Hidden Gems: Lesser-Known Variety Moments From Dreamcatcher's JiU
Variety is a K-Pop group staple and members like Dreamcatcher's leader JiU have their moments that not everyone may know about. Here's some hidden gems from Dreamcatcher's charismatic rabbit.
Variety is one of those things that has drawn and kept me into K-Pop over the years, allowing groups and artists I like to show off personality in places other than the stage. For Dreamcatcher, who are 7-year veterans, there is so much variety material out there that you might miss a few things.
I really enjoyed doing the Dreamcatcher Hidden Gems series for Live Performances, and it seemed like many newer or casual fans of the group liked finding out about things they hadn't seen before. So in the spirit of giving the people what they want, here's a new Hidden Gems series for Dreamcatcher focusing on variety for each member, starting with Dreamcatcher's "charismatic bunny leader" JiU.
(NOTE: I provide english fansubbed sources for convenience when an official translation isn't available, but be sure to give the original linked sources some love as well!)
- Name: Hororang Story (feat. Dreamcatcher JiU) (Original Source)
- Date: April 8th, 2016 - April 16th, 2016
Ok, so I'm probably cheating just a little bit because this was technically not during Dreamcatcher, but during their previous iteration as MINX. Given that this is her only role in any kind of drama so far, it's too good and potentially too hidden to pass up.
MINX leader JiU plays the role of a convenience store employee and the web drama itself is about multiple protagonists whose lives change when they purchase certain items from the store. JiU provides updates on Facebook about each person to advertise the store and write about her account of things.
This is fun because you see a bit of the range of JiU's acting, from her normally bright and cheerful attitude, to concern and care, to even being injured. The above video was subbed very recently at the time of this writing by the Dreamcatcher Philippines YouTube channel, which makes the context far easier to understand and worth checking out. Even though this is early in her career, you can see, even in an acted role, the kind of desire to help people that JiU would feed into her role as leader in both MINX and Dreamcatcher.
- Name: KWAVE UOOSEE FANWISH Part 3 and 4, Dreamcatcher Making Sandwiches
- Date: August 3rd, 2018
KWAVE did a bunch of early content with Dreamcatcher, and one of these involved having JiU be the judge of two Dreamcatcher teams making sandwiches. A lot of the KWAVE stuff was mobile-only and some of these videos never quite made it to the visibility they should have, but they're all entertaining.
From the thumbnail in the Part 4 video, you'd think that JiU wasn't having quite that good of a time but I'll chalk that up to the still selected just catching the frame at a bad time. Like any good leader, JiU judged this sandwich-making contest as fairly and kindly as possible, which, given the...interesting array of ingredients given might be more difficult than you think. JiU's always been known to be a bit of a foodie, so that makes her the perfect judge for this kind of duel, with funny results.
- Name: MOMO X - Dreamcatcher JiU - You Are The Boss (English fansubbed version here)
- Date: August 13th, 2017
Putting aside the fact that this is an entirely vertically filmed video, this is probably one of the most GIF'd early videos that I remember popping up back in the day. Yet the source of the video is rarely linked, and deserves to be, given all the fun JiU had with it.
MOMO X did a few good bits of Dreamcatcher content, some of which featured individual members, but this early one from JiU is great, just because of the fact that it hits all the K-Pop serotonin vibes - a fun introduction and promotion of the group's latest song at the time ("Fly High") along with some fun games and of course, food.
Some more hardcore fans might remember the famous "devil JiU" line in here about how if something is delicious it's automatically zero calories (tell that to the waistline I have to manage, JiU) but there's also a bunch of focus on the strong visual presentation that's always been JiU's hallmark as well as her being literally so bright she makes flowers grow. Cheesy and campy? Absolutely. But can't miss? For sure.
- Name: Newsade Dreamcatcher Teamwork Test Part 1 (English fansubbed version here)
- Date: March 1st, 2019
The part relevant to JiU starts at 4:00, with JiU having to predict how Gahyeon is going to react to questions and to the delicious food and drink that's in front of them (I'm sending a theme here, folks). As the leader of Dreamcatcher, JiU is obligated to know a bit about how her fellow Dreamcatcher members might behave.
Leaders in K-Pop often try to look out for the youngest member in the group, as Gahyeon is, and JiU is no different here. Whether or not she's successful in calling out what Gahyeon might say and do is something I'll leave to you to find out when you watch the video, but I think what's fun and nice in this video isn't necessarily the answers but the care and encouragement JiU gives to Gahyeon's responses - even if they might not be the ones she's looking for.
- Name: SBS MTV The Show/The K-POP - MBTI Of My Members (English fansubbed version here)
- Date: October 29th, 2019
Often the mark of a leader in K-Pop groups is how the other members perceive and think of them, and this activity from 2019 showcases that perfectly. MBTI, regardless of what people think of its credibility, is one of those fun personality things that K-Pop groups love to find out about, and this video has a particular JiU focus, as she takes an MBTI test privately while the others try to predict her result.
There's both funny dynamic here (the rest of Dreamcatcher don't hesitate to roast JiU while she's out of the room on things she's not quite good at to match a particular MBTI type) but also a heartwarming one, as the traits they do think JiU has are ones that reflect the kind of respect and positive opinion that they see in her. These traits seem to match up with what fans think of JiU as well, and show why she remains well-liked by everyone.
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