Home / Arts and Entertainment / Ejae Navigates Fame, Identity, and K-Pop's Future
Ejae Navigates Fame, Identity, and K-Pop's Future
4 May
Summary
- Ejae won Golden Globe, Grammy, and Oscar for K-Pop film song.
- She battled frequent illnesses, including COVID-19, during success.
- Debates arise over K-pop's ownership by South Korea vs. global producers.
Ejae, the singer of the Oscar-winning song "Golden" from "KPop Demon Hunters," has experienced a whirlwind of success and sickness over the past ten months. Her achievements include a Golden Globe, a Grammy, and an Oscar. During this period, she battled numerous illnesses, including COVID-19, often performing while feeling unwell.
Having trained for a decade in Seoul, Ejae reflects on her journey. The film "KPop Demon Hunters" is praised in South Korea for authentically marketing Korean culture. However, its American production by Sony and Netflix has sparked concerns that K-pop may no longer be exclusively South Korean.
Ejae, who spent part of her childhood in the U.S., has faced questions about her identity and the song's "real K-pop" status. She advocates for a more inclusive view, questioning why Korean Americans utilizing K-pop systems is a "versus thing."
Her past struggles as a K-pop trainee, including intense weight and appearance scrutiny, have led her to therapy. Ejae emphasizes that her experience as a K-pop trainee was "that bad." She also notes that mainstream America is not accustomed to hearing Asian women "belting."
