GFriend’s Leader is Now An Orphan?
Most know GFriend’s Sowon as the group’s leader and one of the six visuals that make up the group with long hair and tall stature. Some even mistake her for a model due to the height that she possesses, making the height difference among members of the group very stark. Not only that, but Sowon is also known for her amazing leadership skills within the group, always knowing what to do even in times of crisis, such as the video that made the group viral in the first place. The group first found their success with their debut song “Glass Bead” that soon after snowballed with the rise of their viral video with the song, “Me Gustas Tu.”
They always come on strong to the scene with more hits such as “Rough,” “Navillera,” “Love Whisper,” and “Summer Rain,” leaving no room for others to dominate them in both the digital charts and the album charts. With back to back schedules for the group and individually, they are definitely packed whether or not they are promoting a song or during their off-season. Thus, it came as a shock to most of the fans when Source Music, the company that manages GFriend, announced in June that Sowon might have to take a break from group activities due to a family emergency.
News then broke out that Sowon’s father had just passed away and that Sowon will take some time off to take care of the funeral and business back at home. So are you curious about the details that entail the death of Sowon’s father? Stay tuned as we dive deeper into the case.
Sowon’s Father Just Passed Away
A few months after Time for The Moon comeback, on June 22nd to be exact, reports came out that GFriend’s leader’s father had passed away. The reports came from news outlets and the group’s agency, Source Music, concurrently. Both sources did not delve deeper to reveal the cause of death, the funeral procession, nor the age of Sowon’s father. They only seemed to report that Sowon will be taking a break from group activities for a short while in preparation of the funeral and other family duties she must attend.
The official statement from Source Music reads as follows:
“Hello. This is Source Music. GFriend member Sowon’s father passed away today due to chronic illness.
Sowon is currently with her family and close friends, and they are grieving together.
The funeral will be held quietly with family and close friends. We ask for your consideration so that the family can mourn.
Sowon will temporarily not be able to take part in GFriend’s planned schedule.
We ask that you send your warm support and encouragement to Sowon, who will return.
May he rest in peace.”
The statement seemed to address her possible absence in the future schedules that have already been planned ahead of time, usually attending festivals and other music events outside of Seoul. As seen from the time frame, it has only been a few months since their promotions in April, usually the perfect time to continue on guesting in variety shows and other events thus the official statement made sense as to ask fans to be considerate of the tough time Sowon is going through.
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Recently, Sowon has made her comeback with the group with various end of the year events and award shows. One that comes to mind, in particular, is a special stage at KBS Gayo Daechukje performing the hit song, “Hush” by Miss A. She did the stage alongside Red Velvet’s Joy, Oh My Girl’s Jiho, Lovelyz’s Mijoo, TWICE’s Tzuyu and Momoland’s Yeonwoo. The stage is done in order to celebrate girl group hits within the two most prominent concepts, the cute concept, and the sexy concept. As can be seen from the performance video below, the stage definitely falls within the dark and sexy concept realm.
Another thing that is very stark in comparison to her peers is the blonde hair Sowon is sporting in the video above. This is definitely not something that is normal for her as previously she has always been sporting dark hair in shades of brown, maroon, and black. This marks the first time Sowon has gone blonde for a special occasion, that being GFriend’s comeback. After their comeback with Time For The Moon in April of 2018, they are finally returning with Time For Us on January 14th, GFriend’s second full-length album. Check out Sowon’s teaser pictures below!
The concept that GFriend is going for this time around seems to be a lot more rustic and mature compared to their other innocent and cheerful concepts. We can expect a title song that is possibly a combination of their previous one “Time For The Moon” and a throwback, such as “Glass Bead.” It is definitely exciting to see GFriend experimenting with their sound.
So what do you think of Sowon’s choice to take a break from the group’s activities to take care of her father’s death? Do you think it is a justified choice? Comment your thoughts in the section below!
