K-Pop Corner: Winner’s Mino speaks out on mental health
Rapper showed several sticky notes with encouraging messages he wrote to himself
Winner’s Mino shared with fans on Instagram how he copes with his struggle with panic disorder and focuses on his mental well-being.
On a post he uploaded last week, the rapper showed several sticky notes with encouraging messages he wrote to himself.
The self-written messages include “Let’s dislike it. Things you don’t like”, “Let’s hurt. Don’t hold it in”, “Let’s be honest. Don’t hide things” “Let’s love. Everything”, “More than anyone else, let’s take care of myself first” and more, translated by entertainment and digital media company Koreaboo.
The ‘Ah Yeah’ artist has been vocal about his personal vulnerabilities and panic disorder. He openly revealed on JTBC’s show ‘Human Intelligence’ that it hit him at the beginning of last year due the constant pressure of having to keep up a good public appearance while having many responsibilities behind-the-scenes.
There are stressors behind the K-Pop idol lifestyle and there is a ruthless culture of perfection in Korean music industry. Though the perfectly-groomed idols are micro-managed by their companies, K-Pop artists are becoming more open with their own struggles and their self-worth, even taking hiatus to focus on their health.
Mino has been a member of Winner since 2014. The rapper released his debut solo album, ‘XX’ and chart-topper song ‘Fiance’. Fans have noticed his maturity, especially in his solo release. During a V Live broadcast, he said that he “grated his soul” into ‘XX’.
Winner recently released their new EP ‘We’, which topped the global iTunes charts in 19 countries and was a hit in Korea along with its title track ‘Ah Yeah’.