Oh Yujin steps outside trot with synth-pop single 'Yeowuya Mwohani', eyes dance and ballad next

Oh Yujin's new single 여우야 뭐하니 (What Are You Doing, Fox?) takes traditional Korean children's game chants and remixes them into synth-pop. It's a sharp turn from the classical trot she's known for.

She performed it blonde, in full dance mode—a visual reset that matched the sonic one. "I was worried a lot before the album release," she said. "The fans who like me became fans after seeing me perform traditional trot, so I was concerned whether they would accept this new image well." The response surprised her. "The fans liked the new song more than I expected. They told me many times that it's nice to see me working hard."

Trot runs through her family. At 11, she followed her grandmother to a song class in Jinju, where her grandmother directed a well-known program. That connection hasn't faded. Oh Yujin wants to release an album with her grandmother if the timing works out, though her grandmother prefers sticking to broadcast appearances for now. (The grandmother signed off on the blonde hair but keeps asking when the black is coming back.)

What's next? "I want to make many musical challenges rather than visual changes," she said. "I want to try dance and ballad as well and show various music." She also noticed trot's audience has widened beyond the 70s and 80s crowd she once assumed made up the whole fanbase. Reaching those listeners across age groups is part of the plan.