Wonder Girls: Behind the Smiles

sLaVe in Editorials on Jan 08, 2008 - 10:14 AM  –  2891 Views  –  90 Comments
Tags: wonder girls jyp entertainment sun mi sun ye so hee kara ye eun

Wonder Girls KPop

Dancing on stage, looking happy, looking cute, and making everyone grove to their songs is what the Wonder Girls are known for. But few people know what it was like for the girls growing up, prior to training, prior to fame. No one sees that behind the smiles, there is a sad past.

Wonder Girls Sun Ye
Lead singer, Sun Ye grew up with no mother and because her father did not care much for her, she was raised by her grandparents (who she sees as her mother and father now). This was revealed on a radio show back around July - August when a discussion about mothers was brought up. The members knew about this, but the radio hosts did not, still, she shared her story with a smile and a few tears while the other members kept quiet.

Wonder Girls Sun Mi
At a more recent radio show, another past story was revealed. Sun Mi (who doesn't get much attention), had confessed that she feels like her group members don’t treat her fairly. It seems to her that everyone favors So Hee, who is her age; which is all the more reason to feel second rate. When Sun Mi would imitate something that So Hee did that everyone thought was cute, Sun Mi would get an irritated or negative response. It's the little things that count in any type of relationship, and Sun Mi feels left out. Ye Eun tried to help, but only made matters worse by saying it's only a joke because like Sun Mi, she has a weird sense of humor. Ye Eun also tried to provide some comic relief by pinning the blame on Sun Mi by saying she is very self conscious. Sun Mi has it tough, she's sad when she doesn't receive attention, and it's even worse when she does.

However, Sun Ye (the group's leader and "resolver") defended Sun Mi because she "understands." She feels Sun Mi is the way she is because she did not receive parental affection growing up, and she wants to be loved by her older members. She states that Sun Mi’s reason for acting so fickle is because of her family’s hardships. Sun Mi’s father passed away when she was young, and because of this, they lived in a very rural area with her brother and mother. Sun Mi was deprived of a normal childhood as well as many luxuries, or rather common items. In addition, Sun Mi had to pass on a chance to study in Seoul due to the costly expenses. This surprised and impressed producer JYP (and everyone else) because she smiles everyday, doesn’t complain, rarely cries and is always bubbly. However, upon further examination, there have been countless times where Sun Mi appears to just put on a fake smile to hide her sorrow. Hence, she has picked up the nickname “4-dimensional Sun Mi.”

Other girl group members who also share a similar story is KARA's lead singer, Sung Hee, who also grew up with no mother (some say she recently passed away) and she wears a ring to commemorate her. Sung Hee states because of her mother (who was also interested in singing), she wanted to become a singer to make her proud. So Nyuh Shi Dae's (Girls' Generation) cheerleader, Tiffany, also grew up without a mother. She still commemorates her in SNSD’s album by saying a shout out to her.

Many people feel celebrities have it all and that their lives are perfect, but behind those pretty little masks, often found are stories of tragedy and despair.

Comments

1.  teresa
Jan 08, 2008 - 01:12 PM

i didn’t know all of this...i thought these girls are a bunch of happy, carefree type of person...I feel for sun mi

2.  mana
Jan 08, 2008 - 02:14 PM
mana's avatar

BOOOOO HOOOOOOOOO.... i’m touched by their tear-jerking stories...booooo hooooooooooooo hohohohohhooooooooo

3.  mitchybits
Jan 08, 2008 - 02:17 PM

Wow. I got really teary reading this article. I can understand how Sun Ye & Sun Mi feel. It bites not having parental guidance around when growing up & not being able to have all of life’s necessities when needed. It’s just not the same. Some people have it lucky but don’t appreciate how good they have it.

4.  mitchybits
Jan 08, 2008 - 02:20 PM

mana—I really hope you are ‘touched’ by the stories & not being sarcastic.

5.  mana
Jan 08, 2008 - 02:33 PM
mana's avatar

well.... i’m touched for Sunye and all who lack their parents’ love, but i have no interrest in listening to Sunmi flapping how she is treated different than Sohee.
And that boohooo is dedicated to the one and only sour-grape Sunmi.

6.  resabambino
Jan 08, 2008 - 02:50 PM

all most every Korean singer has a sad story. Geez, everyone is going to have hardship. It still doesn’t make up for their none singing talent.

7.  sLaVe
Jan 08, 2008 - 03:44 PM
sLaVe's avatar

Much agreed resambino.

Mana, why the hate?

-sLaVe

8.  choski
Jan 08, 2008 - 11:03 PM

honestly, i like sun mi WAYYYYYYYY better than so hee.

9.  johnnydorama
Jan 09, 2008 - 03:36 AM
johnnydorama's avatar

yeah, sun mi’s cute in the tell me videos

10.  sLaVe
Jan 09, 2008 - 03:32 PM
sLaVe's avatar

And she’s better lookin
When Sun Mi is being weird and silly, I like her most. But when she’s being quiet, she’s still pretty.

-sLaVe

11.  shnozzberryAKAscubakris
Jan 09, 2008 - 07:02 PM
shnozzberryAKAscubakris's avatar

boohoo hoo cry me a river sad sad...yeah right, normal people have similar tales yet they aren’t celebrities and people don’t “feel” for them..I can give two rats a$$es about that sh!t.

12.  sLaVe
Jan 09, 2008 - 09:38 PM
sLaVe's avatar

^Actually, I sorta understand why they feel that way. But you gotta think about the psychological effect on not having parents (especially if you want parental love like that). Then you gotta go away, WORK YOUR ASS OFF (come on, you know they work hard. Even if the end result is sucky as sheit, they still worked for it) and don’t have anyone there for them? Humans can’t survive without some form of love. That’s stressing yo.

-sLaVe

13.  lol
Jan 09, 2008 - 09:39 PM

@resabambino, i completely agree. sometimes i wonder if these sad stories are true or not. like when i watch ysmm EVERYONE’s got a sad bf suicide story or some shit like that.

anyhoo, i feel bad for sun mi. sohee gets wayyy too much undeserving attention, especially given the fact that she can’t sing worth shit.

14.  ch0sshi
Jan 09, 2008 - 09:43 PM
ch0sshi's avatar

Sun Mi seriously needs to get noticed a bit more.. they need to put mandoo face So Hee in a cave or something for a while… LOL

no teary-eyedness from reading this, but it was a pretty sad read.

15.  sLaVe
Jan 09, 2008 - 09:55 PM
sLaVe's avatar

Yeah, I get the feeling everyone who is famous has a sad story. Maybe it’s good karma to make up for their shiety life if it is true?

BUT YES! FREAKING KEEP SOHEE IN A CAGE! PLEASE. Okay, so maybe she’s gotten prettier. But she’s still boring if she’s not on stage. Oh SO boring. And weird sounding if her voice isn’t recorded and fixed up. MEGA fixed up.

-sLaVe

16.  Sam
Jan 09, 2008 - 10:26 PM

yeah i feel bad for sun mi. plus, judging by the pictures i’ve seen of these girls, i think sun mi is probably better looking - partly because she seems like she would be pretty even without makeup.

17.  sLaVe
Jan 10, 2008 - 06:14 PM
sLaVe's avatar

^ She does. the picture of the one in the corner is her without makeup. Plus, in Ye Eun’s Happy Share (three parts, subbed on youtube) they showed Sun Mi without make up and she looks so normal and pretty.

18.  mana
Jan 10, 2008 - 07:55 PM
mana's avatar

She’s good looking but she’s not as CUTE as dumpling face = no attenttion.
Eat some more pizzas and cheese, may the fat will eventually gather around her cheeks and eyes then she will have the power to challenge dumpling face’s popularity.

19.  sierramist
Jan 10, 2008 - 10:22 PM

i can tell that you like sun mih but that doesn’t give you a reason to bash on other member such as soh hee who it seems like you dislike A LOT. i don’t know where you find all the crap to share in here because i’m a wonder girls fan and i’ve watched every single one of their clip, pictures, articles and listened to any of their radios. sun mih has never shared that...maybe you’re translating it wrong....she never said “she feels like her group members don’t treat her fairly” and even if she did, it shouldn’t be her saying that. you can tell that soh hee is the one that looks like she is getting outcasted most of the time. sun mih seeks for attention while soh hee just sits there...she knows when to back up. and she has been ALWAYS self confident in herself. she has always told the camera that she liked the way she looked and stuff. also telling the audience “you should never be afraid calling yourself pretty because i’m telling the truth that i’m pretty.” sun mih had a hard childhood but that doesn’t mean that she wants attention now because of her childhood and now your writing is making sun mih look bad as well. i’m very much offended of your “make up” writing. if you’re gunna do this. do this accuratly and right. don’t cause trouble or rumor because wonder girls is fine just the way it is. they don’t “try” to leave people out. it’s just how the audience looks at it. and just to let you know...sun mih didn’t become a SINGER because she was pretty. she has a perfectly fine voice that gave her the right to be in wonder girls as well as soh hee (of course the other members as well). do it right please.

20.  johnnydorama
Jan 11, 2008 - 12:30 AM
johnnydorama's avatar

^fangirling at it’s best

21.  5th
Jan 11, 2008 - 01:01 AM
5th's avatar

Do you hear that? It’s the world’s smallest violin.

22.  sLaVe
Jan 11, 2008 - 08:00 PM
sLaVe's avatar

sierramist , I never said she became a singer cuz she was pretty. I actually think her voice is much more controlled than Ye Eun, though Ye Eun can reach more range.
Another thing, I got this information off soompi and their fanblog on wordpress, articles I’ve read elsewhere in small sites, etc. If you can understand Korean and tell me that’s not what she said, then fine, I’ll admit you’re right.
And just because you MIGHT have watched more WG videos than me, it doesn’t hide the fact that the many I have seen makes Sun Mi look like she’s pushed in the back while EVERYONE else TALKS about SoHee. I never much hear anyone even bringing up Sun Mi’s name. It’s always about SoHee and how “cute” she is and how her “ommola” is this and that.

-sLaVe

23.  christee8876
Jan 12, 2008 - 04:25 AM

it’s true that Sun Mi gets the least attention. so hee is what everyone talks about because she’s cute and young. Sun mi is also really young, but she has a more mature look. it’s really disturbing how every focuses on SoHee sooo much.

24.  wonder girls
Jan 13, 2008 - 08:59 PM

omg im so touched love wonder girls

25.  sierramist
Jan 14, 2008 - 12:01 AM

mmm no not at all. it USED to be soh hee but now it’s mostly all sun mih. sun mih wasn’t as popular back in irony but tell me def. pushed her fans way out. i’d say that she’s one of the most popular members. a lot of the fans in america are complaining about how sun mih never gets attention but in fact...she’s getting A LOT in korea. (so that’s most of the fans since a lot of fans are in fact korean) i don’t think soh hee’s liked just because she’s cute...there are much more that you obviously don’t see in her. no need to bash other members because you want to support sun mih. sun mih is a type of person that will do exactly what is told. meaning that she will do exactly what she practiced. she needs to work on how to put in feelings into her singing which yeh eun does well. i mean...it’s your opinion that “sun mih sings better than yeh eun” but stating the fact that there is probably a reason why the JYP staff doesn’t give sun mih as much vocal as yeh eun.

your opinion. no need to put into FACT along with articles or things that are in fact just “facts” the thing you wrote was basically your opinion. sun mih and sun yeh doesn’t need people to feel bad for them.

26.  mana
Jan 15, 2008 - 12:25 AM
mana's avatar

Well....what more are in So Hee other than the fact that she is suppose-to-be-cute? Voice? No! Dance move? Not really!
Is funny make you a singer? I think it’s more on the commedian side.
Friendly? well, WG is not a cheerleading team.
SEXY???????? HELL with that! She is only 15.

Anything else i miss....?

27.  eunhyolee
Jan 15, 2008 - 10:09 AM

Honestly, I like SunMi more. smile I feel for her. And she should be given attention ‘coz she’s got more talent than SoHee.

28.  pijiu
Jan 17, 2008 - 01:38 PM
pijiu's avatar

Anyone has more talent than sohee ;p

29.  lilgx1
Jan 17, 2008 - 02:11 PM
lilgx1's avatar

It sucks, but they still suck at singing =\

30.  loraborax3
Jan 17, 2008 - 03:12 PM
loraborax3's avatar

wow i’m starting to feel sorry for sun min. but seriously i don’t know why everyone loves sunye. she can’t even sing for life. Her popularity for her “cuteness” won’t last long.

every celebrity has a story to tell and they’ve come across alot of hardships in order to get to where they are. it just shows effort and determination can get you anywhere despite your background.

31.  sLaVe
Jan 17, 2008 - 03:30 PM
sLaVe's avatar

^ I think you meant SoHee?

Anyway, sometimes I look at it as KARMA. When bad stuff happens to good people, SOMETHING always picks them up.

-sLaVe

32.  bunnie
Jan 17, 2008 - 06:47 PM
bunnie's avatar

... I wanna be a wonder girl. Hhaha

33.  kaorujo
Jan 17, 2008 - 09:18 PM
kaorujo's avatar

Aw. Sun Mi =( I feel bad for her since a majority of the fans seem to favor So Hee. I like So Hee too. But I guess I have been converted into favoring Sun Mi as well =D

-kaorujo

34.  sierramist
Jan 18, 2008 - 01:35 PM

now you’ve turned all the fans into “i feel bad for sun mih” yeah all the american people just loves bashing soh hee. her cuteness? i don’t think so. she has so much that YOU guys obviously don’t see. everyone has weakness in the group.

just do me a favor and write about only who you like. not someone you hate. not everyone in the world is going to like all members of wonder girls...but then again.....not everyone who is reading is going to like what you write.

35.  sugarbun
Jan 18, 2008 - 02:03 PM

now everyone has their own stories. i think people who had been going through hardship have a stronger will to succeed and appreciate it even more.

36.  sLaVe
Jan 18, 2008 - 02:21 PM
sLaVe's avatar

OKAY sierramist, WHERE in the hell did I write I wanted people to feel bad for her? Tell me, please. If some shit happens to some other celebrity, something bad, like a divorce, are we supposed to feel sorry? No, because we dong HAVE to. Did I write somewhere in there “aww, let’s all feel sorry for Sun Mi now and light a 100 candles for her loss”. No one HAS to feel sorry for Sun Mi, I didn’t tell them to. I just wrote about it (because that’s what I was hired for), is it so bad? And I don’t give two shits if you like what I write or not, because obviously, if you didn’t either, you wouldn’t be reading it and making a fuss about it.
And WHERE did I write ANYTHING AT ALL negative about SoHee in that article? I just started that people LIKE her more than Sun Mi, and Sun Mi is jealous. Did I tell everynoe to hate her? I don’t give a RAT’S ASS about what I say about the girls. Because I KNOW (but I guess YOU DON’T) that everyone has their own opinion. Plus, was I really being biased? Did I say I dislike SoHee because of her looks? NO, I said I disliked her because I see her with the least potential and she does NOT look cute to me AT ALL.
And please, what does SoHee offer? the only thing these girls offer is singing, dancing, and entertainment (if you watch them on shows). DO they offer me money? Do they offer help in the community? NO. So WHY in the hell would we have to see anything else that they offer other than what they are supposed to offer US; their audiance? If she can’t offer us good vocals, what the hell am I supposed to say? “Oh, she can’t sing and she bores me, but I like her anyway”.
Please, tell me, because obviously you can write a better article about the past of someone’s life (which by the way, this article was about. NOT about how much you should care about SoHee VS Sun Mi). If you don’t know anything about writing, then shush your mouth. Because when you write, people have their own opinion. I already know stuff liek this can happen in any article. The fact that it’s something as TRIVIAL as this one… I mean, WHY make a fuss out of it? All I said is her parent died, so did Sun Ye, Sun Mi doesn’t get much attention but she wants it… Please, baffle me more and tell me what I did was so wrong. Because it’s not like I made some rumor, or did something seriously biased like “I hate chocolate because it’s brown”.
You picked the wrong day to piss me off.

37.  sLaVe
Jan 18, 2008 - 02:36 PM
sLaVe's avatar

I chose to ignore you earlier, so I don’t know WHY you’re back here saying all this.
And one more thing, if I trashed SoHee at all… if that’s even what you CALL trashing… then it must’ve been in my comments. But America (or whatever) doesn’t need to READ my comments. The purpose of it is to write the article and get the information out. If anything, I don’t even care if people comment on it; infact, I could ask people to not comment on it if I wanted to. So America doesn’t need to read this at all. I write because I awnt to. You read, because you want to. You like SoHee because you want to. I don’t because I want to. Do you get where this is going?

-sLaVe

38.  mitchybits
Jan 18, 2008 - 02:45 PM

Hey sierramist,
You said: ”i’m a wonder girls fan and i’ve watched every single one of their clip, pictures, articles and listened to any of their radios.” If you were a ‘Wonder Girls fan’ & watched every videos & whatnot that they had, wouldn’t you be able to spell their names correctly at least? I’m not a Wonder Girls fan but I still know how to spell their names.

Anyways, you also said about SoHee: she has so much that YOU guys obviously don’t see. everyone has weakness in the group. True, everyone does have their weaknesses but what does SoHee have that we ‘obviously don’t see’. I can tell you what I see. I see that SoHee has a voice of a mouse. Her vocals aren’t strong and her range is very limited. Her face is bigger than her body. Her dancing abilities are mediocre. Whereas with Sun Mi, she has a higher range than SoHee does and obviously can hold a note longer than SoHee yet she doesn’t get the recognition she deserves. The only reason why SoHee is more recognized than Sun Mi is because of her ‘Omona’. Man, even I can do a better ‘Omona’ than her! LOL jk

Regarding this article, AKP does not write on falsity. Plus, this article is talking about how the Wonder Girls suffered before their fame & their personal thoughts. Why would we make up such things? Every artist has their own stuggle story .. if you have ever watched YSMM variety show, all the artists go on their to tell their personal stories and what really happen to them.

39.  Seishun
Jan 19, 2008 - 05:33 PM

i didn’t know about these stories either.
but everyone sure has some difficulties

40.  Charlotte
Jan 19, 2008 - 11:05 PM
Charlotte's avatar

Mitchybits (or shall I say MickyBitch) quote, “If you were a ‘Wonder Girls fan’ & watched every videos & whatnot that they had, wouldn’t you be able to spell their names correctly at least? I’m not a Wonder Girls fan but I still know how to spell their names. “

you fucking moron.  There is not just ONE way to romanize Korean sound.  yubin, yoobin, sohee, suihee, sunyeh, yeheun, sunmih, etc.
all of them are correct.

41.  yoon-sun
Jan 21, 2008 - 04:08 AM

dang people whats with all the hate? can’t we just ignore other peoples comments and just read the article and go to the next one? and sierramist if you can do a better job on posting stuff like this here than why dont you do so instead of bashing on this article.

42.  mzsdorkable
Jan 21, 2008 - 01:12 PM

thats so sad.

43.  future_koreas_soccerplayer
Jan 21, 2008 - 10:13 PM

i like sun mi shes pretty cute i like her
sun mi fightin!!!!

44.  future_koreas_soccerplayer
Jan 21, 2008 - 11:01 PM

sun mi is cute i like her i dont know why 75% of people like so hee better then sun mi..?
i mean so hee is pretty cute too but i think sun mi is ALOT pretty and cutter
GO SUN MI!!!! AND WONDER GIRLS!!!

45.  BBlove17
Jan 22, 2008 - 12:31 AM

Wow those are some pretty touching stories. Gah it would suck to be in a popular girl group and feel like you dont get much attention.

46.  lyricah~♥
Jan 22, 2008 - 08:20 AM

i was so SHOCKED knowing all of these...i didn’t know that behind there smiles, there is a dark secrets they keep hiding.but, they do need friends that they can share their stories so that they will not carry all of their burdens alone.

47.  renski
Jan 22, 2008 - 09:08 AM

Aww......I love Wonder girls! I feel bad for Sun Mi though...she has a great voice but she feels like she’s second rate...tsk!tsk… I still love wonder girls!

48.  maila_0407
Jan 22, 2008 - 08:36 PM
maila_0407's avatar

i just hope that as time pass by they’ll get closer together.....♥☺♥☺♥☺♥☺♥☺♥☺♥☺♥☺♥☺♥☺♥☺♥☺♥☺♥☺♥

49.  mitchybits
Jan 23, 2008 - 02:59 AM

@ Charlotte
Thanks for the cute nickname!
Darn, why couldn’t I think of that when I made my username!
You’re so creative & funny !!!
It would have been much better ‘cause if fits me smile !
How original ... not.

50.  shluverr
Jan 23, 2008 - 04:27 PM

Woah… I never actually knew or thought about their hardships… But I guess, everyone doesn’t become to the top easily…

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