Jihyo of TWICE recently released her debut EP titled “ZONE.” The mini album was released on August 18, 2023, and went on to get the number one spot in South Korea, number two in US World Albums, and eleven in Japan. In addition, it also spawned “Killin’ Me Good,” a Kpop song with influences from the dance and R&B genres.
As the promotions for her debut solo project come to an end, the TWICE leader had a little talk with TeenVogue magazine to discuss the “glamorous route of her usual girl group idol image.”
The interviewer took the occasion to ask the “More and More” vocalist if she knew that some TWICE fans, also known as ONCE, called her “mother,” but not in the literal sense of the word. In reaction, Jihyo quickly responded with confusion, as if she thought fans saw her as the mother of all of them. “Unma?” the vocalist replied, using the literal Korean translation for “mother.”
However, this was not the case for the term fans have been using to complement the idol on both her solo endeavors and as a TWICE member. According to Teen Vogue, “mother” is slang for a “woman who is iconic” and it is rooted in the “Black and Latin American LGBTIQA+ community.” In addition, the magazine also told Jihyo that “calling someone mother is shorthand for boss, badass, untouchable queen.”
As the interview continued, the translator in the room explained the meaning of the word in this context, and Jihyo responded that she now remembered how some fans would comment using that word on different fan cam videos of hers in different social media platforms. “It’s funny that fans call me that and also think about me as that kind of figure,” the idol said.
Jihyo's reaction to being called mother, "Umma?" 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/yVSxO8aEjm
— minaron (@godmitzu) September 18, 2023
