BoA held a press conference on October 24 to celebrate the release of her ninth album “Woman,” and talked about being one of the first stars to pave the way for the Hallyu Wave, and shared encouraging words for her juniors.

The singer is considered one of the frontrunners of the first generation of Hallyu, having made her Japanese debut in 2002. When asked about how global K-pop is becoming as the years progress, BoA said, “When I first went to Japan, ‘K-pop’ wasn’t a word that really existed and not many people knew about Korean music, so I was very scared and worried when I started my career there. When I topped the Oricon Charts for the first time and it made the news [in Korea], I gained a lot of strength from the support I received. I am always grateful and proud when my name is brought up while talking about K-pop’s growth overseas.”

She also expressed her delight at watching her juniors as she said, “I’ve watched a lot of overseas performances by groups like NCT 127 and BTS. I, myself, want to give them my full support as a fan of theirs. I hope many more K-pop singers will continue to help K-pop grow in more places.”

BoA concluded by expressing her full support for her juniors as she added, “These days, quite a lot of K-pop singers are topping the Oricon charts or seeing other successes overseas, so I wonder if people are less impressed by their achievements, but I want to emphasize how difficult it is for singers to go overseas and see success in their work,” and “I hope that people will continue to watch over and support many singers in the future, and I hope many more singers will succeed in more places.”

BoA will make her return on October 24 at 6 p.m. KST with her ninth studio album “Woman.”

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Top photo credits: Xportsnews.