SEVENTEEN United Nations speech: The team learns and grows while chasing dreams | Min Kui | WOOZI | Wen Junhui

[The Epoch Times, November 15, 2023](Reported by Epoch Times reporter Zeng Weixin) The popular Korean boy group SEVENTEEN held the “13th United Nations Conference” today (14th local time) at the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Headquarters (UNESCO) in Paris, France. “UNESCO Youth Forum” brought about an hour of speeches and performances. Minkyu revealed that when they received their first settlement salary, they donated goats to children in Tanzania.

The “UNESCO Youth Forum” is an event held every two years in conjunction with the UNESCO General Conference. On this occasion, youth representatives from various countries share their thoughts and experiences on the problems they face and work together to find solutions.

SEVENTEEN is the first K-POP artist to be individually invited to attend the “UNESCO Youth Forum”. During the event, they conveyed the message that “the connection and education of the young generation will change the future of youth and the earth” and talked about the issue of “sustainable development that young people can practice”.

Seunghuan, who spoke first, introduced his hometown Jeju Island. In addition to sharing the photos he took on Jeju Island, Seunghuan said that he cultivated, talked about and shared dreams with his friends on an island far away from the capital Seoul, and wanted to move from this island to the larger world. Perform in front of many fans and become a K-POP star.

Chinese member JUN (Wen Junhui) said in Chinese that he spent his childhood in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China. At that time, he and the other members were thousands of miles apart, and he never expected that they would become friends who would work side by side and grow together in the future. And he still clearly remembers the first time he met the members in 2012. “Young people from different hometowns and speaking different languages ​​came together because of the same dream.” He admitted that he had been uneasy about whether he could meet the challenge as he had been an actor since he was young and did not speak the language well, and was worried about dragging down the team, but he therefore worked harder to learn the language.

JUN said: “From the day we met in 2012, to now, every day, I have a firm idea. With everyone, I am not afraid of failure. Difficulties for one person may be difficulties; but there is no difficulty in front of 13 people , only dreams waiting to be realized. Later I learned that this idea of ​​mine was actually shared by every member. We are each other’s teachers, practicing together, creating together, and becoming a better version of ourselves step by step. Each of us may It’s not perfect, but as long as we are together, we are the best SEVENTEEN. I think we can stand here as SEVENTEEN today because we never give up in the face of difficulties.”

WOOZI, who is responsible for creation and production in the team, said that SEVENTEEN did not expect to be successful from the beginning. He once doubted whether it would be too difficult to integrate the opinions of 13 members, but because the members are each other’s teachers and warm and precious partners, so even before the day of success has come, they spent time smiling and encouraging each other, and firmly believed that “if we are with this group of friends, everything will go smoothly.”

WOOZI said that each member has different talents such as singing and dancing. While learning from each other, they created the color of SEVENTEEN and the growth path of SEVENTEEN.

He also mentioned that SEVENTEEN will tell the stories of all members when making albums. Therefore, if one person cannot resonate with each other in the group meeting, the song will not be completed because they think that they cannot resonate with music and the audience will not. Resonance, “However, despite the large number of members making it difficult to reach consensus, the process is one that brings us together as one”.

Minkyu revealed that after SEVENTEEN received their first salary settlement in 2016, the second year after their debut, they wanted to do something good and named 13 goats after the members and donated them to children in Tanzania. He explained that donating goats can produce fresh goat milk that is helpful for children’s nutrition, and the lambs can also be sold to earn money for children’s school fees.

Minkyu said that later he received a letter from a child in Tanzania that said, “I will raise goats well for my dream.” It reminded him of SEVENTEEN’s process of chasing their dreams, and they and the children in Tanzania were interacting with each other. While studying, they have grown from a group that debuted in December 2015 with less than 800 viewers at its first special performance and sold only 1,400 albums to a group that has sold more than 15 million albums and has millions of people watching their performances online and offline. group.

Minkyu also said that since 2017, SEVENTEEN will donate to foundations that help children and other organizations every year on the occasion of their debut anniversary, hoping that children will not lose their dreams or feel frustrated no matter what the circumstances, and they believe that “sharing Dreams are about sharing hope.”

Next, Joshua explained in English the educational activity “GOING TOGETHER” that SEVENTEEN has carried out jointly with the Korean Committee for UNESCO since last year, and invited everyone to join in related activities such as focusing on education and helping disadvantaged areas build schools through various activities. .

Vernon, who finally spoke on behalf of the group, introduced the lyrics of the songs they brought today and explained the meaning of these lyrics and this speech.

Finally, SEVENTEEN members performed five songs: “_WORLD”, the English version of “Darl+ing”, “Headliner”, “God of Music” and “Together”. (Click to watch the full video of SEVENTEEN’s speech and performance)

Editor in charge: Su Yang