In the immense Kyocera Dome in Osaka last November, a group of young musicians in their teens and early twenties took a defining step in their lives. Izna members Mai, Jeemin, Jiyoon, Koko, Sarang, Jungeun, and Saebi debuted as a girl group at the MAMA Awards, one of the largest ceremonies in the K-pop industry. They stood on the brink of realizing a dream, hearts racing as they walked to center stage. “Pure passion. Limitless potential. You and I growing together. Now, it’s time to show us,” their voices echoed across the venue before the spectacle, before the clamor. A tribute to their perseverance, emerging from the intensity of the reality competition series I-LAND to take on the world. “We make our dreams real.”
For Mai, 20, who felt the calling to become an idol during her adolescence in Kanagawa, crossing this threshold was twice as meaningful. “It was an unexpected moment because I never thought I would have my debut stage in [Japan],” she tells Teen Vogue over a video call one wintry night. “It was such an honor…I would have done my best no matter where I performed, but doing it in my home country brought an even more special emotion.”
This struck a similar chord for Koko, 18, since she was able to recognize herself as a K-pop artist in the city where she was born. “It’s not just performing in my hometown, but also performing on the stage of my dreams,” she says, beaming. “I was tense, but we practiced a lot as a group, so it was a happy moment for me.”
As the clock nears 9 p.m. in Seoul, izna come into view, all smiles, as they wind down from what appears to have been a full day of activities. And this — their first interview with a foreign outlet — will be the last stop in their itinerary. The conversation occurs a couple of weeks after the septet’s debut, in the height of their initial promotions as idols (appearances on South Korean music shows, content filming, fan events, rehearsals — you name it), which were set in motion with the release of their first mini-album, N/a, at the end of November. It’s all part of the fast-paced nature that comes with the spotlight.
The road to debut is without a map or guidebook, often making it feel like a distant objective (or, in most cases, unattainable altogether). Many aspirations can go unfulfilled, but perseverance and the desire to prove one’s worth are powerful incentives to continue trying. Survival shows, then, have become a lane to take in the world of K-pop, and although they inevitably carry their share of risks, they offer a viable chance to succeed.
