ONF hopes to open new chapter upon return from military service

ONF, the first K-pop boy group whose members enlisted in the military at the same time, has returned to the music scene after a 1 1/2-year hiatus.

“We really missed being on stage and our fans during the time we were serving in the Army," said E-Tion of ONF during a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday.

"We put all the emotions that we felt during the past months into our new album that revolves around a single theme, love.”

The six-member group dropped its seventh mini album, “Love Effect,” on the same day.

The EP carries five tracks — the title track “Love Effect” and four sidetracks, “Be Here Now,” "Dam Dam Di Ram,” “Arrival” and “Wind Effect.”

“When I heard the melody of our title song for the first time, it felt like I was back home," said Wyatt, who wrote the lyrics to the title track.

"We are back with our kind of music but you can hear that we have matured music-wise. I think we can show a grown-up version of ourselves through this track.”

U, who is from Japan and is the only foreign member of the group, recalled filming the music video in Sapporo, Japan, for four days in the sweltering heat.

“The temperature was above 36 degrees Celsius. It was hard but we were happy that the scenery in our music video was beautiful, almost like a scene from an anime,” said U.

ONF performed the title track for the first time on stage in front of reporters during the press conference.

Marking their sixth anniversary this year, the veterans put on a composed, yet powerful performance. Wyatt’s rapping stood out among the group and U's clean-cut dance moves shone on stage.

“We were really worried serving in the military that people would forget about us. But our fans continued showing their support. They even wrote letters to us and that helped us to endure,” said J-Us.

In October last year, ONF reunited briefly during their mandatory military service, taking the stage at the Gyeryong World Military Culture Expo to perform their hits “Beautiful Beautiful” and “Ugly Dance” for fans.

“Through our new album, we want to continue being known as a group that introduces good music," said E-Tion.

"The last time we released our album was when the COVID-19 pandemic hit so we did not have the chance to see our fans face to face. We hope that we get more opportunities to perform in front of our fans and even abroad this time.”

Hyojin, the leader of ONF, said he hopes their new album would be able to reach more people.

"We want to communicate with more people and we want to perform in front of our fans from diverse nationalities. This is the beginning of a new chapter in our lives as ONF,” he said.