KARA poses during photocall of a showcase introducing their 3rd full-length album "STEP" in Seoul, South Korea on September 14, 2011. [Lee Jin-hyuk/10Asia]

K-pop girl group KARA held their showcase today, celebrating the release of their third full-length album and their comeback to the local music scene in ten months.

The girls took to the stage for their performance of their title track “STEP," from their third studio release of the same name, for the first-time ever in front of several hundred local and international fans as well as viewers of their official YouTube channel at SBS’ Open Hall in Seoul on Wednesday.

"It's been several months since we released an album in Korea……we worked really hard in recording 'STEP' and perfecting the choreography," KARA member Han Seungyeon said as she introduced the album to their fans while leader Park Gyulee explained that the album will reveal the music style of KARA as well as show the cuteness and sweetness of the group.

The showcase also featured various segments in which KARA members spoke about the activities they pursued during their break, introduced different songs to their new album such as "Rider," "Strawberry," "I'm ...ing" and answered questions from selected fans.

The girls then gave their performance of their song "Dear Kamilia" which is a soft ballad dedicated for their fans.

The showcase wrapped up with new tune "Date" and the group thanked their fans for coming to event. "We hope that you all enjoyed our showcase and we will work hard in becoming a better KARA! And please support us as we'll give our comeback performance tomorrow."

KARA, composed of other members Kang Jiyoung, Nicole Jung and Gu Hara, has been one of the most popular girl groups in the music scene since their debut in 2007. They have released several singles and albums which include hit songs such as "Pretty Girl," "Mister" and "Lupin."

"STEP" is their first release in the country since their dispute earlier this year when members Seungyeon, Jiyoung and Nicole declared they would split from their agency DSP Media.

They then decided in April that they would stay with DSP but since then, had only made few TV appearances and held a local fan meeting in mid-June.

In the meantime, the girls had begun promoting "STEP" through their official YouTube channel since mid-August which shows various self-shot videos and clips of them preparing for their comeback.

They are set to promote "STEP" for three weeks on various televised music shows and entertainment programs and then resume their activities in Japan and focus on individual activities.

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10 아시아 Reporter : Lucia Hong luciahong@
10 아시아 Editor : Jessica Kim jesskim@
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