MBTI personality test meets music in NCT DREAM's new album 'ISTJ'
K-pop boy group NCT DREAM poses during a press event at a hotel in Songpa District, southern Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of SM Entertainment
NCT DREAM unleashes 3rd studio album
By Dong Sun-hwa
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) personality test is a popular fad among young Koreans who are itching to explore their inner selves. Through this 12-minute online test, people can find out whether they have characteristics of introversion (I) or extroversion (E); sensing (S) or intuition (N); thinking (T) or feeling (F); judging (J) or perceiving (P). The test groups people into 16 letter-based personality types, and young people in Korea often use them to introduce themselves.
Jumping on the MBTI bandwagon, K-pop boy group NCT DREAM brought the concept of the test to its third-full length album “ISTJ” that dropped Monday afternoon. The album offers the lead single of the same name, which is a hip-hop dance track about ENFP-type boys ― campaigners with extraverted, intuitive, feeling and prospecting personality traits ― who fall for the ISTJ-type girls ― logisticians with introverted, observant, thinking and judging traits ― despite their polar opposite characters.
“The MBTI test is so hot and famous in Korea, so we wanted to promote it to the global audience as well,” NCT DREAM's Canadian leader Mark said during a press event at a hotel in Songpa District, southern Seoul, Monday. “We also thought we could tackle a new challenge by adding the MBTI elements to our music for the first time. In our song, NCT DREAM members assume the role of the ENFP boys while our fans play the ISTJ-type girls.”
Chinese member Renjun said, “Through the lyrics, we question why we are attracted to our opposites. These lyrics are quite fun and fresh.”
Jaemin, however, stressed that people should not judge others merely by their MBTI test results.
“The MBTI test is something very special, but I personally believe we should not solely rely on the test results to make predictions about others.”
Renjun chimed in, saying, “I have never taken the test before, and I am not really fond of judging people by their MBTI types. Everyone is different and they have their own charms and characteristics.”
The teaser for NCT DREAM's third full-length album, “ISTJ” / Courtesy of SM Entertainment
Unlike his bandmates, Haechan said he frequently takes the MBTI test.
“I am so into it,” he revealed. “I belong to four different MBTI types including ENFP and ESFP. My type seems to change depending on my current status.”
Also included in the “ISTJ” album are nine other tunes: “Broken Melodies,” “Yogurt Shake,” “Skateboard,” “Blue Wave,” “Poison,” “SOS,” “Pretzel,” “Starry Night” and “Like We Just Met.” For the seven NCT DREAM members, “Like We Just Met” is particularly meaningful because they all participated in penning its lyrics.
“It was the first time that all seven of us have written lyrics for our song,” Chinese member Chenle explained. “It was also my first time to write lyrics in Korean. I am satisfied with my work.”
NCT DREAM has hit an apex in its career with “ISTJ” by racking up a whopping 4.2 million pre-orders, but the septet believes it still has a long way to go.
“We contributed a lot of ideas to make our album this time,” Jaemin recalled, adding that their meetings often lasted more than three hours a day. “I think this is a testament to our growth. But I always believe that we are just at the beginning stage.”
Jisung added, “Many people lose their passion as time goes by, but we are more passionate and enthusiastic than ever right now. About seven years have passed since our debut, but all of us are still striving to do better.”
Jeno said, “We always want to present our group and our songs to people worldwide, so we will continue to contemplate different ways to do so.”