DAY6’s Young K spoke candidly about songwriting royalties, the hardships he faced during his trainee years, and a memorable moment with his father.
On December 1, Young K and Dowoon appeared on the YouTube show 'Zzanbro Shin Dong Yup,' where they shared a series of behind-the-scenes stories. Young K recalled the time he sparked controversy for rolling the pronunciation of “Toronto” during an interview with an overseas artist. “I only lived there for four years. I really did exaggerate my pronunciation then. I laughed because it was a joke, but once the clip was edited down, I came across as some arrogant kid,” he said.
He admitted that the incident made him overly cautious in everything he said and did afterward. Hearing this, Dowoon chimed in, “He used to be extremely careful. He didn’t like meeting people much, but that changed after he became a radio DJ. I like how he is now.He seems much happier.”
The conversation also touched on comedian Moon Se Yoon’s comment that Dowoon resembles “a handsome Kim Jong Min.” Dowoon revealed that Kim Jong Min had actually been his role model. “He really is. I admired how he could smile in any situation. But once we actually worked together, I realized even he doesn’t smile all the time,” he joked.
Young K, meanwhile, named G-Dragon as his own role model. “I realized just how different GD and I are. It hit me that no amount of effort would make me like him. I started thinking maybe being a singer isn’t the path for me, and I said several times that I wanted to quit being a trainee. But my dad stopped me every time,” he shared. He explained, "I told him, 'I don't think this is for me. I want to quit.' But every time, my dad would tell me, 'You even quit studying abroad, maybe you should decide when something else comes your way.' So I said, 'Okay, I'll try harder.' The next year, I told my dad, 'I want to be a singer-songwriter.' He told me, 'Can you do that there?' and I said, 'Yeah, I can, but it might be difficult.' So he said, 'Okay, stay there a bit longer and try harder.' So I said okay."
The episode also highlighted why Young K is often called a “royalty powerhouse.” It recently became known that he has more songs registered with the Korea Music Copyright Association than G-Dragon. Addressing the attention, Young K explained, “The royalty amounts are very different. I win in quantity, not quality. I have 216 songs registered with KOMCA. For tracks I participated in, I told the composers they only needed to list my name. I just worked hard.”
Meanwhile, DAY6 will hold their year-end concert, 2025 DAY6 Special Concert – The Present, from December 19 to 21 at Seoul’s KSPO Dome, where they will meet fans to close out the year.
SEE ALSO: DAY6 opens fan pre-sale for year-end solo concert today
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