At 2:30pm, on October 24, in one Kangnam Cafe. A girl in her 20's, with her hair tied up, wearing a white blouse and black apron, was making coffee from an expresso machine. She holds the coffee cup with her eyes bright-eyed and says "Do you want to try coffee made by Seungyeon?"
I met KARA's Han Seungyeon (21. Kyung Hee University) that day. KARA made their comeback last July 2008 with
Han Seungyeon, part of Samsung's latest campaign Tommorow, transformed into 'Everyday Barrista' as part of the promotions for this campaign. Around 200 fans gathered at the cafe, and when Seungyeon was handing over a cup of coffee to a guy in his 20's, the fans went wild - "Wow.. Suengyeon nuna Jjang! You're so pretty!" "Total goddess!"
This kind of popularity was hard to imagine around 2 and a half years ago. DSP Entertainment, the company behind Fink.l, wanted to put out another girl group. They did this confidently with sentiments like 'Lets make a new legend in the industry'. Unfortunately, the girls of KARA were not able to live up all the hype and anticipation. Groups like Wonder Girls and Girl's Generation were two walls on each side that seemed impossible to get over.
Seungyeon says "There are a lot of celebrities that fail, fall to the ground and have a hard time. Just like them, we also experienced hardships along the way. People all have different ways of handling problems, but for us, 'Lets work with all out tenacity' - it was like a spell. In the dark practice room, we were already thinking 'We should go run around some more in the living room at home.' Thats how hard we worked."
She doesn't have that outstanding beauty that pops right out, but her big bright eyes, and clear smile, helped her earned the title of 'Celebrity without antis'. When KARA was not as popular as they are now, all the cable programs and outdoor events invited Han Seungyeon. She was a VJ for a gaming program, where she was called 'Starcraft's goddess', an MC for KM TV's 'SSGB' and also an MC for MBC's 'Section TV Entertainment'. Aside from her regular programs, she also frequented as a guest whenever the opportunity arrived. Because of this, they were dubbed as the 'Economic Idols' - idols who have to work to be able to sustain their living expenses.
Seungyeon explains "We didn't work so hard because we were poor. We were thankful that people recognized us, but its definitely not because we needed the money. I hope they call us 'Spirited Idols' instead. Its because we are spirited that we are able to work hard in everything we do. I think thats a good thing."
This idol who is in her twenties grabs every opportunities that she can. In the music industry she names Lee Hyori and Boa as her role models, while in the acting department, she looks up to Lee Mi Yeon. After 11 or 12am, she enters into a different world. She plays around with an 8 year old jazz piano, and also looks over at the sheets of New age music, wondering to herself 'How can I sing this?'
"My piano skills are almost zero. But I do know how to read notes. Singing along with the piano is more comfortable for me, and also, it helps me express my feelings."
In one month, Seungyeon also reads 2-3 books - she explains 'I'm the type of person that once I start reading, I have to read till the end." She also is a gadget collector. She has MP3s, PMP, Gaming devices, Digital Camera, Notebook 3G.. She says "Most of them, I received as gifts, but I'm into electronic stuff. I want to have them all.."
Han Seungyeon recently revealed that she had her first kiss after debuting. When asked if she was still meeting this person, she quickly answered "No! I don't have a boyfriend right now." She went on to describe her ideal type.
"Daniel Henney's looks, Kang Dong Won's charms, Lee Junki's sexiness, Hyun Bin's gentleness - I want a guy with these qualities. Oh, and also my dad's caring nature. 10 years from now, I don't want to be a celebrity, but rather a mom." Seungyeon, who dreams of being a caring mom, enjoys instant food better. One of her favorite food is the 3 minute microwavable Curry.
She ends by saying "If given a chance, I also want to go into acting. Am I asking for too much? But right now, me and the other members are preparing for our album. Please wait for us!"
source: CHOSUN LINK
thanks to mae@KARAholic
translated by coffeebeanie@KARAholic. CREDIT FULLY WHEN REDISTRIBUTING. DO NOT REMOVE OR EDIT CREDIT LINE