LE SSERAFIM’s Yunjin Addresses Hate and Criticism in Heartfelt Open Letter

LE SSERAFIM has recently made waves in the music industry with the launch of their new album and chart-topping single, “HOT.” Despite the widespread acclaim, Yunjin, one of the standout members, has faced intense public scrutiny and harsh criticism.

In light of these challenges, Yunjin took a moment to connect with fans via Weverse, sharing a profound letter in which she reflected on the emotional struggles she has endured over the past year. Acknowledging her imperfections, she emphasized her journey of growth and transformation.

The response from fans was overwhelmingly supportive following her letter’s publication. Many netizens expressed admiration for Yunjin’s vulnerability, recognizing that the traits for which she has been criticized—her candidness and ambition for change—are, in reality, indicative of her authenticity and inner strength.

Supporters rallied around Yunjin, offering words of encouragement and vowing to stand by her and the rest of LE SSERAFIM as they navigate through the difficulties of the past year.

Yunjin’s Full Letter on Weverse

I am not who I was a year ago.

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I have a new favorite artist.

I drink a different coffee.

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I do more or less the same things, but I think in a way that the person from a year ago did not know how. For better or for worse, this trilogy has been a memorable experience. I write this in remembrance of the past year — all the unfathomable joy and unfathomable pain, and of the questions life begged of me — because I want you to understand why it means so much to be here with you today.

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All of last year, I had asked myself, “How do we survive this?”

‘To survive’ by definition means to continue to exist, in spite of an ordeal or hardship. While I wish just simply existing had come easy, despite my best efforts, I do not remember feeling all that existent.

What I do remember, rather, are waves of debilitating shame, doubt, envy and emptiness. I remember nights of doomscrolling through comments, knowing I shouldn’t, when even my morality failed to suppress the longing for someone’s kindness.

I remember loneliness. I remember fear of the end. That what started as the small fire of my dreams had gotten so uncontrollably big that I was losing everything I knew. How is this surviving, when I feel like I am dying?

But what surviving really is, the past year has taught me, is an experience contingent on accepting a kind of death. Just as building muscle is feeling weak and building knowledge is feeling dumb, fighting to exist is allowing yourself to fall apart.

I suppose Rilke was right when he wrote that clarity cannot be given to you unless you first live your question. Because the more I got up and asked, “is this the right way to go on?” I found myself gradually experiencing my answer.

The answer was in my refusal of apathy.

It was in the dinners I had with my members. In the calls with my family. In the small talk, which was never truly small, with our staff. In the letters from those who love me, their pensive pen and colored paper. It was at TeamLab, it was at Weverse Con. It was the sweat on the dance studio floor. It lived in the music I saved. Even the tear-stained pages of my diary, they all had the claw marks of my love persevering.

Love persevering — it is the embodiment of this album.

I am thankful for the experience EASY, CRAZY, HOT has been. I am thankful for the many versions of myself it took to meet the person I’ve come to know today. She is not perfect, but she knows how to stay grounded. She is stronger, wiser, and closer with the people she loves.

I like her. In fact, I might even love who I am right now. And she’s rocking the ginger hair, if I do say so myself.

Anyone who dares to love cannot make it through intact. I know that now.

If there is any wisdom you can take from this letter, it is most of all that.

Pain means I am changing. What a beautiful, exciting thing.

And whoever I’m becoming, I’m sure I’ll learn to love her too.