By Jae-Ha Kim
Los Angeles Times
March 19, 2019
With the increased popularity of K-Pop, fans worldwide have been clamoring for groups to visit their countries. The three-man group M.O.N.T. listened and recently toured in Israel and India. “Israel was our first solo concert, so it was hard, but at the same time very fulfilling,” says group leader Narachan. “At first we were worried (because we didn’t know what to expect). However, we went because our MINTs (M.O.N.T.’s fan base) gathered strength together to invite us to those countries.” Adds Bitsaeon, “We chose those countries because we knew there were many sad K-Pop fans in parts of the world that are waiting to see concerts. We wanted to give them something special. We sold out all our shows! In India, more than 18,000 people came to our concert.” The trio’s current tour includes dates in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Check for updated concert information here. Fans may follow M.O.N.T. on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Q. What’s the last thing you remember eating overseas?
Narachan: In India, we had chicken butter masala, fried chicken rice, chili chicken curry and all kinds of other curry dishes. In Israel, the barbecued lamb and shakshuka were the most memorable. It was the first time for me to taste the shakshuka, so it was very special and tasty.
Roda: Indian food really suited my taste and I ate really well in India. I also really like sweet food and in Poland we went to a famous pancake place. The pancakes have marshmallows and are filled with chocolate and sprinkles!
Q. What are your hopes for this U.S. tour?
Bitsaeon: We hope many fans can come to the concert. The U.S. tour has always been a dream. If many fans would come, I’ll feel very happy.
Q. What do you want to do while in the U.S., time permitting?
Narachan: I really want to see a musical in New York.
Roda: I want to try busking in America.
Bitsaeon: I want to visit all the famous restaurants.
Q. Let’s talk about some of the interesting places you have visited.
Narachan: For me, Brazil was very memorable. Even though it was very far to travel to, the weather was great and the fans there were so awesome.
Roda: Israel was the most memorable. The buildings and roads were all very new to me and it was fun to explore a whole new environment.
Bitsaeon: India and Poland. India is full of fun memories for me and I can never forget when so many people came to see our concert and cheered for us.
Q. What was the first big trip you took as a child?
Roda: When I was young, I went to China with my parents and we decided to live there.
Q. If you could only pick one place to eat, would you select a street cart or a nice restaurant?
Narachan and Roda: Street cart!
Bitsaeon: Restaurant.
Q. What foreign languages can you speak conversationally?
Bitsaeon: We can speak Hebrew, Polish, Spanish, Hindi, German, Japanese and many more languages. We really enjoy learning languages and we learn it through music most of the time, so it’s easy for us to memorize vocabulary.
Q. Where have you traveled to that most reminded you of home?
Roda: India.
Narachan: Brazil.
Bitsaeon: Poland.
Q. Where would you like to go that you have never been to before?
Narachan: Actually, on this tour, we already got to go to many countries that we wanted to visit, so I’m very happy. In the future, I would like to visit Turkey and Denmark, too.
Roda: Argentina, Chile and other South American countries
Bitsaeon: I want to go to Japan, China and other Asian countries.
Q. When you go away, what are some of your must-have items?
Narachan: Cellphone.
Roda: Laptop for composing.
Bitsaeon: Music.
Q. If you didn’t have to worry about time and money, what would be your dream trip?
Roda: I want to go to (the U.S.) and visit all the running shoe stores and buy all the shoes I like.
Bitsaeon: I wish (we could) go to Japan on a sushi tour and then go to Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia) and watch the sunset, while drinking a bottle of beer. (We’d) take photos to share with MINTs. Lastly, go to Canada to see the Northern Lights.
© 2019 JAE-HA KIM
DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC.
RODA BABY ILL BUY YOU ALL THE SNEAKERS YOU WANT
My friend sent me fancam from their tour in her hometown and it was a huge success. You could hear everyone enjoying and applauding them. This intrigued me and I started listening to them. I love the cute concept they created. Also butter chicken is lifeline for most Indians!
D-18! 💚✨MONT did a super fun interview where they talked about previous shows and about the upcoming tour! You should definitely check it out! Thank you, Jae-ha!
MINT is a super cute fandom name, oh wow ☺️