![iznavibe's tweet photo. izna Mai Exclusive [Idols From Across the Water] Interview with News1 (Full Interview)
These days, finding foreign members in K-pop idol groups is not a difficult thing at all. In fact, as K-pop groups now target the whole world beyond Korea, so-called members "from across the sea" have practically become an essential condition of a team's composition. What kinds of happiness and worries fill the daily lives of these foreign members who came to unfamiliar Korean soil carrying dreams of success? Through the [Idols From Across the Water] corner, we hope to capture their diverse stories.
"I started as a trainee after graduating high school, because there is no such thing as being too late to take on a challenge."
Mai, who was active in Japan as the leader of a dance club with over 100 members, began her trainee life in Korea after acquaintances recommended she "try becoming a K-pop singer" and after watching Mnet's I-LAND it sparked an interest for the stage. This was after Mai had graduated high school, when she was already past 20 in Korean age. It was a somewhat late age to start as a trainee, but Mai says, "I believed there is no such thing as being late to a challenge, and I felt that if I didn't try, I would regret it for the rest of my life."
Born in Yokohama, Japan, Mai also had part-time job experience during high school at cafes, restaurants, clothing stores, and various other places. Having spent her school days fully occupied with studies, part-time jobs, and dance club activities, Mai revealed that the "social experience" she went through was the weapon that helped her endure the difficult trainee period and the loneliness.
Indeed, even in the face of starting life in a foreign country late, the language barrier, and the pressure of a survival audition, she pushed through with her characteristic solid optimism. She says she moved forward one step at a time with the belief that "once this period passes, I will have grown even more."
Mai, who dreamed of becoming a K-pop star after watching Mnet's I-LAND, the show that gave birth to ENHYPEN, during her high school years, debuted with izna in 2024 through I-LAND2. Mai defined this as "fate."
Having left her family's embrace to debut as a K-pop idol in Korea, Mai is now also set to debut in her home country of Japan this coming September. We recently met Mai, who is facing this new challenge, at the WakeOne office building. With a visibly excited face, Mai smiled and said, "I think I'll be able to show another side of Tomioka Mai's charm, so I'm very excited."
Q. Please introduce yourself.
Mai: Hello. I'm izna's Mai. I'm Japanese, born in 2004. I am the eldest in the team and I am currently working hard for our activities
Q. How did you come to Korea, and what was the process like?
Mai: Originally, I was just an ordinary high school student preparing to enter university. But while doing dance club activities, I became interested in K-pop, and I thought that if I didn't take on the challenge even at my age then, I would really regret it. So I decided to prepare for it, thinking of it as the last challenge of my life.
Q. What got you interested in K-pop?
Mai: At the time, K-pop was hugely popular in Japan too, and there were a lot of audition programs. Korean idol audition shows were really popular in Japan as well, so everyone was watching them, and the first program I watched with a friend was I-LAND. I was in high school. Watching it, I thought, "People my age are working so hard, but I feel like I'm just living as time passes by, without anything I really want to do," and I even felt angry at myself. I had always loved being on stage in front of people and wanted a job like that, but I was too shy and lacked confidence, so I couldn't say it out loud. Then, watching the audition program, I strongly felt, "I want to try too."
Q. You watched I-LAND and then debuted through its second season, I-LAND2. That must have felt really surreal even to you.
Mai: That's right. When I first joined WakeOne as a trainee, there was no talk about I-LAND at all. I just entered the company as a regular trainee, and later I heard they were going to do I-LAND. So inside, I really felt it was like fate.
Q. Thinking about it, you started trainee life quite late. You began at twenty, when you were already an adult in Korean age. Didn't you feel impatient or anxious?
Mai: I did. In some ways you could say it was too late, and realistically speaking, I think it was quite a late time as well. But there's something I want to say to those who are still dreaming of becoming idols and working hard to prepare. "There is no such thing as being late to a challenge." I hope they believe in themselves and see it through to the end without giving up because of their age, until they are satisfied with themselves.
Q. Was being an idol your dream from the start?
Mai: My original dream was to be a dancer. I was in the dance club throughout my school days. In Japan, dance clubs are extremely famous, and the club culture is really strong. So I joined the most successful dance club in the prefecture where I lived and was working hard with the goal of "definitely winning first place nationwide."
Q. You must have been really popular in high school.
Mai: No, not at all! (haha) It was the dance club itself that was popular, more than me. We had over 100 members.
Q. When was the moment you decided, "I have to make being an idol my career"?
Mai: We once did a K-pop cover performance in the dance club, and the response was amazing. Even though it was just a performance inside the school, after the stage, a lot of people complimented me, saying, "Mai was the only one I could see on stage." And since auditions were really popular at that time, friends started recommending and wanting to introduce me. I heard things like "I wish you would apply, I want to introduce you to them" a lot back then. From then on, I became curious, wondering, "Could this be the right job for me?" and started looking into it. That was in my third year of high school.
Q. Since your original dream was to be a dancer, did you enjoy being in front of people from a young age?
Mai: Yes, from a young age I really loved standing in front of people and showing myself. I loved putting on little performances and dancing in front of my family too.
Q. Your Korean is outstanding. It's impressive considering you started late.
Mai: I first started learning Korean around age twenty, after graduating high school and coming to Korea. These days, when you look at idols and trainees, many of them went through trainee life in Korea from a young age. But I was already an adult, starting over from zero, so that was really hard at first. Japanese was so familiar to me, yet I had to converse entirely in Korean from scratch and express my feelings in Korean, so at first it was really frustrating.
Q. Is there a secret to how you overcame that frustration and became this good in such a short time? What kind of effort did you make?
Mai: I tried to have as many conversations as possible. Korean was the only way I could communicate and express myself. I had a lot of conversations by throwing myself into real-life situations, and whenever an unfamiliar word or expression came up, I would ask right there on the spot what it meant and have someone teach me. I think that's the secret to how I was able to improve faster.
Q. How long did it take to reach this level?
Mai: I had a slump too. I always felt lacking because it seemed like I could only express 70 to 80 percent of what was in my heart. But these days, I even dream in Korean! When Korean people appear in my dreams, I find myself speaking Korean with them. Even when I'm thinking to myself in everyday life, I often think in Korean in my head now. (haha)
q. You came to a foreign country alone as an adult. Were there times you felt lonely or sad living in Korea?
Mai: When I first came to Korea and had to adapt and get used to things, I didn't know anyone and had no friends, so I had to do everything alone, and that was a little lonely. But strangely, after that, I don't think I ever felt loneliness that strongly again.
Q. Throughout your entire trainee period, when was the hardest time?
Mai: As you'd expect, the I-LAND2 broadcast period was the hardest, both mentally and physically. Within the short span of a week, we had to perfectly prepare the next mission and be tested on it, and depending on the results, someone would be eliminated and someone would move up. It was a survival show, after all. It wasn't even an environment where we could practice all week long, so the pressure was really immense. But strangely, at the time, I think I even enjoyed that pressure. Maybe because I thought positively, telling myself "this is a precious experience I could never have at any other time" and "through this process, I can grow one step further," I went through it without even realizing how hard it was. Looking back now, I think, "Wow, how did I pull that off? If you told me to do it again, I absolutely couldn't." (haha)
Q. When you first said, "Mom, I'm going to Korea to try becoming a K-pop idol," how did your parents react?
Mai: They readily cheered me on and told me to go for it. In my whole life, they have never once said "no" to something I said I wanted to do. When I was young, I thought parents supporting you no matter what you do is something obvious, but thinking about it now, I've come to deeply realize how grateful and remarkable it is that they quietly believed in and supported whatever path their child wanted to take.
Q. Is there a reason your parents trusted you so completely?
Mai: I asked my mother about it later, and she said that when she was young, she also had a dream she really wanted to pursue. But because of the family's circumstances and her environment, she had no choice but to give it up. So she said she supported me wholeheartedly with the mindset of "I don't want to pass that kind of regret on to my daughter. It's your life, so live it the way you want, with no regrets." I'm so grateful for my mother's heart.
Q. Whenever hard times come in life, what mindset do you use to overcome them?
Mai: When a difficult moment comes, I actually try to enjoy the hardship. I try to think about it as positively as I can. I tell myself, "It may be hard right now, but later, when time passes and I look back, it will be nothing." And I also comfort myself by remembering that "there are always many people living diligently in situations far harder and more difficult than mine."
Q. What is your favorite Korean food?
Mai: Ah, this is a really tough question. (haha) My favorite food changes every week. But recently I've become obsessed with a new favorite. It's yukhoe and mulhoe! Japan doesn't have many yukhoe dishes, so it's one of those foods you absolutely have to eat when you come to Korea. I've always really loved yukhoe, and with the weather getting hotter lately, I found out there's "yukhoe mulhoe," which comes in a cold broth. I ordered it for delivery and tried it, and it was so delicious I was amazed.
Q. I'm curious what food you loved before yukhoe and mulhoe.
Mai: Korean bakeries! Japanese bread is really delicious too, but Korean bread looks so pretty and appetizing just from its appearance. And our members are all huge bread lovers, so influenced by them, I've been seeking out and eating a lot of delicious bread.
Q. I heard you enjoy cooking and baking. Do you make things for the members yourself?
Mai: Yes, I mainly bake things like cheesecake and cookies with healthy ingredients and often share them with the members at the dorm. Since I'm the eldest and we live in the dorm together, I really want to take good care of the members. One time, I baked some bread alone as a test, planning to try it first and give it to them if it turned out tasty, and my dongsaengs cutely whined, "Mai unnie, why are you eating alone and not giving us any?" (haha) Ever since then, I always make sure to bake plenty so there's enough for all the members too.
Q. Compared to Japanese culture, what was the most fascinating cultural difference you experienced in Korea?
Mai: Korea's "age" culture. Now Korea uses international age too, so it's less confusing, but when I first came, calculating age was so complicated and fascinating. It was really amazing to me that as soon as the new year begins on January 1st, the entire nation gets one year older together.
Q. Is BLACKPINK still your role model?
Mai: BLACKPINK sunbaenims are the shared role model of all of us izna members. It's hard to pinpoint just one role model as an artist, but as a human being, the true role model of my life is my mom.
Q. Your mother as your role model, she would be so touched to hear that.
Mai: I've never said this directly to my mom because it's embarrassing. (haha) When I was young, we bickered a lot and there were times I resented her, but living alone in a foreign country, I feel the greatness of my mom, who raised me so well, in every moment. I often think that someday I want to become a mom just like her. I love how she always treats me sincerely and without prejudice. She always had many conversations with me from my perspective, and although we sometimes fought, she gave me overflowing love in equal measure, and I think that's why I was able to grow into a happy person who was raised with a lot of love.
Q. As a K-pop idol, what do you think is the unrivaled strength that only Mai has?
Mai: I think it's my maturity. Even though my experience on stage as an idol and my time as a trainee may be shorter than others, I take pride in having experienced quite a lot of the world as a human being during the years I've lived.
Q. Did the various part-time jobs you had during your school days also contribute to that maturity?
Mai: Yes, they helped tremendously. In Japan, students can work part-time if they get permission from their school. During high school, while juggling my studies and club activities, I experienced working life at a hamburger shop, a cafe, a clothing store, a regular restaurant, and many other places. My leadership experience leading a large group as the leader of a dance club with over 100 members, and the social skills I learned through part-time work, serve as a truly solid foundation for carrying out izna's activities. I think the human resilience I learned by facing the world head-on is my greatest strength.
Q. You finally debuted after countless hardships. What is your ultimate goal, as an artist or as Mai the person?
MAi: To live a life that I myself can be satisfied with. Both as izna's Mai and Tomioka Mai, I want to make my existence and charm widely known to the world. If I get the chance later on, I want to boldly take on not only music but also modeling and acting, fields I've always been interested in. My goal is to freely show the public the many hidden charms within me.
Q. If you could give a word of advice to global hopefuls dreaming of becoming K-pop idols in a foreign country, looking at your example?
Mai: I know better than anyone that crossing over to an unfamiliar country alone and starting a new challenge is incredibly scary and hard to muster the courage for. But don't be afraid, and if you just throw yourself into it, you'll be able to do far better than you think. I want to cheer them on by saying that if they keep moving forward steadily without forgetting that desperate feeling and burning drive they had when they first started, they will surely see good results.
Q. On the coming September 2nd, you're finally set to officially debut in your home country of Japan. How do you feel?
Mai: It's a debut in my hometown that I've been eagerly waiting for such a long time, so I'm thrilled and my heart is overflowing. I'm just grateful to everyone for being given the chance to officially stand before fans in my home country like this. Every day I'm filled with excitement about what amazing sides of izna's Mai I can show in the place where I was born and raised. I've been getting a lot more congratulatory messages from family and friends in Japan than I expected, so it's really sinking in that "ah, I'm truly making my debut."
Q. What new charms are you planning to show through the Japanese debut album? And please give a final message to your fans.
Mai: I think through this debut album, you'll be able to see a new side of izna that you haven't seen before. At the same time, we're keeping izna's trademark sentimental yet powerful knife-sharp synchronized choreography, so I'm confident it will be the best album. We're also working really hard, sweating to prepare for the tour, so I really hope you'll come to the concert venue and see our stage in person. I sincerely thank our beloved fans who have always quietly believed in us and waited by our side, and we'll keep showing you colorful new sides of us that you'll never get tired of, so I hope you'll stay with izna forever. Thank you!
🔗 https://t.co/OgHk4d2Ci0 & https://t.co/BKTvN1vSMI
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Hilo de cuentos que tengo en esta cuenta nomas para no perderlos xd
Jeemin tearing up while saying her ment
Jungeun and Saebi crying because of it
Mai getting tissues for them
Koko and Sarang laughing at them
This is family 😭
intl Nayas that attended kcon, you guys are the BEST. Our girls are getting so much recognition from your kcon, and fansign clips. You guys understand the concept of promoting izna. I love you guys more than words can express. The way I want to befriend y'all like FOR REAL 🥺
Saebi called out for any WakeOne staffs watching her live to come and help her out with whisking
Four WakeOne staffs came in to help and Saebi got so touched 😅
Mai being in the top 3 for line distribution now hits different after everything she went through with those 6-second lines during debut era😭🤍
VIRAL MAI IS REAL ‼️
Mai's solo tiktok is already pushing 130k likes, making it the only solo video from the girls this comeback (excluding the drip challenge)
that's just MAI’s IMPACT.
"To be honest, this comeback didn’t receive the kind of response that I had passionately hoped and prepared for, so I was really, really heartbroken. "
THIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSS 💔💔💔💔💔💔💔💔
🚨 Tomorrow at 3:15 PM, Mai will make her MC debut on Inkigayo alongside Sarang‼️
Let's do our best to hype and support them! Let's get the hashtags trending, make lots of posts, and show everyone how much support they have. Let's make tomorrow a memorable day for them🚨
and yeah, you can definitely see that they’re slowly starting to push mai more for the upcoming japan debut, and i really hope this comeback opens more doors for her‼️😭 i hope brands start noticing her because a visual and impact like mai’s is too good to go unnoticed.
izna Mai Exclusive [Idols From Across the Water] Interview with News1 (Full Interview)
These days, finding foreign members in K-pop idol groups is not a difficult thing at all. In fact, as K-pop groups now target the whole world beyond Korea, so-called members "from across the sea" have practically become an essential condition of a team's composition. What kinds of happiness and worries fill the daily lives of these foreign members who came to unfamiliar Korean soil carrying dreams of success? Through the [Idols From Across the Water] corner, we hope to capture their diverse stories.
"I started as a trainee after graduating high school, because there is no such thing as being too late to take on a challenge."
Mai, who was active in Japan as the leader of a dance club with over 100 members, began her trainee life in Korea after acquaintances recommended she "try becoming a K-pop singer" and after watching Mnet's I-LAND it sparked an interest for the stage. This was after Mai had graduated high school, when she was already past 20 in Korean age. It was a somewhat late age to start as a trainee, but Mai says, "I believed there is no such thing as being late to a challenge, and I felt that if I didn't try, I would regret it for the rest of my life."
Born in Yokohama, Japan, Mai also had part-time job experience during high school at cafes, restaurants, clothing stores, and various other places. Having spent her school days fully occupied with studies, part-time jobs, and dance club activities, Mai revealed that the "social experience" she went through was the weapon that helped her endure the difficult trainee period and the loneliness.
Indeed, even in the face of starting life in a foreign country late, the language barrier, and the pressure of a survival audition, she pushed through with her characteristic solid optimism. She says she moved forward one step at a time with the belief that "once this period passes, I will have grown even more."
Mai, who dreamed of becoming a K-pop star after watching Mnet's I-LAND, the show that gave birth to ENHYPEN, during her high school years, debuted with izna in 2024 through I-LAND2. Mai defined this as "fate."
Having left her family's embrace to debut as a K-pop idol in Korea, Mai is now also set to debut in her home country of Japan this coming September. We recently met Mai, who is facing this new challenge, at the WakeOne office building. With a visibly excited face, Mai smiled and said, "I think I'll be able to show another side of Tomioka Mai's charm, so I'm very excited."
Q. Please introduce yourself.
Mai: Hello. I'm izna's Mai. I'm Japanese, born in 2004. I am the eldest in the team and I am currently working hard for our activities
Q. How did you come to Korea, and what was the process like?
Mai: Originally, I was just an ordinary high school student preparing to enter university. But while doing dance club activities, I became interested in K-pop, and I thought that if I didn't take on the challenge even at my age then, I would really regret it. So I decided to prepare for it, thinking of it as the last challenge of my life.
Q. What got you interested in K-pop?
Mai: At the time, K-pop was hugely popular in Japan too, and there were a lot of audition programs. Korean idol audition shows were really popular in Japan as well, so everyone was watching them, and the first program I watched with a friend was I-LAND. I was in high school. Watching it, I thought, "People my age are working so hard, but I feel like I'm just living as time passes by, without anything I really want to do," and I even felt angry at myself. I had always loved being on stage in front of people and wanted a job like that, but I was too shy and lacked confidence, so I couldn't say it out loud. Then, watching the audition program, I strongly felt, "I want to try too."
Q. You watched I-LAND and then debuted through its second season, I-LAND2. That must have felt really surreal even to you.
Mai: That's right. When I first joined WakeOne as a trainee, there was no talk about I-LAND at all. I just entered the company as a regular trainee, and later I heard they were going to do I-LAND. So inside, I really felt it was like fate.
Q. Thinking about it, you started trainee life quite late. You began at twenty, when you were already an adult in Korean age. Didn't you feel impatient or anxious?
Mai: I did. In some ways you could say it was too late, and realistically speaking, I think it was quite a late time as well. But there's something I want to say to those who are still dreaming of becoming idols and working hard to prepare. "There is no such thing as being late to a challenge." I hope they believe in themselves and see it through to the end without giving up because of their age, until they are satisfied with themselves.
Q. Was being an idol your dream from the start?
Mai: My original dream was to be a dancer. I was in the dance club throughout my school days. In Japan, dance clubs are extremely famous, and the club culture is really strong. So I joined the most successful dance club in the prefecture where I lived and was working hard with the goal of "definitely winning first place nationwide."
Q. You must have been really popular in high school.
Mai: No, not at all! (haha) It was the dance club itself that was popular, more than me. We had over 100 members.
Q. When was the moment you decided, "I have to make being an idol my career"?
Mai: We once did a K-pop cover performance in the dance club, and the response was amazing. Even though it was just a performance inside the school, after the stage, a lot of people complimented me, saying, "Mai was the only one I could see on stage." And since auditions were really popular at that time, friends started recommending and wanting to introduce me. I heard things like "I wish you would apply, I want to introduce you to them" a lot back then. From then on, I became curious, wondering, "Could this be the right job for me?" and started looking into it. That was in my third year of high school.
Q. Since your original dream was to be a dancer, did you enjoy being in front of people from a young age?
Mai: Yes, from a young age I really loved standing in front of people and showing myself. I loved putting on little performances and dancing in front of my family too.
Q. Your Korean is outstanding. It's impressive considering you started late.
Mai: I first started learning Korean around age twenty, after graduating high school and coming to Korea. These days, when you look at idols and trainees, many of them went through trainee life in Korea from a young age. But I was already an adult, starting over from zero, so that was really hard at first. Japanese was so familiar to me, yet I had to converse entirely in Korean from scratch and express my feelings in Korean, so at first it was really frustrating.
Q. Is there a secret to how you overcame that frustration and became this good in such a short time? What kind of effort did you make?
Mai: I tried to have as many conversations as possible. Korean was the only way I could communicate and express myself. I had a lot of conversations by throwing myself into real-life situations, and whenever an unfamiliar word or expression came up, I would ask right there on the spot what it meant and have someone teach me. I think that's the secret to how I was able to improve faster.
Q. How long did it take to reach this level?
Mai: I had a slump too. I always felt lacking because it seemed like I could only express 70 to 80 percent of what was in my heart. But these days, I even dream in Korean! When Korean people appear in my dreams, I find myself speaking Korean with them. Even when I'm thinking to myself in everyday life, I often think in Korean in my head now. (haha)
q. You came to a foreign country alone as an adult. Were there times you felt lonely or sad living in Korea?
Mai: When I first came to Korea and had to adapt and get used to things, I didn't know anyone and had no friends, so I had to do everything alone, and that was a little lonely. But strangely, after that, I don't think I ever felt loneliness that strongly again.
Q. Throughout your entire trainee period, when was the hardest time?
Mai: As you'd expect, the I-LAND2 broadcast period was the hardest, both mentally and physically. Within the short span of a week, we had to perfectly prepare the next mission and be tested on it, and depending on the results, someone would be eliminated and someone would move up. It was a survival show, after all. It wasn't even an environment where we could practice all week long, so the pressure was really immense. But strangely, at the time, I think I even enjoyed that pressure. Maybe because I thought positively, telling myself "this is a precious experience I could never have at any other time" and "through this process, I can grow one step further," I went through it without even realizing how hard it was. Looking back now, I think, "Wow, how did I pull that off? If you told me to do it again, I absolutely couldn't." (haha)
Q. When you first said, "Mom, I'm going to Korea to try becoming a K-pop idol," how did your parents react?
Mai: They readily cheered me on and told me to go for it. In my whole life, they have never once said "no" to something I said I wanted to do. When I was young, I thought parents supporting you no matter what you do is something obvious, but thinking about it now, I've come to deeply realize how grateful and remarkable it is that they quietly believed in and supported whatever path their child wanted to take.
Q. Is there a reason your parents trusted you so completely?
Mai: I asked my mother about it later, and she said that when she was young, she also had a dream she really wanted to pursue. But because of the family's circumstances and her environment, she had no choice but to give it up. So she said she supported me wholeheartedly with the mindset of "I don't want to pass that kind of regret on to my daughter. It's your life, so live it the way you want, with no regrets." I'm so grateful for my mother's heart.
Q. Whenever hard times come in life, what mindset do you use to overcome them?
Mai: When a difficult moment comes, I actually try to enjoy the hardship. I try to think about it as positively as I can. I tell myself, "It may be hard right now, but later, when time passes and I look back, it will be nothing." And I also comfort myself by remembering that "there are always many people living diligently in situations far harder and more difficult than mine."
Q. What is your favorite Korean food?
Mai: Ah, this is a really tough question. (haha) My favorite food changes every week. But recently I've become obsessed with a new favorite. It's yukhoe and mulhoe! Japan doesn't have many yukhoe dishes, so it's one of those foods you absolutely have to eat when you come to Korea. I've always really loved yukhoe, and with the weather getting hotter lately, I found out there's "yukhoe mulhoe," which comes in a cold broth. I ordered it for delivery and tried it, and it was so delicious I was amazed.
Q. I'm curious what food you loved before yukhoe and mulhoe.
Mai: Korean bakeries! Japanese bread is really delicious too, but Korean bread looks so pretty and appetizing just from its appearance. And our members are all huge bread lovers, so influenced by them, I've been seeking out and eating a lot of delicious bread.
Q. I heard you enjoy cooking and baking. Do you make things for the members yourself?
Mai: Yes, I mainly bake things like cheesecake and cookies with healthy ingredients and often share them with the members at the dorm. Since I'm the eldest and we live in the dorm together, I really want to take good care of the members. One time, I baked some bread alone as a test, planning to try it first and give it to them if it turned out tasty, and my dongsaengs cutely whined, "Mai unnie, why are you eating alone and not giving us any?" (haha) Ever since then, I always make sure to bake plenty so there's enough for all the members too.
Q. Compared to Japanese culture, what was the most fascinating cultural difference you experienced in Korea?
Mai: Korea's "age" culture. Now Korea uses international age too, so it's less confusing, but when I first came, calculating age was so complicated and fascinating. It was really amazing to me that as soon as the new year begins on January 1st, the entire nation gets one year older together.
Q. Is BLACKPINK still your role model?
Mai: BLACKPINK sunbaenims are the shared role model of all of us izna members. It's hard to pinpoint just one role model as an artist, but as a human being, the true role model of my life is my mom.
Q. Your mother as your role model, she would be so touched to hear that.
Mai: I've never said this directly to my mom because it's embarrassing. (haha) When I was young, we bickered a lot and there were times I resented her, but living alone in a foreign country, I feel the greatness of my mom, who raised me so well, in every moment. I often think that someday I want to become a mom just like her. I love how she always treats me sincerely and without prejudice. She always had many conversations with me from my perspective, and although we sometimes fought, she gave me overflowing love in equal measure, and I think that's why I was able to grow into a happy person who was raised with a lot of love.
Q. As a K-pop idol, what do you think is the unrivaled strength that only Mai has?
Mai: I think it's my maturity. Even though my experience on stage as an idol and my time as a trainee may be shorter than others, I take pride in having experienced quite a lot of the world as a human being during the years I've lived.
Q. Did the various part-time jobs you had during your school days also contribute to that maturity?
Mai: Yes, they helped tremendously. In Japan, students can work part-time if they get permission from their school. During high school, while juggling my studies and club activities, I experienced working life at a hamburger shop, a cafe, a clothing store, a regular restaurant, and many other places. My leadership experience leading a large group as the leader of a dance club with over 100 members, and the social skills I learned through part-time work, serve as a truly solid foundation for carrying out izna's activities. I think the human resilience I learned by facing the world head-on is my greatest strength.
Q. You finally debuted after countless hardships. What is your ultimate goal, as an artist or as Mai the person?
MAi: To live a life that I myself can be satisfied with. Both as izna's Mai and Tomioka Mai, I want to make my existence and charm widely known to the world. If I get the chance later on, I want to boldly take on not only music but also modeling and acting, fields I've always been interested in. My goal is to freely show the public the many hidden charms within me.
Q. If you could give a word of advice to global hopefuls dreaming of becoming K-pop idols in a foreign country, looking at your example?
Mai: I know better than anyone that crossing over to an unfamiliar country alone and starting a new challenge is incredibly scary and hard to muster the courage for. But don't be afraid, and if you just throw yourself into it, you'll be able to do far better than you think. I want to cheer them on by saying that if they keep moving forward steadily without forgetting that desperate feeling and burning drive they had when they first started, they will surely see good results.
Q. On the coming September 2nd, you're finally set to officially debut in your home country of Japan. How do you feel?
Mai: It's a debut in my hometown that I've been eagerly waiting for such a long time, so I'm thrilled and my heart is overflowing. I'm just grateful to everyone for being given the chance to officially stand before fans in my home country like this. Every day I'm filled with excitement about what amazing sides of izna's Mai I can show in the place where I was born and raised. I've been getting a lot more congratulatory messages from family and friends in Japan than I expected, so it's really sinking in that "ah, I'm truly making my debut."
Q. What new charms are you planning to show through the Japanese debut album? And please give a final message to your fans.
Mai: I think through this debut album, you'll be able to see a new side of izna that you haven't seen before. At the same time, we're keeping izna's trademark sentimental yet powerful knife-sharp synchronized choreography, so I'm confident it will be the best album. We're also working really hard, sweating to prepare for the tour, so I really hope you'll come to the concert venue and see our stage in person. I sincerely thank our beloved fans who have always quietly believed in us and waited by our side, and we'll keep showing you colorful new sides of us that you'll never get tired of, so I hope you'll stay with izna forever. Thank you!
🔗 https://t.co/OgHk4d2Ci0 & https://t.co/BKTvN1vSMI
#izna #이즈나 @izna_offcl
![iznavibe's tweet photo. izna Mai Exclusive [Idols From Across the Water] Interview with News1 (Full Interview)
These days, finding foreign members in K-pop idol groups is not a difficult thing at all. In fact, as K-pop groups now target the whole world beyond Korea, so-called members "from across the sea" have practically become an essential condition of a team's composition. What kinds of happiness and worries fill the daily lives of these foreign members who came to unfamiliar Korean soil carrying dreams of success? Through the [Idols From Across the Water] corner, we hope to capture their diverse stories.
"I started as a trainee after graduating high school, because there is no such thing as being too late to take on a challenge."
Mai, who was active in Japan as the leader of a dance club with over 100 members, began her trainee life in Korea after acquaintances recommended she "try becoming a K-pop singer" and after watching Mnet's I-LAND it sparked an interest for the stage. This was after Mai had graduated high school, when she was already past 20 in Korean age. It was a somewhat late age to start as a trainee, but Mai says, "I believed there is no such thing as being late to a challenge, and I felt that if I didn't try, I would regret it for the rest of my life."
Born in Yokohama, Japan, Mai also had part-time job experience during high school at cafes, restaurants, clothing stores, and various other places. Having spent her school days fully occupied with studies, part-time jobs, and dance club activities, Mai revealed that the "social experience" she went through was the weapon that helped her endure the difficult trainee period and the loneliness.
Indeed, even in the face of starting life in a foreign country late, the language barrier, and the pressure of a survival audition, she pushed through with her characteristic solid optimism. She says she moved forward one step at a time with the belief that "once this period passes, I will have grown even more."
Mai, who dreamed of becoming a K-pop star after watching Mnet's I-LAND, the show that gave birth to ENHYPEN, during her high school years, debuted with izna in 2024 through I-LAND2. Mai defined this as "fate."
Having left her family's embrace to debut as a K-pop idol in Korea, Mai is now also set to debut in her home country of Japan this coming September. We recently met Mai, who is facing this new challenge, at the WakeOne office building. With a visibly excited face, Mai smiled and said, "I think I'll be able to show another side of Tomioka Mai's charm, so I'm very excited."
Q. Please introduce yourself.
Mai: Hello. I'm izna's Mai. I'm Japanese, born in 2004. I am the eldest in the team and I am currently working hard for our activities
Q. How did you come to Korea, and what was the process like?
Mai: Originally, I was just an ordinary high school student preparing to enter university. But while doing dance club activities, I became interested in K-pop, and I thought that if I didn't take on the challenge even at my age then, I would really regret it. So I decided to prepare for it, thinking of it as the last challenge of my life.
Q. What got you interested in K-pop?
Mai: At the time, K-pop was hugely popular in Japan too, and there were a lot of audition programs. Korean idol audition shows were really popular in Japan as well, so everyone was watching them, and the first program I watched with a friend was I-LAND. I was in high school. Watching it, I thought, "People my age are working so hard, but I feel like I'm just living as time passes by, without anything I really want to do," and I even felt angry at myself. I had always loved being on stage in front of people and wanted a job like that, but I was too shy and lacked confidence, so I couldn't say it out loud. Then, watching the audition program, I strongly felt, "I want to try too."
Q. You watched I-LAND and then debuted through its second season, I-LAND2. That must have felt really surreal even to you.
Mai: That's right. When I first joined WakeOne as a trainee, there was no talk about I-LAND at all. I just entered the company as a regular trainee, and later I heard they were going to do I-LAND. So inside, I really felt it was like fate.
Q. Thinking about it, you started trainee life quite late. You began at twenty, when you were already an adult in Korean age. Didn't you feel impatient or anxious?
Mai: I did. In some ways you could say it was too late, and realistically speaking, I think it was quite a late time as well. But there's something I want to say to those who are still dreaming of becoming idols and working hard to prepare. "There is no such thing as being late to a challenge." I hope they believe in themselves and see it through to the end without giving up because of their age, until they are satisfied with themselves.
Q. Was being an idol your dream from the start?
Mai: My original dream was to be a dancer. I was in the dance club throughout my school days. In Japan, dance clubs are extremely famous, and the club culture is really strong. So I joined the most successful dance club in the prefecture where I lived and was working hard with the goal of "definitely winning first place nationwide."
Q. You must have been really popular in high school.
Mai: No, not at all! (haha) It was the dance club itself that was popular, more than me. We had over 100 members.
Q. When was the moment you decided, "I have to make being an idol my career"?
Mai: We once did a K-pop cover performance in the dance club, and the response was amazing. Even though it was just a performance inside the school, after the stage, a lot of people complimented me, saying, "Mai was the only one I could see on stage." And since auditions were really popular at that time, friends started recommending and wanting to introduce me. I heard things like "I wish you would apply, I want to introduce you to them" a lot back then. From then on, I became curious, wondering, "Could this be the right job for me?" and started looking into it. That was in my third year of high school.
Q. Since your original dream was to be a dancer, did you enjoy being in front of people from a young age?
Mai: Yes, from a young age I really loved standing in front of people and showing myself. I loved putting on little performances and dancing in front of my family too.
Q. Your Korean is outstanding. It's impressive considering you started late.
Mai: I first started learning Korean around age twenty, after graduating high school and coming to Korea. These days, when you look at idols and trainees, many of them went through trainee life in Korea from a young age. But I was already an adult, starting over from zero, so that was really hard at first. Japanese was so familiar to me, yet I had to converse entirely in Korean from scratch and express my feelings in Korean, so at first it was really frustrating.
Q. Is there a secret to how you overcame that frustration and became this good in such a short time? What kind of effort did you make?
Mai: I tried to have as many conversations as possible. Korean was the only way I could communicate and express myself. I had a lot of conversations by throwing myself into real-life situations, and whenever an unfamiliar word or expression came up, I would ask right there on the spot what it meant and have someone teach me. I think that's the secret to how I was able to improve faster.
Q. How long did it take to reach this level?
Mai: I had a slump too. I always felt lacking because it seemed like I could only express 70 to 80 percent of what was in my heart. But these days, I even dream in Korean! When Korean people appear in my dreams, I find myself speaking Korean with them. Even when I'm thinking to myself in everyday life, I often think in Korean in my head now. (haha)
q. You came to a foreign country alone as an adult. Were there times you felt lonely or sad living in Korea?
Mai: When I first came to Korea and had to adapt and get used to things, I didn't know anyone and had no friends, so I had to do everything alone, and that was a little lonely. But strangely, after that, I don't think I ever felt loneliness that strongly again.
Q. Throughout your entire trainee period, when was the hardest time?
Mai: As you'd expect, the I-LAND2 broadcast period was the hardest, both mentally and physically. Within the short span of a week, we had to perfectly prepare the next mission and be tested on it, and depending on the results, someone would be eliminated and someone would move up. It was a survival show, after all. It wasn't even an environment where we could practice all week long, so the pressure was really immense. But strangely, at the time, I think I even enjoyed that pressure. Maybe because I thought positively, telling myself "this is a precious experience I could never have at any other time" and "through this process, I can grow one step further," I went through it without even realizing how hard it was. Looking back now, I think, "Wow, how did I pull that off? If you told me to do it again, I absolutely couldn't." (haha)
Q. When you first said, "Mom, I'm going to Korea to try becoming a K-pop idol," how did your parents react?
Mai: They readily cheered me on and told me to go for it. In my whole life, they have never once said "no" to something I said I wanted to do. When I was young, I thought parents supporting you no matter what you do is something obvious, but thinking about it now, I've come to deeply realize how grateful and remarkable it is that they quietly believed in and supported whatever path their child wanted to take.
Q. Is there a reason your parents trusted you so completely?
Mai: I asked my mother about it later, and she said that when she was young, she also had a dream she really wanted to pursue. But because of the family's circumstances and her environment, she had no choice but to give it up. So she said she supported me wholeheartedly with the mindset of "I don't want to pass that kind of regret on to my daughter. It's your life, so live it the way you want, with no regrets." I'm so grateful for my mother's heart.
Q. Whenever hard times come in life, what mindset do you use to overcome them?
Mai: When a difficult moment comes, I actually try to enjoy the hardship. I try to think about it as positively as I can. I tell myself, "It may be hard right now, but later, when time passes and I look back, it will be nothing." And I also comfort myself by remembering that "there are always many people living diligently in situations far harder and more difficult than mine."
Q. What is your favorite Korean food?
Mai: Ah, this is a really tough question. (haha) My favorite food changes every week. But recently I've become obsessed with a new favorite. It's yukhoe and mulhoe! Japan doesn't have many yukhoe dishes, so it's one of those foods you absolutely have to eat when you come to Korea. I've always really loved yukhoe, and with the weather getting hotter lately, I found out there's "yukhoe mulhoe," which comes in a cold broth. I ordered it for delivery and tried it, and it was so delicious I was amazed.
Q. I'm curious what food you loved before yukhoe and mulhoe.
Mai: Korean bakeries! Japanese bread is really delicious too, but Korean bread looks so pretty and appetizing just from its appearance. And our members are all huge bread lovers, so influenced by them, I've been seeking out and eating a lot of delicious bread.
Q. I heard you enjoy cooking and baking. Do you make things for the members yourself?
Mai: Yes, I mainly bake things like cheesecake and cookies with healthy ingredients and often share them with the members at the dorm. Since I'm the eldest and we live in the dorm together, I really want to take good care of the members. One time, I baked some bread alone as a test, planning to try it first and give it to them if it turned out tasty, and my dongsaengs cutely whined, "Mai unnie, why are you eating alone and not giving us any?" (haha) Ever since then, I always make sure to bake plenty so there's enough for all the members too.
Q. Compared to Japanese culture, what was the most fascinating cultural difference you experienced in Korea?
Mai: Korea's "age" culture. Now Korea uses international age too, so it's less confusing, but when I first came, calculating age was so complicated and fascinating. It was really amazing to me that as soon as the new year begins on January 1st, the entire nation gets one year older together.
Q. Is BLACKPINK still your role model?
Mai: BLACKPINK sunbaenims are the shared role model of all of us izna members. It's hard to pinpoint just one role model as an artist, but as a human being, the true role model of my life is my mom.
Q. Your mother as your role model, she would be so touched to hear that.
Mai: I've never said this directly to my mom because it's embarrassing. (haha) When I was young, we bickered a lot and there were times I resented her, but living alone in a foreign country, I feel the greatness of my mom, who raised me so well, in every moment. I often think that someday I want to become a mom just like her. I love how she always treats me sincerely and without prejudice. She always had many conversations with me from my perspective, and although we sometimes fought, she gave me overflowing love in equal measure, and I think that's why I was able to grow into a happy person who was raised with a lot of love.
Q. As a K-pop idol, what do you think is the unrivaled strength that only Mai has?
Mai: I think it's my maturity. Even though my experience on stage as an idol and my time as a trainee may be shorter than others, I take pride in having experienced quite a lot of the world as a human being during the years I've lived.
Q. Did the various part-time jobs you had during your school days also contribute to that maturity?
Mai: Yes, they helped tremendously. In Japan, students can work part-time if they get permission from their school. During high school, while juggling my studies and club activities, I experienced working life at a hamburger shop, a cafe, a clothing store, a regular restaurant, and many other places. My leadership experience leading a large group as the leader of a dance club with over 100 members, and the social skills I learned through part-time work, serve as a truly solid foundation for carrying out izna's activities. I think the human resilience I learned by facing the world head-on is my greatest strength.
Q. You finally debuted after countless hardships. What is your ultimate goal, as an artist or as Mai the person?
MAi: To live a life that I myself can be satisfied with. Both as izna's Mai and Tomioka Mai, I want to make my existence and charm widely known to the world. If I get the chance later on, I want to boldly take on not only music but also modeling and acting, fields I've always been interested in. My goal is to freely show the public the many hidden charms within me.
Q. If you could give a word of advice to global hopefuls dreaming of becoming K-pop idols in a foreign country, looking at your example?
Mai: I know better than anyone that crossing over to an unfamiliar country alone and starting a new challenge is incredibly scary and hard to muster the courage for. But don't be afraid, and if you just throw yourself into it, you'll be able to do far better than you think. I want to cheer them on by saying that if they keep moving forward steadily without forgetting that desperate feeling and burning drive they had when they first started, they will surely see good results.
Q. On the coming September 2nd, you're finally set to officially debut in your home country of Japan. How do you feel?
Mai: It's a debut in my hometown that I've been eagerly waiting for such a long time, so I'm thrilled and my heart is overflowing. I'm just grateful to everyone for being given the chance to officially stand before fans in my home country like this. Every day I'm filled with excitement about what amazing sides of izna's Mai I can show in the place where I was born and raised. I've been getting a lot more congratulatory messages from family and friends in Japan than I expected, so it's really sinking in that "ah, I'm truly making my debut."
Q. What new charms are you planning to show through the Japanese debut album? And please give a final message to your fans.
Mai: I think through this debut album, you'll be able to see a new side of izna that you haven't seen before. At the same time, we're keeping izna's trademark sentimental yet powerful knife-sharp synchronized choreography, so I'm confident it will be the best album. We're also working really hard, sweating to prepare for the tour, so I really hope you'll come to the concert venue and see our stage in person. I sincerely thank our beloved fans who have always quietly believed in us and waited by our side, and we'll keep showing you colorful new sides of us that you'll never get tired of, so I hope you'll stay with izna forever. Thank you!
🔗 https://t.co/OgHk4d2Ci0 & https://t.co/BKTvN1vSMI
#izna #이즈나 @izna_offcl](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HNdr7oyakAAXcq-.jpg)
News1 held an interview with Mai talking about izna making their Japan debut in her hometown, Yokohama 🇯🇵
Mai: I'm very excited to make our long-awaited Japan debut. I'm very grateful and I want to make our debut as soon as possible. I'm looking forward to what the future has in store. We will be promoting a lot, and I am excited at all the ways we could show you who we are.
Mai: My family are giving me so much support, I got a lot of encouraging messages from my friends and acquaintances, more than I expected to receive too. I think we'll be able to show a completely different side of izna from what we've shown in Korea. We are preparing hard for our Japan debut and as well as the tour, so we really hope that fans will look forward to this new side of us.
Mai: naya! izna has some news that we know you will absolutely love...
Saebi: What is it? What is it? You're curious, right naya?
Mai: That's right! Our Japan debut has finally been confirmed for September 2, 2026! On September 2, our Japan debut album, izna's Japan 1st Mini Album 'Handle With Care' will be released!
MAI BEING APPRECIATED FOR HER VISUALS AND VOCALS🚨‼️
People aren't lying when they call MAI izna’s gem. Even her 1-second appearance on screen was enough.
I just hope WK1 stops hiding one of their biggest assets and finally starts using the privilege they already have.
[🏆] 260708 SHOW CHAMPION
#IZNA’s ‘METRONOME’ has officially won the Stage Champion on SHOW CHAMPION! 🏆
IZNA will be receiving a physical trophy! ✨
#izna #이즈나 #イズナ
@izna_offcl @izna_offcl_jp
Babyzoo and Leejung reposted izna's DRIP challenge on their IG 💧
"How about doing izna's DRIP challenge this summer!!!!"
First K-pop group ever to do a performance video in a backroom
jiyoon posted the unfiltered version of her Number One Girl cover 🥺🥺
“it’s been over a year…”
izna hair throughout the eras
• N/a
👩👩👩🏻👩👩🦰👩👱♀️
• SIGN
👩👩👩🏻👩🏻👩🏻👩
• BEEP
👩👩👩🏻👩👩👩
• Not Just Pretty
👩👩👩🏻👩👩👩
• SET THE TEMPO
👩👩🏻👩🏻👩🏻👱🏻♀️👩 [NEW]
One of @izna_offcl's choreographer for Metronome (root) uploaded his demo version of the choreo. Really appreciate wk1 choosing his choreo of the highlight move.
It reminded me of the era when K-pop dances felt quirky, unique, and strangely satisfying to watch. ✨
#이즈나 #izna
visual representation of how i felt the first time i heard INFINITY and jungeun's high note:
blackpink decided to support 🥹
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