Newjeans’ Haerin Reveals She Continued Practicing During 17-month Stage Hiatus

In her first major interview since returning to ADOR, the NewJeans member spoke about preparing during the group’s long absence and shared the future she wants most: performing for fans again.

NewJeans member Haerin has revealed that she continued practicing during the group’s extended absence from live performances, offering one of her clearest personal signals yet that her attention remains on the stage.

In an interview accompanying her cover feature for Marie Claire Korea’s September issue, Haerin was asked how she had spent the period leading up to turning 20.

“I did many different things,” she said. “I practiced, read books, studied and traveled.”

Haerin did not explain what kind of practice she had been doing or whether it was connected to a specific NewJeans project. Her answer therefore should not be interpreted as confirmation that a comeback album or performance is already being prepared.

However, her later comments made clear that performing remains central to how she imagines her future.

Haerin Says She Kept Practicing During NewJeans’ Long Hiatus / News1

The Stage Is Still the Future Haerin Wants Most

When asked what side of herself she hopes to show the next time she performs, Haerin said she wants to express her emotions and enjoyment more freely than before.

She added that one part of her approach has not changed: her determination to create performances that leave viewers feeling happy and energized.

The most emotional moment came when the magazine asked Haerin to describe the future scene she anticipates most.

Her answer was not a fashion campaign, personal achievement or private milestone. It was the experience of meeting fans from the stage again.

Haerin said she wanted to see the fans who had waited and to look at them for a long time, adding that she missed them greatly.

The comments carry particular weight because NewJeans has not performed together since the group’s March 2025 appearance at ComplexCon Hong Kong. At the event, the members announced that they would suspend activities amid their legal conflict with ADOR.

Haerin’s interview does not settle when that interruption will end. It does, however, show that she still views herself as a performer preparing for the possibility of returning.

Practicing Without a Confirmed Comeback

The word “practice” will inevitably attract attention from fans eager for new music. Yet there is an important distinction between personal preparation and an officially scheduled comeback.

Artists may continue vocal, dance or physical training even when no album release has been finalized. Haerin’s answer confirms that she remained active during the hiatus, but neither she nor ADOR has connected that training to a particular song, album or performance date.

ADOR has maintained that NewJeans’ specific activity plans and format will be announced only after discussions are fully completed.

The label repeated that position when Haerin’s Marie Claire cover was revealed on August 14. Although the pictorial marked her first individual activity since returning to ADOR, the company clarified that the fashion project was not directly tied to the resumption of music activities.

“Specific music activity plans and methods will be announced once they are confirmed,” the agency said.

For that reason, Haerin’s remarks are best understood as an expression of intention rather than a formal comeback announcement.

NewJeans’ Clock Has Started Moving Again

Although a musical return remains unconfirmed, NewJeans has gradually reappeared in official content.

On July 22, the group’s fourth debut anniversary, Minji, Hanni, Haerin and Hyein appeared together in the 2026 Summer of NewJeans video series. It was their first coordinated official team content in more than a year.

The videos used quiet summer scenes and recurring rabbit imagery closely associated with the group’s fandom, Bunnies. Their release immediately fueled comeback speculation, but ADOR described them as commemorative anniversary content and emphasized that no specific activity plan had been decided.

Haerin’s magazine cover then became another visible step forward. The Dior Beauty pictorial presented a more mature version of the singer while preserving the restrained, distinctive image that has defined much of her individual fashion work.

More importantly, the accompanying interview gave fans something the photographs alone could not: Haerin’s own words about how she had spent the hiatus and what she hopes to experience next.

Haerin Says She Kept Practicing During NewJeans’ Long Hiatus / News1

A Different Haerin Could Return to the Stage

Haerin debuted with NewJeans in 2022, when she was still a teenager. The group’s rise was unusually fast, beginning with the surprise release of “Attention” and continuing through hits including “Hype Boy,” “Ditto,” “OMG,” “Super Shy” and “How Sweet.”

That rapid success meant Haerin spent much of her adolescence moving through demanding recording, performance and promotional schedules.

Her time away from public activities therefore represents a significant period in her personal development. Practicing was only one part of it. Reading, studying and traveling may also have given her experiences that could affect how she approaches music and performance as an adult.

Her desire to appear “more freely” onstage suggests that a future return would not simply recreate the Haerin audiences last saw in 2025. She appears interested in showing more of her immediate emotions rather than concentrating only on executing a polished performance.

For an artist known for her controlled expressions and quiet public personality, that could mark a meaningful evolution.

Hope, but Not Yet a Date

Haerin’s comments offer fans a reason for cautious optimism, but they do not answer the biggest question surrounding NewJeans: when the group will officially resume music activities.

What has been confirmed is that Haerin continued practicing, has resumed individual public work and still places the stage at the center of the future she wants.

What remains unknown is whether new music has been recorded, when a comeback might happen and what form the group’s next activities will take.

Until ADOR makes a formal announcement, those details remain undecided publicly. But after a long period in which NewJeans’ future was discussed mainly through court decisions and agency statements, Haerin has redirected attention to something simpler: performing, enjoying the stage more freely and finally seeing the fans who waited for her.