♪ this is "nightline." >> tonight -- >> well, hey, there, welcome to my house. >> michelle obama opening up about her experience with low-grade depression. >> i struggled, like a lot of people, to find a sense of hope in all of this. >> her exclusive interview with robin roberts, sharing the personal toolbox that got her through. >> i figured, i can't help anybody else if i don't know my tools. >> plus what she has to say about that famous saying we've all come to know. >> when they go low, we go high. hidden heroes. the black marines forgotten no more. >> they were the best and the bright els and the toughest. and i said, that's me. >> remembered on this veterans day.

plus k-pop on broadway. the south korean music phenomenon has swept the globe with wands like bts. ♪ hits like "dynamite" leading the way. now the craze has even landed on the great white way. >> i'm just so astonished every night to see how diverse our audience is. you've got your theater fans, you've got k-pop fans. >> behind the scenes of the barrier-breaking show. age is just a number. and mine's unlisted. try boost® high protein with 20 grams of protein for muscle health. versus 16 grams in ensure high protein. boost® high protein also has key nutrients for immune support. boost® high protein. pain hits fast. so get relief fast. only tylenol rapid release gels have laser drilled holes. they release medicine fast for fast pain relief.

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with no annual contract and a free streaming box. ♪ good evening. thank you for joining us. it's been more than five years since manu ginobili left the white house. and like many americans, those years have been filled with highs and lows. an exclusive interview with "gma" coanchor robin roberts, the former first lady talks about it all. >> i was sitting at home, you know, just sort of sorting through where we were, trying to make sense of what was happening to our country, to our world. i was trying to figure out, how do we get in this mess, and how do we get out of it? i struggled, like a lot of people, to find a sense of hope in all of this. >> well, hey, there. welcome to my house. >> reporter: former first lady michelle obama speakin openly about her own struggles after

leaving the white house. experiencing what she described as a low-grade depression, fueled in part, she says, by the divisive political climate and the loneliness of the pandemic. you said the worry and isolation had driven me inward, backward. i rediscovered all the unresolved questions i'd stashed on the shelves of my mind, all the doubts i previously tucked away. so what were those questions? >> i think people ask me all the time, now that i'm here in this position, now that i'm the michelle obama that people have seen and known, they can't imagine that i would have doubts and fears and anxiety. but we all have them. and i still do. that loss of hope, you know. thinking about, did all of this matter? all the sacrifice that my family, all that we had done, especially after the election, did it matter? and does anything matter? and i think that if you don't have the tools to get out of it,

you can just spiral and spiral down, further down. >> reporter: her journey and the personal toolbox that helped restore her sense of hope chronicled in her highly anticipated new book "the light we carry: overcoming in uncertain times." >> people were describing to me record levels of feeling of loneliness and isolation. so this book is kind of my offering. i figured, i can't help anybody else if i don't know my tools. >> can we do this? >> reporter: for nearly two decades, the world has watched michelle obama campaign for her husband, make history as a first black family in the white house, and motivate many through the saying she made famous. >> when they go low, we go high. >> you devote an entire chapter on something that's become your motto. "when they go low, we go high." why do you think it was important to spend that much time talking about it?

>> because everybody asked me that. in the letters i get, people are asking, especially in these times, how do you stay high when it feels like the world is in a low place? i take a moment to address what i mean, or what i meant, what i always mean by doing high. going high is not a motto, it is an action plan. hitting not passive. it doesn't mean you sit on the sidelines and accept what is. but you have to turn your rage into reason. we can't -- change doesn't happen on just emotion alone, so going high means having a plan. being strategic. matching that rage with a plan. and so, yes, we must always go high. because the opposite of operating out of fear, operating out of divisiveness and isolation, that doesn't work. it doesn't feel good. >> reporter: mrs. obama sharing a vice about partnering well, getting candid about what's kept

herro man's with former president obama strong. >> last month, 30 years. your 30-year anniversary. >> see, that's real time, wouldn't you say? >> how did you celebrate? >> we recreated our honeymoon. i know, he did it. that dude came with it. and when we laughed about how broke we were when we did it the first time -- but we rode along highway 1 coast, we stopped in big sur and carmel. that part of the country is one of the most beautiful coasts in the world. >> reporter: in her memoir "be "becoming," mrs. obama bravely wrote about their struggle to conceive children. >> we had to do ivf. i think it's the worst thing that we do to each other as women, not share the truth about our bodies and how they work and how they don't work. >> reporter: in her latest book, the former first lady proudly describes her now grown

daughters, 24-year-old malia, 21-year-old sasha. when knowledge of us were first introduced to them, they were 7, 10 years old. now they're in their early 20s. >> grown women. >> how are they doing? >> doing great. proud of them. they survived eight years growing up in one of the harshest spotlights there is. and they are good, decent, normal young women who are trying to be impactful in the world. they are empathetic and compassionate, and they are the best of friends. couldn't ask for anything else. >> you're fiercely protective of their private life. >> yes. >> you did write about them that living together for a time in los angeles, sharing an apartment, you and your husband come over for dinner? >> watching them create their own version of home. they are sharing an apartment. you know, just fun when you see your kids adulting in the world. they had invited us over before dinner to have cocktails at

their apartment. and they had prepared a shar c charcuterie tray and try to make weak martinis. it's fun watching them become themselves. >> reporter: another resident inside the obama white house, mrs. marian robinson, "grandma in chief." joining us at the kitchen table. a rare glimpse of her sharing a whole lot of wisdom and wit. >> i don't think you knew i took the s.a.t.s, you know? it was one of those things, we were all kind of just like, "oh, you got into a school? okay, how are you going to get there?" >> your education was your responsibility. it wasn't mine. i told her, i already graduated. it's up to you to get an education and get a job. >> reporter: before the end of our chat, the former first lady revealing the new hobby she picked up during the pandemic. >> this is a project that i've been working on for a while.

it is a sweater. this is a top-down sweater pattern. you'll see these are the sleeves, this is going to be the collar. >> you made this? >> i made this. >> you made all this? >> with my own hands, all of this. i've made many things. sweaters, halter tops. sasha, i made her a halter top she wears to death, very cute on her. >> wow, i'm impressed. >> so yes, i am a knitter. >> and proud of it? >> very proud of it. >> our thanks to robin. you can catch her primetime special, "michelle obama: the light we carry" this sunday at 10:00 p.m. eastern on a special "20/20." coming up, the k-pop craze makes its way to broadway. ♪ moderate to severe eczema still disrupts my skin. despite treatment it disrupts my skin with itch.

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♪ with billions of records sold around the globe, irresistible beats and smooth choreography, it was only a matter of time before the k-pop sensation hit broadway. my "nightline" coanchor juju chang goes behind the scenes with the cast, thrilling audiences in this new musical while forging new ground on the great white way. >> reporter: it's the musical genre millions of screaming fans can't get enough of. >> bts, bts! >> reporter: whether it's boy band juggernaut bts -- ♪ >> reporter: or girl group blackpink -- ♪

>> reporter: k-pop sweeping the globe. the south korean musical phenomenon hoping to find a new home here on broadway. ♪ she got me bad ♪ ♪ that i almost cried ♪ >> reporter: aptly titled "k-pop," the new musical features actual k-pop stars, broadway alums, and performers who are both korean and asian american. >> what is this like, to have an essentially all-asian cast and asian creatives behind the scenes as well? >> absolutely. honestly, i was taken aback. i've never experienced that before. >> it felt like all of us could take a breath and be like, oh my gosh, i've never been able to speak korean in a room. here we kind of get to be together and celebrate. >> reporter: i sat down with three of the cast's stars who all grew up in the u.s., real-life k-pop idol kevin woo, formerly of the band you kiss. ♪ stop in the name of love ♪ >> reporter: amy kum and zachary

noah piser who i met a few months ago when he became the first asian american to star in the broadway smash hit "dear evan hansen." >> i was, like, me? k-pop? are you sure? i think i've learned to grow to love it. especially learning from the actual k-pop idols who are in our show. it's been such a cool experience. >> i'm glad i get to get a little glimpse what was it's like to be on broadway, also be in my own element on stage every night. >> reporter: the show revolves around artists on the fictional label ruby entertainment. we follow boy band fate -- ♪ girl band artemis -- ♪ and the superstar mui. her real-life pop star name, luna. ♪ i want to be somebody ♪ >> reporter: here at the circle

in the square theater ready for their new york debut. >> k-pop fans right now see the glitz and glam. but i really love how our show portrays, like, this deeper story. >> reporter: the show pulling back the curtain on the often treacherous road to becoming a k-pop idol. far from glamorous, it delves into how grueling the real-life process is. >> let's hold right there, hold right there -- >> reporter: and the sacrifices needed. >> try this one more time. >> it's not only a k-pop concert, it really dives deep into the work ethic that koreans put into their craft. >> i got to interview bts when they were here at the u.n. with the president. >> wow. >> they talk about the loneliness of being in a bubble while the rest of the world is focused on them. >> there's really no other career like this. we're brought up into this world at such a young age. and it's all that we've ever

known. >> reporter: that journey cold through catchy k-pop melodies. helen park, who studied at nyu, now the first asian american female composer on broadway, harnesses that signature blend of both korean and english lyrics. were you ever afraid that maybe you might lose an audience member or two? >> a lot of authentic k-pop songs obviously have both korean and english. a lot of the times the lyrics act as, you know -- even like sound effects. i knew that there's going to be different sections, i went through that all my life. >> reporter: it's not k-pop without many costume changes. >> welcome to our wardrobe area. >> reporter: 125 looks, to be precise. >> this is my opening look, this is my korea. i would like to take this on. >> reporter: here's where it all comes together. ♪ this is immersive. >> it's very, very intimate. the front-row seats are literally in front of our noses.

>> reporter: the perfect setting for frank conversations. >> specifically, my character brad gets to reflect a little bit of who i am, because he is half asian, he is half white. so we get that kind of cultural divide between the group, like between specifically the boy group and with brad. and kind of learning from this cast, like how to speak korean, how to get into this k-pop world, it's like a meta experience. both zach is learning that and also brad is learning that in the show and gets to talk about that experience. >> there's this idea of you're not asian enough. >> oh, boy. we get to, through brad, see a little bit of the hoppa, the mixed-race experience that i've never seen before on broadway. that really unique feeling of belonging to multiple identities but never quite feeling like you fit in with either of those intersecting communities. >> what have the previews been like? i'm sure the fans are going bananas. >> i'm just so astonished every night to see how diverse our audience is. you've got your theater fans, then you've got k-pop fans,

which is really new to the broadway stage. because there's a lot of k-pop fans who have never seen a broadway musical. and they come to our show, thinking it's like a concert, but then they're just like, oh my god, i'm crying. and they're just -- in this journey with us. >> our thanks to juju. coming up, hidden heroes. honoring the nation's first black marines. there's a different way to treat hiv. it's every-other-month, injectable cabenuva. for adults who are undetectable, cabenuva is the only complete, long-acting hiv treatment you can get every other month. cabenuva helps keep me undetectable. it's two injections, given by my healthcare provider, every other month. it's one less thing to think about while traveling. hiv pills aren't on my mind. a quick change in my plans is no big deal. don't receive cabenuva if you're allergic to its ingredients or taking certain medicines, which may interact with cabenuva. serious side effects include allergic reactions post-injection reactions,

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♪ finally tonight, on this veterans day, we honor and remember the first black men to serve in the u.s. marine corps. their story of sacrifice hidden no more. here's abc's t.j. holmes. >> this beautiful photograph, my handsome grandfather, private maurice burns, very handsome gentleman. >> reporter: mallory berger always knew her late grandfather was a u.s. veteran, but it wasn't until last year she learned about his historic legacy. >> something led me to believe, you know what i think papa was a

monford pointer. >> reporter: the ponford point marines, the country's first black marines. until 1942, black men were not allowed to join the corps. >> they were the best and the brightest and the toughest, and i said, that's me. >> reporter: an estimated 20,000 strong. but the u.s. military failed to keep records for all but 2,000 of them. that's 18,000 pioneering american heroes nearly forgotten. until now. >> i used to be offended when i would read about the tuskegee airmen and the buffalo soldiers. i said, they're all recognized, i don't see no black marines. that used to bother me. >> reporter: berger and many others are on a mission to find the remaining living monford point marines and the families of the deceased. their story, one of adversity. those first marines segregated from white counterparts, facing brutal discrimination during train asking deployment. >> once you came in that gate,

you forgot about your name. you were either "boy" or [ bleep ]. >> the idea was frustrate you so much you'd quit and go home, or stay in. >> reporter: 20,000 stayed. many deployed to combat missions during world war ii. >> president roosevelt, he says, "men, you have broken records that the white marines have had for years, send them overseas." >> reporter: in 2011, the united states government finally acknowledged their achievements, awarding the congressional gold medal collectively to the monford point marines. >> very emotional day. to be, for the first time, recognized. >> reporter: and this year, on the 80th anniversary, five original members and 11 families of deceased monford pointers received replicas of that congressional gold medal. >> i stood on the shoulders of my grandfather. to see them, to see the ones that are still here, it is just like reaching back in history, knowing i came from that. i came from them.

and it's utterly amazing. >> so it reads "for outstanding perseverance and courage that inspired social change in the marine corps." >> if i could say anything to my grandfather today -- we did it. we did it. >> our thanks to t.j. "our america: mission monford point" is now on hulu and wherever you stream abc on television stations. that's "nightline" for this evening. see you right back here same time monday. thanks for the company, america. have a good and safe weekend.