“I Overheard Them Scolding My Mum Over The Phone”: Local Actress Ferlyn G On Why She Gave Up Her Career As A K-Pop Idol

Well, it’s their loss. The 31-year-old, who is the star of Mediacorp drama The Sky Is Still Blue, tells  8days.sg if she thinks her time in Korea was a waste and if she’s still pals with fellow Skarf member Tasha Low.

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Google local actress Ferlyn G, 31, and the first thing that pops up is her stint in now-defunct K-pop girl group Skarf.

She was known as Ferlyn Wong when she debuted as a member of the group in 2012 after two years of hardcore idol-training in Korea.

Skarf, which reportedly stands for Singapore Korea Are Friends, was made up of members from both Singapore and Korea. Ferlyn, along with one of this year’s Star Awards Top 10 Most Popular Female Artistes Tasha Low, were the Singapore reps.

Ferlyn left the group, which was formed by Alpha Entertainment, in 2014 to move home and pursue a solo career. Her departure from Skarf was less than amicable apparently… but more on that in a bit.

Nine years later, Ferlyn, who dropped her surname ‘Wong’ for the catchier ‘G’, which stands for her middle name Gilleen, is the lead actress of new Mediacorp drama The Sky Is Still Blue.

She plays Liang Jun Lin, an OL who is all about corporate social responsibility. Jun Lin establishes a team called “Help The Bankrupt,” and the drama follows her journey in, well, helping those who have gone bankrupt.

The Sky Is Still Blue marks Ferlyn’s first time playing the lead in a Mediacorp drama. When we ask about what it feels like being the headliner of a drama, Ferlyn lets out an excited giggle.

“Stress lah!” she says to 8days.sg. Prior to The Sky Is Still Blue, Ferlyn had roles in Mediacorp dramas Kin, Mind Jumper, Live Your Dreams and Silent Walls.

“I’m not a Mediacorp artiste, so it’s like why ah? Why put this trust in me when there are so many [actresses] out there who are prettier, and speak better Mandarin,” she says.

She admits she had placed a lot of pressure on herself. For example, she would memorise her script days before each scene just so she wouldn’t mess up on set.

“[I had to] work doubly hard,” adds Ferlyn, with a chuckle that sounded like she was feeling both accomplished and relieved. “When I got home after work, I always had such a good sleep ’cos it was so tiring during the day. That was the best part. I go back and ‘Bam!’ K.O.,”

We figure all the stress must have gotten to her when she tells us that she fell sick three times on the set of The Sky Is Still Blue.

“I’ve actually never fallen sick while working on any projects before,” she says. “Thankfully I was sick on my off days, so I was just bedridden for the whole day. I thought I was Covid positive, but I was not. I was just too tired,” she says.

8DAYS.SG: You returned to Singapore after two years of being an idol in Korea. Was there a specific incident that made you decide to come back?

FERLYN G: It was more of a build up instead of one specific incident. But if I had to pinpoint one thing that made me go to the extreme of flying back, it was when I felt that the people from the company were being rude to my parents. I overheard them scolding my mum over the phone. They said things like “How did you educate your daughter?”, “Why is she like that?” and “Are you fit to be a mother?” (Sighs)

That really triggered me. I’m the one who signed with you guys, and I’m your artiste, it has nothing to do with my family. I was already 21. If they were unhappy with me, they should have just told me.

It’s like, I’m your employee, and you’re my employer. We’re actually just business partners. There has to be a level of respect that goes both ways. If you’re not happy about my work ethics or whatever, you can always come to me and scold me. You are my boss. They crossed the line when they [involved] my family.

In an interview in May, you opened about your struggles with mental health issues. When did you realise you were depressed?

It started when I was [in Korea], but I didn’t realise it until I came back to Singapore. I started to digest everything that happened to me and that was when everything came pouring in. I was spiralling, plus the fact that I didn’t know what to do with my life.

I gave up on my studies when I went to Korea. My highest education level was O-Levels. Should I go back to my studies? But after five years of not studying, I didn’t have the drive and the momentum wasn’t there anymore. [If] I wanted to go out and work, what would I work as? If I work at cafes, people will recognise me. What should I say? At that point [the agency] had yet to officially announce the news of the group’s disbandment.

It was those two years where I was really spiralling, not knowing my direction in life. I realised I wasn’t in a good place.

How did you get back up on your feet?

It was all thanks to my friends. They could see how I changed over time. They realised there was something wrong with me and they suggested a lot of other career options for me. Acting was one of them.

At that point, there was an open audition for a movie called When Ghost Meets Zombie. A friend sent me the poster for it, and when I looked at the age requirement for the female lead role, I was totally not within the range. My friend insisted I still try it out and said they would talk to the boss [on my behalf]. So I went for it, and my life changed. [Ed: Ferlyn was cast as the lead opposite Nathan Hartono in the 2019 romcom]

Have you ever felt that your time spent in Korea was wasted?

No, not really. I wouldn’t have become an actress if not for those five years in Korea. I was studying business in Temasek Polytechnic and my dream then was to be an OL. I thought it was very cool to dress like Jun Lin (laughs). Then things happened.

I feel like everyone has a different path to take, and this is my story. Although it was very tough, I still enjoyed my time there. Honestly, when I was [in Korea], I didn’t feel like I was in a bad place ‘cos all of us were going through the same thing. There wasn’t anything else for me to compare with. It was my first job, so to me, that was the norm. My whole world was the idol world. I didn’t know anything outside of that. To me, that was what being a working adult was like.

It was only when I came back that I started to see that what I went through was tougher than what others had gone through. That was when I started to feel sorry for myself. If I stayed on in Korea, I probably wouldn’t have realised that things could be different.

You can watch Ferlyn in The Sky Is Still Blue on meWATCH here, or on Ch 8, weekdays at 9pm.

Photos: Dillon Tan, Amanda Chia, SKarf SG Fanspage/ Facebook