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[STAR COLUMN] [2013.05.10] Vol.1 - It’s Time for KARA’s Leader Gyuri & Youngest Member Jiyoung 

Girl group KARA celebrates their 6th year anniversary in 2013. Two 20 year old girls at the time of debut have now transformed into women whilst the youngest 15 year old member then has grown into an adult. We have always seen the five girls performing together as one group on stage, now let us take a look at the girls’ individual activities.

I shall once again challenge to find out how KARA spends their time overseas, individually as well as their days off. Before this summer’s comeback, let’s peek into the everyday lives of the five girls. We will get to hear stories like who meets a certain character, who goes on a holiday and who spends a simple day with their friends etc. The story of KARA as they look back at winter, welcome spring and wait for summer shall be revealed.

The first two people we will look at is Gyuri and Jiyoung. Both of them experienced a ‘heart throbbing’ winter. One of them had the chance of transforming into another person while the other embarks on a new chapter of her life. The stories of Gyuri starring in “Nail Salon Paris” and Jiyoung who turns into a 20 year old university student begin now. /editor


STAR COLUMN: KARA

◆ Gyuri said “Meeting Yeojoo”

Hello. I’m KARA’s Gyuri. This is my greeting for NAVER Star Column. Not too long ago, winter was cold due to a lie and now I can finally feel the heat of the early summer. Winter was colder than before, as I spent it not as Gyuri but as a whole new person.

In January, I met a girl called Ho Yeojoo. She is a character from “Nail Salon Paris” which was broadcasted on 3 May. As it was my first time acting as the lead role, I was extremely pressurized and worried a lot. I was able to finish shooting the drama without any problems all thanks to the staff and colleagues who were supervising me from the start.

It was exhausting but I’ve always received encouragement from the staff and fellow actors. On the first day of the photo shoot, I was reading the script with the director and photographer over a drink and the director said to me, “Don’t worry, everything looks good.”.  Although I do become more confident whenever people reassure me, be it whether I’m alone or around other people, I get embarrassed too.

The director say that I always bring out the very cute personality of Yeojoo in “Nail Salon Paris". There are many happy memories from the filming process as I have met such a nice director and a great team of staff.

Ah ah, there are of course some tough times. ^^

The filming was done in winter and the drama was set to broadcast in spring and summer. Even though i started filming since January, this winter strangely did not feel very long. It has to be bright enough outdoors before we can film or when it snows we have to stop filming. Basically, we experienced many problems due to the weather. The duration of the filming was lengthened due to the weather and my Japan schedule. I felt so sorry towards everyone.

Filming was really enjoyable. It’s been a long time since I have formally filmed a drama but I learned a lot as I watched the other actors and carefully ponder over the things that the director told me.

I am really thankful for Jihoo for being so nice and gentle to me. I honestly did not expect to get along well with MBLAQ’s Cheondoong, we have met a lot at music programs but never interacted. He is such a cheerful kid with so many friends while I’m more to the shy side so I was worried at first. Haha.

Perhaps I was able to become close to the actors because I cross-dressed as a man. It was a little awkward when I filmed as a woman. ^^ It did not matter whether I was a man in the first half or a woman in the second half of the filming, all of us, three guys and a girl, became good friends.

Yeah… The last day of filming was unforgettable. I cried a lot.

On the last day of filming, while we were filming the last scene, there suddenly was a power failure. Nobody thought,”Ah ah! We’re in trouble.”. It became a situation where everyone was communicating with just their facial expressions. Truth be told, the last day of filming was actually postponed because of me. I felt so sorry for that and was hoping that filming would end on a happy note.

I started to panic, “What if we have to postpone again?”. While I was worrying about this, the staff brought in a cake and everyone present started to sing. They then told me “good work!” while applauding. I later learned that it was a surprise planned by the staff.

I was very touched. I was crying so much at that point of time. I told my parents about this the next day and cried again. Now even as I think back, I still feel like crying.

With that, the last day of “Nail Salon Paris” ended on a happy note. It also marked the end of winter.

◆ Spring, 6 Years Ago

It’s been 6 years. I debuted with KARA when I was 20 years old. At that point of time, I was in university and working simultaneously!

Some things changed, some things didn’t. Yes… At that time I was just very spirited. It’s not the kind of spirit associated with rookies, but it was a time in my life when my confidence, not arrogance, reached its highest peak.

I may have appeared on a show before and I entered an agency when I was in the first grade of high school but I went through a lot of trials and errors for 7 years. And so, I decided to debut as KARA after entering DSP Media for a year. I was happy that I did. I was so happy that I planned to work very hard towards my ambition.

At one point of time, there was a slight change in members when original member Sunghee left and new members were added to the group. Many people said “This is the most difficult time for KARA” during the change. But I never thought it was hard. Even though we had no choice but to agree and go with the flow of things, I personally never once thought, “KARA will not work out”.

I did think that perhaps a change will be good as well. I did not think of this as a failure. Of course, I was sad when Sunghee left. There were a lot of mixed feelings inside of me and I was uncertain of what the future holds. But I never thought, “We may not be able to produce an album. What will happen to me?”.

It was strange that I had so much faith and always thought to myself, “KARA will definitely be successful.”. On one hand, it may sound cocky and on the other hand it was a dangerous remark to make. Even when I see other groups, I thought to myself, “I like my group the best.”. Who manages to clinch first place on music charts or how well the album sells was honestly a problem only to be tackled in the future.

Sometimes I think to myself, “Am I made for this business?”. It is important to be first place. I cried when we actually managed to clinch first place for the first time… But even when we dropped in ranking and what other people might say about us, I will still think to myself, “KARA is the best”. This may be blind confidence but when I hear talk of being enviable or being compared by someone else, I will think, “What’s wrong with our group!”. Well, isn’t it fine to be biased towards your own group? This thought has never changed.

◆ Jiyoung said “20 years old? 20 years old!”

Hello. I’m Jiyoung. I turned 20 years old this year!! I received many well wishes. I did not change but some changes did occur.

To be honest, I don’t know… I only turned 20 years old five months ago so I don’t know what to feel. Because there are no changes to my activities and my social life is built since I was young. I probably don’t feel any different because my surroundings did not change.

I didn’t do anything special when I turned 20 years old. Haha. I feel that everything is the same but I guess being an adult means having more responsibilities. Again, what were people’s attitudes toward me? In the past, they would treat me like a child but recently they have been saying “Even Jiyoung has become an adult~”

Of course, there may be big changes as I turn older but I will continue to live the same life that I have been living. But obviously, something is different right?

When you were 15 years old, you did what you were told. That was the correct thing to do. Now, there are more things to think about, you can express your own opinion and gain respect from others. How do I say this,  there is no need for communication, just a “I can take care of it” kind of feeling. If you want the good things in life, you have to look for it yourself.

As I was surrounded by adults since young, I was exposed to the many behaviors. Sometimes I would think to myself, “I don’t like this person. I will definitely not become an adult like him.”.

This is what it means to become 20 years old. Certainly there is some meaning but it’s difficult to express it in words. I have always longed to become an adult so turning 20 years old meant a lot to me. This is very hard for me to explain in words!

Ah ah! There is certainly a feeling of freedom. I feel like I have been freed mentally. The changes of being 20 years old, growth, meaning… It’s really difficult… Although it’s difficult, it will be an interesting process.

And now, I’d rather be called “adult-like” than “cute”. I want to break free from the strong ‘youngest child’ image that people have of me. ^^

Jiyoung from KARA has definitely grown up.

Just recently, I came across an interview footage when I was 15 years old. At that time I recently debuted a month ago. I wanted to faint. I screamed, “Ah, what is this!” while watching. Hahaha. When asked about my good points, I exclaimed, “My eyes! Shall I give you a wink?”. As I watched myself, I thought, “What is this~ Why did I do such a thing?”. I told the unnies, “It’s my pleasure. Please cherish me”, it was super funny.

I said to myself, “I was a child after all” and was mortified at my behavior, (Kekeke) It was weird. I am still young but I thought, “I was such a child back then.”. I spoke bluntly, without thinking!!

That was the 15 year old Jiyoung. ^^

◆ A University Student’s Spring

I turned 20 years old and one of the changes was that I became a university student.

It is actually very embarrassing when I draw the attention of everyone as I step out of class. Frankly, I just want to go to school and make friends like any other ordinary student. But people may think I’m arrogant because I’m a celebrity. I want to hang out with friends like a normal student but I don’t want our outings to be exposed to the public. (T_T) I have now managed to remember all my friends’ names in class. ^^

I introduced myself during a lesson called Voice. Of course, I participated in class too. Through the self-introductions, I’ve come to know about the different experiences that my classmates went through. Some even cried. It was very interesting.

All those were things that I have never experienced. I thought it was great. There are so many different kinds of people in this world. I think it was great how they managed to bravely overcome their obstacles and look forward to the bright future.

At that time, others might think I’m cool because I’m a singer who gets to stand on a glamourous stage but I felt that “my friends have a cooler life than me.”.

I do not understand the everyday life that my friends go through. Sure, I have a social life too but I feel that I will be able to learn more if I hang out with friends. Actually, I debuted since I was 15 years old and never once had a part-time job, I wish to hear about my friends’ experiences.

As my turn approached, my heart started to pound. I had no idea what to say.

I started with how and when I debuted. And friends who heard my story told me that they thought I was a cool and awesome person. They told me to keep smiling. I was really thankful to my friends thereafter. I had a really great time.

Another thought creeped up, “Let’s find myself a new dream.”.

I forgot how to find a dream. With a busy working life, the girl called Jiyoung in KARA is now all grown up. And so I have realized that I was satisfied with my life that I didn’t give a thought about trying out new things.

When I heard of how my friends managed to accomplish what they wanted to do via their own strongwill, I thought, “Instead of relying on others, I should try to do things with my own assertions and opinions.”. I have yet to decide what is the goal of my “new dream” but for now I shall just try this out.

Of course, I need to grow more within KARA. Even though I have talked about wanting to act, I have yet to properly challenged this. I think I should work hard to polish my skills.

Well… It’s actually pretty confusing. Being 20 years old seems confusing. Like there’s another Jiyoung in me? I seem to be thinking a lot lately. I have been thinking a lot about myself.

Once in a while, I will think of things like “What am I doing?” or “Why am I thinking of this like an idiot?” and blame myself. But how should i say this, wouldn’t it be interesting if we can find the meaning ourselves?

It’s fun!! The 20 year old Jiyoung!

Winter and spring. Along with the changing seasons, Gyuri and Jiyoung welcomed their “new lives”. They welcomed it more eagerly than anyone else. The next two members to be featured in “KARA SAID” are Seungyeon and Nicole. I wonder what will their stories be like? To be revealed soon.

+++

Source: http://news.kstyle.com/article.ksn?articleNo=1968562 (

Translation: melllllly@tumblr / _breakit@twitter

Original article: http://news.naver.com/main/hotissue/read.nhn?mid=hot&sid1=106&cid=918005&iid=639478&oid=420&aid=0000000308&ptype=011

Disclaimer: I translated the article that was translated to Japanese from Korean. Some of the meanings may have been lost within translations but the content should more or less still be the same.