Baekga reveals "artist syndrome" led to CoCoCoY departure plans, "financial treatment" cured it

Singer Baekga, a member of the popular K-pop group CoCoCoY, has shared a surprising anecdote about a time he nearly quit the group. During a recent appearance on the MBC show "Sora and Jin-kyung," Baekga confessed to experiencing what he termed "artist syndrome."

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I actually worked as a model for about 2 years before CoCoCoY. I did fashion magazine pictorials and walked the Seoul Collection runway. I was lucky.

Before joining CoCoCoY, Baekga had a successful two-year career as a model, participating in fashion magazine shoots and walking runways. His major was photography, and he initially intended to continue pursuing his artistic endeavors. He explained that while working on his photography, he began to feel a strong sense of artistic identity, believing himself to be a true "artist."

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Aren't celebrities usually afflicted with 'celebrity syndrome'? I had 'artist syndrome.'

This artistic self-perception created a significant disconnect with the reality of performing energetic dance music with CoCoCoY. Baekga described feeling immense distress due to this "gap" between his artistic ideals and his role in the group. The situation intensified when he visited Paris, where he felt inspired to live and immerse himself in the local culture, listening exclusively to jazz and bossa nova while drinking espresso.

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But the reality was performing dance music on stage, so the gap was huge and I was suffering. I told the members, 'I can't do CoCoCoY anymore,' and declared my departure.

He formally announced his intention to leave CoCoCoY, having decided to pursue photography in Paris and even obtaining an artist's visa. However, his bandmates intervened. Shinji proposed a revised profit-sharing agreement, offering Baekga a larger cut (40% compared to the previous distribution). Faced with this unexpected financial incentive, Baekga ultimately abandoned his plans to move to Paris and remained with the group.

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When I said I was quitting, the members offered to pay me more. Shinji suggested dividing the profits 40-30-30. I couldn't refuse money I wasn't originally going to get. So, I didn't go to Paris in the end.