Nam Gyuri, SeeYa Discord Controversy Revealed After 20 Years: Reconciliation & Reunion [Interview Part 1]

The beloved Korean female vocal group **See Ya** is reuniting as a complete group after 15 years, much to the delight of fans.

See Ya (Nam Gyuri, Kim Yeonji, and Lee Boram) recently held a round interview at a cafe in Lotte World Tower, Jamsil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, to commemorate their 20th-anniversary reunion as a complete group.

See Ya debuted in March 2006 with their first full-length album, ‘The First Mind.’ The title track, ‘A Woman’s Scent,’ immediately set the K-pop market ablaze. Subsequently, See Ya solidified their irreplaceable position with every song they released, including ‘Love’s Greeting,’ ‘Shoes,’ ‘Crazy Love Song,’ and ‘His Voice,’ all achieving the top spot on music charts and music shows.

However, See Ya abruptly announced their disbandment in January 2011. In 2020, they raised expectations for a reunion by appearing as a complete group on the JTBC entertainment show ‘Two Yoo Project – Sugar Man 3’ after a long absence. Although a reunion was considered after ‘Sugar Man 3,’ the plans fell through due to the members being under different management agencies. Speculation of discord among fans arose, especially regarding Nam Gyuri’s sudden departure from the team in 2009 prior to the disbandment.

Despite various unconfirmed rumors and allegations, See Ya finally announced their reunion on their 20th anniversary. On this day, Nam Gyuri, as the leader, revealed the crucial turning point that led them to decide to reunite.

Nam Gyuri said, “From last year, we received many offers to ‘reunite See Ya,’ but we couldn’t due to physical and realistic issues, as the members were all in different companies. Then, after a long time, I went to an event, and the organizers requested that I sing See Ya songs. I had never sung See Ya songs alone before. I couldn’t find the MR (music recorded track), so the night before the event, at 12 AM, I called Boram as if I were calling a friend I had met yesterday and asked, ‘Can you lend me the MR?’ She readily agreed with a cheerful voice. After the event went well, I texted her, ‘Thank you. Let’s have a meal sometime soon,’ and she immediately sent me possible dates. It was a pleasant response. Through that chance encounter, I met Boram and talked about various things, and I realized that there were many misunderstandings in the reunion process after ‘Sugar Man 3’ that we weren’t even aware of. After having many conversations, we understood each other, realizing that ‘the problems we had weren’t things that would prevent us from reuniting,’ and the misunderstandings were resolved.”

Having first met Lee Boram and resolved the misunderstandings that had gone unaddressed for five years, Nam Gyuri then separately met with Kim Yeonji for an in-depth conversation. After looking back at what had happened, they realized that misunderstandings had arisen from things that weren’t a big deal, but had been greatly exaggerated. Now, all three members met to officially push for a reunion.

Nam Gyuri shared, “We had a time to talk together, and when I asked, ‘How about doing it together?’ everyone readily agreed, saying, ‘We definitely want to do it for the fans,’ and the conversation flowed so easily that we dramatically reunited.”

Kim Yeonji also added, “Actually, we all felt the same way, but there were misunderstandings in between. Now that everything is resolved, we’ve become of one mind. After that, the talk about the 20th anniversary progressed quickly. I was very overwhelmed, and I feel much more grateful for the amount of love we’ve received than I expected.”

A common factor among See Ya’s driving forces for the reunion is ‘misunderstanding.’ Of course, the public may have unknowingly noticed the many misunderstandings surrounding See Ya, but they had never been clearly revealed above the surface.

In relation to this, Nam Gyuri specifically opened up about the past misunderstandings. She stated, “The process of creating See Ya wasn’t as long as you might think. Boram and Yeonji were practicing for about two months, and I joined in just two weeks before debuting after just a month. We didn’t have any time to build solidarity or harmony before debuting. Despite that, we became successful right away. It was like a result that happened when we woke up. Since we were active without knowing each other well, misunderstandings accumulated that weren’t a big deal when we actually addressed them.”

Nam Gyuri continued, “The biggest reason why the reunion at ‘Sugar Man 3’ fell through was because we were in different companies. I was acting, and the other two members were also under different companies, so the process was carried out without proper contracts, which led to misunderstandings. That’s why we created a See Ya corporation this time, to prevent such things from happening again,” clarifying the rumors of discord.

See Ya’s new song, ‘Nevertheless, We,’ will be released on various online music sites on the 30th at 6 PM KST. They plan to release a full-length album in May and begin full-fledged activities.