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INTRODUCTION: MEET VERNON
(03 mins, 53 secs)Hi, I’m VERNON. My Korean name is Chwe Hansol, and I’m a member of SEVENTEEN.Towards the beginning of our debut, I was told that I was clearly living in my own world, so much so that I was often called sachawon*, which means being a bit odd or different.I’ve also been told by my members that I have my own unique style and sensibility, but I don’t think that means I’m particularly weird or strange.The greatest value in my life is joy. I suppose it can also be called happiness. This attitude affects me and my career as a musician because I ultimately want to make music that makes people happy. Of course, it’s impossible to say what true happiness is in the absolute sense, because the given conditions and circumstances per person are so different.But personally for me, I feel a sense of fulfillment, accomplishment and happiness if I’m able to give someone a little bit of happiness through my music.Diversity is important, but we unfortunately live in a world with a lot of prejudice. When I was young, there was a time when I was worried about other people’s preconceived notions about me. My different thought processes, maybe the way I look slightly different, even – these things put me in situations where I was forced to be in the spotlight, which kind of forced me to think about my identity from an early age.Today, I’m doing really well. A lot of those insecurities and struggles are behind me. I found my own identity and established my own roots that keep me grounded; no matter what people say or do.A lot of my overcoming happened with, of course, my group SEVENTEEN. SEVENTEEN will forever have a special place in my heart. Both individually as a person and within my career as a singer, SEVENTEEN helped me with achieving so many things in my life. For that reason, SEVENTEEN – and CARATs, of course – will always be my number one consideration whenever I make decisions about literally anything.If you want to get to know about me, my Mindset would be a great place to start. I’m going to be opening up about the life values that drive me and help define who I am. I’ll also talk about my views on diversity, prejudice – and of course – my life with SEVENTEEN.No matter what you came here for: thank you. I hope my Mindset Collection is helpful to you in some way. I’m VERNON of SEVENTEEN, and welcome to my Mindset.*Sachawon (4차원) = 4-Dimensional, usually means a person is a bit odd; unlike others in thinking or mannerisms

EPISODE 1: DEFINING WHO I AM
(09 mins, 01 sec)There are three main principles that define who I am: enjoying life, consistency and diversity. Among these, “enjoying life” is what I value the most. We all know that life isn’t always enjoyable, but I personally think that it’s important to have an optimistic mindset – to not only accept the negative situations that come our way – but to navigate through them too.That’s not to say that I’m completely optimistic all the time, but if I can be positive, I try to be; because I don’t really see a point to being negative.I’m a glass half full kinda guy. Rather than seeing what’s missing or lacking in a particular situation, I like to think of what I already have. Of course there are always things that can make something better – maybe whipped cream on top of ice cream, if that’s your thing. But even without it, you still have ice cream.Does that mean you should force yourself to be positive all the time? Definitely not. If anything, I think it will backfire on you. But it is helpful to reframe your mindset to view things more positively on a daily basis – and a great healthy habit to build.Another core value of mine is “consistency” – when you consistently dedicate your time, effort and commitment to something, it can help you get that much closer to whatever it is you want to achieve in life.You know the phrase “Practice makes perfect”? I think of “consistency” as “practice” – if you’re regularly practicing or being consistent in pursuing a new skill, dance, song, habit, even a new mindset – you will make so much progress and grow in incredible ways that you’ve never really imagined.You can start slow. Let’s take push-ups, for example. If you can’t do ten push-ups, literally start with one push-up a day. When you can do one push-up a day, try doing more in a single day. Again, be consistent. Before you know it, I guarantee you’ll be able to do ten push-ups in no time.I know this can sound silly, but that’s the thing. Being consistent with even the smallest things can be incredibly powerful; and honestly if you’re consistent, who’s to say you can’t do one hundred?I always try to be honest to myself. It just keeps me straight – it keeps me grounded. I try to be honest with other people too, as much as I can. CARATs might know this, but I often say what I’m thinking in a very direct and blunt way; and sometimes I receive negative feedback from people around me, which is fine. It makes sense to feel uncomfortable when you interact with someone who’s so different from you.I think that people are their own people; and at the same time, they’re a reflection of their environment. My surrounding environment and me, makes myself. But personally, when I come across someone who has a different opinion on something, I try not to get heated or take it personally. If anything, I actually welcome it because conversations with people who have different thoughts and values than mine are actually interesting and even enlightening.I tend to watch a lot of movies. I don’t know, I just liked watching movies ever since I was little. Maybe it’s because I feel like movies bring different ideas and worlds directly to me. If I hadn’t become a singer, I probably would have become a translator for movie subtitles. I guess you could say it’s my ultimate hobby.For the most part, I enjoy watching all genres. When choosing something to watch, I gravitate towards things that either look interesting, seem important, or will help me in some way. By being open to all different kinds of things, you can find what you personally like.My favorite movie of all time is probably The Matrix. It’s a movie that gave me a lot to think about. There’s a moment in the film where one of the main characters had to choose between two different pills: a blue pill and a red pill. The blue pill represented blissful ignorance, and the red pill represented the ability to know all the truth in the world.Back then, if the moment ever came to me where I had to choose between the two, I think I would have probably chosen the blue pill; because when I was younger, I thought “Does the truth really matter?” – if I liked something, I liked it – and that was that.But after experiencing and going through a lot of different things, I started to have this new thought of “Once you know something, are you really able to live ignoring it?” – so now, I actually don’t know which pill I would choose anymore.
At the end of the day, that situation will never happen – I think. It’s not like anyone can really predict anything; and even if something like that were to happen, I don’t think it makes sense to make assumptions about anything. We should just try our best in this version of reality.I also listen to music as often as I watch movies. People might think of it as me digging for music that others don’t know about, but for me, it just makes me happy to find a song that maintains its musicality and transcends trends – which fits the direction and style of the music I’m pursuing.Currently, SEVENTEEN as a group is doing great; but as an individual – as VERNON – there are actually a lot of things that I feel like I haven’t shown the world yet. Up until this point, I’ve only shown myself as a SEVENTEEN member – so I do have personal ambitions to do some solo activities in the future.If someone were to ask me for more specific details on what kind of music I want to do, it’s hard to pinpoint just one thing; because it’s not like there’s a specific genre I want to try or an artist I want to emulate.I’m just VERNON – and I want to do VERNON’s music that showcases the colors that only I can create. That may sound grander than it actually is, but in simpler terms, I just want to make music that I personally can enjoy and have fun with – music I don’t have to explain, just music that people want to listen to. No matter what anyone says, I’m confident that I can show the world that I’m headed in the right direction.Listening to this episode, you might think “this is pretty simple”, and I think that’s exactly the point. Have your own set of values that you deeply believe in, and live up to them the best that you can.If you’re on the path to finding your values, try and experience as many things as you possibly can – like discovering your favorite movie genre or style of music. Sounds simple, right? Because it really is. Once you realize what you want, it’ll help create firm standards in your life that you can follow consistently in order to become a strong, grounded, confident person – and live a fulfilling life.This is my Mindset.

EPISODE 2: OVERCOMING PREJUDICE
(08 mins, 55 secs)Growing up, I’ve always felt different; because I look different. And because of the way I look, I received a lot of unnecessary attention that was, at times, burdensome and stressful. I didn’t really like it. Thinking back on it now – I definitely could have reacted to things better; but I didn’t have the ability to do so at the time.I would just be in the subway and sometimes kids – or even just people – would just look at me because I was the only foreigner; and sometimes people would come up to me and try to have a conversation with me in English. It wasn’t like they were bad towards me – but even that was kind of stressful. Whether the people’s attention were good or bad, just getting attention was stressful.Now, I’ve become numb to it all. In a weird way, I guess it kind of worked out because receiving attention – any kind of it – is the fate of a public figure. It was something I had to fully accept at some point. But if you think about it, everyone is different; not just me. I came to realize and truly understand this throughout my trainee period, and even after we debuted.There are 13 members in SEVENTEEN. That means there are 13 different personalities that live together. 13 guys together, all the time. Can you imagine?I do sometimes feel that I have different tastes in music, movies, or even humor from my members. Even our fans are all different from each other, even if they’re all CARATs. Each person can react very differently to the same content we release.When I first debuted, I didn’t feel like I had a real sense of identity. Part of it may have been my young age, but when I compare myself today to the young kid who debuted – my core strength is these deep roots that I have now developed. I don’t think it was triggered by a specific moment or anything; it just came about naturally through the accumulation of experience and time.For example, when I first debuted – I honestly avoided looking at any comments online. I didn’t wanna be trapped within the boxes people put me in through their comments. Today, it’s not a regular thing that I do, but every once in a while I’ll take a look at comments.
But it’s not so much fear or anxiety that I feel when I read comments anymore – because I don’t let them affect me, and I don’t take anything to heart. I think I’m able to do that because I now set my own standards for myself; so I don’t hold on to others’ opinions anymore. I can define and determine who I am.Another thing that I’ve developed over time is balance. Like I shared in another episode, defining your values and your own beliefs is incredibly important. But one thing that can be hard to figure out while you’re doing that is learning to live with balance.Because I have a very strong set of values and beliefs, there was a point in time when I tried to act and live only according to my own beliefs and values. Part of this may have been a natural reaction – I was trying to get away from becoming what everyone else wanted me to be; but this meant I was incredibly inflexible – which often led to direct conflicts with people around me.You’ll go through all the ups and downs in order to find yourself and your identity; but the important thing is that at the end, you find the balance – the medium where everything starts to make sense.There was a time when I wondered what kind of person I would become. At that time, I asked my friend what they thought of me, and they said I was a simple yet diverse person. Others might say that these two words have polar opposite meanings; but personally, I think these words describe me perfectly.Simplicity explains my tendency to see people or situations realistically – just as they are. On the other hand, diversity not only showcases my multicultural background – but also my job as an idol – who constantly displays a new side of myself.Our song “TRAUMA” contains the questions and answers I have about identity that I’ve been pondering for a long time. I talk about how I dropped out of middle school; I just didn’t feel like I was really fitting in with the other friends, I didn’t really feel that connected with anyone.I wanted people to hear that song and enjoy it, because at the end of the day, the kind of music I want to pursue is not the kind that makes others feel depressed or have a hard time; I just want people who listen to my music to have fun.Like I said earlier, we are all different. So I think everyone’s opinions should be respected as long as they don’t offend others; but I know that when you meet someone who has very different opinions from you, it can be difficult to accept and understand. What’s important here is respect. When I respect the other person and the other person respects me, I can acknowledge and accept the fact that we’re different from one another. If we can’t respect one another, conversations can be meaningless.Rather than closing ourselves off just because we think others don’t respect our opinions, why don’t we try showing our respect first?For example, when talking to people who are older than we are, like our parents or teachers, how do you normally go about that conversation? You may have already closed yourself off fist, thinking that they may not fully understand you.I have a very different personality from someone close to me, so there were times where I couldn’t fully understand them during our conversations. We just didn’t see eye to eye. But when I decided to really listen to them, at some point, I started to understand them more; and in return, that person would hear me out and better understand me too. That’s how we showed our respect for each other. It all takes effort.Could you imagine how terrible it would be if everyone was the same? If everyone had the same thoughts and beliefs? This world is dynamic and fun because everyone has their own unique personality.While we find our own roles and place in this world, we will have to overcome our differences and struggles. But that’s something we can, and actually should, celebrate.Just remember that everyone is different; but just because they’re different from you doesn’t mean their thoughts aren’t important. We could learn so much about this crazy thing called life from each other. So let’s be respectful. Respect is everything.This is my Mindset.

EPISODE 3: THE KEY TO HAPPINESS
(07 mins, 28 secs)Have you ever thought about what makes us unhappy? I personally think that a lot of times, unhappiness comes from comparison. We are raised to naturally compare people, situations, circumstances – literally everything.I used to compare myself with my dad a lot. My dad would tell me about how hard he had to work for going to school, and I didn’t work that hard (laughs); so, I would feel bad about myself.More often than not, we compare ourselves with people who seem to have more than we do; and while it may seem very simple and innocuous, it makes us believe that we are lacking or missing something in some way, which forces us to believe we are lesser than.On the flip side, sometimes it’s easy for us to think that we’re better than, or superior to some people – which is also not a great thing either. Regardless of how you may think about yourself, I think it’s also pretty common for all of us to be unhappy with ourselves at times. But I believe that if you change your perspective ever so slightly, you can find happiness anytime and anywhere.So what’s the key to happiness? Gratitude. Gratitude is at the center of happiness; and I think living with gratitude naturally affects the way you approach situations. I think it’s important for us to intentionally, purposely find reasons to be grateful for even the smallest things that we have, rather than focusing on what we don’t have.Sure, there were definitely times when I wasn’t happy. I’m unhappy when I feel unprepared for something. I get on stage, wishing that I had more time to practice for it. One way that I became a little happier was by taking the time to self-reflect on myself and my situation.Sure, it could be easy to think about reasons why I’m unhappy, but instead – I try to flip it and ponder what I already have and what I’m already capable of; and that was just trying to give a good show – just having fun. Just seeing my fans also cheers me up. I feel like they’re always there for me, so I just try to have a good time, so that they can have a good time too.It’s in these moments of reflecting on the positives and not the negatives that I was able to come to the conclusion that all of the difficulties I was having were all necessary parts of my journey in achieving my dreams.I’ve shared before that I think we should ponder, but not worry. I think that the two words are very different. When you ponder, you are trying to find the solution to a problem. I think that in order to be happy and feel fulfilled, we need to think productively.Pondering can spur creativity and push you to imagine and think in ways that you haven’t done before. Worrying – is about imagining the bad consequences of things that haven’t even happened yet. You waste your time and energy stressed out about what could happen if X, Y, Z, or A, B, C.For example, I often worry about my mom’s well-being because she lives outside of Korea. I don’t get to see her too often, and I feel like it’s normal to worry about your family when you’re not physically with them; but worrying about her doesn’t change anything. I would much rather use any time that I would spend worrying about her to actually call her and ask her how she’s been doing, what’s been going on in her life, and to update her on my own. Essentially, what could be a negative, I’ve turned into positive.Now I think pondering on the other hand, is almost always a positive. It naturally assumes that there is a possibility for a positive change, which I think comes naturally when you’re grateful for what you have.One thing that I’m pondering these days is how to reorganize my room (laughs). Honestly, it takes up much of my headspace these days. Now, don’t get me wrong, my room is pretty spacious, but it doesn’t really feel that way because I just have a lot of stuff. To some people, having a lot of things can seem like having a lot of junk, and can make people worry and stress about how to organize – like myself. But again, the power of pondering.I’ve been pondering what is the best and most efficient way to organize and get rid of some of the things in my room. Rather than stress and worry, this allows me to get creative.Should I redecorate my room? Should I reorganize the layout of my room? What about all the things that l’ve accumulated? Should I donate them? Should I give them out? Again, these are all questions and things that I can be grateful for when I frame them in a perspective of pondering.Now, since this is an episode on happiness and gratitude, I wanted to just share people and things that I’m grateful for. I’m just grateful to have a really comfortable bed. Just being able to eat whatever I want to. I’m grateful for everyone that’s been there for me, through all the tough times and good times; I just have so many good people. To all the people who have always been there for me, I want to say thank you.Everyone has things that stress us out and make us unhappy. Nothing in this world is perfect, and we can’t have everything the way we want all the time.As we live life, we will naturally find ways to overcome these struggles; but I think the easiest and fastest way to get there is to always be grateful first. Maybe you’re already there. Awesome. But if not, I hope that one day, like me — you’ll get to a point where you are grateful to know that we are alive in this beautiful world.This is my Mindset.

EPISODE 4: MY LIFE WITH SEVENTEEN
(04 mins, 53 secs)I can definitely say that the best things I’ve gained through SEVENTEEN are my members, my identity, and my career. My life got infinitely better by getting to know people I consider to be my own family. I’ve learned a lot about my personal identity through the music we create as SEVENTEEN, and I’ve been grateful to discover the types of art that inspire me to create for not only my fans, but for the world.The biggest thing I’ve learned is about what I like myself personally. When it comes to art, I think that’s what’s most important: knowing what you like and what you want. Career-wise, I was constantly able to discover what types of music I was interested in and how I could deliver it to my fans and to the general public. I have aligned all areas of my life with SEVENTEEN, and in doing so, I want to protect this group at all costs.SEVENTEEN’s identity is our music, our videos, all the people involved in the production, CARATs, the members. Our group is diverse, definitely. Energetic, fun, talented. We just have a different bond. I’m just happy that with these specific members, we were able to come this far. So in that way, I think we’re kind of pioneers. I hope all our members do well and really kill it in whatever they do.Wishing someone a good life sounds pretty simple, but it actually has a really deep meaning to me. To care and be invested in someone else’s life in a meaningful way, I think, speaks to not only friendship – but love that we have between the members and I. I really hope that our friendship and the love we have for one another continues for a long time – as does the music. Most importantly, I want us to all just have fun and be happy.Beyond SEVENTEEN, simply as an individual artist – as VERNON – I want to make music that makes me feel satisfied. To me, it’s really all about making music that people like and make them feel good; but I also believe that the things I like can also be liked by others, and these days, the boundaries between genres are also blurring, so I don’t want to focus on one genre or style.So, to my ten year later self, who will hopefully still be making music, I hope you’re having fun even then. I hope you’re not jaded and that you still find excitement in your life. I hope you still have the mindset to find beauty and fun in your day to day and find joy, even when it’s easier to be irritated or angry; and ultimately, I hope you’re able to make people happy while doing the music you want.If my members were listening to this episode: thanks for listening. I’d really appreciate it if you would stop now because it’s kind of embarrassing. To CARATs listening, I’d also like to say thank you; and unlike my members, I hope you can keep listening and that my Mindset Collection is helpful.This is my Mindset.