[TRANS] 260409 Mirror Media Interview
Upgrading Continuously Through Challenges 2 / Rejected 50 times in auditions — Solar makes a comeback and becomes leader
Solar’s name, Solar, means the sun—very blazing and constantly outputting energy. Six years ago, at a MAMAMOO concert, after performing a powerful dance, Solar tore off her clothes and threw them down. Why did she do that?
Because she saw male idols tear off their shirts during performances, and she thought, why can’t female idols do that? She wanted to do it! And after tearing off her clothes, she revealed equally strong abs like male idols.
Solar, who loves challenges, even when seeing boundaries, never lets them become her own boundaries. Since 2019, Solar has run her YouTube channel “Solarsido,” reaching over one million views in just 8 months. Recently, I caught up on many of her videos—partner pole dancing, screaming skydiving, workout routines after wisdom tooth extraction. Solar’s various challenges gave me many shockwaves. And since the channel was created, she has almost uploaded videos every week. No wonder fans always describe her this way—“There is no Kim Yong-sun in the hell of laziness.”
And I think that in Kim Yongsun’s world, there is definitely no such thing as impossible.
“The way my personality is, I am a very serious person,” Solar said seriously. “Since I was young, my mom told me to work very hard, and my personality is naturally someone who works hard.”
Because of her mother’s teachings, Solar—who was already hardworking—became even more hardworking. She laughed: “When I sing, I work hard; when I dance, I work hard; when I clean, I also work hard.” She lists all kinds of efforts.
Hearing fans say “there is no Kim Yong-sun in the hell of laziness,” Solar actually has mixed feelings and once felt it was “a burden.” She said she also wants to just lie down, watch TV, and relax. But now, even Solar herself feels she is truly a very diligent person. She said : “When I rest, I’m very busy. I study Chinese, watch TV, clean, and also walk my dog. On holidays, I arrange my plans—my whole day is full.”
“My teammate told me, you basically never just lie down and watch TV, because even when you watch TV, you are learning Chinese—you are always busy!” I wondered if Solar’s personality is for success. She said: “No, I think I’m just this kind of person.”
Solar has been nicknamed the “kitchen goddess,” because when she comes to Taiwan, she is always like she’s running around the kitchen. She likes winter melon milk tea, and based on fans’ suggestions, she bought winter melon blocks to make it herself back in Korea.
“My fans told me how to make it. Because Korea doesn’t have winter melon tea, and I really wanted to drink it, so I made it myself.” Fortunately, among all the challenges, there are also such sweet moments.
Lively, cheerful, and facing challenges positively—no matter how scared, she never retreats. Before debut, Solar failed about 50 auditions. After becoming a trainee for 3 years, she debuted as the leader of MAMAMOO.
Those setbacks did not defeat her, but instead became the power for her upgrades. She completes every challenge she sets for herself, and with a sunny smile says: “Right now, for me, the most difficult challenge is learning Chinese. Chinese tones are really difficult.”
But she goes all out, and like her singing voice, has extremely strong explosive power. Regarding singing and dancing, Solar said she can only keep working harder and harder. In the past, she said she treated the stage as a responsibility. Now she explains.
"The stage is my dream, but at the same time it is also responsibility and work. From beginning to end, singing and dancing well—this is my job, my responsibility.” Solar will continue to embrace her responsibilities and work with Mamamoo new album and tour.
Since Solar became a trainee at 21, I asked whether she feels anxious about age or career. She thought for a moment and admitted that as she gets older, she used to feel anxious.
“But now my thinking has changed. Because I feel that as I get older, I become more mature, so now I feel it’s okay.” When asked, “What made you change?” Solar seriously said this question must be answered in Korean.
This was the only question she answered in Korean. She said: “In the past, what I wanted to sing was powerful, impressive, and challenging music. But now, what I want to sing is music that brings comfort and strength to people. This is what I want to do now.”
The warmth of the sun has become broader and more complete—beyond blazing heat, there is also a deep embrace. This is, of course, a stronger and more internal upgrade and challenge for Solar.
© article | translation by solarteam221
