#MemoryLane: Taking a Look Back at the girl group that debuted in 2000, Papaya

Is anyone familiar with Oh My Girl's "Listen to my word (Aing)?" 

The song, released in 2016, is actually a remake of a song that was released many years prior. Today, we are going to take a time machine back to the early 2000s and take a deeper look at a girl group that you probably might not remember named Papaya.

Papaya is a girl group, active for just nearly two years before pretty much going into disbandment. The group was active from August 2000 to the end of 2001, making it quite a short-lived career.

The group debuted in 2000 as a five-member group. Members consisted of Joo Yeon Jung, Kang Sejung, Jo Hye Kyung, Hwang Yoon Mi, and Kang Kyung Ah. As their name was tropical fruit, they used that as their concept, and each member had a specific color that they were assigned to. Their debut album actually consisted of the track "Listen to my word," and the album itself set off a pretty mediocre response. It's quite worth mentioning that they were competing with groups, such as S.E.S, Fin. K.L and Baby V.O.X. 

After promoting their first album, the leader Kang Kyung Ah and Hwang Yoonmi (now known as Ko Eun Chae) left the group due to personal reasons, leaving the group at risk of disbandment. The group was already preparing for their second album when the two members announced their departure, so they actually had to change their concept to be ready as a three-member group. 

The group decided not to add any new members and announced their second album in June of 2001. The title track "Making Love" received more attention than the first album but still not enough to reach a top-tier status.

They continued promotions with their post-single "Violet."

After the second album promotion, each member began focusing on solo activities and promotions. Time slowly passed by, and due to internal problems within the group, the company, and the mediocre results, Papaya remained only a memory.

Luckily, the group reunited back in 2016 for an appearance on Sugar Man, having their first promotions as a group in nearly fifteen years! 

As of 2016, it is said that lead vocalist Cho Eun Sae is promoting as a trot singer, Joo Yeon Jung is working as an insurance agent, and Kang Sejung changed her name to Go Na Eun and is promoting as an actress. 

In the same year as their appearance, we were able to see Oh My Girl come back with a remake version of Papaya's hit track. TMI: The then-manager of Papaya is now the CEO of WM Entertainment (Oh My Girl's agency.)

Though we cannot see Papaya promote as a group anymore, we can thank technology for allowing us to take a trip down memory lane and view their old videos. Does anyone remember this short-lived yet impactful group? What are your thoughts on Papaya? What memories do you have of them? Let us know in the comments below!