Actress Ye-won Kang has, for the first time, spoken candidly about her split with influencer FreeZia, who rose to fame on Netflix's Single's Inferno.
On the 2nd, a new video featuring influencer Eun-ji Kwon was posted on Ye-won Kang's YouTube channel. Explaining why she sought Kang out, Kwon said, "I thought you were someone who helped influencers grow," adding, "You were the one who helped the FreeZia I loved since I was young make it—so I felt we could do even better together."
Kang then recalled her first meeting with FreeZia. "I met FreeZia when she was a junior in college. She had around 30,000 Instagram followers at the time, and her Busan dialect was so unique and cute. She had this bubbly, popping charm," Kang reminisced.
The two went on to sign an exclusive five-year contract and began working closely. Kang even brought both FreeZia and Ji-hyun Park to a meeting for Heart Signal 3, but only Park ended up joining the show at the time. "I was sure a program perfect for FreeZia would come along," Kang said, explaining she kept pursuing opportunities. A meeting for Saturday Night Live Korea was part of that process. "FreeZia wasn’t confident about acting, but I encouraged her to try. In the end, the acting didn’t quite work out, and that’s when the PD introduced a program called Single's Inferno," she explained.
Still, FreeZia initially hesitated to appear on Single's Inferno. "She said she didn’t want to go on it, so I persuaded her a lot. I had a hunch Netflix would blow up," Kang said. "She eventually joined—and it turned into a massive success."
FreeZia shot to stardom with Netflix’s Single's Inferno in 2021, but later faced controversy over alleged use of counterfeit items and went on a hiatus. In 2023, she parted ways with the company where Ye-won Kang served as co-CEO.
When Kwon asked, "Weren’t you upset when the contract ended and you parted ways with FreeZia?" Kang answered honestly: "I was. I felt disappointed." Even so, she added, "As an actor, I also sign for a few years and sometimes move companies. In a way, it’s a natural progression," accepting the situation calmly.