LE SSERAFIM’s Sakura Reacts To Her Old Photos As A J-Pop Idol And Opens Up About Her Career Decisions So Far

LE SSERAFIM‘s Sakura has one of the richest career histories in K-Pop!

She may only be a 1998-liner but she already has 11 years of experience as a singer. She first entered the entertainment industry in 2011 as a member of HKT48, the sister group of famed J-Pop act AKB48 which she later also released songs with.

Sakura left for South Korea to join Mnet‘s survival program Produce 48 and its subsequent winning group IZ*ONE. She talked about this in greater detail in an interview with Showterview.

Here, Sakura was shown a collage of her old photos as a J-Pop idol. She couldn’t help but let out a surprised gasp.

She remembered exactly how old she was in the photos, commenting on the length of time between then and now.

That’s when I was active in Japan. I was 18. It’s been five years since then.

— Sakura

Sakura explained that it was completely her decision to leave her already successful career to take a shot at Produce 48. And though she was happy at being a member of IZ*ONE and meeting people like Chaewon, the disbandment was not easy for her.

I told the agency I wanted to give it a try.

— Sakura

It was incredibly difficult to go from being in one group to suddenly going solo. After 10 years of being Sakura from HKT48, AKB48, and IZ*ONE, she felt lost on her own.

I felt like something was missing. I had always been a member of some groups but suddenly becoming independent, I felt so lonely.

— Sakura

Missing her friends, fans, and the stage meant that she took the chance to re-debut, this time as a member of LE SSERAFIM, seriously.

I thought, ‘This is my last chance. I’m back to join my team for the last time.’

— Sakura

Check out the full video below to learn more meaningful facts about Sakura and the rest of LE SSERAFIM.