GFRIEND Holds Tearful 10th Anniversary Concert

연합뉴스 / 2025-01-20 08:52:16

▲ K-pop girl friend GFRIEND performs at their 10th-anniversary concert, "Season of Memories," held on Jan. 20, 2025, at Olympic Hall in Seoul’s Olympic Park. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Yonhap) -- "Thank you so much for waiting for us in the same place for four years. We’re grateful, sorry, and we love you." (SinB)

GFRIEND concluded their 10th-anniversary concert, Season of Memories, on Sunday at Olympic Hall in Seoul’s Olympic Park with an encore stage filled with tears.

Despite the upbeat melody of their new song Always, sobbing fans could be seen throughout the audience, moved by the emotional atmosphere.

The group’s leader, Sowon, addressed the audience, saying, "We will definitely meet again. A lot happened four years ago, and ‘Buddies’ (GFRIEND’s fandom) must have felt frustrated not knowing what was going on. But now we’ve come to share more happy times, so I hope you can let go of any heavy feelings and just be happy. Thank you so much, and we love you." Earlier, she added, "It’s a miracle that six different people could come together as one for 10 years."

▲ K-pop girl friend GFRIEND performs at their 10th-anniversary concert, "Season of Memories," held on Jan. 20, 2025, at Olympic Hall in Seoul’s Olympic Park. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Yerin shared her reflections: "I realized how happy it makes me to meet the eyes of my fellow members on stage, so I tried to do it even more. I remember when we worried if we could ever rank first or hold a concert back in the early days when our agency staff numbered only three or four. Now, as a group that’s been around for a decade and can put on such wonderful concerts, I feel so happy. Please continue to be our guiding light no matter which paths we take in the future."

Debuting in January 2015 under Source Music, GFRIEND emerged as a top-tier girl group in the fiercely competitive third generation of K-pop, producing hits like Me Gustas Tu, Rough, Navillera, and Time for the Moon Night. In 2021, the group paused activities after their contracts expired, but they recently reunited with the special album Season of Memories, released on January 13.

The three-day concert, which began on January 17, sold out all 9,000 seats, marking a joyous reunion between GFRIEND and their fans. The group opened with a string of iconic tracks such as Me Gustas Tu, Navillera, and Love Whisper, captivating the audience with their trademark emotional melodies and precision choreography. The thunderous cheers from fans heightened the energy in the venue.

Umji emphasized GFRIEND’s unique appeal: "Our group’s key themes are ‘Power Innocence’ and ‘Passionate Longing.’ It’s not a delicate longing; we express it intensely so you can feel it doubly. That’s GFRIEND’s charm."

▲ K-pop girl friend GFRIEND performs at their 10th-anniversary concert, "Season of Memories," held on Jan. 20, 2025, at Olympic Hall in Seoul’s Olympic Park. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

The members shared memorable anecdotes, including a humorous mix-up during a chicken ad campaign where promotional materials mistakenly labeled them as the "Exclusive Model for Women’s Chicken." They also reminisced about filming a concert video on a snowy day in Seoul. Yerin proudly mentioned how their song Navillera was featured in school textbooks, expressing her delight at creating a legacy she could one day share with her grandchildren.

When the group’s award-winning hit Rough played, the concert reached its emotional peak. Lyrics like "If only I could become an adult by racing through time in this rough world, I’d hold your hand," felt like a heartfelt confession to fans who had waited for them during their hiatus.

GFRIEND also revisited performances of MAGO and Apple from the pandemic era, delivering intense routines that left them collapsing to the floor in exhaustion afterward. The encore featured their debut song Glass Bead and the title track of their anniversary album, In Our Serene Season, bringing the concert to a heartfelt close.

Following their Seoul concert, GFRIEND will embark on an Asian tour in March, performing in cities like Osaka and Yokohama in Japan, Hong Kong, and Kaohsiung and Taipei in Taiwan.

"Meeting again on such a wonderful day, we’ve become stronger, more mature, and deeper as individuals and as a group. If it ever feels like we might pause again, let’s hold onto this precious feeling and prepare for another amazing chapter. It’s been such a joy to reconnect with the youthful passion of all six of us." (Umji)