Earlier on February 7 KST, Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein of NewJeans hinted at the return to activities by announcing their new group name, NJZ, along with cuts from a new profile shoot.
At first, fans weren’t sure how to react to the group’s somewhat eerie transformation, with each member displaying strange, red eyes. However, they soon realized that the concept of the photoshoot was the white rabbit, an animal representing NewJeans and their fans, Bunnies.
Notably, the white rabbit is typically associated with themes such as rebirth and resurrection in East Asian folklore, which netizens found highly appropriate for NJZ’s first profile shoot using their new name.
The story of the white rabbits goes as follows: “The great heavenly emperor disguised himself as a famished old man and begged for food from the monkey, the otter, the jackal, and the rabbit. The monkey brought the old man fruit from a tree, the otter, fish from the river. The jackal brought lizards and stolen milk. The rabbit, who could only gather a handful of grass, decided to sacrifice his own flesh and threw himself into a fire. However, the rabbit did not burn. The heavenly emperor, moved by the noble sacrifice, chose to spare the rabbit.”
Many netizens expressed admiration toward NJZ for the hidden meaning behind their profile shoot, as well as for the captivating aesthetics. Some commented,
“That is genius.”
“I’m cheering for you, my rabbits!”
“They returned from the fire!”
“The members are like rabbits who gained the power to turn into humans.”
“The photoshoot combines both modern and hip aesthetics and traditional concepts. It’s already so NJZ.”
“Rabbits resurrected from the fire and coming for you!!”
“That’s what it would look like if five beautiful white rabbits became humans.”
“You have to admit, Min Hee Jin knows how to pull off complex and symbolic aesthetics.”
“It’s seriously so trendy and stunning.”
“I didn’t expect them to bring over the rabbit concept like that.”
“It’s like NJZ returned way more stylish and trendy than NewJeans;;;”
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