2021–present: Solo activities and W
After Iz*One officially concluded activities on April 29, 2021, Kang returned to being a trainee under 8D Creative. On July 21, it was announced that Kang would be making her debut as an actress in the upcoming third season of web series Best Mistake, portraying character Jin Se-hee. On July 27, she made an appearance in Parc Jae-jung's "Hobby" music video. In August, Kang was confirmed as a cast member of MBC's variety show How A Family is Made.
On December 8, a teaser video was revealed on her YouTube channel, announcing the upcoming release of a winter special album, W. On December 22, she released the album with "Winter Poem" as the lead single.
