ATEEZ 8th Anniversary Interview

The Korean context

What happened

In an eighth-anniversary interview, ATEEZ’s Hongjoong revisits a message recorded a year earlier and says the group’s “BAD” promotions brought its previous work to a wider audience.

More context

Why Koreans care

Hongjoong invokes the group’s promise to keep dancing to “HALA HALA” at age 80. It turns an older song into shorthand for ATEEZ and ATINY continuing together far beyond this anniversary.

In the Korean comments

One comment reads, in translation, “I boarded because of ‘BAD,’ but if there had only been ‘BAD,’ I couldn’t have boarded.” The writer says exploring the eight years ATEEZ had already built pulled them further into the group, making the recent song a gateway rather than the whole attraction.

What the words mean

승선 (seungseon, boarding a ship) literally means getting aboard a vessel; here it playfully means becoming an ATEEZ fan, matching the group’s pirate imagery. The same comment extends the affectionate metaphor by promising to help “scrub the deck,” meaning they will support the group from now on.

Comments shown here come from this video.

Comments in Korean20

The same comments the article read — most-liked first

@@s***467

Thank you for remembering and not forgetting your promise to dance HALA HALA until you’re 80, and for saying it out loud yourselvesㅠ I can feel that it wasn’t just something you said, but something you truly meant I’ll be ATINY for a very, very long time Please continue being ATEEZ for a very, very long time

@@2***275

I haven’t watched it yet, but seeing you post an interview every year makes KQ really feel more like a school than a company. It feels like I’m watching a full story of these boys growing up, and it’s overwhelming and moving

@@a***215

Happy 8th anniversary 🏴‍☠️🥹❤️

BAKBING reaction summary

Fans are celebrating the 8th anniversary and vowing to stick together.

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