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Her latest whereabouts have fans rooting for her all over again.
49 minutes ago
In November 2024, months before SM Entertainment‘s much-anticipated girl group Hearts2Hearts was unveiled to the world, Kim Yuni (or Kim Yun Yi)’s profile-esque photos were “leaked”—and K-Pop fans wondered if she would make it as part of the debuting lineup.
Once all eight members of Hearts2Hearts were revealed, with Kim Yuni nowhere to be seen, fans couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the adored trainee with vocal skills too good to go undiscovered.
Kim Yuni | @yuxxiyaa/InstagramFast forward to October 7, 2025 (KST), on the third episode of the SBS survival program Our Ballad, Kim Yuni was spotted performing Yoon Sang‘s “Shade of Parting” in hopes of advancing to the next round.
Introducing herself as a 22-year-old former idol trainee, Kim Yuni confirmed that she was once signed under SM Entertainment, working toward a K-Pop dream alongside aespa and Hearts2Hearts members.
Kim Yuni on “Our Ballad” | SBSI posted a video of myself singing a ballad song on YouTube, and SM Entertainment reached out to me after watching it. I ended up moving from Daejeon to Seoul to begin training as an idol during my second year of high school.
— Kim Yuni
Kim Yuni admitted that it was not the easiest thing to watch her fellow trainees debut and perform on the same stage she dreamt of standing on. She explained that she specifically chose the Yoon Sang song because it reminded her of the despair that she felt when she had to head back to Daejeon after she was eliminated from the final debuting lineup of Hearts2Hearts.
| SBSI trained for five years and overlapped with aespa and the members of Hearts2Hearts. I watched their debut stage from home—it felt strange and even a bit sad to see friends I’d spent every day with all dressed up on such a big stage.
I first heard it on the train back to Daejeon after packing up my things from the dorm, right after I ended my trainee life. The song really captured how I felt having to give up my idol dream. I hope this marks a new beginning for me.
— Kim Yuni
Kim Yuni managed to snag 100 out of 150 votes, earning a spot in the next round. One of the evaluators, Park Kyung Rim noted, “Her clean tone reminded me of SM Entertainment’s main vocal line,” proof that the years of training did pay off after all.
As the update on Kim Yuni’s whereabouts circulated online, K-Pop fans came together in support for the former trainee continuing to pursue her goal.
| theqoo- “She sings so well. I hope she keeps moving forward on this new path and finds great success… No, she definitely will.”
- “She looks like Wendy, and she’s a good singer, too. Very likable.”
- “Oh, I thought of Wendy too, looks like others felt the same.”
- “If she was the only one eliminated out of nine, that must’ve been so hard… she’s so pretty and still so young.”
- “Her voice has a Wendy-like quality to it, too. She sings beautifully.”
- “If she was let go because of her age, they should’ve done it earlier…”
- “Doesn’t Hearts2Hearts get almost no buzz? They don’t even feel like an SM Entertainment group. If there were nine members but only one got cut, that’s honestly heartbreaking.”
- “Ugh, this kind of thing makes me really sad, being let go that close to debut…”
- “If she was born in 2002 and the youngest was born in 2006, then yeah, it was probably because of age. But if that was the reason, they should’ve just let her go sooner.”
- “She totally has that Hearts2Hearts visual, though. Fascinating.”
Listen to Kim Yuni’s performance on Our Ballad here:
English (US) · 