Yoon Eun-hye is saved but… Baby Vox, the girl group whose future was ruined by DJ DOC Lee Ha-neul’s absurd remarks
Yoon Eun-hye’s old group Baby Vox was once a unique first-generation K-pop girl group and their disbandment still leaves great regret in many people.
For the MZ Generation, Yoon Eun-hye is a pretty unnie who acts well. Her unique lovely atmosphere and playful acting melted well in bright and warm works and increased the viewers’ immersion. Starting with the drama “Coffee Prince” that people often think about when summer comes, Yoon Eun-hye has established herself as an actress with many hits, such as “The Vineyard Man”, “Princess Hours”, etc.
Yoon Eun-hye transformed into a singer through MBC’s entertainment program “Hangout with Yoo”. It seems to be a big challenge for an actress like her to be a singer but anyone who remembers Baby Vox era would be very happy to see Yoon Eun-hye return to her main job. Yoon Eun-hye made her debut in 1999 at the age of 16 after joining Baby Vox. The average debut age of idols has become much younger these days that it doesn’t seem to be weird for anyone to debut at the age of 16, but it was an exceptional case at that time.
Baby Vox is a girl group that debuted in 1997. The best-known lineup consisted of Kan Mi-youn, Shim Eun-jin, Yoon Eun-hye, Kim E-Z and Lee Hee-jin. Baby Võ became a complete group after changing its members three times.
Lee Hee-jin, Kim E-Z, Jung Hyun-jeon, Jung Shi-woon, and Cha Yu-mi were the very first members of Baby Vox. At that time, Baby Vox impressed everyone by making a breakthrough from the trending feminine and fairy-like image of girl groups. Appearing in dark makeup, crop tops, and piercings, they rapped and sang songs with content criticizing social issues. However, the public didn’t find their image an attraction and Baby Vox had to change to a feminine concept.
As soon as the group gained attention, Cha Yu-mi left for the U.S, and Kan Mi-youn joined as a new member. After the first album promotion, Jung Hyun-jeon and Jung Shi-woon left the group they were replaced by new members Shim Eun-jin and Lee Gai. Baby Vox was expected to win the Best New Girl Group with their second album “Ya ya ya”, but Lee Gai withdrew from the group after she was revealed to have deceived her age. With Yoon Eun-hye joining the team, the final lineup of Baby Vox was completed. The group’s 3rd title track “Get Up” made a big hit and their follow-up song “Killer” also topped music charts, making them become a top girl group at that time.
Baby Vox set the way for K-pop idols to enter overseas markets, starting with China, in 2000. Their fresh charms drew huge enthusiasm and interest from overseas fans. Apart from China, Baby Vox succeeded in leading the Korean Wave in Southeast Asian countries.
While representative first-generation idol groups, such as S.E.S and Fin.K.L, stuck to their innocent and fairy-like image, Baby Vox decided to try the sexy and intense style. They divided parts, such as vocal, rap and dance, systematically and attempted sexy images for the first time on the stage.
It was Baby Vox’s strategy, but they received criticism and scornful look from the public because of the absurd remarks by DJ DOC’s Lee Ha-neul and eventually had to disband. The incident began in 2004. Lee Ha-neul posted insulting messages on his SNS, disparaging Baby Vox by calling them prostituted women. Since he referred to Baby Vox as “Miari Vox”, Baby Vox began to be criticized for many ridiculous reasons.
CEO Yoon, who produced Baby Vox, said, “Lee Ha-neul’s remarks were the decisive reason that caused Baby Vox to disband. He told such a shallow story and I really wanted to kill him. The children (Baby Vox members) came to work crying every day. They didn’t want to appear on broadcasts. They were hurt so much.”
The members expressed their feelings directly in “I Want to Know It” in 2007. Shim Eun-jin said, “I’ve heard they said that (Baby Vox) is a patient with exposure.” Kim said, “When I sang, I got hit by rocks and eggs.” In fact, Baby Vox had as many anti-fans as fans, and when they stood on stage, they were attacked by anti-fans. Yoon Eun-hye was shot in the eye by a water gun mixed with red chili powder and collapsed, while Kan Mi-yeon received threatening letters every day.
Yoon cited Lee Ha-neul’s remarks as the most heartbreaking event. “I really wanted to kill Lee Ha Neul. At the time the ‘Miari V.O.X’ issue broke out, many women’s organizations voiced their opposition. So in order to protect Lee Ha Neul, some Hip-hop fans gathered. They shouted ‘Miari V.O.X’ every time the members passed by, making the group burst into tears every day after the recording ended. I couldn’t stand it,” Yoon expressed.
After Baby Vox members scattered, they received keen attention with personal activities. Yoon Eun-hye, Shim Eun-jin, Lee Hee-jin, and Kim E-Z changed their job and established themselves as actresses. Kan Mi-youn, who became a solo singer and musical actress, met and had a happy marriage with Hwang Ba-ul. Kim E-Z is also enjoying her normal life after marriage, while Shim Eun-jin also married actor Jeon Seung-bin.
At some point, Baby Vox members have disappeared from the public eyes. Seeing Yoon Eun-hye’s appearance as a member of WSG Wannabe reminded people of Baby Vox days. Many wondered how Yoon Eun-hye feel about appearing on music shows for the first time after 18 years.
Although Baby Vox was underrated at that time, they were a groundbreaking girl group with the idol system. They must have received more attention for their unique coolness and unprecedented concept. Even in a closed society where people considered you a weirdo if you tried new things that they hadn’t seen before, Lee Ha-neul’s remarks ruined a legendary girl group.
Source: Naver
