PRELUDE

This personality analysis has been making the rounds in Mandarin-speaking ELF and Kpop forums for over ten years now. I think it first appeared sometime in 2005, and I remember reading it back then in the late 2000s. I’ve decided to translate it because as far as I can see there isn’t an English version of this, and I thought it would be fun to read for anyone who’s interested in SJ, along with a bit of DBSK, because back then you couldn’t talk about SJ without DBSK. They nearly debuted together, before being finalised as the two bands we know now. 

The original post was written over 12 years ago, when all of the members were in their teens or very early twenties, so a lot has changed since, but still. Kyuhyun was not included as he did not join SJ till mid 2006, and this account was written before that.

A former SM trainee’s observations of SJ members

Sources:

http://blog.xuite.net/hspsj61723/blog/16713229-一位SM練習生寫的SJ性格分析

https://tieba.baidu.com/p/135888110

http://www.xixik.com/content/68bbbe680385ddcc

http://blog.naver.com/bonnysoo?Redirect=Log&logNo=100028187219 (Korean; apparently this was the master post, but has since been removed)

Leeteuk: Completely different from the person we usually see onscreen. He's an idol, but even for an idol, he's astonishingly two-faced. He's super nice to favoured youngsters within SMENT, such as Xiah Junsu and Kim Kibum (TRANSLATOR'S NOTE: lmao), but woe betide he whom Leeteuk dislikes. Leeteuk will go out of his way to be unpleasant to people he doesn't like, probably because he spent so much time as a trainee, which embittered him.

Eunhyuk: His public persona is that of a silly, idiotic comedian who is very nice, but he's actually very quiet and reserved. Like Leeteuk he spent too much time as a trainee which warped his personality to an extent. He's not exactly selfish, but he is self serving. He dislikes Park Yoochun, and when Yoochun joined DBSK, he turned his back upon his friend Sungmin. He's interesting, but can be easily swayed.

Sungmin: Another person who trained too long. He trained with Junsu and Eunhyuk so they're on better terms, but they're not super close. Eunhyuk and Junsu grew up together and are much closer, often leaving him out. Kangin and Leeteuk aren't fond of him, and Donghae has no great love for him either. Unfortunately, Eunhyuk has started cold shouldering him too, but this cliquey behaviour is all too common amongst trainees. He's quite shy and reserved, and he's the kind of person whom [Korean] boys generally don't like that much.

Donghae: Two-faced like Leeteuk, but his public image is squeaky clean, so it's even more of a shock knowing what sort of person he really is. This may have something to do with the fact that he grew up in a less affluent household. He also treats people very differently - if Donghae doesn't like you, you'll know - and doesn't care if he hurts their feelings. Yoochun tends to avoid Donghae, who dislikes him, along with Sungmin.

Yesung: He's actually quite nice, and is closer to Kangin. He's on amiable terms with everyone in SJ, and doesn't like or dislike anyone in particular. Unfortunately SMENT dislikes Yesung, an animosity that started when he was a trainee. He's smart and did well at school, but got into the wrong crowd when he was in high school. Since then though he's put his troubled past behind him. He's terrifying when he's riled, but he hardly ever loses his temper. He's probably on best terms with the entire band.

Hangeng/Hankyung: He's Chinese, so he's a bit quieter sometimes [due to the language barrier], but he's cheeky, though in a good way, and very nice. He was quite well known back at school in China, and extremely popular. He's a genuinely good person at heart, although he often has trouble because of the language. His best friends are Kibum, Heechul, Siwon and Donghae, and he completely ignores everyone else. He's on good terms with Yesung, but that's really it. SMENT looks extremely favourably upon him so he's respected. SMENT considered making him the 6th member of DBSK at one point, but that idea was scrapped. 

Kangin: Got into the wrong crowd at school. Very strong; the boys call him 'Lieutenant.' Like Leeteuk he treats company favourites well, and has recently taken an immense dislike to Sungmin. He will dislike you for no reason at all. He speaks without stopping to think of what consequences his words might have, which possibly signifies a bad upbringing. He likes to shout at people and tell them off, and he's good at fighting. In high school he mixed with local thugs as Yesung did, but whereas Yesung's put all of that behind him, Kangin still maintains connections with those thugs. People are scared of him. He likes to pick on Leeteuk in front of the camera, and that's the extent of their friendship.  

Heechul: Doesn't particularly differentiate between people he likes and dislikes, but he will favour people he's especially fond of. He's not as weird as some of the rumours would have you believe, but he is "special." He's reserved to people he doesn't know, but exuberant and warm to people he knows.

Kibum: SMENT’s golden boy. He's completely different to everyone else in SJ because he was scouted in America and won first place for Best Looking Person, so with that in mind, the company has great expectations of him. Initially the company wanted him to be best friends with Heechul so they were assigned the same quarters, but Heechul disliked him initially and did not welcome him or treat him well, as he felt that Kibum had been imposed on him by the company, which he resented. At first, Kibum had no friends at all. It was only when he went back to America and returned that Heechul began to warm up to him. Kibum’s relationship with Heechul gradually improved, and they hung out with Donghae sometimes, and the three of them became great friends. Kibum is also on good terms with Yunho, but he doesn't have many friends apart from them. Ther were loads of rumours about him dating some of the female trainees. After he debuted Heechul liked him much more, and the company favoured him immensely. Unfortunately he's not a particularly pleasant person; he's kind of rude and has a chip on his shoulder, and is rather self centred. He's also very much of a loner, and prefers to be left alone to his own devices. He’s very defensive, and is naturally suspicious of others and their intents.

Ryeowook: He had no friends initally, only Kang Jun Young, and for that he is eternally grateful to Junyoung, but Junyoung lost his place in SJ to Ryeowook, which is something Ryeowook has never forgiven himself for. At first Ryeo was not popular within SJ, but they came to realise that he was very nice, so they treat him much better now.

EPILOGUE/TRANSLATOR’S NOTE

This was written ages ago, before Kyuhyun debuted, even, and obviously a lot has changed. As for my personal opinion - I think the original author may have slightly exaggerated some of the facts, but based on all the interviews and variety shows I watched them doing in the mid to late 2000s, I’d say that it’s not too far off the mark. I’ve never liked Kangin that much; in Full House (which is still the best indicator of what their personalities are like imo) he came across as pushy and aggressive and not in a good way. His recent DUI scandals don’t surprise me - if someone back then had asked me which member of SJ was most likely to drive under the influence, I would have said him. 

Hangeng, Kibum, Yesung and Ryeowook’s descriptions are consistent with that I’ve seen in interviews etc and what I’ve heard of them, as well as the general vibe they give off. I’m disappointed that this account was pre-Kyuhyun - I would have loved to hear what they thought of him. On the August 31, 2011 TV broadcast of Kang Shim Chang, Kyuhyun said that he was not welcomed when he first joined SJ, and that he was so sure that he was going to be sent away that for the first 9 months he never fully unpacked his suitcases. He also shared that Leeteuk was rather mean to him at first, and that when they won their first prize Kyuhyun restrained his emotions as he had been made to feel that he was not qualified enough to celebrate with the rest of the band (wtf - can you imagine how much psychological bullying he must have suffered in order to have such a severe lack of self esteem?). It was only when Leeteuk came to him and hugged him, and told him that he had worked hard as well, that Kyuhyun was able to let go of some of his fear towards Leeteuk (source), so I can definitely buy the OP’s post about Leeteuk being somewhat opportunistic, domineering and double-faced.

Not sure why Siwon and Shindong weren’t included, but that’s probably because the trainee never actually met them.