INCHEON — Despite some difficult moments in 2024, Le Sserafim has made it to the other side. And the group isn't just arriving — it's thriving.

The quintet set Inspire Arena ablaze — in some ways, quite literally due to the number of pyrotechnics involved — for the second and final date of its two shows in Incheon, kicking off the group’s first world tour “Easy Crazy Hot.”


Until now, Le Sserafim's live performances had been met with almost equal amounts of praise and criticism. The past year, in particular, was anything but easy for the girl group, as anyone who's followed its journey would already know quite well.

Le Sserafim faced harsh comments and online scrutiny following a poorly received live performance during the group’s Coachella debut in April last year, which happened to be almost exactly one year ago. Not to mention, the group was caught in the cross fire of the messy conflict between HYBE and ADOR. Describing the group’s past year as “difficult,” therefore, may well be an understatement.

But the members are turning a new page.

The two and a half hour show felt less like a concert and more like a declaration. The unforgivingly intense set list unfolded like a manifesto written in real time. From the girl group’s iconic debut track “Fearless” (2022) to the defiant confidence of “Antifragile” (2022) and the feverish glamor of its recent track “Crazy,” Le Sserafim rolled out hit after hit, never once failing to deliver.

“I’ve performed on many stages in my life,” Sakura said. “But this was by far the most intense and most challenging concert run I’ve ever experienced.

“As much as it’s tough, it’s also so fun. And I feel like we really got to show something truly ‘Le Sserafim.’”

The thing is — the members made it look easy.

The tone of the concert was set from the very beginning. The show opened with the sound of wind moving across a barren desert in the middle of nowhere.

Then, small embers flickered into view. What started out as a spark slowly became a full-blown blaze — building into a crescendo until the stage went white-hot. Out of the bright light came the unexpected but befitting opener “Ash,” with the five members standing amid the flickering flames.

From the group’s “Easy” (2024) era tracks and the fairy-tale-like “Sour Grapes” (2022) to “The Great Mermaid” (2022) and the playful hunt for “Saki” during the cheeky “1-800-hot-n-fun” (2024) performance, each song was a nod to every chapter in the group’s journey so far.

The smooth buildup led to a thunderous rock arrangement of “Fearless” (2022), along with “Burn the Bridges” (2023), “Unforgiven” (2023) and “Antifragile” (2022). Against the backdrop of a fiery electric guitar sound and pounding drums, the members marched through the explosive highlight of the afternoon before dissolving into a heartfelt finale dedicated to their fandom, Fearnot.

“Exactly a year ago, I was on the phone with someone from the company, saying while crying: ‘What do we do now?’” Huh Yun-jin confessed toward the end of the show, her voice trembling while Fearnots leaned in to listen to her every word.

“'Will there ever be a future from now on? Where should we go from here? I can’t tell what’s real and what’s not,’ I said those kinds of things because I couldn’t see anything ahead at that moment.” Yun-jin recalled.

After a fleeting pause, she continued: “But, you know, there was only one thing we could do, right? Just carry on.”

With a tear-streaked face along with a shaking voice, she soldiered on.

“Do you know how a pearl is made? It’s created when a shell endures an extremely painful intrusion inside its flesh — and that’s how I made it through, by holding onto a belief that somehow, I will be able to create my pearl after this, and that I won’t let my love give way to hate.”

The group now heads to Japan, which will be followed by stops in Taipei, Hong Kong, Manila, Bangkok and Singapore through August. Specific dates for the North American leg of the tour in September are yet to be confirmed.

Here’s the thing about winning: You need something to overcome in order to claim victory. Ever since its debut, Le Sserafim has constantly declared to the world that it will endure, persevere and come out on top, but onlookers sometimes wondered, half-jokingly, what exactly it was fighting against.

Well, now we know. The only rivals that mattered for the members are themselves — and it looks like they are winning.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]