Noh Ji-sun, a former member of the group fromis_9, revealed that she had taken out card loans to make ends meet after her team activities ended.
On the 11th, a video titled "Don't Experience Card Loans: Blood-and-Tears Advice from a Life Senior Who Transitioned Jobs from Being an Idol | With Noh Ji-sun" was posted on the YouTube channel "Min Sae-rom's Open Studio."
In the video, Noh Ji-sun shared the confusing emotions she felt during the voting manipulation controversy surrounding Mnet's audition program "Idol School," which had been the starting point of her debut.
At the time, Noh Ji-sun ranked first on the program and debuted in the group fromis_9, but later it was revealed that paid text message votes by viewers had been manipulated, sparking controversy. The program's responsible producer, identified as Kim, who was indicted on charges including obstruction of business over the voting manipulation controversy, was sentenced to one year in prison and is currently appealing the verdict.
Noh Ji-sun said, "I thought I had worked hard to come in first place, but that wasn't the case," adding, "I always had a desire to do something honorably, but being told that my position was not honorable on its own and that someone else's touch was involved made me extremely confused at age 21."
Noh Ji-sun, who said it was difficult to express her feelings despite this, stated, "Isn't the fact that I am confused separate from the fact that victims were harmed?" and explained, "That is why I also found it harder to speak out."
She continued, "To be honest, there are bad people involved, but no matter what I say, news articles come out under my name and the names of the other participants in that program," adding, "So it became a situation where I would cause harm again, making things even more ambiguous."
Although she successfully debuted as an idol, Noh Ji-sun did not receive any settlement payments for seven years due to fromis_9's poor activity results.
Noh Ji-sun said, "I was active (as an idol) until I turned 27. By then, I couldn't rely on my parents' help, so I looked into loans, but because I was classified as someone with no job and no income, I couldn't get a loan," adding, "Since I needed to survive immediately, I thought it was a big crisis and took out a card loan without even thinking about the interest rate."
She revealed, "They said they would give me 3 million won right away, so I thought, 'I can live for three or four months,' and accepted it," adding, "The interest really snowballed. As my card loan limit increased, I used that to pay off the 3rd million won, but it kept growing, and it wasn't until a year after leaving the group that I paid it all back."
Noh Ji-sun stated, "I have paid everything back now. It was not an amount in the hundreds of millions," adding, "I also borrowed some money from my older brother who was preparing for his wedding. Honestly, paying everything back and raising my credit score was the hardest part."
Born in 1998, Noh Ji-sun was active in the idol group fromis_9 from 2018 to 2024. After leaving the team, Noh Ji-sun is currently working as a non-celebrity influencer.
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