Former SeeYa member Nam Gyu Ri has shared the honest story behind her debut and the difficult reason she chose the path of a singer.
On February 7, Nam Gyu Ri appeared on a video uploaded to the YouTube channel Kkondaehee, where she spoke openly about her past and family struggles.
She revealed that becoming a singer was not her original dream, saying, “Being a singer was not my dream at first. I was good at studying and liked writing, so I wanted to become a writer.” She also shared that she once dreamed of figure skating.
However, her life changed at a young age. Nam Gyu Ri explained, “When I was in elementary school, my father’s business failed and our family became very poor.” She added, “We were six people living together in one small room, and the reason we always fought was money.” She continued, “Other than that, we were actually happy, so I started thinking about what I could do to help my family.”
That thought led her to music. She recalled, “During a school sports event, my teacher told me to try dancing and singing.” She added, “I became popular at school, and I thought that if I became a singer and earned money, my whole family could live happily.”
Nam Gyu Ri also spoke about the long and difficult road to debut, saying, “I practiced singing every day in a storage room and played tapes until they wore out.” She shared that she auditioned at many major agencies, including JYP, SM, and YG, but failed repeatedly, explaining, “Up until my first year of college, it always fell through at the last moment.”
Just when she was ready to give up, a final chance came. She said, “I thought this path wasn’t for me and decided to quit, but then I got a call telling me to audition.” She continued, “I sang the song they asked for, and two weeks later the song was released. It hit No. 1 right away.” She added that within a month, she stood on stage as a guest at an SG Wannabe concert and officially debuted.
Nam Gyu Ri debuted in 2006 as a member of SeeYa and later expanded her career into acting, showing steady growth across different fields. Her story has drawn attention for its honesty and the strong determination behind her success.
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