Get to Know ARrC: The Multinational K-Pop Group Opens Up About Their Latest Album ‘HOPE’ and Shares a Message for Their Indian Fans

The seven-member multinational group ARrC, consisting of ANDY, CHOI HAN, DOHA, HYUNMIN, JIBEEN, KIEN, and RIOTO, recently made a comeback with their third mini album, ‘HOPE.’ Expressing the complicated emotions of youth with honesty and depth, the album marks another step forward in the group’s evolving artistry.

Drawing inspiration from myths such as Korea’s Dokkaebi, as well as traditional masks like Indonesia’s Barong, Portugal’s Careto, and Korea’s Hahoetal, the album’s title track ‘awesome’ symbolizes the ability of youth to turn disasters into humor, mistakes into opportunities, and chaos into creativity.

‘HOPE’ also offers a glimpse into the group’s growth, with members HYUNMIN and CHOI HAN participating as lyricists for one of the B-sides, ‘dawns’, a significant milestone that highlights their expanding artistic involvement.

In an exclusive conversation with Namaste Hallyu, ARrC opened up about the inspiration behind ‘HOPE,’ the tracks that best represent each member, and the heartfelt message they want to share with their Indian fans.

With the title ‘HOPE,’ the album aims to deliver a positive message to fans and listeners who may be feeling restless or hopeless in life.

Our third mini album, ‘HOPE,’ depicts hope that grows stronger through connection and getting back up amid incomplete, repetitive daily lives. This album was also inspired by ‘Hope,’ an album by the Canadian band Klaatu. There is a trivial but precious vibe of teens, yelling ‘awesome’ even after losing an earbud, getting pushed in a bus, or oversleeping. We wanted to emphasize that emotion as ARrC’s interpretation of hope.

— CHOI HAN

HYUNMIN further added, “Like Klaatu’s ‘Hope,’ the message ‘don’t give up’ is expressed in a uniquely ARrC way in this album.” He went on to explain that the title track ‘awesome’ builds on this theme, saying, “The title song ‘awesome’ holds the feeling of, during these hard times, not wanting to lose your own positive spark. We hope that as fans listen to this album, they will be able to think of their own small moments of hope and hold on to them.”

When asked what they discovered while working on this album, DOHA reflected on the creative journey, “Both sonically and visually, expressing our emotions through the music is something we thought about and discussed a lot. I think through this experience, I learned more about the power of storytelling.”

The members also took the opportunity to describe each other using various tracks from ‘HOPE.’ One favorite among the group was ‘vitamin I,’ which they felt best represented KIEN, ANDY, and RIOTO.

The song ‘vitamin I’ really suits KIEN. KIEN is someone who really brings up our atmosphere. He makes the atmosphere so bright. Like ‘vitamin I,’ his existence is like a vitamin to us, so I think ‘vitamin I’ really suits him.

— ANDY

DOHA likened ANDY to ‘vitamin I,’ saying, “He’s the definition of ‘vitamin I.’ The song ‘vitamin I’ says that the most essential vitamin is ‘I,’ or myself. So I chose ANDY, who always gives us that important energy,” with HYUNMIN adding, “He’s totally our vitamin A.” JIBEEN also matched RIOTO with ‘vitamin I,’ calling him ARrC’s energizer.

HYUNMIN described JIBEEN as a personification of the group’s song ‘night life,’ noting his dedication. He said, “For me, our youngest JIBEEN is represented by ‘HOPE’s’ last song, ‘night life.’ If you listen to ‘night life,’ the song is about life at night, but the type of night lifestyle referred to in the song is that ‘I’m practicing and working hard every night, and that is my life.’ JIBEEN stays late to practice really often. So, I think he’s leading a very recommendable ‘night life’.” Meanwhile, RIOTO thought ‘dawns’ best describes JIBEEN, adding, “The song has a dreamy vibe and the youthful feeling that can only be expressed by someone around JIBEEN’s age, so I’d choose this song.”

For KIEN, the song that perfectly fits HYUNMIN is the title track ‘awesome,’ saying, “No matter the situation, he always says ‘awesome!’ and thinks positively about things.” Meanwhile, CHOI HAN chose ‘kick back’ to describe DOHA, explaining, “DOHA has a particular tone that reminds me of late nights, and I think it really suits the atmosphere of the song, so I think for DOHA, ‘kick back’ is the perfect fit.”

Wrapping up the conversation, the group shared heartfelt messages for their fans in India. ANDY said, “Hello, our Indian ARrCers! Thanks to your warm support and love, we are able to work even harder to make even better music. In the future, we’ll continue to show you good performances and music, so please continue to give us your love and support!”

Hello to our ARrCers who are cheering us on from India. Although we are far, we can really feel your support, and we are so grateful. We’re counting down the days when we can share a stage with you. We’ll continue to work hard, so please show us your love and support!

— JIBEEN

With ‘HOPE,’ ARrC have not only delivered a musically diverse and emotionally rich mini album but also a reminder that even in life’s smallest moments, hope can thrive. Their sincerity, playfulness, and mutual admiration for one another shine through both in their music and in their words.

Watch the full Get to Know ARrC here: