Rise of Rescene: How driving lessons and a meme turned an unknown K-pop group into South Korea's new darlings

Five million views in five days for their latest video. A song that’s currently in the top five of music charts. Being appointed ambassadors for an entire city. These are just some of the things that K-pop girl group Rescene has achieved in the past three weeks alone.

Normally, such statistics are the norm for A-list K-pop stars. But that’s the thing – a year ago, the general public in South Korea did not know Rescene. After all, they weren’t from a Big 4 agency (SM Entertainment, JYP Entertainment, YG Entertainment and Hybe) and their songs, to put it nicely, were for the arts and not the charts.

Now, Rescene has taken over South Korea’s algorithm, with numerous viral memes attributed to the group and even short videos of them fetching millions of views.

The turnaround is even more surprising when you take a deeper dive into the earlier-mentioned achievements.

The new video with five million views? A 28-minute-long vlog of two Rescene members finding ways to catch up to the viral popularity of the other three members.

The Rescene track that’s climbing the charts? A song released in 2024 that the general public somehow latched on to.

The tourism ambassadorship? A direct result of one member dressing up as a gyaru – a flashy Japanese fashion subculture – and uttering two words.

And if we’re going by the comments left on Rescene’s videos, many new fans aren’t even K-pop listeners; they just genuinely enjoy watching the members’ exploits every week.

This is how Rescene became the underdog that an entire country is rooting for.

WHO IS RESCENE?

Rescene (pronounced “ree-senn”) debuted in March 2024 under The Muze Entertainment, a small agency with no other groups on its roster.

Rescene’s members are leader Woni (22), Liv (19), Minami (19), May (17) and Zena (17). As their name implies, Rescene’s concept is “scent”, with Woni stating in a past interview with pop culture publication NME that each album is associated with a different scent.

“It’s one of the ways we create an atmosphere that stays with people, even after the music ends.”

So far, Rescene has released three mini-albums and is set to release new music in July.

HOW DID RESCENE GO VIRAL?

The best way to understand Rescene’s rise is as a multi-act story, with each viral moment setting off a chain reaction that propelled the group to even greater heights.

1. WONI LEARNS HOW TO DRIVE AND WINS THE HEARTS OF NETIZENS

In August 2025, Studio Kok, a YouTube channel specialising in car videos, uploaded the first video of its My Driving School Uncle series. The idea sounded easy enough: comedians Lee Sun-min and Yoo Young-woo would teach Woni how to drive as she prepared to get her driver’s licence.

Reality, however, proved to be a different story. Many episodes saw Woni behind the wheel in situations that would leave the comedians horrified –  something that continued even after she got her licence.

For instance, in an early episode, Woni attempted to navigate a McDonald’s drive-through and nearly drove into a wall, sending the comedians into a panic as they scrambled to stop the car.

Yet, it was precisely these moments that endeared Woni to viewers. Rather than becoming flustered, she maintained her cheerful outlook throughout, with her positive attitude and down-to-earth nature winning over viewers, thus turning the series into a success.

As one viewer put it: “Woni’s words aren’t really idol-like and she has this raw, authentic vibe, which makes her entertaining.”

Thanks to the success of My Driving School Uncle, South Korean production house Solfa Studio – the team behind the popular YouTube channel ODG – partnered with Woni to launch her personal YouTube channel, Hello I Am Woni Nice To Meet You, in February this year.

This move would ultimately set in motion the events that would make Rescene a household name.

2. MINAMI SAYS "GEOJE YAHO" WHILE DRESSED LIKE A GYARU AND KICKSTARTS A NATIONWIDE MEME

While the first few videos on the Hello I Am Woni Nice To Meet You channel performed decently, it was a video titled “Learning Japanese From A Former Gyaru” that changed the game.

The video, uploaded in March, marked the channel debut of Woni’s Japanese groupmate, Minami, who taught her how to speak Japanese. Viewers were immediately captivated by Minami’s fluency in Korean, with many initially mistaking her for a Korean person who was just good at the Japanese language.

Minami also drew praise for her comedic timing and acting abilities, effortlessly switching between different character personas while speaking Japanese. One of the most talked-about moments saw her adopt the exaggerated speech patterns and mannerisms associated with a gyaru, a flamboyant Japanese youth subculture known for its distinctive fashion, slang and outgoing personality.

The video’s success, especially the gyaru segments, led to a follow-up titled “I Tried Learning The Gyaru Attitude” which saw Minami teaching Woni how to be a gyaru – all while they’re both walking the streets of Seoul, decked out in full gyaru regalia.

The mega-viral moment happened when Woni, who hails from the island of Geoje, quipped to Minami: "If you go to Geoje like this, you'll get scolded by the citizens,” which prompted Minami to cheerfully retort: “Geoje yaho!”

Clips of Minami’s unexpected and whimsical response made its rounds online, fetching millions of views across social media platforms in South Korea as commenters praised Minami for perfectly encapsulating the carefree gyaru mindset.

Soon, “Geoje yaho!” and its many variations became a nationwide catchphrase, used both online and in everyday conversation. The phrase was adopted by countless netizens and even made its way into the vocabulary of celebrities, including the members of BTS, BigBang, IOI and Nmixx.

As a result, Minami emerged as a breakout star. Combined with Woni’s already surging popularity, the duo’s growing prominence brought Rescene into an even brighter spotlight.

As one viewer put it: “[Geoje yaho!] was the moment when the history of one person, one girl group and one company was changed.”

3. ZENA SPEAKS IN DIALECT FOR AN ENTIRE VIDEO, WINS OVER NON-K-POP AUDIENCES

Of course, Rescene’s rise did not stop there. Soon, a third person joined the group’s cadre of viral queens: Gyeongju-born Zena, the youngest member.

In May, Zena and Woni starred in a video in which they spent almost the entire runtime speaking in their regional dialects. As natives of parts of South Korea often regarded as “the countryside”, the pair’s unfiltered way of speaking stood out, especially considering how typical K-pop idols are expected to project a polished image.

The video attracted viewers who would not typically consume K-pop content, many of whom were charmed by Zena’s sibling-like personality and distinctive way of speaking, which reminded them of an older person from the South Korean countryside.

“If you listened [to the video] with your eyes closed, it sounds like a conversation between aunties who are veteran workers at a textile factory,” wrote one viewer.

As of writing, the video has garnered 5.5 million views in just one month – making it the second most-viewed video on Woni’s YouTube page.

IMPACT OF RESCENE’S VIRALITY

Just four months after its launch, Woni’s YouTube channel has amassed more than 950,000 subscribers and generated over 145 million views across its videos – a level of success that’s rarely seen for an idol’s personal channel, especially one who comes from a small company.

Naturally, this has had cascading effects on Rescene.

Many of their songs are now rising in the charts, with 2024’s Love Attack especially resonating with new fans, causing it to break into fifth place on the Melon Top 100 chart.

Over at Rescene’s official YouTube channel, non-music content that once struggled to surpass a few thousand views is now routinely attracting hundreds of thousands.

And thanks to the overwhelming popularity of “Geoje yaho!”, Rescene was recently appointed the ambassador of Geoje City itself.

Yet, despite their newfound virality, it is Rescene’s humility and underdog appeal that continue to endear them to audiences. A recent video on Woni’s YouTube channel showed the members reacting with genuine surprise and gratitude when they were recognised in public – a feat that seemed almost impossible just a year ago.

Commenting on the group’s likeability, one fan wrote: “I think the appeal is that they don’t speak or behave like celebrities. Instead, they chat the way ordinary girls you’d meet in your neighbourhood would and that’s what’s resonating with people.”

CAN RESCENE GO EVEN FURTHER?

As many longtime K-pop fans will tell you, success in the industry can be fleeting. Rescene may be one of South Korea’s hottest acts of the moment, but whether the group can sustain its momentum and translate viral popularity into long-term success remains to be seen.

Still, there are many reasons to be optimistic. On Jun 16, South Korea’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency announced that Rescene’s agency was among the 10 small and medium-sized entertainment companies selected to receive up to 300 million won (US$198,300) in funding to support their artistes’ growth.

The members of Rescene themselves have won over the Korean public with their sincerity and antics, leading to appearances on a growing number of variety programmes.

Woni, meanwhile, has been selected to host this year’s Korea Grand Music Awards – a role previously held by huge K-pop stars such as NewJeans’ Hanni and Aespa’s Winter, underscoring just how dramatic Rescene’s rise has been so far.

With a performance lined up at KCon LA, one of the largest K-pop festivals in the US, Rescene will soon have an opportunity to test whether its appeal can extend beyond South Korea. Of course, there are no guarantees in an industry as competitive as K-pop, but Rescene’s trajectory has been undeniably encouraging.

At the very least, Rescene is currently living up to the promise they made in Love Attack: to “colour the whole world with an unknown scent that has never shone before.”

Source: CNA/hq