Soyeon Drops Her First-Ever Full Album 5 Years After Her Last Solo Release

i-dle's Soyeon dropped her first solo full-length album on September 7th, and she opened it with the song most people have been rehearsing in their heads at their desks: a band-driven track called 퇴사할게여, which roughly translates to I'm Quitting. It's the kind of title that earns an immediate follow.

The album, 끝내주는 인생 (An Amazing Life), arrived at 6 p.m. KST and marks her first solo release in five years and two months, since the mini-album Windy in 2021. She actually debuted as a solo artist back in 2017 with a self-written song called Jelly, so this full-length has been nine years in the making.

The album she spent five years building

Soyeon wrote and co-composed every single one of the eight tracks, working alongside producers including Groovyroom and R.Tee. The record moves across rock, hyperpop, disco, and band arrangements without feeling scattered, largely because the throughline is less about genre and more about honesty. She described the lengthy process not as a delay but as a search: "Over the long time it took, I went through many challenges and found the color that suits me best. Even the colors that didn't fit became part of me."

The title track 퇴사할게여 pairs band instrumentation with lyrics about the everyday itch to walk away from your job, and Soyeon was careful to frame it more broadly than an office anthem. "It's a story that everyone can relate to, not just office workers," she said. "A stable future matters, but I wanted to say: instead of worrying about what's ahead, I hope you can be happy right now, in this moment." Narration on the track comes from Gi-an 84, a broadcaster and webtoon artist Soyeon describes as "the most romantically lived person I know", which explains the casting immediately.

Eight tracks, one throughline

The album's connective tissue is what Soyeon calls nangman, a Korean word that sits somewhere between romance and a certain wistful appreciation for life's texture. When asked to describe the feeling, she offered this: "the damp, cool scent of the moment just before summer turns to autumn." She then added that nangman, to her, is a memory that hurt a little at the time but fills you with excitement when you look back.

That sensibility runs through the tracklist. icebluerabbit, previewed earlier during i-dle's world tour, traces the process of confronting things you dislike about yourself and arriving at a new sense of identity. STAR comes with a music video that Soyeon produced, filmed, and edited herself. There's also 야채 싫어 송, a straightforwardly titled track about disliking vegetables; Bankroll, which examines the finer grain of love; 그냥 사랑하면 안 될까, which sits with the anxiety and self-doubt before a decision; and 낭만 보내기, the closing track that ties the album's whole meditation on nangman into a final bow.

"I was nervous coming back after so long, and the pressure to do well was real," Soyeon said of the release. But she framed the album's title with characteristic warmth: "Whatever shape your life takes, when you're an old grandmother looking back, it will all feel like an amazing life. I think I'm already living one."

She also addressed her fanbase, Neverland, directly: "I want to share good music with as many people as possible through this activity, and I want to breathe together with Neverland, who always sends so much love, in a fun and joyful way."