Influencer Freesia. [Herald Muse]
Influencer Freesia. [Herald Muse]

Actor Kang Ye-won has spoken about rumors of a falling out with influencer Freesia.

On Wednesday, Kang invited fellow influencer Kwon Eun-ji to her home on her YouTube channel "Gwangyewon," where the two talked about a range of topics.

During the conversation, Kang shared her experience of building her own influencer management operation and signing contracts with influencers including Freesia, Park Ji-hyun and Hong Young-gi.

On how she first connected with Freesia, Kang said, "We met when she was a junior in college. She had 30,000 Instagram followers at the time. She was so unique and bubbly. We signed a five-year contract and she appeared on all kinds of variety shows."

She added, "I chased down all the producers myself. I took her and Park Ji-hyun together to pitch for 'Heart Signal.' Jia didn't make it that time — Ji-hyun did."

Kang then said, "Once, we went to a meeting for 'SNL Korea,' but Jia said she was not confident in her acting. The SNL producer said her acting really was not there. But that producer suggested we meet with the production team behind 'Solo Hell.'"

"Jia said she did not want to do it," Kang continued. "So I worked really hard to convince her. My gut told me 'Solo Hell' was going to be a huge hit on Netflix."

When Kwon asked how Kang felt after her contract with Freesia ended, Kang said, "I do feel a little hurt. I think everything happens for a reason. I have things to say about what happened, but I do not want to make them public — I think that is the respectful thing to do for both of us. We actually talked on the phone not long ago. We are absolutely not on bad terms."

Freesia rose to fame through "Solo Hell" before becoming embroiled in controversy over allegedly wearing counterfeit luxury goods. She and Kang subsequently ended their exclusive contract and went their separate ways.


choigo@heraldcorp.com