9294* Saga: Return of the Hur Sisters

Re-Hur-n?

Man, I’d been missing Youngji’s sister Song-yeon, as the Hur Sisters YouTube Channel seemed to be supplanted by Youngji’s own solo channel – which itself ceased updating after that fateful, never-subtitled video with Hyojung and Seulgi, from October 2024. That’s crazy. If I had a YouTube channel, I’d never stop uploading content. NEVER! That video was back when I was desperate for any ‘94 Line content. How things have changed. Anyway, it turns out that Hur Song-yeon was probably just busy, having gotten married in late 2025. It was apparently a star-studded ceremony, though I only saw it through Youngji’s eyes – Jiyoung was there, say. And despite sharing a name with one of the Kara members, Song-yeon is not an idol, but a TV announcer and MC. Ironically, I encountered her again via Oh My Girl, for her appearance with Youngji on Hyojung & Binnie’s Sweet Home. Very funny. And now she’s back, with the most recent upload being a surprisingly melancholy hangout in what I assume is their old apartment? Like, maybe Song-yeon is moving in with her husband, so they’re sending it off? Again, no subtitles.

But it does appear that Song-yeon’s ringtone, at least for their dad, is Youngji’s “L.O.V.E.”

To pick up where we left off last time, on Mijoo’s channel, the dangerous glamping trip did not, in fact, end the friendship between our Lovelyz and Kara alumni – so we think. Curious, isn’t it, who’s absent at the latest 9294* gathering? Coming up! Anyway, Mijoo stops off at a grocery store to pick up some provisions, waking Youngji from precious half-sleep. They’re still on this jag about not showing anger, lest they incur penalties. So, naturally, they keep needling each other at the slightest hint of frustration. “Try driving long distance,” Mijoo says through her teeth.

Troll Youngji at it again

The video editors also remind us that Youngji’s prediction about this big Mijoo adventure involved a hotel room. Camping is too much work, and it’s also winter. But the digs turn out to be more accommodating than expected, looking like one of those weird Amazon houses they airdrop into the woods. I stayed in one of those for a wedding in Maine, and it was pretty eerie. I just love whenever Mijoo and Youngji both start shrieking in their play-acting anguish. So dramatic.

Since Mijoo loses rock paper scissors, she’s assigned grilling duty. This is something nobody wants to do, until they see it being done poorly, but Mijoo’s pretty good. Meanwhile, Youngji entertains the staff by going through the text message history of their friendship, back to the awkward days of 2020. “Happy New Year to you, too, Mijoo!” That’s cute. Mijoo plays it cool, saying that there wasn’t anything about Youngji she found especially appealing, it’s just that there weren’t a lot of ’94 liners back then. That’s news to me, man, because every Korean celebrity was born in 1994, and that’s only reinforced by 9294*. They finish off by taking turns giving talking-head interviews, with the other in earshot, in bed.

Finally, we have a 9294* edition of Hi Seulgi, with everyone gathered except for Mijoo. And maybe that’s for the best, since this is gonna be glamping round two for Youngji. But at least she has Hyojung, which is another really dynamic pair. This time, though, like with their Christmas video, I was especially attuned to Youngji and Moonbyul, because it’s the only link (aside from Moonbyul and Mijoo) that originated with 9294*, or thereabout. Granted, I have to remember that 9294* has been around longer than these videos chronicling it, which have only been a relatively recent phenomenon.

The video starts with Slowgi taking too long to do her sponsorship opening, with Youngji eventually crying out from off-camera. I mean, she’s only saying what we’re all thinking. “Oh, Kang Seul-gi-ah! I think I’m gonna take a nap!” And then, when Seulgi’s done and goes to fetch them, it’s “What? You’re done already? Seulgi, that was too fast.”

This sort of activity is right up the alley of Hyojung (who seemed to enjoy that hike she took with Seulgi and Youngji) and Moonbyul. But then they play a game that I had a hard time following. They go into a tent one by one and choose a card signifying a camping ingredient — like meat, cooking tools, ramen — and if two choose the same card, they don’t receive that ingredient? I’m not sure why Youngji takes the card with her, and why she gets razzed so much for having chosen “safety kit.” When it’s Hyojung’s turn, she says, “I’m smarter than I look, you know? I’m the leader of Oh My Girl.” I love her energy so much.

Because Youngji messed up, or picked the item with tongs — all in the name of variety show entertainment — she promises to grill the meat. Before then, they play a game where they have to guess song titles based on lyrics, but with completely different, possibly AI-generated music. I have to say that this instance of 9294* is a bittersweet experience, because if I haven’t made it clear before, I fucking hate AI. I’m like Will Smith in I, Robot. But I knew that Korean people would be all about it, given their general cultural attitude toward things like copyright, big tech, and MBTI — in other words, reading way too much into too few words. Anyway, Hyojung’s really good at these music games.

Side note: when prompted by staff to give Mijoo a shout-out, they flatly refuse. “We don’t really need to mention her,” Youngji says. I can imagine Mijoo’s face as she’s watching that.

Hyojung is also really good at grilling, jumping in once Youngji starts shrieking and leaping around the fire. “As expected from the leader of Oh My Girl!” I like that that becomes a runner.

Anyway, they sit down for their half-burnt meat and raise a toast to the year that was. Hyojung says that she wants the five of them to perform on stage together, which Youngji immediately ups to a tour. “This is getting big,” Seulgi says in between bites. Of course, they’d have to sort this out with their agencies, but the more pressing issue is positions. Who would be the visual? Mijoo already called it, but since she’s not here, Seulgi suggests asking ChatGPT. Oh, Seulgi, please. Moonbyul pulls it up, and shockingly, the AI selects Seulgi to be the visual center. Wow! You know, the most famous one of the five, who’s on all those “hottest idols” lists. ChatGPT also comes up with a group name: Prism, which is actually not too bad. The alternative is Muse5. “What is this, Maroon 5?!” Youngji then shouts.

The next game is one of those guessing games, which they do pretty poorly at. They’re a few beers deep. In fact, Seulgi does that thing where she laughs so hard she cries. And make no mistake, I don’t mean she laughs so hard that tears come out. It looks like she’s sad. This is a storied Seulgi thing, glimpsed at least twice on Level Up Project years and years ago. It was quite nostalgic to see it again. I’d almost forgotten how much of a goober she is. She even manages to squeeze a joke out of it while cry-laughing. That’s really hard.

It’s incredible

I feel kind of bad, because there’s a lot going on in K-YouTube land, with Apink continuing their “Love Me More” coverage, and Yura reuniting with her old We Got Married partner. But none of those people were born in the year 1994.