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Would you like to meet LE SSERAFIM?

by Helen Bosch
group photo of hybe 2022 girlgroup
group photo of hybe 2022 girlgroup

K-Pop Blog > Artists> LE SSERAFIM

LE SSERAFIM is a young girl group from Source Music, a label that belongs to HYBE Corporation . HYBE was until then mostly known for boy groups like TXT and of course the global sensation BTS, so the excitement was big when finally the debut of a girl group in 2022 was announced.

We'll introduce you to the girl group and their career so far so you can join in the conversation!

Currently, LE SSERAFIM has five members: Sakura, Chaewon, Yunjin, Kazuha und Eunchae.
The group originally debuted as a six-piece, but Kim Garam left shortly after the release of the first album. Find out why in this article!

  • Pre-Debut
  • The members
  • Debut with "Fearless"
  • Kim Garam Scandal
  • Fandom name
  • The first comeback: "Antifragile"

Pre-Debut

HYBE has produced only one girl group in its whole history, which started in 2005. Namely, together with the agency Source Music, HYBE managed the girl group GLAM, which debuted in 2012, but disbanded just three years later due to a scandal. Later, G-Friend and fromis_9 also belonged to HYBE Corporation because their labels - Source Music & Pledis Entertainment - were acquired by HYBE after 2019. Since G-Friend disbanded in 2021, fromis_9 was the only girl group under HYBE Corporation for a while. However, in June 2020, HYBE Labels, a division of HYBE Corporation, opened auditions for female talents for the first time since GLAM's debut, sparking excitement among K-pop fans worldwide!

After several weeks of rumors that HYBE was trying to recruit former members of IZ*ONE, the label confirmed on March 14 that two of them - Sakura and Chaewon - had indeed signed a contract.

iz*one pictorial: sakura & chaewon wearing black

IZ*ONE was a highly successful Korean-Japanese project group that released music together for two and a half years before disbanding in April 2021.

Sakura and Chaewon were the first two confirmed members of the new girl group! According to the rumors, IZ*ONE's Minju was also offered a spot in the girl group, but she chose to become an actress instead.

On March 27, the new official Instagram account revealed the name for the new girl group: LE SSERAFIM. If you rearrange the letters, you can form the English phrase "IM FEARLESS" from them.

By the way, LE SSERAFIM is produced and managed by the label Source Music, which belongs to HYBE Corporation since 2019.

LE SSERAFIM group selfie: 6 members

After this big announcement, it was clear that the debut was imminent. A few days later, from April 3 to April 8, all six members were finally officially introduced on Instagram and Youtube: Miyawaki Sakura, Kim Chaewon, Huh Yunjin, Nakamura Kazuha, Hong Eunchae & Kim Garam.

Before we move on, let's take a quick look back, as some members have been attracting attention long before their debut in LE SSERAFIM and have a varied track record!

The members

Stage nameReal nameBirthday
SakuraMiyawaki Sakura
19.03.1998
ChaewonKim Chaewon01.08.2000
YunjinHuh Yunjin08.10.2001
KazuhaNakamura Kazuha09.08.2003
EunchaeHong Eunchae10.11.2006

Former Member: Kim Garam

Sakura, Chaewon & Yunjin: AKB48, Produce 48 & IZ*ONE

Miyawaki Sakura was born in Japan and began her music career there at the age of 13.

Kpop girlgroup IZ*ONE - debut profile picture: Miyawaki Sakura

At that time, she debuted in the girl group HKT48, a sister group to the famous Japanese girl group AKB48. AKB48 and its more than 20 sister groups throughout Asia are collectively known as the AKB48 Group. The groups are based on a graduation system. This means that when members become too old or want to quit, they "graduate" and leave the group. In exchange, new members join every year as well.

In 2018, Sakura participated in the Korean survival show "Produce 48" with 38 other members of the AKB48 Group. The show was supposed to produce a Korean-Japanese girl group that is active in both countries. At the time, Sakura was considered one of the most popular members, not only in HKT48, but in the entire AKB48 Group.

Sakura placed 2nd in the Produce 48 finals, winning a spot in the 12-member project group called IZ*ONE!

But she wasn't the only future member of LE SSERAFIM to appear on the show. In fact, the 57 Korean contestants included Kim Chaewon, then 18, and 16-year-old Huh Yunjin.

Kpop girlgroup IZ*ONE - debut profile picture: Kim Chaewon

Both were unknown trainees in different entertainments at the time.
(Chaewon = Woollim Entertainment / Yunjin = Pledis Entertainment)

Chaewon reached 10th place in the finals and thus won a spot in IZ*ONE like Sakura, but Yunjin was unfortunately eliminated right before the finals.

In October 2018, Sakura and Chaewon debuted in IZ*ONE and were active in the girl group for two and a half years until it disbanded as planned in April 2021.

IZ*ONE was extremely successful and made all of its members stars throughout Asia within a short period of time! When IZ*ONE disbanded, all 12 members had their own fan bases, patiently waiting for them to debut again in other groups or solo.

LE SSERAFIM Introduction pictures: Huh Yunjin

Yunjin returned to Pledis Entertainment. However, she caught the attention of many K-pop fans during her time in Produce 48, who eagerly awaited news from the talented singer for years. However, it would be a while before she would finally return to the stage.

Kazuha & Eunchae

The two youngest members of LE SSERAFIM were rather unknown in the K-pop scene compared to the other three.

However, Nakamura Kazuha was a professional ballet dancer before her debut, training in several famous ballet schools around the world and winning countless awards!

On May 3, LE SSERAFIM debuted with their first mini album, "Fearless"!

The title track of the album, which contains a total of five songs, is called "Fearless", just like the album itself:

The album was a huge success, on the day of its release more than 175,000 copies were sold, and on May 10 the title song already brought LE SSERAFIM their first win in a music show!

However, the debut was unfortunately overshadowed by a scandal involving Kim Garam:

LE SSERAFIM Introduction pictures: Kim Garam

Even before the album release, Garam was accused of bullying other students at school. HYBE denied these accusations and defended Garam, while new alleged evidence was presented again and again.

However, on May 20, Source Music announced that Garam's case was currently under investigation and that she would be taking a break. LE SSERAFIM performed as a five-piece from then on.

Therefore, there are many music show performances of Fearless with only five members.

For a while, it looked like Garam was going to return to the group after a while. However, she was officially released from LE SSERAFIM on July 20. Garam's contracts with the label were also terminated.

Garam published a post on a friend's Instagram account in August stating once again that she was innocent. Even now, nobody knows for sure what's really true, but LE SSERAFIM has been carrying on as a five-piece ever since.

On August 8, three months after their debut, LE SSERAFIM announced their official fandom name on social media!

LE SSERAFIM fandom name

Fans have been able to call themselves "FEARNOT" ever since. "Fear not" literally means "no fear." The girl group's label explained that the word "Fearnot" also sounds similar to the Korean word for "flourishing."

So the name is supposed to mean that the girl group and their fans, who fear nothing, will come together and bloom together.

On October 17, the second mini album "Antifragile" will be released:

After the turbulent debut, many fans were eagerly waiting for the first comeback of the young girl group, hoping that this time the members can really enjoy their success. On September 1, Source Music finally confirmed that LE SSERAFIM would be releasing new music this fall! Then on September 19, the label also announced concrete details: On October 17, the second mini album "Antifragile" will be released, the first album with five members!

You can already check out several different concept photos on Twitter and Instagram.

We are excited about the new songs, because we have listened to Fearless and B-sides like Blue Flame countless times!

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