Jewelry, one of South Korea's iconic second-generation girl groups, debuted in 2001. After several member changes, the group reached its career peak in the mid-to-late 2000s. Their hit songs, including "Super Star" and "One More Time," garnered significant popularity in the Korean music scene at the time.
Founding members Park Jung-ah (박정아) and Lee Ji-hyun (이지현) recently reminisced about the grueling schedules during their prime. To make it to performances across the country, they often traveled to multiple cities in a single day, even recalling the smell of burning tires as their manager sped them to destinations. Looking back more than 20 years later, both women expressed, "Nothing is more important than human life."
On May 27, the YouTube channel "Hyunsaeng Mode Queen Jihyun" (현생모드퀸지현) released a video titled "Jewelry's Older Sisters Park Jung-ah & Lee Ji-hyun | The Untold Behind-the-Scenes Stories of Jewelry's Activities from Those Years." In the video, the duo looked through old photos and materials from Jewelry, reliving memories from over two decades ago. The most striking aspect of their recollections was the relentless, almost suffocating pace of their "killer schedules."
Discussing the days of constantly traveling nationwide during their peak, Park Jung-ah revealed that their schedules were so packed it's still hard to believe. She described it, saying, "I once took a pen and drew our routes on a map of Korea. The way we traveled, it felt like the map would tear from all the lines."
Most incredibly, the two virtually lived out of their car. Park Jung-ah recalled, "We'd sleep in the car, the door would open, we'd get out and perform, then get back in the car to sleep, and the door would open again for the next event." She described herself as working non-stop, "like a machine."
Not only sleeping, but eating and styling also had to be done in the car. Park Jung-ah revealed that they would even eat udon noodles in the car, poking a hole in the center of the packaging to insert chopsticks and eat directly to avoid spills. She also recounted accidentally burning herself while using a portable gas curling iron to style her hair in the car.
One of the most perilous incidents involved rushing from Daegu to Masan. Park Jung-ah remembered that there simply wasn't enough travel time between the two cities. "We had to get there in half the usual time, or we really wouldn't make it to the show." Lee Ji-hyun added that during that frantic drive, "we really did smell burning tires the whole way."
According to their recollections, the show was already delayed by about 15 minutes because Jewelry hadn't arrived, and the staff kept calling their manager, creating an extremely tense situation. They finally arrived just in time, but their manager, who had been driving, was utterly exhausted. Park Jung-ah shared, "We ran straight to the stage as soon as we got out of the car. Our manager hyung (older brother) got out of the car and just collapsed next to the tire."
She stated that the smell of burning tires still lingered in the air, and their manager sat on the ground repeatedly asking, "What do we do?" But the members had no time to stop and immediately rushed onto the stage. Lee Ji-hyun frankly said, "That really wasn't a schedule a person could handle. If we had been 5 minutes later, we really would have missed the show."
Now, more than 20 years later, as they discuss their past experiences, both women express regret over such life-threatening work conditions. Park Jung-ah lamented, "What was that? Nothing is more important than human life." She added that their manager at the time was "driving with the lives of the four of us, and his own life, on the line."
She also believes that the working environment has since changed. "It wouldn't happen like that now. Because of those practices back then, many people are still suffering today." The two even described that era as a "barbaric time." They revealed that when they were truly running late, they would even take out the car's hazard lights and hang them outside the vehicle as they sped to the next event.
Under such high-pressure schedules, the Jewelry members and their manager developed a bond akin to "comrades-in-arms." While the members could sleep in the car, the manager had to drive for long hours. Therefore, they would sit next to him, chatting and trying to keep him awake to prevent him from driving while fatigued.
Beyond the frantic travel, another pressure faced by girl groups back then was strict, almost harsh, weight management. Park Jung-ah revealed that as a trainee, she was 168 cm tall and weighed 55 kg. "Even then, I was considered a bit chubby." She recalled that other girls around her weighed only 49 kg or 48 kg. "I don't know how much hardship I endured to lose weight that just wouldn't come off." Lee Ji-hyun also stated that she faced immense pressure to lose weight at the time and deeply empathized with Park Jung-ah's experience.
Having endured their most challenging peak period together, their friendship continues to this day. Lee Ji-hyun even confessed to Park Jung-ah, "I am still Jung-ah unnie's (older sister's) super fan." She added, "Because I truly love unnie, I want to protect her. If anyone says bad things about unnie, I will really argue with them." Park Jung-ah responded, "I have always supported you too."
From constantly traveling across the country, eating and sleeping in the car, to looking back on those youthful years more than two decades later, the two can now laugh about the past. However, they also expressed profound sentiments about the overly demanding work environment of that era, reiterating, "Nothing is more important than human life."
