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NCT’s Taeyong, the leader of all NCT sub-units consisting of 23 members, revealed his honest struggles in recent Bubble messages. July 7 marked NCT 127’s sixth debut anniversary. With the group now being in their most crucial year - the seventh year - the 27-year-old rapper opened up to fans, sharing with them the hardships he has experienced over the years.
With multiple subunits and 22 members as his responsibility, NCT’s Taeyong has always been praised for his leadership skills. As the group celebrated their sixth anniversary on July 7, the 27-year-old posted a lengthy letter, opening up about the responsibilities and burden of being the leader.
NCT’s Taeyong began the letter by mentioning the mental struggles he faced at the time of debuting and the words of staff members that still ring in his ears, years later.
“Gonna have to work really hard this year too. The manager hyung who told me a team that’s not number one is meaningless during debut and the teacher who said if NCT fails today, it’s your fault, in Malibu… Now, this moment, this year, I’ll pour out everything I can do as a leader.”
He shared that the team can only continue their upward trajectory thanks to the members and the many staff who make things possible. He mentioned that there aren’t many companies who put out five albums a year, which filled him with gratitude.
NCT’s Taeyong gets real about the pressure of being a leader responsible for the future of 22 young people
Neo-Culture Technology, or NCT, was SM Entertainment’s way to revolutionize K-pop, in a way. The team has a concept of “unlimited” members who promote in different subunits. The group debuted in 2016 as NCT U, and gradually made way for NCT 127, NCT DREAM and WayV, a sub-unit consisting of only Chinese members.
When they debuted in 2016, the group had big shoes to fill. They were the first boy group to debut from SM Entertainment after its highly-successful group, EXO, who debuted in 2012.
Being the leader of a new group from the Big 4 of the K-pop industry was tough. Taeyong debuted at 21 years of age with huge responsibilities. Entering the seventh year, he talked about giving his all this year, thanking the members for trusting him, and even apologized for wanting to give up multiple times.
NCT’s Taeyong also talked about not being able to hold back his tears at the NEO CITY - THE LINK in Tokyo Dome. He revealed that it was because he had been shouldering the burden all alone, but seeing the members all grown up, he believed that it was time to move forward with them, not excluding them.
“Looking at all the members and us who grew so much, I thought I should trust the members and go forward now.”
NCT’s Taeyong also mentioned that “bringing up difficult stories” might attract some negative light, but he asked fans to understand him. He will eventually pay them back for their generosity “with even bigger things.”
As the group is divided into subunits, NCT’s Taeyong also mentioned how some fans might favour one group over the other, calling it “inevitable.” He added that he still hopes fans love and support all members equally. After all, 127, DREAM, U, or WayV - they’re all NCT.
“I hope there are as much 127Zens and NCTzens who love and support all of us.”
Carrying the responsibility of 22 people and their futures never got easier. The leader commented that there were multiple times he wanted “to give up the role of a leader” but could push forward because of the relentless support people gave him.
Towards the end of the letter, NCT’s Taeyong shared that he will work as hard this year as when he first debuted.
“For this promotion, I’ll go back to when we first debuted and work hard without caring if I hurt my body so please anticipate it a lot.”
Soon after the heartfelt letter on Bubble, fans trended ‘Tayeong Best Leader.’ They too, poured all their emotions into praising the 27-year-old for his countless efforts in making NCT one of the most prominent K-pop groups.
Note: The translation credit goes to @neoslvn on Twitter
In other news, there will be two more sub-units in NCT. SM Entertainment recently announced plans to debut NCT Hollywood and NCT Tokyo.
