“This is just like a big noraebang.” SEVENTEEN’s Woozi said, as Vernon wondered out loud, “What are we doing in this big stadium?”

A core part of the diamond life, SEVENTEEN in CARAT LAND keeps on getting bigger. But for these superstar idols who are now living their dream, almost 8 years later into their career, I can imagine this is what SEVENTEEN’s fan meetings in their storied rookie days must feel like.

It was like a big karaoke room, as Woozi said, at Seoul’s immense KSPO Dome. The members brought as much spontaneity, warmth and intimacy as they could, like everyone was within an arm’s reach – despite the massive crowd or distance involved.

CARATs from South Korea and beyond flocked to the 13-member powerhouse’s 7th fan meeting. Then countless more like me (on Day 3 only) tuned in via livestream to join in the fun at what some of the group’s fans call the happiest place on earth.

SEVENTEEN in CARAT LAND is honest-to-goodness fan service that’s a little less of a spectacle than their famed concerts – like the Be the Sun world tour in what was such a momentous 2022 for SEVENTEEN. But as the members express throughout the affair, it’s a celebration of the milestones they’ve reached, together with their ever-growing community of CARATs.

SEVENTEEN dare to dream at history-making Philippine Arena show: ‘We'll come back with a bigger, better stage next time’ – gig report

If you ever come to CARAT LAND (in person or online), expect copious amounts of fun, boundless SEVENTEEN and CARAT energy combined, and moments of typical SVT chaos here and there.

Third-day perks

In a highly anticipated part of CARAT LAND, members battle it out to answer hyper-specific SVT trivia. If they succeed, they avoid jeopardizing themselves and getting supremely flustered over covers of songs that supposedly don’t fit them (that is, not just what CARATs want to see). Of course, the images and clips from this segment turn out to be deeply ingrained in CARAT history.

It was utterly amusing to see the members out of character and then defy expectations. Then it became clearer that they had been invested in the entire thing all along. For SEVENTEEN, this was more than a game or gimmick. They could and would pull out all the stops as if this was just probably a notch less than a comeback stage. They even committed to the part with some fashion statements like leather gloves, a choker, face stickers, or a NewJeans-inspired backpack.

As it was the third and last day of this year’s CARAT LAND, seeing all the members – other than this round’s losers – do their assigned songs was among the perks.

S.Coups shook off his pride – and hips – to IVE’s ‘After Like.’ Joshua didn’t really have to apologize to his Suga hyung of BTS for that fiery take on Agust D’s ‘대취타 (Daechwita)’. Jeonghan's ‘Yoonzino’ even made a comeback with ZICO’s ‘New Thing (새삥)’.

Unsurprisingly, Jun simply owned Jessi’s ‘눈누난나 (NUNU NANA),’ as it fit him so well. Like honorary 6th NewJeans members, Woozi absolutely did ‘Ditto’ justice, and Wonwoo was clearly having the time of his life as “Woo-nni” with his indelible version of ‘Attention’.

After “years of hard work” (or “years of force,” as Seungkwan said) Hoshi’s tiger agenda (i.e., tiger paws; “horanghae/호랑해”) came undone in less than a minute, as he finally became 함찌 (Hamzzi) singing the Hamtaro theme tune – complete with a hamster onesie and sunflower seed plushie.

The bouncy Mingyu popped off with NAYEON of TWICE’s ‘Pop’ (never mind the members behind teasing him with “감자 손 (potato hands)”). An injured but unfazed The8 devoured LE SSERAFIM’s ‘Antifragile,’ and DK followed up his version of the former with a beguiling take on BLACKPINK’s ‘Pink Venom.’

The maknae line delivered as well. Seungkwan stunningly bodied EXO’s ‘The Eve (전야/前夜)’.‘K-Pop Papi’ Vernon was a total natural with STAYC’s ‘Poppy,’ and Dino impeccably pulled off BLACKPINK’s ‘Shut Down’.

Fan favourites, switch-ups

There was a certain starry-eyed joy in SEVENTEEN performing their timeless classics.  In their opening stages – ‘예쁘다 (Pretty U),’ ‘My My,’ and ‘Together (같이 가요),’ they shed off the red-hot swagger of their more recent material for a more nostalgic and youthful vibe in sailor-inspired outfits.

To amp up the energy early on, resident gag trio BSS performed their latest pumper and smash hit, ‘파이팅 해야지 (Fighting).’ Vernon even filled in for Lee Young-ji with some bars of his own.

Fan favourites like ‘Don Quixote’ made the mix, as well as a few other numbers they did by popular demand during the Songs That Don’t Fit the Members part of the program, given that there was already a noraebang machine on stage. Apart from their very own BSS’ ‘거침없이 (Just Do It),’ OT13 also tried to do NewJeans’s ‘Hype Boy;’ while Jun took on G-DRAGON’s ‘CROOKED’ and The8, (G)I-DLE’s ‘Nxde.’ SVT’s own mischief-loving pair, Hoshi and Mingyu, even jammed to an iconic bop: Trouble Maker’s (a duo with HyunA and Beast’s Hyunseung) eponymous track.

In a mainstay segment of CARAT LAND, SEVENTEEN’s different units also switched things up with reverse stages: the Performance team’s version of ‘Back It Up’, Hip-Hop Unit with ‘Imperfect Love (매일 그대라서 행복하다)’ and finally, the Vocal team having a go at ‘Pang.’

While SEVENTEEN had always prided themselves on being well-rounded, these special CARAT LAND performances were a chance for these idols to explore new territory. “We all have different sides in us,” as Seungkwan said.

Going Seventeen, Going Rangers

From everyone’s screens, SEVENTEEN also took their acclaimed GOING SEVENTEEN variety series to CARAT LAND.

In an “offline” rendition of their recurring Debate Night (논리 난깃) special, with Wonwoo acting as host and adjudicator as usual, they argued for 3 straight days about “ countless everyday struggles with deep, ‘advanced’ logic.” Unlike a standard parliamentary debate, SVT’s version is peculiar, as Wonwoo would say: “Even if there’s logic, it’s not there, and even if there’s no logic at all, it’s not really illogical.” (논리가 있어도 있는 게 아니다; 논리가 없어도 없는 게 아니다.)

On the third day, they argued on the merits and disadvantages of an eagle that can’t fly (i.e., no natural predator), versus a sparrow that can fly everywhere (but has a lot of natural predators). (날지 못하는 독소리 – 천적 없음 vs. 어디든 날아갈 수 있는 참새 – 천적 많음). Of course, debating these motions took all their wits, even as they made zero sense.

They also took Going Rangers, a passing gag from one of their GoSe episodes, and expanded it to a whole 特撮 (Tokusatsu とくさつ) show – but made it like a sitcom. Chock-full of inside jokes and references die-hard CARATs would instantly recognize, it was yet another showcase for these comedy kings.

“We literally get together to make the scenes. I’m not sure why we’re trying so hard,” commented Seungkwan. “But we are always ambitious, so hopefully we made you laugh and that you enjoyed it.”

From silly to cool, to sentimental

“It was so hilarious. It was kind of weird balance because I had to act silly and then pretend to be cool on stage,” said Mingyu, who recounted that just several minutes ago, he was trying to amuse CARATs with his gas station tube man antics. (너무 웃기잖아요. 이게 적당한 어떤 밸런스가 맞는 게 아니고 완전 바보였다가, 너무 멋있는 척을 해야 되는 무대를 하니까.)

After a few more minutes passed, ‘Circles (돌고, 돌아)’ had everyone in emotional shambles. The song had always been such a sentimental number for the boys after all – replete with meaning and soul, as co-writer Woozi mentioned before.

On the third day of this year’s CARAT LAND, as the song was about to end, the members were caught off guard with a surprise: letters from their parents, which had not been shown during the past 2 days.

“The idea of family photos and letters at our fan meeting is such a cliché, but for us, it isn’t so obvious,” he said in his closing ment, quipping that ‘Circles’ something he had only pulled off in rehearsals without bawling.

“We can’t really share everything with you and you know that, right?” said leader S.Coups. Amid a sea of tears, he assured everyone that being vulnerable in front of CARATs was a sign of trust. 

“We can cry and laugh here more freely because we are in CARAT LAND,” he said. “Seeing this, I can say once more that I am proud and glad of the trust we have between us.” (멤버들도 캐럿랜드니까 더 맘 편히 울고 웃고 하고 있는것같은데. 그것을 보면서 더 괜장이 뿌듯하고 캐럿분들까지 세븐틴이 이렇게까지 신뢰도가 쌓이었구나 생각을 한번 더 하게 되는 것 같습니다.)

“The members, CARATs, and our families mean a lot to us. They are so precious to me,” added Joshua. “Being able to share this part of us with CARATs, I think that shows that we’re close, and trust and depend on you. So, we can show our vulnerable selves. Thank you for being our strength.”

“Knowing you are rooting for me gives me strength to carry on,” said Seungkwan. “There may be hardships ahead, but we will overcome them and carry on.”

After CARATs serenaded the members with ‘Us, Again (우리, 다시)’, there was a moment of ‘Healing.’ Then came several minutes of neverending ‘파이팅 해야지’ and the staple ‘아주 Nice’ (plus a totally unplanned cameo of the forthcoming PLEDIS boy group thanks to their naughty SVT sunbaenims), before they officially dropped the bombshell: a comeback in April.

In CARAT LAND, this band of brothers got to take a pause in the company of their beloved CARATs, before they could even move forward with another event-filled year. As Minghao a.k.a. The8 said: “This CARAT LAND, we made great memories. It’s going to give us energy throughout the year. “I hope that you will keep all these good memories to power through the year in spite of any hardship.”

[17’S] 세븐틴 in 👏👏 캐럿랜드🎡

모든 이유와 이 길이 아름다운 건 캐럿들이 있어서💎

우리 항상 함께 해요, 세븐틴이 옆에 있을게요😍 캐럿들이 있어 행복하다💎💕#우리_함께_노래하는_이_길은_끝나지_않을_거야#SEVENTEEN #세븐틴#SVTinCARATLAND pic.twitter.com/UkY5N1gH4M

— 세븐틴(SEVENTEEN) (@pledis_17) March 12, 2023

In his closing remarks, it seemed that in a way, Hoshi had been taking notes from his insightful talk with his sunbae, Suga, who told him, “It's not about becoming more successful or about better results. Now, the fans try so hard to make that happen. We should be grateful for that, and make a lot of memories with them.”

“I’ve achieved many dreams: debut, first place, Daesang, Dome Tour,” Hoshi told the crowd, adding: “Now, my dream is to show you CARATs a performance you’ll be proud of. That will be my dream and drive me to work harder than ever before.” (여러 가지 꿈을 이뤘어요: 데뷔, 1위, 대상, 돔투어... 이제 저의 꿈이 우리 캐럿들이 창피해하지 않는 무대를 보여주고 싶어요. 그게 저의 근본적인 원동력과 앞으로 계속 꿈.)

Echoing the letter from Wonwoo’s dad, the group’s “dad-leader,” and in reference to his hyung’s late mother, “who loved CARATs,” DK left everyone with a promise:

“We’ll always do our best for 20, even 200 years! We’ll be working together for a long time, so I hope you know that, okay?” (항상 저희가 더 최선 다해서 20년, 200년! 앞으로 오래오래 함께 일할 거니까 그렇게 [아셨으면 좋겠어요~] 알았죠?).

Official translations have been edited for clarity.
Additional transcripts & translations by writer, Marlo Acosta, Nadine Jin and Ian Ha.