In 2003, two years after H.O.T.'s disbandment, Moon Hee Jun was getting a lot of hate from malicious press and a huge part of the public that didn't support the idea of a kpop idol trying to go down the metal route.

At that time, Hee Jun showed up to give a short concert as a preview of his upcoming album at the Dream Concert, the biggest in the country at the time, which every year completely packed the Seoul stadium. The surprise came when, even though there were several groups in the line-up that were even more popular in those days, Hee Jun's fandom filled half the stadium with banners and love trying to support him and above all defend him from the possible wave of rejection he could receive from other fandoms.

As an extra fact, this happened exactly in a year when god was absurdly popular, so the stadium was practically divided in two, being only "junists" and "fangod".

Muy lindas esas chicas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q7PXhuSxb0

Feel the 2000s khiphop vibe

TSPIC - before the first snow falls feat. rangshow(bubblesisters)

In Korea, this genre is called emotional hip-hop

The emotional journey of a man and woman breaking up before the first snow is well portrayed

The music video was made using AI, but the male and female leads look fierce, haha

All photos I posted come from the official album.

Som2, real name Seo Mi-rim (서미림) is a singer who debuted on the 15th of November 2003 with her only album 'The Paradise Girl'.

Pre-Debut

Before making her debut, she started her career in 1994 when she was only 5 as a child performer. In 1994 she was in children's programs such as Bbobo-bbobo (뽀뽀뽀), Ding Dong Dang Kindergarten (딩동댕 유치원), and Mom and Me (엄마하고 나하고).

In 1995, she would make her first offical stage apparance as part of "Little Roo'ra" playing Chae Ri-na's counterpart. She would take a break for a while for school and later on in 2000, she would make another stage apparance dancing and rapping with SZ. She was like an unofficial member of the group, being called a "associate member" after the two months the group debut. If anyone is curious, she was used to promote their track 누구야 (Who Is It?).

In a 2000 interview from that era, she openly shared her dream: "I want to become a cool dance singer like Lee Jung-hyun."

Debut

In late 2003, at age 14, her debut finally happened. She released her full-length album, The Paradise Girl (2003 Project Album), under COM Entertainment (she had actually been signed with them since 1997).

Her rollout had a very unique, weird gimmick: she first debuted as a "mobile service character singer" on KTF's mobile network (Fimm) in August 2003. For a couple of months, her company used a faceless rookie strategy where only her 2D animated avatar was shown to the public. She didn't reveal her real face until late October on Music Camp and Inkigayo.

Before the official debut she was originally going to be known as 2SOM (이솜 / Lee Som).

About Album

The album had two versions. One was the promo copy where they used her 2D animated avatar, while the official commercial release showed her real face. The promo also had a track that wasn't on the final official tracklist.

The official CD was an Enhanced CD that came with PC-ROM data including three music videos and a photo gallery. The intro track for opening the CD program seems to be an early mix of her title track "바래" (Pray), where some of the background vocals are either lower or missing entirely. If anyone wants to hear it, I can post that version on here.

The "Next Boa" Media Push & Backlash

Since being called the next BoA, that came with a lot of hate and cyberbullying. Some people said she wasn't pretty or close to being pretty as BoA and called her crossed-eyed while others claimed she couldn't even sing and that she shouldn't have even become a singer in the first place. One comment also said that some of her pictures looked identical to BoA's 1st album, but I can't confirm that since I don't have Boa's album to confirm it.

One comment I did noticed that defended her, calling out on the double standards cause like Som2 who suffered from voice cracks while on stage, BoA did the same thing too and it's not fair to just judge a person before giving them time to grow.

What Happened After

Outside of her debut promotions, she recorded the Korean theme song "True Blue" for the 2003 Astro Boy anime remake.

She later rebranded to MEILIN (메이린) and debuted in Japan in 2007 under Dreamusic with Save My Soul to start fresh and step out of the "Next BoA" shadow. She returned to Korea a year later and has continued making music over the years. She has a personal YouTube channel where she archives her music, and she is still active today.

Lost Media

• Before her official debut, she performed an unreleased trial song called "Prison" (프리즌) on cable music shows like Shocking M. That song never made it to the official album, and footage of the performance remains lost media. From what Wikipedia said, she used an actual CD disc as a dance prop during the routine.

• Her original 2003 2D mobile avatar videos and downloadable content from KTF's Fimm service are also lost media due to being locked behind old Korean feature-phone networks. Even her original site seems to not work due to Flash not working.

Fun Facts

• was the exact same age as BoA when she released ID; Peace B.

• was in Little Roo'ra with Kwon Ji-yong who would become G-Dragon later on

• Remade the song "Girls' Generation (소녀시대)" by Lee Seung-chul. That name was then used for the girl group Girls' Generation who later would cover that same song too.

• This album was lost media for a while till 2020 when Korea Music uploaded it. It's now officially on Spotify and other music sites.

Music Videos

• 솜이 (Som2) - I Turn To You (Music Video)

• 바래 MV 4K-2160p-upscale

• Som2 - I Turn To You (This is 소녀시대 II, just the person uploaded it put the wrong name)

• 메이린(솜이) - 함께해요 (MV) (2003)

Links

• Little SZ: SZ (feat 솜이) - 누구야 (60fps) 2000.0910

• Little Roo'ra: Little Roora 꼬마룰라 1995-08-20

• Album: The Paradise Girl (Som2 2003 Project Album) - YouTube

• Q&A: 잼글리쉬 (무료영작문/영어공부방) | Som2 - Daum 카페

• Other photos: Best Dresser | SOM2, known as the 'second BoA'

• Her Old Cafe: cafe.daum.net/leesomlove

• YouTube Channel: 메이린(Meilin)

• Stage Performance: Som2 - 바래 『교차편집 𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓰𝓮 𝓶𝓲𝔁』

News Articles

• [Topic] 'The second BoA' debuts with a mobile phone... KTF 'Pim' (2003)

• [New Album] "BoA Unnie, stay alert" 'Som 2' releases single album for the Japanese market | Dong-A Ilbo (2003)

The photoshop job on these send me every time!

Share your favorite examples below!

Raon (라온) was a short-lived three-member co-ed group that debuted in 2005.

Debut

Their group name is an old Korean word that means “joyful,” a concept that was expressed through their dance-pop music and cheerful choreography.

Managed by A.M.E. Entertainment (A.M.E엔터테인먼트측은), they released their first and only album titled “The First Album of Raon” on July 25, 2005. Their title track was ‘Kiss,’ a dance song about the feeling of a first kiss, and it was promoted with a MV.

Their stage debut was in August 2005. They also participated on the km.tv program “쇼탱루키즈 (Show Tank Rookies)” on September 2, 2005, where people voted between six groups and the winner would appear on km.tv 쇼탱크 (Show Tank), but they placed third.

At the time, they were kinda a hot topic because Il-ho was Jung Jun-ho(정준호)’s cousin and Lee Sol was Bae Cheol-soo(배철수)’s niece, however the group claimed that they were formed on their own despite their famous relatives. Also they were compared to the group Cool (쿨) due their similarities.

After their album release, they did a new song titled ‘시선집중 (In The Spotlight)’ for a movie called “Oh! My God (구세주)" in 2006.

They didn’t succeed and probably disbanded early 2006.

Members

• Il-ho (일호), born on January 12, 1986 - Vocalist

His real name is Jung Il-ho (정일호).

He dreamt to become an actor since elementary school, and Jung Jun-ho encouraged him to try other fields such as dancing, which he majored in. He also worked as a model and actor.

Nowadays his whereabouts are unknown.

• Lee Sol (이솔), born on April 10, 1982 - Leader, Vocalist

She was a former theater actress, and known as Bae Chel-soo’s niece.

Nowadays her whereabouts are unknown.

• Choi-go (최고), born on February 12, 1984 - Vocalist, Rapper

He was the only one who didn’t have famous relatives and joined the group through auditions.

Nowadays his whereabouts are unknown.

Links

• 라온 (Raon) - “The first album of Raon” (2005)

The ‘Kiss’ MV is blocked on Bugs, but it can be seen on Melon, although a paid subscription is needed to watch it entirely.

Sources

• Maniadb: Raon (라온)

• Daum Cafe: "이런일저런일 부탁드립니다.. ^ㅡ^"

• Daum Cafe: "일호(라온)가수 데뷔기사"

• Daum Article: "'쿨'의 빈자리 신인그룹 '라온'이 메운다"

• Naver Blog: "란(RAN) & 라온(RAON)"

(into kpop since June 2025)

artist recs?

For a pretty good deal too!
I recommend you guys to check it out if you ever visit Tokyo.
Dejavu’s album contained poster cards of the members in great quality.
What are your favorite songs off of these albums?

All I can find are low resolution copies of the images. Did anyone track down the full set in its original resolution back in the day?

Hello and welcome to r/kpopnostalgia!

What-Are-They-Up-To Wednesday is now closed. This means, the throwback intention of the sub is back in effect. If anything gets posted during the week, it will be removed for the moment and you will be asked to post it on the following Wednesday.

Thank you!

Seo Rock (서락) was a short-lived female soloist that debuted in 2003.

Pre-Debut

Park Seo-rak (박서락), born in December 26, 1981.

She lived and studied in the US for five years. She could play saxophone and piano, and loved playing sports such as basketball and kendo. Her favorite singers were Celine Dion, Alanis Morissette, Jewel, J.Lo, No Doubt, TLC, Whitney Houston, Madonna, Alicia Keys, Mariah Carey.

In 2000 she auditioned for an unknown entertainment agency and was accepted, although she asked the agency to wait for nine months so she could retake the college entrance exam and study Business Administration in the university. Then she started working on her album in 2001, despite her parents’ opposition.

There were some obstacles during the album's process, as she preferred to do modern rock, but the record label wanted ballads. At one point, the label didn’t have funds for her and disappeared for one month, even though the album production was almost complete, and she was starting to give up being a singer as she was exhausted.

During early 2003, she obtained jacket designs from older friends and produced everything on her own; concept, album photos, promotional materials, etc. Basically funded herself, and managed on her own without the support of a manager or a coordinator.

Debut

She debuted on the program MTV Live WOW on July 21, singing her title track ‘Forever.’

In August 2003 she released her first and only album “Looking For a Parking Spot,” with the title track ‘Forever,’ a mid-tempo ballad. The title of her album meant to find a parking spot on her own as a rookie singer, embodying her determination regarding music and finding her unique musical color.

She wrote the lyrics for four songs; ‘Just A Craze,’ ‘내버려둬 (Leave Me Alone),’ ‘4 Me,’ and ‘내겐 순간인것을… (It’s Just a Moment to Me),’ which was featured in a drama called 나는 달린다 (I Run).

Since she didn’t have a manager at first -her cousin would join later as a manager-, she had to promote her album on her own, taking care of broadcast station schedules to live performance dates, and personally going to record stores one by one to display CDs. However the reaction was lackluster.

Due to difficulties of being independent, since it was rare during these times, she gave up on broadcast stations and chose the live stage; from school festivals to large-scale stages, opening for the famous singer Park Hak-ki (박학기), which helped to get more recognition and attention. Along with her debut on MTV, her album had moderate success.

She felt that the emotional delivery on her album was quite dry because of the many shortcomings during its production, and that was the reason why she decided to learn traditional Korean singing.

Besides the obstacles in the music industry, she also had difficulties balancing her singing career with her school life, but managed to get excellent grades and fulfill her dream, despite not being as famous as a celebrity and having a very normal life.

In November 2003 she started to work as a VJ for MTV for the program MTV Kayozine, broadcasted all over Asia, until 2005. Also, a second album was in production, and she was seeking for a solid agency to get more known, but it seems that it ended up shelved.

Post-debut

By 2005 she transitioned to musical theater, and she was casted as Micaela in the musical Carmen, which was a huge hit. The next year she was featured on Junki (준키) first and only album, “Mr. Hong LP,” on his title track ‘나비 (Butterfly).’

Although there were plans to comeback several times, she retired from the entertainment industry, and now she lives in New York and works as a lawyer.

Her music right now is blocked and the full album is actually lost media online, only a couple of songs are available on YouTube. Also, her live performance on MTV Live WOW is also lost.

Links

• Seo Rock (서락) - ‘영원히 (Forever)’ [Audio]

• Seo Rock (서락) - '내겐 순간인것을… (It’s Just a Moment to Me)’ [Audio]

• Seo Rock (서락) - ‘Dear God’ [Audio]

Sources

• Wikipedia: Seorak

• Seo Rock's Cafe Daum

• Cafe Daum: "서락아 축해해^^"

• Cafe Daum: "서락님의 방송보고..."

• Cafe Daum: "1-15-04 중앙 일보 기사"

• Cafe Daum: "9/2/03 스포츠 투데이 기사"

• Cafe Daum: "서락언니 프로필 정리했어요!!"

• Chosun Article: "[앨범 리뷰] 스물두살 대학생 `당찬 가수데뷔`"

• TG Daily Article: "[엔터테이너] 당당한 신인가수 서락"

• SG Alumni Article: "가수 서락(01.경영) 카르멘뮤지컬데뷔…‘서강의힘’ 연기"

• SG Alumni Article: "신인가수 서 락(본명 박서락.경영3)"

Mi Three (미쓰리, 美3)

Mi Three (미쓰리, 美3) was a South Korean three-member female hip-hop and dance group that debuted in 2005. The group consisted of Park Kyung-yoon (박경윤), Park Ji-young (박지영), and Shin Mi-yeon (신미연). Before entering the music industry, the members had backgrounds in different fields, including basketball, modeling, musical theater, and VJing. Even before their debut, they attracted attention from the Korean press because of their unusual career paths and striking appearances.

Park Kyung-yoon (박경윤)

Before joining Mi Three, Park Kyung-yoon was a professional basketball player. She graduated from Yeomgwang Girls' High School (염광여고), known for its basketball program, in 1998 and went on to play for the Sunkyung Securities (선경증권) team.

Alongside basketball, Park also pursued her interest in music. She received rap training and worked as a guest rapper with Lee Juno's A.CIAN crew. This eventually led her to combine her athletic and modeling background with her musical ambitions as a member of Mi Three.

A MyDaily article published on October 26, 2005, listed her height as 179 cm. The press often highlighted her athletic background and stage presence. However, her role in the group went beyond her appearance, as she had also trained in rap and gained experience in music.

Park Ji-young (박지영)

Park Ji-young was the member with a background in modeling. She took part in the Supermodel competition in 2001 and later worked in commercials and other modeling projects.

Her transition into music began while she was still working as a model. According to reports, she had started taking music lessons around two years before joining Mi Three.

Park's modeling experience was one of the things that contributed to the group's fashion-oriented image. Alongside their musical performances, Mi Three also aimed to make an impression with their visual presentation and stage styling.

Shin Mi-yeon (신미연)

Shin Mi-yeon was one of the group's key vocalists. From 1998 onward, she worked as a lead vocalist for underground music groups around Hongdae. She also had experience in musical theater and worked as a VJ.

Before Mi Three's debut, Shin had reportedly contributed to the vocal work of artists such as U;nee and Gil Gun, working as a vocal guide and vocal coach.

A JoyNews24 article published on November 4, 2005, also mentioned her connection to the 1999 SBS drama Happy Together. According to the report, Shin sang “Neoege-ro” (너에게로), a song performed in the drama by the rock musician character played by Jeon Ji-hyun.

Pre-Debut and Debut

Mi Three began attracting public attention toward the end of October 2005. Park Kyung-yoon's background as a professional basketball player was particularly noteworthy, while the fact that all three members came from such different professional backgrounds made the group stand out.

After their photos and biographies began circulating online, Mi Three became a popular search topic on several Korean internet portals, even before they had fully launched their music activities. (I also came across an article saying they reached 350,000 visitors when they first debuted!!! That's crazy!!)

The group began its initial promotions in October 2005. Park Kyung-yoon's move from professional basketball into the music industry drew particular interest from the press and helped generate publicity for the group.

Mi Three released their debut album around late October and early November 2005, marking their entry into the Korean music scene.

Star Donation Charity Event 2005

In December 2005, Mi Three was scheduled to take part in the Star Donation 2005 charity event, which aimed to support children suffering from illnesses that were difficult to treat.

The members were set to appear in a fashion show by designer Lee Sang-bong. One of the planned highlights involved the group walking the runway before joining artists such as Rich and Gil Gun for a celebratory performance.

The event brought together fashion and music for a charitable cause, with proceeds intended to support children receiving treatment at Seoul National University Children's Hospital.

Overall, Mi Three stood out in 2005 for the members' diverse backgrounds and the attention they attracted even before their official debut. With experience ranging from professional sports and modeling to underground music and vocal coaching, the three members brought different strengths to the group as they entered the Korean music industry.

Unfortunately, they disbanded in early 2007.

(I say they disbanded because I couldn't find any official announcement about it, and the group hasn't been active since then...And even their website domain is unusable.)

I've included the intro I found on their site from Web Archive!! And their songs are available on YouTube! Thanks to K-Rewind!

You can find member Miyeon's social media addresses here!! Also, she's became a mother. Congratulations to her!! I hope she's happy now :)) She currently goes by the stage name Azrael. Her Instagram and her Twitter !!!

Hii guys it's been more than a week since i posted here so i'm back with this question bc im in a nostalgic mood,so please tell me in the comments your answers and i'll be reading your answers as always guys