IZ*ONE: Where Are They Now?
Introducing: IZ*ONE
IZ*ONE is known as the 12-member girl group formed in 2018 through MNET’s brutal survival show titled Produce 48, which brought together Korean and Japanese trainees to fight for a spot in the final lineup. These 12 members include Jang Wonyoung, Miyawaki Sakura, Jo Yuri, Choi Yena, Ahn Yujin, Yabuki Nako, Kwon Eunbi, Kang Hyewon, Honda Hitomi, Kim Chaewon, Kim Minju, and Lee Chaeyeon.
What Now?
The IZ*ONE members' contract ended in April of 2021, which meant that each member had to go their different way into new activities. The question is, what activities would each of these members pursue?
Nine of the twelve members came onto Produce 48 as Korean trainees, so it was assumed they’d continue in the Korean Entertainment industry. Three of these members, however, came from the Japanese Pop groups AKB48 and HKT48, so many assumed they would return to their respective groups.
Each member has different activities they’re currently pursuing, so let us go over them member by member.
Jang Wonyoung
Jang Wonyoung trained under Starship Entertainment and went on Produce 48 representing them, which lead to her ranking first in the finale and earning the positions of Lead Dancer, Sub Vocalist, Sub Rapper, Center, and Maknae (or youngest) in IZ*ONE. Wonyoung is also very well-known all through Korea, earning her the titles “Nations Granddaughter” and “1 in 10000 Year Idol” from Korean citizens.
On November 12, 2021, Starship Entertainment released its debut trailer for their new girl group IVE. One week later, Wonyoung’s debut trailer was also released.
On December 1st, 2021, IVE debuted with their single album titled ELEVEN, featuring the tracks Eleven and Take it. In IVE, there are no set positions, but Wonyoung is often known as one of the main vocalists of the group. Fans were ready for IVE to deliver and they did, winning 13 music show wins, and becoming the fastest fourth generation girl group to receive a win following their debut, at just 7 days!
On March 21 of 2022, Starship released a teaser for Love Dive, IVE’s first comeback. Love Dive is the group's second single album, featuring the songs Love Dive and Royal. DIVE’s, IVE’s fandom, was excited to see fellow members Rei and Gaeul contributed to the writing of Royal as well. On April 5, 2022, Starship released the Love Dive music video, which gained IVE even more praise following their debut. Love Dive received 6 music show wins during their promotions, showing the group's steady growth as a leading fourth-generation girl group.
Miyawaki Sakura
Miyawaki Sakura was one of the three Japanese contestants who ended up in IZ*ONE’s final lineup, originally coming from the Japanese Pop group HKT48, where she debuted in 2011. Sakura moved between HKT48 and AKB48, however, before joining Produce 48. She moved to AKB48 in 2014 and stayed there until 2017 as the group's center. She then moved back to HKT48 to become the sub-captain of the HKT48 Team KIV. On Produce 48, she showed her skills gained from being part of these two groups, leading to her placing in second place in the finale and earning her the position of Sub Vocalist, Sub Rapper, and Visual in IZ*ONE.
After the disbandment of IZ*ONE, Sakura returned to HKT48. She eventually graduated on June 19 of that year and silently made her way back to Korea. There were many rumors of her joining HYBE entertainment, the label producing groups such as BTS, TXT, and ENHYPEN. However, on March 27, these rumors became even more likely to be true. BigHit announced the name of their new girl group, Le Sserafim, and opened their official social media accounts on this day. On April 3rd, the first photo of a member was posted, and to no one’s surprise, it was Miyawaki Sakura herself.
On April 19th, BigHit announced Le Sserafim’s debut date of May 2nd. The group debuted with a mini-album titled FEARLESS, featuring five songs including the title track of the same name. Sakura debuted with a vocalist position, however, these positions may change as the group is still relatively new.
Jo Yuri
Jo Yuri trained for 9 months under Stone Music Entertainment, even appearing on Idol School, before joining Produce 48 and ranking third. Yuri was known for her husky voice, which lead to her landing the Main Vocalist position in IZ*ONE.
The month after IZ*ONE’s disbandment, Yuri announced that she signed with WAKEONE Entertainment, which currently manages Kep1er, to manage her future activities. On August 29th of 2021, she opened her official Instagram account, where she posted advertisements she was in, and activities she was participating in. Two days later, she opened her YouTube account, where she posted a profile film of herself.
On September 23rd, the first concept photo for Jo Yuri’s solo debut was posted. Yuri’s single album, titled GLASSY, featured three songs including the title track with the same title and was released on October 7th of 2021.
Choi Yena
Choi Yena trained for over three years before representing Yuehua Entertainment on Produce 48. Her hard work led to her ending up in fourth place during the show's finale and holding the positions of Main Rapper, Lead Vocalist, and Lead Dancer in IZ*ONE.
After IZ*ONE’s disbandment, Yena became booked and busy with activities. In August, Yena started her own web variety show known as Yena’s Animal Detective, where she learned about and worked with exotic animals.
Then in January of 2022, Yena opened her own YouTube channel and released a video introducing herself. Only a few days later did she publish a video concept film for her first solo mini-album, titled SMILEY.
SMILEY was released on January 17th and featured fellow solo artist BIBI. Yena received massive praise for her singing, dancing, and acting skills within the music video as well.
Ahn Yujin
Ahn Yujin trained for one year and four months before representing Starship Entertainment on Produce 48, leading to her ranking fifth in the show's finale and holding the positions of Lead Vocalist and Lead Dancer in IZ*ONE.
Like Wonyoung, Yujin re-debuted in Starship Entertainment's new girl group, IVE. Yujin was the first member announced, with her debut trailer being published on November 15th, 2021.
On December 1st, she debuted as IVE’s leader and vocalist and showcased her skills in their debut track ELEVEN. These skills, combined with her other group members' immense talent, lead to ELEVEN holding the fastest debut win, and the most wins for a girl group debut.
IVE recently had a comeback with their second single album, titled Love Dive. This comeback gained plenty of attention, especially due to Yujin’s dance skills displayed in the dance break of the song.
Yabuki Nako
Yabuki Nako is one of the three trainees to come from a Japanese group, in fact, she specifically came from HKT48 like Sakura. Her time in HKT48 was quite long, as she debuted in 2013 before she represented the group on Produce 48. Because of her charms and training, Nako made it to IZ*ONE’s final lineup, ranking sixth amongst the twelve, and held the position of Sub-Vocalist.
After IZ*ONE’s disbandment, Nako chose to go back to Japan and return to her activities in HKT48, with her group members. When Sakura graduated, Nako was even there with her.
Since then, Nako has made a comeback with HKT48. The comeback was released on November 29th of 2021, and is titled Do love me! Nako acted as the center for this comeback as well.
Kwon Eunbi
Kwon Eunbi originally debuted in a group called Ye-A, before training at Woolim entertainment. With Woolim, she became a background dancer for Lovelyz and then went on to represent them on Produce 48, where she ranked seventh place in the show's finale. Eunbi showcased her dancing skills from her training, her leadership capabilities, and her vocal talent, all leading her to become IZ*ONE’s Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist, and Leader.
On August 2nd, 2021, Eunbi joined YouTube, publishing her first video announcing the channel opening a week later. Then on August 14th, Woolim Entertainment released the first teaser for Eunbi’s mini-album debut, titled OPEN.
OPEN was released on August 24th, featuring the title track Door. This made Eunbi the first IZ*ONE member to redebut following the group's bittersweet disbandment. This solo debut also led Eunbi to win the “Emotive Award” at the Asian Artist Awards, due to her music sharing emotions with her fans and providing healing.
Eunbi recently also had a comeback with her mini-album titled COLOR, and the title track Glitch, which was announced on March 20th of 2022, and released on April 4th.
Kang Hyewon
Kang Hyewon trained for only 9 months with 8D Creative before representing them with her talents on Produce 48, ultimately ranking eighth in the final lineup and landing the positions of Lead Rapper, Sub Vocalist, and Visual.
On June 11th, 2021, Hyewon opened her YouTube channel, and a week later uploaded Beauty Cut videos to promote her new photobook.
Hyewon uses her YouTube channel to post fun vlogs, storytimes, and first meeting videos, like this one with Noze from Street Woman Fighter!
On December 7th, Hyewon posted a teaser titled Winter Poem, alluding to her solo debut mini-album featuring a title track of the same name.
On December 22nd, Hyewon released her mini-album, titled W, and her title track Winter Poem.
On December 28th, Hyewon also made her acting debut in Season 3 of Best Mistake, playing one of the main roles. She was joined by Day6’s Won Pil, Lee Eun Jae, Kang Yul, and CIX’s Yoon Hyun Suk
Since then, Hyewon has focused on her YouTube career, uploading more fun videos every week for her audience. Her YouTube channel is called 강혜원 or Kang HyeWon!
Honda Hitomi
Honda Hitomi was the third Japanese member to make the final lineup of IZ*ONE. Representing AKB48, Hitomi ranked 9th place in Produce 48’s finale. Due to her well-rounded skills, she gained the positions of Lead Dancer, Sub Rapper, and Sub Vocalist in IZ*ONE.
After the disbandment of IZ*ONE, Hitomi, like Nako, decided to go back to her original group, AKB48. She is continuing to promote with them and even landed the center position in their comeback.
Hitomi has also continued to do dance covers and challenges of her former member's new music on her TikTok account, along with making funny videos with her current members. Here she’s doing a dance challenge of IVE’s Eleven.
Kim Chaewon
Kim Chaewon trained for 11 months with Woolim Entertainment before representing them on Produce 48, leading to her finishing tenth and gaining the positions of Lead Vocalist and Lead Dancer in IZ*ONE.
After IZ*ONE’s disbandment, many suspected Woolim would add Chaewon to Rocket Punch, as she fit their concept and would gain the group a massive amount of more fans. However, Chaewon left Woolim Entertainment in 2021 and chose to move to Source Music, a subsidiary under HYBE Entertainment, with groupmate Sakura. On April 6th, Chaewon became the fourth member of Le Sserafim to be announced on their official Instagram account. Chaewon debuted with the group on May 2nd, 2022, with the title track Fearless.
Kim Minju
Kim Minju originally joined Urban Works with the intention of being an actress, however, her talents led to her ranking eleventh on Produce 48. Her positions in IZ*ONE consisted of Lead Rapper, Sub Vocalist, and Visual.
In June of 2020, Minju was chosen to become an MC for Music Core and is continuing this job following IZ*ONE’s disbandment. Along with MCing for Music Core, Minju has also been doing Instagram lives on her Instagram (@minn.__.ju) and modeling for different magazines and advertisements.
Lee Chaeyeon
Lee Chaeyeon trained for years before ending up at WM Entertainment, where she represented them on Produce 48 and gained the positions of Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist, and Lead Rapper after finishing twelfth in the show’s finale.
Following IZ*ONE’s disbandment, Chaeyeon appeared on Street Woman Fighter in the dance crew WANT.
There were rumors that Chaeyeon would then debut with WM’s new girl group, however, there has since been no news regarding the group or WM’s plans with Lee Chaeyeon’s activities. In fact, many fans are suspecting she left the company due to her lack of activities.
That’s all of the information on each member of IZ*ONE and their current activities. I hope we see more of them soon!