How tripleS Member Park So-hyun Is Building Her Own Voice in a 24-Member Group

A small, well-worn notebook and a ballpoint pen sat neatly on the desk. Park So-hyun, a member of the 24-member girl group tripleS, carries the notebook everywhere, jotting down thoughts and feelings as they come to her. She is an artist who builds her world through observation and writing.

K-POPIT recently met Park at MODHAUS in Seoul's Gangnam district. She arrived wearing bold, dotted makeup, looking very much like someone in the middle of a creative period. After a busy comeback and year-end stage season, she has gone straight back into the studio. Because she also writes her own material, her schedule has only become busier.

Even with that workload, Park spoke about it with quiet gratitude. "It's not something I take for granted that the company gives me the chance to work on songs," she said. "Just being given the opportunity means a lot. I still have a lot to learn, and I'm happy I can make time to do more. Of course, there are hard days, but the fans' support recharges me."

tripleS recently promoted under a new "dimension" called msnz, with members divided into four units: Moon, Sun, Neptune and Zenith. Park said the smaller-unit format changed the dynamics of performing.

"It was my first time in a small-unit setup, so each member's role became much bigger," she said. "There was some pressure. The camera focuses on you more, so I practiced my parts even harder. But because we spent so much time together as a small unit, we also became much closer."

Inside a group this large, Park is focused on something she calls "character." "Pretty and talented, honestly, doesn't really stick," she said. "There are already a lot of people like that."

She constantly asks herself why fans connect with her in particular and uses that question to better understand her own strengths. People often tell her she seems cool and a little distant, but she says she is actually warm and affectionate with fans. "That gap is part of me too," she said with a smile. "The parts that aren't very idol-like, even the slightly niche parts."

A clear theme has emerged in her songwriting: the growth story of a girl. "At first I didn't set out to write a coming-of-age story on purpose," she said. "But when I thought about the team and the members, the keyword 'girl' just felt right."

Because she writes with her groupmates in mind, the narrative developed naturally. "These are our songs, so I felt they couldn't drift too far from the members," Park said. "When I thought about what kind of story this team and these members could tell, I kept coming back to this fresh, unfinished charm. I felt like that belonged inside the keyword 'girl.'"

The direction took time to discover. "It was around the third song that I finally saw where I was going, and after that I wanted to keep carrying that message. I know there will come a time when I have to move beyond the growth story. One person has many sides."

Books and writing are a big part of her daily life. She buys e-books and reads whenever she has time. "My lyric writing has gotten faster, and I think there's more depth in it now," she said.

A reading event she held with fans last year grew from the same interest. She enjoys sharing the things she loves with fans who enjoy them too. "A lot of my fans love books, so I suggested doing something around reading," she said. "Next time, I'd like to read a book together with fans and talk about how we felt about it."

She has also started taking acting classes, partly to better understand her own emotions. For Park, acting is not separate from being an idol. It is another way to understand and express herself.

"It's not that I really want to become an actor," she said. "I think it helps a lot with things like music video shoots and writing lyrics. Even if I learn slowly, I want to do it in a way that helps me discover more of myself." The label she wants most is simply "Park So-hyun, the person."

She described herself as someone full of contradictions. "There are a lot of points where what I look like on the outside clashes with what's inside. I'm complicated but simple, emotional but stiff," she said. "I think everyone lives with sides like this, not just me. Even if I'm not perfect, I want to be someone people can walk alongside."

Asked about her goal as an idol, she answered for the group before herself. "I hope a day comes when the public knows the names of every tripleS member," she said. "Not just one of us."