"I adore Jisoo's strong mentality so much" — Fans emotional as BLACKPINK idol opens up about fighting depression during her trainee days

Modified Apr 19, 2025 19:47 GMT

On April 19, 2025, BLACKPINK's Jisoo appeared on the Netflix reality show The Blank Menu For You episode 10. In a deeply emotional segment, Jisoo courageously shared her personal struggles with depression during her trainee days.

Jisoo's candid discussion highlighted the intense pressures of being a K-pop trainee. She recalled the rigorous training schedules, constant evaluations, and the emotional toll it took on her well-being. Despite the support systems in place, she often felt isolated, grappling with self-doubt and the fear of not meeting expectations.

“If all the bad memories stuck around and never faded, life would’ve been much harder. I wasn’t good at forgetting before. During those days, the stress from training and not knowing what lay ahead really weighed on me. I used to feel down a lot. When I got depressed, all the sad memories would come flooding back, circling in my head nonstop,” she said.

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She revealed that this perfectionism stemmed from a deep-seated fear of failure. The pressure to always be at her best has sometimes led to emotional exhaustion, reminding fans that even idols are human, susceptible to vulnerabilities and insecurities.

Throughout her journey, she emphasized the importance of mental resilience and shared that she indirectly trained herself to "erase" all bad memories and anxiety to survive in the industry.

“So I used to picture myself with a giant eraser in my hands, scrubbing all those memories. I didn’t want to dwell on them, but they wouldn’t leave me alone. So I kept imagining myself erasing them. Maybe that kind of trained me. Back then, having to go through that felt like a struggle of its own, but now I forget things without even trying,” she added.

This revelation has touched fans worldwide, shedding light on the often unseen challenges K-pop idols face before their rise to fame.

"I adore Jisoo's strong mentality so much," a fan wrote on X.

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Fans lauded the BLACKPINK star for her resilience and "her life philosophy."

"With life and people may you never be lonely Jisoo," a fan wrote.

"I feel like with her I have this sort of understanding I wouldn't have with any other person, her life philosophy is something very dear to me and I have learned so much from her, love when she opens up like this she makes me embrace her more," another fan said.

"Feel emotional when I watched this. I believe she learned and grew up lots through the pain. But my heart aches for her. Want to give u a big hug, give u a pat at the back, u have done so well my girl. And we love U, Jisoo," another fan added.

Others shared that her experience felt "personal" and resonated with them.

"Your so loved #JISOO your human to just breath if u feel suffocate just surround your self good people that can light up your day any moment u deserved it my loved your so blessed," a fan commented.

"This feels so personal! Not the emotional type but this pulled a heart string," another fan shared.

"I felt what she said abt the bad memories flooding you and circling nonstop and now i aspire to erase and let go of said bad memories just like she did cuz i haven't. salute and big hugs to jisoo," another fan said.

More about BLACKPINK's Jisoo's first solo fan meeting tour Lights, Love, Action! across Asia

BLACKPINK's Jisoo launched her inaugural solo fan meeting tour Lights, Love, Action!, marking a significant milestone in her career. The tour commenced on March 14, 2025, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Philippines. It traversed seven major Asian cities, including Bangkok, Tokyo, Macau, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Hanoi. The tour ended on March 30.

The Manila fan meeting was a heartfelt event, featuring live performances of tracks from her latest mini-album, AMORTAGE, such as Your Love, Tears, Hugs & Kisses, and the lead single, Earthquake. She also delighted fans with renditions of her earlier hits, Flower and All Eyes On Me.

In other news, the BLACKPINK star's latest K-drama, Newtopia, was released on Prime Video and Coupang Play.

About the author

Banhisha covers Korean entertainment in her role as a popular culture journalist at Sportskeeda. She specializes in K-pop news, and reporting on breaking developments in the Korean entertainment scene is her forte.

Banhisha has a degree in Journalism & Mass Communication along with 7 years of content writing and copywriting experience under her belt. After working as a digital marketing manager for over five years, Banhisha joined Sportskeeda to pursue her calling as a K-pop journalist.

A huge admirer of BTS, Banhisha’s journey as an ‘ARMY’ member has equipped her with critical insights that she brings to her writing. This is evident in the profile deep-dives and music reports she curates, which rely heavily on deep research work to present information in a new light.

Banhisha loves to read as much as she likes to write, and her favorite authors are Jeffery Archer, Hanya Yanagihara, Haruki Murakami, Khaled Hosseini, Taslima Nasrin, Orhan Pamuk, and Kazuo Ishiguro, among others. When not thinking and writing about K-pop, she likes to practice Boxing and play Badminton.

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