Big Ocean, a three-member K-pop group composed entirely of artists with hearing disabilities, is redefining the limits of music and performance — one beat at a time.
Big Ocean seamlessly incorporates sign language into their performances, and their shows are built on extensive preparation using high-tech tools — vibrating smartwatches that pulse with musical beats and LED visual metronomes that flash timing cues during practice sessions.
This technological approach represents significant progress in South Korea’s entertainment industry, where career opportunities for people with disabilities have historically been limited.
Photo: AP
The trio, PJ, Jiseok and Chanyeon, made their debut in April last year and recently wrapped a European tour marking their first anniversary. The band performed in four countries, including France and the UK, while promoting their second mini-album, Underwater, which dropped on April 20.
To achieve the precision crucial in K-pop’s demanding choreography and music, Big Ocean relies on technologies rarely seen in the genre. Members wear modified vibrating smartwatches that deliver rhythmic cues to their wrists and practice with visual metronomes — flashing light guides displayed on monitors — to help stay in sync.
Chanyeon uses a hybrid hearing device with Bluetooth that streams music directly from mobile devices. They also use a pitch-checking app and artificial intelligence voice conversion technology to support vocal training and enhance audio output after recordings.
“We each felt rhythm differently when dancing,” PJ said. “So when we’d play the same song and dance in front of the mirror, one of us would move faster while another would move slower. To solve this timing issue, we decided to memorize everything together and create our own cues with each other.”
This precision becomes critical during live performances, where unexpected disruptions can derail even experienced performers.
“When we performed in France, our fans were cheering so loudly we lost the beat,” said Jiseok. “But we looked at each other and quickly handled the situation — just like we practiced.”
Stage effects and certain musical styles create additional obstacles.
“When a lot of smoke comes up, sometimes we momentarily can’t see the stage movements in front of us,” PJ said. “Our concentration gets disrupted instantly in those moments.”
“When there’s no clear beat in a song, it’s really hard for us to stay synchronized,” Jiseok said. “When the bass is overwhelming, it’s difficult for us to catch it accurately.”
Despite these challenges, Big Ocean’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion has inspired their global fanbase — known as PADO — which has responded with similar commitment.
“While communicating with PADO, we’ve heard that they’re actually learning Korean sign language for us, or learning various sign languages to communicate with us,” Jiseok said. “When we see how much they’re preparing and putting in that effort, we feel so grateful.”
The group uses English for basic communication with international fans and incorporates Korean Sign Language, American Sign Language and International Sign to promote accessibility and inclusion.
Four people jailed in the landmark Hong Kong national security trial of "47 democrats" accused of conspiracy to commit subversion were freed today after more than four years behind bars, the second group to be released in a month. Among those freed was long-time political and LGBTQ activist Jimmy Sham (岑子杰), who also led one of Hong Kong’s largest pro-democracy groups, the Civil Human Rights Front, which disbanded in 2021. "Let me spend some time with my family," Sham said after arriving at his home in the Kowloon district of Jordan. "I don’t know how to plan ahead because, to me, it feels
‘A THREAT’: Guyanese President Irfan Ali called on Venezuela to follow international court rulings over the region, whose border Guyana says was ratified back in 1899 Misael Zapara said he would vote in Venezuela’s first elections yesterday for the territory of Essequibo, despite living more than 100km away from the oil-rich Guyana-administered region. Both countries lay claim to Essequibo, which makes up two-thirds of Guyana’s territory and is home to 125,000 of its 800,000 citizens. Guyana has administered the region for decades. The centuries-old dispute has intensified since ExxonMobil discovered massive offshore oil deposits a decade ago, giving Guyana the largest crude oil reserves per capita in the world. Venezuela would elect a governor, eight National Assembly deputies and regional councilors in a newly created constituency for the 160,000
North Korea has detained another official over last week’s failed launch of a warship, which damaged the naval destroyer, state media reported yesterday. Pyongyang announced “a serious accident” at Wednesday last week’s launch ceremony, which crushed sections of the bottom of the new destroyer. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called the mishap a “criminal act caused by absolute carelessness.” Ri Hyong-son, vice department director of the Munitions Industry Department of the Party Central Committee, was summoned and detained on Sunday, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He was “greatly responsible for the occurrence of the serious accident,” it said. Ri is the fourth person
At a calligraphy class in Hanoi, Hoang Thi Thanh Huyen slides her brush across the page to form the letters and tonal marks of Vietnam’s unique modern script, in part a legacy of French colonial rule. The history of romanized Vietnamese, or Quoc Ngu, links the arrival of the first Christian missionaries, colonization by the French and the rise to power of the Communist Party of Vietnam. It is now reflected in the country’s “bamboo diplomacy” approach of seeking strength through flexibility, or looking to stay on good terms with the world’s major powers. A month after Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) visited,
RSS