Who is BJ Chomyi? Former K-pop idol Somyi from DIA turns into an adult broadcaster
While many new idols are making their official debut in the Korean music industry that is receiving a lot of global attention over the last few years, a former member of girl group DIA, Somyi, has turned to Korean Adult Broadcasting, also known as KBJ (Korean BJ), after becoming a Broadcasting Jockey (BJ) soon after she departed from the girl group that debuted in 2015.
Ahn Som-yi (known by her stage name Somyi) debuted as a member of the septet DIA under the label MBK Entertainment’s subsidiary label PocketDol Studio. The 22-year-old idol participated in the promotional activities of DIA as their lead dancer, vocalist, rapper, and maknae until the label announced that Somyi’s contract with the label had been terminated in 2022, five years after her debut.
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PocketDol Studio announces Somyi’s departure
On January 9, PocketDol Studio, the agency that manages DIA's promotional activities, informed that the exclusive contract between the label and member Somyi had officially been terminated after five years. According to PocketDol Studio, the reason for the termination of Somyi's exclusive contract was her health problems. Somyi had joined DIA in April 2017 with the studio album titled ‘YOLO’.
While the label PocketDol Studio did not give any other clarification about the status of her contract termination, there has been a lot of buzz in the Korean fandom that Somyi’s sudden transition into an adult broadcaster aka BJ could be the reason behind the sudden termination of her contract.
Who is BJ Chomyi?
DIA's Somyi was initially excluded from the group's official June 2020 comeback titled ‘Flower 4 Seasons’. Fans also noticed that Somyi had not been a part of the activities of the group for the past three years. Somyi was later seen as a BJ under the broadcasting name ‘Chomyi’ (BJ Chomyi) on the internet broadcasting platform ‘Panda TV’ in November 2021 surprising many fans.
KBJ stands for Korean Broadcasting Jockey or Korean BJ, which itself is a term synonymous with ‘Korean internet streamers’. These BJs stream to a live audience while performing a range of activities like talking to fans, mukbang (eating a large platter of food), or gaming, the originality of the term essentially means streamers who engage in sexual activities for their online viewers.
While the details of the nature of Somyi’s (Chomyi’s) broadcasts are unknown as these streams are only accessible to Korean residents, Knetz revealed that Somyi was seen broadcasting to fans dressed in skimpy clothes. Over the last few years, many Korean celebrities had turned into BJs due to the low payment issues in the K-pop industry.