Sitting backstage at HallyuPopFest Sydney, the members of OH MY GIRL — Hyojung, Mimi, YooA, Seunghee, Yubin, and Arin — find themselves locked in an impromptu compliment relay. Everything they cover — beauty, style, and character — all leads to effusive praise of each other. Some own it with pride, tossing their hair back and inviting more commentary. Others are painfully embarrassed, hunching into their seats and hiding their faces in their hands. Still, they all take solace in the knowledge that they’re truly seen by one another, and are better together.
 

OH MY GIRL debuted in 2015, and for seven years, have alternated between ethereal and bubbly concepts, voices ringing clearly over deceptively powerful dances. In 2019, they won second place on the survival-style television show Queendom and rocketed to unprecedented levels of popularity. The lead single of their 2020 EP, “Nonstop,” and B-side “Dolphin,” became the two longest-running girl group songs on the MelOn Daily Chart. Their next EP Dear OHMYGIRL then sold more than double of Nonstop, and its lead single “Dun Dun Dance'' reached first on local music charts.



They bring this consummate professionalism and experience to HallyuPopFest Sydney. Performing with nine other artists over the second weekend of August, OH MY GIRL showcases a variety of sides to themselves in a 30-minute set: “Real Love,” “Dolphin,” and “Dun Dun Dance” are cheerful, inviting fierce fanchants from the audience; “Drip” is sensuous; “Guerilla,” their final Queendom performance, shows off their incredible vocals; and “Checkmate” allows for them to interact with fans more closely.

First stage of the compliment relay: describing the style of the person sitting beside them. YooA likens Yubin to a spotted deer or a sculpture. Her eyes, nose, and mouth are distinct, and her neck is long, allowing for her features to stand out whatever color she wears. Yubin adds that she’s not particularly interested in fashion, so prefers simple clothing that can be a complete outfit, such as a dress, or the standard white t-shirt and jeans.
 

Yubin highlights the duality of Seunghee. While she’s cute with a baby face, she’s sexy on stage. The latter image is carried over to her everyday wardrobe, which is dark and chic. Seunghee then suggests we can take points from Hyojung if we want to dress like a “first love” or “freshly baked bread.” The girls all erupt in laughter, but agree wholeheartedly – she wears a lot of cardigans and scrunchies. Seunghee squeezes the air with two hands as if to capture the effect. Hyojung’s style makes your heart flutter, she concludes contently.


 

Hyojung believes Arin to be every girl’s style icon, or “wannabe.” Arin might not dress fancy, but it holds a quiet charm. Arin borrows the term “wannabe” for Mimi in turn. She has great fashion sense, and recommends for us to take note of how her make-up, hairstyle, and outfit come together to create a certain look.
 

Mimi concludes the round by calling YooA a goddess of the wind, for her long, straight hair ripples behind her. She often wears tracksuits which are simple but hip. Arin murmurs that this is the elusive “꾸안꾸" (ggu-ahn-ggu), an abbreviation of “꾸민 듯 안 꾸민 듯," or “like you have but haven’t styled yourself.” The members agree that this effortlessly chic look is hard to pull off — unless you’re YooA, evidently. The subject of such compliments covers her face in embarrassment. Arin, who’s been suffering from second-hand embarrassment herself, waves her hand in front of her, shouting, “Next!”
 

Second stage of the compliment relay: choosing your own greatest charm. Hyojung, the leader, interprets the question as one that asks for both their internal and external charm, and suggests Mimi kick it off this time. Mimi determines it to be her honesty and transparency, as well as the way she chooses styles for each season and pushes it as her trademark. For their Real Love era, it was ribbons; now, it’s braided hair. She rounds up her answer by saying, “My motto is simply to live while having fun, so I wish that would be my charm: the person as a whole.”

Arin answers with the English word “natural,” but it’s punctuated by multiple self-effacing laughs. Seunghee stares straight at the camera and affirms, in pretend seriousness, “Natural beauty. Yes.” Mimi joins in the fun, exclaiming, “That’s an article headline,” and Seunghee doesn’t miss a beat, envisioning it by drawing a box in the air: “Arin, a natural beauty!” She adds that she’s also more simple-minded than you’d expect. She doesn’t hold grudges and works to empty her heart and mind after an issue.
 

Hyojung chooses her healthiness. Everyone exclaims in English, “Ah, healthy girl!” Yoobin curls her forearms as if doing weights, and Seunghee follows along. She’s curated a variety of hobbies, such as growing plants, hiking, and jogging. She also sees everything optimistically, with a personality which tries to unravel all situations with a positive mindset.
 

Seunghee’s armed with a list. First, she’s good at taking care of the people around her. Second, her eyebrows are dark. Mimi agrees that’s a great advantage, stabbing her finger in the air for emphasis. Third, her actual stage performance is always better than the rehearsal. “Ohhh,” YooA utters from the side. “She’s an artist!”

Yubin has an easy-going nature. Rather than standing out especially, she’s the kind of person who can “do this and that.” She’s also articulate. “I’m good at speaking,” she explains, slowing down incrementally and pronouncing her words especially crisp. She’s grateful that the fans see and appreciate that about her.
 

YooA hesitates, recognizing that it could sound like she’s side-stepping the question. But she’s assured in this: “I have the fortune of having lots of good people around me.” As a result, they treasure and love her, and this has helped her to learn how to love herself. She also acknowledges that she can look cold, but trusts that the contrast between her physical appearance and sunny disposition is her charm.

The third and final stage of the compliment relay: their hopes for the future. For this, the answers are unanimous. They hope to continue promoting with their beloved OH MY GIRL members, to love their loved ones well, and to be healthy and happy for a long, long time.
 

They’ll be departing Sydney the next day. Yoobin will ensure she has enough face masks, for flying dries her skin out. Arin will stuff her suitcase once again with everything she needs for her skincare and shower routine, for she sticks with her preferred products.
 

Hyojung will probably be make-up free, with only a layer of sunscreen protecting her face. She’ll certainly be dressed like bread again, Seunghee reminds the room. (This then dissolves into a discussion about which kind of bread. Some choose 식빵, “shik-bbang,” the basic loaf. Seunghee suggests the 소보로빵, “so-bo-ro-bbang,” a sweet bun with a top crust. Yubin goes for the 아기궁뎅이빵, literally the “baby bottom bread,” a fluffy bread with indents in the middle and filled with cream cheese.)

Once they step foot back in Seoul, they’ll return to their everyday lives. Perhaps Yoobin will travel home again to enjoy time with family, which she’s been able to do more of recently. She’ll continue in her joy of learning — acting, working out, and driving once again. Mimi will look up in the sky and delight, having recaptured a childlike innocence in Sydney after a day spent with two of her closest friends since preschool who moved here three years ago.



Then when it’s time, we’ll see them promoting a new album. That will be a joy for their fans, called Miracle, and even more so for the members. As Hyojung shared, “Today in rehearsal, we were excitedly playing and singing on stage, and it was the happiest I’ve been in recent times. It’s always like that for me — my members’ voices come through my in-ears, and when I hear them, I feel so happy. The members’ voices are so good, and I’m always thankful that I can faithfully finish a song with members such as these.”