Sunmi has just revealed some of her difficult past experiences from her time as a member of Wonder Girls.
On November 20, Sunmi made a guest appearance on the SPNS TV YouTube channel, where she opened up about her early days as an idol. She revealed that as a 16-year-old, she was given the derogatory nickname 'Delivery Sunmi'.
Sunmi explained: "During my time in Wonder Girls, I was known as Delivery Sunmi... Fans would gather at the company and hand me gifts to deliver to the other members. They would say, 'Sorry, Sunmi, but could you give this to a certain member?' And I would deliver it for them."
She revealed how painful this was for her, saying, "It was hurtful. I wasn't even the one receiving the gifts - I was just the messenger."
Sunmi explained that she knew she was one of the least popular members due to this, as well as other difficult experiences. "Compared to the other members, I was relatively unpopular. I didn't stand out as being particularly good at singing or dancing, and I wasn't the prettiest, and I didn't have a great figure. I always knew I was seen as having the least presence."
Sunmi described how at performances, she also received the least amount of cheers. "At festivals and university performances, each member would give their individual greeting to the crowd, and you could really hear the difference in cheers for each one. These days, I could probably shrug it off as 'that's just how it is,', but as a 16-year-old at the time, it was really hurtful."
The unequal treatment had a strong impact on Sunmi. "I was only in 9th grade, and I became very depressed. I didn't show it, but I started to think, 'What's the point of smiling and giving a bright greeting, when no one is going to cheer for me anyways?'"
Sunmi concluded that she is in a much better place now, but that the challenges she faced back then were very real. "I feel very free now, but if I had to go back to that situation now, I think I'd still be hurt again."
You can check out Sunmi's full interview here:
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