Just recently, Mamamoo -- the popular K-pop girl group formed under Rainbow Bridge World or RBW Entertainment -- made waves in the K-pop community with their latest comeback titled "Purple." Featuring the title track song "Yes I Am," the four-member girl group composed of Solar, Moonbyul, Wheein, and Hwasa topped two major Korean music charts: MelOn and Mnet. The fact they topped MelOn is of major significance because they hold 50 percent of the market share.
And if Mamamoo topping the charts wasn't enough of an accomplishment, they did it in the same week powerhouse YG Entertainment girl group Black Pink made their first K-pop comeback for 2017 too.
With "Purple" featuring "Yes I Am" released, Mamamoo is concentrating on post-release promotions. In one of them, they revealed their living conditions during their days as trainees. Given the fact Mamamoo is on par with any K-pop girl group formed under one of the "Big Three" (SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, JYP Entertainment), they will surely earn the respect of many K-pop fans knowing they came from a training phase similar to girl groups in smaller agencies and labels.
Three of the members lived in a small rooftop apartment during their training phase
On June 25, 2017, Mamamoo hosted a "lying down show" on V Live as part of their post release promotions. They talked about numerous things with fans which included their living conditions during their training phase.
Apparently, three of the members, Moonbyul, Solar, and Hwasa, lived in a small rooftop apartment.
For those who are unfamiliar with them, in South Korea, there are cheap apartments on top of the roofs of buildings known as rooftop apartments. They are inexpensive but small and only take up part of the roof of the building. Also, many rooftop apartments are built in buildings without elevators.
In Mamamoo's case, they had to climb five stories of stairs just to get to theirs.
Mamamoo would talk about how cramped the space was, how hot it would get during the daytime because of the large windows, and the unusually large cockroaches. Despite the negatives, they claim to have a lot of fun. One story they revealed was when they were telling ghost stories at night.
Moonbyul claims during one of the stories, Hwasa suddenly stood up and pointed at the wall. She had never been more scared in her life.
Wheein, the one member who did not live in the rooftop apartment, flustered both Solar and Moonbyul when she revealed the hygiene situation "wasn't that great" when she visited.
Mamamoo misses their training days and often reminisce that time
Ultimately, the life Mamamoo lived as trainees were probably a lot easier compared to their hectic schedule now. Ergo, they miss their training days and often reminisce on them. Wheein said when they pass by the neighborhood on their way somewhere or if she sees a bus she used to take as a trainee, a lot of thoughts come to mind.
Hwasa added that she wants to go to the restaurants they would always go to and eat the food again.
This does not mean they are not happy where they are. Mamamoo is extremely thankful they are doing so well as a K-pop girl group. Despite all the controversies they've suffered, they are still loved and adored by fans both in South Korea and around the world. Even now, they are surprised they got number one on MelOn and have kept that spot since "Yes I Am" released on June 22, 2017.
For K-pop fans who are interested in Mamamoo's latest extended play (EP) or mini-album titled "Purple" featuring "Yes I Am," it is available for purchase on iTunes. For those who want a hardcopy of the album (in which in K-pop often comes packed with so many extras for fans), the "Purple" and "Mint" versions can be bought at YesAsia.