The Names of MAMAMOO
MAMAMOO celebrates their tenth anniversary on June 18, and what a decade it has been. With one compilation album, two Korean studio albums, twelve EPs, and many singles, Solar, Moonbyul, Wheein, and Hwasa have done a lot as a group. Their individual colors show even more in their solo identities: this week’s Ladies Corner delves into the fun naming conventions of their solo discographies.
Solar
Though Solar’s stage name comes from the Solfège, the mnemonic for teaching musical scales (do, re, mi, fa, so, la), Solar’s energy shines like the sun. Her 2022 EP 容 : FACE may not look like a reference, but much like the EP’s intentions, the surface can’t dictate everything. One commonality that will come up is the usage of hanja in these release titles: the Korean language utilizes hanja, Chinese characters, to discern specific meanings that Hangul may not clarify on a first glance.
Yong (容, 용) happens to be the hanja in her name, Kim Yongsun. According to Solar, “Yongsun” translates to “fresh face.” In choosing “face” as the main focus for the EP, Solar wanted to say that everyone’s face is different – that everyone is beautiful in their own way.
Moonbyul
Moonbyul was meant to dazzle on stage: her given name, Byuli (별이), comes from the stars. With both the moon and the stars in her name, you can bet that those gave lots of ideas for music titles. Why not start with her first EP, the Dark Side of the Moon, or its repackage 門OON : REPACKAGE? The Korean name of the title track “Eclipse” translates to “when the moon covers the sun.” It depicts Moonbyul as a source of light within the darkness.
The repackage’s name integrates hanja, but this one doesn’t carry the same meaning as her family name. The word Moon (문) carries two primary meanings: it can represent 文, the arts, or 門, meaning “door.” In this case, it represents the many doors presented in one's life.
Wheein
When it comes to Wheein, she’s as freespirited as the wind. Wheein represents the “wind” portion in MAMAMOO’s four seasons project because Whee (휘) can also mean the sound of whistling wind. Within her solo discography her 2022 EP WHEE and 2023 EP IN the mood also serve as name references. The two combined mirrors Wheein’s Instagram handle, whee_inthemood.
Most recently, Wheein released another song that fits this list. In February, the single “Wheee (Prod. Young K, Sanghyun Nah)” came out. This rock track tells listeners to let their worries blow away in the wind, and to continue seeking happiness.*
Hwasa
Here’s something that may shock you: “Hwasa” is a stage name. Within MAMAMOO’s group work, Hwasa represents the flower, which is one of the many meanings of Hwa (화). However, one title that represents Hwasa even better is María, the name of her first EP. María comes from her Baptismal name, which she also implemented into her Instagram handle mariahwasa.
In “Maria,” Hwasa sings about self-love and overcoming public hate. “Oh María, these words are for you,” she says, referring to the comforting lyrics. It affirms that regardless of any negative public opinion, Hwasa will keep doing things her own way. She stays strong and deflects words that fail to represent her true qualities.*
“Star Wind Flower Sun” (Yellow Flower, 2018)
The second track on MAMAMOO’s sixth EP Yellow Flower represents the whole group and their fans. Other than referencing all their names, Moonbyul and Solar participated in the creation process. Moonbyul and Solar wrote the lyrics, and Solar additionally composed the song.
The song talks about the ability to lean on one another. Just as the lyrics say “I’ll be together with you whenever, wherever,” that sentiment still stands even with the members in different companies. They extend a gesture of support no matter where their paths lead them.
*Note: Lyrics taken from English captions in the official videos.