Part 2: Signature Differences Throughout the Eras

Taking the previous descriptions as a base, we will, in this section, exclusively point out the main differences that can be found from era to era in the members’ signatures. If you are looking for a specific type of signed item, knowing how fromis_9’s autographs looked like at that point in time will facilitate your job in authenticating the signature.

Idol School

Some of these signatures were rarely used, if at all. In any case, if you never bump into them while looking for fromis_9 merchandise, knowing they existed is at least a cool fact.

Saerom – Slightly more detailed, the main differences in Saerom’s first signature are extra steps before completing the “ㄹ,” a heart instead of a face at the very bottom, and a crown on top of the “ㅅ.” The knot is also more circular and similar to an “ㅇ.”

Hayoung – Piano keys inside the loop formed by the “g,” a solid heart at the very end, “H.Y” written between the “g” and the heart, and no exclamation marks seen at the end. Note that each letter of “ong” was written separately.

Gyuri – Completely different, Gyuri’s signature during Idol School was just her name fancily written in cursive with a big star serving as a tittle for the “i.”

Jiwon – “G1.” That was her signature, literally. Two eyes and a tongue made the “G” feel more alive.

Jisun – A cute cursive “jeeseon” with hearts both as the tittle of the “j” and at the very end.

Seoyeon – Aside from the “y” being closed at the bottom and its decoration looking more like a tongue than a pair of teeth, no changes.

Chaeyoung – The “Cy” was still the main attraction, but Chaeyoung spelled “oung” a lot more clearly (although with tiny writing). Her signature was more horizontal and less busy in the middle. The “C,” much bigger than the rest, was decorated at the top with two eyes and two teeth.

Nagyung – The only change is an extra bump before the first “g.”

Jiheon – A “j” connected to an “h” by a straight line (that could be interpreted as an “i”), forming a big “H.” A small scribble follows representing the “eon.” On top of the “H,” what looks like a mouth with two pointy teeth at the sides, one of Jiheon’s main features. The signature is wrapped around in a big half heart, that could represent Jiheon’s famous eye smile.

Glass shoes and To. Heart

Like most groups around debut, the first signatures of our girls as fromis_9 tended to be detailed and written with care. At the same time, they could show small inconsistencies from signature to signature due to lack of practice. As a way to help people identify their autographs, their names were often penned to the side of each signature.

Saerom – The “ㄹ” presents two little changes, having an extra step while descending and not going as far left. In some versions, the knot towards the end is more circular, and in others, triangular.

Hayoung – No changes. Note that each letter of “ong” was written separately.

Gyuri – No changes. Complete signature with name and surname.

Jiwon – Some inconsistencies while writing the “ㅇ.” Sometimes, Jiwon would start her signature clockwise as opposed to counterclockwise. Aside from that, no changes.

Jisun – Although the “J” was flat at the top and the heart at the very end of her signature was wide like her current one, the middle section of Jisun’s signature resembled a lot more the cursive “eeseon” written in her Idol School autograph.

Seoyeon – Occasionally, no decorations would be added to the “y.”

Chaeyoung – The “C” would sometimes show remnants of her Idol School autograph, being bigger in size and decorated with eyes and teeth at the top. This is not a rule, though. On occasion, it would look very much like her current signature.

Nagyung – Only decoration changes. A crown was always seen adorning the top of the “ㄴ,” and at times, a little heart would be drawn on top of the last “g.”

Jiheon – No changes.

To. Day

By the time To. Day was released, most members had established their signatures. To the girls who had not, it served as a transition period to arrive at their current autographs.

This era was marked by the absence of Gyuri, who was participating in Produce 48. Due to this fact, most copies of To. Day were handed out without her signature.

Saerom – Her signature looked identical to the current one. No changes.

Hayoung – Hayoung gave preference to writing each letter of “ong” separately, but versions in cursive can be found. Overall, no changes.

Gyuri – Since Gyuri did not take part in the promotions of the album, finding a signature of her during this era is particularly rare. However, the few that exist were unchanged.

Jiwon – No changes.

Jisun – The two bumps that follow the “J” would sometimes be clumped together, and the “eight” right after them was often flat (like a simple slash). Subsequently, three hills were drawn instead of a single downward twist, and the final heart was closed rather than wrapped around the signature. Late into this era, some of Jisun’s autographs resembled far more her current one, having the heart closed at the end as the biggest difference.

Seoyeon – On the “y,” two rectangular-shaped teeth would be used at the center instead of pointy ones. Sometimes, it would be left without decoration.

Chaeyoung – Two dots (eyes) were added on top of the “C” as decoration.

Nagyung – A crown was added on top of the “ㄴ” as decoration.

Jiheon – No changes.

From.9

Starting from the album cover, which featured a heart-shaped hole that forced members to either sign around it or inside the album, this era was one of the most inconsistent for fromis_9’s signatures in terms of how tidy they looked. Some autographs were more rushed; others, detailed. On average, they were also smaller, a consequence of From.9 being the smallest out of all fromis_9’s physical albums.

Saerom – No changes.

Hayoung – Hayoung gave preference to writing each letter of “ong” in cursive, but versions where she wrote them separately can be found. Overall, no changes.

Gyuri – One of the most consistent out of all members. Unchanged signature with name and surname.

Jiwon – No changes.

Jisun – Perhaps due to the lack of space, Jisun’s signature would often look slightly more blocky, but always containing its main features. It was not uncommon for her to add a small dip before the heart at the end

Seoyeon – This is the era Seoyeon decided that signing every album with the utmost care was just too much. While some copies contain her usual signature (albeit without some decorations), her autographs on most items are, at the slightest, hard to describe. Sometimes the “S” and the decoration on top of it would be seen, but it is not possible to state her signatures had clear patterns.

Chaeyoung – No changes.

Nagyung – A crown would occasionally be added on top of the “ㄴ.”

Jiheon – The heart would not always be added.

Fun FActory

During Fun Factory, fromis_9’s signed albums were sold on Mwave for the first time, making flovers happy all around the world. Our nine girls, however, were likely not as enthusiastic about the piles of albums they had to sign. If a single word was needed to describe the autographs during this era, “rushed” would be it.

Saerom – To speed up the process, she would often skip a step when writing the “ㄹ,” going left sooner and making it rounder. The squiggle at the end turned into a simple bump, while the eyes on top of it were done in a single movement, like a small “s,” rather than added separately.

Hayoung – Although still recognizable, Hayoung wouldn’t put nearly as much emphasis on making “ong” readable. At times, the “g” was omitted, skipping the signature directly to the two parallel lines at the end. The two dots were also removed. From here onwards, cursive was her choice.

Gyuri – Only her first name would be written. The “u” and the “y” would be often fused into three bumps.

Jiwon – After writing the “ㅇ,” Jiwon would frequently join the rest of her signature as if making a small staircase with three steps. Occasionally, only the “ㅇ” and the “kiss” were added, skipping the middle section of her autograph.

Jisun – The “i” and “s” would often be represented by a single bump, while the last downward twist would be removed, connecting the “eight” and the heart with a straight line.

Seoyeon – Similarly to From.9 era, Seoyeon’s autographs were disorganized. While a few strokes were usually added in similar positions, it is not possible to state her signatures had clear patterns.

Chaeyoung – Sometimes her signature would be cut short. Overall, no changes.

Nagyung – The three bumps that represented the “yun” would often be turned into two, or just one. Both the first and the second “g” were commonly left without a loop, and the “ㄴ” only received eyes as decoration.

Jiheon – The decorations were toned down by removing the heart and adding only a rough contour of the eyeglasses to the face.

My Little Society

My Little Society was the second fromis_9 album sold on Mwave. This time, however, each copy was signed by a single member only, dividing the work between the girls and bringing more detailed autographs back.

This era was marked by the absence of Seoyeon, who injured her leg during the album preparations. We could find no record of items signed by Seoyeon throughout this era.

Saerom – The squiggle at the end would sometimes be a single bump.

Hayoung – The “n” would sometimes be fused with the “g,” but the overall look of the signature stayed unchanged. The two dots were not added.

Gyuri – Especially when an item was signed by multiple members and space was limited, Gyuri would ink a simple “g” at the end of her surname, not decorating it with a face. 

Jiwon – Her signature was often more clumped, making the steps following the “ㅇ” harder to identify. Overall, no changes.

Jisun – At times, Jisun would write the whole signature in a single movement, directly connecting the “s” and the “eight.” The downward twist before the heart was not always seen.

Seoyeon – We could find no record of items signed by Seoyeon throughout this era.

Chaeyoung – Sometimes her signature would be cut short. Overall, no changes.

Nagyung – Occasionally, no decoration would be added. Two bumps instead of three would sometimes be used to represent the “yun.”

Jiheon – The decorations were, at times, toned down by removing the heart and adding only a rough contour of the eyeglasses to the face.