Dignity makes ambitious debut to ‘Cool Down’ summer

From left: Dignity's Hyungjin, ON, Luo, Minseok and Luke pose for a photo at a press conference in Gangnam, Seoul, Wednesday. (Kwon Min-seo/The Korea Herald)

Five-member group Dignity is making an ambitious debut with “Digmotion,” its first mini album after a long hiatus following the release of its predebut song.

The boy band released the predebut track “Rambo” in September 2022, but only officially debuted on Wednesday with “Digmotion.”

At a press conference in Gangnam, Seoul, on Wednesday, Minseok expressed his confidence, saying, "We have prepared for a long time due to the extended break after our predebut."

Leader Luo, who previously debuted as the youngest member of the boy band MASC, reflected on his past struggles, saying, “Having left my previous team without achieving my goal, I'm more desperate this time. I will work hard to protect this team to ensure that such tough things won’t occur again.”

The group has filled its debut album with a Y2K aesthetic. "To differentiate ourselves from other K-pop teams, we explored songs from the '90s and ended up paying homage to Deux’s music and style,” Luo explained.

Deux, a Korean hip-hop duo in the 1990s, was known for its powerful dance moves and catchy melodies. Dignity’s debut song, “Cool Down,” incorporates contemporary R&B and hip-hop elements of Deux’s new jack swing genre.

“We watched many of Deux’s stage performances. The hip-hop style of the '90s had a lot of steps and energetic movements. We put a lot of effort into capturing that essence,” added ON.

“Our strength as a team is our ability to cover various music genres. We believe our album will appeal to both '90s listeners and younger audiences,” said Hyungjin.

Asked about the group's goals, ON expressed a desire to win first place on a music show, while Minseok aspired to hold stand-alone concerts and Luo wished to perform at year-end music festivals and win a rookie award.

“Debut is not the end but the beginning, so we will continue to move forward,” said Minseok.

By Lee Jung-youn(jy@heraldcorp.com)