'I didn't have the courage': Song Ji-a returns to YouTube 5 months after fake designer items scandal
Song Ji-a, aka Freezia, has returned to YouTube with a new video.
PHOTO: Instagram/Song Ji-a
PUBLISHED ONJune 28, 2022 4:37 AMBYKhoo Yi-HangThis return might be more authentic than some of the outfits she wore on Netflix's Single's Inferno.
In a vlog uploaded to her YouTube account yesterday (June 27), South Korean influencer Song Ji-a, aka Freezia, quietly indicated her return to the limelight by explaining her silence and sharing what she's done during her leave of absence.
Affectionately referring to her fans as "Pringies", the 25-year-old said in her nearly 10-minute video that she missed her fans "so much" and also read their direct messages to her every night.
"I wanted to go back into the Kakao chat room with you guys," the scandal-struck star said. "But I couldn't because I didn't have the courage."
Ji-a's climb to stardom began when she starred in Netflix's Single's Inferno, a South Korean reality dating show released in December last year, quickly becoming a hit with fans.
However, her dizzying fall was just as quick once she was revealed in January to have used multiple bootleg products — ranging from tube tops to earrings — in the show and on social media, earning the ire of netizens.
As the scandal grew, Ji-a posted a handwritten apology on her Instagram page followed by an apology video on her YouTube, explaining that she had only bought them because "they were pretty".
The South Korean star also deleted all her YouTube videos and social media posts and stayed away from the limelight.
Ji-a returned to Instagram at the start of this month, thanking her fans for their "concern and support" and sharing that she was "in good health".
Her new YouTube video provides further insight into what she's been up to during her hiatus: moving and oil painting.
She said: "I spent a lot of time with my family in Busan, and I moved!"
Ji-a added that she learned the things she wanted to pick up. Delving further into her new hobby, she shared that she was taking classes for oil painting and then recorded herself purchasing art materials.
She also explained that during her absence, she contracted Covid-19.
"My throat wouldn't heal — I felt like there were daggers in them," Ji-a said, laughingly adding that she used many different remedies to deal with her symptoms.
As she closed up her video, she admitted that she didn't know if her "daily life" was good enough content to watch — however, she added: "It was good to see Pringies again."
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