'Checkmate' MV Shoot Sketch - ENHYPEN

What happened

ENHYPEN's official channel posted a behind-the-scenes episode from the shoot for the 'Checkmate' music video. In the opening remarks, a member calls it a combined MV and photo shoot. The captions start with the first shoot of day one on a chroma-key (green-screen) set. They go on to a group shoot on a room set, an outdoor shoot and a short choreography section.

Why Koreans care

In the opening remarks, a member says the team is shooting 'Checkmate' with a "자유분방한" (jayubunbanghan, free-spirited) feel. The member also calls it a song that suits live performance very well, which now has a music video as well. Later, a member says the shoot lets them headbang "정신 나간 것처럼" (jeongsin nagan geotcheoreom, like we've lost our minds). The member adds: "엔진분들이 콘서트 때 어떻게 하면 좋을지 저희가 몸소 보여드리는 겁니다" (we are showing the Engene, the fans, in person how to do it at concerts). Hair comes up twice. One member says this is their last black-hair shoot because they are about to bleach it, and guesses they might keep dyeing through the album after next. Another says they went blond the day before after about six rounds of bleaching, brighter than the blond they tried for 'Bite Me'. They say they redid it because many people liked the 'Bite Me' blond, and that it was hard but they did it for the fans. They then ask viewers to comment on how it looks. The captions note that Jake wore glasses with a camera attached and, because of the glasses, could not headbang hard. In an interview right after the skateboard shoot, the speaker says they shot a body-cam scene coming out from among mannequins. They also shot a dynamic skateboard scene with a camera mounted on the front, and say the picture quality and set-up feel like something they had only seen in overseas music videos. The captions don't say which of these shots made the final music video, so they are worth checking against the MV.

In the Korean comments

These are 15 Korean-language comments, listed by likes, on a video that had 1,034 comments when they were collected. All 15 are warm or wistful, and none is critical. The most specific pattern is about something missing. Three of the 15 say a scene they hoped to see is not there. Two mention an 애교 (aegyo, a deliberately cutesy act) behind-the-scenes. One reads, in translation, "I was curious about the behind-the-scenes of that Ni-ki aegyo photo, what a shame lol". Another reads, "I wondered if maybe, but there's no aegyo behind-the-scenes. Still, I'm glad to hear they had fun filming. Good work." A third says, in translation, that the behind-the-scenes of "that facial expression change" didn't come out, "what a waste". None says which photo or scene it means. Two more say they were curious about this episode. One ties it to how the members played in the MV: "They played so exuberantly in the MV that I was really curious about the behind-the-scenes too lol." Five of the 15 name Ni-ki. That includes the most-liked comment (108 likes), which reads, in translation, "Hold on…. Every Ni-ki in this behind-the-scenes is so, so cute…. Even the way Ni-ki talks is cute… 6:54, ah, so cute." It points to 6:54 without saying what happens there. In the caption sequence about members crowding in front of an air conditioner, one caption reads "끝까지 투닥거리는 흑백즈" (kkeutkkaji tudakgeorineun heukbaekjeu, roughly "the black-and-white-z, squabbling to the very end"). A comment repeats the phrase and then names the pair, in translation: "Ni-ki and Jay. So funny and cute." The captions never say why the pair got that name. The -즈 (jeu) ending shows up on another nickname in the same captions, 야옹즈 (yaongjeu, roughly "meow-z"), on a unit-shoot line.

What the words mean

고생했어 (gosaenghaesseo) appears in one comment, and the captions show 고생하셨습니다 (gosaenghasyeotseumnida) said and answered back on set. Literally the verb means "went through hardship". In practice it is the standard "thank you for your hard work" said to someone who has finished their part, so it is thanks, not a remark about suffering. The registers differ: the on-set form is formal and honorific, while the commenter's form is casual speech addressed to the members. The same root appears in its literal sense when the member who went blond says the bleaching was hard: 고생했지만 (gosaenghaetjiman, "it was hard, but"). The most-liked comment opens with 잠만 (jamman), a clipped, casual form of 잠깐만 (jamkkanman, "wait a moment"). Literally it asks someone to wait, but nobody is being asked to wait here. It works like "hold on, I can't take this" before the gushing about Ni-ki. Register: casual, exaggerated, affectionate. One comment says the funky mood and the music are "찰떡" (chalddeok). Literally that is a chewy glutinous-rice cake; as praise it means two things fit together perfectly. The same comment calls the MV "역대급" (yeokdaegeup, all-time-class). That is an exaggerated way of saying one of the best ever, not a measured ranking. Register for both: casual, enthusiastic.