Nicole Jung: I want to stay with KARA

By JONATHAN HICAP, Manila Bulletin

After her agency announced that she is not renewing her contract, KARA’s Nicole Jung issued a statement that she wants to stay as member of the girl group.

Last Friday, DSP Media, KARA’s agency, announced that Nicole had decided not to renew her contract, which will expire in January 2014, and that she would no longer be a part of KARA.

Nicole (Photo: www.newsen.com)

Nicole posted a long message on Twitter and expressed that she still wants to continue being a member of the group despite that she will not re-sign with the company.

“I apologize for creating worries and even hurt with the news of Kara’s re-signing and disbandment rumors. The most important thing is… I began as a Kara member and I want to end as a Kara member,” wrote Nicole, according to a translation by ENewsWorld.

She said she became “very frustrated and confused” when she read about news articles about KARA having new members.

“I believe that my renewal issue with DSP is not as a Kara member but as an article. Although I won’t be an artist with my company, I believe I can search for a solution to staying with the group I’ve been with all this time,” Nicole said.

Just because she’s leaving the company, Nicole said, “I don’t think Kara should disband or change members.”

Nicole said she can still be a member of KARA despite that she will no longer be under DSP Media.

She explained, “So I think my contract with the company and my contract as a Kara member can be separated. In other words, a division between my personal and public life.”

Nicole said she decided to not renew her contract in order to expand her career.

“I still have a lot of goals. So while I do my best with Kara promotions, I also want to work on creating a new me. In order to do that, I believe I need to spend more time and effort on myself. So I decided not to re-sign with DSP so that I can invest in my future,” she wrote.

DSP Media’s announcement did not sit well with fans, who said that the company announced Nicole’s departure in order to pressure her to renew her contract.

Nicole said she was hurt by the issue.

“I was in a lot of pain hearing about the re-signing, the disbandment, and member changes. I also think that the group called Kara does not belong to just one person. But if everyone and representatives of Kara don’t agree with me and think this is impossible, then I will return as one person named Jung Nicole,” she said.

Nicole promised that she will continue to work hard as a member of KARA despite of the contract issues.

“Regardless of my contract issues with my agency, I promise that I will continue acting as a Kara member. I love and will continue to love Kara and am happy to work as a Kara member… Kara is such a big part of my life,” she said.

In response to Nicole’s tweet, DSP Media told ENewsWorld, “We read what she wrote, but it was something Nicole posted personally. She did not discuss with us about it.”

“So, everything concerning Nicole’s future with Kara is unknown,” the company said.

KARA members Gyuri, Seungyeon and Hara have decided to renew their contracts with DSP Media for another two years while the youngest member, Jiyoung, has not decided yet if she will sign another contract with the agency.

The girl group flew to Japan on Oct. 7 for their “KARA 2nd Japan Tour 2013 KARASIA” that will start today in Yokohama.

KARA debuted in 2007 in the Korean music scene.

Link to my original article on Manila Bulletin online http://www.mb.com.ph/nicole-jung-i-want-to-stay-with-kara/

To contact the author, send email to sangchusan(at)gmail.com

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