{"id":172585,"date":"2025-12-03T09:18:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T09:18:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/172585\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T09:18:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T09:18:13","slug":"how-a-shinsegae-heiress-became-k-pops-most-watched-rookie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/172585\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Shinsegae heiress became K-pop\u2019s most-watched rookie"},"content":{"rendered":"

From chaebol roots to late-blooming idol, Annie charted her own path to the stage<\/p>\n

\"Annie Annie from Allday Project (The Black Label) <\/p>\n

When Allday Project debuted in June, it immediately captured the attention of K-pop fans not only because it was the first coed group introduced in nine years, but also because of the distinct and unconventional profiles of its members.<\/p>\n

One member who especially drew attention was Annie, the group\u2019s rapper, whose transition from chaebol heiress to rookie idol quickly became one of the most discussed narratives in this year\u2019s K-pop rookie scene.<\/p>\n

Born into the Shinsegae family, which controls one of South Korea\u2019s largest retail empires, Annie is the granddaughter of Shinsegae Group chair Lee Myung-hee and the eldest daughter of company president Chung Yoo-kyung. Lee, the youngest daughter of the late Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul, is also the aunt of current Samsung chair, Lee Jae-yong.<\/p>\n

Annie, the first known chaebol heiress to enter the K-pop industry, drew widespread attention long before her official debut. News that she was training under The Black Label went viral in February 2024, putting her in the public eye months ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n

\"Annie Annie from Allday Project, in a photo she posted to Instagram after news of her debut broke in early June (Instagram @anniesymoon) <\/p>\n

She has been active as a performer for a little over a year, and appears to have made a strong entry \u2014 particularly in South Korea, where chaebol families have long been viewed with skepticism over their wealth, influence and tight control of corporate management.<\/p>\n

Annie has eased that scrutiny by presenting herself as a hard-working performer \u2014 a trait many ordinary Koreans say they can relate to.<\/p>\n

“Korean society doesn’t feel friendly to chaebol-linked individuals, mostly because it feels like they get ahead without putting in as much effort. With Annie showing that she worked just as hard as any other idol to achieve her dream, she managed to earn sympathy and support from Korean fans,” said sociology professor Koo Jeong-woo of Sungkyunkwan University.<\/p>\n

Koo added that Annie sharing that she also uses affordable, budget-friendly products, helps to “generate the narrative of ‘I’m not that different from you.'”<\/p>\n

Unlike most K-pop rookies \u2014 who begin training in their childhood or early teens, come from modest backgrounds and spend years in rigorous training — Annie’s upbringing was different. Like many chaebol children, she received an elite education, but her passion for K-pop was the same as ordinary would-be idols.<\/p>\n

Born and raised in Seoul, Annie later moved to Manhattan, New York, at the age of 8. She went on to attend the elite Chapin School before later enrolling at Columbia University as an art history and visual arts major.<\/p>\n

\"Allday Allday Project’s Annie is seen practicing rapping during her time as a trainee at The Black Label, as seen on Allday Project’s short documentary “Day 1.” (Allday Project\/YouTube) <\/p>\n

In Allday Project\u2019s short documentary \u201cDay 1,\u201d released three days before her debut, Annie said she had dreamed of becoming a singer since she was a child.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since I saw the performance of ‘Lollipop’ by Big Bang and 2NE1, I\u2019ve always wanted to become a singer,\u201d she said during the interview. \u201cIt was so shocking to me, like a whole new world had opened. I thought to myself at the time that I absolutely had to do what they were doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, as her family opposed the idea, she spent nearly 10 years trying to persuade them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first said I wanted to be a singer, they didn\u2019t take me seriously,\u201d said Annie. \u201cLater, when I sat my parents down and seriously said that I wanted to be a singer, my mom said: \u2018Absolutely not.\u2019 I think that was the first-ever heartbreak I experienced in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

As she neared her final two years in high school, her mother offered her a deal \u2014 that she would help Annie persuade other family members to support her dream of becoming a singer, only if she got into an Ivy League university.<\/p>\n

\u201cI basically gave up sleeping and worked really hard to get admitted to a university \u2014 and eventually, I was accepted,\u201d Annie said.<\/p>\n

The tough idol training regime made no exception for the heiress. Annie passed an audition for The Black Label when she was 16 and spent seven years as a trainee.<\/p>\n

Of the seven years she spent as a trainee, four were done online, as she was attending school in the US.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy lessons would be online and I\u2019d have to film myself singing and dancing and would send it back for feedback,\u201d said Annie. \u201cWhen I came to Korea on vacation, I\u2019d go to the label to practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Allday Allday Project’s Annie demonstrates her makeup routine on MBC’s “Omniscient Interfering View,” aired on July 19. (MBC) <\/p>\n

Although Annie initially worried that debuting at age 23 would be viewed negatively \u2014 as most idols debut in their teens \u2014 she has continued to receive strong support from fans for her genuine personality and approachable charm.<\/p>\n

In her live broadcasts, Annie often shares her favorite makeup products with fans \u2014 many of them from affordable, budget-friendly brands. On MBC\u2019s “Omniscient Interfering View,” Annie was also spotted using makeup brushes and a glasses case from the discount chain Daiso.<\/p>\n

Annie has also earned praise from dog lovers for her love of dogs, after she was seen volunteering at a dog shelter with another Allday Project member, Woochan, on the group\u2019s YouTube channel.<\/p>\n

\"Allday Allday Project’s Annie (left) and Woochan groom a puppy at a dog shelter in Gyeonggi Province as part of their volunteer work. (Allday Project\/YouTube) <\/p>\n

According to an Instagram post by the shelter, Annie had regularly volunteered at the shelter before her debut by playing with the dogs and cleaning their living space. Annie also has two dogs of her own, named Echo and Coda.<\/p>\n

Annie debuted with Allday Project on June 23, with the main tracks \u201cFamous\u201d and \u201cWicked.\u201d \u201cFamous\u201d placed as high as No. 43 on the Billboard Global 200 chart in a first for a K-pop coed group.<\/p>\n

The group will release its first EP, \u201cAllday Project,\u201d including the prerelease track \u201cOne More Time\u201d on Dec. 8.<\/p>\n

lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From chaebol roots to late-blooming idol, Annie charted her own path to the stage Annie from Allday Project…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172586,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[6520,93,61,60,6521,6517,6516,6522,278,6518,6519,6515,6524,6525,6523],"class_list":["post-172585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-asia-news","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-k-pop","tag-koreaherald","tag-korean-news","tag-kpop","tag-music","tag-south-korea-news","tag-south-korea-news-in-english","tag-the-korea-herald","tag-6524","tag-6525","tag-6523"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}