Kim Ji-won Crashed 3 Major Concerts Through Personal Connections, Not Fandom

Actress Kim Ji-won appeared on the web variety show Salon Drip on the 29th alongside Lee Jung-eun, and the conversation quickly moved somewhere unexpected: her quiet habit of attending concerts by some of K-pop's biggest names.

Host Jang Do-yeon brought up the gossip first, noting that Kim had been spotted at several major shows. "There are a lot of sightings of you at concerts," she said. "You even went to BIGBANG. How did that happen?"

Kim Ji-won's answer was matter-of-fact. She filmed the drama What's Up alongside BIGBANG's Daesung years ago, and the two have stayed in occasional contact since. "He was kind enough to invite me," she said, "so I went."

The aespa connection was simpler: they share the same management company, and the group extended an invitation. For Jennie's concert, it was her stylist who passed along the invite.

When Jang Do-yeon pushed further and asked whether Kim had tried to get any of their personal numbers, the actress laughed it off. "I couldn't do that," she said. "I just admired them from a distance and went home."

The trainee years she never quite talks about

The episode also surfaced a chapter of Kim Ji-won's past that she rarely addresses directly. She mentioned that she studied dance as a child and spent a period training as an idol before the acting path took over.

"There were reasons I didn't debut," she said, with a smile that suggested she'd made peace with it. "There were things to regret on multiple fronts."

Jang Do-yeon recalled a quote that had apparently made the rounds: young Kim Ji-won once said, "Beyoncé can do it, so why can't I?" Kim looked genuinely embarrassed but laughed along.

Lee Jung-eun, who has worked with her on set, added that the idol instinct never entirely left. "She sings constantly on set. She's always humming."

Kim Ji-won reframed it with some self-awareness. "It's not about vocal ability," she said. "It's a work song for when my energy is low. When I start singing, that's the signal that I'm exhausted."

As for what she sings, she kept it broad: current popular songs, and whatever else comes to mind, including tracks by BIBI, whom she referenced under the nickname "Kiki."

It's a small but telling detail about how she carries herself off-camera. The concerts, the humming on set, the trainee past she didn't quite crack the surface of: Kim Ji-won seems to have a genuine, if quiet, relationship with music that exists well outside her day job.