Spotlight On Lapillus: From Dreaming To Doing—Seowon Takes Us Back To Her Pre-Idol Life

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While her official designation is the group’s main rapper, Seowon is also gifted with a golden voice and impressive dancing skills. Discovering her passion for performing arts at a young age, Seowon was delighted when she realized later on that performing for a crowd could be an actual job. “I started to like music and dancing when I was four, but back in those days, I didn’t know that being an idol was a job,” the MLD Entertainment artist shared. “When I learned in primary school that being an idol could be a job in Korea, I started to dream of becoming one.”

Photo Credit: @official.lapillus

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Seowon geared up to do the things necessary to kick-start her dream career. Prior to joining her current company, she signed up for a dance academy to improve her skills. She then went to several auditions and, luckily, came across someone from MLD Entertainment. The rest, as they say, is history. It was a slow rise to fame, made tougher by the inevitable stumbling blocks that she encountered along her path to fame. She remembered how the initial days of the LAPILLUS girls as trainees proved to be challenging, especially in the aspect of communication; however, spending time together helped in forming a nice solid bond for this rookie group.

Photo Credit: @official.lapillus

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Another hurdle they had to overcome, Seowon pointed out, was passing their pre-debut test. Prior to being launched, the idol recalled the hardship and stressful moments of receiving failing grades, which trained them to pay more attention to each and every detail of their performances. LAPILLUS, with its bunch of determined, talented ladies, knew better than to sulk and feel defeated. Just two days before their music video shoot for their first single "HIT YA!," Seowon and the rest of the girls finally got the full marks from their teacher, which they worked so hard to achieve. “Before getting that grade, it was very hard. But after, it became really fun and we were very happy,” she said.

Photo Credit: @official.lapillus

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It also helped that they received support from their sunbaenims (seniors), established girl group and former Metro.Style cover girls MOMOLAND. During one of their training sessions, the K-pop idol cherished having JooE and Nancy visit their practice room. The former wrote, “Hwaiting!” (“Fighting!”) on the white board, while the latter brought a jar of chocolates to cheer up the girls. That brief encounter further inspired them to keep working hard and be the better version of themselves on their debut day.

Photo Credit: Ria Regino

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Fast forward to present, LAPILLUS has started a new era with the release of their mini album "Girl’s Round Part. 1,” featuring the title track "GRATATA." “‘GRATATA’ comes from the sound of a gun,” Seowon offered. She describes the song as energetic and said that it has a festival vibe to it. She’s thrilled to share this other side of LAPILLUS to fans. The K-pop artist also takes pride in their first-ever international tour. All smiles as she spilled the fact that it was her first time to visit another country, Seowon is also happy that her first international destination was the Philippines and that she was able to meet their Filipino fans.

Photo Credit: Ria Regino

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As they return to Korea, Seowon, who will turn 16 on December, hopes that their fans across the world will also get to see them perform in her home country. Her top travel tip when in The Land of the Morning Calm? Hang out by the Han River. “It’s a really good place especially at night, when you can see the views and eat ramyeon, too,” she shared. Waffle University, located at Itaewon, also tops her list of must-visit spots. She added, “They sell really good waffles. Other than that, I recommend their ice cream.”

Photo Credit: Ria Regino