Crashing in fast, Big Ocean, the first hard-of-hearing boy group, have been rippling throughout the K-pop world this entire year. The members consist of Jiseok the main dancer, Hyunjin the main vocalist, and Chanyeon the main rapper, who all have various levels of hearing loss. The group debuted on April 20 of this year under Parastar Entertainment, a label that manages talent and entertainers with disabilities. Big Ocean incorporate Korean Sign Language (KSL), American Sign Language (ASL), and International Sign (ISL) into their performances.
With a mission to spread hope and positivity, the group has been breaking through the stigmas of having hearing loss. Recently they have been named Billboard’s K-pop Rookie of the Month and won the Hallyu Special Award at the 2024 Newsis K-Expo. This year, they also visited the National Institute for Deaf Youth in Paris and St. Joseph’s School for the Deaf in New York City.
Big Ocean landed in the U.S. mid-November to promote their newly-released mini album Follow. Coming straight from the Empire State Building, the trio sat down with EnVi to talk about Follow and their journey as a K-pop group thus far.
becoming big ocean
The group has gained attraction not only from their talent, but also from their abilities to persevere through their hearing loss as entertainers. In a video interview with KOREA NOW, they shared their stories about losing their hearing. Hyunjin first started to lose his hearing at age three due to a high fever. He had been wearing hearing aids on both ears since age four until he got a cochlear implant in his left ear. Since age nine, he has been using both a hearing aid in his right ear and the cochlear implant in the left. Chanyeon had also lost his hearing abilities due to a high fever at age eleven and now has bilateral cochlear implants. Jiseok was born hard of hearing and wears hearing aids.
Before Big Ocean, the members were set on different life paths. Jiseok was an Alpine skier for the Para Ski Team in Seoul; Chanyeon worked in a hospital as an audiologist; and Hyunjin was a content creator on YouTube where he made videos educating people about hearing disabilities. Though the boys were on separate trajectories in life, music had touched them all in different ways and planted a seed of passion into them early on.
For Hyunjin, he remembered the fond moments of playing piano at a piano academy. “Through playing piano I could hear the very good sound of the piano. So naturally I was interested in music,” Hyunjin told EnVi, who answered mostly in English throughout the interview.
After his cochlear implant surgery, the sounds in his left ear suddenly became “awful” and “mechanical.” The sounds of the piano began to heal him until hearing sounds became tolerable again. Chanyeon had a similar experience. After getting his cochlear implant surgery, his doctors recommended listening to a variety of sounds, especially music. This exposure was a great experience for him getting acquainted with sounds again.
As for Jiseok, a concert he attended when he was in middle school piqued his interest in music. “That’s when I first realized the music was really beautiful and the sounds of the instruments were so great,” Jiseok said.
In time, the boys found themselves at Parastar Entertainment, where they trained for about two years before their debut. As musicians early on in their career, they are always working hard to improve. They have become more serious with learning about different sounds and music and implementing it into their own.
“Beforehand, I was only consuming music, but nowadays I’m trying to express music,” Jiseok said. He wants people to feel what he feels through his expression and through Big Ocean’s music.
Now as Big Ocean, the boys have been actively reaching their fans PADO — which means “wave” in Korean — through their social media by posting sign language covers and doing challenges with other K-pop groups like RIIZE.
preparing for follow
Released on November 12, Big Ocean’s mini album Follow consists of four tracks: “Glow,” “BLOW,” “SLOW,” and “FLOW.” The first three songs were released throughout the year while “FLOW” was the last to be released. Hyunjin mentioned the meaning behind each song. “‘Glow’ is hope, ‘Blow’ through challenges, ‘Slow’ down [your] pace, and ‘Flow’ naturally,” he said.
“Glow” is a remake of a 1998 Korean song called “빛 (Hope),” sang by first generation K-pop group H.O.T. The song represents optimism, which is a message Big Ocean want to spread. “Glow” starts off with remnants of ‘90s melodies and incorporates a modern pop sound. The song has light tones that makes listeners instantly feel warm and hopeful. Meanwhile, the beats of “BLOW” have a more established sound that builds up to their charismatic singing. The energetic song is catchy and has uplifting lyrics that can get any crowd hyped.
“The album Follow is meant to give messages of follow your happiness,” Chanyeon said. He followed up with a timid laugh as he explained he tried to find small pockets of happiness throughout the long process and tight schedules.
While preparing for the album, the boys wanted to make sure their songs were accessible and enjoyable for a larger audience, which includes those who have hearing disabilities all across the world. They discussed with their team about the best ways to make their sound “more audible.” By playing around and incorporating “bigger beats” and “higher pitches,” their producer adapted these changes to the music, which proved successful especially with their latest track “FLOW.”
Choreography was a big learning process for Big Ocean. CEO of Parastar Entertainment, Cha Haley, elaborated on the new technology they developed in an interview with Arirang News. Their company developed vibrating smart watches and flashing light metronome systems, which helps the members feel and see the beats of the music. These tools help them sing in tune and dance in sync with each other.
“We changed choreography on a daily basis,” Jiseok explained. “We came up with the idea to change it to be more exciting and more fun.” Their choreography involves high power moves along with sign language, which mesh together naturally. The boys worked extra hard with each other to make sure their choreography is as synchronized as possible.
“We put a lot of effort to come up with the best outcome,” Jiseok said.
Another exciting aspect of the album was their collaboration with Young K of DAY6. The members were surprised and excited when Young K was interested in being featured in their song “SLOW.” This track is more melodic than the previous ones and feels refreshing as the group and Young K sing about “taking things slow.”
“It was a great honor to work with him amid his very tight and busy schedule,” Chanyeon said with a smile.
Young K and the boys were not able to meet in person, but the Big Ocean members expressed interest in another future collaboration or shooting a dance challenge with him. Fans also sent kind messages, some of which touched on how beautifully all four voices blended together in the song. “SLOW” was the third track to be posted before the full release of Follow.
they got their “flow”
The last track of their mini album “FLOW” was released on November 12, followed by an official music video and sign language lyric video. The song has catchy lyrics, a fresh vibe, and cheerful beats. PADOs have expressed their positive comments noting Big Ocean’s improvements which have touched the members. It encouraged them to create more songs like “FLOW.”
Big Ocean worked with Mark Batson, who has collaborated with artists like Alicia Keys, Eminem, and Beyoncé, for their latest music video. The members flew to Paris last month where they filmed part of the official music video at the National Institute for Deaf Youth. The rest of the video was taken at a random dance play, where the members taught the crowd the moves to “FLOW.” The crowd members who were interested in being in the music video danced with Big Ocean.
“It was so surprising because it was not arranged,” Jiseok expressed with shock as he recalled. “[The crowd was] voluntarily taking part in a music video and in a short moment after they learned it really quickly, everyone there was doing the same move at the same time. So I was so surprised and moved to have that experience,” he continued, moving his hand toward his heart.
Hyunjin had a witty approach to his response. He spoke about one of his “bucket list” items, which had been to shoot a music video with fans. “Finally I achieved my bucket list with this music video,” Hyunjin said quickly and eagerly, making the others laugh. The feelings from this memory came back to him as he recounted the moment. “It was [a] very amazing, and precious moment to me and [I’ll] never forget this experience,” he shared sincerely.
Teamwork makes a dream work. All three had their own challenges when it came to “FLOW’s” choreography. Depending on each other helped them nail down the moves. Jiseok gave a soft laugh when he talked about his first moment watching the choreography. He remembered how daunting the jumping parts, a staple move in the song, were. These were the moves he struggled with the most.
“The jumping moment was going to be taken out if I don’t succeed. I wanted to make sure it’s still there and it can be in the final choreography,” Jiseok said smiling, despite the stressful memory.
During this period, Chanyeon also injured his back which prevented him from practicing the same jump move. Luckily, he was able to do the move with a healed back just in time for the music video. For Hyunjin, he had a hard time hearing the starting point of the songs, but received help from Chanyeon. “Thanks to Chanyeon,” Hyunjin smiled and tapped Chanyeon’s shoulder, making him laugh. “I could connect the choreography with my most difficult point.”
glistening reflections
Seven months since Big Ocean’s debut, Jiseok, Hyunjin, and Chanyeon reflected on some of their notable memories from the past year. Jiseok’s notable memory was their time performing at the 2024 Newsis K-Expo event. He remembered the exhilarating feeling as he heard fans cheer for Big Ocean; however, ironically, these loud cheers made it difficult for the members to hear the music.
“We were all panicking and looking into each other’s faces like, ‘Can you hear? Can you hear any of the part of the song?’” Jiseok lightly reenacted the sudden panic and laughed. “Because the song started and then we had to go jump into the music and do the performance. So it was a really hard moment.”
As Chanyeon started to speak, he became teary-eyed and stopped mid-sentence. “There are many moments that we can call ‘a first time.’ So in each and every moment that it was the first thing, it all came into [my] mind right away at this moment,” Chanyeon paused. “There are so many things I would like to say, but every first thing was precious to [me],” he finished quietly, but still with a wide smile on his face.
One of Hyunjin’s favorite moments was seeing their congratulatory video made by fans for their debut performance. “I’m very grateful for our fans,” Hyunjin said. The trio continued to express immense gratitude and love for PADOs as they are always engaging with them. Chanyeon hopes to continue to travel the world with PADO.
“I want to gather a lot of PADOs and then I want them to transform into a tsunami,” Jiseok said with a grin. He insinuated wanting their smaller “wave” of fans to continue growing as large as a “tsunami.”
In a lighter tone to wrap up the conversation, the boys shared their excitement of being in New York City. “I think my hobby is eating,” Hyunjin said, pausing briefly as Jiseok and Chanyeon snickered. “If we can come to New York again, I will enjoy more delicious New York food.”
Jiseok said he liked the “freedom” of New York. Chanyeon had a similar view. “It really opened my mind. I was stuck in Korea for a long time,” he shared, alluding to a new mindset change as he experienced a new place.
Big Ocean plan to continue making accessible music that incorporates KSL, ASL, and ISL, with hopes to create a full length album in the upcoming year.
If you find yourself caught up in Big Ocean’s waves, make sure to check out their Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for more updates!
Interested in reading more EnVi exclusives? Take a look at our recent exclusive interview with J-pop group Travis Japan here!
