[Sportschosun Reporter Jung Bit] Doyoung and Jung Woo of NCT 127, who are serving in the military, made a surprise visit to the final performance of The Red Line. The two first appeared in a video onstage, then interacted with the members from the audience and joined NCT 127 in celebrating its 10th anniversary.
NCT 127 held the final show of its fifth solo concert, NEO CITY: SEOUL – THE RED LINE, on the 20th at KSPO Dome at Olympic Park in Songpa District, Seoul. The Seoul concerts, which ran for three days from the 18th, sold out every seat, including restricted-view seats, and drew 31,500 spectators, proving the group's formidable ticket power.
The concert was particularly meaningful because it was NCT 127's first large-scale solo concert after the group underwent changes both internally and externally, including a team reorganization and its members' military service. Despite the absence of key members who had helped hold the group together for many years, the five members onstage—Taeyong, Johnny, Yuta, Jaehyun, and HAECHAN—unleashed the "Neo strength" they had built over the past decade from the opening number onward.
NCT 127 carried the energy of the "Overload" section into the early part of the show. After performing "Nonstop" and "IKR" back-to-back, the group delivered a powerful performance of "Ay-Yo."
In particular, when Doyoung and Jung Woo's parts came up during "Ay-Yo," as the two could not join the concert because of their military service, footage of them appeared on the screens and drew attention. Although they could not stand onstage, their presence was still made part of the concert.
After a VCR covering NCT 127's past 10 years was shown, the members changed outfits and moved into the "Time to Face the Manipulated Truth" section, shifting the mood. They created a more emotional stage with "Not Alone" and "Day After Day."
Taeyong looked toward the standing-area fans, who had been jumping and enjoying themselves throughout the concert, and asked, "As expected, the people in the back are jumping and having fun. I heard you came to the back on purpose so you could enjoy yourselves. Is that right?" The fans responded loudly, "Yes."
Jaehyun laughed and said, "I think that's a new tradition unique to NCT 127 concerts."
Taeyong also mentioned the VCR. He said, "That was a VCR capturing our 10th anniversary. I don't know which moment from our 10 years will be the most memorable, but I hope today becomes a day you remember whenever you think of NCT 127."
At that moment, a rice-cake cake featuring the members' faces appeared. The members were also surprised because they had no idea what was happening. After looking at it more closely, HAECHAN realized what it was and explained, "They say Doyoung prepared it. He prepared the rice cakes."
There was an even bigger surprise. Doyoung and Jung Woo, who are serving in the military, had come to the venue themselves while on leave. When the two stood up from their seats and greeted everyone with proud "Chungseong" salutes, the members and fans erupted in enthusiastic cheers.
Although they were separated by the stage and the audience, their connection remained strong. When the members shouted "Whoo~" together after counting "One, two, three," Doyoung and Jung Woo responded from the audience with their own "Whoo~," enjoying the concert as one with everyone else.
After tasting the rice cakes prepared by Doyoung, Yuta expressed his affection by saying, "Doyoung, I can taste love in this." HAECHAN also exclaimed, "Ah, it's delicious." When the fans shouted, "Just one bite!" the members handed out rice cakes toward the audience, and HAECHAN burst out laughing, saying, "Wow, a concert that even gives you rice cakes!"
HAECHAN then said, "Let's give Doyoung and Jung Woo a round of applause."
Jealous of the fans' interest in the rice cakes, Jaehyun playfully said, "There's something even better than rice cakes left. Are our performances really worse than the rice cakes? Which is it—the rice cakes or us?" His comment drew laughter.
NCT Wish was also in the audience. When Johnny welcomed them by saying, "I heard the Wish members came today, too. You came wearing something cute again," the NCT Wish members stood up and greeted everyone.
Trainees from SM Entertainment who have not yet been publicly introduced also attended the concert. Taeyong began joking, "SM's future is a relic of the old era..." before trailing off and adding, "We're the past." HAECHAN immediately objected, saying, "Huh? I'm 27 years old," while Jaehyun joined in, saying, "I'm SM's present," prompting an outburst of laughter.
Taeyong laughed at the two members' overflowing confidence and continued the concert, saying, "I like how passionate the members are like this. I'm learning so much from them."
Reporter Jung Bit rightlight@sportschosun.com
This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.
