Seo Eve (Kwon Min-seo/ The Korea Herald)

Eleven-year-old singer and content creator Seo Eve rapidly rose to stardom with her debut digital single “Malatanghulu” released in April which went viral on Instagram and TikTok.

Seo proved she had the talent to be a singer by writing the lyrics to her songs and choreographing her dance, belying her age.

“I wrote the lyrics based on my school life. ‘Malatanghulu’ is about asking someone I like to take me out on a hot pot date as hot pot is one of the most popular foods among students these days,” said Seo in an interview with The Korea Herald.

The storyline of the debut single continues in her second digital single “Kungkungdda” released on July 19.

“In my new single, I ask someone I like to play the ‘kungkungdda’ game with me. The word ‘kungkung’ is similar to how we describe our heart going pit-a-pat in Korean so I used that word on purpose,” explained Seo. “I also came up with the choreography for the song in just 30 seconds. I tried to match the choreography to the lyrics.”

Yunho of the popular K-pop boy group Ateez featured in the music video of Seo’s latest single.

“I thought he would be perfect to play the role of a popular student in school so my agency contacted him for this collaboration. I was so grateful for his help,” said Seo.

“It felt unreal working with Yunho because I used to see him performing on Instagram and TikTok. I was really surprised by how handsome he is in person,” Seo said excitedly, like any girl her age.

Seo has also worked with the popular comedian Tanaka for the performance of her new single on SBS’ music show “The Show.”

“He was returning to Korea from Japan on the day of the performance so I thought it would be difficult for him to take part in the performance. But thankfully, Tanaka offered his help by coming to the show as soon as he landed in Korea,” said Seo.

The young artist says she realized her popularity seeing thousands of short-form content made with her single “Malatanghulu.”

“To be honest, I did not expect my song to be that popular. I was thankful for all the people uploading clips of dancing to my song on social media. These days, my teachers and schoolmates ask for my autograph. I’ve always wanted to be popular. I wanted to dance and sing in front of many people. I am so happy that I am living my dream,” said Seo.

Seo has been approached by a number of K-pop agencies to train with them to debut as a member of a K-pop group.

But Seo wishes to stay solo.

“I like the freedom that I have now as a solo artist. I hope to continue making my own music that I can enjoy,” said Seo.

Seo hopes to take her stage overseas to countries like China, Taiwan and Japan.

“I’ve heard that my singles also went viral in Taiwan and Japan. I hope to continue making my name known in many countries so I am also studying diverse languages these days.”