While K-pop idols shine on stage and are admired by fans worldwide, not many would know the challenges and difficulties as they pursue stardom.
Local actress Tasha Low, who was the leader of now-defunct Singapore-South Korean girl group SKarf, recounted her experiences in the first episode of local talk show Those Days Those Places, which aired on Jan 13.
The 32-year-old visited Gangnam, where her former agency Alpha Entertainment was located and met with her former manager, only known as Hyun-hee.
In an interview during the episode, Tasha shared they had previously parted ways on bad terms.
She said: “[Hyun-hee] was angry and said, ‘Don’t ever come back to South Korea, I will make life difficult for you.'”
Despite that, she shared that they reconcile when Hyun-hee visited Singapore about three years later for a business trip and emailed Tasha to reconnect.
“My heart raced when I saw the email. I thought honestly, without her, I wouldn’t be who I am today. So I decided to meet up with her. When we met, we hugged and cried together. Now, she feels like a gentle mother figure to me,” Tasha recalled.
Tasha debuted in SKarf in 2012 with Singaporean Ferlyn Wong, Korean-American Sol and South Korean Jenny. South Korean JooA and Japanese Hana joined the team in late 2012 after Sol announced her departure from the group. SKarf disbanded by the end of 2014.
Ferlyn is now an actress here, acting in dramas such as Emerald Hill — The Little Nyonya Story and The Spirit Hunter.
In the episode, Tasha and Hyun-hee spent the day together in Samseong-dong, Ikseon-dong and Seosulla-gil, where they recounted her trainee days, including stealing away to a nearby convenience store for chocolate and ramyeon (instant noodles) breaks.
Hyun-hee also vividly remembered Tasha cooking dishes for her, including japchae (stir-fried glass noodles).
“Hyun-hee said she always treated me like a daughter. Deep down, I knew that… She had so much love, but back when we were training, we couldn’t feel that love because she had to play the bad cop,” Tasha said.
While enjoying coffee together, Hyun-hee explained why she chose Tasha as the leader of the group then: “Usually, the oldest member becomes the leader. But during training, your personality showed the strongest leadership qualities. You’re very calm and stable. You were able to manage relationships among the members.”
Tasha also asked Hyun-hee if she remembered telling the rising idol then that the right side of her face looked like a “monkey”.
As the woman laughed in embarrassment, Tasha added: “Because of your comment, even now I’m only confident about the left side of my face. Left side is human, right side is monkey.”
SKarf’s JooA is now a mum
.jpg)
Tasha also met up with JooA, 35, for a day trip in Incheon and revealed that the latter is now married with a five-year-old daughter.
JooA also shared that she is now involved in musicals and theatre work and teaching students how to prepare for university auditions.
When asked what she would do if her daughter wanted to be a singer, she said: “I would keep her at home and not let her leave.”
They also recounted their days as trainees and JooA revealed that Tasha had experienced hair loss then.
Tasha explained: “We had members from Japan, Singapore and South Korea so the pressure of being the leader is really big. I also had to look after the two older members of the group — Ferlyn and JooA.
“Because I’m not the oldest, I don’t have the authority to ask them to come to practice or tell them what not to do. The stress [that I had back then] made me lose a lot of hair.”
Tasha also shared that they were supposed to meet up with Jenny, 29, who is now a pilates instructor, but she had classes on the day of filming. Ferlyn video-called Tasha and bickered with JooA, telling her to visit Singapore sometime.
“They were always like this, they were roommates [before], so they’re very close and they can play around like this. It’s really fun,” Tasha explained separately in the episode.
To commemorate the group’s 13th debut anniversary last August, Ferlyn posted on Instagram previously unreleased practice footage of SKarf performing a song cover of Wings by British girl group Little Mix.
She told AsiaOne then that she recently had a video call with JooA and Tasha, adding: “It reminded me of how special our connection is. We can go for months without talking, but when we do, it feels like no time has passed at all. There’s a level of trust and comfort between us that’s so warm.”
Those Days Those Places is now available on demand for free on Mewatch and airs every Tuesday at 8pm on Channel 8.
[[nid:728132]]
No part of this article can be reproduced without permission from AsiaOne.
Read the full article here
