During the March 4 broadcast of You Quiz on the Block (episode 333), Yoon Hee Jun appeared as a guest and shared insights from her 22-year career developing idol trainees at SM Entertainment.
When asked whether she sometimes had to send trainees home despite their efforts, Yoon explained that she tries to remove emotion from those conversations. “I usually speak very objectively on purpose,” she said. “No matter how you say it, it’s still rejection. Awkward consolation doesn’t really mean anything, so I just tell them the facts clearly.”
However, she admitted that one trainee who stayed in her heart was Ejae, the composer behind the OST “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters.
“Even for someone like me, Ejae left a lasting impression,” Yoon recalled. “When she appeared on You Quiz, she said she cried on the way home after hearing her contract was terminated. I was the person who told her that news, so seeing that story later made me feel really heavy.”
She added that even at the time, she had encouraged her, saying she would succeed no matter what path she chose. After she left the company, they continued to keep in touch. “She even told me, ‘Sis, I’m going on You Quiz,’” she shared warmly.
Praising Ejae’s personality, Yoon said, “If diligence were turned into a person, it would be her. I call her by her Korean name, Eun Jae, and honestly it feels like this kind of success was something she was always meant to achieve.”
Ejae previously revealed that she trained under SM Entertainment for 12 years from age 11 in 2003 until she was 23 in 2015 before ultimately leaving the company and forging her own path in music.
Sources: Nate
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