CSR Is Still Worth Believing In
After two years, the beloved girl group returns with a new digital single. The members admit they’re nervous but, as their leader DUNA explains, “More than anything, I really want to hear MAEUM’s fan chants again after so long.”
On the final week of March, CSR returned to K-pop with a new single, “Can’t Hide Anymore”, featured on the ASTROCHILD IN THE LONELY PLANET soundtrack, an AI-animated, three-part feature film. The single marks a welcome return for CSR, a beloved girl group consisting of SUA, SIHYEON, YUNA, SEOYEON, DUNA, GEUMHEE, and YUNA.
As YEHAM explained in a new interview, “‘Can’t Hide Anymore’ is a song about feeling joy for the first time.” The girls will also return to music shows to promote the single, something each member considered a milestone.
“I created the choreography for this single, so promoting it feels even more special,” YUNA said. “It’s been a long time since I danced for fans in Korea, so I’m really excited and happy.”
GEUMHEE’s favorite part is when the group comes together as if posing for a group photo. “I complete it by jumping in the back, so I really hope fans notice,” she said.
“What excites me most is seeing how each member expresses joy," DUNA said about their stage performances. As SUA noted, "the brightest emotion" aligns perfectly with CSR's concept. "I'm most looking forward to hearing fans cheer," she added. "When I hear their support, I feel so full it's like I don't even need to eat."
This comeback is especially meaningful for SEOYEON, who celebrated her birthday during the first week of promotions. “This birthday, I want to make a lot of memories together with our MAEUM [CSR’s fanbase] and our members,” she said.
Though this is CSR’s first comeback in Korea since 2024, they have remained active. In February, the girls held a concert in Japan, which SIHYEON described as a happy time. “I love that we can communicate with fans at these special events. What stands out most is when fans greeted us in cat-ear headbands or cat makeup on Japan’s Cat Day,” SIHYEON said, adding that she also wore cat ears for the performance.
“I was really touched that fans did the Korean fan chants perfectly,” SUA said of their Japanese MAEUM (the group’s fandom name, which means “heart” in Korean). Onstage, the girls played games and performed their own hits and covers of their favorite songs. “This time, while playing games, I really felt that even if we don’t speak the same language as the fans, we can still all enjoy ourselves together. That made me really happy while performing,” YUNA said with a laugh.
CSR is iconic to many in K-pop fandoms. Their debut title track, “Pop? Pop!”, was one of the most promising of the past five years, and their catalog is packed with sugary, refreshing pop songs. CSR made history as the first K-pop group with members all born in 2005. While they have a traditional leader, the focus is on their shared skills as vocalists and dancers, rather than on other standard positions.
The group is led by DUNA, who was born in April 2005 in Wonju. DUNA first discovered K-pop after finding a fancam on YouTube. “After seeing it, I wanted to become an idol,” she explained.
YUNA, the only foreign member, is from Japan. When I asked what she remembers most about her childhood there, she pointed to her time as an entertainer. “I’ve been dancing since I was three years old, so there’s never really been a time in my life without music. And since I was young, it’s been my dream to become a global artist.”
SIHYEON grew up in Seoul and northern Gyeonggi. “As a kid, I loved running around and playing with friends. My favorite memory is visiting the playground with my parents and sister in the rain, joyfully sliding and calling it a water park,” she said, laughing.
Like SIHYEON, GEUMHEE’s childhood was active. She’s from Yeoju in Gyeonggi Province and spent days on the playground with friends. Her first exposure to music came from watching Aikatsu! “I’d copy the characters singing and dancing; that’s how I became interested in music,” she said.
SUA, from Anyang, was trained in ballet as a child. She said music stemmed naturally from her interest in dance. SUA also enjoyed hiking the mountain behind her apartment.
SEOYEON, who hails from Bucheon, recalled being a mischievous child who wouldn’t eat her meals and ran around the house a lot. “When I was very young, whenever I saw singers dancing and singing on stage, I used to think, ‘I want to be like that too!’” Her favorite girl group to sing along to was Girls' Generation, a group that would, ironically, be a forerunner to CSR’s bright and refreshing girlhood concept. YEHAM, who grew up in Daejeon, recalled feeling just as inspired watching Girls' Generation’s leader TAEYEON perform her debut single “I”, a song that is so powerful that the sheer magnitude of TAEYEON’s voice could break glass. “I heard it and thought, ‘I want to sing [like her].” Through TAEYEON, YEHAM found more idols she admired and eventually thought about becoming one herself.
The girls met at POPMUSIC, the company that formed CSR, in 2021. It was easy to become friends, the girls said, because they are all the same age. Korea’s age-hierarchical society emphasizes respect for elders, which can sometimes lead to friction within K-pop groups. But because all the members were the same age, there was an instant sense of comfort in being around one another. The girls lived together in a dorm, an experience that DUNA felt helped them understand one another better. “I also think we grew a lot as we got together to talk and have deeper conversations,” she said.
Preparing for the debut was nerve-racking. There was so much to learn, from choreography to what to expect at a video shoot or variety show, and how to give a good interview.
“Everything was new, so I was scared and nervous,” SIHYEON recalled about their first music video shoot. As the weather worsened, so did her nerves, but staff encouragement turned it into a “happy and memorable” day.
Rehearsals for their debut showcase, where they would debut their title track “Pop? Pop!”, were also intense. “We got some choreography wrong,” GEUMHEE admitted. They worried if they would be good enough onstage.
“I was so nervous that I still vividly remember even the air of that day,” DUNA said when she thought back to show day.
Onstage, SEOYEON’s legs were shaking so badly that she trembled while dancing. But she also vividly – and warmly – recalled how the members cheered for one another and reminded each other, “We can do it.” They were in it together.
After the showcase, the members went to find their friends and family. SUA’s parents presented her with a big bouquet of flowers. She had been strong leading up to the showcase, but seeing her parents’ pride, she said, “I got a little emotional.”
Even after debuting as idols, the members of CSR were still just teenage girls.
In 2022, the members of CSR were all seventeen. Today, they are twenty-one and much wiser than the rookies who debuted with “Pop? Pop!” “I’ve realized that the members have a really serious side to them,” SUA told me. The girls now work together to decide what’s best for the team, and rely on one another for support.
“I think the fact that all seven members have different styles and personalities is what makes our group charming,” SIHYEON explained. “We all have different tendencies and tastes, but somehow we still fit together really well without anyone feeling out of place, and I think that’s what makes us distinct.”
Including their training period, YEHAM said, the girls have spent nearly five years together. As they’ve grown older, the girls have learned to be more considerate and accepting of one another. “I think it’s really nice that when we have worries or concerns, we can talk to each other as comfortably and naturally as friends,” SEOYEON said. YUNA agreed with this: “We’re all truly friends, so we laugh at the same things, and when we hang out and talk, we really click.”
“We’re different from other groups because we can share opinions and feedback freely—since we’re all the same age,” YEHAM said.
The girls' relationship has deepened over time. “We can tell what someone wants to say just by looking in her eyes,” SIHYEON said. “As a team, all seven of us have different personalities, so we’ve learned to comfort each other when someone’s tired. We’ve also learned to share happiness and joy now.”
YEHAM, the maknae, was reflective when I asked her what she’s learned from the members. “From Duna and Sua, I learned strong, confident leadership. From Seoyeon and Yuna, I learned how to be considerate and how to give way to others. From Sihyeon, I learned how to check things carefully,” she said. “And from Geumhee, I learned how to keep working hard and keep challenging myself.”
Of course, participating in a girl group can be challenging – especially when the group is from a small company with limited resources. CSR’s members are grateful to have one another, but they’re also appreciative of their fans who have stuck by them for so long. “MAEUMs are my only source of strength,” SIHYEON said passionately. “During hard times, even just reading the letters they wrote to me, their encouraging messages, or even simple stories from their daily lives, gives me so much strength. I think that’s why, when I’m struggling, I find myself looking for MAEUM without even realizing it.”
This year, when SIHYEON celebrated her birthday, she visited a birthday cafe event that MAEUM held for her and spent time talking with them. She wanted them to know, directly, that she cares about them. SIHYEON also opened a personal YouTube channel where she hopes to share vlogs, makeup tutorials, music covers – even mukbangs. “I wanted to show MAEUM lots of new and different sides of myself and give them even more love in return for all the love they give me,” she explained.
GEUMHEE, who celebrated a birthday just a week before SIHYEON, also spent time with fans visiting cafe events they organized, hosting a livestream, and meeting friends for a meal. “It was the busiest and fullest birthday I’ve ever had,” she said. “As I’ve become an adult, I’ve realized again that I’m more patient, enduring, and diligent than I thought.”
Even DUNA feels that the members make her job as a leader easier. “There are times when the position of leader feels heavy and uncomfortable,” she said, “but the members are so good to me that sometimes I even forget I’m the leader.” Still, she wants to be someone strong and reliable for the girls; someone they can rely on and who will advocate for them.
As she thought about their comeback, DUNA admitted she’s nervous again. It has been so long since she’s seen the fans or been on stage in Korea. But she feels this is an opportunity the girls have been waiting for. It’s time for fans to fall in love with CSR again.
“More than anything,” she said, “I really want to hear MAEUM’s fan chants again after so long. I hope this becomes a time where we can get even closer to them.”
