Annie, a member of the soon-to-debut k-pop group ALLDAY PROJECT under The Black Label, has opened up about the strong opposition she faced from her family before pursuing her dream of becoming a singer.

In a video titled “ALLDAY PROJECT – ‘DAY 1,’” released on the group’s official YouTube channel on June 13, Annie and her fellow members — Tarzzan, Bailey, Woochan, and Youngseo — shared their thoughts and emotions ahead of their upcoming debut.

Annie, whose real name is Moon Seo-yoon, recalled first falling in love with K-pop at the age of seven after watching BigBang and 2NE1’s music video for “Lollipop.” “It was a total shock — it felt like a new world had opened up to me,” she said. “I instantly knew that I wanted to do what they were doing.”

However, her early excitement was met with skepticism at home. “One day, I casually asked my mom, ‘What would you think if I became a singer?’ and she just laughed and said, ‘No way,’” Annie recalled. “That’s when I realized it wasn’t going to be easy.” When she later brought up the topic more seriously, her mother firmly rejected the idea. “She said, ‘Absolutely not.’ That was the first real heartbreak of my life.”

Annie is the daughter of Chung Yoo-kyung, president of Shinsegae Department Store, and the granddaughter of Shinsegae Group chairwoman Lee Myung-hee. During her high school years, opposition from her family intensified, but she remained steadfast. “I told my mom I couldn’t give up. So she made a deal: if I got accepted into university, she’d help convince the rest of the family,” Annie said. “From that point on, I gave up on sleep and studied hard until I got accepted. My mom didn’t expect it at all — she thought I was just dancing all the time.”

Annie has been on leave from Columbia University in the United States while preparing for her debut with ALLDAY PROJECT. She acknowledged that her background leads some people to question her sincerity. “There are people who think I’m not serious about this path,” she said. “That means I have to show even more — how desperate I am, how real this dream is to me. I’ve been working harder every day because I’m getting closer to the opportunity of debuting.”

ALLDAY PROJECT is set to make its official debut on June 23.

source: The Korea Times