Hi, deaf army here ! I am so so glad to see them debut, representation matters a lot and... Yeah, deaf people can enjoy music as well. As you pointed it out at the beginning of the video hearing loss is a scale and there is a lot of different deaf / HOH people. We can often hear... A little, maybe some numbed sounds or rythms, but we do appreciate music a lot. 4:40 we tend to watch people's mouth to read lips, but I personnally tend to look at their nose, because I can watch their expressions and do lip reading at the same time. Fun fact, lip reading isn't that reliable, because there are a lot (really a lot) of sounds that look the same on the mouth, and our brain complete according to the context what word it can be. 7:00 I used to feel bad about asking for arrangments, but people should be able to accomodate more to disabled people without complaining. Deaf people are part of society too and we need to work. To do that we need arrangments and able people to function differently that they are used to. We adjust A LOT everyday to society, their turn haha. However as you say so, they are young so it may be a challenge to them. I admire those boys quite a lot ! Anyway, thank for reacting to them :) It was interesting to see a valid person commenting about their communication, I hope they will share more later and you'll react to this too.

Some info about the group and members!! Big O!cean is the first ever deaf kpop group in Korea, none of the members are fully deaf but each of them are HOH. Hyunjin (member in the blue) is the leader of Big Ocean and he syarted to loose his hearing at the age of 2. He uses a cochlear implant and a hearing aid. Chanyeon (the first member in the chair) is the main rapper of the group. He started to loose his hearing when he was young and uses a cochlear implant. He is/was an audiologist at a hospital. Jiseok (the member who was talking to Chanyeon in the beginning) is the main dancer and maknae of Big O!cean. He was born with a hearing impairment and uses hearing aids. *Fun Fact: Big O!cean debuted on Korea's National Disabled Persons Day.

More Big Ocean?

They use wristwatches vibrating on each beat and a visual metronome (monitors with numbers maintaining the beat) to keep them in sync with the music. Their English is also pretty good. They do a lot of content on TikTok and answer questions in English. They fall under Parastar Entertainment, which is a management company specially organized to train TV figures with various impairments and produce content featuring talents with disability. Park Hyunjin developed hearing loss at two when he got a very high fever. He underwent surgery to get a cochlear implant after his second incident caused him to lose even more of his hearing at age nine. Previously worked at a café. Host of season 1 & 2 of EBS “Go Together”. He majored in Engineering and planned on being a cybersecurity engineer. Lee Chanyeon lost his hearing after catching a fever when he was young. He is an Audiologist at a hospital. Kim Jiseok was born with a hearing impairment. He previously worked at a café. Ski racer of the Seoul Para Ski Team.

these guys are really cool! i've seen them making the rounds on social media and honestly love what they're doing. as someone with disabilities myself, i appreciate that they are so open with their accommodations. i think it's a great thing for not only the deaf community but also the disabled community as a whole!

This is so cool. I noticed when they were speaking to each other that they seem to be speaking a lot slower than I've heard most Korean people speak, which I'd guess is necessary when lip reading. They all seem like really nice guys. Wishing them tons of success on their journey

The reason they're keeping eye contact a lot is because they are able to focus more on lip reading and making it easier for them to understand. They've said it before that on the mv shoot their staff had to explain some things to them again because they had a hard time understanding the producers and other crew on set, since they're more familiar with the way they say stuff, so it's easier to lip read.

Idk much abt this group besides that RM donated to one of the disability schools years back. One of the members said that bc of him he became interested in music & wanted to purse it… so cool! I wish them the best!

그거 아세요? 데뷔전에는 세분은 직업이 이찬연씨는 대학병원에서 난청을 재활을 돋는 청능사 박현진씨는 청각장애인 인식 개선 을 위한 위한 콘텐츠제작해서 유튜버 활동했었고 김지석씨는 장애인 알파인 스키 선수였대요 현진씨 유투버 할동할때부터 1호 팬이여서❤ 열심히 응원할게요

They said they are skilled in lip reading. 👍🏻

I don't know if it's because I've been familiar with the korean language for many years, but when they speak I can tell that they don't speak like koreans usually speak, I mean I can notice a different pronunciation, subtle but I can notice it... Maybe this is due to his hearing problems.

I only discovered Big Ocean recently, and am still learning about them. But so far I like what I've seen. I admit, I got interested in them because my mother was deaf. She had over 90% hearing loss in one ear, and over 50% loss in the other - though that did fluctuate at times. She lost her hearing quite young, after a bout of measles; and she took to lip reading almost instinctively. (Interestingly, I am more comfortable if I can see someone's mouth when I am talking to them. I suspect it was a habit I picked up, growing up with a lip reading mother). My mother also loved music and ballroom dancing - she felt the beat. I understand that two, if not all, of the members lost there hearing after a fever. And they all, clearly, lip read. And they have spoken of feeling the beat. I know they will have their own, unique difficulties, but I honestly wish them all the best. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for them.

This was "neat" to watch. Kudos for these guys for trying something this challenging that most of us wouldn't dream of if we were faced with the same impairment. Thanks Max for introducing us to and reacting to Big Ocean. I'm excited to see more of their journey. xo

Yes, they are Hard of Hearing and they lip reading. I am so thankful that you covered them. I really like your content!

They are unbelievably hard workers and they deserve all the support! I’ve been watching their TikTok lives from the start! They are truly amazing 🎉

I hope they succeed! As someone who is hard of hearing it’s so good to see a group that I can 100% relate to

Yaaaaas I'm supporting them for quite some time and promoting them here in my country, they deserve every recognition 🎉 I can tell you everything about them if you're curious 😅

Iv been watching their lives since the beginning of this month, and I got to watch them debut, honestly they are so sweet, so hard working and they are really trying to make a difference. I will always say yes to more big ocean and that everyone should give them a try.

OMG BIG OCEAN CONTENT FROM YOU?!?! That's so so cool thank you! I am obsessed with them right now! Thank you so much for supporting them! Wish them all the success!

Following Big Ocean and stumbled across your video! 🌊 I thought your comment about trying to imagine yourself in your 20s navigating asking for accommodations so interesting because indeed, the ability to advocate for oneself is crucial. It requires recognizing the systems/rules that are in place and understanding the resources that are available to you. I think it's a skill that many end up developing out of necessity when one's needs differ from mainstream needs. Being upfront and direct about one's needs takes courage, and it also means you have identified your needs in the first place (and anyone's needs can change over time!). I appreciate how open the members have been in showing how they work with their staff, and I would love to see more behind the scenes footage from them! 👀 In light of accommodations and communication access, I have been wondering if the members have a sign language interpreter on staff, or at least at certain times (since they do know at least some Korean Sign Language, from what I understand)... 🤔 because even if the members are used to accommodating to a hearing-centric world, and even if they tend to lip-read as part of gathering visual information (and side note, not all deaf people lip read, by any means), having to do that all the time is incredibly exhausting, to say the least. I guess I just hope their team is providing whatever accommodations the members prefer and whatever creates optimal accessibility! I don't know much about their company, Parastar Entertainment, but it would be amazing to see the formation of this new group open up opportunities to, for example, collaborate with other deaf performers/choreographers/artists or hire more individuals with disabilities. And yes, "disability" and "deafness" are vast spectrums, in terms of a medical perspective and in terms of culture and identity. As someone who is studying American Sign Language and Deaf culture, I am excited to follow the group's journey! 😊

Thank you so much for speaking abt them, they need more support!!

These guys are awesome! They deserve recognition for all their hard work!

I have a friend who is hearing impaired and she gets upset when people say she is deaf, she has some hearing left but is slowly losing it, just a heads up some people prefer the term hearing impaired not deaf.. these boys seem really chill I hope they make it far. ❤

I'm totally deaf on my right and the left I'm 60% deaf. I can't imagine not being able to hear. I love music. It helps me with my depression.

I don't normally comment, but I really appreciate your content sm, and I'd also like to recommend Zerobaseone...they just celebrated their one year anniversary maybe 2 weeks ago...they were formed on.a survival show last year and they're all SUPER close with each other. Their bond makes me so sentimental and i really think you'd like analyzing them. I'd recommend their 1 year anniversary video on their channel.

As a hearing-impaired kpop fan, thank you for introducing me to this group.

I wish them grate success 💜💜💜💜💜

They wear a device that looks like a watch on their wrist that vibrates to help them keep the beat of the music. They are great. I have watched every video I could find about them. They have great courage and determination to accomplish this. I am as proud of them as I am of my own child.

I love Big Ocean! I hope they do well as idols!

This is so interesting

Woah!! To see you posted make a video about BigOcean is amazing!! I started following them the past month. I'm happy to see them getting more recognition. Thank you for the video!

i could be wrong, but as far as i know koreans dont differentiate the deaf vs hard of hearing. each individual does have a preference of "cheongakjangaein" or "nongin", but both translate as "deaf" (for all the people debating in the comments lol also, articles call them cheongakjangaein cause its the "doctory term" and literally means "hearing impaired person" but alot of people on youtube and kakao chats call themselves nogin from what ive noticed. but its personal preference from what ive been told) and they do incorporate some sign into their dance routines (they wanna use ksl, asl, and isl) i get why the whole dance isnt just signing though cause it wouldnt be as entertaining for the rest of the kpop world :/ they do have a full korean sign language version of their debut song on their channel though which is really cool^^❤

thank you so much for making a video about them!! i love them so much

*”Sweet guy” lol. And ya so far I think I’m on the same boat as you as for who my bias might be. But we will see. Thx for showing these guys. I’ve never heard of em and when I saw ur thumbnail I did a double take and HAD to click. I was def interested. For me personally, the only sign language I have seen was that BTS vid but obv there have probably been more. But seeing an actual group like this will be great. I find sign language fascinating and had started learning on a free app called Lingvano but gave up cuz I got lazy after a few lessons lol. But it was super cool cuz at the time I was vieweing the app one day, I was also taking a walk and just so happened to see a deaf couple talking a walk and they were signing with each other and I got so excited and used my “hi how are you” that I had JUST learned moments before 😅 it made me proud. Ang they had big smiles. Dunno if they were smiling cuz they were surprised or if they were just being nice.. either way, I felt good to know I was able to communicate with ppl in a diff way. This makes me want to try again 🫶🏼✨*

I just watched a lengthy interview with these guys and I was maybe most struck by the various creative methods they use to dance and sing in sync. Staff members waving hands in time, flashing screens, vibrating phones or watches, anything to get them to be able to see/feel the count. My creative partner is deaf and is a singer and voice actor. Deafness manifests so many different ways... And a lot of them are things people can't see, because deaf people are good at navigating the hearing world. I learned a lot about facing directly with good lighting... And also repeating anything they missed verbatim. If they they ask me "wait, what?" it doesn't mean "explain that a different way" it means "repeat it exactly, I only caught 50% the first time." Hyunjin is my bias so far, but all three of these guys are super sweet and sincere. 😁 Oh! And one of them went to a school for the deaf where RM made a substantial donation to the school's music program. He credits RM with his ability to be introduced to making music. That made me very proud. 💜

I already love them, they seem to be such sweet guys

RM of BTS, rapper and co-songwriter of popular bts songs like my universe, butter, fake love, mic drop, boy with luv etc., will be releasing his second studio album. RM is an amazing songwriter and the beauty of his works can be found in his lyrics. Please react to RM's album out on the 24th of May, 2024 called "Right Place Wrong person" it captures the feeling of being an outsider who doesn't fit in and it is of the alternative genre. There will be a pre release single called "come back to me" to be released May 10th, please take note. Thank you.

I am deaf and this is so exciting!!! How can I follow them?

I'm so excited about this group. ❤ If you want to learn more about Deaf culture and communication (in the US) through the arts, do check out Deaf West Theater. They did a revival of Spring Awakening on Broadway some years ago with Deaf and hearing cast members. I also recommend the novel True Biz by Sara Novic, which follows a teenager whose cochlear implants don't work well as she starts to attend a school for the deaf and actually enter a Deaf community for the first time.

Thank you for showcasing Big Ocean. Some of us learned some Korean language with BTS. Now we can learn some KSL with Big Ocean. I feel Judy Heumann, may her memory be for a blessing, would be happy for this. Peace

You should check out the sturnolio triplets nick gets his wisdom teeth removed. It really shows their Bond. And matt and Chris take care of nick like a kid its really wholesome!😊

I don't know if you've seen Tomorrow X Together (2022 & 2023) and J-Hope (2022) @ Lollapalooza but their performances had a sign language interpreter at their concerts, which I thought was quite cool but I'm not sure if they were translating the Korean lyrics into ASL as the concert was in Chicago. I have absolutely no idea if they used sign language interpreters at other Lolla stages because I didn't bother to watch (and I didn't notice if New Jeans/Lolla 2023 had one).

Hola, gracias por compartir sus opiniones hacia Big Ocean, cuando conozcemos más de ellos ya no podemos apartarnos y se hacen adictivos. 🩵🫶🌊🫰

I’m pretty sure they’re deaf not just hard of hearing, one member was born deaf, another lost his hearing as a toddler, and the third lost his hearing at 18

Can you react to SB Boyz they are an upcoming boy group that will have 2 North Korean members which is a first for K-Pop.

RM OF BTS new album "right place wrong person" highly anticipated album. Please react to it. Out may 24th

Sturniolo triplets when?

hey max, came across your page and i'm not going to lie i came prepared to judge but i ended up loving you 🤣! sorry for sh**ing on you before i got to know you, your a really cool cute guy lmaooo

Please please PLEASE analyze Zach Justice and Tara Yummy’s recent blind date 🙏

The sweet guy lost his hearing at 11 the guy in the white shirt was born hearing impaired, and the guy in the blue shirt lost his hearing at 3

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Max you have to see the triplets latest video!! It has so much emotions + it sooo funny, it would be really great if you reacted to it and analyzed it! 💕

I’m also HOH

Make video on ADARSH SINGH ( INDIA )

They were probably lip reading, which is very common among us who have hearing loss.

You should react to Tara yummy specifically her (stuck in a car with… ) videos

you should react to some boynextdoor clips/videos!! their interactions are so great so see since they seem to comfortable with each other. their leader “jaehyun” is an amazing communicator 🤍

They have cochlear implants also

Rm of bts new album out may 24th. "Right place wrong person"

"Right place wrong person" may 24th by RM of bts. It is an album of the alternative gebre that captures the feeling of being an outsider that doesnt fit in. NOW IS YOUR CHANCE TO ACTUALLY SAY NAMJOON IS THE MAN IN THE ASPECT OF MUSIC

The term is hearing impaired or a better term is Hard of Hearing. They can lip read and also use cochlear implants and a hearing aids..... I don't think that needs to be torn apart necessarily when looking at their achievements though. 🙂

Thank you so much for sharing/talking/reaction about them! I only found them one week ago and now I felt like we have been missing this in the entertainment industry and just in my every-day life. Be aware of other people differences is something I hope will be easier and more normal in the near future 🙏🏻🩵🌊

So they all wear hearing aids

Please react to OnePact, specifically Jay and Tag, but OnePact in general is great too!

I’ve been following their daily life since I found out that they are live in tiktok for about 12 hours every day! So interesting to see how hard they work. And if there are some “secrets” then they just mute the stream. It is so nice to follow along every day 🫶🤟