Jan 2022 PIN Prestige Issue with #YERI Scans + Translation

Cover: YERI / Kim Yerim - Relooking Stability

Chatting from her career to her hobbies, analysing her personality to her inner self, growing from young to old…the most important thing to Yeri which she mentioned not just thrice - it’s also engraved in her neck.

If you meet someone who’s not into K-wave and have never heard of an idol named Yeri, she herself tells <PIN> that she will introduce herself like this: 24 years old (nominal age), INFP, “Dear Diary” (her self composed song “To Twenty”)

Come come, let me introduce you. Yeri’s real name Kim Ye-rim, is one of the members of Korean girl group Red Velvet. The year she turned 16, she had already endured harsh trainee days that normal people cannot imagine and stood on stage as a singer. In 7 years time, she gradually became multi-talented spanning from singing, variety shows and TV shows as well as other fields, and her Instagram account @yerimiese has surpassed over 9.3M followers.

From the internet, it states that she donated 10 million won in Feb 2020 to a Korean charity fund, and on her birthday in 2021, she donated 10 million won to support single mothers. By doing charity on her birthday, Yeri hopes to share the infinite love she received as an idol, and give back to society.

3 Types of Feelings

On 5 March 2022, she’s only 23 years old (full age). Growing up under the spotlight, she has led an extraordinary life different from friends her age. To Yeri, is the spotlight like sunlight that shines on seeds and lets them grow, or a heartless flame that hardens her through suffering?

“I stepped into society to work at a really young age, actually I had already predicted back then that I would encounter good and bad things. But now I feel that (entering society early) has more plus points.

Comparing (myself) to those my age, I got to know more people from various fields, it has widened my perspective, and my personality is gradually changing. That’s because I’ve been in contact with all kinds of people that have an imperceptible positive influence on me - they let me uncover the different layers of my inner heart.”

Uneasiness, stability, happiness - Yeri says these are the three emotions that represent her inner world best.

She pursues the stability of “Doing everything in moderation” in life. From her trainee profession to debuting as an idol singer, she has been living in a different environment since young. Yeri once divulged:

“The places I sleep in is different every time, and that has affected my sleep, so for anything, I wish to maintain the mentality of doing things in moderation: When I encounter something good, don’t be too happy; and when I encounter unfortunate things, I should also not be in too much despair.”

With a personality like this that may be innate, it became Yeri’s armour in facing the entertainment industry.

“When I was young, my nickname in the family was “Bear”, my personality was simple and honest, even if I was sick I didn’t say it, I was one who did not mind trivial matters hahaha”

Self Proclaimed ‘Good Person’

In this one to two years, the MBTI Personality Test has been all the rage in Korea. According to the analysis of the 16 types of MBTI, Yeri belongs to INFP - Introvert (I), Intuition (N), Feeling (F), Perception (P).

INFP type has these main characteristics: shy, sensitive, gentle, idealistic, values inner harmony, and has creativity. Shakespeare, Van Gogh, and Audrey Hepburn belong to this type.

(We) thought that with her sunshine usefulness and posting her daily activities on Instagram often, this Korean artiste is surely an Extrovert (E) type

“Many people say that. But my test results was 40% Extrovert (E) and 50% Introvert (I). MBTI tests are very popular, and as I belong to the INFP type, I treat people sincerely and am also very kind…haha, I can’t say that, I should say that I’m really a good person.”

As long as you walk past you definitely will leave a trace, especially in a generation where you can’t escape from the Internet (T/N: the actual quote used was “网络恢恢，疏而不漏“ - a wordplay from “天网恢恢，疏而不漏“ which means you can’t escape from the long arms of law ; except the context of law is changed to the internet). If she dares to say it, I dare to believe it.

If you are curious about this youth idol, you can take a glimpse into her true nature through reality programs. We recommend Yeri and the first-generation goddess in the Korean entertainment industry Han Chaeyoung <Secret Sister>, this program shares the time spent between the two ‘sisters’ with an age gap of 19 years for 24 hours together. Also, bringing idols into the wild, <Law of The Jungle>, a reality adventure show which allows them to rely on their own skills to survive.

Yeri recommends the videos she filmed.

“Now is the YouTube generation. Recently I went to Jeju Island to film the vlog series <Yeri_me>. In Red Velvet’s YouTube channel, there’s also my birthday Vlog. I recommend these videos because they demonstrate different aspects of me."

Thanking Herself

We can’t not mention “Dear Diary” - the sentimental ballad single which she participated in composing, the Korean name is “To Twenty”, which she released when she was 20 years old (2019).

“Many people ask me often, when I reach the age of 20, what was the biggest change? But I feel like I have not changed a tiny bit, I felt I was too ordinary, so I wrote this song with a sense of uneasiness. Though I’m still ignorant, I hope I can learn how to take care of myself and comfort myself.”

Just like the song title, the lyrics are like a page of feelings in Yeri’s diary:

“You don’t need to dress up, you don’t need to be nervous / It’s alright to stop for a moment / I’m always going to be by your side / Again today, I’m whispering to the 20-year-old me.”

The lyrics describe some of Yeri’s worries on welcoming her 20s, and it’s also like her and her strongest support - a conversation with herself. She describes: this song is to the fans who have been supporting her, as well as to herself: “Thank you, please take care of me in the future days too.”

It’s been around 3 years since writing down her 20-year-old feelings, Yeri feels that in this period of time, her way of thinking and mood has become more mature.

“I’ve changed again from the person I was when I was writing this song. At that time, I thought (being 20) was a full stop, and my values won’t change ever again. But the thoughts I have now are vastly different from those at that time. I think I’ve understood tolerance and acceptance. I think I’ve grown.”

Privately, Yeri has a group of close friends who understand her realest self best, so she “extremely trusts and relies on these close friends”, for things she can’t figure out, she will always seek their opinions.

Reminding Herself

In 2021, the coronavirus still hindered many happenings, but Yeri has gained quite a lot. In terms of personal development, she took her first step into the drama industry, and she has two drama works under her name - the one-act drama <Mint Condition> and web drama <Blue Birthday>.

Her virgin screen work was a one-act drama where she acted as a nurse. Despite filming in the cold winter, it didn’t scare her away. She was excited in dabbling in acting for the first time.

“I hope I can continue to act in future, and showcase a different side of me.”

Later on, she took up a heavy responsibility as the female lead, Yeri acted as a girl who went back to when she lost her first love at 18. The plot required an interpretation of an innocent, energetic student at 18, and an adult that has psychological scars at 28.

If she could rewind time, Yeri would like to go back to when she was 19.

“In that year, there were many things that happened that made me feel regretful.”

On the contrary, if she could fast forward time?

“I don’t have a future that I specially want to go towards, I just want to stay true to the life I have now and work hard. I think the future is scary. I already said I’m an INFP, so my imagination plays tricks on me and makes me think all sorts of things (scares herself).”

Her group results aren’t that bad either. Red Velvet has been on hiatus for close to 2 years, and the new album they released in August <Queendom> is still as popular. Album sales surpassed 360,000, good results on international music platforms, and the title track which is the same as the album name made it their first entry into the U.S Billboard Global 200 (The Global Top 200 singles chart), symbolizing one step further into the world’s stage.

“To results like this, my heart feels so grateful. These numbers are indicators of success, and it’s also a force that drives us to the next peak, but I feel that these are things that are hard to understand/imagine/grasp.

(T/N: sorry I really tried to translate that last phrase but it’s too difficult lol even my dad doesn’t know how)

Maybe saying it like that will give you goosebumps. My dream is to be a warm adult

(T/N: she said this in one of Yeri’s room episodes too!), though I’m still searching for its meaning. However, all in all, I want to become someone that has tolerance and have a sense of security towards myself. “

“Stability” also refers to mental health, but Yeri sighs in resignation: “It’s too tough”, so she left the tattoo to remind herself constantly.

Two Pillars of Support

At least, there are two blocks of happiness that let Yeri rely on and catch a breath - pilates and Totori.

“I’m someone who dislikes exercise, when I first started pilates, I did it on and off for about a year. But afterwards I met my current pilates teacher, and which her guidance, it gradually became more enjoyable. She’s also like my mentor.”

Yeri reveals that when she got to know of this teacher, she wasn’t in her best condition emotionally. The teacher had also said she looked despondent. For a period of time, Yeri pulled her fatigued body to work mechanically from day to day. Thinking back now, she didn’t even know how she lived back then.

Once she did pilates more often, it made her realise: The mind and body are one, your body must be healthy for your heart and mind to be healthy. If you follow her Instagram, you will see video postings of her trying pilates moves that are of high difficulty level.

“In the process of doing pilates, my body has improved, and I have benefitted a lot in terms of mental health. After doing pilates, my body and mind really became healthier. I start my day with exercise, then I work. Exercise gives me positive energy and has become my driving force for daily activities. Though there are times where I think going to exercise is troublesome.”

Another happy pill for Yeri is her furry brother Totori. Only her die-hard fans know that she used to be scared of dogs.

“I naturally overcame this fear. I had thought that I would be scared of dogs forever, but I developed a love for animals unknowingly, and naturally, I’m not scared anymore.

Now I raise a Maltese, its name is ddol-ddolie (똘똘이), English name Totori. I want to raise him into an internationally renowned dog. My pet as my companion is good in every aspect, it’s docile. With it as a companion, I feel very happy, so I always want to see it - now it stays in my parents' house.

Taking pics vs Being the subject of the pic

Even if she didn’t become an artiste, the young and beautiful Yeri would definitely have an attraction that catches the lens of the camera. She enjoys the process of letting the photographer capture her different appearances, and also likes to hold the camera herself to take photos.

“I like taking pictures of sceneries and people, but I don’t specifically think of who to take pictures of. Anyway, I want to capture photos of anyone who appears before my eyes. You can say for 24 hours continuously, I take pictures of anything I see, there’s no target that particularly attracts me. I just take everything that I see from my perspective.

(Q: The photo you’re most satisfied with?)

I’ve taken too many. I like the mother nature I’ve taken, the greenery that is on my phone. Seeing these pictures, I feel physical and mental stability. Looking at my Instagram account, you can also see many pictures of nature I’ve taken myself. I also like sunsets.”

I took a look at her Instagram again, and saw a quote she shared:

”모든 것은 마음의 조작에 불과하고 행복과 불행은 남이 만든 것이 아니라 내 속에 있다는 이야기죠. 그래서 내가 행복한 마음으로 그릴 때 그것을 보는 사람들도 행복해질 수 있다는 걸 알았습니다.”

[Everything is nothing but a work of the mind, happiness and unhappiness are not made by others, but by you. So I realized, when I make art happily, the people who see it can also be happy.]

This quote came from Korea’s representative modern artist Lee Wal Chong, from a section of an interview at the start of 2021 to promote an exhibition.

I guess when Yeri shared these words, she’s reminding herself to “have stability”. In this interview, she kept mentioning the importance of stability. This is also a belief that cannot easily be effaced, that she has marked on her neck.

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