A Life In Pictures
Get to know Sera through a collection of photographs covering her life from past till the present.
Early Life
1987 - 2008
Ryu Sera was born in Busan, South Korea.
She describes herself as a shy and quiet child who didn't have many friends growing up. Her mom, Mi-kyung, describes her as a child she never had to worry about and was mature beyond her years. Strong and fiercely independent even as a toddler, Sera would play the role of protective older sister to her younger brother, Ji-woong.
Due to an often tumultous home life during her childhood, Sera would leave Korea at the age of 14 and spend her high school years in Vancouver, Canada as part of a foreign exchange student program. Her caretaker, Bryn, played an important maternal role in Sera's life and Sera credits her as introducing her to many of the unique customs in Western culture.
A consistent honor roll student and, despite being an introvert, Sera would take a very active role in school activities while in Canada, joining a variety of clubs and she even played rugby for a time. It was during high school she discovered her passion for acting and performing often cast in a variety of school programs. In 2006, she would go on to attend college at Handong University in Pohang, South Korea and major in English with a minor in Global Relations and Culture.
Shortly after graduating, she would move to Seoul to pursue a career in acting, but surprisingly feel into music where she would go on to become. Well you know.
9Muses Era
2010 - 2014
In 2010, Sera made her debut in KPop as the leader and lead singer of the nine member girl group, 9Muses. A unique group that adopted a "model" concept, 9Muses set themselves apart with an alternative sound, memorable visuals, and dynamic choreography. Sera's contribution could be marked by her strong vocal performances, sharp moves, and fierce demeanor.
The group got off to a rocky start with a notably bad debut, which lead to several members leaving and placing them in limbo for a period of time. As leader, Sera would take the brunt of the blame for the debut, resulting in her being demoted. This is detailed vividly in the documentary, The Nine Muses of Star Empire. Doubt was also cast by fans if the group could ever recover. Working hard, they rebounded and would go on to drop a number of popular singles including Ticket, Figaro, News, and Dolls.
In the midst of the group’s rising popularity, Sera would surprisingly depart 9Muses in 2014, though under controversial circumstances. After advocating for improved terms for the group going forward, the company decided not to renew her contract and let her go. The story they would put out to the media would differ from actual events ensuing in a tense rift between Sera and her former label.
Forced to move on, she would go solo in 2015.
2015 - Present
Solo Era
In 2015, Sera put out her first single, 굳이 사랑이 (Love), off her self-produced album, SERen:Ade. She wanted to make the album as a thank you to her loyal fans who had stuck by her side through her ups and downs. While the album was well received by fans, it was met with criticism by the music media dismissively calling the album unpolished and unserious.
Not to be deterred, she took a break before returning in 2016 with the album, Stay Real, which showed Sera's growth since her previous musical outing. Stay Real featured the popular single, Walk With Me, a jazzy, hip-hop influenced track, that brilliantly utilized Sera's unique voice and delivery, helping to establish her style. In the years to come Sera would continue to write and fund her own music in addition to organizing concerts, promotional events, and fan meet and greets all as an independent artist.
Overlapping with her solo career, Sera would launch a YouTube channel, called RyuTube. Her YouTube channel would serve as a way for her to connect with fans, share music she’s working on, perform covers, and even review and promote projects by upcoming idols. The channel would grow to well over 180,000 subscribers. This would lead to her venturing into streaming via the platform Twitch where she has curated a passionate fanbase consisting of new fans from her Youtube as well as older fans from her 9Muses days.
Most recently, Sera was a guest on the hit reality show, Miss Back which aired on the MBN network in South Korea. The show focused on female idols who had previously been part of girl groups yet have since faded from the limelight. The show would aim to give them another opportunity at performing while creating a song that defines their life. Sera would shockingly reveal many of her personal struggles during the show from her battles with mental health, financial issues, and lingering traumas from childhood, topics often taboo in the world of KPop.
