Jeon Somi (전소미), who debuted as the highly popular center of Mnet's survival show *PRODUCE 101*, garnered immense popularity from her time on the program. She later joined the project girl group I.O.I, captivating countless fans with her striking visuals and lively personality. Even now, as a solo artist, she remains one of the most prominent female idols in the Korean entertainment industry.
However, the usually cheerful Jeon Somi recently opened up about a painful childhood memory. She revealed that she was a victim of school bullying, enduring not only ostracism and malicious pranks from classmates but also physical violence. Even after many years, recalling these experiences brought tears to her eyes.
On May 13, the YouTube channel "IMOS 전소미" released its latest video. After reading a student's story about experiencing school bullying, Jeon Somi appeared to be reminded of her own past and voluntarily shared her experiences. She admitted that she also suffered school violence during her student days and understood the feeling of being ostracized and powerless to resist.
Jeon Somi recalled that shortly after transferring to a Korean school in the third grade of elementary school, she became a target for her classmates. She revealed that on her second day, she was elected class president, but then began to face a series of malicious treatments. "My reading cards were torn, my photos were cut up, and trash was even stuffed into my indoor shoes," she said. Jeon Somi added that during group activities, she was often deliberately excluded, leaving her alone.
The bullying was not limited to pranks and ostracism. She revealed that in the sixth grade, a male classmate pulled her backpack on her way home from school, causing her to fall to the ground and even be stepped on. These experiences left a significant trauma on her young self; at the time, she even worried that her elementary school classmates would continue to bully her in middle school.
Jeon Somi has previously disclosed that she became a bullying target due to her mixed heritage. Her mother is Korean, and her father is Canadian-Dutch, giving her distinct physical features from her peers since childhood. Her delicate features and doll-like appearance are now considered her personal charm, but during her childhood, they were a reason for her classmates to mock her.
She previously revealed that she was verbally abused by classmates because of her mixed heritage, even being attacked with derogatory terms like "half-breed." Being so young, she didn't know how to fight back and could only confide in her teacher through writing in her diary. Although her teacher was willing to listen, they seemed powerless against the bullying, leaving her feeling intensely helpless at one point.
At the time, Jeon Somi even started to resist going to school and once thought, "If I got plastic surgery to look Korean, maybe I wouldn't be bullied anymore." The profound impact of this experience was evident as she still struggled to contain her emotions when discussing it years later.
To comfort his daughter, Jeon Somi's father came up with a unique idea. He wrote the Korean characters for "half-breed" (雜種) on the soles of her shoes and told her, "Now these words are under your feet. You step on them and move forward." Her father's words became the strength that helped Jeon Somi regain her courage. By the sixth grade, she finally mustered the courage to tell her bullies, "What you're doing is wrong," and the bullying gradually stopped.
However, the childhood trauma did not completely disappear when the bullying ended. Jeon Somi admitted that even though she now lives a happy life, tears still fall unconsciously whenever she recalls those past experiences. "I still cry when I talk about these things. I think those days of being bullied might continue to hurt me," she said.
To students currently experiencing bullying, Jeon Somi offered encouragement, saying, "You must be feeling very distressed." She hoped they would take good care of themselves and not be afraid to seek professional help, such as psychological counseling, if they found it truly unbearable.
She concluded by encouraging everyone facing similar difficulties: "If you haven't done anything wrong, live proudly and happily." She also reminded everyone that instead of constantly worrying about others' opinions, they should focus on themselves and live their own lives well.
