In a video titled “Sunmi and Shoes Off EP.80 | Deep Emotions I Can Finally Talk About“, uploaded to the SPNS TV YouTube channel on November 20, Sunmi revealed that she often felt invisible and inadequate during her idol days.
“During my Wonder Girls days, my nickname was ‘Delivery-mi,’” she recalled. “Compared to the other members, I didn’t stand out. I wasn’t exceptionally good at singing or dancing, nor was I particularly pretty or had a great figure. I always had this feeling that I was the least noticeable.”
Sunmi shared a specific memory from when she was just 16. “Fans would gather in front of the company and hand me gifts to deliver to other members. They’d say, ‘Sunmi, I’m sorry, but can you give this to so-and-so?’ It was disheartening. I wasn’t even the recipient—I was the messenger.”
She added that the disparity in attention during performances also took a toll. “At university festivals, you can really hear the difference in the cheers when each member greets the crowd. That difference stings. Maybe some could brush it off, but as a 16-year-old, it hurt. I was in 9th grade and became quite withdrawn. I didn’t show it, but inside I thought, ‘Why should I smile and wave when no one’s going to cheer for me anyway?’”
Now a successful solo artist, Sunmi noted that she no longer carries the same burden but admitted, “Even though I’ve been freed from those feelings, if I went back to that time, I think I’d still get hurt again.”
She concluded with a thoughtful reflection on teamwork, saying, “I believe the most important thing in group activities is concession. You have to yield. That’s why I’m so grateful to Wonder Girls there were so many moments when we could have clashed over things, but we often yielded to one another. I truly think compromise is the most essential virtue in any group activity.”
Sources: Daum