Former Jewelry member Ha Ju-yeon. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]
Former Jewelry member Ha Ju-yeon. [Herald POP (now Herald Muse)]

Ha Ju-yeon, a former member of the K-pop group Jewelry, has opened up about her longing to return to the stage.

On Wednesday, Ha posted a vlog on her YouTube channel "Ha! Ju-yeon" documenting her visit to the Sustainable Wave Festival, held last month in Incheon.

Ha had gone to the festival to watch god perform and had even dressed in sky blue — the group's signature color — arriving visibly excited ahead of the show.

"It's been so long since I've watched a performance as an audience member rather than a performer," she wrote in the video's subtitles. "Watching other artists on stage makes me feel this urge to get up there myself."

She also said fans who recognized her at the venue told her she should be performing, to which she replied each time that she would — but added, "Don't you have to be invited first?"

Ha, who wore leather shoes that day, also touched on a past hardship, saying she "really doesn't like leather" because she wore it so much during the group's "One More Time" promotions.

The remark about needing an invitation has drawn particular attention given that Jewelry recently reunited on stage for the first time in roughly 20 years — without Ha.

Ha joined Jewelry in 2008 during the group's fifth album "One More Time" promotions, becoming part of the group during its peak years.

However, when founding members Park Jung-ah, Jo Ha-rang (known during her active years as Jo Min-ah), Lee Ji-hyun and Seo In-young recently took the stage together on KBS2's "Immortal Songs," some fans expressed disappointment over Ha's absence.

As recently as June, all five members had performed together as Jewelry through Seo's YouTube channel, raising hopes for a full-group comeback. After the performance, the members embraced one another in tears and chanted "Jewelry forever," showing their enduring affection.

Meanwhile, since leaving Jewelry, Ha has been working as a staff member and manager at a French kitchenware brand showroom in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, while staying in touch with fans through YouTube.


betterj@heraldcorp.com