Hey everyone and welcome to the November edition of Back to Basics. As a small reminder, this column serves as a refresher for everyone as it takes us through Girls’ Generation’s earlier days. In the month of November over the years, Girls’ Generation went through different spectrums of their music career: the daunting and exciting promise of tomorrow and the established status as Korea’s national girl group. It’s interesting to see how quickly the girls rose to fame, but looking back at their success now, no person can truly declare that any of it was out of pure luck. It was nothing but the product of their long hours, tried patience, tears, and sacrifices.
2007: Although we may miss each other, I will do as you told me and work as hard as I can without any regret. –Seohyun
Their first full album, self-titled “Girls’ Generation – The First Album”, was released in November of 2007, with “Girls’ Generation”, a remake of Lee Seungchul’s original song, as the lead single. With skepticism still swirling around the acceptance and popularity of a questionable nine-membered girl group, the girls, determined and driven, took their first steps into putting all traces of doubts to rest.
2008: Rather than saying it’s always been my dream, you could say I am living out my dream now. -Sooyoung
November 2008 marked Girls’ Generation’s eight-month absence since their last release of their repackage album, “Baby Baby”. Despite the long hiatus, the girls were kept busy with group performances, appearances in television shows, and individual activities, such as Taeyeon’s position as a DJ and Yoona’s role in the drama, “You Are My Destiny”. The members were eager to return and urged fans to patiently wait for their long awaited comeback.
2009: The friends I made when I was younger are still my friends now. My thoughts have also not changed much from when I was younger, because I am still my original self. -Yoona
Tickets for Girls’ Generation’s first solo concert, “1st Asia Tour: Into The New World”, sold out in just three minutes after they went on sale on November 19th. The tour visited Seoul for two shows in December 2009 and two encore concerts in February 2010, followed by concerts in Shanghai and Taipei in April and October of 2010, respectively.
2010: Whenever we hear that a fan is concerned for us, we are consoled and strengthened. -Tiffany
On November 17th, SM Entertainment released a statement that Tiffany received a left knee injury while performing “Hoot” just a few days before. She was diagnosed with a posterior cruciate ligament injury and had to remain in a cast for around four weeks. Girls’ Generation had to continue their “Hoot” promotions as eight members. Both the fans and the members felt her absence, and it left an irreplaceable void on their performance stage. After the girls won awards, they would give Tiffany messages over broadcast by wishing for her speedy recovery, hoping that she would be able to join them soon.
2011: I hope what they’re doing is something they truly enjoy. That’s the only way to prevent regrets from happening. -Jessica
“Star Life Theater”, a documentary program that broadcasts through KBS 2TV, featured Girls’ Generation in a total of four episodes from November 21st to November 24th. The show took a closer look into the members’ daily schedules and routines. Fans got to see behind-the-scenes footages and the girls’ moving accounts of both the benefits and the unfortunate downsides of being idols.
Pieces and Fragments of November
2007
• Yuri and Sooyoung made their first guest appearances on “Unstoppable Marriage”, a daily sitcom broadcast through KBS2, on November 5th and made recurring appearances until May 30th.
2008
• Sooyoung and Yoona were accepted into JoongAng University and Dongguk University, respectively.
• Sooyoung stars as Jung Dajung alongside fellow SM Entertainment artists Lee Yeonhee and Super Junior’s Kangin, and actor Yoo Jitae in “Hello, Schoolgirl”, a romantic comedy adapted from the popular webcomic by Kang Full.
• During a live broadcast of “ChinChin Radio” on November 27th, Kangin suggested that Taeyeon sing live for the listeners. Taeyeon refused in the beginning, but with Kangin’s persistence, she relented and sang a cover of Lee Eunmi’s “I Have A Lover”. Even though it was in the spur of the moment with no preparations, Taeyeon was still able to deliver a powerful performance, awing both listeners and critics alike. To this day, it remains as one of the fan favorites of Taeyeon’s live performances.
2009
• Jessica made her musical debut as Elle Woods in the South Korean production of “Legally Blonde”.
• Yang Hyunjung, who played for the Kia Tigers baseball team, credited Taeyeon for his team’s successful season. Hyunjung received an autograph and message from Taeyeon through a sports reporter, and he said that her message gave him and his team strength.
• Yuri and Seohyun passed their college entrance exams for the 2010 admittance to Dongguk University.
• Together with actor Kim Inkwon, Yoona presented an award at the “26th DaeJong Film Festival” on November 6th.
• The last episode of “Hello Baby” with Girls’ Generation was aired on November 17th.
• Jessica apologized to Taeyeon on SBS’s “Strong Heart”. She revealed that she and Taeyeon are the members who have to sing loud, even if their throats are in bad shape. In those moments, she would sometimes not sing.
• On SBS’s “Strong Heart”, Actor Seo Jiseok confessed that he has a two-year crush, which started during his military service, on Jessica.
• Girls’ Generation members donated their thermal socks to “Kyungkido’s Public Infinite Help Charity Auction”.
• On November 29th, the girls performed at the “UNICEF Love Concert” at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul as part of a fundraising bazaar. They also donated items such as autographed albums.
2010
• On November 19th, Girls’ Generation’s Japanese version of “Gee” was certified “GOLD” by the Recording Industry Association of Japan after selling 100,000 albums in Japan.
• On the November 11th broadcast of KBS’s “Happy Together”, the girls revealed the sleeping habits of each member, including Sooyoung’s “Mind your own business” comment to Seohyun when she was trying to wake Sooyoung up.
• On SBS TV’s “Midnight TV Entertainment”, the members revealed that they cried when they were first given their group name, Girls’ Generation. They confessed that they expected a cool English name instead of a more “rustic” one.
• A Girls’ Generation Christmas advertisement was first displayed on the front of Japan’s iconic department store, SHIBUYA109, on November 30th.
• On SBS’s “Strong Heart”, Yuri revealed that since Girls’ Generation’s legs are a source of great interest to Japan, the members have started using makeup to keep their legs pretty by concealing their cuts and bruises.
2011
• On November 11th, Gaon released their album charts for the month of October. In just two weeks after its release, “The Boys” album surpassed 200,000 copies sold, a first for a female group artist.
• Sooyoung was cast as the female lead for the drama “Speed”. However, she decided to decline the role in February.
• On SBS’s “Strong Heart”, Jessica revealed a frightening incident with a stalker outside of the dormitory apartment where she and the members stayed. He followed Jessica into the building, and right after she ran into her room, the stalker tried opening the door.
• Girls’ Generation was featured and mentioned in American news articles, such as MTV and the Huffington Post, and news stations around the world.
• On November 7th, Tiffany made her musical debut with “Fame”, playing as the lead female character, Carmen Diaz.
• The first episode of KBS 2TV’s “Invincible Youth 2” aired on November 12th. Sunny and Hyoyeon were part of the cast as two of the G8 members.
• Girls’ Generation had a delivery from a Goobne Chicken restaurant delivered faster to them by singing the brand’s commercial song for them through the phone.
• Tiffany appeared on the homepage of a popular American brand, Lauren Moshi.
• On the November 9th broadcast of MBC’s “Golden Fishery – Radio Star”, MC Kim Gookjin referred to Girls’ Generation fans as “So-Duks” and explained that it meant “So Nyuh Shi Dae Dukhoos”. The term “Dukhoo” comes from the Japanese word, “Otaku”, which is often used to refer to someone who is crazily obsessed with a person. Immediately afterwards, Taeyeon stood up for SONEs by pointing out that it wasn’t a nice term.
• Jessica revealed her not so artistic skills by drawing a portrait of Sunny on SBS’s “Star King”. Her hilarious drawing caused quite a commotion among fans and media outlets.
• On November 13th, Girls’ Generation surpassed the previous record held by fellow labelmate TVXQ on “Inkigayo” with a total of 20 “Mutizen Awards”.
• Four member vocal group Noel showed that they were fans of Girls’ Generation by posing in a move from “The Boys” and posting the pictures through their Twitter account.
• Jessica, Tiffany, and Sooyoung appeared in a short interview on the popular American entertainment news program, “Access Hollywood”.
• At a Woongjin Coway concert on November 17th, Girls’ Generation had memorable performances in which the static electricity caused some of the members’ hair to stick out.
• Girls’ Generation finished their promotion of “The Boys” on SBS’s “Inkigayo” on November 20th.
• Girls’ Generation launched their first official U.S. website on November 23rd.
• Around 50 Singapore fans donated blood under the name of Girls’ Generation on November 26th.
• On November 28th, Taeyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun appeared in their last Goobne Chicken CF before their contract expired with the company.
• Girls’ Generation released their first official Japanese photobook on November 30th.
Shows of the month:
MTV SNSD EP 9 TaeYeon Part 1 [11.01.07]
MTV SNSD EP 9 TaeYeon Part 2 [11.01.07]
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[SoShi Subs] Factory Girl – SNSD EP 5 [11.05.08]
[SoShi Subs] Taeyeon’s Chinchin Radio – I Have a Lover cut [11.27.08]
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KBS2 Invincible Youth EP 05 – Sunny & Yuri [11.20.09]
Short Batch of Clips for [11.10-12.04]
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[SoShi Subs] KBS2 Happy Together S3 EP172 – SNSD [11.11.10]
[SoShi Subs] KBS2 Night Star EP 27 – SNSD [11.28.10]
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[SoShi Subs][2011.11.12] KBS2 Invincible Youth S2 EP 01 – Sunny & Hyoyeon
[SoShi Subs][2011.11.21] KBS2 Star Life Theater EP 09 – SNSD
Awards Achieved:
SBS’s “Inkigayo” – “Mutizen Award” for “Girls’ Generation” on November 25, 2007. This was the first “Mutizen Award” for the girls.
“Korean Drama Festival 2008” – “Netizen Popularity Award” for “You Are My Destiny” on November 1, 2007 (Yoona)
“15th Annual Korean Entertainment Awards” – “Best Female Group” on November 12, 2008
“17th Korean Cultural Entertainment Awards” – “Teen Musical Artist Award” on November 30, 2009
KBS’s “Music Bank” – First win for “Hoot” on November 5, 2010
SBS’s “Inkigayo” – First “Mutizen Award” for “Hoot” on November 7, 2010
KBS’s “Music Bank” – Second win for “Hoot” on November 12, 2010
KBS’s “Music Bank” – Third win for “Hoot” on November 19, 2010
“52nd Japan Record Awards” – “New Artist Award” on November 20, 2010
SBS’s “Inkigayo” – Second “Mutizen Award” for “Hoot” on November 21, 2010
“Korea’s Federation of Advertising Association” – “Best Advertising Models Award” (“CF Queens”) on November 24, 2010
KBS’s “Music Bank” – Fourth win for “Hoot” on November 26, 2010
SBS’s “Inkigayo” – Third “Mutizen Award” for “Hoot” on November 28, 2010
Mnet’s “M! Countdown” – Second win with “The Boys” on November 3, 2011
“2011 Mnet Style Icon Awards” – “Bonsang Award” on November 3, 2011
KBS’s “Music Bank” – Second win with “The Boys” on November 4, 2011
SBS’s “Inkigayo” – Second “Mutizen Award” for “The Boys” on November 6, 2011
Mnet’s “M! Countdown” – Third win with “The Boys” on November 10, 2011
KBS’s “Music Bank” – Third win with “The Boys” on November 11, 2011
SBS’s “Inkigayo” – Third “Mutizen Award” for “The Boys” on November 13, 2011
KBS’s “Music Bank” – Fourth win with “The Boys” on November 18, 2011
“2011 Korean Popular Culture & Art Awards” – “Prime Minister Award” on November 21, 2011
“2011 Melon Music Awards” – “Global Artist Award” on November 24, 2011
KBS’s “Music Bank” – Fifth win with “The Boys” on November 25, 2011
“2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards” – “Best Female Group” and “Artist of the Year” on November 29, 2011
Bye bye!
Written by: taengsoshi@soshified
Edited by: MoonSoshi9@soshified
Photos by: SM Entertainment, bitai_chan
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thank you for the article! :) SNSDjjang and SONEsjjang! <3
I am so proud to be a sone .
proud to be a sone xD
I love these articles because I learn so much about Girls Generation.
I’ve been a SONE for only a year ( Hey, what a coincidence I became a SONE November of last year :D)
thank you for posting these kind of articles.
I’m glad i found my way into this fandom.
SNSD the best <3
I always like reading these.
They remind me of all the things that the girls have accomplished and also teach me new things which is always a bonus.
Even though I think I did a lot of catching up when I became a SONE, I always find that there is more to learn and more to appreciate!
Thanks for showing me!
Our 9 angels climbed a long flight of stairs to reach where they are right now :) and are still climbing!
They deserve it for all of their achievements.
So proud to be a SONE :D
Ya,no udapate??
i’m proud to be sone!!their hardwork pay at last!!
I already miss Invincible Youth… Wow, look at all those awards! Daebak! Bet they’ll get more with their next Korean comeback! GG hwaiting~~~
Whats so bad about the term “So Nyuh Shi Dae Dukhoos” ..It is true after all. :P I’ll admit it!
Why isn’t there a portion for this November? It’s close enough to being over that it can be included too right???? I have noticed that all of these B2B’s don’t include the current year’s month. That makes me sad. Can we start including it, please?! It may not be a “back to basic” past event thing, but it’s part of the months and would be nice to include at the end. I think so anyways…
I love how they sang Goobne Chicken over the phone to them for faster delivery. That’s just so them. :D
Daebak!! <3
we are sone!<3
hope to come where have sone!
and hope smtown concert and they open any concert is pink ocean more!<3
who agree?pls comment here thx for sone^^
Tiffany so pitful/.\
SNSD is my life:)
snsd+sone=one
snsd make me so touch/.\
this all mean is wat who can use simple mean to explanation for me??
I’ve always wanted to try donating blood, wow if i can do it under girls generation name it would be killing two birds with one stone. Hope they have that event in singapore again!
agree!i also hope
tiffany so nice!
singapore!put it back on<3
i don’t know if i’ll be commenting on every one
of these…there are a few article types that i
most certainly read, but do not necessarily comment
on every time i read them…but that doesn’t mean
my appreciation for the article is any less than when
i do comment….i love these nostalgic articles…
just as we are glad to see that the girls don’t forget
where they come from…neither should we :-)
SSF Jjang~! Thank you.
Whoo~ This is a very nice column. Became SONE not long ago so this kind of w/up help a lot to all newbies. Being a trainee for years isn’t a joke and pure luck. Wherever they are right now is the fruit of their labour. Girls Generation deserve a pedestal in my heart. The girls remind me to work on my dreams too. :)
850M views is what I can call pure luck. Please don’t hate me. :)
wow i really enjoyed reading this… I became a SONE recently and this article gave me alot of information on SNSD i didn’t know before.. thank you so much!! :) SNSD FIGHTING!!! <333
Haha..The last pic very funny :) Our angels came throgh a lot of difficulties that come out amous till this day… As a sone, I feel very pround of them.. :) Keep working hard and remember to rest, Girls’ Generation!! :)
Always Smile~
Really love these Back to Basics columns :D! Even though I only became a SONE in early 2011, it’s still really fun reading the events and performances the girls took part in back in the days, especially because it’s what I knew of them when I first found out about Kpop :).
This forum bring back memories. Soshi surely got popular not with just luck but with sacrifice, sweat, tear and hardwork
thank you SSF again for bringing us B2B, i love reading and catching up on what i’ve missed out on before 2011. i can remember the things that happen in 2011 because that’s when i became a Sone, i feel darn good too. better late than never. i wish to see Soshi’s trophy room. SNSD deserve every success big or small because of their tremendous hard work and their belief. God bless! :)
Girls Generation are unstoppable! :) My 9 angels have been through so much and they’ve come so far. I’m so proud to be a SONE. <3