Kang left Kara in April 2014, but rejoined for the group's 15th anniversary commemorative album Move Again (2022), and subsequent concert tour (2024).

She released her debut studio album, Many Faces (2017), which spawned two top-ten singles in Japan, "Saigo no Sayonara" and "Suki na Hito ga Iru Koto".

[9][10] She made her broadcast debut alongside fellow newcomer to the group Goo Hara on July 24, 2008, performing on the music program M Countdown on Mnet.

[20] She also joined the MBC Standard FM radio show Stop the Boring Time that same year, hosting the "Tasting Corner" segment.

[21] In July 2010, Kang began presenting the MBC Every1 variety show I Love Pets alongside member Han Seung-yeon.

[22] That same month, Kang made a guest appearance on the SBS variety program Haha-Mong Show, and was later promoted to a series regular in September.

[36] Consisting of 12 episodes, the series premiered in Japan on TV Tokyo on April 13, 2012,[37] and subsequently aired in South Korea on Tooniverse from September 7, 2012.

[43] As part of the 2012 SBS Gayo Daejeon, an end-of-year music festival, Kang joined fellow idols Sistar's Yoon Bo-ra, 4Minute's Heo Ga-yoon, Secret's Han Sun-hwa and After School's Lizzy, to form the supergroup Mystic White.

[45] On January 15, 2014, Kang announced her departure from Kara, citing a desire to study abroad and focus on her acting career.

[47] Kang starred opposite Bae Soo-bin in the anthology series Secret Love, which began airing on the cable channel Dramacube on June 13, 2014.

[1][51] In September, Kang was cast in her first Japanese-language role as Yukime, a yuki-onna who has fallen in love with the main protagonist, in the live-action television adaptation of Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube.

[56] In 2015, Kang took a supporting role in the science-fiction comedy film Assassination Classroom as Irina Jelavić, a professional hitwoman working undercover as an English teacher.

[58] The film was released on March 21 in Japan, topping the domestic box office in its first weekend, and ultimately grossing a worldwide total of $25 million.

[59][60][61] The following month, Kang made a cameo appearance in the anime film Detective Conan: Sunflowers of Inferno, voicing the role of a museum guide.

Released on March 16, the song was supported by a three-track extended play of the same name, with two of the tracks featuring production and songwriting from British singer MNEK.

[78][79][80] Her next role was in the short film Life Is..., portraying Yuna, a photography student living in Kyoto who is tasked with taking a photograph that captures the concept of "umami".

[86] The song was used as the main theme for the Fuji TV drama series A Girl & Three Sweethearts, with Kang making a cameo appearance in the final episode.

[96] Early in her career, Kang received media attention for her tall height relative to her bandmates and despite her young age, and was affectionately nicknamed "Giant Baby" by the press.

[102] In October 2011, Kang made her runway debut walking for Lie Sang Bong's S/S 2012 collection at Seoul Fashion Week.

[105] That same year, Kang became an exclusive model for women's fashion magazine Non-no, making her first solo cover appearance for its December issue.