In a rare and deeply personal appearance, the legendary South Korean singer Lee So Ra has opened up about the profound challenges she faced during her recent two-year hiatus.
On March 15, 2026, the celebrated vocalist appeared as a guest on musician Jung Jae Hyung’s YouTube channel, sharing an honest narrative that spanned from her historic television controversies to a grueling physical and mental health battle that nearly ended her career.
Her story is one of vulnerability, artistic pressure, and an eventual, albeit fragile, return to the music that has defined her life for decades.
A Candid Reflection on the “I Am a Singer” Controversy
One of the most significant portions of the interview focused on Lee So Ra’s time on the hit program I Am a Singer.
As the first show of its kind to have veteran vocalists compete against one another, it was fraught with high stakes.
Lee So Ra admitted that she never personally enjoyed having her singing scored and only joined the show out of respect for the producers who requested her participation.
She specifically addressed the long-standing controversy regarding her behavior as a host when fellow singer Kim Gun Mo was eliminated.
At the time, she was criticized for her visible distress and complaints, which many believe influenced the decision to give him a controversial second chance.
Looking back with over a decade of perspective, Lee So Ra admitted that she acted “immaturely” in that moment.
She clarified that she wasn’t particularly close to Kim Gun Mo but was a massive fan of his work. In the heat of the moment, she confessed to forgetting her professional role as the show’s host, seeing herself only as a fellow contestant who was devastated by a peer’s departure.
She noted that the incident served as a wake-up call, leading her to host the remainder of the series with a much more disciplined and professional approach.
The Darkest Two Years: Vocal Damage and Depression
Lee So Ra then moved to the emotional core of the interview: the reason behind her recent disappearance from the public eye.
She revealed that she suffered from severe vocal cord damage, an injury that is devastating for any singer but particularly so for a legendary vocalist known for her delicate and emotive delivery.
This physical ailment spiraled into deep depression. Lee So Ra described a period of extreme isolation where she stayed indoors for an entire year.
During this time, her weight rose to 100kg, and her blood pressure reached dangerously high levels.
The mental toll was so great that the woman who lived for music stopped listening to it altogether.
“I felt so lost that I stopped listening to music entirely,” she shared.
The turning point came through her friend Jung Jae Hyung, who sent her a soundtrack song for a new drama.
She described that track as a “ray of light,” a moment that reminded her that her identity was fundamentally tied to being a singer.
This simple gesture gave her the courage to step back into a recording studio and begin the slow process of vocal and personal recovery.
Memories of “Propose” and “Begin Again”
The interview also touched on other milestones in her career. She laughed about her time hosting the classic music talk show Lee So Ra’s Propose, admitting she felt unpolished and awkward at the time.
She also shared a poignant memory from the overseas singing show Begin Again, where she severely damaged her throat simply because she stayed out in the freezing night air for hours just to look at the moon.
This anecdote served as a reminder of her poetic, albeit sometimes self-sacrificial, nature.
As Lee So Ra begins to re-emerge, her fans are grateful not just for her voice, but for the resilience she has shown in the face of such overwhelming personal and professional adversity.
