{"id":785697,"date":"2026-05-10T03:36:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-10T03:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/785697\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T03:36:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T03:36:25","slug":"big-oceans-stage-language-comes-into-its-own-on-the-greatest-battle-tour-annenberg-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/785697\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Ocean\u2019s stage language comes into its own on \u2018THE GREATEST BATTLE\u2019 tour \u2013 Annenberg Media"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the three members of the K-pop boy group Big Ocean walked onto the stage at the Avalon Hollywood & Bardot last month, the venue immediately filled with cheers. Across the crowd, many fans raised their arms and waved their open hands, offering a form of visual applause often used in deaf culture.<\/p>\n

The unique greeting was the result of Big Ocean being the first K-pop group composed entirely of members with hearing loss. The welcoming crowd was just one example of the group\u2019s growth as performers.<\/p>\n

The concert opened with their new song \u201cCold Moon<\/a>,\u201d whose strong rhythm quickly set the energy for the night. The stage design was relatively simple, but the members filled the space with choreography, formation changes and live rap.<\/p>\n

\"K-popBig Ocean performs for fans during soundcheck before their Los Angeles show begins. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Chen) <\/p>\n

Big Ocean is made up of Park Hyun-jin, Kim Ji-seok and Lee Chanyeon. Before joining the group, each member had followed a different life path. In an interview with elevASIAN, Park said that before becoming a K-pop idol, Park had been a YouTube creator. He said he wanted to \u201cbreak misunderstandings and stereotypes\u201d about hearing impairment and bring more \u201cpositive energy\u201d to society, which led him to join Big Ocean when the company introduced the idea of becoming a K-pop artist.<\/p>\n

Kim was a professional skier before being discovered by the company, while Lee had a background related to audiology and later entered the training process through a recommendation.<\/p>\n

Before the group had fully formed, Kim had once attended one of Park\u2019s performances. Park joked in the interview that after watching him perform, Kim thought he could also become an artist.<\/p>\n

\"K-popBig Ocean performs \u201cStay With Me,\u201d blending sign language and choreography during the emotional cover. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Chen) <\/p>\n

During the concert, Big Ocean covered \u201cStay With Me<\/a>,\u201d the theme song from the Korean drama \u201cGuardian: The Lonely and Great God.\u201d The members combined sign language with choreography, using a more visual form of performance to express the song\u2019s intense emotions.<\/p>\n

Asked whether sign language feels more like translation or part of the performance itself, Kim said, \u201cWe don\u2019t separate it. It\u2019s not just one or the other.\u201d He added that whenever the group performs, they use ASL \u201cas part of the whole performance.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"K-popBig Ocean performs \u201cOne Man Army,\u201d one of the double title tracks from the group\u2019s third mini album, THE GREATEST BATTLE. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Chen) <\/p>\n

If \u201cStay With Me\u201d showed how Big Ocean can turn sign language into emotional expression, \u201cOne Man Army<\/a>\u201d highlighted their growth as K-pop artists. Compared with the bright, youthful feeling of their debut song \u201cGlow<\/a>,\u201d \u201cOne Man Army\u201d showed a more mature and powerful side of Big Ocean. The live rap sections also added impact to the performance, showing how the group is continuing to expand its range on stage.<\/p>\n

That shift on stage also connects to how the members understand their own identity now.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we debuted, it was more about really showing our group as a hearing-impaired group,\u201d Kim said. Now, the group wants to share \u201cBig Ocean\u2019s story\u201d like \u201ca diary,\u201d with deeper messages for fans. Park added that while they once focused mainly on dance and sign language, they are now trying more live elements, which have brought stronger reactions from fans.<\/p>\n

\"K-popBig Ocean members P.J, Jiseok and Chanyeon interact with fans between performances. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Chen) <\/p>\n

The tour itself has also brought new challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur fans\u2019 chants and screams are really loud,\u201d Lee said. \u201cSometimes you can\u2019t hear the beginning of the song.\u201d Still, he described the challenge as memorable because it reflects the group\u2019s close interaction with fans.<\/p>\n

As Kim said, the group treats each rehearsal as if it were already a live performance, leaving little distance between the practice room and the stage. That preparation helps them respond to the crowd in the moment. Park added that performing in front of fans gives the members more confidence and energy, allowing them to show a more passionate side on stage.<\/p>\n

Fan feedback has also shaped Big Ocean\u2019s growth. Park said fans had asked for something \u201cmore powerful\u201d and \u201cmore mature,\u201d so the members have tried to include more of those opinions in their music and performances.<\/p>\n

\"CrowdAudience members cheer for Big Ocean\u2019s performance at Avalon Hollywood & Bardot. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Chen) <\/p>\n

By the end of the Los Angeles stop, Big Ocean had shown growth that matched their ambition. From sign language and choreography to live rap, from fan interaction to a more mature stage presence, Big Ocean is building a K-pop performance language of its own \u2014 one that moves beyond a single label, reaches toward bigger stages and inspires more people along the way.<\/p>\n

Disclosure:<\/b> Lisa Chen, who contributed photography for this article, also worked as a photographer for Big Ocean\/Parastar at the same event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the three members of the K-pop boy group Big Ocean walked onto the stage at the Avalon…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":785698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5123],"tags":[321265,70202,1582,276,6467,2961,224,5337,321264],"class_list":{"0":"post-785697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-los-angeles","8":"tag-avalon-hollywood-bardot","9":"tag-big-ocean","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-k-pop","13":"tag-la","14":"tag-los-angeles","15":"tag-losangeles","16":"tag-the-greatest-battle-tour"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116548192960982357","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=785697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/785697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/785698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=785697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=785697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=785697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}