Woni’s courage and five voices: how listeners came to love RESCENE

For some listeners, their first encounter with the five-member girl group RESCENE was a funny video: an idol speaking in dialect, getting flustered behind the wheel, or being left speechless by another member’s odd remark. One video led to another. Faces acquired names, and viewers began looking up performances. The people who made them laugh were different again when they sang. This, too, is a way of getting to know RESCENE. ¹

Someone who has heard the catchphrase “Geoje yaho” and someone who has followed RESCENE’s records from the start arrive from different directions. If both now cheer for the same group, a single viral phrase cannot explain the whole story. Behind it are Woni’s wish to introduce her team, members who held on to one another, a company preparing the next record, and producers who chose a different way to show these people to the world.

How five members reached the same stage

Becoming an idol was not an obvious path for Woni. In a 2024 IZM interview, she recalled that moving from Geoje to Seoul had felt like a reckless adventure. She grew up in a music-loving home but struggled to tell her parents she wanted to perform. She began training in December 2022. ²

The other members had their own journeys. Minami experienced a planned debut falling through after My Teenage Girl. Zena joined the company in May 2023 after Stars Awakening; Liv and May arrived that summer. Each had decisions to make and time to wait before the five names could appear together. ²

On March 26, 2024, Woni, Liv, Minami, May and Zena debuted with the single album Re:Scene, featuring the prerelease track “YoYo” and title track “UhUh.” They introduced a musical concept built around scents that recall scenes. At the showcase, the floral fragrance of the album’s scent card filled the venue. The newcomers offered a scent alongside their sound as a way to be remembered. ³

[Watch] RESCENE — Debut showcase
An on-site video introducing all five members alongside “UhUh” and “YoYo.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSNbdpsAZYo

The songs were there before new listeners arrived

That August brought their first mini album, SCENEDROME, featuring “LOVE ATTACK.” It would later become central to their chart resurgence, but the members’ conversations at the time show rookies still deciding what music to make. Woni said she persuaded members weighing “Pinball” against “LOVE ATTACK” to listen to the latter once more. Her wish to share a melody she loved predated the fame. ²⁴

They kept releasing music in 2025: Glow Up in February, their second single album Dearest in July, and their third mini album lip bomb in November. Songs such as “Deja Vu,” “Heart Drop” and “Bloom” were already there for later listeners to discover. ⁵⁶⁷

There can be a long interval between releasing an album and becoming widely known. When someone happens upon a video and searches for the group, the music needs to be there already. By the time their entertainment videos drew attention, RESCENE had a catalogue to return to.

RESCENE — LOVE ATTACKThe official music video for the song released in 2024.

Waiting for the next driving lesson

One place to meet Woni away from the stage was “나의 연수 아저씨,” a driving show launched in 2025 by K Car’s Studio ㅋㅇㅋ. Beginner driver Woni shared a car with comedians Lee Seon-min and Yoo Young-woo. The immediate subject was not a new song: one person was learning to drive, with two others there to teach her. ⁸

Viewers did not need to know RESCENE to find a way in. They might be interested in novice driving or follow the comedians. Woni became more than the “girl-group leader” in a profile: someone who had things to learn, got nervous and could respond to a joke. Curiosity about her driving progress became mixed with wanting to see her again.

The story continued through the graduation episode posted on July 3, 2026, which included a driving assessment and a surprise prepared by the two comedians. Her driving teachers had become supporters of what she would do next as an idol. Viewers who followed that process may also have felt closer to her work. ⁹

[Watch] 나의 연수 아저씨 — Has Woni found her confidence?
The season’s graduation episode, released by Studio ㅋㅇㅋ.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paJ8svJ1IoE

Choosing someone before she was famous

Solfa Studio’s decision belongs to this story too. When producer Yoon Seong-won explained the beginnings on “N수의 신” in July 2026, it was not a matter of taking over a channel for an already popular idol. A staff member recommended Woni, and Solfa proposed her as the host of an outside project. The proposal was not accepted. Yoon mentioned that she was not well known then. Solfa went on to create a channel itself. ¹⁰

Someone passed over for one project was someone another production team wanted to work with. A choice is easy to explain once it has produced results. The more interesting question here is what they saw before the numbers proved anything.

In his Weverse Magazine interview, Yoon said he saw courage in Woni’s broad laugh and unguarded reactions. He planned situations that could interest viewers who knew none of the members. Instead of relying on the names Woni and Zena, a video began with the readily understood premise of idols speaking in regional dialects. ¹¹

The channel “안녕하세요원이입니다잘부탁드립니다,” usually shortened to Anwonjalbu, did not have to be only for fans who already knew every name. Woni from Geoje traded remarks with Japanese member Minami; Zena from Gyeongju added a different dialect. A channel bearing Woni’s name became a place to get to know the others.

[Watch] Anwonjalbu — Speaking in dialect all day
The channel’s official video follows Woni and Zena’s speech and reactions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS7tSrMrWsc

Helping the whole group be seen

In a written interview in June 2026, Woni said she had hesitated over the responsibility of a personal channel but found courage in wanting to promote the group. Putting her name on something and becoming famous alone were not the same aim. ¹²

That effort does not weigh down the videos. She responds to the members, laughs at their unexpected reactions and makes room to introduce others. A serious wish to help someone be seen does not require viewers to remain serious. They can enjoy themselves and come away remembering one more member.

Videos pairing Liv and May also matter. Yoon said he planned the pairing after hearing that the two were spending much of their time together. It made room for them alongside the members already receiving attention. All five did not have to be funny in the same way to belong in the group’s story. ¹¹

The wish to stay together goes back further. In a recollection shown on MBC’s The Manager, Woni described persuading May to stay when she was thinking of leaving as a trainee. The five smiling together now did not simply fall into place. Before that came a moment of asking someone who might leave to keep trying. ¹³

[Watch] The Manager — May’s trainee days and the members’ memories
An official MBC clip about May considering leaving and the members’ concern for their managers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCYUvscWJeg

The company kept working while it waited

The company’s patience also involved practical work. According to MBC’s account of its July 2026 broadcast, CEO Lee Joo-heon and director Kim Hye-soo drove the members to engagements themselves and prepared profiles, handwritten letters and cakes to introduce the group. Waiting meant seeking performance opportunities and passing the members’ names on to the next person. ¹⁴

Support continued in the music itself. In interviews from their debut year, the members said the company asked for their opinions on songs and gave detailed guidance during recording. In early 2026, May said it helped build their confidence. People were preparing the next release before major success arrived. ²¹⁵

They were not simply waiting for a miracle. They made music, prepared to perform it and looked for places to introduce it. That work meant that when Solfa brought in new viewers, there were still five members and a catalogue of records for those viewers to discover.

Returning the care they received

Small actions are more useful here than sweeping praise of the members’ character. A broadcast showed them reading a neighbour’s handwritten letter before moving, with Minami writing a reply. Recalling their trainee days, they also spoke of worrying about their managers. The relationships involved more than asking for the help they needed. ¹⁶¹³

Such scenes can give a viewer another reason to cheer them on. A funny remark may make someone want to watch again; recognising another person’s effort and returning their care can make someone wish the group well. Broadcast footage cannot reveal a person’s entire character. It is still possible to say what was welcome in a particular scene.

In a July Star News interview, Liv said fans would say, “I’ll watch this too,” about videos featuring the members. Finding the next clip had become a shared activity. Viewers kept getting to know the people on screen and directed others to videos they had missed. Enjoying RESCENE came with time spent laughing and watching together. ¹

From watching videos to listening to songs

In spring and summer 2026, “LOVE ATTACK” climbed the music charts again. The remake single “Pretty Girl” followed in July, and on July 14 the group earned its first music-show win on The Show. A song being discovered late and a newly released one were both shaping the group’s present. ¹⁷

Saying that success in entertainment automatically produced success in music overlooks the choices between the two. A person pressing play on a song hears something different from a funny scene; there must be music they want to keep hearing. RESCENE did not begin making songs only when this audience found them. Their existing work met new listeners.

RESCENE — Pretty GirlThe official special video for the remake single released in July 2026.

In an October 11 SBS interview, Woni said she had hoped people would recognise the members’ appeal. May spoke about the fans who had stayed close, while Zena recalled how the five had come through difficult times together. In that interview, the group announced PULSE for November 3. At that point, there was still new music waiting to be heard. ¹⁸

In an Anwonjalbu video released on August 28, 2026, Woni said she hoped their current popularity would last “just one more year.” Near their first shared home, she recalled working hard because she feared the group might disappear. ¹⁹

She could laugh while imagining a grand future as a star ten years later, but when she spoke of her immediate wish, she asked for one year. With people finally noticing them, she might have seemed able to relax. Yet she did not appear ready to take that hard-won attention for granted. Alongside the happiness, there may have been a hope that this moment would not end too soon.

One by one, all five faces appeared on the channel that began with Woni’s name. People who learned those faces sought out older songs and waited for the next performance. Her wish for a year sounds like a wish for that experience to continue a little longer. For someone who worked in fear of losing the group, another year together cannot have been a small hope.

That gives listening to one more RESCENE song a sense of encouragement, too. Viewers may have arrived for a funny video and now find themselves wanting these five people to keep singing together. Beyond that tentative “one more year,” may there be more stages to return to and more new songs to hear.