Here's How Hwasa Became The New 'It Girl' Of Korea

Hwasa went from arguably not even being the most popular member of MAMAMOO to being the most popular girl group member in Korea according to the Korea Business Research Institute’s brand reputation rankings, and all in a short amount of time. How did she do it and where has it brought her?

Her collaboration with Loco

Loco and Hwasa both appeared on the music production variety show Hyena on the Keyboard and the song that resulted was “Don’t” which combined Hwasa’s sassy attitude with Loco’s soft rap. The song blew up in Korea and brought a lot of eyes on Hwasa.

Her appearance on I Live Alone

I Live Alone is a documentary style variety show which showcases the life of celebrities who aren’t currently in relationships and as a result live alone. The show is praised for how candid it is and when Hwasa appeared on the show, everyone one of her clips went viral as fans fell in love with her personality.

One clip of her eating gopchang (small intestine of cattle) cemented her as the “gopchang queen of Korea”.

This clip was so popular that Hwasa boosted gopchang sales across Korea.

Her non-traditional look

Though Hwasa has faced some criticism for her sexy outfits and slightly thicker physique, it’s undeniable that many people across Korea find her visuals very charming despite not being the typical idol look.

Her solo debut

The release of “TWIT” earned Hwasa her first music show win as a solo artist and the song also dominated digital charts. The song remained number one on the Melon streaming platform for 11 straight days.

How do we know she is Korea’s ‘It Girl’?

Hwasa has become a very highly sought after model for commercials and brand deals. Every day she seems to gain more advertising deals thanks to her newfound popularity. As previously mentioned, this is why research suggests she is the most sought after female idol for commercials.

She is the newest model for Coca Cola’s Gold Peak Tea.

And the newest ‘Muse’ for the makeup brand RAREKIND.

And those are just some of the many brand deals Hwasa has secured, here are a couple of other CFs featuring MAMAMOO’s maknae.

Industry veteran Lee Hyori gave Hwasa a ringing endorsement when she gifted her with the dress Hyori wore in the music video for her song “Shall We Dance”.