How Yuqi Is Rewriting the Playbook for Foreign Members in K-POP

i-dle's Yuqi is doing something few foreign members of K-POP groups have managed before. She is building a solo career in her home country of China while staying with her original K-POP agency, Cube Entertainment. The approach is quietly rewriting the career path for foreign idols in the industry.

On October 8, Yuqi released her second mini-album, "27." The project is sung mostly in Chinese and centers on her inner life at age 27. It was made inside the group and inside Cube Entertainment, not outside of it.

Yuqi will follow the release with a run of solo fan concerts in major Chinese cities. The tour opens in Guangzhou on the 11th, then moves through Chengdu, Beijing and Shanghai. The Guangzhou show sold out all of its roughly 10,000 seats, a clear sign of her ticket power in the local market.

For years, foreign members of K-POP groups have usually waited until after leaving their original agency to pursue solo work rooted in their home culture. BLACKPINK's Lisa is the most visible example. She still works with YG Entertainment on group activities but set up her own label, LLOUD, for her solo career. She recently released the single "SaWaDiKa," named after a Thai greeting, and has announced an upcoming EP, "PRESS PLAY," that leans fully into her Thai identity.

Former GOT7 member BamBam followed a similar path. He left JYP Entertainment to focus on solo work and last year released "HOMETOWN," his first album sung entirely in Thai. The project was reportedly made in Thailand with local musicians on every track. Jia, formerly of miss A, also moved into Chinese-language releases through a local agency soon after her JYP Entertainment contract ended.

Yuqi has taken a different route. She has built her Chinese career while keeping her ties to Cube Entertainment intact. After debuting with i-dle in 2018, she started working in China the very next year. Her first major local project was joining the cast of "Keep Running," the flagship Zhejiang Television variety show often described as the Chinese version of "Running Man," for its seventh season. She returned to China during the group's hiatus in 2021 and stayed on "Keep Running" as a regular cast member across multiple seasons from 2023 through 2025, building a broad mainstream profile.

She also appeared on the iQiyi music competition "Stage Boom," where she competed against local artists and showed her vocal side. From there, she moved into Chinese digital releases and drama soundtracks, establishing herself as a singer, not only a TV personality. Her brand work followed. She took part in a collaboration tied to Shanghai Disneyland's 10th anniversary and was named a model for the snack brand Lay's.

Her local profile had grown so much that when her contract came up for renewal last year, there was speculation she might shift her base entirely to China. She chose to re-sign with Cube Entertainment instead. The agency, for its part, has given her room to pursue solo work in China and to make music in her first language, and the two sides have found a rhythm that works for both.

The old pattern in K-POP was simple. If a foreign member wanted to fully embrace their home identity as an artist, they usually had to leave their K-POP agency first. Yuqi is showing that it does not have to work that way. By running her Chinese career inside the K-POP system rather than outside of it, she is pointing to a longer and wider career path for foreign idols, one that other agencies and artists are likely to study closely.