Three-member K-pop groups are exceedingly rare, and they usually are the result of an earlier group. JYJ is famously a boy group created out of former TVXQ members, and Viviz is the reunion of three members of GFriend. Likewise, Odd Eye Circle began life as a three-member subunit of Blockberry Creative girl group Loona (even though Odd Eye Circle technically debuted before Loona did!). Each member brings their own color to the group, sometimes literally, and any one of them has traits that could make them the leader. However, ultimately, there can only be one leader. So among JinSoul, Kim Lip, & Choerry, here is the full answer to who the leader of Odd Eye Circle (OEC) is.
Kim Lip Is the Leader of Odd Eye Circle
Kim Lip is the leader. This was true when Odd Eye Circle originally debuted in September 2017 at Blockberry Creative, and it continued to be true when the group redebuted at Modhaus in 2023. She is not the oldest member of Odd Eye Circle though, instead falling in the middle for age. Why exactly Kim Lip was chosen to be the leader does not appear to have been discussed in explicit terms, but the group has always seemed happy with this arrangement. Kim Lip and especially Choerry are extroverted group members, while JinSoul is known to be more introverted.
Since reuniting as Odd Eye Circle as part of the ARTMS project at Modhaus, the members have enjoyed greater creative freedom. Particularly, Kim Lip contributed to the lyric writing for their song “Air Force One,” but the group has felt more involved in the album creation in general. Referring to the process of making their redebut album, Version Up, Kim Lip said, “Instead of giving up our individual characteristics, we actually emphasised each of our own abilities at the same time, all in one album.”
Kim Lip’s legal name is Kim Jung-eun, which unfortunately sounds similar to the name of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, so Blockberry had given her the stage name of Kim Lip to avoid any such comparisons. Incidentally, even before high school, Kim Lip already knew and was friends with fellow Loona member Chuu, and they went through three years of high school together. That doesn’t have anything to do with Odd Eye Circle, but it’s just an amazing factoid worth mentioning!
In summary, Kim Lip is the leader of Odd Eye Circle, and she has enjoyed greater artistic freedom since joining Modhaus. For more about the group, check out how old all of the ARTMS members currently are. Or for another group consisting of Loona members, check out who the “crew commander” (leader) of Loossemble is — and the unique circumstances under which she was chosen.