RESCENE's Woni opens up about becoming first-ever K-pop idol from Geoje Island

Woni, a member of the group RESCENE, has shared the inspiring backstory behind her journey to becoming the very first K-pop idol from Geoje Island.

On the June 20 broadcast of the JTBC variety show ‘Knowing Bros’, Woni and her fellow member Minami appeared as guests alongside Brown Eyed Girls' Narsha and Jea, fromis_9's Lee Chae Young and Baek Ji Heon, and Baby Don't Cry's Lee Hyun and Benny.

During the episode, Woni grabbed everyone's attention by introducing herself as "the first-ever idol from Geoje." Hearing this, cast member Lee Soo Geun playfully chimed in, saying, "You’re from Geoje? I go fishing there all the time. Was that lady I greeted back then your mother?" Woni wittily rolled with the joke, replying, "Yes, that was her," before quickly breaking character to ask, "Wait, is that actually true?" laughing as Lee Soo Geun admitted he just fabricated the story to help her ease into her self-introduction.

Woni then proudly shared how much her hometown has embraced her success. "Being from Geoje has become a huge badge of honor for me now," she said. "I was actually recently appointed as an honorary public relations ambassador for Geoje City." The show's host, Kang Ho Dong, led the room in a round of applause, calling her "the proud first idol of Geoje."

When Seo Jang Hoon asked about the specific process of launching her career from an island, Woni candidly opened up about the logistical hurdles. "It is not easy to train to be an idol in Geoje," she explained. "There weren't any other kids dreaming of becoming idols around me, and there wasn't even a single academy where you could prepare for entertainment auditions. Because of that, I had to commute all the way to Busan just to attend training academies."

She continued, "Back then, I was fueled by a mindset that I absolutely had to make it in the entertainment industry. Eventually, an opportunity came along, which allowed me to move up to Seoul."

Woni also revealed the exact moment she realized her calling. "When I was in middle school, I performed a dance on stage, and the cheers from the audience were exceptionally loud specifically when I stepped out," she recalled. "In that exact moment, I thought to myself, 'Hey, I think I've got something here. Let’s give this a shot.'" She earned further admiration from the show's cast by revealing that she dedicatedly finished her high school education in Geoje before officially moving to Seoul to pursue her career.