[SBS Star] (G)I-DLE Reveals: They Feared They Might Not Recover From the Damage of SOOJIN's Departure

K-pop girl group (G)I-DLE members openly acknowledged the insecurities they had after the departure of former member SOOJIN.

On March 29, (G)I-DLE starred in the Mnet's television show 'PRIME SHOW'.

Since their 2018 debut, (G)I-DLE has dominated the charts.

Yet in 2021, they faced challenges as massive as their early success.

They made a strong start to the year, releasing their fourth EP in January, with yet-another mega-hit title track 'Hwaa'.

But in March, member SOOJIN's rumor spread like wildfire, alleging that she had bullied her former classmates.

As the situation got escalated, the group's agency CUBE Entertainment announced SOOJIN's departure from the group, leaving them with just five members.

Since then, their longest hiatus has begun.

It was the first time the group took a break longer than six months from performing.

As the gap lasted for more than a year, many have wondered whether would they ever be able to fill up the void of the former member, or even whether they would return at all.

Reflecting on the dark times of 2021, members honestly shared their feelings during their longest hiatus.

The members collectively refer to the period as "the most difficult time ever since the debut".

MINNIE, the group's member from Thailand, had momentarily stayed in the motherland.

Her eyes welled up as she said, "'Will I be able to return to Korea?', the thought dominated my mind. The anxiety was severe." 

"Some of the members had head to their country. The idea that our fans in Korea might feel their void pushed me to work harder to have more media exposure as much as I could.", said MIYEON, reflecting on the situation which was hard for both the fans and the group.

"We believed we might never recover.", the group's leader SOYEON said, revealing a glimpse of her desperate state of mind at the moment.

As a leader and one of the songwriters of the group, she had a lot on her shoulder.

SOYEON stated, "I felt like I had to write the best song that I possibly could. It was a stressful situation." For a relatively new K-pop group in its third year to withstand the sudden backwind must not have been easy.

But (G)I-DLE took the adversity and turned it into a chance to grow up.

"I tried my best to level myself up as if I have returned to training days. I kept singing, dancing, and working out.", a member SHUHUA honestly conveyed her then-effort to get through the dark year.

In February 2022, (G)I-DLE broke the silence and successfully came back to where they belonged against all odds. 

Releasing hit songs 'Tomboy' and 'Nxde' in a row, (G)I-DLE solidified their status as one of the most successful fourth-generation K-pop girl groups, with five members.

Following the interview, (G)I-DLE made the significant statement, "We are the villain and the heroin".  

And they gave a strong performance with one of their songs, 'VILLAIN DIES', for the first time ever.
(Credit='Mnet TV' '(G)I-DILE (여자)아이들 (Official YouTuble Channel)' YouTube, 'official_g_i_dle' Instagram)

(SBS Star)