POW Believes Tenderness Is Your Strength

In a new interview, the members reflect on why their new EP Being Tender is such a powerful statement for a boy group to make. “Many men think showing tenderness means showing weakness,” the group’s leader Yorch says, “but I want to say that being tender doesn’t equal being weak.”

It’s not often that idols are willing to talk about their feelings. It’s even rarer for male idols to do so. Lately it seems that toughness and aggression is the highest currency for male idols. But POW, a five-member boy group under GRID Entertainment, is not your typical idol group. 

In late June, POW released their newest EP Being Tender. On the surface, the EP’s title might not sound like an assertion of power. But POW doesn’t see things this way. After all, the group’s name represents something unique: that they are powerful youth. And there is power, the members explain, in caring for those you love. 

“Tenderness is really different from looking weak. It’s an expression of care, and I think it makes you look mature and classy,” Jungbin, POW’s main vocalist told me recently in a new interview with the group. “I think guys who are tender are cool. I’m trying to be more tender too.”

“Being kind and being tender are two different things,” the boys sing in the title track and, as Jungbin surmised, “That line really shows how hard it is.” 

“I think it’s hard to talk about your true feelings,” vocalist Hyunbin added, "especially when it’s about being tender.” 

The EP is a refreshing, welcome change from the standard in K-Pop. The music is mellow and introspective, taking a look at the vulnerabilities of loving someone (“Being Tender”) and the memories that have stayed with POW members since their debut (“Reason”, “Fingerprint”). 

Lately, POW’s stories have been shaped by their leader Yorch’s songwriting. Songwriting, Yorch told me, was something he was always interested in “but too scared to try.” But throughout his time in POW and thanks to GRID’s support, the singer has begun to actively shape the group’s direction. “A lot of my inspiration comes from my experiences and feelings with fans,” he added. 

Yorch contributed lyrics to the title track and the song’s message resonates with him. “Many men think showing tenderness means showing weakness, but I want to say that being tender doesn’t equal being weak,” he said. “I hope people try to express tenderness at least once to those around them.” 

When I mentioned that showing tenderness or vulnerability can be hard for guys, Hyunbin responded, “Honestly, it’s still hard for me too, but I’d say just be comfortable and natural. I think tenderness comes naturally when you treat what’s precious to you.”

For Dongyeon, the group’s main dancer and vocalist, these emotions can be shown in small ways. “Learning to be tender doesn’t have to be big,” Dongyeon said. “Just the will to act on something — any action — means you’re already on your way. Take a small step.” 

POW debuted in 2023. They are led by Yorch, a Thai actor who began his career when he was only ten years old and who went on to become a hugely popular celebrity at home. “I acted from a young age and always loved experiencing new things,” he told me as he explained his background. “I wanted to expand that through music.”

“A memorable thing from growing up [in Thailand] is meeting so many fans while acting since I was little,” Yorch recalled. “One special memory is that every year on my birthday, my fans and I would visit and donate food and snacks to people with disabilities and orphans. We did that every birthday.” By the time he was recruited as a trainee with Big Hit Entertainment and revealed as a member of the pre-debut group Trainee A, he had caught the attention of international fans. 

In addition to Yorch, POW has four all-rounders. Hyunbin, a vocalist, hails from Masan, Gyeongsang-do. “One memory that stands out is I would find beetle or stag beetle larvae in the mountains and raise them at home,” he recalled. “I did such a good job that I raised them to adulthood and released them back into the wild.” Jungbin, the group’s main vocalist, was born and raised in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, Korea. He, too, remembered a childhood spent outdoors, often by his high school’s small river Citizen's River.  “I have so many memories of dipping my feet in and hanging out there with my friends,” he said. 

Dongyeon, who is Filipino-Korean, is the group’s main dancer and vocalist. “I was born and raised in Korea, but my mom is from the Philippines, so I have memories there too,” he explained. “When I was young, I went to the Philippines and still remember my much younger nephew saying ‘It’s mine!’  and throwing tantrums.” Like Yorch, Dongyeon was well-known to K-Pop fans before he debuted in POW. As a former JYP trainee, he participated on the SBS survival show LOUD where he was a member of JYP’s team. 

Hong, who introduced himself as the youngest, grew up in Jeonju. “I remember going fishing a lot during school,” he said. “After class, my friends and I would catch fish in the small stream that was right in front of my school!”

Almost from the start, POW established their own sound. Aesthetically and musically, the group reminds me of a throwback to the early days of K-Pop. Take their debut single “Dazzling”, a chill, mid-tempo track that stands apart from the noise music trending in K-Pop. Perhaps counterintuitively, it was a bold choice for GRID Entertainment to debut with such a laid-back single – but the group’s strength is how calming their music is. In other releases, like “Favorite” or “Sunset”, they would continue to excel in an alt-pop space that is still wide open in K-Pop. This, it turned out, is exactly what many fans told me they admire about the group: They aren’t trying to be like anyone else. 

Slowly, the members began to see the impact they were making on fans, who they call POWER. When they released “Sunset” and performed it for the first time, Hyunbin remembered looking out into the crowd and seeing fans crying. “That stuck with me,” he said. At the group’s first festival stage in Bangkok at Octopop, the group saw that they were becoming well known internationally. “The audience’s energy was amazing,” Dongyeon said.  

The members are aware and grateful that fans are comforted by their music. “When I hear that, it reminds me of why I became a singer,” Hyunbin told me when I asked about this. “I’m just so thankful I started this dream hoping my music would comfort and cheer people up,” Jungbin added. “So knowing I am that for someone makes me really happy.” 

The members see their success as equally shared between the group and POWERs. “I always tell fans, ‘Thank you for making POW together with us,’” Jungbin said. “That feeling of creating unforgettable memories with them is part of our song, ‘Fingerprint.’” 

Hong could feel fans’ support as early as their debut stage, telling me, “Seeing our fans cheering us on meant so much to me,” he said.

Today, the members are appreciative of how POWERs have given them the confidence to continue. “Even when I’m not at my best, our fans’ voices give me confidence,” Dongyeon said, adding, “because our fans believe in me, I remind myself to believe in myself too.” 

“Their smiles and warm messages give me so much strength,” Yorch agreed. “It reminds me that we’re not alone.” 

POW has felt especially grateful for POWERs’ support during preparations for Being Tender. Backstage at variety shows and music showcases, the members have been able to take in the adrenaline rush they feel from the audience. “I just want to show everything we prepared and make great memories for the audience,” Jungbin said. 

“For this comeback, I really wanted to show all the hard work we did, so I kept thinking, ‘I need to do well on stage,’” Yorch admitted. “Sometimes I worried if fans would like our performance.”

Promotional days are packed for the members and involve shoots and rehearsals. “It gets really busy. We wake up early, do hair and makeup, go to music shows, film challenges, do fansigns, then come back to the company to practice more if we have regrets about the stage,” Yorch said. “It’s exhausting but fun!”

Comebacks can be stressful periods for groups, and POW members have different strategies to cope. For some members, they lean on their fans’ support. Others, like Yorch, look to families for support. “Talking to my family gives me strength,” he said. Hyunbin takes the stress as a learning experience.  “When I doubt myself,” he said, “I see it as growing pains and push through it.”

But the group preserves because of their love for music – and for the POWERs who support them. “Performing on stage for fans is the biggest joy of my life,” Hyunbin said. That is why, he told me, he chose to become an artist.

When I ask what makes POW so special in their eyes, Dongyeon stressed that it is their vulnerability that gives them strength. “I think what makes POW unique is our gentle songs that carry our honest stories,” he said. “We want to continue that.”

As the leader, Yorch’s view was more poetic. “Like the old Korean tale of the Sun and the Wind, tenderness is like sunlight — it breaks down the walls between us,” he said, and then went on to summarize the meaning – and beauty – of POW. 

“POW chose tenderness,” he said, “because we believe our warmth can break down people’s walls.”