MIYA’s Adventures and Dreams in Sweden (Interview @ NärCon Summer 2024)
MIYA (Miyauchi Haruka, born 1993 in Shizuoka, Japan) is a Japanese solo artist who made herself known worldwide with her unique girl crush charm after her debut as an idol in the South Korean group GWSN (active 2018-2022). Since starting her solo career in May 2023 under the Japanese company MASTER LIGHTS INC. she has been active as an artist, model, actress, MC, among other things. Besides being a performer on stage, she also has a passion for art and illustration, and has designed album covers and merchandise. In March this year, she released her debut single MIYAO, which after its release charted high on the iTunes charts in several countries, even reaching No. 1 on the K-pop charts in the Netherlands and New Zealand.
SJPA had the honour of inviting MIYA to Northern Europe’s largest gaming and cosplay festival NärCon Summar 2024, which took place at Linköping University on 25-28 July with over 17,000 visitors attending the event. Thanks to our long collaboration with NärCon and close relationship with several of the event’s visitors, we were able to organise a number of different activities, such as a dance workshop, a live concert on the Main Stage, jury member participation in the NärCon Kpop Championship (NKC 2024), as well as a signing session for the artist to interact with her overseas fans.
We also worked together with Nochi (Instagram: @nochi_squad), a K-pop and J-pop dance team based in Gothenburg, Sweden, who joined her on stage as background dancers during MIYAO.
During the event, we had an exclusive opportunity to interview the Japanese artist about her thoughts on Sweden, a bit about Japan, and about her dreams and goals as an artist. The interview was conducted and translated by our member Rudy Klaassen.
Below is the exclusive interview with MIYA!
Thank you for coming to Sweden and to NärCon! What was your impression of Sweden before you came here?
Thank you as well for inviting me!
When I found out that I was going to be going to Sweden, I actually did some online research. The impression I got was that there were a lot of trees and mountains, just a lot of nature!
What is your impression of Sweden now that you are here?
That there actually are a lot of trees and nature! I sure saw a lot on the way from the airport to Linköping. Also, that Swedish people are kind and warm!
You have had a range of different activities here at NärCon, how does it feel?
I was so happy to be able to perform on stage and that I could meet people here, but I still wish I had more time to talk to everyone.
How does it feel to have been able to meet fans abroad who have supported you for so long?
It has really made me very happy.
I haven’t had many chances to meet fans abroad before, so it makes me so happy to be able to meet them and talk with them now.
Since you are from Shizuoka, do you have any place or dish you would recommend to someone who would travel there?
I would recommend going to the Mount Fuji area. The nature there is very beautiful, and since it’s summer, it’s not as hot there compared to the city, a bit like how it is here now in Sweden. When it comes to a dish, I would recommend udon, black udon noodles!
Before you went to South Korea to debut as a member of GWSN, you were active in a K-pop dance cover group. Could you tell us a bit about the types of events you participated in Japan?
I’d say it is a bit similar to how it is like here in Sweden. There are competitions similar to NärCon Kpop Championship, but also that we’d also perform at live houses during various other events.
When you went to debut in South Korea in 2018, what surprised you about South Korea compared to Japan?
What surprised me was that the door to the taxi didn’t open automatically like they do in Japan!
As a final question: you debuted with MIYAO in March earlier this year, what is your goal during this first year as a solo artist?
I want to show and perform MIYAO to people everywhere!
While you’re here, make sure to also check out another interview at our partner’s site Dumpling Box for some more insights into MIYA as an artist!
🔗 Exclusive Interview with MIYA: An Exotic Kitty-Cat on the Japanese K-pop Scene
