- [Jackson] I assume you guys talked about the hardest part being a trainee...
- [BM] Oh yeah. - [Ashley] Ohh.
- [Peniel] Really?
- [Jackson] I saw that. I saw that.
Oh that was on another podcast or what?
- [Peniel] Oh I don’t know. I thought…
- [BM] That was on ours.
- [Peniel] I thought trainee was pretty fun for me.
We had a pretty fun time.
- [Jackson] We had…
I had some hard moments.
I had some hard moments because you know like...
You came like—
We were in the same company.
- [BM] Yeah yeah yeah. - [Ashley] Yeah yeah.
- [Jackson] And… You came two years before me or one year?
- [Peniel] No no. I think like…
- [Jackson] You came with Mark. - [Peniel] A year?
- [Jackson] With Mark and BamBam. - [Peniel] Or 6 months before you.
- [Peniel] No I came a little before them too.
- [Jackson] Then two years.
- [Jackson] Two years before me. - [Peniel] No no no no.
- [Peniel] I got cut exactly two years.
- [Jackson] What? What do you mean?
- [Peniel] So like…
I was only a trainee at JYP for two years.
And I got cut.
So I think I was there for like maybe a year before you.
- [Jackson] Ohh.
- [Peniel] A year? A year and a half before you.
- [Jackson] Bambam and Mark came in a year before me.
- [Peniel] Oh really?
Okay maybe like a year and a half before you?
- [Jackson] Yeah so…
To me, I didn’t know Korean.
- [Peniel] Ah yeah okay okay.
- [Jackson] And… I was a fencer.
Yeah, what do you expect from a fencer?
You expect them to dance?
You expect them to sing? To rap?
Nothing.
- [BM] So you had no musical…
Or dancing background?
- [Jackson] I was so happy and… - [Peniel] But…
- [Jackson] Yeah?
- [Peniel] Didn’t you audition with rap or something?
- [Jackson] I auditioned with dance. - [Peniel] Oh dance.
- [Jackson] Yeah dance but like...
- [Jackson] But just freestyle and…
It was wack.
Okay. I knew it.
- [Ashley] Noo. But you got in.
- [Jackson] I felt good… But it was wack.
I knew it.
- [BM] Did you think it was wack at the time?
- [Jackson] It’s still on the internet.
- [Ashley] Oh really?
- [Ashley] I want to see…
- [Jackson] People still— Don’t…
No please.
No, people still laugh.
- [Peniel] When did your mindset change?
Because I remember when you first came into the company…
You were like, “Hey hyung… It's pretty good right?”
- [Jackson] I thought… I felt good.
I thought you guys were going to feel good.
But I knew it was a little wack.
For sure.
- [BM] Even at the time?
- [Jackson] But then the video is still online and everyone still…
- [Peniel] You’re seriously looking it up right now?
- [Jackson] Everyone’s still like, “Hey it’s cute. It’s cute.”
But hey… What do you expect?
- [Peniel] Hey whatever.
It got you into the company right?
- [Jackson] Yeah yeah yeah.
- [BM] How old were you?
At the time of your audition?
- [Jackson] I was 16.
- [BM] 16 when you first came to Korea.
- [Jackson] Yeah and then I didn't know Korean.
How to sing. How to dance.
How to do anything.
I was pretty buff back then, right?
- [Peniel] Yeah dude. He had like…
It was like… His triceps…
They were like abnormally huge.
I was like, “What the…”
- [BM] It’s the fencer triceps huh? - [Jackson] My thighs.
- [Peniel] And his thighs dude… I was like…
- [Jackson] Crazy.
- [BM] Girls love a… Nice pair of thighs bro.
- [Jackson] Uhhh…
Apparently they didn't.
Apparently they didn’t.
And then…
- [BM] Cultural difference maybe?
- [Jackson] I came in and I was in depression.
Since the third day in Korea.
Remember? I was telling you…
I said, “Hyung... I’m gonna get cut.”
Remember?
I said I’m gonna get cut.
- [Peniel] Yeah. It was like the third day.
I was like, “Bro. You just got here.”
- [Jackson] And first day…
He helped me carry my luggage.
Up the stairs ‘cause we lived like on the 5th floor.
- [Peniel] There was no elevator.
- [Jackson] Yeah good days. And we always hang…
Like me, Peniel, Mark, Bambam… and Don.
- [Peniel] And Eugene. - [Jackson] Yeah and Eugene.
- [Peniel] It was like all the English-speaking people.
That’s when my Korean skills stopped improving.
It was like only Korean people so I was like, “In order to survive…”
And all of a sudden like all these English speakers started coming in…
My Korean skills just went… booooo.