“Girls Planet 999” Kim Dayeon’s Is Different In Real Life, Reveals Her High School Classmate

Kim Dayeon has been gaining attention for her talent and personality, but her classmate says there’s something completely different about her IRL…

The fastest-rising contestant on Girls Planet 999 right now, K-Group’s Kim Dayeon unexpectedly shot up eight spots in the ranking two weeks ago, suddenly making it to no.2 in the Top 9. Alongside her talents, Kim Dayeon is also attracting attention because of her strong personality as a team leader. However, in a recent video interview, one of Kim Dayeon’s high school classmates revealed there’s something quite different about her in real life.

When 18-year-old Kim Dayeon isn’t showing her skills on stage or training under Jellyfish Entertainment, she’s a student at School of Performing Arts Seoul—one of the most famous arts high schools in South Korea. Some of the students in the Class of 2022 alongside her include Cherry Bullet‘s Remi and fromis_19‘s Jiheon.

Kim Dayeon in SOPA uniform

The school has also played host to numerous world-famous stars in the past, including members of BTS, Red Velvet, EXO, LOONA, TREASURE, and more. Of course, there are also many students at the school, which is colloquially known as SOPA, who aren’t famous at all. One of them appeared in a recent interview with AYO on YouTube this week.

Kim Ye Kang, SOPA student | AYO 에이요/YouTube

18-year-old Kim Ye Kang is a senior at SOPA, which means she’s one of Girls Planet 999 contestant Kim Dayeon’s classmates. And, after watching Dayeon become a team leader on the show, Kim Ye Kang noticed her personality is a little different on television from how it is in real life.

| Mnet

When the Combination Mission rolled around on Girls Planet 999, Kim Dayeon was named the leader of Cherry Swirl—the team that performed a dance-focused cover of BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez‘s “Ice Cream.” Following the performance, judge Sunmi stated that Dayeon’s leadership really shined through on stage.

In the following Creation Mission, Dayeon became the leader once again. Initially, since there were five C-Group contestants on the seven-person Medusa team, Dayeon suggested that Cai Bing may be a better leader. However, Cai Bing later graciously gave up her position when it was decided that Dayeon would be the best choice for the task.

Kim Dayeon and Cai Bing | Mnet

Over the course of the two challenges, Dayeon showed strong leadership qualities and was much appreciated by her fellow teammates as she took charge. However, SOPA classmate Kim Ye Kang says she was surprised to see Dayeon’s leadership personality on screen because she’s completely different in school.

| AYO 에이요/YouTube

She’s not the Dayeon I know…

— Kim Ye Kang, SOPA student

Shockingly, Kim Ye Kang revealed that at school, the other kids “always make fun” of Dayeon. As such, Kim Ye Kang says, “I was like, ‘what?’,” when she saw Dayeon as a leader, likely because she didn’t expect her to receive so much respect from her teammates.

| Mnet

Kim Ye Kang went on to say that it’s “amazing” to see her close friend Dayeon on television, though it does make Kim sad to see her “crying in the show.” Dayeon began crying when she was saved from elimination in the last round.

| AYO 에이요/YouTube

Despite all the competition, the fellow SOPA student says, “I think it’s really cool that they live fiercely pursuing their dream.”

Source: AYO 에이요

Girls Planet 999