Girls’ Generation and their Individual Careers before the Comeback
Titos and Titas of K-pop, rejoice! South Korea’s Nation’s Girl Group, Girls’ Generation, is having their most-anticipated comeback! With their seventh Korean full-length album, Forever 1, the group is set to commemorate their 15th year anniversary. The group last promoted as a whole in 2017, with the release of their sixth Korean full-length album, Holiday Night.
Despite being inactive for five years as a group, there is no dull moment with the eight members’ careers, for each decided to set a name of their own in various industries. So before we dive into the full-group activities, let us take a look at what the individual members of Girls’ Generation accomplished before the group’s comeback announcement.
DOMINATING VARIOUS FIELDS
Kim Taeyeon (Taeyeon)
Taeyeon did not steer far from the K-pop industry in her solo career. She continuously released and promoted solo albums, with her most recent album INVU, garnering over 100,000 sold copies on Hanteo Album Chart. Taeyeon also participated in the female supergroup, GOT The Beat, with fellow Girls’ Generation member Hyoyeon and SM female artists BOA, Red Velvet’s Seulgi and Wendy, and AESPA’s Karina and Winter. She also became a part of Amazing Saturday, a popular South Korean variety show since 2019.
Lee Soon-kyu (Sunny)
Sunny gained the title of variety show queen, for she frequented different shows during the group’s inactivity. In late 2021 alone, she went to different TV shows such as MBC Video Star, TVING Love Catcher in Seoul, and KBS Hanwoo Rhapsody. Sunny also appeared in different online shows such as NAVER Shopping Live and SM CC Painful Experience Galaxy. She also came as a special DJ in SBS Power FM Cultwo Show.
Tiffany Young (Tiffany)
Tiffany also started her solo career by releasing solo albums; her most recent, Lips on Lips, released in 2019, kickstarted her career in America, where she also held her Lips on Lips Mini Tour. She also dived into the theater industry and played the role of Roxie Hart in the Korean musical Chicago, which went from 2021 to 2022. The musical garnered multiple praises, with Tiffany’s portrayal of Roxie being the highlight of most.
Kim Hyoyeon (Hyoyeon)
Hyoyeon also decided to release solo songs to set out a name for herself. She first promoted singles, not until she released her 1st mini album, Deep, in May 2022. Deep contained all of her previously-released singles and 2 additional new songs. Come 2018, Hyoyeon started promoting as DJ Hyo, and since then headlining overseas gigs. DJ Hyo even participated in different gigs here in the Philippines such as in Oqtagon Cebu and House Manila.
Kwon Yuri (Yuri)
Yuri decided to explore various fields as a soloist. She first released her solo album, The First Scene, in 2018. She also explored digital content creation by releasing her own YouTube program, Yuri’s Winning Recipe. Yuri’s Winning Recipe is indeed winning for it bagged the New Media Award on Korean Arts and Culture Awards. She also furthered her acting career by starring in different television series. Her recent work Bossam: Steal the Fate, made Yuri win the Best Acting Award at Asia Artist Awards.
Choi Sooyoung (Sooyoung)
Sooyoung, during the group’s inactivity, focused on her acting career. Since 2017, she starred in 5 films, 5 television series, and 3 web series. Sooyoung’s recent works include Run On, where she played Seo Dan-Ah, and So I Married the Anti Fan, where she played Lee Geun-Young.
Im Yoon-ah (Yoona)
Yoona is already a rising actress even before the group’s inactivity, so it is no surprise that she decided to focus on the acting industry during their time apart. Following the success of Confidential Assignment, her next film, Exit, also became a big hit in Korean theaters and received various awards from different award-giving bodies. She also starred in TV shows such as Hush and The King in Love. She’s also a staple face in advertisements. True to her title as the CF Queen, Yoona became Innisfree’s long-term brand ambassador, and Korea’s ambassador for luxury brands such as Michael Kors, Estee Lauder, Miu Miu, and more.
Seo Ju-Hyun (Seohyun)
Girls’ Generation’s maknae also took the time of the hiatus to explore the acting industry. She mostly focused on television series, including Time, which received multiple awards, and her recent works, Private Lives and Jinxed at First. She also starred in the Netflix film, Love and Leashes, proving the youngest’s willingness to try new things and steer away from the group’s innocent and playful image.
Girls’ Generation’s full-group schedule is still packed with incoming variety and music show appearances and fan meetings, so make sure to hold on to your Molar Bong and join the club as we chant “Right now, it’s Girls’ Generation. Tomorrow, it’s Girls’ Generation. Forever it’s Girls’ Generation”.
Darlene, better known as Da, is currently a broadcasting student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines - Manila. Her interests lie in K-pop, books, and coffee. With living an *extra* life in mind, she aspires to change the world for the better with the same grace and grandeur as Legally Blonde's Elle Woods.