Jung Whee-in (정휘인), a member of the K-pop girl group MAMAMOO (마마무), recently became visibly emotional during a live stream while discussing the group's past heyday, confessing her strong desire to return to that period. However, after clips of the live stream circulated online, some netizens questioned her sentiments, with some directly asking, “Didn’t she choose not to renew her contract?”
Clips of Jung's recent live stream on a fan community platform have gone viral across various online forums, reigniting discussions. Last month, she hosted a live stream, casually dressed in loungewear, eating and chatting with fans. During the broadcast, she mentioned that she is naturally prone to tears, then gradually opened up about her feelings regarding the group’s past activities.
Jung revealed that she always feels a rush of emotions and thoughts whenever she participates in a tour. She stated, “When I was in my early 20s, I never thought about these things. Now, I often wish I could go back to MAMAMOO’s peak activity period. To be honest, at the time, I also really disliked that life because it was just too exhausting.”
She then lamented that people often don’t have time to pause in their busy lives, making it difficult to appreciate the precious memories accumulated along the way. “People still need rest to feel the precious things in daily life. But when everything comes one after another and you’re incredibly busy, you often miss out without even realizing what you’ve gained.”
Jung admitted that looking back now, despite the hardships, there were many happy moments that she particularly misses. “I really miss that time now. If I were to go back, I don’t know if I could work as hard as I did back then.” She also shared that when she drinks alone at home, she often plays old MAMAMOO videos and inevitably tears up halfway through, laughing, “That’s probably what I look like when I’m drunk!”
Furthermore, Jung recalled once complaining to comedian Kim Shin-young (김신영) that she truly wanted to give up her life at the time. Unexpectedly, Kim told her, “Even if you want to give up now, you will eventually start to miss those days.”
Jung confessed that she couldn’t understand those words at the time, but now she truly grasps their meaning and increasingly feels the nostalgia and reluctance Kim spoke of, leading her to tears as she recounted it.
However, after this live stream was exposed, netizens’ reactions were highly polarized. While some expressed understanding for her feelings, others raised questions, commenting: “Didn’t she choose not to renew her contract?” “I can’t empathize at all,” “Was she drinking?” “Her emotional fluctuations are too extreme,” “If she misses it so much, why didn’t she renew her contract?” Some even speculated, “Is MAMAMOO disbanding?” Other netizens expressed confusion, saying, “She’s crying like this,” and “Isn’t MAMAMOO still in its prime now?”
MAMAMOO, composed of Kim Yong-sun (김용선, Solar), Moon Byul-yi (문별이, Moonbyul), Jung Whee-in, and Ahn Hye-jin (안혜진, Hwasa), debuted in 2014 and gained immense popularity for their powerful vocals and distinct stage presence. In 2021, Jung left her original agency after her contract expired. In 2023, Ahn also moved to P NATION, not renewing her contract with her former company. After the two members successively left their original agencies, MAMAMOO’s group activities, such as their 2022 release “ILLELLA,” became less frequent, with members focusing on their individual careers.
Notably, MAMAMOO has reunited after four years and is currently on their “MAMAMOO 2026 WORLD TOUR [4WARD].” The tour is scheduled to pass through Tokyo on October 25, concluding in Taipei on November 28 and 29.
