From left, Chowon, Yujeong, Nayoung, Hina, Sangah and Juhyeon of K-pop girl group LIGHTSUM pose during a recent interview with The Korea Times at a studio in Gangnam District, Seoul. Korea Times photo by Yun Da-been

It's been three years since K-pop girl group LIGHTSUM — consisting of Sangah, Chowon, Nayoung, Hina, Juhyeon and Yujeong — debuted with the single "Vanilla" in 2021. After years of exploring their musical identity, the six-piece group has finally found its anthem of self-expression and confidence with the digital single "POSE!"

"The main concept we focused on for this song was to show ourselves as we truly are," member Juhyeon told The Korea Times in an interview at a studio in Gangnam District, Seoul.

"So we put a lot of effort into trying to be as relaxed as possible in front of the camera and show our comfortable, natural selves."

The new track "POSE!," released on Aug. 7, is a Miami bass song with a catchy and fast-beat rhythm just in time for summer.

"When I first heard the song, it immediately clicked with me. It's easy to listen to, but at the same time, also lively. I thought it had a cool vibe that fits well with summer," Hina said, describing the song.

The track cleverly uses the metaphor of a camera for its lyrics, encouraging listeners to "strike a pose" in front of life's lenses, radiating self-assured energy.

"Just like the title, the choreography is packed with various poses, making it fun and engaging to watch," Hina added.

During the 10-month break after their second mini-album, "Honey or Spice," released last October, LIGHTSUM members focused on personal growth and artistic self-discovery.

"Since we had quite a long hiatus, all members worked hard not to lose our edge by practicing every day … We spent a lot of time getting to know ourselves better to be comfortable in sharing our true selves. And personally, I studied and practiced gestures," Chowon said.

"With previous albums, I thought more about how to look cool on stage or what image I should present. But this time, I focused a lot on what it means to be myself and to perform naturally on stage. So during photoshoots or practices, I tried to let things go and loosen up."

While focusing on showing individual characters for the song, Sangah noted that they tried to add a touch of uniformity when bringing together the members' different colors, contributing ideas for the group's custom designs.

"We wanted to show each member's individual charm while still presenting a unified image (as a group) on stage," she said.

"During the fitting process for our customs, we had moments of concerns that we've experienced with our previous album. So, we continuously provided feedback and suggestions to create the picture we wanted."

A concept photo of K-pop girl group LIGHTSUM's new single “POSE!” / Courtesy of CUBE Entertainment

The group celebrated its third anniversary in June. Taking pride in its live performance skills, LIGHTSUM is eager to connect more with fans.

"It's been three years, but we debuted during the pandemic and had long hiatuses in between, so we haven't had many chances to meet our overseas fans or even our domestic fans in person," Sangah said.

"Since all of us are ambitious, we have a strong desire for stage performances. So, I think our biggest goal for LIGHTSUM is to continue our act to showcase our performances."

Yujeong shared specific goals, showing hopes to promote the group's work to a wider audience.

"I've always hoped that more people will recognize our songs. We still have many unachieved goals, like winning first place on music shows. We also haven't had many opportunities to perform at music award ceremonies or to go on overseas tours or performances. I wish there could be more opportunities to make ourselves familiar to more audience," she said.

When asked to recommend a song that best represents the group to people unfamiliar with them, Nayoung mentioned "i" from the group's first mini-album, "Into The Light" (2022).

"Our members really like the song 'i.' When you hear the album's title track ('ALIVE'), it captures a very young and energetic side of us, but when we practiced choreography for 'i,' it really showed a different side of us," she said.

"Personally, I and the other members love it, and many people around me also really like 'i.' So if someone is listening to LIGHTSUM's songs for the first time, I think 'i' would be a great choice."