India is a diverse nation encouraging cultures from round the world. The recent phenomenon of K-Pop and the South Korean music industry has taken over the teenagers of India especially owing to the craze of bands like BTS and Black Pink. However, an Indian girl moving to South Korea and becoming a part of a K-Pop band sounds like a dream, but isn’t one anymore.
Shreya Lenka, an an 18 year old girl has brought laurels to the state of Odisha and the country by becoming the first ever K-Pop artist from India. Shreya belongs to Jharsuguda, a district from the coastal state of Odisha and was selected by a K-Pop group after rigorous months of training following the exit of a band member. Along with Gabi, a Brazilian competitor turned friend turned family, both of them are the newest members of the band.
In an exclusive interview with Odishalinks, Shreya said, “The toughest part of my journey definitely was staying away from family in a distant country. However the people here are very kind and welcoming. I feel very comfortable here. “
Shreya has been a yoga enthusiast and has learnt it for four years and represented her school in Yoga competitions.
“I attribute my flexibility to Yoga and recommend it to everyone. It helps keep us healthy. I learnt Yoga from my Uncle and Aunt and practiced regularly and that has helped me a lot,” Shreya added.
She also mentioned, “The language and food here has indeed been a culture shock but there were a lot of similarities too.”
Shreya was selected in an online audition by the DR Entertainment group and made it past 4000 contestants from around the globe. She was then called to South Korea and went through rigorous training that included her learning Korean, Western Music, etc. After the training, Shreya along with her Brazilian counterpart Gabi were announced to be selected as band members.
“Gabi was like my family. We got very close and competing with her had become very tough. Since there was only one spot left, I was upset that one of us will get through but after the results were announced, we could not fathom that both of us made through. It was unbelievable,” Shreya mentioned.
The first K-Pop star is all set to break barriers and stereotypes, however the thing that bothers her is her grandfather could not live to see her achieve everything she is today.
The 18 year old concluded by saying, “Your colour, gender, national identity doesn’t matter if you work hard enough. Never give up on your dreams.”