WINNER Gets Honest About Their Group Dynamic, Song Mino's Experience With Panic Disorder, The Passing Of Kim Jin Woo's Grandmother, And More

WINNER recently shared an honest conversation about the group’s relationship, their personal struggles, and learning to open up to each other.

On March 25, WINNER appeared as guests on “Oh Eun Young’s Golden Clinic,” where they spoke to  renowned psychiatrist Dr. Oh Eun Young about some of their personal concerns.

Lee Seung Hoon explained, “We don’t talk about our feelings to one another. I’m concerned about whether it’s right to maintain this boundary we have among ourselves, or whether it’s right to confess more.”

Kang Seung Yoon added, “We all typically aren’t the type to rant about our personal struggles. I don’t think I’ve specifically heard any stories about difficult times. As a joke, we make promises about being together forever, but for that to happen, it feels like there’s somewhat of a blockage between the members.”

Kim Jin Woo chimed in, “We have the perspective of not wanting to create cause for a fight, so I think we just don’t end up sharing how we feel.” Lee Seung Hoon continued, “I’ve been feeling like our members have become more sensitive. That might just be me. What I was most worried about when I was discharged [from the military] was this communication problem between the members.”

While Kang Seung Yoon and Lee Seung Hoon live in a dorm together, the remaining two members live on their own. The group also shared that they have a lot of work-related conversations, but not ones pertaining to how they feel.

When Dr. Oh asked if their relationship was always like this, the members agreed, with Lee Seung Hoon adding, “I thought of it as our own special relationship.”

To further analyze the situation, the group watched a video capturing their everyday image. At first glance, it appeared that Song Mino was not in a good mood, and his members were on edge as a result. However, Dr. Oh commented, “Surprisingly, I see that Mino is trying very hard. He’s in a difficult state. If he can originally give energy levels of 200, it’s only at 100 now. It’s not that he doesn’t like his members, he’s just in a difficult state himself.”

After, Dr. Oh analyzed the members’ Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) results. The MMPI is a psychological test that assesses personality traits and psychopathology. When she explained that both Kang Seung Yoon and Lee Seung Yoon were promotion-focused people, Kang Seung Yoon confessed that he obsesses over chart performance and fan comments.

Song Mino shared, “I upload pictures on social media without any thought, but Seung Yoon is the type to predict 1000 kinds of responses.” Kang Seung Yoon agreed, commenting, “I’m sensitive to the feedback of others.”

Kang Seung Yoon continued, “I’m caught up in the standard of other people’s judgement, so I try to match that standard. After living like that, I think my spectrum has widened. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to be sensitive to the perceptions of others.”

Song Mino later revealed that while he’s always thinking about ways to improve himself, he doesn’t talk about it with his members because he doesn’t think anything good will come out of it. He added, “I’ve never talked about this, but starting at the end of 2017, my panic disorder symptoms of feeling like I was going to die, couldn’t breathe, and was going faint, got worse. That’s how I started going to the hospital. I was diagnosed with panic disorder and manic-depressive disorder so I received medicine for my mental health and have been getting treatment.”

Song Mino continued to shock everyone by revealing that this was happening at the peak of his success, when he was promoting his solo debut and appearing on “New Journey to the West” and “Kang’s Kitchen.” He confessed, “After my variety show filming, I’d go out to cry without anyone knowing and then go back in. If I wasn’t filming, my life felt like a tragedy.”

He added, “It became a habit of trying not to open up that ‘weak’ image. Instead of not wanting to talk, I don’t think I had the courage to.” Song Mino continued, “I’m someone who is receiving so much love, has fans and colleagues, and just needs to be happy, but I have a big concern that nothing makes me that happy.”

Song Mino also spoke honestly about his family, sharing that his father has been hospitalized for a long time due to poor liver health. He shared, “I don’t think I’m the type who can rely on their family. My role is the head of the family, so while my family is very precious, I think that’s why [my family] doesn’t feel like a nest I can rest at to my heart’s content.”

Dr. Oh commented, “You cannot avoid suffering in life. However, sincerely and honestly feeling and expressing that to share with those around you is an extremely positive thing.” She continued, “[Mino] is someone whose creative and artistic promotions is incredibly important. However, no matter how talented you are, there is no person who is creative 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Because Song Mino finds this so important, I think he feels distressed during times he’s not involved with art. He’s afraid of his spark of ideas fading away. Honestly, you have to rest to regain creative strength, but Mino, you think your life has no meaning if your [creative] energy isn’t soaring.”

She added, “It’s concerning that it appears that Mino has a huge concern of ‘What happens if I become normal?’ When you’re repeatedly stimulated, your brain feels fatigue. It’s very important to rest and sleep.” Dr. Oh urged, “The time you have no artistic senses is the time you must rest.”

During the episode, Kim Jin Woo also talked about why he was unable to tell his members about his grandmother’s passing. In his interview, Kim Jin Woo explained, “I thought I had good mental health. Recently, there was a tough situation and I think I haven’t been able to get better after that. My grandmother recently passed away and I think that played a big role.”

Kim Jin Woo shared, “Since I was 7 years old until I moved to Seoul, I always saw my grandma and we visited lots because she was in the neighborhood over. However, after I came to Seoul and became mildly successful, I wasn’t able to do anything for my grandma. I think it was because I felt apologetic.”

He shared that he didn’t tell WINNER about his grandma’s passing and explained, “I didn’t think to tell them. If I shared my sorrow, it definitely would’ve helped, but I think it was always like that. My personality is not the type to talk about myself a lot. If I’m going through a tough time, I drink. I think [my problems] dissolve when I drink. Because I’m able to forget it, at least in the moment.”

After hearing the news through his interview, Kang Seung Yoon commented, “I’m sad and I also wonder, ‘Why didn’t he tell us?” Song Mino added, “I was shocked because I had no idea. I do completely understand why he wouldn’t want to talk about it, but I wish he did. Because I didn’t know, I feel sorry and sad.”

Kim Jin Woo explained, “Since it’s something sad, I didn’t want to pass on my emotions to my members. I didn’t want to share those feelings.”

Dr. Oh explained that Kim Jin Woo had an insecure attachment and shared, “It’s also called avoidant [attachment], but people with this disposition are incredibly positive towards themselves. However, they are not positive about confessing their feelings to others.”

She added, “There are times when they feel that emotional connections with others are burdensome and find communication to be uncomfortable. It’s not that Jin Woo doesn’t like people. If you were to look at Jin Woo as a castle, he’s the type to feel stable when the doors are closed. As he has this type of personality, it could’ve been difficult for him to discuss his inner feelings.”

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