TWICE's Jihyo Posts Letter Apologizing For Recent Comment, Explains How She's Been Feeling The Past Year

Jan 07, 2020

On the morning of January 7 KST, TWICE’s Jihyo posted a letter to ONCE explaining her recent comment during a V Live chat. The comment was in response to a question about why she was absent at times during the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards, and her choice of words (oong-aeng-oong, specifically) elicited criticism from some netizens.

During the chat, she said, “I’m saying this because attention seekers keep [crying about it/saying nonsense] (oong-aeng-oong), but I wasn’t feeling well. You must have been having fun because there was something to pick on, but I’m sorry. I just couldn’t do anything about not feeling well.”

Oong-aeng-oong is part of a Korean expression that first started on Twitter when a user was saying that something in a film was unintelligible, or sounded like nonsense. It has since been adapted by radical feminists in Korea as a term for belittling men. Rapper San E also used the phrase as the title of a diss track.

In a letter to ONCE, posted on TWICE’s official fan cafe, Jihyo apologized for what she said and explained that she has been having a hard time since early last year.

Here is Jihyo’s full statement:

Thinking that ONCE may have been hurt and disappointed yesterday from the V App chat, I’m sorry.

I’ll try to explain from the beginning.

After there were completely unfounded rumors about me in March last year, I became more scared about being in front of people.

The reason I cried at the airport was also because all the people taking photos/filming and yelling made me feel a lot of fear, and I was so scared about what those people thought of me and how they saw me.

In August, my private life became known, and after that, there were a lot of false rumors as well. Because of that, my anxiety, feelings of depression, fear, and all kinds of negative emotions became so overwhelming that being in front of people, saying just one thing, or performing was scary and hard.

Even during our tour, the feelings of fear were so strong that I went to the hospital for a consultation and received prescription medicine, but none of it helped much. Some time passed, our Japan tour started, and starting from our performance in Japan right before MAMA, being in places with a lot of people became so, so hard.

All throughout our performance on December 3, I cried from fear and wanted to hide. In that state, I had to go to MAMA and face so many more people than were at our performance, and I had to speak and perform. That made even breathing hard for me.

Because of that, when returning to Korea, I was worried that I would cry again, or that people would see me having a hard time. I didn’t want people to worry, so I returned at a different time than the rest of the TWICE members.

During all of this, no, ever since I debuted, I have seen countless negative comments about me, ridiculing me, and cursing at me. It really hurt, and it made me really mad, but because there is the work that I’ve done, because I have my job and my fans, I left it alone.

That’s what it was like leading up to MAMA.

I’m not complaining so that you’ll pity me, and I’m not asking for attention. I just wanted to explain why I ended up expressing my feelings in a negative way towards someone yesterday.

No matter what has happened, I’ve never been insincere in front of ONCE. ONCE has never not been important to me, and I’ve never not been concerned about ONCE. Yesterday as well, I was completely sincere.

What makes me the most apologetic is that I know that our team and ONCE are really confused right now. Because of that, I’m so sorry about letting my emotions get the best of me while speaking yesterday. [I’m so sorry] to both ONCE and my team. Because of [what I said], the TWICE members also posted explanations. Reading what they said as well as what ONCE said, I felt it was right that I explain my own actions, so here I am writing this.

Me singing, performing, and communicating with ONCE is because I want both myself and ONCE to be happy. I do all of this because I sincerely wish for our happiness.

The reason I do this work is because I have ONCE, who love me and warmly embrace me. I can handle a lot, so I’d like if it you didn’t see those things, which would upset you.

In the future, as long as I’m a celebrity and an idol, there are going to be issues and rumors, but I’m going to do well, and I don’t want to make you spend the precious time that we can be happy and laugh and smile together on other things.

I’m sorry for making you worry, and thank you, ONCE.