Former Girl Group Member Speaks Out On Choosing Marriage Over Career

A former K-Pop girl group member confessed that she only truly realized the meaning of the term “career interruption” after becoming a mother of three.

On a recent broadcast on MBN, comedian Paeng Hyun Sook, singers Shoo, Sunye, and Ha Won Mi appeared to share stories about their lives under the theme “Living as Myself Is So Hard.”

That day, Sunye gave an update on her life after ending her activities with Wonder Girls and living as a mother of three. She said, “My eldest is already in the first year of middle school,” sharing how quickly her children have grown.

Hearing this, Kim Yong Man said, “She’s a mother, but also an idol. Many people regretted her stepping away from activities,” to which Sunye calmly opened up about the realistic worries she felt while raising her children.

She said, “The phrase ‘it’s hard to live as myself’ didn’t really resonate with me before. But as I raised my kids, I began to understand the term ‘career-interrupted woman.’ Until then, I lived a life tailored to myself, but after having children, all the standards of life centered around them. Naturally, the priorities changed. That’s why now I empathize with how difficult it is to live as yourself.”

She also shared thoughts on her early marriage, which many were curious about. Sunye began, “Many people ask, ‘How could you give everything up during the prime of your career?’”

She revealed, “My life changed dramatically after achieving my dreams at a young age, but at the same time, I went through the deaths of my father and grandfather. This made me deeply contemplate life from an early age.”

She added, “While performing on stage is a glamorous job, I realized the most important stage in my life is living my life itself. Getting married and having children meant my life as a mother started a bit earlier, but since it was a life I chose, I accepted it with the mindset of living joyfully.”

Upon hearing this, Kim Yong Man expressed surprise and said, “You debuted at 18, only worked for about 5 or 6 years, and then got married?”

Sunye married a Korean American missionary at the age of 24 in 2013 and paused group activities. She officially left Wonder Girls in 2015. She currently balances life as a mother of three daughters with her broadcasting activities, continuing a new chapter in her life.