YG’s new boy group iKON spoke about what labelmate Big Bang means to them.

As the newest boy group from YG Entertainment, iKON faces the big task of continuing in Big Bang’s footsteps while differentiating themselves at the same time.

“They’ve given us a lot of help since ‘WIN,’ and they’re our idols to a certain extent,” said leader B.I in a group interview at a Seoul cafe on Monday. “WIN” refers to the survival TV program “WIN: Who is Next,” where the team’s members went through competitive rounds to get a chance to debut.

“They took us out for barbecue after the Melon Music Awards,” said Yunhyeong. “T.O.P in particular said a lot of nice things. He was really sincere, rather than messing around, giving us advice. To us, they’re a huge presence that’s on our side.”

“They’re our idols, our seniors, and like our brothers who are always so warm to us,” said Donghyuk.

iKON’s new single “Apology” was released Monday.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)