Breakup of Girl Group Jewelry Confirmed

Jewelry has announced that it is breaking up after 14 years. The breakup of the group was confirmed by multiple sources on January 8, who cited expiration of members’ contracts as the primary cause.

Of the group’s most recent four members (Kim Eunjung, Ha Jooyeon, Park Saemi, Kim Yewon), Eunjung was first to leave in March of last year order to pursue a career in acting. Jooyeon then left in November following the expiration of her contract and, most recently, Saemi decided not to re-sign her contract with the group’s label, Star Empire Entertainment, effectively ending any possibility that the group could be revived. After some deliberation, the Star Empire has decided not to maintain Jewelry as a group going forward.

According to one source, “The decision to let Jewelry break up couldn’t have been easy for Star Empire. But the decision to let the group and its members go makes the most sense considering the diverging paths of the label and the group’s individual members. It was a very respectful parting of ways.”

Jewelry first debuted in 2001 with their first album, “Discovery.” At the time, it consisted of members Junga, Jihyun, Yoojin, and Eunmi. Its second album, “Again,” which featured hits “I Really Like You” and “Super Star,” took the group to new levels of popularity.

After the departure of members Jihyun and Mina, Jooyeon and Eunjung joined the group in 2007 and, in 2008, the group released the smash-hit “One More Time,” which won them a “Golden Disk Award” that year. By 2011, however, the group had to replace two more departing members, Junga and Inyoung, and found itself unable to maintain its previous levels of popularity. After releasing the single “Hot & Cold” last year, the group’s members began to focus on their own solo projects.

There seem to be no hard feelings about the break-up, however, as some of the group’s former and current members recently got together to commemorate their time together with Jewelry” This photo of their meeting together was uploaded to Inyoung’s instagram, and shows previous members Inyoung and Junga along with the group’s most recent members Saemi, Jooyeon, Eunjung, and Yewon.

The girls’ bright smiles and lively poses suggest that it was a happy event and that, despite all the turmoil that the group has been through, they will all remain good friends.