventeen members that there is only so much that they can share about Hoshi as a person, and how much can never be revealed. And well, they're hardly going to go trash talking him in an interview, are they?

Regardless of that, however, I think seeing a synthesis of all these different accounts of him aligned together into a cohesive impression. Even for the sake of marketing, this is not something you can easily construct without basis.

To me, it's abundantly clear that Hoshi has spent ample time reflecting on his own position in the world, his feelings, how he can support those around him and receive support in return. I want to return again to how Jeonghan once observed that Hoshi is surrounded by really good people who want to stay by his side—and how this, in itself, is a reflection of Hoshi's character. He is good to others.

The way the members, friends, acquaintances, and even passing strangers talk about Hoshi is filled with so much affection. Likewise, Hoshi speaks about the other members with so much warmth in his words. And, to me, these two elements speak the loudest.

Hoshi is emotionally intelligent.

I think he deserves more credit than he's often given for the level of finesse he has in navigating social situations, and also for the detailed attention that he pays to others. Hoshi can come across as quite oblivious, naive, and unassuming—and for good reason, I mean, look at the Going Seventeen MBTI episode where he just didn't notice at any point (even afterwards, for a short period of time) that there was a hidden camera prank.

But that doesn't mean he's not keen and observant of people around him. But it’s observation through intuition. Of course, this is pure assumption because it's not as if I can read Hoshi's mind or anything, but my impression of him is that when he's given information, the immediate way he processes the information isn’t through a clear-cut, logical, and step-by-step process but through intuition. That doesn't mean it's any less valid, but more so that he's attuned to the behaviour and mood of those around him and he responds accordingly. His intuition is sharp.

And this lends so much to why many others regard him as an attentive and supportive friend. It's because he sees them, he notices them, and he reaches out to support in often small, but no less impactful ways.

The most repeated example of this is in how he guides conversations during group interviews with Seventeen. If you take the time to observe the flow of conversation, it's often led by Hoshi and Seungkwan who play similar, but slightly different roles. Seungkwan does the heavy lifting in hosting the conversation, while Hoshi takes care of moving it forward. This is definitely a shared responsibility among the members and they all hold their own part, but there is—in my opinion—a deliberate move for certain members to ease the burden of speaking for shyer or quieter members (Jun, Vernon, Joshua, Wonwoo in particular). Hoshi does this well while. at the same time, finding pockets of opportunity to let these members speak and be heard more comfortably. This is, again, a deliberate choice on his part; as mentioned earlier in this post, Hoshi pays attention to the energy levels of his members and intentionally sets out to strike a balance. He will speak more when he needs to, and will be quieter when he can sit back.

Further to that, if you watch interviews with them, there are so many moments where Hoshi will intentionally turn to one of the quieter members and ask them for their thoughts. Examples just off the top of my head would be this moment during Going Seventeen 2019 when Minghao gets cut off. Hoshi notices and then brings the conversation back to him. During Going Seventeen: Delivery Food Fighter, Hoshi deliberately interjects into a conversation to bring Jun into the fold. This exchange then takes place:

HS: "What is Junnie's favourite food?" [JN: “Mine changes often.] HS: "Isn't it mala?" [Jun: Mala's right, but these days...]


And in fact, sometimes he gets a little lost in his head—and stops paying attention to the members, oops—because he's so preoccupied in finding the timing to ask them something. I can’t find an exact example of this just off the top of my head, but you can see how other members chide him for awkwardly cutting into the flow of the conversation because Hoshi just really wanted to make sure Joshua was included in the conversation during the DRIP skit in Caratland 2020 (at 17:18). At 11:37, you will also see another example of how Hoshi tries to steer the conversation to Jun as well.

And speaking of which—it's worth watching both the DRIP video and Dino's News Segment carefully to observe Hoshi’s speech patterns. He's constantly making small affirming noises or responding to Dino's words in a way that lets him know that Hoshi is listening. On multiple occasions, he encourages him verbally in some way. He notices these lulls or these moments of awkwardness and intentionally tries to ease some of the discomfort of speaking. No wonder Chan says that Hoshi listens to him well.

This level of awareness of others is also reflected in how he holds himself in relation to others. There are so many examples that I can draw on just from the quotes and anecdotes that are listed in the above sections, but there's a really miniscule and throwaway moment that actually sticks in my mind. In 2020, Hoshi guested on the radio show Park Sohyun's Love Game with Woozi. During the broadcast, there's a brief exchange where the host, Park Sohyun, teasingly points out how flustered Hoshi suddenly became at the mention of Taemin. Hoshi then explains that he's worried that by mentioning SHINee/Taemin too often, he might actually be burdening them. Hoshi says he doesn't want to trouble them.

This reminds me of an early episode of Keyword #Boa, a reality show that centred on BoA’s comeback that year, where SHINee’s Key admitted that although he's always been a diehard BoA fan, he intentionally kept his distance from her. Key explains that this is because he's aware of the discomfort of being placed on a pedestal when you're a celebrity, and how the power dynamics involved in the fan/idol relationship can be difficult and uncomfortable to navigate for the idol. Eventually, BoA and Key do become close (throughout this show), but that conversation was striking to me.

It reminds me now of Hoshi's response in relation to speaking publicly on SHINee. I think the awareness and cognition that you may be making others uncomfortable, especially with how you may be occupying a certain space, is an important skill to learn because it builds a sense of accountability and responsibility towards others. The fact that Hoshi is reflective of his positionality with SHINee demonstrates the level of awareness he holds, and how he may affect others—whether positively or negatively.

And in terms of affecting others negatively, there's another example of Hoshi's emotional intelligence that remains with me in my mind. It's just a small moment, but there's this video where the members play a hidden camera prank on Wonwoo. In this segment, they are instructed to all pretend to be upset and angry with Wonwoo during an interview. Spoiler alert: unbeknownst to them, Wonwoo had been briefed prior to the interview and was set with the task of acting angry as a sort of reverse prank to his members.

Watching this video, you'll notice that Hoshi doesn't really join in with the cajoling and teasing of Wonwoo except for when he was specifically named to join in. Even then, he said the bare minimum and it wasn't particularly hard hitting. Watch how he looks back and forth between the members and Wonwoo, taking in and observing their reactions during this exchange. And then watch how he suddenly and hastily reveals that it's a prank. To me, it's clear that Hoshi was concerned about this prank going too far and was worried that it was genuinely upsetting to Wonwoo and that is why he intentionally revealed that it was a hidden camera prank.

And then when Wonwoo storms out, Hoshi is very clearly concerned. There's no reason for him to bound up to Wonwoo and help him—what? hold his cake?—upon his return. No reason, except that he was aware of the potential of Wonwoo's feelings being genuinely hurt, and wanting to ensure Wonwoo is okay. This is a tiny moment, but I think it's a really strong capture of how Hoshi observes, processes, and navigates social situations.

Another small example that is more recent is this tiny moment during the pre-concert V Live in January 2021 when they play the balance game. In this clip, they were asked if they'd prefer "Leader Dokyeom or Maknae Jeonghan." After hearing Dokyeom disparage himself and hint that he wouldn't be a good leader, Hoshi immediately interjected and started to hype him up: "hey, remember you're BSS' leader!"

I won't go on at lengths about this, but even though it's just a tiny moment in the midst of a silly game where no one's feelings were remotely close to being hurt, Hoshi still immediately noticed DK’s response and wanted to reaffirm DK's strengths as a person (and funnily enough, he also started reassuring Jeonghan that he'd be a great maknae too because Jeonghan started getting fussy about it to tease him lmao they're all so cute). If you've ever had a friend who hypes you up when you're being self-deprecating, these subsets of interactions can feel really striking.

Once again, I recognize that no one is perfect in their interactions with other people. We're all too complex with too many feelings; we perpetually exist in contexts, positions, states that are unknown to others. This means that, inevitably, we do screw up. We say things that are hurtful to others. We do things that make other people feel wronged. Hoshi is only human, so while he is thoughtful, considerate, and emotionally observant—I don't mean to disregard the fact that there will be times when he's gone overboard in jokes or said something that was callous, or just was not aware of how he may have hurt someone. I am not denying this.

But overall, Hoshi is observant and intuitive, and this allows him to be thoughtful in how he works with others and also sensitive to how they treat him. Hoshi is quite aware of others and self-aware of how he comes across to others. And this is a quality that I personally wish to see highlighted more when people are talking about Hoshi.

Hoshi is not tactless nor reckless. He knows where to draw the line.

It would be remiss for me to not first and foremost acknowledge that the way Hoshi carries himself is as someone who's energetic and enthusiastic to the point where members joke about him being "crazy." Seungkwan occasionally has to remind him to simmer down, Jeonghan sometimes asks Hoshi to tell him what he wants to say before he says it lest he reveals more than he should, and he has a reputation for revealing spoilers ("Kwonspo") because he gets too excited and can't help himself from sharing the information with fans. I'm not going to pretend that Hoshi is the paragon of peace and calm 100% of the time, especially not when Hoshi, himself, admits that he can get carried away with enthusiasm sometimes. And I mean, those are some of my favourite Hoshi moments—like the time when he randomly revealed he's getting his braces removed during pre debut and got in trouble for doing so, or when he suddenly announced to the world during his 2020 birthday V Live that Jeonghan's naked to Jeonghan's astonishment and mortification. I'll even count the time he decided to show off his feet with aegyo for no apparent reason on V Live as another Hoshism. This is an endearing Hoshi trait. We all love him for it.

But as Walt Whitman once said, "I am large. I contain multitudes" (okay, I'm mostly kidding for citing poetry in the middle of this post - don't hate me for this silly pretentious addition). No, really though, while Hoshi does sometimes have the tendency to be a little bit of a wild child and can act in a way that is sudden, unexpected, and unpredictable, he also isn't uncontrollable or completely reckless. Sometimes, there is some tendency from some people to infantilize him because of how spontaneous he can be or because of his funny birth chart. And as I mentioned earlier, I came across a discussion that spoke about how Hoshi would be difficult to work with because he comes across as too chaotic and unprofessional for their tastes. For that reason alone, I wanted to spend some time to discuss how Hoshi, as an idol, carries himself.

In a V Live on November 2019, Hoshi insisted that he has his own "Maginot Line." This was repeated several times throughout the V Live after Seungkwan kept reminding him not to reveal too much information that shouldn't be shared. During Left and Right promotions, they go on a variety show where Seungkwan joked that Hoshi was going to reveal too much again and once again, Hoshi reminds Seungkwan of his "Maginot Line."

According to Google, the "Maginot Line'' is a "line of fortification built by France to deter invasion from Germany" during WWII. In other words, Hoshi uses the Maginot Line as a metaphor for his own defenses and boundaries that he builds around himself; it protects the information that he will never share, the parts of himself and their team that will remain private and personal. There is a clear boundary that Hoshi is drawing between his idol persona and what is “safe to share” by his standards, and what belongs to Kwon Soonyoung.

This "Maginot Line'' of his is clearly subjective. The lines he draws in the sand is different from other people, his boundaries may vary, and what he's willing to share leads him to come across as open-minded.

Regardless, as it stands, Hoshi has boundaries.

One example of a boundary—albeit likely not a hard boundary—is that Hoshi does not tend to share information about himself that isn't revolving around work in some capacity. Obviously, again, this isn't a hard-and-fast rule that he plays by but this is something that I've noticed. We don't tend to know what he does in his free time or who he's with, although we will occasionally retroactively hear about it. But more often than not, rather than hearing about it from Hoshi, we hear about it from other people.

This includes who he hangs out with. We know that Hoshi often hangs out with Vernon because Vernon has mentioned a few times that Hoshi is one of his closest friends in the group and that they eat together often.

Would we know that otherwise? There are glimpses where we can make conjectures, sure, like that one photo of them eating together in that salad cafe, or the story of them walking on the street after eating together and running into Jun at another restaurant (if you don't know the story, it's basically how Hoshi was joking to Vernon after they went out together that Junhui is probably eating oxtail soup. Lo and behold, as he said that, he looked into the window of the restaurant they were passing by, and Junhui was there eating. Other than that? Hoshi doesn't really mention much.

This goes for pretty much most of his friendships. He's mostly lowkey about the personal relationships he holds, and when it's revealed, it's usually for a reason related to work. We know about how much time he spends with Jihoon because they work in the studio together and that counts as a work (i.e. safe) topic. That isn't to say that his friendship with Jihoon isn't legitimate because obviously they are really close friends and it's a significant connection in his life. It’s just that when it aligns with work, Hoshi is seemingly more comfortable sharing anecdotes about it.

Compare this to Wonwoo, who has repeatedly reiterated that they know each other best. Hoshi rarely mentions them hanging out, but then we'll hear during a GV that Wonwoo is familiar with Hoshi's hotel room playlist despite not being roommates, or we’ll see that Wonwoo randomly walks into Hoshi’s room because Hoshi happened to be on V Live at the time. Reading between the lines, it's evident that they spend a lot of time together.

On a larger scale, Hoshi isn't really the type to pinpoint which members he's closest to and which members are his favourite. Again, this is different from Mingyu and Minghao in how they vocally name each other as soulmates, or Seokmin and Jeonghan who talk about their close friendship, or even Chan who has never hid the fact that he thinks Hoshi as his favourite member in the group. When thinking about most of the stories I know about Hoshi, the majority of them I've learned from the other member who was with him, and not from Hoshi himself.

I'm not accusing Hoshi as being uncomfortable with talking about his friendships or from telling anecdotes about these friendships. I just think that in his mind, these aren't one of the "work-safe" topics that he more willingly indulges fans with unless there is some overlap. Simply put, there’s just no reason for him to share them with fans.

I want to point this out as an example of a boundary that is a little more visible to us. As for the hard-lines that we don't see—well, that is intentional, and I have no doubts there are many, many of those too. Keep in mind that Seventeen members have meetings to discuss what is okay to reveal on camera (about each other, about themselves), and that the stories they share are often intentional and pre-discussed. It's not scripted; just mutually consented as safe to share. Hoshi undoubtedly does this on a personal scale as well.

Now that we've established that he has boundaries, I want to once again cycle back to the discussions or recurring belief that Hoshi would be difficult to work with because of his tendency to be excited or to come across as chaotic.

First and foremost, I think it's worth pointing out that it's not often productive to base your impressions of members (or of any group) entirely from their appearances in variety broadcasts. Yes, this includes our beloved Going Seventeen. If you have watched enough episodes of Going Seventeen, you'll notice that Hoshi has repeatedly mentioned the pressure he places on himself to be entertaining and funny. How someone acts on variety shows where you are expected to put on a good show and to entertain, coupled with the magic of editing (if you work in editing, you know that's where the bulk of the narrative and tone of the video is constructed), is never a full indication of who they are as people. Dualities exist, of course, and it's not like it's not Hoshi either. But he plays it up.

Hoshi often plays up his idol persona.

He is also someone who prides himself on living true to his words and to his values, so it's not that he's being fake or that his persona is a complete stage alias. It's just that it's only one side of Hoshi, and it gets exaggerated when he feels the need to perform, whether it be on stage or in front of cameras. Once again, this is a form of boundary-setting by Hoshi.

Horangdans are the first in line to poke fun at Hoshi for his tiger agenda and all the silly little Hoshi-isms that accompany his "branding." I'm no different. But no matter how cute and silly I find it, I also think about how this is an intentional concept that Hoshi has come up with and rallies himself behind. Not too long ago, Wonwoo said the following:


“Hoshi really likes concepts like "tiger" or "10:10." I'd really appreciate it if carats showed more reactions to this. When members say "you're not a tiger, you are human," please tell Hoshi that he's a tiger instead.“ (Wonwoo, Carat Magazine interview, July 2020)


I can't help but keep harping on this one quote from Wonwoo because of how he says I would appreciate it. Not Hoshi, but Wonwoo would appreciate it. For one thing, it shows a really cute sneak peek into their friendship. For newer fans or for fans who don't typically pay too much attention to the underlying dynamics under the entertainment/comedic aspects they play up, you might think that Wonwoo finds Hoshi annoying. This is a good example of...well, friendship, I guess. It sounds silly when I say it so simplistically like that, but it is. Wonwoo’s protective stance towards the work Hoshi puts into concept-building is adorable.

The other reason why I brought up this quote is that I think it also shows some level of significance of what these concepts mean to Hoshi. He's mentioned before that he's even watched documentaries on tigers to try and understand them better (sidenote: this was during the gay chicken V Live. It was really cute because there was a whole exchange with Chan and Wonwoo being like “but tigers are solitary creatures. You don't like being solitary.” lmao).

Personally speaking—and this is complete interpretation work on my part—there are several reasons why I think these concepts are so important to Hoshi:

1. These concepts, especially the tiger-related ones, carry the weight of his idol name. Tiger's gaze. For someone who has worked so endlessly and tirelessly to build his name and his work in the industry, for someone who dreams so widely and so greatly and strives to achieve every single one of them no matter how long it takes, his stage name serves as a metonymy for everything that he has built for himself from ground-up so far. He holds onto these tiger concepts because of the vastness that they represent.

A slight parallel that I would make to this is SHINee's Key's intentional choice to promote his filmography under his stage name:


“A lot of people change their names, but I thought that I should take everything with me that I’d built up as SHINee’s Key,” he continued. “Since everything that I’ve accomplished has been as SHINee’s Key, I thought there was no need for me to change it.” (source)


2. Circling back to what I've said about boundary-setting, I think that being able to wield these stage personas (especially to the successful extent to which Hoshi has done) is another way of protecting the boundaries between your personal self and your idol self. Again, I think the lines are always going to be blurred just as a byproduct of being human—parts of yourself will always bleed into anything you do—but Hoshi is someone who is very, very self-aware of his image. If you've watched the opening scene of his Hit the Road episode, he says to himself:


"Hoshi. You have to smile on stage even if you’re in a bad mood. That’s your job. you have to smile even if you don't feel like it."


Although he immediately plays it off as a joke, he also has confirmed in an interview that he meant it.

Hoshi is aware and intentional about how he represents himself to the fans. This is why he apologized for opening up about his vulnerabilities and sadness on Weverse that one night, and this is part of why he feels regretful about not being "funny enough" on shows (the other part is that he's also a little attention-seeking too lol). This is why he says that fans will be disappointed in him if he doesn't continually show a bright image of himself. That's his image. For all intents and purposes, his professional expectations demand him to portray himself as excited, energetic, happy. Again, I don't want anyone to think I'm accusing him of being fake or that he's never actually happy. God forbid any extremes like that! Like I said, he strives to live honestly and authentically. The only thing I’m saying is just that Hoshi, as an idol, is only one side of him and it's a very intentional side that he shows.

3. These concepts are also just—simply speaking—memorable. He's said before (I believe it was on Star Show 360) that he came up with 10:10 as a way to distinguish himself amidst a large group. There are other ways he's made his name since then, but it's undeniable that these concepts have really taken hold as part of his professional identity in a way that's just...fun. It's fun. That's why we liked that Going Seventeen was posted at 10:10 every Monday, or that people like to wear tiger (or hamster) costumes to fansigns, or that he got to wear all these cute princely costumes. We see a tiger, we think of him. It's pretty damn good marketing.

4. And in some ways, I think of it as a shield too. Hoshi has mentioned in the past that he's self-conscious about his eyes and had seriously considered plastic surgery for them (and Vernon basically said 'fuck beauty standards' in response to that, which Hoshi said he was touched by). At times, you can still see him worrying whether his eyes look "too small." To be fair, he doesn't say this quite as often anymore and is a little less self-conscious about appearing without eye makeup on camera now too.

But nonetheless, in my opinion, having an entire concept premised entirely around his eye shape (and how beautiful they are) is an embodiment of some of Hoshi's life philosophies. He truly believes in forging onwards with confidence and boldness, as much as you possibly can, as a way to instill and sustain a belief in yourself. Even if it might not come naturally to you.

All these different concepts are another way to represent his professional identity in a way that markets well, that conveys a concept and image, and also delineates in subtle ways the differences between him as a "normal human being" and him as an idol. That idol persona is integral to understanding Hoshi's approach to work. However this distinction is defined internally for Hoshi, I think that knowing that there is a distinction between Kwon Hoshi the idol and Kwon Soonyoung the boy is integral to understanding Hoshi’s professionalism.

Think of it as his customer service voice.

(Oh god, I haven't even touched 'horanghae' yet. That will come later. If you're still reading this, you deserve at least ten cookies for sticking with me!)

Hoshi is a consummate professional.

If I were to extend this further, I would go as far to say that Hoshi prides himself for his professional demeanour. He takes an immense amount of pride in his work and in the hard work he generates for himself and for the team. The members obviously recognize and value this about him. And more than anything? They respect him.

Writing it out plainly like this sounds a little silly. Because it's like, he's the performance leader, he's part of Seventeen, of course they trust him. But again, I am admittedly writing this out in response to the multiple discussions/comments I see making light of his ability to conduct himself professionally. And I want to reiterate that he is very, very much a professional who is good at his job. Yes, he sometimes gives a little too much away in spoilers, but that doesn't mean he's not capable.

For one thing, Hoshi has exemplary leadership skills. I would actually love to see a more in-depth dive into this done by the members themselves, in comparing leadership styles from one another. But I also think there is an intentional choice in not comparing leaders and also in diminishing the levels of hierarchy within the group that's being set up through the leadership-subunit dynamic. Nonetheless, as you see from the quotes in the previous sections, Hoshi sees the responsibility of the leader as his job to bear some of the burden of the group. This is why he sometimes speaks more—it's not because he's trying to steal the show, but because it's more comfortable for the other subunit members. As they've grown, you can see that this dynamic has also shifted slightly. The other performance unit members are more comfortable in front of the camera, and Hoshi now speaks on their behalf a lot less.

It's also evident in how the performance unit members speak about Hoshi's leadership style too, or how they reflect on their internal dynamics of the unit. I don't have the quotes on hand, but there is a magazine where they talk about how working together is a collective effort. They work collaboratively.

Now, Hoshi isn't perfect, and he can be stubborn—both Minghao and Dino have talked about disagreeing with his opinions in the past, but also that the internal disagreements have always been handled respectfully and professionally amongst them—but Hoshi acknowledges this readily himself and always says that he appreciates Jun because he's often a firm mediator and guides the group out of these disagreements. In recognizing these dynamics and in not establishing any sort of autocratic process in handling choreography and performance decisions, I think this illustrates Hoshi's exemplary leadership.

Another point I want to make is that Hoshi is not only trusted by the members, but by the company as well. If you watch any of their awards ceremonies, Hoshi is always given the mic. Again, this isn't because he's trying to steal the spotlight from other members, but because he is trusted to speak on behalf of the group. A few years ago, DK even said that he hands Hoshi the mic sometimes when he gets nervous about public speaking, even if it wasn't agreed by Hoshi beforehand. And because Hoshi is often the one giving an awards speech (along with a few usual members), it means that Hoshi is also often seen as a representative of the group. This isn’t something to be taken lightly, not even if you've undergone extensive PR training like every single member has. This is a responsibility given to Hoshi because he is responsible and does a great job at representing the group.

On a smaller note, Hoshi also wouldn't be pretty beloved by industry juniors and seniors if he didn't carry himself professionally well. This is why you have multiple juniors saying they admire his work and enjoy watching him thrive on stage (1, 2), nor would industry seniors essentially adopt him (1, 2).

It's also worth pointing out how Hoshi usually appears in behind-the-scenes footage such as Inside Seventeen. This isn't unique to Hoshi and it applies to all the members—but you can see just how seriously he takes his work in these episodes. For many, many of the episodes that aren't dance practice reels, you actually almost never see Hoshi. The only times you catch him on camera is because he happened to walk past the camera after a performance and was stopped by the staff for a quick interview.

Otherwise, you can mostly see him in the corners working on choreography, talking to staff members about performance details, or observing the members (which is something he does often. If you watch him during these videos, you can notice how he often pauses to observe the members as they practice). This was particularly noticeable in the Inside Seventeen episodes that came out during Home;Run promotions. He was barely in most of them.

(Here is one example - you only see him in passing. In other episodes, you only see him when he's fixing up details in performances, etc. There are too many episodes to use as examples, but if you're curious, I recommend watching them with this in mind because you'll notice he mostly only shows up in full blown serious and professional mode.)

Once again, this is not to say that the other members aren't working hard, or that Hoshi is somehow working harder than them. We all know how hard Seventeen works as a collective and I would never, ever diminish that. But I wanted to point this out to highlight Hoshi's serious approach to work. When he's in his work headspace, he is in it. He has always been like this—it's why he was once frustrated with Mingyu when they were teenagers for "fooling around" in the vocal practice room when he was trying to practice seriously.

Obviously, he's no longer a teenager and the threat of failure is no longer imminent so he probably doesn't get frustrated like that anymore, but given that I've seen doubts cast Hoshi's way for his approach to work, I wanted to emphasize the dedication and commitment to which he applies to his work.

Hoshi’s values

And now although I think it can largely speak for itself, I want to pivot towards talking about Hoshi's values and the weight he places on holding himself accountable to live responsibly and according to his own values. This, in my opinion, is a defining trait of Hoshi by not only how he perceives himself, but also how sees how he should live his own life. Because of that, I wanted to take some time just to look over them a little more carefully.


“Let's live a life in which I am the one who holds control. I don't have to try to make others understand, I thought I should live honestly according to my own principles.” (Hoshi, Elle Magazine, March 2020)


As a person, Hoshi is someone who constantly reflects on his actions, whether he is living "accordingly," and how he can better himself. It's not a coincidence that for a period of time, Hoshi was writing daily diary entries in a journal. I might even go as far as to say that no one really writes in a diary daily except people who are intending to reflect on themselves. Yes, also to capture and archivize a record in time, but I would argue that the act of diary writing is inherently an act that memorializes memories, sets of behaviours, and events in a way that is personal and introspective.

I think this becomes clear when Hoshi once answered a fan that his little goal for the year was to become a "good" person. There's a level of significance in how he considers this to be a "little" goal. The use of this qualifier implies that being good isn't an eventual goal or some grandiose ambition that you can only achieve as an eventuality. Rather, I think it indicates that Hoshi sees being "good" as an integral part of daily life, demonstrated through your own principals, and how you view and treat others. Being "good" isn't an indeterminable and ambiguous state of being. Being "good," for Hoshi, is integrated into your habits, your learning, your sense of responsibility towards yourself and others. While this is partly an extraction based on how he holds himself (as seen through the quotes in the preceding sections), I genuinely believe that Hoshi puts a lot of thoughts and intentions on how he can be good to others.

Hoshi's recognition of "little" goals also factors into how he approaches the notion of endurance and perseverance as well. As you can see from the above sections, Hoshi has spoken at length and in many different ways about how much he values the persistence. He also talks about how he thinks strength isn't so much an inherent quality in oneself, but is instead found in the process you undergo to keep going. Whether or not you have a natural aptitude for something, whether or not something comes easily to you, I think Hoshi considers strength and power to be embedded in the work you do to get there. Even if you do not do well, it matters more to him that you have done the best that you could at that given capacity.

I've tried in this post to not veer too much into fanfiction or RPS because I wanted to ensure that I was speaking about Hoshi as a real human being, rather than a character I write. That being said, there's a line in one of my fics where Hoshi says:


"I’m not sure if I succeeded [...] but I did my best. Not the best I could have possibly done ever, but the best that I was capable at this time. I hope that is enough."


Sorry, it's a total faux-pas to quote myself (again) and it’s a little embarrassing, but this was inspired entirely by how Hoshi talks about his values.


"Being first and succeeding so quickly is not all good. As I see it, if you walk slowly, believing in the way that you go, you'll take in the scenery that hasn't been seen before by others" (Hoshi, Fancafe, 2019)



Eventually, you will reach the summit you want to reach. Until then, I get the sense that Hoshi doesn't expect you or himself to be good at something, to be qualified, to be skilled—to do it well. That’s not what matters most to him. As he once said to another fan: "since you've fallen down before, you know how to get up again. It's the first time that we're living this life, so how can you be good at it from the beginning?"

Continuing down this thread of thought, if I had to say that there are two common themes I notice the most in how he speaks about his own principles, I would say that the first one is perseverance/persistence. The second most common theme I notice in Hoshi's speech is gratitude.

The vast majority of the quotes that were included in the above sections were based around what he's said about his gratitude to fans. We see it infused into his work in other ways, such as "Thanks" and "Bring It," as well as what the LOOK Choreography team had said about how Hoshi intentionally tries to incorporate gratitude towards Carats in his choreography. This is, again, integral to how he carries himself as an idol and how he views his own professional identity. There's this underlying sense of gratitude that seems to motivate him in a lot of different ways, and is also something that I think he continually strives to express:


“Everyone, if I were not a SVT member, if I didn’t get to meet you, I wouldn’t be having as great of a time now. I wonder if I could’ve gotten such great support recently more than before. I’m not sure if I deserve the love I get from you. I’m nothing. But I promise you I won’t be overly self-confident. I’ll try to give back the love you’ve shown through better performance and music. I want to give you some healing time as you enjoy music and the stage performances. Also I’ll try to be a more responsible idol member.” (Hoshi, V Live, June 2019)


I don't want to get too sidetracked, but this sense of gratitude is infused into what "horanghae" means to him. I mean, a part of it is just silly and cute and catchy (see also: his branding). I also think it's a way for him to try and capture the level of gratitude he feels that is otherwise incommunicable.

Hoshi sees gratitude as something to reciprocate. We get to witness it peripherally in a number of different ways beyond "horanghae" as well. I touch on this briefly in another meta post of mine about Hoshi’s love languages and how he tries to give meaningful gifts to those he feels grateful towards. This includes purchasing a home for his family in the apartment building that he grew up in and had to move away from because of financial difficulties. It's also seen in some of the gifts he buys for members (for example, he bought Seokmin a suit after they debuted. The story goes that when they were trainees, they used to fantasize about making it, and the suit being an indication of success. One day after they debuted, during a work break, Hoshi dragged Seokmin to the tailor and told Seokmin he was going to buy him a suit. This was intended as a symbolic callback to their notion of success as youth). It's also embedded into his very reasons for charitable donations, too; he personally donated 50 million won to be used to purchase quarantine supplies for the underprivileged, support medical staff, and volunteers during the COVID-19 pandemic:


“I want to give back the same amount of love that I've received...with the heart of wishing to help many people, I wanted to do it.” (Interview, April 2020)


He also donated 23.1 million won to his high school in October 2020:


"Hoshi’s parents said they’re grateful for the school because when the family was facing financial difficulties, the principal and homeroom teacher helped him so that [Hoshi] could graduate and achieve his dreams. Hoshi also asked them to write down the students’ dreams so students that face financial difficulties can still achieve their dreams. Hoshi quietly did the donation. The news was told by Maseok High School’s principal." (source)

.
Since 2017, Hoshi has also spoken about how he'd like an opportunity to help pay for meals for fans (here, here, also in several GoSe episodes where he pitches the episode concept of treating fans to food.)

And for me, I personally think the most prominent way he's tried to show gratitude is actually through how he seems to truly and genuinely value often (regarded as) mundane and overlooked labour in our lives. It filters into how he talks about chicken laying eggs, even. Seriously, look at how enthusiastic he is about how chickens lay eggs and how he talks about it with Vernon during One Fine Day 1 (clip here).

A more serious version of this is actually in how he proposed the concept of Dong Dong Gam Che (i.e. the Going Seventeen episodes where they visit a dairy farm or a coffee farm). Hoshi specifically pitches the idea because he wants to understand the hard work that is involved in these menial aspects of our lives that are often taken for granted; the work of farmers in producing dairy that we drink daily—or coffee—and the work of garbage collectors to better appreciate the work behind waste disposal. In SVT Club in 2018, Hoshi also mentions that he wanted to farm to learn the hard work that goes behind food production.

(Side note: one of my favourite Hoshisms is the time he went on a random anecdote about avocado farms and how they cause droughts because of the amount of water needed to grow avocados. Like, he has seriously put some research into farming, farm practices, and food production. I think it's just the sweetest thing ever.)

This is admittedly one of the reasons why I started biasing Hoshi. There is no such thing as unskilled labour, and personally speaking? It means the absolute world to me that Hoshi has repeatedly, throughout years, has stated this as a priority for him to understand. That this is something he reflects on himself.

In addition to acknowledge work and production, I think it's also worth noting that Hoshi is often very outspoken about thanking and acknowledging staff who work behind-the-scenes and are often invisible in their work. There is a lot of work that goes into supporting Seventeen. As someone who works in communications and event coordination, I seriously cringe at the idea of ever working for an entertainment agency because of how much work it takes to organize things at the scale that they do. This is before you even factor in all the other departments that support Seventeen's work (including hair and makeup, and stylists). Hoshi often goes out of his way to try and thank them as much as possible, at times saying that all he does is show up and perform while staff handle everything to make it happen. Obviously, that doesn't recognize how grueling and hardworking Seventeen are in honing their craft either, but it's a testament to Hoshi’s humbleness and how much he values the invisible work that supports them.

My favourite example of this was when he tries to name every single person in this encore stage. I can't imagine how personally significant this must feel for those staff. When you work in a job where the actual work you do isn't usually visible to others, this is...this is really, really incredible for Hoshi to try and highlight them because he’s the one with the platform.

To conclude this section about Hoshi and how he strives to live according to his principles, I also think it's important to highlight the little moments where we see how he reacts to something that seems to go against his values.

As much as his autotuned Horanghae song is one of the goofiest and most endearingly Hoshi things I've ever listened to, the lyrics are actually pretty interesting. You can read the full lyrics here, but the following lines catch my eye:


"But I do it my way / I hate what I hate / it makes me feel wronged”


The lyrics mirror a comment that the other members make in the Going Seventeen MBTI episode when they say that Hoshi is the type of person who'd rather die than do the things he dislikes. Neither Hoshi nor the members expand on the details of what this means, so again, this is a lot of guesswork. But we do get to see snippets of how he works, and he definitely is receptive to ideas that differ from his own.

We don't know much about his dislikes, but we know he's hardly talking about food (he's not a picky eater) or about hobbies (he doesn't like sports or gaming but he's given both a shot, and does his best when it's for broadcasts too. Even members pointed out that he will try hard at foot volleyball during TTT even though it's 'out of character' for him to play). My guess—and this is something that a friend of mine and I have talked out to some length—is that this is referring to his values and principles. This can be both a strength and a weakness. I think he can probably get quite stubborn and sensitive when he perceives something as wronging his principles.

But it also means that we see some admirable moments from him on this too. There are times when he will stop a joke from going too far if he disagrees with it. This includes the Wonwoo prank camera that I mentioned earlier, but also smaller moments like this:


[After a joke being made about a doll being female because of its eyes] “If its eyes are big, it’s a girl? And what if its eyes are small? Even though it’s a joke, we have to be careful in what we’re saying.” (Hoshi, V Live, 2017)

In an Andromeda broadcast, a member kept jokingly ragging on the staff for only preparing 3 pages for their script while he used to fully script their broadcasts before debut. At one point, Soonyoung gently tells him to stop scolding the staff even if it’s a joke: “Let’s not raise an issue out of it.” (Hoshi, Andromeda, May 2018)


I think that most of us here are no strangers to being dismissed for our anger or for our reactions to jokes made in poor taste. "It was just a joke" is a response that many, many of us have probably heard when we've been hurt or wronged, and intentionally made to feel as if our hurt is invalid in the face of said “joke." To be fair to the members who made these jokes, none of them reacted poorly to what Hoshi said, and I don't think there were any poor reactions to those who were being joked with. I’m not trying to demonize here or to accuse them of hurting anyone.

But the very fact that Hoshi immediately acknowledged that jokes do not justify or excuse us from the responsibility of our words and our impact—regardless of intentions—is significant. It speaks to how he operates, what he values, and how he acts upon his values.

I also considered whether or not to include this next part, but because I spent some time talking about Hoshi's values, I also wanted to talk about the ways in which Hoshi has specifically shown support for the LGBT+ community.

I always want to step really carefully when it comes to projecting too hard onto idols. This is a protection measure for myself, as a lesbian and someone who is all too aware that...well, I get disappointed sometimes. Almost, more than anything, disappointment is an inevitability. But that being said, I can't ignore the times where Hoshi has said or done something that has felt personally re-affirming and meaningful to me. It might not resonate with you, and that’s okay. In case it does, I wanted to share!

One example, again, would be the comment he made about how we should be careful with our words even if we're telling jokes. Another example is the famous gay chicken debate. I actually try not to harp on this moment too much just because it was in the context of a nonsensical debate, but it also does align with other things Hoshi has said and done that still makes this moment really, really endearing to me. Hoshi didn’t say it just for the sake of debate. He meant it.

It's also in how he approaches dance—which I will go into further detail in the next point in this post—and how he has explicitly stated that his dancing is not gendered. This is something that's really important to me.

He also goes out of his way to intentionally and deliberately interact with fans who are holding Pride flags. Again, I always hesitate with giving idols too much credit. Like, I won't count his numerous Adidas Pride sweaters as an implicit support of LGBT+ folks because he might very well have just bought them because the colours are pretty. But reading firsthand accounts of how Hoshi has interacted with fans who were holding Pride flags and how it wasn't just a coincidental passing glance but deliberate demonstrates that Hoshi is fully aware of his actions and what they signify. Some people may be resistant to me applying definitive language around this, but honestly? If the shoe fits. You can see some of these moments here, here, and here.

Lastly, on this note, I also wanted to address some comments I’ve seen several times about Hoshi being homophobic when he imitates Seungkwan. These comments have been bothering me, and I struggled to decide whether or not I should bring them up and risk the ire of people reading this. But I do feel strongly about this.

For some context: in the past year, I have seen numerous accusations that Hoshi is homophobic because of how he imitates Seungkwan. Specifically, they emphasize that the hand gestures that Seungkwan does when he speaks becomes translated as Hoshi mocking the stereotype of gay men having "limp wrists." I understand the discomfort that people may feel are those who face homophobic violence of all varying degrees—and I am no stranger to how this violence is enacted through stereotyping.

However, as a queer person of colour, I want to urge you to reflect on how you interact with communities of colour especially if you are white. I want you to consider whether you are projecting hegemonic ideas of identity, identity formation, or expressions of identity onto a community and culture that is not your own. I want you to reflect on whether it is appropriate for you to assign connotations and meanings to actions—when those actions are performed within the context of a community that has their own unique queer history. A queer history that does not reflect violence in the same way it might for those living in the west.

In other words, I caution you from assuming that the queerness you identify with, or use language to speak about, or use actions and performance to signify queerness in nonverbal ways—is the same queerness elsewhere. Because it's not. And this is important to remember not just when it comes to Hoshi, who's an idol and will be okay even if we hold these conversations in the internetsphere, but because this is a damaging position to to take against queer communities of colour. In fact, it’s imperialist thinking. I am not saying anything new. This is a recurring conversation that has been led and held by BIPOC for years and years and years.

I'm not saying this to protect Hoshi. He'll be fine. I'm saying this because there is a very, very long history in which gender and sexual and romantic identities and identifiers have been colonized. Reproducing and recognizing queerness solely through Western culture is a continued act of colonization.

That being said, I have spoken about this with queer Korean friends—friends who were born, raised, and currently live in Korea—and all of them have stressed that Hoshi is not evoking any sort of gay stereotype. Not to be all like "I have a friend" about this, but well. When multiple members of a particular community (as much as I recognize that no community operates as a monolith) have reiterated the same thing—that Hoshi's actions cannot even remotely be construed as harmful—I will choose to trust in their reflection of their own community.

Hoshi's artistry.

Okay, and now I promise I'm on the last topic for today.

This is going to get some eye rolls from people, but in my opinion, Hoshi is in a bit of a unique position of being really known for his dance and choreography...but without a lot of actual recognition for the actual craft, the artistry, and the love he pours into it. I've seen a large number of comments discussing how overhyped he is (yes, by Carats too) and that he is over-promoted over other members. I am absolutely not interested in leveraging any comparisons between members in this post, and it rarely leads to actually productive conversations. I will, however, acknowledge that Hoshi is a popular member with various opportunities, and that there is some understandable sensitivity around that.

That being said, there are times when people push back against Hoshi and him being "overhyped" so hard that it results in a dismissal of his work instead. It's a strange situation where he is simultaneously hyped and also overlooked, and the result is that not a lot of people pay that much attention to his work.

While I would love to do a more in-depth analysis of his technique and dance style, I have no technical training and I don't think there would be any worth found in my words. Instead, I turn to this analysis as a starting point; the fact that Hoshi has taught almost every single member of Seventeen how to dance here, and also to the fact that there are at least two idols out there—likely more—who have straight-up just said that they watch Hoshi's fancams as a hobby (quote included in the first section of this post). To learn from him. That speaks volumes.

What I want to primarily focus on is actually what Hoshi has said about his approach to dance:


“Never once have I differentiated between what's considered feminine or what’s masculine. When I dance, I dance what I love to dance, and I express what I want to feel through the song.” (Hoshi, Elle Magazine, March 2020)


I know I've brought up this one quote several times throughout this single post alone, but it's honestly one of my favourite quotes from Hoshi ever. This was in response to Touch, but it speaks to his overall philosophy behind dance. First of all, it's just so amazing to hear him explicitly denouncing the binaries of gender in his work. And it's not just his work—dance is part of Hoshi. Dance is an embodiment of Hoshi. And how this connects to his view of femininity and masculinity is so important to me.

Moreover, I just think it's really, really fun to watch Hoshi dance and it’s a downright treat to hear him talk about dance, precisely because of the fluidity of expression that he infuses into his performances. I think about the recent Inside Seventeen episode where he just sat down and said, simply, "dancing is fun." He loves to dance. He's so, so passionate about dancing and it's incredibly beautiful to see how he expresses himself through dance.

And as someone whose background is in storytelling (not just fanfiction, though that is valid as well, but professionally speaking, in community storytelling projects via film, digital media, and museum exhibitions), I also find it particularly fascinating that Hoshi wants to tell stories through dance:


“I gained interest in choreographies with story-telling in them while thinking about what choreography can set us apart from other idols together with the choreographer-hyung, and paid attention to that part. Since I wanted to make a performance where we can play around freely, I naturally got ideas from musical elements.” (Dazed Magazine, 2017)

[Q: Things which give you the most inspiration for music?] HS: Things I feel in my everyday life. I make everything I want to say into a story. (D-Icon Magazine, December 2018)


I find that there's something powerful in his desire to build stories out of his dance. It resonates strongly with me because my mind can't help but go back to what he has said that he finds valuable in the world; all the mundanities and quotidian intimacies in life that Hoshi cherishes and wants to share outwardly with others too. Performance can be inherently grandiose, yes, but Hoshi is nevertheless bringing the intimate reality of his mundane, everyday life onto the stage in a powerful and evocative way. He assigns meaning to these elements of "everyday life" through aural and physical storytelling.

As my dear friend Karina once said: love "is hosted in the little things." In my opinion, this is the entire thesis of Hoshi's dance.

To tell a story through prose is no easy feat. To tell a story through other modes of expressions is simply amazing. And some of what makes Seventeen's choreography as iconic as they are is because at the heart of it, there is a story that is being unravelled. As the audience, it’s this story that captivates us. This storytelling element is such a signature to Hoshi’s vision, his passions, his desire to convey significance, meaning, fun to us all and I can’t help but be in awe of it because when I think about it? Hoshi's artistry sits at the heart of Seventeen's work.




Conclusion:


Holy shit. Did you really read all of that? If so, I really feel like I need to give you an award for sitting through all of that. I was maybe a quarter way through writing this when I realized just how long it's going to be and I thought, "there is no way in hell anyone is going to actually read all of this." If you didn't read all of it...honestly, valid. This was a lot to sit through.

Hoshi once said that he gets bogged down with the details when he has to do detailed work and he can't move on until he feels like he's completed it satisfactorily. That would be me as I was working on this—I kept feeling like I wanted to try my hardest to fully convey the thoughts that are mostly abstract in my mind, and apparently, I just have a lot to say about Hoshi.

(That said, I only did bare minimum editing for this. I hope there’s no glaring errors.)

Once again, there is inevitably going to be gaps in what I have covered in this post. For one thing, it'll never be possible to summarize a human being in all their complexities through words. Especially someone I don't actually know! And for that reason, I want to acknowledge again that much of this is personal interpretation and completely subjective—and maybe even extremely biased. I do not know Hoshi and I never will. I remain cognizant of this fact, and do not wish to place him on a pedestal nor do I wish to laud a man I do not know without any basis. And more than anything? This is all just my personal opinion. You might not agree with me at some parts, or at all, and that’s okay.

But nonetheless, even though this is all just personal opinion, I tried to guide my reasoning through rationality based on concrete and material observations. This doesn’t change how he’s a complete stranger to me still, but well...I tried my best, and it was fun. In the end, I wanted to answer the original question that was asked with me as truthfully and fulsomely as possible: "what is your general overview of Hoshi?" I hope that to that extent, I have answered to the best of my abilities.

Another disclaimer I want to make as well is that this post is obviously focused and framed entirely around Hoshi, but at the heart of it, I support and adore all 13 members with all my heart. Please do not read this through any other lens than an intentional narrowing of focus due to the constraints of time and capacity. I wholly welcome anyone to do a similar post for other members—I would absolutely love to read it!

Okay, I won't drag out this conclusion any longer. I hope you had fun, and I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts. If you're not sick of reading long-form posts on Hoshi from me yet, I have two other meta posts on my Dreamwidth:


1. love languages and kwon soonyoung


2. soonwoo: peripheries, knowledge, perseverance, reciprocity, intention
(meta on soonwoo dynamics)


I hope to hear from you!

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Comments

[historiologies]

i read all of it and loved every word. a lot of these things we touched upon already in our dms and... to see them all fleshed out in between our ramblings and keyboard smashes is wonderful. i love reading how you understand this sweet tiger boy. it was a pleasure to see everything through your eyes. ily!!!! and thank you!!!!