Maintaining herself as an idol from a co-ed group is not easy for Kang So Yeon, who previously had the stage name Rosie from the WE group. This is another fact about the disbanded group.
Kang So Yeon's popularity has been discussed recently after she appeared on the Netflix dating reality show "Single's Inferno". However, many began to be curious about his previous profession, which was mentioned that he was an idol group in the past.
These days, most people know Kang So Yeon from "Single's Inferno". However, he was not new to the entertainment industry. Eleven years ago, it turned out that Kang So Yeon had debuted in a co-ed K-Pop group called WE. When she debuted as an idol, Kang So Yeon used the stage name Rosie. Uniquely, she is the only female member in the group which consists of 3 male idols and herself.
"I was a trainee for five years, and then we debuted with one mini album and one regular album," he explained when uploading a new video on his YouTube channel. Kang So Yeon spoke candidly about her days as an idol and the struggles her group faced at that time.
WE itself is one of the co-ed groups under the agency Stone Music Entertainment (formerly CJ E&M Music) which has also been home to dozens of artists over the years such as Lee Hyori, IOI, Wanna One, IZ*ONE, X1 and Heize. You could say, the WE group is in a relatively large agency.
Historically, many co-ed K-Pop groups like K.A.R.D and others have struggled to find success. However, WE did not get that popularity. WE released their first digital single "Biga" on November 1, 2011 which was then followed by their mini album "WE the Party" on February 21, 2012 and there were two group songs "Rain" and "Party".
Like most groups, WE themselves call their fans WE-gookin (WE-foreigners) because according to Kang So Yeon, all of their fans are foreigners. "We debuted in Korea, targeting Korean fans. But one hundred percent of our fans are foreigners. When we appear on music shows, those who hold our placards are foreigners," he explained.
However, unfortunately WE-gookin could not save their idol group from disbanding. "We had fun while it lasted, but the company is not in a situation where we can continue to make albums," he said providing an explanation of the group's disbandment.
After Kang So Yeon recently enjoyed her popularity as a celebrity through "Single's Inferno", she admitted that she was happy that her group name was mentioned again by netizens. Even netizens are trying to find out about the debut group.
"It made me realize that all that time was not in vain because I was constantly judged that my life had failed," he said of the difficult times.
"I got statements, 'You're not a real singer', 'That's not even real music', 'Anyone can tell they're musicians.' Those are things aimed at me," said Kang So Yeon who received hate comments during her debut as an idol.
"Some people might not remember our song, but I've been seeing comments on Instagram lately like, 'I love that song', 'That's my practice time!', 'I used to love that song!' I even have Korean fans say that," he said happily.
Meanwhile, during this time Kang So Yeon had a difficult time as an idol because her visuals were judged not to be up to industry standards. However, now in 2022, Kang So Yeon has proven that she can grow even better to become one of the celebrities who are among the viewers' favorite "Single's Inferno" contestants. (wk/taki)
