MENTION Boys Republic and the common reaction would be, “do you mean Boys Avenue or One Republic?”. But Boys Republic is in fact Universal Music’s first ever K-pop group.

Ever since the group made its debut in June last year, One Junn, Da Bin, Sung Jun, Min Su and Su Woong have been making a name for themselves, particularly since they nabbed the top spot on iTunes in Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand with their debut single, Party Rock.

The action has been fast and furious since then, with the quartet releasing its debut EP, Identity in October. Then, the boys were invited to perform at the Time To U.O.X 2013 Party at Kuala Lumpur Tower Grounds on Dec 6, followed two days later by the showcase I’m Ready, to promote Identity.

Come Aug 16, the Royal Family – a moniker for Boys Republic fans – can catch the boys live in action again at the MTV World Stage Malaysia 2014 at Surf Beach, Sunway Lagoon. Our very own Yuna will also be part of the revelry.

R.AGE managed to score an email interview with the boys, and here’s how they replied:

How do you feel about coming back to Malaysia to perform at the upcoming MTV World Stage?
We have always wanted to visit Malaysia again. We were already very excited when we were invited to perform for World Stage, and when we found out it was taking place in Malaysia, our excitement doubled! We can’t wait to meet all our Malaysian fans again!

What can your fans expect from Boys Republic this time around?
The last time we were in Malaysia, we didn’t get to show our fans much as that was our first promotional trip abroad.

But this time, we will definitely try to elevate our performance for all our fans to enjoy and have fun.

Do you feel any pressure being Universal Music’s first K-pop idol?
We would like to establish a good precedent for Korean bands who will join the industry in the future. We do not feel pressured by other bands. Instead, we feel motivated.

There are so many new K-pop acts emerging these days. How do you distinguish yourself from the other boy bands out there?
We try to sing songs that everyone can listen and sing along to. We produce music everyone can easily enjoy and we try to keep in touch with our fans as much as possible. We would like to be considered a boy band which exudes positive energy to its fans.

What’s next for you guys?
We’re preparing something new that fans have never seen us do before. Hopefully, we’ll be able to perform new songs at the upcoming MTV World Stage Malaysia.

Your lives are basically an open book to your fans. Is there something your fans don’t know about you?
We would like to maintain our privacy whenever we can. Having said that, we can share one interesting fact – whenever we’re in our house, we’re usually in our underwear. Don’t imagine it please!

If the five of you weren’t K-pop artistes, what would you be doing?
Sung Jun would be a professional dancer because he has been into dance since he was a kid, or, he would be an owner of a bakery because he is obsessed with all types of bread.

Su Woong would be a student majoring in Physical Education in a university. Da Bin would be an actor.

Min Su would be a professional dancer as well because he dreamt of becoming Michael Jackson’s backup dancer previously.

And One Junn’s dream was to be a soccer player, so that’s what he would be if he wasn’t a K-pop artiste.