This K-Pop Idol Now Works As A Barista In Jeju Island Amid Group's Hiatus

A female K-Pop idol was found working at a coffee shop in South Korea's Jeju Island following her group's one-year hiatus from promotional activities.

Ujeong — a member of the K-Pop girl group SKYLE, managed by Hong Kong actor Louis Koo — has been making rounds on social media after a recent interview, where she revealed that she has been working as a barista since the group took a break to pursue individual endeavors.

Unlike her bandmates Erin and Chaehyeon, who started their own YouTube channels, the 22-year-old "maknae," or youngest member of the group, took a different route, shying away from the limelight and living a quiet life in Jeju Island. She made the move after obtaining a barista license. Despite her new venture, her passion and love for K-Pop remain unfazed.

SKYLE — which stands for "Show the Kinetic and Youth Leading a New Episode" — debuted under Good Luck Entertainment over two years ago with its first single album, "Fly High Up."

Consisting of members Ginny, Chaehyeon, Erin and Ujeong, the group released its last single in August 2022, titled "Bye Bye Bye," which made a good impression on the K-Pop community at the time. However, the group suddenly stopped its promotions with the cause still unknown, though it was uncommon for a "nugu" group or lesser-known K-Pop group to take such long breaks.

Following the news, fans — known as Castle — took to social media to show support for Ujeong and expressed their hopes that SKYLE could return soon. However, some doubted that the hiatus was just a "break."

"I'm happy for her, but to be honest they might call it a break, but I don't really think they will really come back, and I think they [probably] will have a [silent] disbandment... But I hope I'm not right," one user wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Another commented, "I'm so happy for her, but damn, I was holding out so much hope for SKYLE. I truly hope that the break is just a break!"

"Thank you [@nugupromoter] for sharing this. I miss them so much... I will remain slightly hopeful [or] delusional about their return. Take care girls, castle got your back!!" a third user stated.

"I miss SKYLE so bad, [I swear to G—d]," a fourth user added.