OH MY GIRL's Hyojung Is the Cheerful One, but Her Solo Debut Is About Getting Lost

Eleven years after debuting with OH MY GIRL, Hyojung released her first solo mini album, Lost&Found, at 6 p.m. KST on the 15th, with writing and composing credits on every track. It is a notable step for a member best known for a bright, positive image, and she says that image is only part of the story.

"Bright and positive is the image that represents me, but I also had a period of wandering," Hyojung said in a Q&A ahead of release. She wanted the record to hold the worries and feelings from that time, along with the story of still finding her own way now. The project comes from RBW and DSP Media.

A title track about an unfinished map

The title track, "Incomplete, Maybe" (Korean title "미완성일지도"), encourages listeners to trust their instincts rather than follow set answers or other people's opinions, and to keep moving as they are. Hyojung's clear, airy vocals carry the message, and the song is pitched at anyone finding a path at their own pace.

She framed it with a map metaphor. "Even when you seem to have lost your way for a moment, you are actually filling in a wonderful part of the large map called life," she said. If that time is the process of finding the real self, she added, it is worth it. She hopes listeners who feel adrift will think, "I am drawing one part of my map right now."

The music video, released alongside the album, follows Hyojung through an empty map she sets out to fill. After many trials and errors she finds her own road and gains the strength to trust it.

Six tracks, and a hint of where she is headed

The album totals six tracks: the title song, two other songs, and instrumental versions of each. One is "I Might Be Better Off Hurt Than Regretting" (Korean title "후회하는 것보다 상처인 게 더 나을지 몰라"), a vow to stop hiding and face pain head-on even if it hurts again. The other is "8 (if)", about holding onto what mattered through many choices and regrets and living as the person she is now.

Asked where her musical journey might end, Hyojung admitted she has no idea. "If I keep walking, maybe the destination will come into view, or I will simply arrive," she said, adding that she wants to enjoy the walk itself. This follows her May single "Purple Note", on which she also took part in the songwriting.

Stage plans in Seoul and Tokyo

Hyojung made her first stage performance of the title track on Mnet's M Countdown on the day of release. Her first solo small-venue concerts, titled HYOJUNG 1st LIVE 'Lost&Found', follow on the 17th and 18th at Ex-Calla in Seoul's Jung District, then November 1 at Tokyo's T-Art Sky Hall. Every song will be played with a live band.

The debut math is modest but sensible: a self-written EP, then intimate band shows in two cities within three weeks, a route that builds credibility with existing fans before any bigger solo plans. Circle the 17th and 18th, because the Seoul shows will show how well her songs hold up without a backing track.