[Exclusive] After I.O.I's Reunion, Choi Yoo-jung Is Ready for a Musical Shift

Singer and musical theater actor Choi Yoo-jung is ready to explore a new direction in her music. After reuniting with I.O.I and returning as a soloist, she says she has begun to identify her own tastes more clearly, a change she credits in part to her groupmates.

Choi sat down with K-POPIT at Fantagio's headquarters in Seoul's Yeoksam district to discuss her recent activities and the direction she hopes to take next.

She had returned to the office after appearing on a radio program with CHUNG HA. "I asked Chung-ha what she was doing next, and we both said, 'An interview.' It turned out we were meeting the same outlet," Choi said with a smile.

Choi has moved quickly between group and solo activities. After completing I.O.I's reunion tour on June 21, she returned to South Korea and released her solo single "Perfect Target" on June 30.

"I began working on the songs in late fall last year," she said. "I wanted to release music sometime this year. I had been focused on musicals for so long that I thought fans might be missing me as a singer."

Choi initially worried that the solo release had come too soon after I.O.I's activities. The response from fans, however, eased those concerns.

"They said it would have felt too empty if I.O.I's activities had simply ended there," she said. "They told me my solo promotions helped them hold onto those emotions while adjusting to the members returning to their individual careers. It feels almost like an I.O.I afterparty."

The members continued supporting one another after their group promotions ended. On the July 4 broadcast of MBC's "Show! Music Core," I.O.I won first place with "Suddenly."

Choi, who was appearing as a soloist, began the encore alone before the other members joined her onstage with microphones. The impromptu reunion attracted attention online.

Choi said the members had originally visited the show to support her solo comeback. After learning that I.O.I had been nominated for first place, they chose to attend that broadcast. The initial plan was for Choi to complete the encore alone and celebrate with the members backstage.

"I had been moving around alone from the prerecording until the winner was announced, so I had no idea what the members were doing," she said. "Then I saw them below the stage picking up microphones. Once they all ran up together, I finally let myself get excited. It felt completely different having them there."

Choi said she particularly misses the ordinary moments the members shared while preparing for the concerts.

"It was noisy and chaotic, and we would bicker, but then someone would suggest ordering snacks," she said. "Those small moments are what I miss most."

The reunion also marked Choi's first concert tour since I.O.I's final shows in 2017. She recalled feeling nervous until the opening performance began.

"As we went through the songs, the cheers gave me chills," she said. "When that many people shout at once, it sounds almost like static. I was so excited that I could barely contain it."

Choi credited the members with helping her develop greater confidence.

"They look at me with so much kindness," she said. "Whenever I say, 'I don't think I'm good enough,' they surround me and ask what I am talking about. Hearing that from all of them made me think that perhaps I could trust and love myself a little more."

Choi said she now feels more at ease both inside and outside work. Her current goal is to understand what she likes and express it openly.

"That takes courage," she said. "As an idol, you receive so much help from the people around you that even when someone asks what you want for dinner, you can end up saying, 'Anything is fine.'"

Reuniting with the I.O.I members and discussing their shared experiences helped her begin changing that habit.

The process of creating "Perfect Target" strengthened that change. It was Choi's first release to include her participation in both writing and composition.

"I became better at expressing what I wanted, and I feel more grounded," she said.

Working closely with a composer and repeatedly exchanging opinions helped her define her taste.

"I realized that stating what I wanted was not such a difficult thing," she said. "Staying silent may even have meant leaving every decision to someone else. Now it feels like a natural exchange of opinions."

The bright, playful concept of the release was also a deliberate choice. Choi said she wanted to revisit the charm that listeners associate with her while it still felt appropriate for this stage of her career.

"I now understand how much effort and how many people it takes to release an album, so every promotion feels important," she said. "I thought about what I should show at this point, and I wanted to present the cuteness people associate with Choi Yoo-jung before too much more time passed."

Indie music is one direction she hopes to explore next.

"I am drawn to the raw quality that indie music has," she said. "I want to turn the things I have felt and experienced into songs that can comfort someone. I want to tell people that a hardship that feels overwhelming now is something another person has already lived through and overcome."

In musical theater, Choi said she often relies on fellow I.O.I member Yoo Yeon-jung for encouragement.

"She is the person who pushes me most directly when she notices a weakness I want to overcome," Choi said.

When Choi expressed anxiety about her solo comeback, Yoo reminded her how much she loved performing and encouraged her to continue pursuing musicals.

"She told me there were still many roles I could play," Choi said. "She reminded me to hold onto the passion I had at the beginning and look forward to what comes next."

Looking ahead to her 30s, Choi hopes both her taste and her music will become more defined.

"I think I will understand what is truly mine and live according to that," she said. "I am still figuring it out, but I sometimes imagine even the clothes and hairstyles I might choose in the future."

Choi released her second single, "Perfect Target," on June 30, marking her first solo comeback in four years. In May, she reunited with I.O.I for the group's 10th debut anniversary and released the third mini-album "I.O.I : LOOP," led by the title track "Suddenly."