Girls’ Generation:Meet the Girls

I heard one girl sing a part of “Kissing You” while
guesting on a show called Brain King. I thought the
song was quite catchy. Only a few days later I would
hear that song again, this time as a ring-back tune
of many of my Korean students. I loved it! I was hooked!

I found out who the singers were, and they are 9-member
girl group from SM Entertainment called So Nyuh SHi Dae, or
SNSD.The official english name of the group is Girls’ Generation.

The first time I saw their pictures I was very surprised with how
many members there are, and aside from that it was difficult
to tell them apart. I only recognize the one with light brown hair,
and the one with short hair.

Then, I watched their video “Into the New  World” and I was
instantly a fan! I most especially liked the solo dance of Kim
Hyo Yeon, who was the lead dancer.

Here are the members of SNSD, in order of how I was able to
memorize their name and face.

Hyo Yeon-she’s very visible in pictures because of her colored
hair, and she’s the one who always does solo dances. She attended a
hiphop dance school specializing in waving, popping, locking, and
animation. She was born on Sept.22, 1989, making her 18 years old
as of the moment. In 2005, she performed at the MNET/KM Music
Festival. She was the one dancing behind the curtain in Boa’s
performance of her song “Over the Top.”

 

Tae Yeon-this is the girl that I saw on Brain King and she is also
the leader of SNSD. She’s got a really good voice, and she can hit
high notes quite effortlessly. She’s 19 years old. In 2004 she won
first place in the SM Academy singing competition and had been a
trainee since then. She’s the one who looks most Korean, I think.
So it’s also quite easy to place her.

Soo Young-she struck me as the most beautiful in their MV
of Kissing You. She looks so much like a Filipina! I was quite surprised
when I looked back at her on the Into the New World MV because
she looked different there. SOo Young was once a member of a Japanes
group called Route-O (when she was a kid) so she can also
speak Japanese quite well. In live performances, she kind of stands
out to me as tall and lanky.

Tiffany –Many of my students think Tiffany is the prettiest,
but I think the term I would use to describe her is “darn cute.”She’s
the one with the short hair so it’s easy to spot her. However,
in pictures where Tiffany has long her, I have to squint my eyes
and look twice before I could see which one is her! She was
born and raised in California and was discovered in 2004 in the
SM Starlight Casting System. She went to Korea and became an
SM trainee.

Jessica Jung–This girl has got a tiny voice, so you would easily
know if she’s the one singing. But, she is a lead vocalist of SNSD
and often hits high notes together with Tae Yeon. She is fluent in
English, like Tiffany, having been born and raised in San Francisco.
SHe trained the longest–she started when she was only eleven!
So that’s a little more the seven years of training.

Seo Hyun–Forgive me for saying this, but I started remembering
Seo Hyun by telling myself that she was the “least pretty.” Well,
that’s just in my opinion so anybody who has a different view need
not make a big fuss out of it! But really, I like Seo Hyun’s voice,
and mind you, she’s the youngest member of the group.

Yuri–remember the one with the best smile, and that’s Yuri. Her voice
is also quite distinct.Yuri joined the label when she won the 2001 1st
 SM Youth Best Singer Contest award. She appeared in TVXQ’s
“Beautiful Life” music video and had a small role in Super Junior’s
first movie, Attack on the Pin-Up Boys.

Sunny–her name really fits, because she looks like she always
has a sunny disposition. SHe trained for only several months before
her debut in SNSD. She is said to be the niece of the owner of
SM Entertaintment, Lee Soo Man.

Yoona–I found it diffcult to tell which one is Yoona at first. Although
many say she’s very beautiful, it seems as if she disappears when
side by side with the other girls. She appeared in various ads and music
videos before her debut so she is quite a familiar face to many.
 

I definitely love the song Into the New World (although I haven’t read
the english translation) because it seems so positive. It’s like an
empowering song, telling it’s listeners to make a difference in their
lives. Plus the video is also nice, with the girls getting satisfaction
from accomplishing this they have done themselves.

I like Kissing You because it’s so catchy and cute. Sometimes, during
live performances it turns out to be too cute for my liking, specially
the very unchallenging dance routine. That’s why seeing SNSD perform
this song live doesn’t have the same effect as Into the New World.

I’ve been spending quite a lot of time watching them on Youtube, and
although I’m probably too old for this, I will still say I love So nyuh Shi Dae!