Yunah (ILLIT): Controversial group leader, has a special relationship with LE SSERAFIM

Yunah is the 6th and final member to be revealed when debuting with ILLIT. She is also the oldest member and trained for 4-5 years, the longest among the contestants.

ILLIT is the most sought-after name today with its super viral debut recently. The debut song Magnetic quickly reached the top of Korean digital music charts, helping HYBE's new group become a new generation "dinosaur rookie". Not only is it addictive with its cheerful melody, the visuals of all 5 members are also becoming a topic of discussion on social media forums, especially group leader Yunah. She is the member that is causing many mixed reactions.

Yunah was born and raised in Chungju (a city in North Chungcheong Province in South Korea). She started working as an idol trainee in 2018, when she was only 14 years old.

Yunah interned under Stardium Entertainment and then transferred to Source Music - where GFriend and LE SSERAFIM were trained in 2020. By mid-2021, Yunah was accepted into the company Belift Lab.

In 2023, Yunah became a contestant on the show RU Next? as an intern at Belift Lab. She had the longest internship period among the 22 contestants. Yunah had time to train with 5 other contestants on the show: Haruka, Youngseo, Jeongeun, Ruka and Jeemin.

In addition, based on her internship period at Source Music, it can be seen that Yunah practiced with members of the LE SSERAFIM group project.

During the process of participating in RU Next? , Yunah is one of the contestants who always wins high rankings through broadcast episodes. She once achieved High (highest) rank when performing the song Bad Girl Good Girl in episode 2. Yunah's votes are also always in the top 10.

On the night of September 1, 2023, through the final of the program, Yunah officially became the last announced member of the ILLIT group. Yunah is the oldest member and holds the position of group leader.

On March 25, 2024, Yunah and 4 other members first appeared in public with their debut album. However, despite possessing stable singing and dancing skills, the female idol faces many mixed opinions about her beauty. Korean netizens say that her appearance and face are "dull" compared to the other members and do not match ILLIT's cute, sweet concept.

On March 28, 2024, a post titled "Yunah ILLIT shows the importance of concept" was shared on a popular Korean online community forum. In the post, OP shared photos of Yuna in two different concepts.

One is when she performed "Bad Girl Good Girl" on the survival show "RU NEXT? During this performance, Yunah wore darker clothes, shorts and knee-high boots. Her hair also slicked back into a high ponytail. Overall, the female idol looks more luxurious and feminine.

The next photo is of Yunah during ILLIT's "Magentic" debut stage on "M Countdown". In this photo, the female idol is seen in an all-white outfit. Her long, straight black hair was accessorized with a matching headband with a white necklace and sleeveless mini dress.

Her outfit fits ILLIT's princess concept and matches the other members. Even though she wore the same outfit as the other members, she didn't fit the concept.

Many Korean netizens in the comments section also agreed. They think that Yunah looks too mature for ILLIT's concept and that BELIFT Lab should have found a way to make her fit this concept better.

Many people sympathize with Yunah and think that it is difficult for her and the other adult members of the group to have such childish concepts. K-netz hopes that in their next release, they will give the members a concept they desire.

Others commented that having Youngseo in the group would help balance her appearance, as she still matches the youthful appearance of the other members but has a similar maturity level to Yunah. Although Youngseo was part of the debut lineup, BELIFT Lab announced their departure from the group in January.

Explaining the group's name, the producer of the program RU Next said that ILLIT comes from the phrase "I Will Be It". In particular, "I Will" represents the group's independent spirit and will for adventure, while "It" represents the personality of each member.

On March 25, 2024, ILLIT officially released its debut album titled Super Real Me . In particular, the theme song Magnetic immediately after its release caused a fever on many social networking platforms. Magnetic with an easy-to-listen melody and easy-to-follow hand dance choreography that looks "easy but difficult, hard but easy" makes this song ILLIT's first "all-kill" song. Many people predict that ILLIT will win the Rookie award at music awards later this year.

Talking about the opening song "My World" with its unique intro and attractive melody, Yunah shared that listeners may feel like they are lost in ILLIT's world.

Reflecting on her past journey, Yunah said: "Our slogan says we can be anything and it's a way to boost confidence. When we practice, we think about the color of yourself and slogan".

ILLIT is a lineup of potential trainees coming out of the survival show RU Next, initially expected to debut with 6 members. However, Youngseo - the trainee with the most fans - withdrew at the last minute. The group "closed the book" with 5 very young girls, including Yunah, Minju, Moka, Wonhee and Iroha.