Min Shi-ho (민시호), who goes by her stage name Mint, is a South Korean idol signed under Crowne Entertainment. She debuted as a member of Fulls on 2021, but left the group shortly after. After being private for more than 3 years, she came back to the industry as a trainee under Crowne Entertainment.
History[]
TRIGGER WARNING: Bodyshaming, mental health struggles
Fulls[]
Fulls debuted under MY:Dream Entertainment as a 6-member group on January 1st 2021, with mini album 'Ready, Set GO!'.
From the very beginning, Shiho was singled out by the fans because a big portion of the fandom thought her body brought the group's visual down. The comments got even worst after the group did a magazine photoshoot. There was one specific picture in which Shiho and Sanda were in the front, while the other members where in the back. Netizens made comments about how she looked way bigger than the rest of them and it made the overall image look ugly.
A few days after, the magazine released a re-issue, excluding the pictures where Shiho could be seen in the front, and the fan opinion got divided between the ones who thought it was the right thing to do and those who felt bad for her. MY.Dream Entertainment released a statement communicating that "...the magazine's actions are not at all agreed upon by our team. We would never allow one of our artists to be chastised and/or disrespected in such a way. Furthermore, Shiho has decided that she'll be going on a hiatus after the severe stress this situation caused her, and we're respecting her choice. She'll still participate on songs and MVs, but it's her call to decide when she'll come back to promotion schedules.".
As stated, Shiho wasn't present in any promotional activity at all for the next three months, until the announcement of the group's first comeback 'We DO' came out. A big portion of the fandom went out of their way to make comments about the group's image being way worse now that they were six again, because "Shiho isn't in the same level of beauty the others are".
'We DO' got a single win on Show Champion, which Kiiyan said was "in honor of Shiho, whom we wish could be here with us".
The group went inactive until July, when Shiho published on her personal Instagram that she'd decided to leave the group and company to take care of her mental health. Fulls went on a silent hiatus for almost a whole year, until their comeback on April 2022.
Going Private[]
After the last few interactions with the group members and fandom, Shiho announced she'd be going private in social media to get away from the spotlight.
2022/2023 was a very hard period of time for her. She couldn't go out wearing something that didn't cover her belly and felt ashamed whenever someone saw her eating, even her close relatives. At one point, she even refused to leave her house during the day, so people wouldn't see her under the sunlight. It was her conscious choice to attend a psychiatrist since she knew this was an unhealthy way of living.
The therapy sessions, along with the time away from public view and her close circle support, helped her get push forward and recognize that none of what she felt was her fault. Instead, the constant years of industry pressure over her appearance caved in after people begun commenting on it shamelessly.
Reconnecting with the industry[]
On 2024, Shiho felt comfortable enough to sign into Crowne Entertainment, a company well known for respecting their artists and not overworking or over-pressuring trainees. It took her some time to get used to everyone knowing what she went through, but after a while, she became a famous trainee which tons of korean teens looked up to. She came forward with her story and struggles. In her own words:
| “ | This is not to create drama or bad blood with MY.Dream Entertainment and the general public, but to help those who feel anything similar to what I've gone through. Even if it's not thousands of people judging your appeareance, even a single bad comment can cause a chain reaction in anyone not comfortable enough in their body and, especially in a country as physically conscious as South Korea, I want to work as a beacon of light for those who need someone to feel connections to. Don't give up, and don't give into their pursuit to take you down. You can always count on someone out there just like I had my fellow Fulls members. I love you, and you're not alone. | ” |
During the second half of the year she was invited to several TV shows and participated in a documentary regarding body-shaming in the K-pop industry.