Chung Ha reveals she thought of leaving the music industry: “It’s a job, not my life”

South Korean singer Chung Ha has opened up about her year-long hiatus from the music and why she toyed with idea of leaving the industry.

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Chung Ha recently signed with the Jay Park-owned label, More Vision, after leaving long-time agency MNH Entertainment this March. Meanwhile, her last solo music release was the July 2022 record ‘Bare & Rare’.

In the year between ‘Bare & Rare’ and signing to More Vision, the singer contemplated stepping away from the music industry completely, she revealed in a recent appearance on the YouTube talk show Gabee’s Rising Star.

Chung Ha spoke about how during a previous meet up with host Gabee, a member of the dance group LACHICA, the dancer had “counselled and persuaded” her to not “go study abroad”.

“I asked her what’s her plan,” Gabee recalled. “I naturally thought she’ll go into a new agency and asked, ‘Where will you go, Chung Ha? What agency would be good for you?’ Then she said she’ll study and go study abroad.”

“We just said – not ‘What’s wrong?’, but ‘Just stop it’,” she added. “We just ignored it and talked about her plan [to join a] new agency. She entered a great agency anyway.”

Chung Ha then opened up about how she wanted a company that would “give realistic advice” and act like a “pacemaker” when she’s burnt out. She also touched on how, after eight years in the industry, she was “scared” that the people around her would not be “straight” with their opinions.

The singer also revealed that she views being a singer as just “a job”, adding that it’s “not my life”. “I thought of not doing my work, such as studying abroad or something,” she continued. “You can find another life.”

In other K-pop news, K-pop agency Attrakt says its girl group FIFTY FIFTY will be “reorganised” following legal troubles. The news comes just days after the company terminated the exclusive contracts of three of the group’s members.

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Meanwhile, Korean-American singer Eric Nam has broken his silence after facing backlash over liking a post about the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.