AOA's Jimin opens up ahead of June 10 solo release: "I had to drink every day just to fall asleep"
Jimin, former AOA leader, posted a raw personal statement on June 9—one day before her solo single arrives.
Former AOA leader Jimin drops a solo single on June 10, 2026. The day before, she shared a lengthy statement on social media detailing the brutal month leading up to it.
She debuted as AOA's leader in 2012. The group had hits with 짧은 치마 and 사뿐사뿐. In 2020, fellow member Kwon Min-ah publicly disclosed that Jimin had bullied her for 10 years. Jimin left the group and announced her retirement from the entertainment industry. She reversed that decision in 2022, returning through the JTBC competition program 두 번째 세계 (The Second World), and has worked as a solo artist since.
On June 4, she teased the comeback on social media: "WYA" and "June 10, 2026, noon." Then came June 9's longer post.
"For about a month, I was a mess," she wrote. "I became the most sensitive person in the world." She described drinking every night to sleep—"I am someone who cannot drink alcohol, but for a month straight I had to drink every day to fall asleep. It was not resolved by medication"—and struggling to be around friends because her emotions were too raw.
She handled most of the production herself. She secured the filming location, prepared props and costumes. After finishing the music video and clearing the review board, she cried for 20 minutes. "My face was all black and my hair had turned white. My lips were swollen and my hands were so bitten that I could not even shampoo freely." She had promised herself she would stop biting her hands. She kept finding herself doing it anyway.
Public perception haunted the entire post. "Many people dislike me," she wrote. "What does it matter if the song is good, if the music video is good, if the jacket is good?" Even her closest friend was receiving malicious comments simply for being associated with her—"rather than helping, I feel like I'm holding back the feet of a friend I cherish."
She closed without asking for much. "I don't hope for great love, nor do I dare imagine it. I just want to become a person worthy of the friends, fans, and family who believed in me. This is my true heart."
The single releases June 10, 2026.
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